September 1, 2016 by DhakaTribune

SECOND EDITION

THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 1, 2016

Bhadra 17, 1423, Zilqad 27, 1437

Regd No DA 6238, Vol 4, No 127

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

New JMB takes nearly two years to take root n Mohammad Jamil Khan The New JMB, a faction of Jama’atul Mujahideen Bangladesh, has taken nearly two years to set up its base in Bangladesh. Canadian Citizen Tamim Chowdhury, 30, who came to Bangladesh on October 5, 2013 through Dubai formed the militant outfit. Once the outfit was ready it began to launch attacks in 2015. Its first victim was Japanese citizen Hoshi Kunio who was killed on October 3, 2015 in Kawnia upazila of Rangpur. AKM Shahidul Hoque, the inspector general of police (IGP), said they had found involvement of the New JMB members in a good number of murder incidents since last year, especially in the North Bengal region. As police were very busy in dealing with political programmes and  PAGE 2 COLUMN 4

TWO MONTHS OF GULSHAN TERROR ATTACK

Investigation progresses, normalcy coming back n Mohammad Jamil Khan

Policemen sneak a look inside the Holey Artisan Bakery and the O’Kitchen Restaurant as others inspect the site after gunmen attacked, in Dhaka, Bangladesh. The photo was taken on July 3 REUTERS

Two months after the terror attack at Holey Artisan Bakery in Gulshan, Dhaka, investigators have made breakthrough having already traced the financier and arms supplier of the attack while gunning down mastermind Tamim Chowdhury in a drive. On July 1, for the first time in Bangladesh, militants confined guests at the Gulshan restaurant and killed 20 people including 17 foreigners. Two police officials were also killed in the militant attack as they attempted to go into action. The next day, in a special commando drive styled “Operation Thunderbolt,” by the army, five militants and one of their associates were killed.  PAGE 2 COLUMN 1

Is this the end of Islamic State in Bangladesh? N E W S

ANALYSIS NEWS

ANALYSIS

n Tasneem Khalil This is the big news of the day – Abu Muhammad al-Adnani, the second most senior leader of the Islamic State (ISIS) is dead. According to latest reports, al-Adnani was killed in a US air strike near the town of al-Bab in Northern Syria on Tuesday. As he was the the chief spokesman and propagandist of the group, he was often described as “the voice of ISIS.” However, as Rukmini Callimachi of The New York Times (NYT) notes on Twitter, “[al-Adnani] was far more than the mouthpiece of IS. He was head of the Emni, the secret service of IS which plotted external terror attacks.”

NEWS ANALYSIS NEWS ANALYSIS DT

NEWS

ANALYSIS

How important was al-Adnani (real name: Taha Subhi Falaha) for Bangladeshi ISIS jihadis? An indication of that can be found in an infamous ISIS video featuring three Bangladeshi jihadis in Raqqa, the ISIS capital. In that video, which was recorded at an intersection of a shopping street just two blocks away from the ISIS headquarters, Bangladeshi ISIS fighter Abu Issa al-Bengali (real name: Tahmid Rahman Shafi) refers to al-Adnani as “our Sheikh.” According to him, the gruesome slaughter of foreign nationals and Bangladeshis at the Holey Artisan Bakery in Dhaka “was just a glimpse” of a global war envisioned by the Sheikh.

NEWS ANALYSIS NEWS

ANALYSIS

There are indications that alAdnani was indeed the principal patron or sponsor of ISIS operations in Bangladesh. This was first revealed by Rukmini Callimachi as she interviewed Harry Sarfo, a former ISIS member now serving a prison sentence in Germany. During the interview, Sarfo told Callimachi that a regional division of the Emni – ISIS secret service headed by al-Adnani – was responsible for plotting and executing the “recent café attack in Dhaka, Bangladesh.” It is also highly likely that Tamim Ahmed Chowdhury – the alleged mastermind of the Gulshan attack – was sent to Bangladesh by al-

Adnani himself or one of his deputies overseeing the “Asian affairs division” of the Emni. Chowdhury left Canada sometime in 2012/2013 and received training in Syria before being deployed as an ISIS coordinator in Bangladesh. He was recently killed – some believe executed – by a special police unit in Narayanganj. These deaths – al-Adnani’s in al-Bab and Chowdhury’s in Narayanganj – will certainly have a crippling effect on ISIS operations in Bangladesh. However, as the NYT journalist Callimachi points out on Twitter: “I would caution people not to see this as a blow ISIS can not recover from. [The organisation] is built to survive deaths.” l

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THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 1, 2016

Tributes pour in for poet Shahid Qadri Abu Bakar n Mohammad Siddique Mourners crowded the Central Shaheed Minar yesterday to pay last respects to Shahid Qadri, considered one of the greatest poets of modern Bangla literature. Qadri’s body arrived at the Central Shaheed Minar around 11:10am. He was bidden with love and remembrance; flowers and tears were laid before his body by people. The ceremony was initiated with the prime minister’s last respect sent through two representatives. Nira Qadri, the poet’s wife, was beside him. His son also stood beside the coffin. Eminent personalities addressed the funeral.

Ahkamullah recited his one of the most celebrated poems, “Tomake Ovibadan Priyatama.” A patriotic Tagore song, O Amar Desher Mati was also sung by the singers of Jatiya Rabindra Sangeet Sommilon Parishad to remember the love that the poet had for the country. The ceremony was followed by a Namaz-e-Janaja held at the central mosque at Dhaka University. He was later laid to rest at the Martyr intellectuals’ Graveyard in Dhaka. The poet died at a New York hospital on Sunday at the age of 74. A public mourning will be held on September 7 at Bangla Academy jointly organised by Bangla Academy, Jatiya Kabita Parishad and Sammilito Sangskritik Jote. l

Shahid Qadri’s son and wife stand by the coffin as a crowd of mourners pay respect at the Central Shaheed Minar yesterday SYED ZAKIR HOSSAIN

