August 8, 2016

SECOND EDITION

MONDAY, AUGUST 8, 2016

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Shraban 24, 1423, Zilqad 4, 1437

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Regd No DA 6238, Vol 4, No 103

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www.dhakatribune.com | 32 pages | Price: Tk10

Hasnat-Tahmid photos deepen confusion n Tribune Desk New photos of the Gulshan attack showing Tahmid Hasib Khan holding a pistol and an apparently calm Hasnat Reza Karim having a conversation with an armed terrorist on the roof of Holey Artisan Bakery have deepened confusion about the role of the two “hostages” in the July 1 terror assault.

The pictures show attacker Rohan Imtiaz, an AK-22 rifle dangling from his neck, talking to Hasnat and Tahmid. Rohan was killed during rescue operation Thunderbolt that took place early on the morning of July 2.

The Dhaka Tribune could not independently verify the source of the images that have been widely circulated in the media.

That the body language of the two “hostages” does not display the fear one would expect in such a situation has been described by some as problematic.

Moreover, Rohan Imtiaz does not appear as menacing with the pair as witnesses have described him. Witnesses have said Rohan summarily executed a foreign victim brought out of hiding, besides participating in the carnage at the restaurant, before ordering the

Hasnat Reza Karim (in white polo shirt), Tahmid Hasib Khan (in darker T-shirt) and Rohan Imtiaz (with an AK-22 hanging around the neck) are seen engaged in a conversation on the roof of Holey Artisan Bakery on July 2 morning PHOTOS: COLLECTED

Five financiers behind terror attacks identified n Mohammad Jamil Khan

Militants are also receiving funds from some expatriate Bangladeshis through hundi

Investigating officers dealing with the Gulshan and Sholakia terror attacks have primarily identified five businesspersons for financing a new JMB group in carrying out operations and are now trying to arrest them.

They have also kept under watch some people inside the country and abroad who had funded some militant groups earlier.

The militants are also collecting money themselves by conducting robbery and mugging, the law enforcers say.

“The militants have created a network of financiers inside the country. They are also receiving funds from some expatriate Bangladeshis through hundi [an illegal channel],” a highly-placed source in a law enforcement agency told the Dhaka Tribune.

The official confirmed that they had got identities of the five busi-

nesspersons, but refused to disclose the names as they are now scrutinising the evidence.

Monirul Islam, chief of Counter-Terrorism and Transnational Crime (CTTC) unit, told the Dhaka Tribune yesterday that they had got some crucial information and evidence regarding the Holey Artisan Bakery attack, and the specific role of some persons behind it.

Around six months back, detectives came to know about a militant receiving around Tk38 lakh from one of his relatives staying abroad through hundi. The militant who was later arrested by the police claimed that he had been asked to give it to another person.

In investigation, it was later found that the sender was a militant financier, and for this, the law enforcers have kept the family members under surveillance.

An official working with militant financing for a long period said that  PAGE 2 COLUMN 3

staff to prepare a meal.

By themselves, the photos present no hard evidence that links Hasnat or Tahmid directly to the attackers.

Police initially said Hasnat and Tahmid were among the 34 hostages who survived the terror attack on the upmarket eatery in the heart of Dhaka’s diplomatic zone. The attackers released them moments before commandos broke into the restaurant to end the 11-hour siege.

Quoting witnesses, the New York Times on July 8 reported that Tahmid had been forced by the attackers to carry a gun.

It reported: “At one point, the attackers directed Mr [Tahmid Hasib] Khan to carry a gun and go with them to the roof of the restaurant, the hostages said. They said Mr Khan resisted, and to persuade him to hold the weapon the attackers fired it to show him its magazine was empty. Mr Khan broke down in tears at their insistence he take the gun, one of the hostages said, but reluctantly complied.”

Another report by Guernica magazine, which also quoted a hostage, on August 5 said the gunmen forced Tahmid to hold an unloaded gun during the night and took  PAGE 2 COLUMN 5

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MONDAY, AUGUST 8, 2016

Police raiding places to arrest Tamim, Zia n Arifur Rahman Rabbi The law enforcers are getting information from people about Tamim Ahmed Chowdhury and sacked Maj Syed Ziaul Haque after they announced Tk20 lakh bounty on each of the duo, believed to be behind the series of militant attacks including the Gulshan carnage.

“Many people have given us information about the duo. We have launched drives scrutinising the information in different areas. But they could not be arrested,” DMP Additional Commissioner and chief

of Counter-Terrorism and Transnational Crime (CTTC) unit Monirul Islam said yesterday.

“We have found a few dens where Tamim and Zia stayed for some time. But they managed to flee those houses evading arrest. Raids to arrest them are on,” he added.

No one has been arrested in the murder case though the law enforcers have questioned a number of suspects and witnesses including police officers in the last one month. The investigators detained six to seven persons under section 54 on suspicion and interrogated

them in remand.

“If Hasnat Reza Karim and Tahmid Hasib Khan provide any solid information which proves their involvement in the attack, they will be shown arrested in case,” Monirul said without giving the exact number of persons questioned so far.

Hasnat and Tahmid were arrested on August 3 and later put on eight-day remand for their dubious role during the hostage crisis. They were questioned for several days in custody after their release minutes before the joint operation was launched on July 2 morning that

killed five militants and a chef.

Twenty-two people including 17 foreigners and two police officers were killed and dozens others injured in the attack. Police say a new faction of banned militant outfit Jama’atul Mujahideen Bangladesh carried out the dreadful attack.

The law enforcers are also cross matching some photos and video clips of the duo with the attackers at the Holey Artisan Bakery that have created hype.

Meanwhile, Monirul urged reporters to contact with the investigation officer before publishing “so-

called investigative reports” as they may create misunderstandings.

“We hope good sense will prevail.”

He also asked people to provide the law enforcers with photos, videos and any other evidence they come across. “We have already got a lot of pictures.”

The official claimed that they had made significant progress in the investigation. “We have identified the possible planners, financiers, arms suppliers and trainers of the militants. We will inform the media if anyone is arrested,” he said. l

President, PM pay tributes to Bangamata n BSS President M Abdul H a m i d and Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina yesterday paid tributes to Bangamata Sheikh Fazilatunnesa Mujib, wife of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, on her 86th birth anniversary.

They offered prayers and recalled her huge contributions to the Bangali nationalist campaign and struggle for independence behind the scene.

Fazilatunnesa Mujib was born on August 8, 1930 at Tungipara vil-

lage in Gopalganj.

She was assassinated on the night of August 15, 1975 along with Bangabandhu and most of her family.

Hamid said: “Begum Mujib’s boundless sacrifice, compassion, cooperation and wisdom earned her the status of Bangamata while her principles would inspire the nation for ages to come as she used to lead a very simple life without the trappings of wealth and power.

In her message, Sheikh Hasina said: “Bangamata was a competent and faithful companion to Bangabandhu in the struggle for the rights of Bangalis,” and this great woman had made remarkable contributions to the political success of Bangabandhu.

“She played a big role in the sixpoint and 11-point movements and her contribution in the struggle for liberation would be remembered forever,” she said. l

MPs want better security at rail stations n Mohammad Al-Masum Molla The parliamentary standing committee on Railway Ministry has recommended that luggage and body scanners be set up in all railway stations in Bangladesh.

The JS watchdog also suggested to strengthen the security system of the railway for the safety of the railway and its passengers at a meeting yesterday.

“The committee discussed the issue earlier. We have suggested that security systems be put in place in railway stations, just like airports.

That is why we recommended luggage and body scanners,” ABM Fazle Karim Chowdhury, chairman of the committee, said.

The committee urged the min-

istry to implement the decisions urgently.

According to the meeting minutes, luggage scanner machines and body scanners will be set up in Dhaka, Chittagong and other important railway stations but the move depended on necessary fund allocation.

A press release said the watchdog had recommended that the ministry sit down for discussions with the mayors of Dhaka to collect the arrears of the rent of Dhaka city corporation markets, which are established on railway property.

In 1984, Dhaka city corporation took some land in lease in Bangabazar area and Bangladesh Railway is owed around Tk20 crore as rent from this. l

Outgoing Vietnamese Ambassador in Dhaka, Nguyen Quang Thue, meets with Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina at her office yesterday BSS

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1

Five financiers identified the local militants get huge sum of money from abroad, but it does not reach the attackers or the field-level members. Those members are taught to lead a life with low financial support and asked to spend money for buying arms.

Abdul Mannan, additional deputy commissioner of the CTTC unit, said that interrogating Rakibul Hasan alias Rigan, the lone survivor in Kallyanpur raid, they had learnt that the group’s “Big Brother” used to visit the flat to give them money for buying daily commodities and supply the arms and explosives.

DB police arrested RMG owners Rahat and Azmir from Mymensingh’s Trishal in 2014. Rahat had a factory at Kallyanpur and Azmir at Satarkul of Badda in Dhaka. Moreover, Rapid Action Battalion arrested a businessman named Enamul last year from Tongi for funding a Chittagong-based militant group.

Although, these militant finan-

ciers are now in jail, the investigators have kept an eye on their associates and relatives.

The suspected mastermind behind the Gulshan and Sholakia attacks, Tamim Ahmed Chowdhury, used to stay in Canada and might have developed a network of financiers abroad before coming to Bangladesh in 2013.

Sanowar Hossain, additional deputy commissioner of the CTTC unit, said that banned militant outfit Jama’atul Mujahideen Bangladesh (JMB) had been trying to raise funds by themselves for the last two years by conducting criminal activities including robbery and mugging.

“We have found that the new JMB faction has collected funds by conducting robbery at a bank in Ashulia area, and snatching away Tk65 lakh in Narayanganj and Tk37 lakh in Gaibandha. They were also involved in several snatching incidents in Chittagong,” Sanowar added. l

Hasnat-Tahmid photos deepen confusion him upstairs with Hasnat.

“The purpose appears to have been to use [Tahmid] Khan as a human shield in case the police tried to shoot the attackers,” it stated.

On Wednesday, police said they had arrested Hasnat and Tahmid for their “dubious roles” during the horrific attack.

The families of the two men have repeatedly claimed that Tahmid and Hasnat had not returned home since their detention after the rescue on July 2.

Hasnat, a former North South University teacher, is a UK citizen while Tahmid, a Canadian residence permit holder, studies at the University of Toronto.

A Dhaka court on August 4 placed the two on an eight-day interrogation by investigators. l

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MONDAY, AUGUST 8, 2016

Eviction drive: Stamford College told to move in a month n Abu Hayat Mahmud

A mobile court of the Rajdhani Unnayan Kartripakkha (Rajuk) yesterday gave Stamford College one month notice to relocate its campus from the residential part of Dhanmondi.

Rajuk Executive Magistrate Md Nasir Uddin gave the order during Rajuk’s month-long special eviction drive against unauthorised businesses and establishments.

“We have given them a month to relocate the college. They were using the residential building for commercial purpose,” said Nasir Uddin.

Stamford college campus is on road 9/A of Dhanmondi residential area.

Plot owner Md Moin Uddin Ali Molla said they have informed the college authorities to relocate within a month.

The Rajuk magistrate also asked Moin to close three shops and a community centre named Sayeedana in front of the residential plot.

Moin Uddin is also owner of the community centre showed Rajuk officials a renewed trade license approved by Dhaka South City Corporation (DNCC) in July, 2016.

Then Rajuk magistrate took a copy of the renewed trade license and said they will inform higher authorities about the matter.

The mobile court fined KFC on Satmasjid Road, Dhanmondi Tk2 lakh for not having a parking lot in front of their restaurant, violating Building Construction Act 1952.

The fast food restaurant was warned of eviction if it does not arrange a parking space as soon as possible, said Rajuk Officer Zone-5 [Dhanmondi-Lalbagh] Mohammad Shafiul Hannan.

Transcom Food Limited General Manager Shamim Mia told the Rajuk mobile court that they will contact with the building owner and arrange a parking space immediately.

The mobile court then went at United International University (UIU) and shut down it’s gymnasium which was built on a parking space.

This violates the Building Construction Act 1952 and UIU has been fined Tk3 by the mobile team.

Earlier, the eviction team also demolished an one-storey shop on road 9/A which was an extended part of an under construction multi-storey building on road 10/A. l

Observing the first death anniversary of blogger Niloy Neel, free thinkers gather in Shahbagh, Dhaka yesterday to demand justice for the slain blogger who was hacked to death by militants inside his home SYED ZAKIR HOSSAIN

BB HEIST

No probe report before money is returned n Asif Showkat Kallol

The government has decided not to make the central bank’s heist probe report public for the time being as it thinks the published report might affect the recovery of money from the Philippine authorities.

Heist money recovery by Philippines may stop if the sensitive information in the report is made public, central bank officials said.

Finance Minister AMA Muhith told Dhaka Tribune yesterday at his secretariat office: “This issue is not in my attention right now.”

He refused to elaborate any further.

In reply to a question, he said Bangladesh Bank officials who were involved in the foreign reserve heist would not be able to escape prosecution.

A Bangladesh Bank official asking not to be named said: “Bangladesh Bank is yet to take any action against them as there is no directive from the Bank and Financial Institutions Division.”

“We are waiting for directives from the bank division to take ac-

tion against them,” the official said.

Sources in Bangladesh Bank said the authorities have only transferred the suspected officials from their posts.

We are waiting for directives from the bank division to take action A bank division official said Philippine central bank may backtrack from its effort to recover Bangladesh Bank’s stolen money if the identities of two officials who are allegedly involved in the reserve heist according to the Farasuddin report are disclosed.

The central bank recently requested Finance Minister AMA Muhith not to make the report public on the grounds that it could make the recovery efforts difficult, the official said.

A central bank team is now in Manila and is making desperate efforts to recover the stolen $81 million.

On Friday, Bangladesh ambassador to the Philippines John Gomes told the local media that Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte had promised to return $81 million to Bangladesh and the Bangladesh Bank team is in Manila to speed up recovery of $15 million of the stolen money.

Suspected cyber criminals transferred the stolen funds to four accounts with Manila’s Rizal Commercial Banking Corp, which was then laundered through casinos.

Last March, the finance division instituted a three-member investigation led by former central bank governor Mohammad Farashuddin into $101 million heist from central bank’s account with New York Federal Reserve in February. After receiving the probe report on May 30, the finance minister said it would be made public within a short time.

On July 22, Muhith announced again that the probe report would be made public after Eid. Farashuddin told media that the probe committee strongly recommended making the findings public.

The reserve heist shook the

central bank and made headlines in local and international media for the last eight months. It forced the governor, economist Atiur Rahman, to step down for his failure to immediately inform the Finance Ministry about the matter.

Two deputy governors of the central bank -Abul Quasem and Nazneen Sultana - lost their jobs over the issue and bank division Secretary M Aslam Alam was made officer on special duty, a non-active position, and has not been reassigned since.

The probe committee found involvement of seven of Bangladesh Bank officials with the heist. It recommended departmental as well as legal action against them.

But the central bank has only transferred the some of the officials whose names have come up. The probe committee found that the systems of the Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication (SWIFT) and the US Fed were ‘compromised’. The report also asked the government to coordinate its efforts with international agencies to recover the fund. l

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MONDAY, AUGUST 8, 2016

Govt trying to bring back Bangabandhu killers n Sheikh Shahariar Zaman The government has been engaging with the United States and Canada to bring back several killers of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, the state minister for foreign affairs has said.

Talking to journalists at his office yesterday, Mohammad Shahriar Alam did not name any of the killers, but said that although the

government was not sure about the whereabouts of two or three killers – more than one killer was residing each in the US and Canada.

The same state minister, after a meeting with US Ambassador Marcia Bernicat on August 13 last year, had said that the envoy told him that Rashed Chowdhury, one of the absconding killers of Bangabandhu, got political asylum in the US. Bangabandhu’s absconding kill-

ers are Khandkar Abdur Rashid, Shariful Haque Dalim, Noor Chowdhury, Moslehuddin Khan, Abdul Mazed and M Rashed Chowdhury.

Out of them, Noor Chowdhury is in Canada and many believe that Moslehuddin Khan is hiding in the US. The state minister, without naming any name, said one of the killers was refused political asylum in one country but due to complexity over death penalty, it was a big

challenge to bring him back.

Noor was denied political asylum in Canada but the country refused to send him back due to complexity over death penalty.

Meanwhile, after a meeting with the foreign secretary yesterday, the US ambassador said: “That is really a complex issue for our Department of Justice. I do not really know if everyone can confirm that these two individuals’ [Rashed Chowd-

hury and Moslehuddin Khan] presence in the US. But that is part of our ongoing discussion and again up to the Department of Justice. We hope to close the chapter certainly.”

On August 15, 1975, the then president Bangabandhu was killed with his family members in Dhaka.

Twelve were found guilty for the murders and five of them have been hanged. One killer, Aziz Pasha, died a natural death in Zimbabwe. l

Shahriar: Amendment to laws, if necessary, for better security n UNB

The government will bring minor changes, if needed, in the existing laws and rules, to further boost security for diplomats, diplomatic premises and foreign nationals.

“The government will bring about minor amendments to the existing laws and other rules, if necessary, through discussions and further scrutiny,” State Minister for Foreign Affairs M Shahriar Alam told reporters yesterday.

The task force on security of diplomats and diplomatic premises in its first meeting on Thursday recommended some “new measures” to strengthen the security of foreign diplomats, diplomatic premises and the officials of diplomatic missions.

The State Minister, however, said he cannot share the measures “specifically” with the media until those are fully implemented. “The key purpose is to boost security further.”

Shahriar said the taskforce, led

by Foreign Minister AH Mahmood Ali, will continue to discuss the issues in the coming meetings.

Responding to a question, he said it is totally wrong that foreigners are leaving Bangladesh after the July 1 attack.

Sharing immigration department’s data, Shahriar said on average some 1,000 persons go abroad every day, while 1500-2000 persons arrive here from abroad each day.

He, however, said the trend of incoming visitors is a bit low as summer vacation is going on. “If the trend continues even after the summer vacation in August-end or first week of September, then only we can say people are cancelling their visits.”

The State Minister said the trend will become normal if the current improved law and order situation can be maintained. l

Visitors yesterday take a look around plants and saplings on display at the month-long tree fair being held in Sher-e-Bangla Nagar, Dhaka

RAJIB DHAR

Indian team leaving without rescuing the wild elephant n Abu Bakar Siddique The three-member Indian expert team arrived in Bangladesh to bring back the stray wild elephant will be leaving in a day or two, leaving the poor animal behind.

Confirming the news, Deputy Conservator of Forest Shahab Uddin told the Dhaka Tribune that the team has already returned to Dhaka on Sunday day evening, after failing to tranqulise the elephant despite repeated efforts, both by Bangladesh forest officials and the Indian expert team for the last three days.

“We have been trying to tran-

quilise the elephant by riding on another elephant to get closer but he keeps attacking that elephant,” said veterinary surgeon Syed Hossain from the rescue team.

He added: “After being repeatedly attacked on Saturday, the tame elephant refused to go closer to the wild elephant.”

Currently the elephant has been roaming around Harirampur Char at Madarganj upazilla of Jamalpur district.

Forest department specialist, also former Conservator of Forest Tapan Kumer Dey, Shahab Uddin are keeping a close eye on the ele-

phant for now.

The Indian team of experts, consists of retired Conservator of Forests of Assam Rithesh Bhattacharjee, Divisional Forest Officer(Goalpara) Assam Chowdhuri Solmon Uddin and Veterinary Science Professor Swarma Khushal Konowar, arrived arrived in Dhaka on Wednesday and travelled to Jamalpur on Thursday to lead the rescue operation.