‘Quasem to get 7 days for mercy plea’ Police disclose list of 40 Rahman Rabbi and n Arifur Raihanul Islam Akhand from Gazipur Inspector General of Prisons (IG Prison) Brig Gen Syed Iftekhar Uddin yesterday said Mir Quasem Ali will get maximum seven days to file a mercy petition. He said the jail authority read out the Supreme Court’s review verdict to death-row convict Mir Quasem Ali yesterday morning. “Mir Quasem Ali sought time from the jail authorities to decide on whether he would seek presidential clemency. We gave him rea-

sonable time for mercy plea. But that will not be more than seven days,” he said. Death-row convict Mir Quasem Ali has sought time from the Kashimpur jail authorities to decide on whether he would seek presidential clemency. Jail super Proshanto Kumar Banik of Kashimpur Central Jail 2 read out the Supreme Court’s review verdict to Mir Quasem Ali on Wednesday morning. After listening to the verdict, Mir Quasem said he sought time from the jail authorities to decide on whether he would apply for presi-

dential mercy, said Prashant Kumar. Meanwhile, Mir Quasem’s family met him at the jail yesterday. The IG Prisons told reporters in Dhaka that the meeting between Quasem and his family members was a regular affair. “No decision is yet to be taken in which jail Mir Quasem Ali will be hanged,” he said. On Tuesday, a five-member Appellate Division panel in its short judgement dismissed the review plea of 64-year-old death row convict, leaving him with one option to plead for presidential clemency as his last ditch effort to save his neck. l

missing people n Mohammad Jamil Khan The police yesterday disclosed a list of 40 missing people who reportedly joined different militant outfits after leaving their homes. Inspector General of Police AKM Shahidul Hoque disclosed the information at the police headquarters. The Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) first published a list of missing people; they later corrected it. Besides, the Special Branch (SB) of police also prepared a separate list, said the police chief.

The police chief while addressing a briefing on the present law and order situation of the country said: “We got the list verified by our field-level officials.” On the involvement of those on the list in Islamist militancy he said after talking to the family members we learned that they had undergone some sorts of behavioral changes and assumed that they might have been radicalized. All of them after leaving their homes told their family members that there were doing fine, said the police boss. l

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1

Investigation progresses Although the Middle East-based militant outfit Islamic State (IS) claimed responsibility of the attack through the Site Intelligence website, the Counter Terrorism and Transnational Crime (CTTC) has maintained it was an act of the banned local outfit Jama’atul Mujahideen Bangladesh (JMB). The investigators believe the outfit is operating under the name of New JMB. Investigators have shown former North South University teacher Hasnat Reza Karim as the only arrestee in the case so far. A total of 42 persons have been interrogated in the case, among whom 12 gave confessional statements in court giving details of the incident. Another 30 gave statements to the police under Section 161. CTTC unit chief Monirul Islam said they have had significant progress in the investigation as the mastermind of the attack has already been killed. They have also identified the

trainer, financier and the arms supplier and are now trying to arrest them.

militant dens since the Gulshan attack, which is very significant,” the official added.

Big success after Gulshan attack

Gulshan getting back to normalcy

Law enforcers say they have so far foiled three big attack plans since the Gulshan attack. An official of CTTC unit, who took part in the Narayanganj operation to destroy Tamim’s den, told the Dhaka Tribune that they had come to know about Tamim long time ago but only got details after conducting drive at Kallyanpur militant den. Tamim’s involvement in the Gulshan incident became clear there, he said. The drive also revealed that Nurul Islam Marjan is the youngest military commander of the New JMB. Several other militants – Jahangir, Ripon, Iqbal, Khalid – were identified in that drive, said the official. “We have got a lot of information and been able to destroy two big

Foreign nationals, living specially in Gulshan of Dhaka, have been in fear following the Gulshan attack; a few foreign embassies put embargo on the movement of their staff. However, the success of investigation into the Holey Artisan Bakery incident in the past two months has started bringing back normalcy in the area. People have started visiting restaurants and other places as they used to. Jashim Uddin, deputy commissioner of police of Diplomatic Security zone, said no fear exists among foreign nationals any more. “We have kept regular communication with the embassies besides visiting diplomatic offices and houses of diplomats,” he added. Police, however, still keep the Holey Artisan Bakery under guard. l

New JMB takes nearly two years to take root violence in 2013 this outfit made the best use of that opportunity and spread its tentacles across the country. “But we are now well aware of their style of work,” said the IGP, adding that they used to collect members or communicate through social media site Facebook and other online networks. He, however, assured that such things would never happen in the country as they had already ended the episode of Tamim. A source in the police said after entering Bangladesh Tamim started analysing militant root. Tamim later met Mawlana Abul Kashem, who is working as an acting chief of the JMB in the absence of its chief Saidur Rahman. Known as a great religious preacher working at the Okharabari Madrasa of Dinajpur. Kashem mainly helped Tamim to reunite

its members and Tamim provided all kinds of financial and technical supports to them. A law enforcement official investigating militancy said Tamim met Kashem in July last year. During the meeting, Kashem named Tamim as Abu Bakar Ali Hanif. Another source said Tamim is the one who used to upload pictures and information of their attacks on different online sites including the Site Intelligence. The New JMB members used to send information to him after any attack and he then uploaded them. Monirul Islam, the chief of the counter-terrorism and transnational crime unit, said: “We have come to know about the identities of eight to nine more people who were behind the Gulshan attack and the drive is on to arrest them.” l

News

THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 1, 2016

Shafik Rehman gets bail n Tribune Report

Women stand in their designated queue in front of counters as Dhaka’s migrant residents crowd the Kamalapur Railway Station yesterday hoping to book advance tickets to go home for Eid-ul-Azha MEHEDI HASAN

Robi-Airtel merger gets HC nod n Ishtiaq Husain Bangladesh's telecommunication sector is going to witness the first ever merger of two big companies as the High Court yesterday approved the long-awaited amalgamation of mobile network operation giants Robi and Airtel. After completion of the merger, the company will be named Robi and will have the second largest subscribers base in the country. The company bench of the High Court yesterday passed judgement on the merger proposal. 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 hold 25% control. The remaining 6.7% stake will be held by the NTT Docomo of Japan, another shareholder of Robi Axiata. The management of Robi hopes that the merger will be completed by the fourth quarter of 2016 (October to December). Barrister Sayed Mahsib Hossain, counsel for Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission (BTRC), yesterday said the High Court heard counsels for all

the parties including the counsel for the employees of Airtel before delivering the judgement. “It is incumbent upon Robi and Airtel to comply with all the directives given by the Ministry of Posts and Telecommunication,” he told the Dhaka Tribune. The High Court has left the issue of voluntary retirement scheme (VRS) to the BTRC to decide which VRS should be followed for the employees of Robi and Airtel, he said. “The completion of the merger is subject to the fulfillment of specific conditions mandated by the High Court and completion of conditions precedent as defined in the merger agreement,” Barrister Mahsib said. Commenting on the merger approval, Robi’s Chief Corporate and People Officer Matiul Islam Nowshad said: “We are pleased to learn that the Honourable High Court has kindly approved the Scheme of Amalgamation between Robi Axiata Limited and Airtel Bangladesh Ltd. “This approval strengthens our ability to contribute to the process of realising the government’s vision of Digital Bangladesh at a much greater scale. As a customer-centric company, we are excited by the prospect of serving a larger subscriber base with vastly en-

hanced network capacity.” In January, the Malaysia-based Axiata Group Berhad and India-based Bharti Airtel Limited inked a merger deal at Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Earlier, the Prime Minister's Office approved the merger proposal of mobile phone operators Robi and Airtel, paving the way for first such initiative in Bangladesh. Robi will have to pay the government Tk507 crore as spectrum fee and Tk100 crore as merger fee. As of July this year, Robi had around 26.81 million subscribers while Airtel nearly 10 million, according to the BTRC. On July 24, the Posts and Telecommunications Division sent a summary proposal to Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina for her consent as she is also the minister of Posts, Telecommunications and IT. Apart from the merger fee, the telecom division has also fixed Tk33.8 crore for per megahertz 2G spectrum fee, a BTRC official said. An inter-ministerial meeting chaired by Finance Minister AMA Muhith finalised the merger fee and spectrum prices on July 13. At the end of last year, the two operators applied to the BTRC to merge their companies in Bangladesh. l