In addition, a 17-member technical team, including a veterinary surgeon Syed Hossain has been stationed at the spot.

The rescue operation has been

conducted with tranquiliser guns, drugs, ropes, elephant trainer, food and necessary transport facilities.

Once the elephant is tranquilised, he will be transported on a truck, the surgeon also said that the elephant might be taken to Bangabandhu Safari Park, Gazipur or Gozni forest in Sherpur depending on the situation before he is sent back to India.

On his journey from Rowmari to Kazipur, the elephant has been spotted on the chars of five different districts, Kurigram, Gaibandha, Jamalpur, Bogra and Sirajganj in the last one month. l

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MONDAY, AUGUST 8, 2016

Charge sheet pressed against eight in Kunio Hoshi killing case n Liakat Ali Badal, Rangpur

Women in Kurigram’s flood-affected areas queue up to receive relief materials brought to them by activists of Gonojagoron Moncho yesterday

DHAKA TRIBUNE

TIB study: People have little faith in ACC n Nure Alam Durjoy A new report by the Bangladesh chapter of global anti-corruption watchdog Transparency International states that common people have little faith in the Anti-Corruption Commission.

“The most critical part that the ACC must concentrate on is to create a positive impression of its effectiveness among the common people. According to many, the ACC is not effective till now,” it says.

People’s perception on the ACC’s impartiality in handling similar kinds of cases is also not very positive, says the report “Anti-Corruption Agency Strengthening Initiative: Assessment of the Bangladesh Anti-Corruption Agency 2016.” It was published yesterday at a press conference held at Midas Centre in Dhaka.

Conducted between November and April on the activities of the ACC from 2013 to 2015, the survey found that the ACC has scored 61.22% in total.

However, the ACC tops its score on legal independence and status which is 78.57%. But the score on public perception of the ACC's ef-

TEMPERATURE FORECAST FOR TODAY

THUNDERSHOWER WITH RAIN MONDAY, AUGUST 8

trend of monetary allocation, it is inadequate.

Key informants from both within and outside the ACC mentioned that the absence of ACC offices with necessary human and other resources in most of the districts jeopardises the anti-corruption activities on many fronts.

At the end of the report, TIB put forward 11-point recommendations focusing enhanced budget for the ACC, review of the ACC's organogram, increasing transparency in appointment of commissioners, digitalisation of the complaint system, taking measures to increase the conviction rate, enhancing drive for asset recovery, long-term comprehensive strategic plan, increasing cooperation with other integrity agencies and enhancing public confidence.

Among others, the press conference was addressed by TIB Trustee Board Chairperson Sultana Kamal and Executive Director Dr Iftekharuzzaman.

Dr Iftekhar said that the ACC needed to act to curb its weakness though the research outcomes are encouraging. It should not apply such laws that would curb its existing independence.

fectiveness is very low – 28.57%.

The report states that the ACC’s full independence and impartiality have been questioned due to its ineffectiveness and exercise of power.

People also think that the appointment process of the its chairman and commissioners should be transparent.

“The concern is that ACC’s operational autonomy is somewhat limited and its activities are not ‘completely’ impartial,” the report states. “It is also perceived that the ACC is not politically neutral as it has not been able to show impartial behaviour in handling corruption cases.”

In some cases, it has been alleged by some experts that the anti-graft body plays partisan role and did not take action against all accused equally. There is a common perception among informants that the government has been using the issue of corruption as a weapon against political opponents or people with different views, and for which it relies on the ACC, according to the report.

Focusing on the ACC's financial and human resources, the TIB states that despite the increasing Dhaka

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“How ACC can be effective depends on the country's transparent and neutral judiciary systems. It also depends on how skilled, neutral and effective the law enforcement agencies are,” he said.

Sultana Kamal observed that the people were frustrated as measures to prevent corruption are meagre while the perpetrators are not brought under trial.

“Thus turmoil prevails in the society resulting in violation of laws, culminating a ground for human rights violation,” she said. “So, despite many other achievements, it is unfortunate that the ACC is unable to gain the people's confidence.” l

Khulna

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PRAYER TIMES

Police yesterday submitted a charge sheet before a Rangpur court framing eight people in Japanese citizen Kunio Hoshi killing case.

Court of Senior Judicial Magistrate Arifur Rahman also excluded five people, including BNP leader Rashedun Nabi Khan Biplab, from the case, as their involvement in the killing was not found during investigation.

Of the accused, Masud Rana, Eshak Ali, Liton Mia and Abu Sayeed Mia are now in police custody while four others – Saddam Hossain Sobuj, Ahsanullah Biplob, Nazrul Islam and Shakhawat alias Shafiq – are absconding. The court issued warrant for the arrest of the four.

Kunio Hoshi, 65, was shot dead in broad daylight by unidentified miscreants in Kachu Alutari area of Kawnia upazila, Rangpur on October 3, 2015.

After his death, top government officials claimed that BNP-Jamaat leaders were involved in the killing.

Police then arrested eight people, including local BNP leader Biplab and Hoshi’s business partner Hia. Biplab, Hira and three Jubo Dal leaders were put on remand several times, but police said they did not find evidence of their involvement.

The killing case has taken on a new dimension after JMB commander Masud Rana, 40, was arrested on December 9, 2015. He made a confessional statement before a Rangpur court saying that he himself shot Kunio.

Later, police arrested another JMB man named Eshak Ali, who also gave confessional statement before a court.

Aftab Hossain, lawyer of Biplab, told the Dhaka Tribune that he would file a defamation case, as his client had to be in prison despite being innocent. l

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Fajr: 4:55am | Zohr: 1:15pm Asr: 5:15pm | Magrib: 6:50pm Esha: 8:45pm Source: Islamic Foundation

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MONDAY, AUGUST 8, 2016

Medical board formed to treat ‘elderly’ child n Abid Azad A medical board has been formed to treat the four-year-old child from Magura who is suffering from the rare disease of Hutchinson-Gilford progeria syndrome (HGPS), a premature ageing in children triggered by genetic disorder.

The child’s parents brought him to Dhaka and admitted him at the National Institute of Burn and Plastic Surgery in Dhaka Medical College Hospital (DMCH) on Saturday morning, his father Lablu Shikdar told the Dhaka Tribune yesterday.

Doctors are now running different tests to determine the best possible course of action in treating

the child.

“It is an extremely rare disease, and this is the first reported case in Bangladesh,” said Dr Samanta Lal Sen, coordinator of the burn institute. “We have formed a medical board of eight members, headed

by Dr Md Abul Kalam, head of the burn institute. They saw the patient in the morning [yesterday] and commissioned several tests.”

HGPS is an extremely rare genetic disorder that results in rapid ageing during childhood. Children suffering this disorder develop “old-age” health complications and are at high risk of heart attack and stroke.

The condition is so rare that

only 1 in about four million live births are reported worldwide.

According to the United States National Institute of Health (NIH), since the disorder was discovered in 1886, around 130 cases of HGPS have been reported around the world so far.

Lablu, his wife Tripti Khatun and their son are natives of Khalia village in Magura’s Mohammadpur upazila.

“We had no idea what our son was afflicted with,” said Lablu, who paints houses to earn a living.

“Since he was born, we took him to many doctors and kabiraj [village quacks], who said there was no cure. None of them suggested that

we bring him to Dhaka.”

The desperate parents admitted their child at Magura Sadar Hospital, where a doctor gave the impoverished family money to bring their child to Dhaka.

Speaking to the Dhaka Tribune, Tripti, the child’s mother, said her son’s teeth grew when he was nine months old and he learnt to talk when he was around a year old.

“But he was late to walk; he started walking when he was three.”

HGPS does not affect intellectual development or development of motor skills, according to the NIH. Lablu and Tripti asked for the government’s help in their child’s treatment. “Doctors say it is a very

rare disease. We don’t have money to treat our child. We hope the government will help us.”

The government has helped another individual with a rare genetic disorder in the country.

Abul Bajandar, 26, from Khulna, was admitted to the DMCH in January because he was suffering from epidermodysplasia verruciformis, more commonly known as “Tree Man Disease,” which causes scaly growth on hands and feet.

Bajandar has had several surgeries at the DMCH and doctors hope that he would be able to go back to living normally. The government is bearing the cost of his treatment. l

Hornet attack kills mother, 2 daughters in Dinajpur n Bipul Sarker Sunny, Dinajpur

Railway authorities in Chittagong yesterday evict establishments illegally set up on the railway land in Ice Factory Road area under the city RABIN CHOWDHURY

A woman and her two daughters have been killed in a horrific hornet attack in the district’s Birganj upazila.

The victims are Tanjina Akter, 32, and her daughters – Nurjahan, 6, and Farzana.

Tanjina’s 11-month-old daughter Meem, also stung by hornets, is currently being treated at the Rangpur Medical College Hospital.

Nurjahan and her sister Farzana were playing in a bamboo grove near their house at Palashbari union’s Araji Laskarpur on Saturday afternoon.

Locals and police said strong

wind blowing at that time threw a bamboo crashing into the hornets’ nest. The hornets then attacked the sisters.

Their mother rushed out of their house with the toddler in her lap hearing them scream. The two were also stung.

Locals rescued the four and took them to Thakurgaon Sadar Hospital where Farzana and Nurjahan succumbed to their injuries at night, Birganj police OC Abu Akkas Ahmed said.

Tanjina, the mother of three, was transferred to Rangpur Medical College Hospital with her daughter Meem. Tanjina passed away there, the OC added. l

Removal of makeshift dam in Maheshkhali canal demanded Hossain, n Anwar Chittagong The dwellers of the Chittagong city’s Uttar Madhyam and Dakkhin Madhyam areas have demanded immediate removal of a makeshift dam constructed in Maheshkhali canal.

The residents raised the demand after holding a press conference under the banner of ‘Conscious Citizens of CCC Wards No 37 and 38’ at Chittagong Press Club yesterday.

Terming the unplanned dam as a curse for 10 lakh people, Habib Sharif, member secretary of the civic organisation, said: “Chittagong

Port Authority put up the makeshift dam promising to construct a sluice gate in the canal.”

“Many areas of the city go under water during high tide due to the unplanned dam.

Some days back, the patients of Agrabad Maa O Shishu Hospital faced immense suffering as the hospital was inundated by high tide,” said Habib, adding: “The makeshift dam was obstructing the free of canal water and triggering the water congestion.”

We will go for mass contact campaign, collect mass signatures, exchange views with the educational insti-

tutes, religious institutes, political and social organisations to press home our legitimate demand, he continued.

Habib also alleged that the makeshift dam built at a cost of around Tk3 crore was gathering silt and no dredging activities were carried out.

The press conference was attended by former ward councilor Nurul Alam, Shanewaj Chowdhury, SM Abu Taher and Jahur Ahmad, among others.

The people from the press conference also warned of announcing tougher programmes if the dam is not dismantled without delay. l

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MONDAY, AUGUST 8, 2016

JnU students demand construction of halls at the site of Dhaka old jail n Mohammad Jamil Khan Boycotting classes, students of Jagannath University (JnU) staged demonstration yesterday, demanding construction of residential halls at the site of Dhaka’s old central jail.

The students gathered on the campus around 9am and started their demonstrations, putting the main gate of the university under lock and key.

They also vowed to continue agitation if their demands are not fulfilled.

They also demanded naming of halls after Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman and four national leaders – Syed Nazrul Islam, Tajuddin Ahmed, M Mansur Ali and AHM Qamaruzzaman.

The agitators said they were facing many problems, including accommodation and transport.

“We are not enjoying dormitory facilities although 11 years have passed since a college has turned into a university,” said a protestor.

They added this was only public university, which was transformed into Jagannath University in 2005 by passing a bill named Jagannath University Act-2005 in the national parliament, where thousands of students cannot reside in dormitory. Apart from this, the campus area is also very small.

Currently, students are facing various problems in staying at rented houses over the ongoing issue of terrorism and militancy, said the students.

An agitator said: “People do not want to rent their houses to us, as we are bachelors, fearing militancy.”

Md Ohiduzzaman, registrar of the university, said the authorities had sent a letter to the Home Ministry over permanent ownership of the former Dhaka central jail’s land on March 23, 2014.

In the letter, JnU authorities mentioned that the land of the central jail, after shifting the prisoners, could be used for building residential halls to solve the housing crisis of the students.

Over 6,000 prisoners of Dhaka Central Jail were shifted to the newly constructed jail in Keraniganj on July 29, 2016.

Nur Mohammad, proctor of the

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university, said: “We are talking to the students to solve the issue peacefully. We have urged them to be calm, as August is the month of mourning.”

“August 7, 2016, we had contacted with registrar department over the land but they did not say anything yet,” he added.

Addition police have been deployed in and around of the campus to avoid any unpleasant incident over the issue, said Officer-in-Charge of Kotwali police station Abu Bakr Siddique.

In 2014, students of the university staged demonstration on the campus for several days, demanding measures to recover dormitories of the university grabbed by influential quarters. l

1,225 cases filed for violating traffic rules n Anwar Hussain, Chittagong Chittagong Metropolitan Police (CMP) filed a total of 1225 cases for violating traffic rules in the city in last 24 hours.

Of them, 486 cases were filed against CNG-run auto-rickshaws, said CMP sources.

A total of 75 vehicles were seized for not having any valid documents. Of the seized vehicles, 17 were CNG-run auto-rickshaws.

CMP has conducted the drive against errant CNG-run auto-rickshaws plying in the city recently.

During the drive, legal actions were taken against unregistered and fitness-less CNG auto-rickshaws. Besides, CNG auto-rickshaws plying illegally without installing metres were also sued. l

Owner of coffee shop found dead in Chittagong Mizanur Rahaman, n FM Chittagong Police recovered decomposed body of a youth in a coffee shop of Chittagong city’s New Market area yesterday morning.

Shahjalal Farhad, 22, son of Saleh Ahmed Patowari in Feni, was the owner of the coffee shop.

Inspector of Kotwali police station Nur Ahmed said on receiving information, they recovered the body of Farhad from Bismillah Coffee Shop situated on the third floor of Jalsha Market around 12:30pm.

The OC said he might have been killed two or three days back.

Raihan, younger brother of the deceased, told the Dhaka Tribune that his brother had remained missing since Saturday morning.

“I tried to call him, but his phone was switched off. Then, I went to his shop which was also under lock and key. Later, taking duplicate key from my sister, I opened the door and found his body,” said Farhad.

The body was bore several injuries marks and his head was thrashed from back, said Inspector Nur Ahmed, adding that the body was sent to Chittagong Medical College Hospital for a post-mortem examination.

The Criminal Investigation Department officials examined the spot and collected evidences. l

After an altercation with Bangdesh Border Guard members over a diputed land near the Padma River under Srirampur, authorities of Rajshahi Central Jail erect flags on the land yesterday AZAHAR UDDIN

Suspected criminal killed in Rajshahi ‘gunfight’ n Abdullah Al Dulal, Rajshahi A suspected criminal was killed in a ‘gunfight’ between his gang members and police at Jowanbhag village in Bagmara upazila early Sunday.

Identity of the deceased could not be known immediately.

Officer-in-charge of Bagmara police station Selim Hossain said a team of police informed of the presence of a gang of criminals conducted a drive in the area at about 300am.

Sensing the presence of the law enforcers, the gang members opened fire on them, forcing police to fire

back that triggered a gun battle.

One of the gang members was caught in the line of fire and died on the spot while his associates managed to flee the scene, said the OC. Police recovered the body and sent it to Rajshahi Medical College Hospital morgue for an autopsy.

The law enforcers also recovered

one pistol, 20 hand bombs, Jihadi books and some sharp weapons.

Rajshahi Police Super Moazzem Hossain said six members of the RAB were bullet-injured during the gunfight.

On August 2, A youth was killed in a gunfight in Rajshahi city’s Ashraf intersection. l

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SOUTH ASIA

IS claims capture of US weapons in Afghanistan Militants linked to Islamic State have released photos that purport to show weapons and equipment that belonged to American soldiers and were captured by the group in eastern Afghanistan. The photos, which came to light on Saturday, show an American portable rocket launcher, radio, grenades as well as close up views of identification cards for a US army soldier.

-REUTERS

INDIA

3 killed in Mumbai building collapse, 10 more trapped 3 people were killed when a dilapidated building, which had been served many evacuation notices earlier, collapsed in Bhiwandi early on Sunday morning. Emergency workers were using mechanical diggers and other equipment to remove slabs of concrete and mud, but police said there was little hope of finding the family including three children alive.

-HT

CHINA

China opens South China Sea website China on Wednesday opened a website on the South China Sea, complete with historical maps, articles and research, according to the State Oceanic Administration. Run by the National Marine Data & Information Service, the Chinese language site has 10 sections that cover basic information, news, historical archives, development and management, expert opinion, law and regulations, a timeline of major events, pictures and videos and Q&A. -XINHUA

ASIA PACIFIC

Thailand accepts militarybacked constitution Thailand on Sunday voted to accept a military-backed constitution, results based on 80% of votes counted showed. Results from the country’s Election Commission show 62% of the country voted for the charter while 37.9% rejected it.

The vote paves the way for a general election in 2017 but requires future governments to rule on the military’s terms.

-REUTERS

MIDDLE EAST

Iran executes nuclear scientist for spying for US Iran has executed an Iranian nuclear scientist named Shahram Amiri who was detained in 2010 when he returned home from the US, after a court convicted him of spying for Washington. A court had sentenced Amiri to death and later the sentence had been upheld

by Iran’s Supreme court. -REUTERS

INSIGHT

Appointment of Boko Haram leader exposes divisions in Nigerian group n Reuters, Abuja

BOKO HARAM LEADER ABU BAKAR SHEKAU

Boko Haram’s appointment of a new leader and his apparent rejection by the group’s figurehead exposes wide divisions among the Nigerian jihadists as they come under pressure from the country’s military.

The promotion of Abu Musab al-Barnawi, who is thought to favour more targeted attacks than the wholesale violence of figurehead Abubakar Shekau, was announced in the weekly magazine of Islamic State. Boko Haram, which has regularly staged suicide bombings in crowded areas, pledged loyalty to IS last year.

But Shekau appears to have rejected the new role of al-Barnawi, who experts say has been the group’s military commander and has also been on the radar for months as head of a faction favouring attacks on the Nigerian military.

In a 10-minute audio clip on social media, a person purporting to be Shekau laid bare internal divisions by criticising al-Barnawi’s reported view that Muslims can live among non-Muslims without taking up arms.

“I am against the principle where someone will dwell in the society with the infidels without making public his opposition or anger against infidels,” Shekau said in the local Hausa language.

“Anyone doing such can’t be a real Muslim thick and thin.”

Al-Barnawi’s splinter group is based northeast of Maiduguri, the provincial capital of northeast Nigeria’s Borno state and the epicentre of Boko Haram’s seven-year armed attempt to create a regional Islamic caliphate, one Western security source said.

From there, it has been better-placed geographically to cultivate links across the Sahara with the Libyan arm of IS although the extent of direct practical ties between the two groups is not clear.

Many experts say that the links are largely symbolic.

In the past, Shekau has appeared in propaganda videos draped in ammunition belts and brandishing automatic weapons as he spouted vitriol against Nigeria and the West.

His absence from any such videos since March has sparked speculation he has been wounded, is seriously ill or may even have died.

Limiting himself to an audio

1965, 1969 or 1975 Born in Yobe state, Nigeria

From 2000

Studies theology in Maidururi, Meets Boko Haram chief Mohammed Yusuf

WHO IS ABU MUSAB AL-BARNAWI?

2009 Yusuf killed, Shekau

takes over the group

April 2011

Launches attacks on schools and churches, strikes at the UN headquarters in Abuja

January 2012 Leads a war against Christians in Nigeria and the country’s president Goodluck Jonathan

24 March 2014

2 October Video released showing Shekau ‘alive’

Organises a break-out of 2,000 prisoners in the town of Giwa 14 April More than 200 school girls kidnapped

24 September

Nigerian army says Shekau is dead

clip is likely to fuel suspicions of Shekau’s reduced physical or operational capacity from the wilds of the northeast’s Sambisa forest, where he has been penned in by the Nigerian army.

Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari, a former military ruler, took office last year on a campaign platform to wipe out the group.

“Shekau and his clique remain in Sambisa, where they are under a lot of pressure from the Nigerian military push against Boko Haram,” the security source said. “It’s not existential yet but they haven’t got as much freedom of movement as they did.”

Fading group

Boko Haram, whose name loosely means ‘Western education is sinful’ in Hausa, has suffered a dramatic decline in fortunes from 18 months ago when it controlled an area the size of Belgium and had Nigeria’s military on the back foot.

Under Shekau, Boko Haram killed more than 15,000 people, displaced more than two million and attained worldwide infamy with the kidnapping of more than 200 schoolgirls from the town of Chibok in April 2014.

However since early 2015 it has suffered numerous defeats at the hands of the Nigerian, Cameroonian, Nigerien and Chadian mili-

Sources: State dDepartment, CTC, USMA

taries acting either individually or as part of a coordinated regional force.

Nigerian military spokesman Rabe Abubakar said the latest Boko Haram’s leadership revelations were of “no relevance”.

“We are just focussed on clearing the remnants of the insurgents that are scattered around,” he said. The leadership struggles were “the antics of a fading group”, he added.

In the interview with IS’s al-Naba magazine, al-Barnawi said Boko Haram was “still a force to be reckoned with” and that it had been receiving new recruits.

The splinter group’s modus operandi appears to be targeting the Nigerian military rather than civilians.

That is in contrast to the bomb attacks on busy public places such as markets, mosques and camps for internally displaced people (IDP) that have typified its approach in northeast Nigeria, Niger and Cameroon over the last year.

“Under the Shekau reasoning, it is permissible to kill IDPs in camps,” said Fulan Nasrullah, a security analyst based in northern Nigeria. Such action was not sanctioned by the IS-approved faction, he added.

But despite its set-backs, Shekau’s supporters remained the largest part of the group, Nasrullah said. l

Little is known about Abu Mus’ab al-Barnawi, who appeared in a Boko Haram video in January 2015 as the group’s spokesman He wore a turban and his face was blurred out and it was filmed as a sit-down studio interview Unlike Abubakar Shekau his delivery in the Hausa language was considered and softly spoken Shekau was often filmed in the open, surrounded by fighters, loudly proclaiming his threats, victories and giving rambling ideological lectures. However, Barnawi pulled no punches, warning that towns which resisted Boko Haram in its mission to create an Islamic state would be flattened He also spoke of being against democracy and foreign education In his most recent magazine interview, he again objected to the name Boko Haram, by which local people call the group, as it means “Western education is forbidden” in Hausa He maintained IS was still strong in the region and promised to continue fighting West African governments.

WHY WAS SHEKAU REPLACED? Ü In 2015, rumours spread that Shekau had been killed or replaced as the leader has not made a verified video appeareance for the past year. The rumours could undermine the group’s operation and loyalty of other cells. Ü Shekau is known for preferring Boko Haram’s autonomy from foreign jihadist groups. Ü The fact that some Boko Haram members left the group to form other splinters has cast doubt over Shekau’s leadership.

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MONDAY, AUGUST 8, 2016

Anti-social media, online chats foil Singapore rocket attack plan n Reuters, Batam, Indonesia It was social media chatter that gave him away. Changing his profile picture on the LINE messaging app to a banner pledging “Indonesian support and solidarity for IS” probably didn’t help.

Had it not been for all that, Gigih Rahmat Dewa’s plot to launch a rocket attack on the citystate of Singapore from a nearby Indonesian island might never have been uncovered.

Gigih, 31, and 5 accomplices were arrested on Batam island on Friday after an investigation that showed how much Indonesia’s Islamist militants now rely on social media, including with a Syria-based Islamic State jihadi who allegedly directed them to stage attacks.

It also underlined how militants in the world’s most populous Muslim nation, once tight-knit under the Jemaah Islamiah group and internally focused, are splintering into smaller gangs loosely linked to Islamic State with increasingly regional ambitions.

“The men in Batam seem to have been radicalised over social media, specifically using Facebook, rather than directly,” said police spokesman Boy Rafli Amar.

“They have been in communi-

Indonesian anti-terror police carry a bag containing a suspected firearm and other evidence from a building during a raid in Batam on August 5 REUTERS cation with Bahrum Naim in Syria. It looks like he sent funds and instructions to them,” he added, referring to the suspected mastermind of the Singapore plot who left Indonesia in 2015 to join the frontlines of Islamic State.

Facebook posts

Jakarta-based security analyst Sidney Jones said Naim, the Syria-based militant, appeared to be using virtually every available form of social media to reach as wide an audience as possible, making it difficult for counter-terrorist forces to track his followers.

In a blog post after the coor-

dinated attacks on Paris last November, Naim urged his Indonesian audience to learn from that assault and explained how it was easy to move jihad from “guerilla warfare” in Indonesia’s equatorial jungles to a city.

Just last month Indonesian security forces killed their most-wanted militant, Santoso, who had been hiding in a jungle.

But analysts say he posed a far smaller threat than the cells of Islamists quietly growing in urban areas of the main island, Java.

Experts say a rocket attack on Singapore from a nearby island is feasible, but police found only a

stash of bomb-making material, firearms and arrows during their search of the ringleader’s home.

It could be that Indonesia’s would-be jihadis are no more capable of sophisticated strikes than they were in January when a gun and bomb attack by four militants in the heart of the capital, Jakarta, was quickly snuffed out.

Last month a suicide bomber on a motorcycle tried to attack a police station in the city of Solo on Java island, but managed to kill only himself and wound a police officer.

According to police spokesman Amar, investigators had drawn connections between January’s attack in Jakarta and the botched suicide bombing in Solo.

He said the Batam group had been acting as an agent for Indonesians who wanted to go and fight with Islamic State in Syria and Iraq, and for militants from China’s ethnic Uighur Muslim minority who wanted to enter Indonesia.

But it was Facebook posts that gave them the breakthrough on the plot to hit Singapore.

“Their terrorist action plans were in Facebook,” he said, without giving detail. “They didn’t announce it but they were discussing it - communicating on social media between all the members.” l

STOP PRESS

Last 2 journos leave London’s historic Fleet Street n Reuters, London Three decades after media mogul Rupert Murdoch instigated its demise as the centuries-old home of Britain’s newspaper industry, London’s Fleet Street bade farewell on Friday to its last two journalists.

Known as the “Street of Shame”, Fleet Street once housed thousands of reporters, editors and printers working for the country’s biggest national papers as well as international and provincial publications.

While the British press is still collectively known as “Fleet Street”, from Friday there will no longer be any working journalists there after the Scottish-based Sunday Post newspaper closed its London operation.

“It’s a far sadder day for journalism than it is for me personally,” said Darryl Smith, 43, one of the street’s last two “hacks”.

“Journalism is no more in Fleet Street.”

The thoroughfare became synonymous with publishing from 1500 when Wynkyn de Worde

established a printing press. The first daily newspaper, the Daily Courant, launched in 1702.

In the shadow of St Paul’s Cathedral, the street was ideally located for journalists, being in walking distance of the city’s financial district, the Royal Courts of Justice and politicians in Westminster.

“Anyone interested in journalism and mass newspapers realises that Fleet Street is the heart of it all,” said Murdoch when he bought the News of the World tabloid in 1969.

However, he was at the heart of its decline when in 1986 he moved his newspaper stable, which by then also included the Times and Sunday Times broadsheets and the Sun tabloid, to a new purpose-built operation in east London, where new technology replaced the hot metal printing presses.

Within three years, all other national newspapers had followed anxious to cut costs in an industry now decimated by the growth of the internet. Journalists have long

A road sign is displayed on a building in Fleet Street in London departed the old Reuters headquarters at number 85, now the site of a smart restaurant.

Nowadays the street that once echoed to the sounds of clattering typewriters is the haunt of bankers and accountants; the Art Deco building that once housed the Daily Express is now home to Goldman Sachs.

“It’s mainly bankers now,” Smith said. “I’m not even sure that people here now know the history.”

He began working on Fleet Street at 18, lured by its famous past, and once berated a tour guide on a sightseeing bus who had in-

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REUTERS

formed passengers it was no longer the home of British journalism.

“I leaned out the window and shouted ‘we are still here’,” he said.

His fellow departing Sunday Post colleague Gavin Sherriff, 54, began working at the paper in Fleet Street 32 years ago when it was still in its heyday, rising from editorial assistant to become London chief reporter.

“It lived up to all stereotypes.

I remember walking down being amased at huge lorries with big rolls of newsprint trying to struggle to places like the Sun to get the papers printed,” he recalled. l

USA

Poll: Clinton widens lead over Trump Democrat Hillary Clinton has widened her lead over White House rival Donald Trump to 8 points after both parties’ nominating conventions, according to a Washington Post-ABC News poll out Sunday.

Hillary got a strong bounce in the support from her nomination-which unlike the fractious Republican convention, showed a united party-but has also benefited from major gaffes by Trump.

-AFP

THE AMERICAS

Tropical storm leaves 6 dead in Mexico A landslide triggered by Tropical Storm Earl left 6 dead Saturday in eastern Mexico as heavy rains began to ease up, but officials warned residents to remain prepared for more floods or mudslides. The Mexican authorities took no chances, evacuating 300 families living close to a river along the border with Belize. -AFP

UK

UK ties with China at risk over nuclear deal Britain’s decision to delay final approval for the Hinkley Point nuclear power plant risks cooling relations with economic powerhouse China under new prime minister Theresa May, analysts say. There are questions over whether the delay could jeopardise ties between Britain and China, the world’s second biggest economy, at a time when London will need to build strong trade links post-Brexit. -AFP

EUROPE

IS claims Belgian machete attack The Islamic State group has claimed responsibility for Saturday’s machete attack in Belgium in a statement by the IS-affiliated Aamaq News Agency, posted Sunday on an IS-linked Twitter account. The statement says the attack on two policewomen in the city of Charleroi was in response to the Crusader coalition’s campaign against IS and its self-declared caliphate in Iraq and Syria.

-AP

AFRICA

UN: South Sudan forces behind UN camp attack South Sudanese government forces were likely behind an attack on a UN camp for internally displaced people in order to foster the ethnic reconfiguration of the northern city of Malakal, according to a UN Board of Inquiry. The board’s executive summary released Friday blamed a combination of factors, including the political situation, for the February attack which left some 30 people dead and 123 injured.

-AP

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MONDAY, AUGUST 8, 2016

INSIGHT

Clinton’s Moscow Spring ended as Putin returned to power n Tribune International Desk As secretary of state, Hillary Clinton basked in a diplomatic “Moscow Spring,” seizing on Vladimir Putin’s break from the presidency to help seal a nuclear arms-control treaty and secure Russia’s acquiescence to a Nato-led military intervention in Libya. But when Putin returned to the top job, things changed, reports The Associated Press.

Clinton, the Democratic presidential nominee, has vowed to stand up to Putin if elected, drawing on her four years of ups and downs as the public face of President Barack Obama’s first-term “reset” with Russia. By comparison, her Republican opponent, Donald Trump, has rung alarm bells in Washington and Europe with his overtures to the authoritarian Russian leader.

But Clinton’s wrangles with Russia led to mixed results. Her fortunes dipped dramatically after Putin replaced Dmitry Medvedev as president in May 2012.

Just weeks later, Russia outmanoeuvred her in negotiations over a complicated Syria peace plan, dealing her what was arguably her worst diplomatic defeat. While Clinton hailed it as a triumph, the war only escalated. And while her aides still insist she came out on top, the blueprint effectively gave Syria’s Moscow-backed president, Bashar Assad, a veto over any transition government, hampering all mediation efforts still.

“There is no doubt that when Putin came back in and said he was going to be president, that did change the relationship,” Clinton said in a Democratic debate last year. “We have to stand up to his bullying and specifically, in Syria it is important.”

Clinton’s history with Russia

Clinton’s history with Russia is significant given the surprising role Russia has played in the US presidential campaign.

Clinton and her supporters say she would be far tougher on Moscow than Trump, whose unusual foreign policy statements include musings about Nato’s relevance and suggestions that he could accept Russia’s annexation of Ukraine’s Crimea region. Russia’s reported hacking of Democratic Party email accounts also has led to charges that Putin’s intelligence services are meddling in the election, and Trump aided that perception by publicly encouraging Russia to find and release more of her emails.

Clinton’s first encounters in Russian diplomacy began on much more hopeful note. Meeting Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov in 2009, Clinton initiated the effort to repair years of bitter relations, punctuated by a Russian war with neighbouring Georgia a year earlier. Offering a large red reset button, Clinton outlined a broad agenda of cooperation.

The new policy paid dividends.

With Putin focused on domestic matters during a four-year stint as prime minister, Medvedev opened up a new corridor for US forces and materiel heading to Afghanistan as part of the US surge in the war.

After missile defence concessions

by Obama, the two nations sealed their most ambitious arms control pact in a generation. Washington and Moscow united on new Iran sanctions. Years of trade negotiations culminated in Russia’s entry into the World Trade Organisation.

But it was perhaps Clinton’s unlikeliest diplomatic breakthrough that began the downward spiral: Libya. Even before Putin’s first two terms as president, Russia had always opposed UN Security Council action that might lead to a leadership change.

As America’s European allies sought a military intervention against Libyan dictator Moammar Gadhafi, Clinton played the role of sceptic, refusing to jump aboard.

When she finally did, it proved critical in persuading Russia to abstain.

The rebels overthrew Gadhafi five months later.

“It was the first time that Putin publicly criticised Medvedev,” said Michael McFaul, Obama’s main Russia adviser at the time and later US ambassador in Moscow. “When things went poorly and not according to plan as we had promised, I think that was the beginning of the end for the reset.”

Relations soured further by the end of the year as Putin won a new, six-year presidential term. Evidence of election fraud led to the largest protests since the collapse of the Soviet Union. Clinton issued a sharply worded statement; Putin accused Clinton of sending the “signal” to undermine his country.

If Libya destroyed trust, McFaul said the demonstrations were the reset’s “body blow.”

“Putin got paranoid,” he said, and “believed we were behind them, really believed it. We never gained traction after that.”

After Putin re-elected

Returning as president in May 2012, Putin was immediately confronted with Syria’s Libya-like escalation

Former US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, right, talks with Russia’s President Vladimir Putin during the arrival ceremony for the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation Summit in Vladivostok, Russia on September 8, 2012 AP from Arab Spring protests to fullscale civil war. He played his cards differently than Medvedev, hinting to Obama that he could drop his support for the Syrian leader while shielding Assad from any UN pressure or foreign action that might chase him from power.

“Putin claimed that he had no particular love for Assad,” Clinton wrote in her memoir “Hard Choices,” recalling a meeting between the US and Russian presidents in June 2012. “He also professed to have no real leverage with Damascus.”

Seeking Russia’s cooperation, Obama and Clinton avoided any talk that might threaten Russian equities in Syria, including a large naval base there. Their message was clear: The US wouldn’t try to pull a future post-Assad government out of Moscow’s orbit.

It didn’t matter. When the UN proposed a peace plan that involved ushering Assad out of power and included penalties for non-compliance, the Russians balked. Faced with stalemate, the US and Russia arrived at a formula for a new government comprised of individuals chosen by the “mutual consent” of Assad and the opposition.

Although Clinton claimed credit for the June 30, 2012, compromise in Geneva, it appeared to be Russia’s objective all along.

“There was no way Assad would pass such a test,” Clinton said.

“The opposition would never consent to him.”

Russia didn’t read the deal that way. Neither did Assad. And Assad

is still president.

“Putin doesn’t do favours,” said Stephen Sestanovich, a Russia specialist at the Council on Foreign Relations and a senior diplomat under Presidents Ronald Reagan and Bill Clinton. “If we had had a robust policy in Syria and said, ‘This is what we’re going to do; what are you going to do?’ — that’s one thing. But we didn’t. We asked for help and the chances of that working were zero.”

The Geneva deal has had longterm repercussions. The US and Russia both say it must be the basis of any settlement to the five-year civil war. But their interpretations still differ, contributing to a standstill that keeps Assad in power.

At the time Clinton negotiated the Geneva deal, some 8,000 people had been killed in Syria. Since then, the death toll has risen to perhaps 500,000, leading to a million refugees and the rise of the Islamic State group.

“I doubt they could have gotten more out of Russia,” said Robert Ford, who was US ambassador to Syria at the time and is now a senior fellow at the Middle East Institute.

Clinton’s deal could have proved viable, if backed up by American military pressure, he said. But Obama didn’t see it that way. “The tactics were not in sync with the strategy,” Ford said.

Frederic Hof, a senior member of Clinton’s delegation to the talks, called the document a “roadmap to peaceful regime change.” But others in the US government were unwilling to do anything to realize

the plan, he said, adding: “This is why Syria continues to hemorrhage internally and externally.”

Clinton, in any case, was mistaken if she believed Obama was prepared to act militarily in Syria.

With her plan doomed to fail otherwise, she joined Defence Secretary Leon Panetta and CIA Director David Petraeus later that year in urging Obama to authorise military support for vetted, moderate rebels and US enforcement of a no-fly zone over opposition-held areas of the country. Obama refused.

Clinton has acknowledged her frustration with an increasingly hostile Russia on Syria and other matters as her time in office wound down.

In her final months, Russia ordered the end of all US Agency for International Development programs in the country. It approved a new law constraining the work of Russian and foreign non-governmental organisations. It banned US adoptions of Russian children.

In December 2012, Clinton accused Putin of trying to “re-Sovietise” its region. And just before leaving, she wrote a memo to Obama urging him to finally suspend a reset that ended once and for all with Russia’s military incursions in Ukraine and annexation of Crimea in 2014 — well after Clinton had left government.

“Strength and resolve were the only language Putin would understand,” Clinton wrote in her book, published shortly afterward.

It was a lesson she could say she learned firsthand. l

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PM Modi urges action against cow-protection attacks n Tribune International Desk India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi hit out at a spate of attacks by cow-protecting vigilantes on Saturday, urging action against people who used religion as a cover for committing crime.

Critics say killings in the name of protecting cows, considered sacred by India’s Hindu majority, have increased since the nationalist premier won power in 2014.

Hundreds of people were detained in western India last month when protests against an attack on four low-caste villagers who were

taking a cow to be skinned turned violent.

Modi said he would task state governments with investigating anyone linked to the attacks, and urged the public to take action against perpetrators.

He predicted “70-80% of them will turn out to be people who are involved in anti-social activities and masquerade as cow protectors to save themselves”.