The Supreme Court has granted bail to journalist Shafik Rehman in a case filed over his alleged involvement in a plot to abduct and kill Sajeeb Wazed Joy, the son of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina. A five-member Appellate Division bench led by Chief Justice SK Sinha passed the order yesterday, accepting Shafik’s appeal against a High Court order. The court granted him bail for three months or until the police submit an investigation report. Noted for his satirical columns, Shafik Rehman will have to surrender his passport to preclude any possibility of foreign travel during his bail. His lawyers claimed that as he is not accused in any other cases, there is no legal bar to releasing him. On July 17, the Supreme Court allowed the journalist to file an appeal against the High Court order that rejected his bail petition in the case. The BNP-leaning journalist, a former editor of vernacular daily “Jai Jai Din,” was arrested from his Dhaka residence on April 16 in the case filed in August last year. l

Robi-Airtel merger to see wider coverage, superior internet n Ishtiaq Husain Mobile operator Robi expects that its merger with Airtel will facilitate bringing its 36.17 million subscribers under a wider network coverage and providing them with a superior mobile internet experience. “We believe that the merger approval is certainly the right step towards ensuring a robust competitive landscape in the telecom sector of Bangladesh,” said Robi’s Chief Corporate and People Officer Matiul Islam Nowshad. The merger will strengthen the long-term sustainability of Bangladesh's telecommunication landscape and market structure, securing faster nationwide rollout of mobile broadband, and contribute significantly to the overall economy and revenue of the country, said Robi in a statement yesterday. Creating a wider sales and distribution reach through the most extensive channels, it will be supported by the largest network of customer service centres across the country, the statement added. The single entity will facilitate availability of internet access

across Bangladesh and improve affordability of mobile services through the enhanced scale of combined operations. It would facilitate the government’s vision of Digital Bangladesh and drive foreign direct investment (FDI) into Bangladesh. Improved mobile data and broadband services will have a multiplying effect on productivity of the economy, local adjacent mobile and allied services ecosystem and drive new FDIs towards other sectors as well as improved scale of operations leading to better business viability and shareholder returns. Improving the cost of operations and business viability that will lead to greater returns to the shareholders resulting in the ability to further invest towards the expansion of telecommunication services across the country. Industry insiders said the merger is set to strengthen the industry structure, competitiveness and, more importantly, bring greater benefits to customers in terms of network quality and coverage and an improved offering of data products and services. l

News

THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 1, 2016

Three friends met the same fate n Tribune Desk

While they went to three different schools, their backgrounds and upbringing were not so different. Brought up in affluent families and getting to study in expensive universities at home and abroad - but also the fact that they all chose the path of terrorism. How they knew each other, how close they were and how they had walked together down this dark path, has not yet been found out. What is certain is that they all left home on the same day, February 3. Shazad Rouf Arko, Nibras Islam and Tousif Hossain left their families at the same day from their residence at Basundhara Residential area, Uttara and Dhanmondi area accordingly. Tousif completed his O Levels and A Levels from Maple Leaf School of Dhanmondi. Then he went to study at the Kuala Lumpur campus of Australia’s prestigious Monash University

around 2012 where one of Tousif’s friends was Nibras, according to the general diary filed by Tousif’s father Dr Ajmal Hossain with the Dhanmondi police station after he went missing. Ar Ajmal also said that they had contacted Nibras’ family and learned that he too had gone missing the same day. However, it could not be confirmed if any GD was filed after Nibras went missing. Nannu Miah, caretaker of the building Tousif lived in, told the Dhaka Tribune that the boy usually came to Bangladesh in a regular interval and most often went outside in the afternoon carrying a bag. He had the bag also on the day he went missing. Inspector (investigation) of Dhanmondi police station Helal Uddin said they had tried to find Tousif but could not find him. His last known location was in Dhanmondi. Nibras completed his O Levels and A Levels from Turkish Hope School in Uttara near where he lived and then went to North South Uni-

versity. Then he quit halfway and left the country for Monash University in Malaysia in around 2013. According to police Tousif and Nibras returned to Bangladesh in November 2015 on the same day. When Nibras was studying at NSU he became friends with Arko. Both of them enjoyed playing football and were active in social media. One of the students of the time told the Dhaka Tribune that he knew both of them for their football skills but they hardly ever played in the campus. In his LinkedIn profile, Arko mentioned that he had worked as an apprentice at Berger Paints since April 2015. Arko’s father Touhid Rouf filed a GD with Vatara police station on February 6, saying he left his home in the early hours of February 3. His last cell phone location was near his residence, said SI Mizanur Rahman, IO of the missing complaints. They were first found together when Shahbagh police arrested

Grameen money ‘paid from president’s pocket’ n Tribune Desk The former president of Grameen America Vidar Jorgensen has denied an allegation made by an Associated Press report that Dr Muhammad Yunus donated to the through his organisation to the Clinton Foundation. In a press release, the co-founder and founding president of Grameen America said all money paid to the foundation was out of his own pocket, through the organisation, to serve organisational needs. “The AP article says Grameen America gave between $100,000 and $250,000

to the foundation and Grameen Research donated between $25,000 and $50,000,” he said. Hillary Clinton was the US secretary of state at that time. Dr Yunus is the chairman of Grameen America. “All payments made to the Clinton Foundation by Grameen America or Grameen Research were funds supplied by me personally for my personal admission to the Clinton Global Initiative (CGI) annual meeting every September in New York,” Jorgensen claimed. He said the large figures shown in the AP story were nine years’ worth of CGI at-

tendance fees added up. Jorgensen said his payments to the Clinton Foundation were not linked to Yunus. “Prof Yunus was always a speaking guest of the CGI meetings and did not need to pay any admission fee and in no cases was any payment made by me or any Grameen organisation for him to attend,” the release said. Yunus first met with Clinton in Washington in April 2009. That was followed six months later by an announcement by USAID that it was partnering with the Grameen Foundation in a $162 million commitment. l

three people near the Institute of Engineers in Ramna for their alleged plotting of subversive activities. The arrestees were Raiyan Minhaj alias Raimu alias Armin, 24, Ahmed Sammur Raihan alias Chiller, 23, and Towhid Bin Ahmed alias Riyaj alias Kachhi. Later police filed a case against them under the anti-terrorism act. The three were now on bail. According to the police six other young men fled the scene that day. The arrestees however named Arko, Nibras and Tousif. But they did not confirm their real identities. Nibras was killed in Operation Thunderbolt by the Army at Gulshan Holey Artisan Cafe on July 2, Arko was killed in a DMP SWAT drive ar Kallyanpur called Operation Storm 26 and on August 27, Tousif was killed in an operation by SWAT in Naraynganj’s Paikpara area with the mastermind of Gulshan attack Tamim Ahmed Chowdhury. l

‘Scouts to help direct traffic in Eid rush’ n Shohel Mamun The government has decided to deploy 1,000 Rover Scout volunteers to assist traffic police in reducing traffic jam during the Eid rush. The volunteers will also work at the cattle market to ensure discipline. Road Transport and Bridges Minister Obaidul Quader said at a press conference yesterday: “Rover Scouts will be deployed at 15 points including intersections and entry-exit points between Dhaka and nearby districts to handle additional pressure of vehicles during the Eid rush.” “The Rover Scout members will work in three shifts each day starting from August 8 to assist the traffic police,” he said. The minister said advance tickets for BRTC Eid special service would be available from Thursday in all of the Dhaka's depots. l

News

THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 1, 2016

Government announces new policy for autogas refuelling station n Aminur Rahman Rasel Without fixing any pricing scheme, the government has issued a circular announcing its policy on autogas, a form of liquefied petroleum gas (LPG). The policy focuses on establishment of autogas refuelling station and conversion workshop, its operation and maintenance. Autogas is the common name for LPG when it is used as a fuel in internal combustion engines in vehicles as well as in stationary applications such as generators. It is a mixture of propane and butane. The policy has been formulated to replace CNG with autogas as the fuel for vehicles, as the reserve for natural gas is on the wane. The recently released circular states that the refuelling station owners have to sell autogas as per the price and standard fixed by the government. However, officials at the Energy and Mineral Resources Division (EMRD) are still in the dark about how to fix the price and standard for the gas. Though around five million LPG cylinders are sold across the coun-

any auto-gas refuelling station or conversion workshop if it breaks any conditions, law or regulations mentioned in the policy. If a joint venture company is formed along with a foreign company, then the company has to complete its registration with the Board of Investment and the existing government rules and regulation regarding that will be applied

try for use in household and commercial purpose, the government is yet to fix any price for LPG. Although there is a government fixed provision for selling cylinders bottled by the state-owned entity at Tk750 per cylinder, in reality the price is way more than that in the market. The government circular also said that instead of octane, petrol and diesel for the vehicles, LPG gas has gained popularity across the world as an environment-friendly fuel. The cost of using LPG in the vehicles is lower than the fossil fuel. It is also possible to save a huge amount of foreign currency by using autogas instead of conventional liquid fuel. Stakeholders, however, have been insisting on the need for a policy to ensure the distribution of autogas and to ensure security. The recently circulated policy reads that no person or organisation can establish any autogas refuelling station or autogas conversion workshop or take part in its operation or maintenance without the approval of the government. The government will have the right to cancel the approval of

one kilometre and it should be two kilometres otherwise. The government, under special circumstances can relax these conditions. Without getting approval and license from the Department of Explosives, establishment of new stations or changes or extension and addition or removal in the old establishment cannot be made.

‘If the distances between the refuelling stations is far, then the customers will become the sufferers’ in that case. For establishing an autogas station, the distance between two gas stations on the same side of the road inside a city corporation and district town should be at least two kilometres and it should be four kilometres otherwise. For establishing autogas station on the opposite side of the road, the distance between two gas stations inside a city corporation and district town should be at least

For the approval, a station must have the license issued by the Department of Explosives along with the station plan, licence and approval from the Bangladesh Energy Regulatory Commission (BERC), the certificates and the copy of the certificates of the employed persons and the no-objection certificate (NOC) from the Fire Service and Civil Defence. The auto-gas refuelling station has to be established within a year

of getting the primary approval. Any person or organisation will get the approval of autogas workshop if it is established within 100 metre of the bus stand and bus terminal. Besides, there are several other conditions by fulfilling which, anyone can get the permission to establish the workshop, said the policy. “As this policy is initiated without fixing the pricing, it needs to be seen how far the policy will work out,” said Mohammed Saidul Islam, the director and CEO of LAUGFS GAS Bangladesh Limited which has eight autogas station in different place in the country. “The matter of distance between one refuelling station and another should be withdrawn from the policy as this is the customers’ choice from where they will buy the gas,” he said. “If the distances between the refuelling stations is far, then the customers will become the sufferers,” he added. When asked for comments, Energy Division Secretary Nazim Uddin Chowdhury said: “Still government has not fixed the pricing formula. But that will be done very soon.” l

BNP’s 38th founding anniversary today n Tribune Report The main political opposition BNP will celebrate its 38th founding anniversary today. The BNP, its associated bodies and front organisations have chalked out different programmes to mark the occasion. On September 1, 1978, late president Ziaur Rahman founded the party. The programmes include discussion meetings, hoisting party flags at its offices across the country and placing wreaths on the grave of the BNP founder. BNP Chairperson Khaleda Zia issued a message on the occasion saying the country’s democracy and independence are now at stake. “Country’s independence and sovereignty are at stake. Democracy is now moribund after farcical January 5 election. The govern-

ment is sacrificing national interests one after another by signing anti-state treaties,” she said. Khaleda alleged that the country’s law and order has deteriorated sharply and there was a procession of bodies everywhere. “In such a suffocating situation, we cannot seat idle. BNP is in the movement to resolve people’s sufferings, protecting country’s independence and sovereignty and to restore multi-party democracy. So our movement is to establish people’s rights that they had lost.” Khaleda along with her party leaders and activists will place wreaths and offer fateha at the grave of late president Ziaur Rahman in the morning. The party will organise a discussion meeting in the afternoon at the Institute of Diploma Engineers, Bangladesh. l