The speech was the first comment on the vigilante attacks from the Hindu nationalist leader, who has been accused of failing to protect religious minorities. l

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MONDAY, AUGUST 8, 2016

TOP STORIES Pvt sector credit sees steady growth The private sector credit experienced steady growth in June after it reached a peak at 16% in May. The credit growth slightly improved to 16.6% in June, the same rate set in the latest monetary policy for December this year from 16.4% in previous month, according to the Bangladesh Bank data.

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BoE officials flag lower rates as surveys show trouble ahead The Bank of England’s top two monetary policymakers said interest rates may need to fall further, as surveys sustained their view that even a “sledgehammer” stimulus will not be enough to fully counter a post-Brexit vote slowdown.

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Capital market snapshot: Sunday DSE Broad Index

4,568.4

-0.2% ▼

Index

1,122.2

-0.1% ▼

30 Index

1,789.3

-0.3% ▼

Turnover in Mn Tk

4,182.7

-5.6% ▼

Turnover in Mn Vol

93.0 -13.5% ▼

CSE All Share Index 14,046.8

-0.2% ▼

30 Index

12,957.7

-0.3% ▼

8,552.3

-0.2% ▼

273.5

1.7% ▲

Selected Index Turnover in Mn Tk Turnover in Mn Vol

7.0 -22.8% ▼

Bonded warehouse facility misuse on rise in Chittagong n Anwar Hussain, Chittagong.

The misuse of bonded warehouse facilities has increased significantly in recent times in Chittagong, depriving the government of a huge amount of revenue.

The Customs Intelligence and Investigation Directorate (CIID) officials have so far caught red-handed eight business enterprises in the port city over the past nine months which sold goods in the local market, violating the stipulated condition of the bond facilities.

The errant business enterprises are Liberty Group, Sunrise Accessories Ltd, Golden Son Ltd, Daf Packaging Industries Ltd, Taj Accessories Ltd, Ms Chittagong Carton Ltd, Ms JS International and Sea Tex Ltd. Of them, CIID officials found that Liberty Group and Golden Son Ltd were involved with the anomalies for three times.

The errant businesses imported different products like polypropylene, low-density polyethylene, high-density polyethylene, yarn, net fabrics, polyester yarn, electric fan, duplex board, rubber thread and polyfilm and poly piling.

On Thursday, Customs Intelligence and Investigation Directorate (CIID) officials filed a departmental case worth around Tk17 crore against Liberty Group for misusing bond facilities by selling imported raw materials in the local market.

A team of CIID inspected the factory of Liberty Group located in Bahadderhat area of the city and found shortage of 1,500 metric tons of polypropylene granules.

A day earlier, a case based on similar charges was filed against Sunrise Accessories Ltd, an associate company of Liberty Group.

Sunrise Accessories Ltd was accused of selling polyfilm of vari-

ous categories worth Tk1 crore in the open market.

Dr Moinul Khan, director general of Customs Intelligence and Investigation Directorate, told the Dhaka Tribune that the CIID officials were conducting drives all over the country for checking duty evasion and misuse of bonded warehouse facilities.

According to CIID officials, the licence holders also sometimes resort to fake addresses to dodge the customs authorities while some do not maintain records of their export and import activities to misuse the facilities.

Mahfuzul Hoque Shah, director of Chittagong Chamber of Commerce & Industry said the misuse of bond facilities hit the genuine raw material importers hard and created an uneven competition in the market.

“The Customs Bond Commissionerate is supposed to monitor

the bonded warehouse facilities, but cannot do the task duly in the wake of severe manpower shortage,” said Mahfuzul.

The absence of strong monitoring often paves the way for an unholy nexus between the customs officials and unscrupulous traders, alleged the apex trade body leader.

“We have also prepared a list of non-compliant businesses and are filing departmental cases against them,” said the DG of the CIID. Misuse of the bond facilities happens due to the price and duty differences of the products imported by paying just regular duties and also under bond facilities.

Around 70% of the malpractice related to bond is committed allegedly by ready-made garment sector while the rest 30% are by the backward linkage industries like accessories industries. l

Bangladesh ranked 6th riskiest country to do business n Tribune Business Desk A London-based risk analysis firm has ranked Bangladesh 6th in the list of countries losing out on business opportunities due to civil unrest.

The Civil Unrest Index that ranks almost 200 countries in terms of their exposure to pro-

tests, mass demonstrations, ethnic or religious violence comes after a World Bank report this year put Bangladesh at the 174th position in the ease of doing business rankings.

The index released by Verisk Maplecroft on Wednesday accommodates war-torn countries Syria, Yemen and Libya in the first

three spots.

Bangladesh was found to be safer for conducting businesses than that of the neighbouring country.

The report examines the dynamics of the latest bout of terrorist attacks in Bangladesh and the serious implications for export-orientated businesses, particularly

the ready-made garment sector.

To compile its ranking, Verisk Maplecroft put together a host of indicators, including inflation levels in every country, whether or not certain social groups are marginalised, and how often there is political unrest, before putting the countries into a ranking.  PAGE 14 COLUMN 1

MONDAY, AUGUST 8, 2016

Pvt sector credit sees steady growth n Jebun Nesa Alo The private sector credit experienced steady growth in June after it reached a peak at 16% in May. The credit growth slightly improved to 16.6% in June, the same rate set in the latest monetary policy for December this year from 16.4% in previous month, according to the Bangladesh Bank data.

The total loan to the private sector stood at Tk6,69,700 crore at the end of FY’16 compared to Tk5,74,600 crore towards the end of FY’15.

The growth trend is expected to remain steady in the coming days turning back from upward trend, said Allah Malik Kazemi, change management advisor to Bangladesh Bank.

He explained that as the government borrowing from banking system is still negative, the private sector credit growth will rise in slower pace in the coming months.

The banking sector is still awash with excess liquidity due to not having government borrowing and the situation will remain unchanged if the government does

PVT SECTOR LATEST CREDIT GROWTH TREND 20

15

16.4% 16.6% 15.1% 15.2% 15.6%

10

5

0

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Mar

not borrow from bank instead of saving instruments.

The amount of excess liquidity stood at Tk1,18,000 crore as of June, slightly lower from Tk1,21,000 crore in December last year, according to the central bank data.

The private sector credit growth

Apr

May

Jun

Source: BB

was 13.2% in June of FY’15, far below from the ceiling of 15.5% set in the monetary policy.

The credit demand has been rising faster since June of FY’15 taking the credit growth at the pick of 16.6% at the end of FY’16 which was far above the target of 14.8%.

Public sector credit growth has always remained volatile registering 3.3% growth in June this year whereas Bangladesh Bank projected 18.7%.

Though the private sector credit went beyond the ceiling, Bangladesh Bank is not concerned about it as domestic credit is in the projected level.

Domestic credit growth reached 14.3% at the end of FY’16 against the target of 15.5% set in the monetary policy.

Growing private sector credit will not put pressure on inflation as domestic credit remains below the ceiling due to negative government borrowing, said Kazemi.

“Moreover, price fall of oil and commodity price in the international market favoured us to keep inflation cool,” he said.

On the other hand, lending rate continued to fall even amid growing credit demand.

The weighted average lending rate dropped slightly to 10.39% in June from 10.57% in the previous month, according to the central bank data. The deposit rate stood at 5.54% at the end of FY’16. l

After merger Robi cannot sell Airtel numbers for two years

BR inks deal today with China for Padma Bridge Rail Link Project n Ishtiaq Husain Robi-Airtel won’t be able to sell n Shohel Mamun any of Airtel’s 016 coded number Bangladesh Railway (BR) will sign a formal deal today with the China Railway Group (CREC) to construct the much-hyped Padma Bridge rail link project at a cost of Tk27,652 crore.

The project, which will connected the southern part of the country with the capital city Dhaka, aims to ensure smooth rail journey. The deal will be signed today at the Rail Bhaban in the city although the alignment of the line is yet to be fixed.

“The alignment crisis might be resolved by August 24 as a committee has been working on it and it is not logical to compare the project cost with other ones because the functions and perspectives of this project are different,” said Rail Minister Mujibul Haque while talking to the Dhaka Tribune.

He also said: “Hopefully, the total project will be implemented by 2021. However, only 25km of the project from Munshiganj’s Mawa area to Faridpur’s Bhanga area is scheduled to be accomplished by December 2018 to run a token train over the Padma bridge, which will be opened by this time.”

According to the project summary, the total length of the new railway track is 172km, which will connect Dhaka with Jessore district. l

two years after the official date of merger.

Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission (BTRC) has imposed the mandatory condition to Robi.

According Robi-Airtel merger proposal, the merged company Robi will have to abide by 13 conditions.

Robi and Airtel signed a merger agreement on January 28, this year.

As per the deal, the joint venture will be operated under the brand name of “Robi”.

Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) has recently approved the merger proposal of mobile phone operators – Robi and Airtel, paving the way for first such initiative in Bangladesh.

On July 24, the telecom division forwarded the summary of the merger proposal to Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina for her consent as she is also the minister of posts and telecommunications.

Before sending it to the PMO, the regulatory body included 13 conditions which restrict the merged entity not to sell any 016 coded numbers two years after the date of merger.

After the expiry of the two years period, 016 users will be converted to 018. However, if the BTRC

allows more time after the expiry of the two years of the period, the merged company would be able to continue this coded number.

According Robi-Airtel merger proposal, the merged company Robi will have to abide by 13 conditions According to conditions, the merged entity will have to ensure Voluntary Retirement Scheme (VRS) lawfully, no one would be sacked without acknowledgement of the regulator and Robi won’t be able to change tariff plan of Airtel for two years after the merger.

At the end of last year, Robi-Airtel applied to BTRC to merge into a single entity in Bangladesh.

As the decision is now pending at the High Court, anyone of Robi is not interested to make any comment on the merger issue.

On condition of anonymity, an official of Robi, however, told the Dhaka Tribune that Mobile Number Portability will be introduced by this time. “So, 016 coded numbers will not be a big issue for us.”

“We have accepted all the con-

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ditions and will take further steps accordingly,” said the official.

“After the merger, the merged company cannot sell any 016 coded number for more than 2 years starting from the date of merger. After the expiry of the 2 years period, 016 users will be converted to 018.

However, BTRC has the discretion to extend to 2 years period” said barrister Sayed Mahsib Hossain.

After the merger, Robi will have to pay Tk507 crore as spectrum fee and Tk100 crore as merger fee.

As of June this year, Robi had around 27.5m subscribers and Airtel had nearly 10m subscribers, according to the BTRC. After the merger, the company will be named as Robi and will have the second largest subscriber-base in the country.

Apart from the merger fee, the telecom division has also fixed Tk33.8 crore per megahertz as 2G spectrum fee, the official said.

An inter-ministerial meeting chaired by Finance Minister AMA Muhith finalised the merger fee and spectrum prices on July 13.

Upon completion of the merger process, Robi Axiata Ltd, Robi’s parent company, will hold 68.3% controlling stake in the combined entity while Airtel’s parent company Bharti Airtel will have 25% stake. The remaining 6.7% stake will be held by the existing shareholder, NTT Docomo of Japan. l

BTMA for rational gas price hike

n Tribune Business Desk The Ministry of Textile and Jute will send a proposal to the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) and the Ministry of Power, Energy and Mineral Resources, requesting the authorities not to hike gas price for the textile industry.

State Minister for Jute and Textile Mirza Azam came up with the decision at a meeting with the Bangladesh Textile Mills Association (BTMA) leaders and several ministry officials at his office yesterday.

The meeting aimed at discussing the gas price hike by the Titas Gas Transmission for the captive power in the textile industry.

The government has proposed to hike price of gas to Tk19.26 per cubic metre from Tk8.36 now, a 130% rise for the power generation for the industry.

“Considering the adverse impact of the proposed gas price hike, we have anonymously decided to send proposal to PMO and the Energy Ministry for not hiking gas price,” said Mirza Azam.

For the survival of the country’s textile industry, I am not in favour of hiking gas prices,” he said, adding that the government decision is not appropriate at this moment.

He also assured the textile millers that he would talk to the prime minister and the minister for power personally so that the prices are not hiked.

“The textile industry and RMG sector would lose competitive edge in the global market and witness adverse impact if the proposed gas price hike is implemented,” BTMA president Tapan Chowdhury said.

Global economic slowdown is a big challenge for the textile industry while terrorist attack at Holey Artisan is another big shock, said Tapan.

Considering all aspects, Tapan urged the government not to hike gas price as lower prices are considered incentives for the sector.

“The the main value addition to clothing industry is yarn and fabrics. If the government hurts the sector by hiking gas prices, the sector people will import clothes from India and China,” said former BTMA president Salman F Rahman.

Whatever the government decides should be reasonable. The gas price hike should have a limit and hike cannot be done overnight, he added.

In reaction to an official of the Bangladesh Energy Regulatory Commission (BERC), Salman said: “I do not have trust in the organisation. It did not pay heed to us when it doubled the price. It sets gas price as the government wants.” l

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BoE officials flag lower rates as surveys show trouble ahead

Governor of the Bank of England Mark Carney hosts a quarterly Inflation Report press conference at the Bank of England in central London REUTERS

n Reuters, London The Bank of England’s top two monetary policymakers said interest rates may need to fall further, as surveys sustained their view that even a “sledgehammer” stimulus will not be enough to fully counter a post-Brexit vote slowdown.

Ben Broadbent, the BoE’s deputy governor for monetary policy, told Reuters he would support reducing interest rates again, while his boss Mark Carney repeated that rates could fall further if needed.

Their comments follow Thursday’s rate cut to a new record low of 0.25% and the launch of stimulus measures worth up to 170bn pounds - a huge package designed to offset the shock from June’s vote

by Britons to leave the European Union.

“There was a majority that expected to vote to cut interest rates again, were the economy to unfold in line with forecasts, and yes, I was one,” Broadbent said in an interview at the BoE, which was also

attended by two other news organizations.

Despite the scope of the new stimulus plan, Carney again emphasized that the number of unemployed was likely to rise by around a quarter of a million in the next few years, in an interview with LBC radio.

A closely-watched survey of recruitment firms offered an early sign the BoE might be right, while carmaker Nissan raised doubts about its long-term investment plans for Britain.

The labor market entered “freefall” after the vote to leave the EU, with the number of permanent jobs placed by recruitment firms last month falling at the fastest pace since May 2009, according to the Recruitment and Employment Confederation.

“The Treasury pay attention to this survey - (it) has a good record of predicting the labor market. They will be worried,” Rupert Harrison, chief macro strategist for multi-asset at BlackRock who was

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 12

Bangladesh ranked 6th Pakistan used to dominate the top10 chart in the past but this time it remained outside the top list. The report ranked Syria as the top riskiest country for disrupting businesses.

France ranks 16th, just behind Argentina and barely in front of Afghanistan and Mali, a former colony. It is the only European country in the top 20 and considered “high risk.” Greece, which almost got the boot from the euro, came in 25th.

France which has been grappling with political protests and has seen major terror strikes in the last two years stands at 16th position. No European country is in the top 10 positions.

The state of a country’s economy is a critical bellwether for the

chief of staff to ex-finance minister George Osborne, said on Twitter.

Most economists agreed on Thursday that the Bank of England’s stimulus will need to be bolstered by reforms and significant investment from the government to truly counter the downturn resulting from the vote to leave the EU. But Broadbent warned no conventional monetary or fiscal tools could fully compensate for the deep structural changes to Britain’s economy caused by leaving the EU. “There are limits to what monetary policy, indeed any demand management policy can do - conventional fiscal policy as well - to offset what is a structural effect on the economy,” he said.

Reflecting doubt about Britain’s future as a trading power, Nissan’s chief executive warned investment decisions in Britain would hinge on the terms of a Brexit deal with the EU. “The question is what’s going to happen in terms of customs, what’s going to happen in terms of trade, what’s going to happen in terms of circulation, particularly of the products,” Renault-Nissan Alliance Chief Executive Carlos Ghosn told the BBC. “All of these are very sensitive elements that are going to determine, how and how much we are going to invest in the UK, particularly for the European market.”

The outlook for Britain’s housing market is also uncertain.

A survey from mortgage lender Halifax showed British house prices fell in July, reversing gains seen the month before, but it is too soon to tell if Britain’s vote to leave the European Union will have a major impact on the housing market. l

BRAC Bank Limited has recently signed an employee banking service agreement with Asmara International Limited, said a press release. The bank’s head of retail sales, Kyser Hamid and country manager of Asmara International Ltd, Manish Kumar Ojha have signed the agreement

Kazi Farms Kitchen has recently opened its 41st and 42nd franchise outlets in Cox’s Bazar, said a press release. CEO of Kazi Food Industries Limited, Tanvir Haider Chaudhury inaugurated the outlets

EXIM Bank has recently opened a booth at Haji Camp in Ashkona, Dhaka. The bank’s MD and CEO, Dr Mohammed Haider Ali Miah inaugurated the booth, said a press release

US locks in hot-rolled steel dumping duties on seven countries n Reuters, Washington

likelihood of civil unrest. Factors such as inflation, unemployment, the cost of living and the removal of food or fuel subsidies are key sources of discontent that increase the potential for mass demonstrations or violence,” Verisk Maplecroft said. l

CORPORATE NEWS

The US Commerce Department on Friday set final anti-dumping duties on hot-rolled flat steel from Japan, South Korea, Turkey, Britain, Brazil, the Netherlands and Australia on Friday, locking in import taxes of 3.7% to about 34.3% for five years.

The ruling, which could still be overturned by the US International Trade Commission, is the latest in a series of US actions aimed at fighting a glut of steel imports as China’s economy slows and demand remains weak elsewhere.

The department also imposed final anti-subsidy duties of 3.9 to

11.3% against most steelmakers in Brazil, Turkey and South Korea, but slapped 57% anti-subsidy duties on top Korean steelmaker POSCO and Daewoo International Corp.

The final duty rates follow preliminary determinations in January and March.

The highest anti-dumping taxes of 34.3% were imposed against Brazil’s Usiminas, with all other Brazilian producers facing 33.1% margins and just over 11% anti-subsidy duties.

The Brazlian government has threatened to challenge the US duties before the World Trade Organization.

Britain’s Tata Steel UK saw its

US anti-dumping margin reduced from nearly 50% in the preliminary finding to about 33%, while Tata Steel’s Netherlands operations faces final dumping duties of 3.73%.

Used in automotive applications, construction, tubing and heavy machinery, hot-rolled steel imports from the seven countries more than doubled to nearly $2bn last year, with the largest share, about $650m, coming from South Korea.

The International Trade Commission is due to decide by late September whether the imports from these countries were unfairly traded and had caused injury to domestic producers. l

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Big Data’s all-too-human failings n Richard Beales “Weapons of Math Destruction” is the Big Data story Silicon Valley proponents won’t tell. The author, Cathy O’Neil, is a former academic mathematician and exhedge fund quant at DE Shaw, once part-owned by Lehman Brothers.

Her book pithily exposes flaws in how information is used to assess everything from creditworthiness to policing tactics, with results that cause damage both financially and to the fabric of society.

O’Neil had an epiphany in the aftermath of the 2008 financial crisis: mathematical models were “not only deeply entangled in the world’s problems but also fueling many of them.” A convert’s passion runs through the book as the author explores how math can flip over to the dark side. Flawed algorithms, applied widely, become the WMDs of the title.

Take, for example, recidivism models used by many US states in sentencing convicts. The idea is to eliminate the biases and inconsistencies of individual judges, and that’s positive. Drawing on all kinds of data, the models try to gauge how likely a criminal is to offend again. Sentencing can be tailored accordingly.