TEMPERATURE FORECAST FOR TODAY

THUNDERSHOWER WITH RAIN

THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER1

Dhaka

Chittagong

Though it was a Jamaat enforced hartal yesterday, roads in Dhaka maintained its usual look. A road in Gulistan is seen packed with vehicles, creating long tailbacks - a contrast of the known hartal scenarios MAHMUD HOSSAIN OPU 27

Rajshahi

DHAKA TODAY SUN SETS 6:16PM

Rangpur

Khulna

Barisal

YESTERDAY’S HIGH AND LOW

TOMORROW SUN RISES 5:40AM

36.0ºC Rajshahi

24.0ºC Feni

Source: Accuweather/UNB

PRAYER TIMES

Sylhet

Cox’s Bazar

Fajr: 5:05am | Zohr: 1:15pm Asr: 5:00pm | Magrib: 6:26pm Esha: 8:15pm Source: Islamic Foundation

News

THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 1, 2016

SUICIDE OF SCHOOLGIRL OVER EXAM FEE

Rumour against victim’s family being spread n Ibrahim Rony, Chandpur Family members of Sathi Akter, who committed suicide after being humiliated by a staff of her school over examination fee, alleged that authorities of the school were spreading rumour against them to divert the suicide incident to another itinerary. Sathi, daughter of day labourer Delwar Hossain Talukder of Bagadi village and a student of Bagadi Goni High School, went to the school on August 27, and contacted Fatema Begum, office secretary seeking permission to sit in the mid-term examination. Sathi was then asked to pay the

examination fee. As she was unable to pay the fee, Fathema forced her do sit-ups holding her ears in front of the other students. Returning home, she informed the incident to her parents. Next day she did not go to school, as her parents could not pay the fee. She committed suicide on Monday morning over the incident. Later, Delwar Hossain, father of the girl, filed a case with the Chandpur Model police station accusing four persons. The section is now saying that Sathi might have been killed by her family members, as she had step mother, said family members of the girl, adding that some influen-

tial people of the locality were trying to save staff of the school. During a visit to Sathi's residence, this correspondent found that Sathi's mother was wailing and saying that she was not step mother of her and she did not kill her. Taslim Begum, sister of Sathi, breaking down into tears told the Dhaka Tribune that their family is very needy. She said: “My father did not marry for the 2nd time, we have no step mother. Why they are talking like this? “My sister committed suicide, as they humiliated her for only Tk30,” she said Some students of the school told the Dhaka Tribune that their teach-

ers asked them not to talk with any newsman over the incident. They also gave direction to the children to talk in favour of schoolteachers. On Tuesday, police arrested Alauddin, headmaster of the school, in connection with the suicide incident. When this correspondent visited the school, teachers told him that no incident of humiliation took place in the school and she might have been killed over family feud. Deputy Commissioner Abdur Sabur Mondol, Superintendent of Police Shashur Nahar and highly police officials, however, went to the house of Delwar and assured

him that they would take proper steps. Education Minister Nurul Islam Nahid phoned the DC over the issue and ordered him to take immediate steps. A three-member probe committee was formed and it was asked to submit the report within three days. Local UP chairman Billal Gazi said the girl committed suicide as she was humiliated in front of her classmates. Oliullah, officer-in-charge of Chandpur Model police station, said the police had arrested the headmaster form Faridganj in a case filed by the victim's father. l

Abducted schoolboy found dead in septic tank n Mehedi Hasan, Chudanga

An eighth-grader was abducted in Damurhuda upazila, Chuadanga few days back. Locals find the body yesterday in septic tank of a house in C&B area of the district DHAKA TRIBUNE

Three get 21yrs jail for keeping arms Mizanur Rahaman, n FM Chittagong A Chittagong court yesterday sentenced three people to 21year of rigorous imprisonment in a case filed under Arms Act with Bayezid police station in 2011. Mosammat Bilkis Akter, the joint metropolitan session judge and also the judge in the Special Tribunal 7, handed down the verdict against Nurunnabi alias Maxon, Sarwar alias Babla, and Manik alias Gittu Manik, said Public Prosecutor (PP) Nizam Uddin. The court sentenced the trio to 14 years of rigorous imprisonment under Arms Act 19 (A)

and seven years more under Arms Act 19 (F), said the PP. Nizam said the court delivered the verdict in presence of Maxon and Sarwar while Manik remained absconding. According to the prosecution, Bayezid police had arrested Maxon and Sarwar from Bishwa Road intersection area of Brahmanbaria Sadar in a special drive on July 4 in 2011. Later, based on their confessional statement, the police had conducted a search at the house of their cohort Manik and recovered an AK-47 rifle, 27 rounds of bullets of AK-47 rifle, a foreign-made pistol, a light gun and three bullets on July 6 in 2011. l

The body of a schoolboy was recovered from a septic tank of a house in C&B area, Damurhuda upzila headquarters in the early hours of Wednesday, 32 days after of his abduction. Sources at Rapid Action Battalion said Mahfuz Alam Sajib,15, son of late Habibur Rahman of Dashami village in Damurhuda upazila, was an eighth-grader of Chuadanga VJ Government High School. Acting on a tip off, members of the RAB conducted a drive at the house of Rafikul Islam, former member of Alukadia union parishad, and recovered the decomposed remains of Sajib from the septic tank.

Abdul Halim, uncle of Sajib, said a group of miscreants abducted him on July 29 when he went to visit an agriculture fair in Damurhuda upazila. The abductors also demanded Tk20 lakh from the family as ransom for his release the following day. Manir Ahmed, captain of RAB 6 of Jhenidah, said although the family agreed to pay the ransom money, the abductors killed the boy within two days of his abduction and concealed the body inside the septic tank of the house. Meanwhile, a group of people, identifying themselves as members of a law enforcing agency, arrested the house owner, Rakibul Islam, in connection with the incident. l