Data directly concerning the individual, such as prior convictions, can shed meaningful light on the potential for recidivism. But O’Neil points to questionnaires used to gather inputs for these models in which prisoners are asked about things like prior involvement with the police, whether their friends have been arrested and so on.

These are environmental factors, which at best are proxies – a concept referred to frequently in the book – for how an average individual might behave. At worst they are proxies for simply growing up in a poor neighborhood or, sometimes, being black. “The question … is whether we’ve eliminated human bias or simply camouflaged it with technology.”

Such models are often proprietary black boxes, produced by for-profit companies. It is impossible, therefore, to tell exactly how the inputs influence the output.

That makes it equally impossible for a convict to appeal against his score, which assumes something like the force of law.

Some police forces also use models to decide where to concentrate patrols. Again, the goal is benign: to identify where serious crime is most likely to occur and head it off. Proxies, however, can cause trouble in these Big Data algorithms, too. There’s the additional concern that police have to do something, so if they spend

An elementary schoolboy looks at a traditional Japanese calculating tool called the soroban (abacus) REUTERS time in a particular neighborhood they will crack down on minor crime, perhaps condemning residents to a life of interaction with cops for small infringements that would never be acted upon in other, luckier areas.

The first ingredient in the author’s list of “bomb parts” for WMDs is opacity. The others are scale and damage. The potential for real-life harm to particular groups of people from bad recidivism or policing models is obvious. The scale may be limited for now but such approaches, if perceived as useful, tend to spread.

Another characteristic of O’Neil’s weapons is that they are rarely tested and improved by comparing real life with what they predict. The Big Data algorithms of online retailer Amazon, for example, are constantly refined with the simple goal of selling more goods, more profitably.

It’s unlikely, though, that enough research goes on as to whether American felons’ actual recidivism bears any relation to the scores the models spit out.

O’Neil ticks through examples like this involving teacher evaluation, university applicant selection and other processes where imperfect and sometimes completely spurious results can lead to outcomes like top-notch educators being fired. Yet if black boxes seem to work well enough, organizations that use them are unlikely to stop. The alternative is applying much more

human judgment, which is costly – and carries its own risks.

The author recognizes that many WMDs start with the admirable intention of eliminating human biases. America’s ubiquitous credit scores, in their basic FICO form, largely escape O’Neil’s ire because the inputs relate directly to the individual – they are not dodgy proxies. And their effect on

the output is transparent. When entities like insurers and financial startups combine them with other data to create so-called e-scores, however, they risk morphing into opaque WMDs. The book is a thought-provoking read for anyone inclined to believe that data doesn’t lie. Among others, there’s a timely example about the potential for Facebook’s newsfeed algorithms to distort how users see the world and whether and how they vote in elections, a controversy that briefly erupted in May. Addressing the dangers of WMDs is of course a challenge.

Fairness and the common good are hard to model mathematically, as O’Neil notes. Starting with the recognition that algorithms are fallible is one element. Regulation could be another by, say, imposing some human judgment on the machines.

Requiring models to incorporate feedback – essentially testing and refining them – or at least auditing them could be part of the answer too.

In some areas, the author suggests extending existing regulations covering the use of FICO scores or health data to cover new types of use by new types of com-

panies, so that consumers are not left in the dark. Requiring greater transparency when models are used in employment-related and other evaluations of people could also help.

Finance always has had a penchant for mathematical magic, and that’s where it all started for the author, who also blogs at mathbabe. org. In the world of pre-crisis mortgage finance, plenty of inputs to Wall Street’s clever models turned out to be literally fraudulent. “The math could multiply the horseshit,” O’Neil writes, “but it could not decipher it.”

The notion of “garbage in, garbage out” is hardly a new one.

“Weapons of Math Destruction” nevertheless illustrates how Big Data, sometimes a force for good, can be abused. Across swaths of society, flawed and opaque models can cost people money and damage their lives. Unless, of course, enough people like O’Neil are watching. l Richard Beales joined Breakingviews. com in 2007 from the Financial Times, where he was US markets editor and a Lex columnist. The article was initially published at Reuters.

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Picturing the problem

Digital social media, medical photography, patient confidentiality and professionalism Raqibul n Professor Mohammad Anwar

A

doctor posts a quiz on Facebook, represented by a photo of the swollen leg of a patient, and invites his Facebook friends to solve the quiz and answer the cause of the swelling. The discussion gathers pace and more and more questions appear on his post from friends trying to solve the mystery. The discussion is friendly and lively, testing the medical knowledge of peers and imparting new knowledge to the medical beginners, until an expat Bangladeshi doctor makes a comment requesting doctors not to participate in unethical medical practices – advising them to learn and practice medicine by seeing patients in hospital wards and out-

and should be stopped. Faced with the challenge of providing evidence, he expresses that it was not in his remit to teach doctors medical ethics which they should have learnt before practising medicine. He then goes on to state that doctors who publish photos of body parts on social media of selfadvertising for enhancing private practice and categorises them as bad doctors.

Social media and use of medical photography is a contemporary, cardinal, but contentious, topic that has been in the forefront of debate and discussion on the ethical consideration of using photography in education, training and research in the medical field in the digital era. The precursor of the debate started in the 1940’s when doctors started debating in the British Medical

Social media and use of medical photography is a contemporary, cardinal, but contentious, topic that has been in the forefront of debate and discussion on the ethical consideration of using photography

patient departments. He instructs them not to take pictures of patients and spread them over the Internet, as in his opinion, such practice unreservedly violates the core of the code of medical ethics.

The topic then goes viral and immediately generates responses supporting the publication of the photo. The doctor, the alleged perpetrator of unethical practice, apparently had taken proper consent from the patient prior to publishing the photo on Facebook.

The first rebuttal against the views of the expat doctor is a polite request from a Facebook friend who asks him to show evidence in favour of his comment about publishing pictures of body parts of any patient in digital media being unethical, as long as the photo does not disclose the patient’s identity and has the patient’s consent. The expat doctor ignores the argument reemphasising that taking pictures of any body parts of any patient and spreading those on the Internet by doctors was unethical

Journal (The BMJ), whether the quality of photograph to be used in medical journals would hamper the robustness of the contribution to the journal's purpose. In this digital era the great dilemma is whether medical photography breeches the framework laid down in the field of medical ethics when medical related photographs are published in social media.

Digital social media has transformed our way of communication and through community building, message amplification, rapid dissemination and engagement, social media has changed our interactions and relationship with others and revolutionised present day health care. Digital web has opened a floodgate of better and more efficient patient care. However, in this demand driven atmosphere of change, we have to ensure that the waves do not sweep away humanism, integrity, ethics, professionalism, and public and patient trust, the stable tenets of medical profession.

The regulatory body of doctors in the UK, The General Medical Council, clearly states that the standard expected of doctors do not change when using social media such as Twitter, YouTube, Flickr, Facebook, LinkedIn and blogs. Though using social media creates new circumstances, the established principles for using medical photography still apply.

Since 1997, GMC guidance requires doctors to get consent before making visual or audio recordings that are not part of a patient’s care. For purposes of teaching, the guidance also clarifies that doctors may use anonymous recordings made before 1997 and even where the patient is identifiable, recordings including photographs can be used as long as a record of the patient’s obtained consent exists. However, audio or visual recorded material cannot be used if patient is identifiable and no consent from the patient is documented.

When submitting articles for publication to their journal,

The BMJ policy advocates that only informative and relevant photographs is to be provided with the patient’s written consent when there is any possibility that the patient may be identified from a picture, from its legend or accompanying text. The BMJ does not publish pictures with black bands across the eyes as such a manoeuvre cannot effectively protect someone’s identity.

Studies in the US show that some doctors may not regard a medical photo posted on a personal social networking site of an intoxicated fellow physician appropriate and others may care little with distinct generational differences, with older generations adopting a more conservative view. US national medical organisations’ and medical schools’ social media guidelines usually are nonspecific on behavioural guidance or definitions of professionalism whereas doctors in the US who are active on social media urge fellow physicians to be responsible

professionals with honesty, integrity and compassion.

It is well-known by now that the newer generation of doctors are very willing to accept the use of medical photography on social media and for it to be more readily provided, although maintaining anonymity and confidentiality with informed consent, allocating maximum priority to the interest of patients and medical education and profession. l Professor Raqibul Mohammad Anwar is a Colorectal Surgeon at Bart’s and The Royal London Hospital, Ambassador and Convener of Examinations, The Royal College of Surgeons of England, Colonel, UK Armed Forces (RAMC), and President and CEO of RAHETID (RA Hospital, Education and Training Institute Dhaka)

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Eating healthy White rice or brown rice?

n Reaz Fiem

W

e all love rice! To be honest, most of us do not realise that unless we are on some weird diet that does not permit carb-intake, only then, do we start feeling that an essential part of life is missing.

As a Bangladeshi, rice has been a staple part of our diet for as long as we can remember. However in recent times, health conscious Bangladeshis are often struck with a question - which type of rice is actually superior? The white refined rice? Or the brown one?

The obvious answer to this question is brown rice! Go ahead, ask any credible gym trainer or diet guru, and he or she will surely confirm.

Here’s why people are advocating for brown rice over its white counterpart.

Brown rice has more of everything Yes, the comparison is that simple.

Brown rice is proven to have more fibre, protein, omega 3 fatty acids and also various vitamins and minerals than its fair brother! It is a more nutrition packed seed (although known as grain) than white rice. However, we are missing out on two things when we evaluate the two types of rice, this way.

Firstly, the differences are negligible. Secondly, in any proper diet, rice is never the major provider of fibre, proteins, fats, vitamins and minerals. For fibre, vitamins and minerals we must resort to vegetables and fruits; for proteins we’ll have to include meat, fish, poultry, dairy and lentils; for fats we have to resort to a kind of oil. Now you tell me, is brown rice better than white rice in terms of nutrition?

It most definitely is, if your diet has nothing but rice and water, although I doubt anyone has a diet like that.

PHOTOS: BIGSTOCK

The blood sugar dogma It is established that brown rice is a slow absorbing carb and thus does not bump up your blood sugar like white rice does. This is often measured by Glycemic Index (GI). For example, foods with high GI are those that turn into blood sugar fast. Then again, we are missing out on two crucial things; when we are lean and physically active, GI is a matter of least importance (or no importance at all). Secondly, even if we are not lean and are not into

It is well-known that arsenic is toxic for us humans. Sadly, brown rice has more of it than white rice

physical activities, we do not eat our white rice on its own. We eat it with some kind of protein or fats, which naturally reduces the blood sugar spike. Also, you would be astonished to know that basmati rice, which is a type of a white rice, has the lowest GI ranking and not brown rice, sadly. Eye opener, right?

However...

Now that we know all the points that are used to promote brown rice, we should also take note of those which are not highlighted.

Firstly, brown rice contains phytic

acid (aka phytates), which is an anti-nutrient and can prevent absorption of micronutrients such as zinc, iron, magnesium and calcium. Not only that, but phytates also mess with protein bioavailability and digestive enzyme.

Secondly, all rice contain arsenic due to the way they are grown. It is well-known that arsenic is toxic for us humans.

Sadly, brown rice has more of it than white rice.

It helps you to maintain your weight

This, as I believe to be, is psychological more than biological. This is because there are no such thing as fat loss food.

Fat loss and weight maintenance depends on your calorie intake.

If you are eating more than you need, you will always see that you are gaining weight, and if you are sedentary, the weight gain will be mostly fat. So it doesn’t matter if you are having brown rice or white, neither of them can help you with fat loss, unless you help yourself. Know your calorie goals and stop demonising food! l

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18

Education

MONDAY, AUGUST 8, 2016

Top 5 medical colleges in Asia n Jumana Abuwala Becoming a doctor with an international degree is one of the most expensive options for your undergraduate career. Therefore, the decision of where one should spend their money to attain a degree in medicine is a difficult one.

Weill Cornell Medical College in Qatar A branch of Cornell University in New York City, this branch was established in 2001. It offers pre-medical and medical courses only. The tuition fee set for this campus is the same as the New York campus, and is approximately $36,500 for a two-year non-degree premedical course and $45,000 for the medical program. Situated just 10 kilometers from Doha, this futuristic campus is in the “Education City” of Al-Rayyan. It offers you the opportunity to study hard without distractions when you need to and has easy access to the perks of living in the capital city when you want to.

International Islamic University of Malaysia International Islamic University Malaysia (IIUM) is located in Gombak, Selangor, less than an hour away from the hustle and bustle of Kuala Lumpur. A sophisticated LRT train system connects the area via KL all the way to Petaling Jaya, making the entire region easily accessible. The university charges a fee of less than $12,000 per year, making it one of the cheaper yet reputed options. There are a number of courses from 13 faculties that one could choose, making it an academically diverse environment. However, Medicine remains the focal point for the university. The proximity of this campus to a number of natural getaways including the Sungai Kanching Recreational Park, is an added bonus if you’re the adventurous kind.

International Medical University, Malaysia International Medical University Malaysia (IMU Malaysia) is the first private university in Malaysia to offer medical and health sciences courses. Boasting four campuses spanning across three cities in Malaysia, the biggest and most notable campus is in the heart of KL at Bukit Jalil. The IMU’s plethora of partner universities is impressive to say the least, with partnerships in UK, Australia, Ireland, China, New Zealand and many more, all of which make the university a truly international one. The medical degrees are offered in two phases and students have the option to complete the second phase at a partner medical school.

A medical program costs about $27,200 per year, but other courses such as pharmacy or nursing are cheaper.

Nanjing Medical University Located in the Nanjing, Jiangsu province in China, the university has two main campuses in Wutai and Jiangning. Both campuses cater to international students and locals. Spanning across eightyseven hectares, the Jiangning Campus is primarily for undergraduate studies. The first four years are completed at this campus and the final two years are offered at the Wutai city campus. The two campuses are connected by public transport that is affordable and easily accessible.

Living in a university town like Jiangning is a lifetime experience and if you can get that experience for just $6,000, it’s a true bargain that will not compromise on the quality of your education.

China Medical University CMU, boasting two campuses in Taiwan, is the first university in Taiwan to offer Chinese medicine as a course. It now offers a variety of courses in Medicine (Western), Chinese Medicine, Public Health, Pharmacy, and Management. Living and studying in China can be a challenging and intimidating task for a Bangladeshi student but certain institutions like GradConnect can make it easier for you. The meagre tuition fees of $2,300 per year for an undergraduate medical degree is an unprecedented advantage of studying here.

Their partner universities illustrate the calibre of this university, representing a network that connects universities in Europe, Asia, North America, Central and South America.

| travel |

MONDAY, AUGUST 8, 2016

our pick

Escape to Tanguar Haor For those who are looking for the perfect escape from the robotic routine of everyday life, Tiger Tours brings you the chance to give yourself the break you deserve. Picture a beautiful get away with blissful wetland wilderness and a cool breeze brushing against your face.

The waters of Tanguar Haor are just right during this time of the year for a very short period. Grab this opportunity while you still can, as nature itself is calling out for visitors.

Interested parties will be travelling on the country’s very first floating luxury hotel - the MV Tanguar Haor.

The vessel is fully airconditioned, with 11 cabins with en suite bathrooms, running hot water, solar panel and windmill for standby electricity, armed guards for security, CCTV

19

cameras, fully certified crew, amd onboard water treatment plants.

The package starts from Tk34,500 per person after 10% special discount for Eid-UlAzha. The trip duration is three nights four days, all inclusive.

The package includes transportation from Dhaka to Demra. When aboard the MV Tanguar Haor, breakfast, lunch,

dinner, and two snacks a day shall be provided. Coffee and tea are unlimited and available throughout the day. The tour concludes with lunch on the final day, and back to Dhaka.

Registration closes on September 4, 2016.

For tickets, and further details, please contact 01841 445500, 01841 455500 or email info@tigertoursbd.com. l

Featured events in Dhaka today Urban Dance Week - Dhaka Who: Footwork Dance studio, for the lovers of dance.

What: UDW is the country’s first workshop series which includes studio-styles (choreography) and street dance-styles. The main motto behind starting UDW is, to spread urban dance culture, give interested people a platform where they can learn and the trainers can share their knowledge with new talents. seven days, 21 hours, five dance styles, one showcase.

When: Aug 08-Aug 15 Where: Seminar Room of Department of Theatre and Performance Studies, University of Dhaka, TSC (3rd floor, beside the gates of Janata Bank) How: Admission form available at the venue, just fill it up and submit, along with

an admission fee of Tk200 only Contact No : 01832069879, 01521253792 Solo Exhibition: ‘Mohammad Ali - The Legend Lives On’ Who: Proshanta Karmaker Buddha What: A month long solo painting exhibition paying tribute to legendary boxer Mohammad Ali. There are 32 paintings by Proshanto Karmakar tracing Ali’s life from youth to old age.

The series of paintings epitomise the great boxer’s triumphs over his opponents and portray intense moments inside the ring.

When: July 30-Aug29 Where: Red Shift Coffee Lounge, Radius Centre, 5th Floor, Bay’s Galleria , 57 Gulshan Avenue

| industry |

| business |

Indonesia could be Asia’s next big E-commerce market

Saving the service sector

Among all the Asian countries, Indonesia is currently presenting more opportunities.

By 2020, this country has a projected market just behind China and India. The estimated annual growth rate is 50% and there is a strong mobile-first initiative present which is giving the retailers an amazing chance to focus on developing mobile platforms.

This is creating more and more prospects in the e-market and especially in the consumer packaged goods sector. Indonesia is one of Asia’s foremost mobile-first nations and over 70% of Indonesia’s Internet traffic is originated through mobile devices.

Moreover, Indonesia’s 2015 mobile Facebook usage rate is the highest with 63 million users.

Recently, Indonesia has seen an impressive growth in lucrative and well-funded startups. HijUp, of the prominent startups, recently closed their second seven-figure seed funding from investors.

DT

Biz Info

Tokopedia has raised a $100 milion.

Indonesians do not just rely on mass retailers for their purchasing decisions. This gives an opportunity to the e-market segment to become more competitive. This, along with the high usage rate of mobile devices and social media, is turning Indonesia to be Asia’s next biggest e-commerce market.

In order to push things forward, Indonesia needs to focus on online payments. The population is still cautious

about e-payments, and the change would bring a massive growth to the e-commerce sector. Besides, the country has a weak infrastructure and a poor logistic system, which needs to be improved.

Indonesia has huge potential and certain untapped sectors which need to be made use of.

The mobile usage and spread of social media, when added to the improvement of e-payment and the infrastructure, would make the country transform to the next goliath e-commerce market in Asia. l

80% of Britain’s economy is concentrated on the service industry. When a country gets richer, its service sector grows bigger along with it.

Present day Bangladesh economy is striving with a 5.75 to 6.5 percent continuous growth for the last two decades, meaning that there exists a considerably large middle class with disposable income to spare. At the same time, in order to use that money, a healthy service industry needs to be developed throughout Bangladesh. Private sector banks, insurance companies, private universities, colleges and a large number of quality schools are the results of a growing service economy. Then comes hundreds of restaurants, small guest houses, hotels and such establishments which support the demand of a growing and robust economy.

However, with the recent incidents dealing with Islamic militants in Dhaka and around the country, the authorities have started to shut down restaurants, schools, colleges, clinics, corner shops, small family run offices and so on. This will trigger the collapse of the flourishing service industry. In the UK, most of the above facilities are placed in residential zones. Developments which took place over the decades have proven to be successful with due guidelines and compliance

for each of the individual business types.