News

THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 1, 2016

CHITTAGONG GAS LEAK

Probe team finds engineer, general manager guilty n Anwar Hussain, Chittagong The probe committee formed by the Chittagong district administration found an engineer and a top official of DAP Fertiliser Company Ltd responsible for the gas leak accident occurred on August 22. Chittagong Deputy Commissioner Mesbah Uddin, who received the report from the head of the committee, said journalists yesterday, said negligence of duty by the two was responsible behind the accident. While reading out the probe report, the DC said the accident could have been averted if the two accused officials of the fertliser fac-

tory had discharged their responsibilities properly. “After reviewing testimony, written depositions and evidences, the probe team came to the decision that Dilip Kumar Barua, deputy chief engineer (electric) and Noquibul Islam, general manager (technical and maintenance) of the fertiliser factory were responsible for the accident,” said Mesbah. “The plant is not safe for anybody if the two guilty officials still hold their present official posts. We will notify about their negligence in duty to the government and recommend the secretary of the Ministry of Industries taking stern punitive

action against the duo,” added the Chittagong DC. The fertiliser factory is consisted of two separate departments – operations and maintenance. Previously the operations department informed the maintenance department about the faults in the safety tools of the plant. Although the technicians were dispatched, they could not repair the faults. Although Dilip Kumar Barua and Noquibul Islam were entrusted with taking care of the technical faults, both of them signally failed in their duty. In the written deposition, Barua conceded that he never did the repair and maintenance work and

he even did not go to the accident spot when the emergency situation arose. Chittagong district administration formed the probe committee soon after the accident on August 23. Headed by Md Mominur Rashid, Chittagong additional deputy magistrate, the three-member probe committee was asked to submit its report within seven working days. The probe team prepared the report after recording depositions of 10 officials and employees of the fertliser factory. The probe report also divulged that the five essential safety tools, that were needed to avert any pos-

sible gas leak, had been out of commission for a long and triggered the accident at the state-owned fertliser factory. The cooling or refrigeration compressor system for reducing temperature of the tank has been out of order for more than three years. The two pressure gauges to measure the gas pressure has been out of commission for a long. The two pressure vents used for releasing excessive gas from the tank was inoperative during the time of the accident. The flare system to automatically control the gas pressure of the tank was not also function during accident, revealed the probe report. l

One to die for killing schoolboy

Nazmul Huda Nasim, n Md Bogra A Bogra court yesterday sentenced a man to death for abducting and killing a schoolboy two years back. Additional District and Sessions’ Judge M Hafizur Rahman pronounced the verdict against Al-Amin Sohagh, 19, son of Anwar Hossain, a resident of Sarkarpara village, Gabtoli upazila of the district. According to the procecution, the convict abducted Shahriar Nafis Siam, 8, a student of class two, from Old Bogra town area and demanded Tk3 lakh from his parents as ransom. Later, Sohagh killed Siam sliting throat on May 17, 2014. After the incident, victim’s father Billal Rahman filed a case with Sadar Thana against Sohagh on May 19. l

Most areas of Chapainawabganj go under water due to recent flood caused by water rising in the Padma River. The picture was taken yesterday from Kodalkathi village under the district AZAHAR UDDIN

Six fire stations to be set up in Chittagong city n Anwar Hussain, Chittagong

In a bid to mitigate the risk and improve the standard of services provided by Bangladesh Fire Service and Civil Defence, a total of six fire stations are going to be set up in the port city. Of the six stations, two will be equipped with all modern equipment for combating any large-scale disaster. Meanwhile, the rest four fire stations will be constructed with first class category standard. To acquire land for the proposed fire stations in the city, director general of Bangladesh Fire Service and Civil Defence has already held a meeting with Chittagong deputy

commissioner recently. The two proposed modern fire stations will be built under Karnaphuli and Khulshi police stations. One of the proposed first class fire stations will be set up under Halishahar police station while the others will be constructed in KEPZ, Kathgar and Customs areas. Currently, there are a total of 18 fire stations in Chittagong. All the eight fire stations in the city fall under first class category. Of the 10 fire stations in the district, only three stations such as Kumira, Hathazari and Satkania belong to first class category. A first class fire station is equipped with 35 firemen, an ambulance, water tenders, water

pumps and 200 volunteers. Speaking about the setting up fire stations, Brigadier General Ali Ahmed Khan, director general of Bangladesh Fire Service and Civil Defence, said: “The level of risk of fire incidents is increasing too with the rapid growth of urbanisation and industrialisation in the commercial capital. Therefore, the number of fire stations should also be increased to keep the people safe from danger.” “There should be at least one fire station in every upazila of the country. To this end, a project to construct 156 fire stations across the country has already been approved in the The Executive Committee of the National Economic

Council,” added the fire service chief. The recent gas leak from a fertiliser factory in Chittagong has brought the importance of enhancing the capacity of the fire fighters to the fore once again. The fire service chief also admitted that the fire fighters of the country were not still wellequipped to handle such toxic gas emission. “The gas leak accident is a new experience for us. This has been a lesson for us to prepare ourselves from now on to combat such disaster,” said the DG of the Fire Service, adding that a group of 30 well-trained fire fighters who received special training from

Singapore put in their best efforts to contain toxic gas emission from the fertiliser factory. Talking to the Dhaka Tribune, Md Jashim Uddin, deputy assistant director of Chittagong Fire Service said: “The government has embarked upon a project to enhance the capacity of the fire fighters to tackle any emergency situation.” “As part of the project, a total of nine fire stations equipped with all modern equipment are going to be set up across the country. Two such stations are going to be constructed in the commercial capital considering the population density and number of industries and factories,” said the fire service official. l

8 World

THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 1, 2016

SOUTH ASIA

Pakistan, Afghanistan agree to reopen border crossing Pakistan and Afghanistan have agreed to reopen a border crossing that was closed for almost 2 weeks after Afghan protesters burned the Pakistani flag at a border rally. Pakistan’s paramilitary Frontier Corps says the key Chaman border crossing will reopen on Thursday, 13 days after it was closed following the protests. -AP

India top court quashes Singur land acquisition for Tata Motors SINGUR TIMELINE 2006 May

Tata Motors decides to set up car project at Singur

June 1

First demonstration outside Singur Block Development office by People against decision to acquire land

July

Work on acquisition of land for project begins

Indian forces’ fire kills young man in Kashmir

Sept 25

Mamata Banerjee arrested during protests at Singur

Oct 9

24 hour strike called by Mamata against acquisition

Protests against Indian rule erupted at many places in Kashmir on Wednesday after authorities lifted a curfew throughout the disputed Himalayan region for the first time in 54 days. Residents said a protest erupted in northern Nadihal village after troops prevented trucks carrying fruit from entering the area. A young man was killed and several others were injured in clashes with Indian forces. -AP

Dec

Agitation intensifies, Mamata goes on indefinite hunger strike in Kolkata, which she lifts after 25 days on December 29

INDIA

CHINA

Young activists take on China in Hong Kong election When Hong Kong goes to the polls on Sunday a new brand of politician pushing for a complete break from Beijing will be fighting for votes in a frustrated and divided city. It is the most important election since the mass Umbrella Movement pro-democracy rallies of 2014, which failed to win political reform. -AFP

ASIA PACIFIC

S Korea: North executes vice premier North Korea has executed its vice premier for education and rebuked two high-ranking officials, South Korea said on Wednesday, which, if true, would mark a new series of measures by leader Kim Jong Un to discipline top aides. Vice Premier Kim Yong Jin was executed for not keeping his posture upright at a public event. The execution, by firing squad, took place in July. -REUTERS.