Many benefits are acknowledged in the mixed use of buildings, space and/or zones/ areas. Today’s Dhaka evolved somewhat in the patterns of said mixed use developments in other mega cities. Our technocrats and specialists of urban development can surely make a case for it and help different government entities to form a comprehensive and an inclusive plan for the city. This development will address the dearth of social infrastructure which we are now experiencing.

A city that is well connected will inevitably take away the risks of isolation that all of us are already stressing about to save the youth of this nation and making them a part of this intrinsic fabric called society.

Additionally, our agricultural and manufacturing industries are also intertwined with the service sector. The authorities, academics, politicians and the civil society must now debate in order to save a vital and burgeoning sector of our emerging economy.

Our future growth and progress will be in serious trouble unless we address this segment of economy.

Countries with security issues can be dealt with expert planning and up-to-date intelligence and not have to compromise by curtaining a healthy service industry.l

DT

20 Editorial

MONDAY, AUGUST 8, 2016

TODAY

How the other half lives Awareness leads some to philanthropy but in most cases, it often makes a lot of privileged people courteous towards the ones who toil day and night to make ends meet PAGE 21

What banning Muslims would mean Unscrupulous politicians and media have deemed Islam and terrorism to be synonyms PAGE 22 MAHMUD HOSSAIN OPU

Can we learn from our mistakes?

Girl power can smash the digital divide Even though women are responsible for much of homestead farming and livestock rearing, they are unable to access agriculture extension services for advanced advice because of cultural restrictions on cross-gender interaction PAGE 23

Be heard Write to Dhaka Tribune FR Tower, 8/C Panthapath, Shukrabad, Dhaka-1207 Send us your Op-Ed articles: opinion.dt@dhakatribune.com www.dhakatribune.com Join our Facebook community: https://www.facebook.com/ DhakaTribune.

The views expressed in Opinion articles are those of the authors alone. They do not purport to be the official view of Dhaka Tribune or its publisher.

T

he recent capsizing of a trawler in the Padma river which resulted in the deaths of at least six people should not have been allowed to happen.

This came about due to a strong current that had hit the trawler en route to its destination.

Only last month, 12 people, including six children, were killed when a trawler capsized in Arial Khan river in Narsingdi. This was the result of a hole that had formed in the trawler’s haul on the way to a local shrine.

It is unacceptable that boats continue to capsize and people continue to die in this manner.

This betrays utter negligence and callousness on the part of the owners of the trawlers and the authorities who are in charge of ensuring that boats meet the minimum requirements to be eligible for being on the river.

The fact that the force of a mere current was enough, or that a hole had formed in mid-journey, is not acceptable. These boats should undergo check-ups every few months to ensure that no lives are at risk when they are used to travel via our country’s rivers, a popular mode of travel amongst our citizens.

Owners should also have the responsibility of ensuring that these trawlers are in good condition to be on the water. Daily check-ups are a must and it shows an utter disregard for the sanctity of human life that has not been the case so far.

We cannot let more lives perish due to administrational negligence like this. The authorities and the government, in conjunction with local businessmen, need to work together to reinforce the idea that boat safety is an absolute necessity.

We cannot let more lives perish due to administrational negligence. The authorities and the government, in conjunction with local businessmen, need to work together

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21

Opinion

MONDAY, AUGUST 8, 2016

How the other half lives A Gujarat tale sets an example of how humility goes a long way

n Towheed Feroze

I

am sure most of you know this by now: A Gujarati diamond trader, with a billion-dollar empire spanning continents, sent his son during his holiday in India, an MBA student in the US, to go and find out the tough side of life.

The young man went to an unknown city, reportedly got rejected from 60 jobs and, in the end, did several odd jobs to survive and earn a living.

The news made headlines all over the world and, while some have sneered at this, calling it an ingenious PR stunt by the diamond merchant to grab global headlines, I am inclined to look at the slightly less cynical side of the episode, simply because the young boy actually had to go to a brand new place and eke out an earning, facing the harsh realities of life -- a never-ending ordeal for millions of working class people.

Well, maybe he knew he would not have to live on his own for too long but the lesson which his father reportedly wanted to teach him about the thorny side of life

The rich stand to learn a thing or two about being poor

Awareness leads some to philanthropy but in most cases, it often makes a lot of privileged people courteous towards the ones who toil day and night to make ends meet

will be instilled in the young man for good.

The point here is: When the boy did not have to undergo any difficulty in life at all, he chose to accept a challenge thrown at him that would take him into unknown waters.

Usually, when children studying abroad come back home, the treatment is that of ultimate mollycoddling, with every whim catered to.

This is even more of a fact for wards of wealthy families returning home from overseas. Of course, there is nothing wrong in treating one’s own blood with all possible comfort but in a world where the crevice between the affluent and the struggling is becoming a crevasse, it’s a moral duty for all the privileged to try to understand what existence for the masses actually entail.

These lessons are essential also because as a social being, an understanding that a hundred dollars for a pair of shoes is equivalent to a whole month’s food budget for a lower-middle class family, is necessary.

One may ask: What will that realisation do in practical terms?

Well, firstly, this awareness leads some to philanthropy but in most cases, it often makes a lot of privileged people courteous towards the ones who toil day and night to make ends meet.

Would I be wrong to state that understanding the social condition of a variety of people make us more appreciative of what we have, implanting in us the capacity to look at the world from someone else’s perspective?

Well, in a selfish world, where ruthless consumerism seems to have got most societies in a

stranglehold, there may be least worry for the other person, though the Gujarat tale sets an exception.

There are of course a lot of other things to learn from the young boy’s experience of being turned down from many places.

The reported rejection from almost 60 places has been mentioned to show how difficult it is to land employment, but there is also another inherent message here: In the current employment scenario, unless one has a reference, employment based purely on skillset of someone becomes almost impossible.

Of course, in the end, the young man got some odd jobs, making a meagre living which is normal and perhaps never changing for millions.

Obviously, he won’t have to go back to the streets asking for work, though this example can perhaps be emulated by many well-off families to instill in their children the actual value of money, and how hard it is for a lot of people to earn a rudimentary livelihood.

In Bangladesh, we have seen such events taking place only in movies. In the late 70s and early 80s, a common film template showed the young son of a landlord father leaving home and luxury to find a livelihood either because he wanted to pursue an artistic vocation or, because he

BIGSTOCK

had the temerity to fall in love with someone deemed socially inferior.

As most film plots went: In the end, the cruel arrogant father, fallen on hard times due to the shenanigans of one of his close aides is helped by the son and maybe the daughter-in-law to regain the family honour plus wealth.

Whatever the case, in real life, we hardly hear of young sons or daughters from rich backgrounds sweating it out like all others to learn the often unpalatable realities of life.

The MD’s son or daughter is inevitably the DMD, or one of the directors straight back from university education, who has little or no idea about the ferocious competition others have to face to even become a senior executive.

As a full-time journalist about a decade ago, I remember the son of the chairman of the media house which I was visiting as a guest, entering the office premises with a spanking new SUV with cavalier disregard for the fact that the beleaguered employees of that house had not been paid for three months.

In private organisations, there is a trend to make the worker remain at the workplace for longer hours without any specific reason because the common culture

states that staying in the office longer is the mark of loyalty.

That thing called work-life balance is mostly unheard of -after all, the top honchos never faced any problem in their own lives.

Only when someone suffers the same fate as thousands of others, will that realisation that an employee also has a family, comes.

Realistically speaking, I do not expect any of our top business people to say to their luxuryaddicted son: To deserve the keys of the BMW, try driving a CNG for a week and come back with the earning. Nor do I expect a daughter of a similar background to conceal her identity and take up the work of a sales girl at one of the many shopping malls in the city.

Just as a suggestion: Maybe, your search for true love that is not after the dough may just come true.

You never know what surprise waits out there. Just think, what a script for a film that would be.

If that doesn’t happen, well, at least you can boast with your conscious untainted: I have been part of the other half and seen life as an individual without the help of family connections. l Towheed Feroze is a journalist working in the development sector.

DT

22

MONDAY, AUGUST 8, 2016

Long Form

What banning Muslims from the US would mean Terrorism is not owned by a single religion or society. This is the concluding part of yesterday’s long form

n Ansar Ahmed

T

hose who support Trump will find some logical explanation for why he cannot fulfill his promises, and those who do not support him will find additional points of discussion. And that is where it pretty much stops. We have recently learned to follow the script, and the script is a loop.

The average citizenry remains where they are, and the world does not change much, at least, not much in the way of resolving problems of a global scale.

It may actually make things a bit worse.

I do want to point out, as an aside, that both “freedom” and “security” have been sold to the American people as exclusively American values that many across the world hate and want to bring down. That is, at best, mindless gibberish, and at worst, a totally false, and, quite literally, a dangerous assumption.

There are no legitimate societies that do not like or want freedom and security and are therefore hell-bent on taking down societies that have it. Freedom and security are characteristics that are desirable by all, and no one society has the sole proprietorship on these.

As nonsensical as the idea is, that there are those who hate American freedom and security, it is easy to sell the idea to a population who, historically, were not encouraged to, and did not need to, understand different cultures. Others assimilated to American ways, and not necessarily the other way around.

Americans do have a titillating relationship with exotic and ethnic things, for numerous sociological reasons that belong in a different article; but that titillation is the boundary in most situations. Few are xenocentric.

In these circumstances, the wildest ideas make sense to the average American, especially when they see events that corroborate their thinking.

In those situations, rationality and logic are not the refuge they seek; anger and hatred take over, logic dies, and real consequences, as stupid as they may be, follow.

There are 1.6 billion Muslims

in the world today. It is also the fastest growing religion in the United States. Common sense dictates that if the religion preached its followers hatred and violence, then the rest of the world would stand no chance. It is a numerical ratio of 1:4 for every Muslim and the victim they would seek to annihilate.

If it has not happened yet, then it is because the religion has very different tenets and a very different, and peaceful, approach to salvation.

Every religion has their extremists, and the most horrendous acts are carried out by these tiny fractions of the group.

It is politics and media that have wrongfully, but intentionally, linked the actions of the few to the larger mass when it serves a purpose -- money and power.

There is lip service afterwards, and rightful protests by some, but it is harder to rid the mind of stereotypes than it is to accept logical statements.

It is election season in the United States, and we will see a lot more between now and November that will not make sense to the thinking mind. The biggest fallout

politicians and media have deemed Islam and terrorism to be synonyms.

They do not talk about any other religion and use the word “terrorism.” They do not dissect the religious backgrounds of those who are not Muslims.

The acts of these individuals do not spill on to the rest of the religion they belong to. Their religions are not held hostage for their actions.

That 2.5%, lately more so, is repeatedly aired on media as terrorism; the remaining 97.5% of the acts are labeled as perpetrated by those who are mentally ill, have psychological issues rooted in childhood circumstances, and the like.

What can we do? It is definitely an uphill battle, but one that is better to fight than to let it run its course, hoping that civic sense will one day kick in and make things better for all. My suggestion is to keep in mind the following: Terrorism is never perpetrated by all members of an established religion or society; it is engaged in by a numerical minority who has fallen prey to extremism.

Terrorism is not owned by

Sometimes, politicians can be just as extreme as terrorists

Approximately 2.5% of all terrorist attacks between 1970 and 2012 on US soil were carried out by Muslims. And yet, unscrupulous politicians and media have deemed Islam and terrorism to be synonyms

is that many of the damages will be quite permanent in nature, and it will be even more difficult for Muslims to continue doing what they are doing.

This is institutionalised discrimination, where an entire group suffers based on an idea not rooted in either science or common sense, but in the stereotypical images created for political gain.

Even the FBI’s own database shows that only a small percentage of the terroristic acts are attributed to radical Islamists.

Approximately 2.5% of all terrorist attacks between 1970 and 2012 on US soil were carried out by Muslims. And yet, unscrupulous

a single religion or society, but comes in all shapes and colours from all cultures and backgrounds.

Terrorism is rooted in misinterpretations, and it is fed by a lack of opportunity. Economic desperation amongst people, whether imposed by the state, or a result of social and individual circumstances, is the topmost breeding ground for violent extremism.

And it is because of the economic desperation among whole groups and among individuals that we will see both semi-organised groups and lone wolves perpetrate terrorist acts.

As educators, we need to address this in our classrooms and

outside; as researchers, we need to translate our findings in everyday language and disseminate widely; as other professionals, we need to reach out to our neighbors and friends and engage in communal dialogue. And, as long as we are at it, we need to have more Muslim journalists and lawyers in Western nations.

It would also not hurt if Trump never became president of the United States. l Dr Ansar Ahmed is an Effectiveness Management Consultant, currently employed by Booz Allen Hamilton and working with the US Department of Defense educational activity projects in Washington, DC.

REUTERS

DT

23

Opinion

MONDAY, AUGUST 8, 2016

Girl power can smash the digital divide What’s preventing us from empowering young girls in our nation?

n Raisa Chowdhury

A

s the famous Mao Zedong quote goes: “women hold up half the sky.” But with telephone lines and mobile service towers decorating the skyline across the country, girls must be fully able to utilise and innovate using available technologies in order to become the productive leaders they have the potential to be.

According to UNICEF, Bangladesh has the 4th highest rate of child marriage in the world, with 29% of girls married before the age of 15, and 65% before the age of 18.

Major drivers of child marriage are poverty, inability to afford the fees that accompany even public education, and embedded cultural practices.

Poverty rates have dropped, and female literacy, school enrolment, and attendance rates have surpassed that of their male peers up through secondary school. But child marriage continues to be prevalent.

Cultural practices and ingrained patriarchal attitudes are two of the main remaining factors that must be given special attention to break down.

Technology can enable women living in rural and semi-rural areas to receive targeted educational and leadership support so that they feel empowered to break down societal barriers to their success.

Exposure to technology itself allows young women a chance to develop technical skills, and open new career horizons.

Bangladeshi Association for Life Skills, Income, and Knowledge for Adolescents (BALIKA), a randomised control trial, spearheaded by the Population Council throughout Bangladesh over the last three years, has proven that such models can work in delaying child marriage.

Seventy-two safe girlonly BALIKA centres around Bangladesh provided computerbased e-learning support in English and maths -- the two subjects where Bangladeshi girl children lag behind their male peers.

With higher academic achievement also comes confidence, and the ability to identify and tackle problems.

Some girls received awareness training on gender rights, negotiation, critical thinking, and decision-making, while a third group of girls received livelihoods

The youth of our nation need to be exposed to digital technology

SYED ZAKIR HOSSAIN

Even though women are responsible for much of homestead farming and livestock rearing, they are unable to access agriculture extension services for advanced advice because of cultural restrictions on cross-gender interaction

training in areas such as mobile phone servicing, photography, and basic first aid.

This type of focused support is often not included in a standard educational curriculum, and is critical to help young women access a greater range of careers, and gain confidence in their own ability to be a part of mainstream activities and communications.

Mukta Rahman, a law student who also facilitates trainings at BALIKA centres, has noticed a marked shift in her students.

Young girls would often be chided with remarks such as, “If you use the computer/phone too much, it will break,” and so would be prevented from extensively exploring available technologies.

She allows her students to freely use the laptop-based training modules and they have gained a confidence that has spread to multiple arenas of their lives.

Within the BALIKA participants, child marriage declined by 25%, school dropout rates declined, and the women’s attitudes toward gender equity improved.

As the girls in the program itself altered their mindsets, they have also helped change their parents’ and friends’ attitudes.

As phones and computers spread and are increasingly available to young girls even outside cities, it is possible to go even beyond what programs like BALIKA have achieved. An internet connection can enable peer-to-peer and peer-to-mentor support networks as well as e-counseling and e-learning programs.

Brick-and-mortar facilities focused on developing soft skills and providing supportive networks for girls are largely unavailable in rural Bangladeshi communities. These methods can be used to target cultural driving

forces that limit women and help girls grow into change-makers in their communities.

Furthermore, if girls are not given the opportunity to interact with technology, the gender gap will be perpetuated and girls will be further disempowered.

To create the content for its technology-based targeted education modules, Population Council partnered with digital service-provider mPower Social. mPower has been working with development partners in Bangladesh to create a range of technology-based tools to revolutionise service delivery to poor and vulnerable communities in Bangladesh -- in areas such as health, wash, nutrition, livelihoods, and of course, education.

ICT-based education solutions have been developed to educate farmers, fishermen, health workers, and frontline staff of

livestock programs across the country.

This is especially helpful for women who face disproportionately high barriers to access services supporting agriculture, health, and water and sanitation.

For example, even though women are responsible for much of homestead farming and livestock-rearing, they are unable to access agriculture extension services for advanced advice because of cultural restrictions on cross-gender interaction. Mobilebased extension services and diagnostic tools help reduce this barrier to knowledge acquisition.

Empowering girls by providing safe spaces and training in various sectors have the potential to create positive social change in entire communities.

Such efforts should be scaled up and spread out to remote, rural locations to bring women into the web.

If we are to be a true Digital Bangladesh where growth is pro-poor and gender inclusive, all youths, girls and boys, need to be given exposure and education in digital technology. l Raisa Chowdhury works for mPower Social, a social enterprise which designs and develops ICT-based solutions for the development sector.

DT

24 Sport

MONDAY, AUGUST 8, 2016

TOP STORIES

TANASAN TAKES FIRST GOLD FOR THAILAND

Bangladesh 4th, but make a mark It was not confirmed till the last moment whether Bangladesh will participate in their second ICC Trophy in 1982. But it turned out to be yet another memorable adventure for the players on their second trip to England. PAGE 25

Modest Vinh makes history for Vietnam Hoang Xuan Vinh may have just ended Vietnam’s six-decade wait for a first Olympic gold medal but he wasn’t about to make a song and dance about his historic feat.

The 41-year-old finally struck the Olympic bullseye. PAGE 26

Sopita Tanasan of Thailand reacts after winning the gold medal on Saturday. Russia’s Olympic ban and China’s ruthless selection policy helped pave the way for Tanasan win the first weightlifting gold of the Rio Games in the women’s 48kg. Tanasan, daughter of an international boxer, became Thailand’s fourth gold medallist in women’s weightlifting with a total of 200kg REUTERS

Halsall urges England to tour n Minhaz Uddin Khan

Finn, Woakes leave Pakistan reeling Pakistan lost four wickets for one run in 19 balls as England closed in on victory at tea on the final day of the third Test. There were some devastating bowling from Steven Finn and Chris Woakes, who each took two wickets. PAGE 27

Syrian refugee Mardini a winner It was what Yusra Mardini left unsaid, rather than the words of excitement, that made the bigger impression after her debut in the Olympic pool. “I was only thinking about water and the last competitions and where I am now,” she said. PAGE 28

Tigers fielding coach Richard Halsall hopes England’s tour of Bangladesh will go ahead, given the visitors’ commitment of playing all over the world.

England are scheduled to reach Dhaka at the end of September this year for two Tests and three one-day internationals against the hosts. But following the terrorist attack in Dhaka last month, the bilateral series came under the scanner as the England and Wales Cricket Board showed concerns with the security situation.

“I am hopeful that the tour will take place. England are, I think, committed to play cricket all over the world. Their Under-19s were here for the World Cup but maybe the security situation in Bangladesh is better now because awareness of the situation is heightened,” Halsall told the media yesterday.

“I think people are a bit more honest about the threat level and there’s no denial that there’s a threat. But that exists here and everywhere. Being honest about there being a threat is the first step to dealing with it. You have got to get on with it. It is my job to

coach, and for England to assess whether it is safe here for their players.