MIDDLE EAST

Iran urges Turkey to end Syria intervention Key Damascus supporter Tehran urged Ankara on Wednesday to quickly wrap up its week-old military intervention in Syria, saying it was an unacceptable violation of Syrian sovereignty. Turkey’s cross-border offensive, which it says is aimed against US-backed Kurdish militia as well as the IS, marks the first major ground intervention by a foreign power carried out without the blessing of Damascus. -AFP

2008 File photo of the controversial 400 hectares land in West Bengal’s Singur area. The dispute over the acquisition of this land changed the political map of the West Bengal state YAHOO

Thomson Reuters Foundation, Mumbai

India’s Supreme Court said on Wednesday that land acquired by West Bengal state for a Tata Motors factory must be returned to farmers, the latest twist in a decade-long battle that came to symbolise conflict over land in the country. The process by which 1,000 acres of land in Singur was acquired in 2006 was “shocking” and “a farce”, the top court said, quashing an earlier order by a Kolkata court that upheld the acquisition. The land could not be deemed to have been acquired for a “public purpose” and must be returned to the farmers within 12 weeks, the Supreme Court ruled. “We are very happy with the verdict,” Kalyan Banerjee, lead counsel for the state, told reporters in New Delhi. “People had suffered a lot,” he said. Tata Motors, one of India’s top

automakers, was allotted the land by West Bengal’s previous government for a factory to build the lowcost Nano car. After violent protests by farmers who did not want to surrender their land, Tata Motors moved the operations to Gujarat state in 2008. The company has sought compensation from West Bengal for its investment of more than $300m, and said it would not give up the land. “We will study today’s judgment in detail before commenting,” a Tata Motors spokeswoman said by e-mail.

Landmark victory

Conflicts over land in India have increased as one of the world’s fastest growing major economies expands, and land is sought for industrial use and development projects. While several laws have been introduced in the past decade to protect the rights of farmers and indigenous people, some laws have been diluted in their imple-

Oct

Tata Motors announces moving project from Singur

2011 May 20

Mamata assumes office as Chief Minister; announces her commitment to return land to ‘unwilling farmers’

June 14

West Bengal Assembly passes Singur Land Rehabilitation and Development Bill 2011

June 21

Tata Motors dispossessed of factory site

June 22

Tata Motors moves Calcutta High court challenging validity of Singur Land Rehabilitation and Development Act 2011

June 28

Tata Motors moves Supreme Court for interim injunction on distribution of land to farmers

June 29

Supreme Court grants interim relief, asks Calcutta High Court to dispose of matter within a month

Sept

Justice IP Mukherji upholds the Act as constitutional

2012 June 22

Division Bench of Calcutta High Court finds Act to be unconstitutional and void

mentation and not always helped the vulnerable, activists say. Between 1950 and 2005, about 65 million people were displaced in India by dams, highways, mines and airports, according to the Internal Displacement Monitoring Centre. Less than a fifth have been resettled. Mamata Banerjee, who led protests against the Singur deal, won state elections in 2011 to become

chief minister and made the return of land to farmers a central plank of her campaign. “The Supreme Court verdict is a landmark victory for us,” Banerjee said at a press briefing in Kolkata on Wednesday. “It is a historic verdict which acknowledges the right of the farmers over forcible acquisition of land,” she said. l

Turkey: No cease-fire with Syrian Kurds n Reuters, Karkamis, Turkey Turkey will not agree a truce with Kurdish militias in Syria as it considers them terrorists, officials said on Wednesday, after strains emerged with the United States over clashes between Turkish forces and the USbacked Syrian fighters. Washington has been alarmed by Turkey’s week-long incursion into Syria, saying it was “unacceptable” for its Nato ally to hit militias loyal to Kurdish-aligned Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) that Washington supports to fight against Islamic State. US officials on Tuesday welcomed what appeared to be a

pause in fighting between Turkish forces and rival militias, although Ankara denied assertions from Kurdish fighters in Syria that a temporary truce had been agreed. “The Turkish Republic is a sovereign state, a legitimate state. It cannot be equated with a terrorist organisation,” EU Affairs Minister Omer Celik told state-run Anadolu news agency, adding this meant there could be no “agreement between the two.” His comments were echoed by President Tayyip Erdogan’s spokesman, Ibrahim Kalin, who said Turkey would continue striking Kurdish militia until they withdrew from the region where Turk-

ish forces are fighting. Turkey’s aim was to drive Islamic State out of a 90km stretch of Syrian territory running along the border, Kalin said. Turkey has long said it wants a “buffer zone” in the area, although it has not used the term during this incursion. After days when the border area reverberated with warplanes roaring overhead into Syria and artillery pounded Syrian sites, only the occasional thud of explosions in the distance was audible from the Turkish frontier town of Karkamis on Wednesday. Karkamis lies just across the border from the northern Syrian town of Jarablus, which was swift-

ly captured from Islamic State by Turkish-backed forces when they launched the offensive dubbed “Euphrates Shield” on Augist 24. Since then, the Turkish army with its allies have pushed further south, seizing a string of villages in areas controlled by militias loyal to the Kurdish-backed SDF, which drove Islamic State out of the city of Manbij this month with US help. Turkey, which is battling a decades-long Kurdish insurgency at home, fears Kurdish-aligned forces will capture areas previously held by Islamic State, giving them control of an unbroken swathe of territory running along the Turkish border. l

THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 1, 2016

In political gamble, Trump to make surprising trip to Mexico n Tribune International Desk Donald Trump will make a quick visit to Mexico on Wednesday, meeting with the president of a nation he derided as the home of rapists and criminals. The trip is a politically risky move for the Republican presidential nominee less than 10 weeks before the election, reports The Associated Press. It is not clear how Trump will be received in a country where he is widely despised. Beyond his disparaging comments about Mexicans, Trump has promised, if elected, to deport millions of immigrants who are in the United States illegally, force Mexico to build a huge wall to secure the nearly 2,000-mile border, and renegotiate the Nafta trade agreement to make it more favourable to the United States. Mexican President Enrique Pena Nieto has compared Trump to Adolf Hitler. But it also offers Trump an opportunity to appear more presidential as he makes his first foreign visit since winning the nomination. Polls show him trailing Democrat Hillary Clinton in most

of the key states that will determine the US election. He is struggling to win over moderate voters, including Republicans, who are turned off by his brash rhetoric and controversial proposals on immigration and other matters. Some former Republican foreign policy officials have warned that Trump is unprepared to lead on the world stage. The trip will come hours before Trump delivers a highly anticipated immigration speech. It’s a defining issue for Trump, but one on which he has appeared to waver. After saying during his primary campaign he would use a “deportation force” to expel all of the estimated 11 million people living in the United States illegally,” Trump has suggested recently he might

be open to “softening” his stance. Last week, Pena Nieto extended invitations to visit Mexico to both Trump and Clinton, who met with him in Mexico in 2014. The Washington Post first reported Tuesday that Trump was considering making the trip to Mexico. The invitation to Trump puzzled Mexican analysts. It is not clear why Pena-Nieto, who already has low approval ratings, would agree to a meeting that might boost the candidacy of someone so widely disliked by Mexicans. The newspaper El Universal wrote in an editorial that Trump “caught Mexican diplomats off guard” by accepting the invitation. Trump took to Twitter on Tuesday night to say he looks “very much forward” to meeting with