“I think it is safe to be here. But it is up to them to decide whether it is safe for the team to come. Obviously it is a different situation for a team. But I really hope that they do come. We need to play some international cricket,” he said.

Former Zimbabwe cricketer Halsall said terrorism is not an issue only in Bangladesh. He informed that the whole world is suffering from the same problem and that there have been occasions he happened to be in London and Mumbai when these cities came under attack in past.

“It is not an incident, it is an atrocity. But they happen all over the world, in Belgium, France, Germany. I happened to be in London when it was under attack.

I was in India when the Taj [Hotel] was attacked. We had only just left the Taj only a week earlier,” he said.

“The world we live in, nowadays, these things do happen.

And it is tragic for the people involved. So my thoughts are with those people who have been murdered.

“It was always my intention to come back. I am a professional, and my job is to coach. BCB has been very kind to me. Let the BCB take stock of exactly what they should be doing. I think things probably calmed down but it doesn’t mean things aren’t going to happen but that’s the same in England, America, Australia, France, Germany.

“We just have to be sensible, work with the right people. Be honest about the threat level and work towards a more peaceful environment,” he added.

Halsall went on to state that he expects Bangladesh to be on top when they face England. According to the Tigers fielding coach, the English side are likely to be exhausted by the time they reach Dhaka, given their hectic schedule in the last three months.

“The English are going to be shattered because they just played seven Tests in three months. So are they going to be able to bring their best players?

They have five Tests against India after they play us. You can pitch it any way you want to but our players are going to be ready for the first ODI. We have to see it as an advantage,” he concluded. l

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MONDAY, AUGUST 8, 2016

1982 ICC TROPHY

Bangladesh 4th, but make a mark n Mazhar Uddin It was not confirmed till the last moment whether Bangladesh will participate in their second ICC Trophy in 1982. But it turned out to be yet another memorable adventure for the players on their second trip to England.

The country’s political situation was unstable after Hussain Mohammad Ershad seized power and became president in March 1982 after a bloodless coup. The cricket though had less than three months to prepare for the tournament and at the last minute, the new president handed the Bangladesh Cricket Control Board enough money to buy air tickets and manage the tour.

This was Bangladesh’s second participation in as many ICC Trophy tournaments, and this time they made it to the knockout stage for the first time. Sixteen nations took part in the 1982 ICC Trophy.

Bangladesh were in Group B and won four out of seven matches to reach the semi-final.

It was a great experience for the Bangladeshi players having played 26 practice matches during the tour, 17 of which were played before their opening game against West

Pogba to undergo medical at United n Agencies France midfielder Paul Pogba is to undergo a medical at Manchester United ahead of a transfer from Serie A champions Juventus, the English Premier League club said in a statement yesterday.

United too confirmed the news with a short statement on their club website.

“Paul Pogba has been granted permission to have a medical in order to finalise his transfer from Juventus to Manchester United,” it read.

The 23-year-old - who left United for Turin for virtually nothing four years ago - was not with the Juventus squad in London for a 3-2 friendly win against West Ham United yesterday.

Media reports said the French international had already arrived in Manchester.l

Africa. Yousuf Rahman ended as the team’s highest scorer with 214 runs in six games while off-spinner Anwarul Amin was the highest wicket-taker with eight scalps.

Bangladesh started off the tournament on a high after Gazi Ashraf Hossain Lipu scored a brilliant 77 which laid the foundation for the challenging total of 246/10 in 59.4 overs and later pacer Samiur Rahman picked up three wickets to ensure a 76-run win at West Bromwich.

In the second game Bangladesh beat East Africa in a low-scoring affair after being bundled out for just 143 runs. They managed to win by 26 runs with Yousuf taking three wickets.

However the tournament was hampered due to rain. Bangladesh’s next two matches against Singapore and Fiji were abandoned. And the most interesting match of the tournament for Bangladesh was perhaps against Malaysia where they won the game by just one run after rain forced a 25-overs a side affair.

Bangladesh posted 122/7 in 25 overs with Raqibul Hasan top scoring with 35 runs and later they managed to restrict their opponent to 121/6 with the maverick Rafiqul Alam taking two wickets.

However Bangladesh lost to Bermuda by seven wickets after being all out for just 67 runs but came back strong in the next game, beating the Netherlands by six wickets to reach the semi-final.

And all of a sudden Bangladesh were just two wins away from their

Former Bangladesh batsman Yousuf Rahman Babu walks out of the field following his brilliant 115 against Papua New Guinea during the 1982 ICC Trophy. (Inset) The Bangladesh logo of the 1982 ICC Trophy, held in England maiden World Cup appearance. But it was a tough ask as they had to beat a strong Zimbabwe side in the semi-final. Eventually Bangladesh lost the game by eight wickets after Zimbabwe chased down their modest 125 runs in 29.3 overs losing just two wickets.

But still Bangladesh were eyeing the third place battle against Papua New Guinea to finish their ICC Trophy mission on a high and

despite some individual heroics Bangladesh were unable to win that match too.

Captain Shafiqul Haq Heera making three stumpings and Yousuf smashing a magnificent 115 were highlights but it wasn’t still enough.

The dream to participate in the World Cup was still far but the Bangladesh squad for the 1982 ICC Trophy definitely laid the pillar to

Kurtz set to be new hockey coach of Bangladesh n Tribune Report It was almost confirmed that Germany’s Gerhard Peter Rach would

be named as the new head coach of the Bangladesh hockey team.

However, in a latest twist to events, it is being widely rumoured

that Rach’s compatriot Oliver Kurtz will be appointed as coach instead.

“At the moment, we are not looking for a long-term coach. We want to appoint someone for the short term. As part of the process, we have talked with Peter. We will also talk with Oliver,” said hockey federation vice president Shafiullah al Munir.

Kurtz, a member of the gold medal-winning German side at the Barcelona Olympic Games in 1992, is currently in Brazil and is expected to arrive in Dhaka soon.

A four-member panel has been set up to appoint the new Bangladesh coach. Headed by Munir, the committee comprises Khaja Rahmatullah, Rafiqul Islam Kamal and Mahbub Ehsan Rana. l

believe that one day Bangladesh will play the World Cup sooner or later.

Bangladesh’s 1982 ICC Trophy squad

Anwarul Amin, Dipu Roy Chowdhury, Gazi Ashraf Hossain, Jahangir Shah Badshah, Nazim Shirazi, Omar Khaled, Rafiqul Alam, Raqibul Hasan, Sadrul Anam, Samiur Rahman, Shafiqul Haq Heera, Tanjeeb Ahsan Saad, Yousuf Rahman. l

MSC continue to flounder n Tribune Report Traditional powerhouse Mohammedan Sporting Club continued to stutter in the Bangladesh Premier League as they were held to yet another draw, this time by Team BJMC at Rafiq Uddin Bhuiyan Stadium in Mymensingh yesterday.

Forward Towhidul Alam Sabuj gave the Black and Whites the lead in the added time of the first half but midfielder Moklesur Rahman soon brought parity in the 50th minute.

Both Mohammedan and BJMC have identical three points from four matches with the former languishing at third from bottom. BJMC are eighth in the 12-team standings. l

RESULT Team BJMC Moklesur 50

1-1

Mohammedan Sabuj 45+1

TODAY’S MATCH Muktijoddha v Abahani, 4pm

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MONDAY, AUGUST 8, 2016

Hungary’s ‘Iron Lady’ turns to gold

MEDAL TALLY

n AFP, Rio de Janeiro

COUNTRY AUSTRALIA

2

0

1

3

HUNGARY

2

0

0

2

UNITED STATES 1

4

0

5

SOUTH KOREA

1

1

0

2

JAPAN

1

0

4

5

ARGENTINA

1

0

0

1

BELGIUM

1

0

0

1

RUSSIA

1

0

0

1

THAILAND

1

0

0

1

VIETNAM

1

0

0

1

Updated yesterday (9pm)

DAY THREE EVENTS TO WATCH (Bangladeshi Athletes) Abdullah Hel Baki (Shooting) Men’s

10m Air Rifle

6pm

GOLD MEDAL EVENTS SHOOTING Men’s

10m Air Rifle

Men’s

Trap

9pm 12:45am

WEIGHTLIFTING Women’s

58kg

12:30am

Men’s

62kg

4am

Men’s Synchronised 10m

1am

DIVING GYMNASTICS Men’s

Team All-Round

1am

JUDO Women’s Men’s

57kg

1:40am

73kg

2:01am

FENCING Women’s

Individual Sabre

2:45am

RUGBY 7S Women’s Tournament

4am

SWIMMING Men’s

200m Freestyle

7:21am

Women’s

100m Backstroke

7:30am

100m Backstroke

7:38am

100m Breaststroke

7:54am

Men’s Women’s

Hungary’s Katinka Hosszu takes part in the Women’s 400m Individual Medley Final during the swimming event at the Rio 2016 Olympic Games at Olympic Aquatics Stadium in Rio de Janeiro on Saturday AFP

Hungary’s Katinka Hosszu filled a glaring gap in her resume Saturday, making her first Olympic medal a gold - with a stunning world record to boot.

Hungary’s “Iron Lady” shattered the world record in the 400m individual medley, seizing control from the start and winning in 4min 26.36sec.

She eclipsed the previous record of 4:28.43 set by China’s Ye Shiwen en route to gold in London four years ago - where Hosszu was relegated to fourth.

“Coming to Rio, I wanted to do the best I can and I did,” said the five-time world champion. “In London, I was under pressure, I was nervous before the final, I was preoccupied by the idea of what would happen if I don’t win.

“And I did not want to live through this again here in Rio,” added the 27-year-old, who built her confidence up by swimming the second-fastest time ever in the heats.

“I was confident,” she said. “Today, I had a great time swimming this 400 IM. “I know I can go faster, going faster is what brings excitement for me.”

At the 300m mark, Hosszu was move than five seconds under world-record pace, and she broke Ye’s mark by 2.07sec.

Hosszu was already celebrating when American Maya DiRado finished second in 4:31.15, with Spain’s Mireia Belmonte claiming bronze in 4:32.39.

Hosszu will have plenty of chances to expand her collection of Olympic medals in Rio. She’s also entered in the 200m medley, the 200m butterfly and the 100m and 200m backstroke.

“I know I have some more races to go and I will have some more fun,” she said.l

Modest Vinh makes history for Vietnam n AFP, Rio de Janeiro Hoang Xuan Vinh may have just ended Vietnam’s six-decade wait for a first Olympic gold medal on Saturday but he wasn’t about to make a song and dance about his historic feat.

The 41-year-old military officer finally struck the Olympic bullseye for Vietnam to deny Brazil an opening day title at the Rio Games.

Vinh fell into the arms of his coaches after his near-perfect final shot in the men’s 10m air pistol.

He duelled with Sao Paulo-born

Felipe Almeida Wu who had taken the lead after the penultimate round.

The Vietnamese history-maker claimed the title with a total points haul of 202.5. Crowd favourite Wu, almost 20 years his junior, took silver only .3 adrift.

If Vinh was feeling as proud as punch at finally ending a quest for his country that first began in Helsinki in 1952, he wasn’t about to show it.

“I’m very lucky, it’s the first gold medal in Vietnam’s history, I feel very lucky, thank you everybody,”

he said at a press conference.

“Making this gold medal is a life memory, never forget this. Because (it is the) first time making a gold medal for Vietnam.”

Wu, Brazil’s first Olympic shooting medallist since 1920, praised his uplifting home support.

On winning the 2016 hosts’ first medal of these Games, he added: “There are no words to describe how happy I am. We work very hard, and everything is worth the pain. Pain on my shoulder, pain in my back, but I will forget about all this pain now.”l

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QUICK BYTES Barcelona confirm Roma medical for Vermaelen Barcelona defender Thomas Vermaelen has travelled to Italy to undergo a medical with AS Roma, the Spanish champions confirmed yesterday. The Belgium international, who featured for the national side as they reached the quarter-finals of Euro 2016, joined Barcelona from Arsenal in 2014. The 30-year-old centre back’s time in Spain has been beset by injuries but he still featured in Barcelona’s title-winning campaigns of 2015 and 2016.

–REUTERS

PSG beat Lyon to give Emery early silverware New signing Hatem Ben Arfa was among the scorers as Paris SaintGermain romped to a one-sided 4-1 win over Lyon in the Champions Trophy, the traditional French season-opener, on Saturday.

Javier Pastore, Lucas Moura and Layvin Kurzawa got the other goals before Corentin Tolisso grabbed a consolation as the French champions won the trophy for the fourth year running and gave new coach Unai Emery some early silverware.

–AFP

Sinclair reunited with Rodgers at Celtic Scott Sinclair has been given a chance to revive his career by his mentor Brendan Rodgers after completing his transfer from Aston Villa to Celtic yesterday. The 27-year-old winger - never capped

by England at senior level but who played for the Great Britain side at the 2012 Olympics - has signed a four-year contract with Celtic.

–AFP

Pistorius treated in hospital for injuries Oscar Pistorius was treated in hospital for wrist injuries on Saturday, a prison service spokesman said, adding the jailed South African track star had denied trying to kill himself.

The multiple gold medal-winning Paralympian, serving six years for murdering his girlfriend on Valentine’s Day 2013, was returned to his Pretoria cell after the incident, which coincided with the first day of competition in the Rio Olympic Games.

–REUTERS

DAY’S WATCH TEN 2 1:00PM New Zealand Tour of Zimbabwe 2nd Test, Day 3

STAR SPORTS 1 5:00PM & 12:30AM Rio Olympic Games 2016

Barcelona’s Luis Suarez in action against Liverpool during their International Champions Cup match at Wembley on Saturday. Liverpool thrashed Barca 4-0

Finn, Woakes leave Pakistan reeling n Agencies Pakistan lost four wickets for one run in 19 balls as England closed in on victory at tea on the final day of the third Test in Birmingham.

Devastating bowling from Steven Finn and Chris Woakes, who each took two wickets, tore open the middle order as the tourists’ notional 343-run victory chase turned into a desperate battle for survival.

By tea, which was taken late as England tried to force an early victory after taking six wickets in the session, Pakistan were reeling on 148 for seven with Yasir Shah on seven and Mohammad Amir on 15.

England have 28 overs left to take the remaining three wickets.

Finn, without a wicket in the series before yesterday, struck the key blows, first removing captain Misbah-ul-Haq for 10 and then ending the resistance of Sami Aslam. The opener had led the fight with a determined 70, his second half-century of the game.

At the other end, Woakes proved equally lethal, trapping Asad Shafiq without scoring and then having Safraz Ahmed well caught by Joe Root in the slips for another duck.

Earlier, Stuart Broad, Jimmy Anderson and Moeen Khan all weighed in with a wicket as England created the platform for Woakes, who has now taken 23 wickets in the series, and Finn to strike.

In the morning England extended their second innings to 445 for six before captain Alastair Cook declared.

The four-match series is tied 1-1.

Bairstow on cloud nine Jonny Bairstow became the highest-scoring England wicket-keeper in a calendar year of Test

DAY 5, AT TEA ENGLAND 297 & 445/6d (Moeen 86, Bairstow 83, Cook 66) v PAKISTAN 400 & 148/7 (Sami 70, Finn 2/29, Woakes 2/35) Pakistan need 195 more runs to win

cricket during his 83 concluded yesterday in the ongoing third Test against Pakistan at Edgbaston.

That took Bairstow, the son of late England wicket-keeper David Bairstow, to 855 Test runs in 2016.

With one match remaining in the four-Test series against Pakistan, and England due to tour Bangladesh and India, the Yorkshireman could now go past 1,000 runs before the year is out. l

REUTERS

New Zealand pile on runs against Zimbabwe n AFP, Bulawayo Ross Taylor and BJ Watling put Zimbabwe’s bowlers to the sword once again as New Zealand continued to pile on the runs in the second Test at Queens Sports Club yesterday.

Having put on 253 together during the first Test, the pair added an unbroken stand of 193 on the second day of the second Test as New Zealand reached tea on 582 for four before declaring.

Taylor backed up his unbeaten 173 last week with 124 not out yesterday, becoming the second batsman after Tom Latham to record back-to-back centuries in the series.

Watling looked set to add his name to that list as he moved to 83 not out at the interval before the declaration came.

Zimbabwe endured a tough first day in the field as New Zealand put on 329 for two, and their fortunes on the second day were little better. Although they dismissed both Kane Williamson and Henry Nicholls, Williamson had already reached his ton to become the first Kiwi to score centuries against all of the other nine Test nations. l

2ND TEST, DAY 2 England’s Steven Finn celebrates taking the wicket of Pakistan’s Sami Aslam during the fifth and final day of the third Test at Edgbaston yesterday REUTERS

NEW ZEALAND (Latham 136, Taylor 124*, Williamson 113) v ZIMBABWE 55/0 (Chibhabha 31*, Mawoyo 20, Southee 0/4) Zimbabwe trail by 527 runs

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Tendulkar takes in Rio rugby as cricket remains outside the pale n Reuters, Rio De Janeiro The sight of cricketing great Sachin Tendulkar sitting in the stands on the first morning of the Rio Games rugby competition on Saturday was a reminder that at least one major international sport remains outside the Olympic embrace.

Accompanied by International Olympic Committee President Thomas Bach, India’s greatest sporting icon watched the opening matches of a shortened version of a sport that has some parallels with his own.

Like rugby, the elite level of cricket is largely populated by a handful of former British colonies and the game is widely perceived as unfathomable by many outside that heartland.

Unlike rugby, however, cricket has been slow to take up the chance to return to the Olympic fold since Bach opened up opportunities for new sports to replace those considered unappealing to the younger demographic he wants to attract.

With the return of golf and rugby at the Rio Games, and with baseball and softball set to return in Tokyo in 2020, cricket, and the Indian subcontinent that provides the vast majority of its most fervent fans, represents a final frontier for the IOC. Barring a fast fading memory of a once dominant hockey team

and the odd shooting gold, India’s 1.2 billion people have had little to shout about at the Olympics for many a long year.

There are signs, however, that Bach’s accompanying Tendulkar to the rugby in Rio was only part of increasing IOC attempts to engage the sport that dominates India, and the country itself.

As recently as Thursday, Nita Ambani, an Indian businesswoman and owner of the Mumbai franchise in the hugely popular Indian Premier League cricket competition, was elected to the IOC. For World Rugby’s chief executive Brett Gosper, whose sport returned to the Olympics for the first time in 92 years on Saturday, the potential benefits for cricket were clear.

“Sachin was here for a whole session, loved it and was interested in rugby’s journey to the Olympics and why that’s an interesting prospect, possibly, for cricket,” he said.

“If cricket has similar ambitions to rugby, which is to take its footprint out of its comfort zone, then there’s nothing like the Olympics to allow you to do that.”

Clashes with an already busy international schedule and a desire to protect its own television deals and tournaments have been behind cricket’s reluctance to engage with the Olympics. l

Sachin Tendulkar strikes a pose in front of Christ the Redeemer statue in Rio de Janerio on Saturday

AP

Syrian refugee Mardini a winner Sick Venus, world-weary n Reuters, Rio De Janeiro It was what Yusra Mardini left unsaid, rather than the conventional words of excitement, that made the bigger impression after the teenager’s debut in the Olympic pool on Saturday.

“I was only thinking about water and the last competitions and where I am now,” the Syrian, swimming for a refugee team, told reporters when asked what went through her mind ahead of her 100 metre butterfly heat. The first of the refugees in action, she had looked down briefly before stepping on the platform.

“I left swimming for two years so now we are working to get back to my level,” said the 18-year-old, who won her heat of five swimmers but finished 41st overall, when asked how her time compared to previous ones.

There was no need to explain the two-year break in her career, or indeed what kind of water might have been on her mind. Rio is a life

away from where she started.

To get to the point where she could discuss simple strokes and times involved fleeing Syria, making a treacherous sea crossing from Turkey to Greece and arriving in Berlin with her sister last year.

She swam part of that crossing over to the island of Lesbos, helping other refugees who were in the water and were unable to swim.

“It was quite hard to think that

you are a swimmer and you might end up dying in the water,” she said later. A competitive swimmer in Syria, she is now part of a refugee team backed by the International Olympic Committee. She has met the Pope and been feted in Rio. “It was really cool and everything was amazing and everyone welcomed us,” she said of the opening ceremony, speaking as reporters crowded around. l

Radwanska crash in Rio n AFP, Rio de Janeiro Four-time gold medallist Venus Williams, suffering with a virus, slumped to her first ever opening round loss at an Olympic Games on Saturday, joining jet-lagged Agnieszka Radwanska at the exit door.

American fifth seed Williams, the singles champion in 2000 and, at 36, the oldest woman in the draw, lost to Belgium’s Kirsten Flipkens 4-6, 6-3, 7-6 (7/5) in a three-hour centre court marathon.

Williams, who has also captured three doubles golds with sister Serena, had her opportunities, leading 3-1 in the second set and 4-1 in the decider.

But despite the encouragement of watching US Secretary of State John Kerry, she ran out of steam at the crucial moments, noisily coughing throughout the closing

exchanges.

“She had been ill for a few days with a bad virus. She had an upset stomach and she was coughing up a lot, you could see she was really struggling,” said US captain Mary Jo Fernandez, who faced the media in Williams’ place.

Williams now faces a battle to be fit for yesterday’s opening doubles with Serena.

“Fingers crossed, she’ll be OK. I would be highly surprised if she didn’t play. It’s been her goal to play in her fifth Olympics and she wants to win a medal so badly.”

Flipkens was just two points away from defeat in the ninth game of the decider and rated her win as “in the top two” of her career after her victory over Petra Kvitova at Wimbledon in 2013.

“To beat Venus, one of the biggest champions, gives me goosebumps,” said the 30-year-old, playing in her first Olympics. l

CROSSWORD ACROSS 1 Satellite (4) 3 Commerce (5) 8 Woodwind instrument (4) 9 Thailand's former name (4) 11 Hackneyed (5) 12 Fail to keep (4) 14 Water storage (3) 15 Thick (5) 18 Replenish (5) 19 Kimono sash (3) 21 Male deer (4) 24 Wash lightly (5) 26 Part of a church (4) 27 Border (4) 28 Reposes (5) 29 Soon (4)

DOWN 1 Disguise (4) 2 Spoken (4) 4 Hill (3) 5 Dwell (5) 6 Roster (4) 7 Swarms (5) 10 Fashion (4) 11 Dogma (5) 13 Sanity (5) 16 Graceful bird (4) 17 Destructive beetle (5) 18 Circles (5) 20 Wait (4) 22 Profit (4) 23 Niggardly (4) 25 Become firm (3)

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Downtime

MONDAY, AUGUST 8, 2016

CODE-CRACKER How to solve: Each number in our CODECRACKER grid represents a different letter of the alphabet. For example, today 3 represents T so fill T every time the figure 3 appears.

You have two letters in the control grid to start you off. Enter them in the appropriate squares in the main grid, then use your knowledge of words to work out which letters go in the missing squares.

Some letters of the alphabet may not be used.

As you get the letters, fill in the other squares with the same number in the main grid, and the control grid. Check off the list of alphabetical letters as you identify them.

ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ

CALVIN AND HOBBES

SUDOKU How to solve: Fill in the blank spaces with the numbers 1 – 9. Every row, column and 3 x 3 box must contain all nine digits with no number repeating.

PEANUTS

YESTERDAY’S SOLUTIONS CODE-CRACKER

CROSSWORD

DILBERT

SUDOKU

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Showtime

MONDAY, AUGUST 8, 2016

Just ‘Friends’ n Showtime Desk Celebrities make strange dating fellows....for each other. Whether it’s the constant presence of the paparazzi that makes it harder for celebrity couples and end up heartbroken or they actually have a lesser mean average for staying together, we may never know.

Nevertheless, even the most trivial of their mating activities are hot news.

Bollywood is no different and why should it be? It is after all, one of the largest film industries on the planet? So why not take a quick, but full of tasty gossipy detailed, look at which celebrity couples in Bollywood achieved the monumental distinction of staying friends even after they broke up with each other. Here is a list for our readers’ pleasure:

Dino- Bipasha Dino Morea and Bipasha Basu were a hot couple since their modelling days. Their romance was further highlighted after they starred in Raaz together. But soon afterwards, their relationship soured when Bipasha went ahead with her success and Dino faced severe failures at the box office.

However, the couple has never let their failed relationship come in between their friendship. Dino and Bips, both are still very fond of each other and are the best of friends.

In fact, Dino was the only one of Bipasha’s exes who was invited to her wedding with Karan Singh Grover. Now where do we see such friendship these days?

Aditya-Shraddha Shraddha Kapoor and Aditya Roy Kapoor started dating during the shoot of their hit movie together, Aashiqui 2. Since then,

The edited version: would always be her friend, no matter what.

the couple has been on and off in their relationship. However, their personal differences seemed to have finally created a crack in their relationship. Shraddha was riding high on her success with movies like ABCD 2, Ek Villain while Aditya was facing debacles, one after the other.

Common friends reveal that the two also had several fights during the course of this period when things became uncomfortable and ugly. The couple parted ways permanently, but they are happy to work together, if they are ever offered the opportunity. Aditya and Shraddha have in fact appeared in Ok Jaanu together post split.

Salman-Katrina Bhaijaan was like a godfather to Katrina when she stepped into the industry. Many feel that Salman is the real reason behind Katrina’s success today, considering he was the one who gave her the first “big” break in his movie, Maine Pyaar Kyu Kiya. Soon enough, Katrina became a celebrity and rumours of them parting ways started making the rounds. Katrina started dating Ranbir Kapoor and Salman briefly announced that he was very much single. The duo chose to stay away and was not on talking terms. However, they decided to rekindle their relationship after a while, but this time, in the form of friendship. They signed Ek Tha Tiger together and since then have stayed good friends. Katrina has always mentioned that Salman

Ranbir-Deepika Ranbir and Deepika’s debut movies Saawariya and Om Shanti Om had a clash at the box office. Even though Deepika emerged victorious in this, it was Ranbir who was the real winner. He had won over Deepika and the couple soon started dating.

The couple was head over heels in love with each other and the affair became so intense, that Deepika even got herself a RK tattoo, inked on the nape of her neck.

Close call in Turkey for the Birsa crew

However, fate had different plans for the couple as they separated after dating for roughly a year.

Some believe that it was Ranbir who cheated on Deepika and as a result, the actress walked out.

However, Deepika did not let this heartbreak affect her professional life. The two went ahead and signed the blockbuster Yeh Jawani Hai Deewani which went on to break numerous box office records.

The pair was later seen again with Tamasha. Throughout this journey, Deepika has always maintained that Ranbir will always be close to her heart no matter what. We can certainly assert that such a level of maturity is hard to find these days.l Source: Bollywood life

n Mahmood Hossain The crew of Birsa Dasgupta’s next film, starring Mimi, Yash Dasgupta, Soumyajit Majumdar, among others, recently travelled to Istanbul to shoot for the film.

The crew was even caught in the unrest in Turkey, right when the attempted coup in the country made headlines across the world.

The crew had reached Turkey on July 7 and the shoot began on Monday. Soumyajit Majumdar, also part of the cast, said, “Bratyada and I came here only

on Friday. We had planned to go to Bosphorus (where the coup took place) as we had a free evening and the unit was shooting. However, there was no transport and we couldn’t go.

Had we gone, God knows what would have happened. The local line production team came to stay with us, as the bridge (that connects Europe and Asia) was closed and they couldn’t go back. We had a terrifying night amidst frantic calls from friends and family from India, who were watching the situation on television.” l

Mizan sets to return with solo album n Showtime Desk The former singer of the heavy rock band Warfaze sets to return with a solo album early in the next month. Under the banner of music label CMV, Mizan’s album Onno Groher Manush will come out marking the forthcoming Eidul-Azha.

The recordings of all the songs have been completed.

Ahmed Razib has penned all the lyrics in addition to composing the songs and Mir Masum and Amzad Hossain arranged the music. Achol, a Bangladeshi Idol contender, sang a duet with Mizan in the album.

Talking about his return to a solo career Mizan said, “After a long time a solo album is about to release, I am excited. I have gone through amazing experiences while working on the album.”

“I have a long time understanding with and fondness of Ahmed Razib’s works. So, I enjoyed working on his lyrics

and composition. I believe these offbeat songs will touch everyone’s heart,” he added.

The lyricist and composer Ahmed Razib praised Mizan’s singing exuberantly saying that Mizan “is undoubtedly an

international standard rock singer.

It’s an honour to work with him and it is an experience of joy.”

The album includes rock ballads and hard rock songs while the tracks are Onno Groher Manush, Bishad Sindhu,

Shubhonkorer Faki and Bolo Ki Korey (duet with Anchol).

According to the music label the album will be released exclusively on GP Music alongside the physical CD release. A music video is on the pipeline as well. l

Good Bye Santa n Nazia Lopa David Huddleston, known for his role in The Big Lebowski, has died of advanced heart and kidney disease, according to his wife, Sarah Koeppe.

Huddleston, who died Tuesday at the age of 85, starred in the 1998 crime comedy movie along with actors Jeff Bridges and John Goodman. Huddleston’s character was millionaire Jeffrey Lebowski, namesake of Bridges’ character, Jeff “The Dude” Lebowski.”

Since its premiere, the film has gathered a cult following.

Huddleston, who started performing when he was four years old to help support his rural Virginia family, appeared in scores of plays, films and television shows beginning in the late 1950s. His his sparkling blue eyes and poker-faced wit

distinguished him from other character actors.

Huddleston got his start in acting after he served four years in the Air Force. He used the GI Bill to attend the American Academy of Dramatic Arts in New York City and graduated in 1957. He starred in several traveling theater productions before making the leap to the big screen.

He played the title roles in Santa Claus: The Movie in 1985 and Hizzoner, an NBC series in 1979 about a small-town mayor. He was nominated for an Emmy for portraying Grandpa Arnold on the comedy-drama The Wonder Years, which ran on ABC from 1988 to 1993.

The role he said he relished most was that of Benjamin Franklin, which he played in revivals of 1776 on Broadway in 1998 and at Ford’s Theater in

David Huddleston along with co-star Philip Seymour Hoffman in a scene fom The Big Lebowski

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MONDAY, AUGUST 8, 2016

WHAT TO WATCH Shrek the Third HBO 5:30pm When his new father-in-law, the King, falls ill, Shrek has to take on the role of heir apparent in the land of Far, Far Away. He enlists Donkey and Puss in Boots to train the reluctant Artie as the new king while Princess Fiona holds the fort against Prince Charming and his minions.

Voices: Mike Myers, Eddie Murphy, Cameron Diaz, Antonio Banderas, Julie Andrews

Maleficent Zee Studio 7:35pm A vengeful fairy is driven to curse an infant princess, only to discover that the child may be the one person who can restore peace to their troubled land.

Cast: Angelina Jolie, Sharlto Copley, Elle Fanning, Sam Riley, Imelda Staunton, Juno Temple, Lesley Manville 300 WB 8:00pm King Leonidas of Sparta and a force of 300 men fight the Persians at Thermopylae in 480 BC. Cast: Gerard Butler, Lena Headey, David Wenham, Dominic West, Vincent Regan, Rodrigo Santoro

Washington in 2003.

“If he could have afforded to go to college, he probably would have been a politician,” Koeppe said of her husband in a telephone interview, the New York Times reported. Koeppe, a casting director and acting teacher, me Huddleston when she cast him as Santa, a role for which he learned to drive a team of reindeer.

He played a variety of supporting roles with John Wayne and Bette Davis in his early film career.

“He was so proud of the fact that he got to work with the greats,” said Koeppe.

Beyond film and theater, Huddleston also starred on the small screen. In 1990, he received an Emmy nomination for his role as Grandpa in the sitcom The Wonder Years, a popular family comedy set in the 1960s.

He ended his prolific career at the same place he started -- on the stage. There was something about the live audience that drew him in.

He loved it, said Koeppe.

He is survived by his wife of 32 years, Sarah C. Koeppe, and his son Michael Huddleston, according to the obituary Koeppe published this week. l

How to Train Your Dragon 2 Star Movies 9:30pm When Hiccup and Toothless discover an ice cave that is home to hundreds of new wild dragons and the mysterious Dragon Rider, the two friends find themselves at the center of a battle to protect the peace.

Voices: Jay Baruchel, Cate Blanchett, Gerard Butler, Craig Ferguson, America Ferrera, Jonah Hill Shooter HBO 11:15pm A marksman living in exile is coaxed back into action after learning of a plot to kill the President. Ultimately doublecrossed and framed for the attempt, he goes on the run to find the real killer and the reason he was set up.

Cast: Mark Wahlberg, Danny Glover, Ned Beatty, Michael Pena, Kate Mara l

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Back Page

MONDAY, AUGUST 8, 2016

BONDED WAREHOUSE MISUSE ON RISE IN CTG PAGE 12

HALSALL URGES ENGLAND TO TOUR PAGE 24

MIZAN’S NEW SOLO ALBUM PAGE 31

GTCL for raising gas transmission charge n Aminur Rahman Rasel The charge for gas transmission might increase as the technical committee of Bangladesh Energy Regulatory Commission (BERC) yesterday accepted the Gas Transmission Company Ltd’s (GTCL) proposal that the charge should be increased.

On the first day of an eight-day long public hearing on gas prices, the GTCL proposed fixing the transmission charge at Tk0.3665, an increase of Tk0.21, per cubic metre of gas transmission.

But the BERC technical committee recommended that the price should be increased to Tk0.2956 from its existing price.

The state-run transmission company currently receives Tk0.1565 per cubic metre from gas distribution companies.

However, the full-body of the BERC, headed by its Chairman AR Khan, will make the final decision on the proposal on completion of all the hearings.

The hearing was held at the Trading Corporation of Bangladesh (TCB) auditorium in Dhaka.

On the first day, different consumer right groups including Consumers Association of Bangladesh (CAB), left-leaning political parties like Communist Party of Bangladesh (CPB), trade bodies like Dhaka Chamber, Metropolitan Chamber and BG-

Gonosonhoti Andolon stages a protest rally in front of Bangladesh Energy Regulatory Commission office in Dhaka yesterday demanding to stop the government initiative to increase gas price DHAKA TRIBUNE MEA also took part in the hearing.

Earlier, Shafayatur Rahman, deputy general manager (finance) of the GTCL, said the company made a profit of Tk136.8 crore in 2015-16 fiscal year. But as the wheeling charge was reduced to Tk0.1565, the company might incur Tk39.386 crore loss in the 2016-17 fiscal year.

Terming the possible loss as one of the reasons behind the price hike proposal, GTCL officials also justified their proposal by saying that its cost of operation had shot up due to the government’s expansion in gas transmission programmes, most of which were not financially viable.

But those present at the hearing strongly opposed the proposal. They said GTCL should instead lower its tariff, enabling the general people to receive gas at lower prices.

FBCCI President Abdul Matlub Ahmed urged the commission not to increase the gas price, saying an increase would hurt the country’s

Police: Selim Osman not guilty

North Korean diplomat expelled n Ashif Islam Shaon n Mohammad Al-Masum Molla A police investigation The government has expelled a North Korean diplomat in Dhaka for illegal activities violating diplomatic norms.

Ministry of Foreign Affairs asked North Korean Mission’s First Secretary Han Son Ik to leave the country by today, a diplomatic source told Dhaka Tribune yesterday.

Customs officials seized a consignment of tobacco and electronic products worth Tk3.5 crore from the Inland Container Depot (ICD) at Kamalapur last month. The North Korean diplomat brought the items without following due process.

In March last year, Bangladesh expelled another North Korean diplomat after he was caught smuggling $1.4 million worth of gold. l

report into a general diary filed over humiliating a Hindu school teacher in Narayanganj was placed before the High Court yesterday.

In the report, police gave a clean chit to Jatiya Party MP AKM Salim Osman, saying he was not involved in humiliating Piar Sattar Latif High School teacher Shyamal Kanti Bhakta, despite the fact that there is a video available online where the MP is seen ordering the teacher to go through a humiliating physical punishment.

The bench of justices Moyeenul Islam Chowdhury and Ashish Ranjan Das fixed August 10 to pass an order in the suo-moto ruling.

The report says both Salim and Shyamal were victims of the incident that “happened

suddenly.”

Legal steps could not be taken as no one raised allegations or provided witness accounts, it says, adding that in a written statement to police Shyamal had said he would not file complaints.

Lawyer Mk Rahman, who brought the incident to the court’s notice, said the report should not be accepted and police should investigate further.

A Narayanganj court on August 3 recorded the report before forwarding it to the Attorney General’s Office on Thursday.

A mob assaulted Shyamal on the school premises on May 13 claiming he had committed blasphemy against Islam. He was forced to do squats holding his ears in the presence of Salim.

Shyamal has said his coworkers spread lies against him, leading to

the rumours, while Salim defended his actions saying he was saving the teacher from the mob.

On May 17, the school’s managing committee sacked Shyamal for allegedly physically assaulting students and making disparaging statements against Islam.

The Education Ministry dissolved the committee and reinstated Shyamal based on findings from its probe.

On May 18, a High Court bench issued a suo-moto ruling asking why legal proceedings should not be initiated against those involved in the incident.

It also ordered Narayanganj district administration and police to submit reports on legal measures taken after the incident. The district administration submitted its report on June 9. l

industries.

“The business communities of the country have already been hurt because of incidents like Rana Plaza collapse and Gulshan terrorist attack. Now they are trying to recover. I urge the commission to not increase the price for at least a year,” said the chief of Federation of Bangladesh Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FBCCI).

Matlub also said the rationale that gas price should be increased because of future LNG export was not acceptable.

“We have to understand that if gas price is increased now, then it will affect our export.”

Opposing the GTCL’s tariff hike proposal, CAB Advisor Prof Shamsul Alam also raised a set of questions regarding its justification. He alleged that there was no transparency in the earnings and expenditures of the GTCL. He further observed that the GTCL and Petrobangla deliberately ignored and violated BERC directives regarding their project implementation.

CPB leader Ruhin Hossain Prince said if the gas price was raised, it would have multiple impacts on the common people, pushing other commodity prices up.

The BERC is scheduled to hold hearing today on proposals from the Titas Gas Transmission and Distribution Company. l

British Council to reopen soon n Tribune Desk The British Council will soon reopen its offices in Bangladesh, Home Minister Asaduzzaman Khan Kamal said yesterday.

Speaking to reporters at the Secretariat, he said British High Commissioner to Bangladesh Alison Blake had informed him that the British Council offices were temporarily closed due to internal reform work.

On July 27, British Council Bangladesh temporarily shut down all its offices in Bangladesh to review security procedures and announced to reopen it once new security measures were in place.

On Saturday, the British Council announced that all examinations held under its purview would be on schedule despite the closure of its Dhaka offices. l

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