Pena Nieto. The Mexican leader’s office confirmed the meeting with its own tweet, saying the two men would meet privately. Pena Nieto has been sharply critical of Trump’s immigration policies, particularly the Republican’s plans to build a wall and have Mexico pay for it. In a March interview, Pena Nieto said that “there is no scenario” under which Mexico would do so and compared Trump’s language to that of dictators Hitler and Benito Mussolini. Former Mexican Presidents Vicente Fox and Felipe Calderon have also alluded to Hitler in describing the Republican nominee. Pena Nieto cast a different tone late Tuesday, tweeting, “I believe in dialogue to promote Mexico’s interests in the world and, principally, to protect Mexicans wherever they are.” Clinton’s campaign has urged voters to not “be fooled” by what it calls Trump’s attempts to disguise his immigration policies. “What ultimately matters is what Donald Trump says to voters in Arizona, not Mexico, and whether he remains committed to the splitting up of families and deportation of millions,” said campaign communications director Jennifer Palmieri. l

Israeli Jews, Muslims puzzled by French burkini ban n Reuters, Tel Aviv In Israel, where it is fair to say Muslims and Jews do not always agree, there is shared confusion and surprise at events across the Mediterranean: the push by French mayors to ban full-body swimsuits, or “burkinis”, on beaches. France’s highest administrative court ruled against the ban on Friday, but mayors in several beach-front towns have said they will defy the edict, determined to stop swimwear designed to be Islam-compliant appearing in public. It is a policy that has drawn some popular support while provoking outrage and ridicule, with editorialists playing up the irony of a liberal country challenging the strictures of Islam by telling women what they cannot wear. In Israel, there may be profound ideological and political differences between the Jewish population and the near 20% Muslim minority, but it has never come down to banning someone’s dress on the basis of religion. “It is very funny that people think they are so liberal and open

and yet they cannot stand other religions and the feelings of other people,” said Ruti Solomon, an Israeli Jewish woman enjoying the sunshine on the beach in Tel Aviv. Behind her, Muslim women with their bodies and heads fully covered in burkini-like clothing played in the water or relaxed on the sand, with the church spires and mosque minarets of the town of Jaffa in the near distance.

USA

Clinton to stress American leadership in the world Hillary Clinton plans to address America’s leadership in the world during a speech in the battleground state of Ohio, arguing that Republican nominee Donald Trump would undermine the country’s greatness while she would maintain it. Clinton’s midday address at the American Legion’s annual convention in Cincinnati Wednesday comes as Trump plans a last-minute trip to Mexico. -AP

THE AMERICAS

Maduro vows crackdown on protest violence Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro vowed Tuesday to jail opposition leaders if they incite violence during upcoming protests seeking a referendum on removing him from power. Maduro, blamed for economic crisis, accused opposition leaders of plotting a terrorist coup against him before Thursday’s nationwide protests. He also accused US of plotting against leftist governments in Latin America. -AFP

May: No staying in the EU by back door Theresa May has told her cabinet that there will be no attempts to stay in the EU by the back door, as she began the first meeting of her top team since the summer break. The prime minister started the session at Chequers by telling colleagues they would be discussing the next steps towards Britain’s exit from the European project, and the opportunities available. -THE GUARDIAN

EUROPE

Italy rescues 3,000 migrants Some 3000 migrants were saved in the Strait of Sicily in 30 separate rescue missions on Tuesday, the Italian coastguard said, bringing the total to almost 10,000 in 2 days and marking a sharp acceleration in refugee arrivals in Italy. The migrants were dangerously unstable in high seas. No details were immediately available on their nationalities. -REUTERS

We’re sane

Of course, Israel has its quirks, too. The ultra-Orthodox Jewish population enjoys the seaside as much as anyone else. But they keep separate, not only having segregated beaches but alternating the bathing days for men and women. North of Tel Aviv, it was women’s day at an ultra-Orthodox beach on Tuesday. Busloads of visitors arrived in full-body swimwear and went down to the beachfront via a security gate, with high fencing all around to keep out prying eyes. Anat Yahav is the chief executive of SunWay UV Clothing, an Israeli company that supplies

World

AFRICA

A Muslim woman wearing a Hijab uses her mobile phone to take a photograph as she stands in the Mediterranean Sea at a beach in Tel Aviv, Israel on August 30 REUTERS modest swimwear to Jews and Muslims in Israel and beyond. Muslim women generally prefer swimsuits with a head covering and Jewish women full-body suits without one, she says. Either way, business is strong and she cannot understand why the French have decided to kick up such a fuss. “When I see what’s happening in France, I think we’re very sane here,” she said with a laugh.

France’s move against burkinis follows a series of deadly attacks by Islamist militants that has put the nation on edge. While Israeli beach-goers sympathised about the need to tighten security, they warned against missing the target. “In France ... it is a big problem right now,” said Shiran Rokban, a sunbather in Tel Aviv. “They have to deal with the real thing, not with the burkini and all these things on the beach.” l

Interior minister: Gabon President Bongo wins reelection Gabon President Ali Bongo won re-election in a hotly contested weekend election with 49.80% of ballots cast, according to final results announced by Interior Minister Pacome Moubelet Boubeya on Wednesday. Bongo’s chief rival Jean Ping, who had already announced he won the vote, came second with 48.23%. Election commission members from the opposition rejected the result. -REUTERS

World

THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 1, 2016

INSIGHT

Death of IS tactician comes at critical moment n Reuters, Beirut Islamic State group spokesman and top strategist Abu Mohamed al-Adnani has been killed in Syria, the group said, with both Washington and Moscow claiming credit. Adnani was IS’s propaganda chief, top recruiter and the reported mastermind of a string of ISclaimed attacks in the West. In Washington, the Pentagon said US-led coalition forces had targeted Adnani in an air strike in Syria’s Aleppo province on Tuesday but did not immediately confirm his death. Russia’s military said one of its air strikes had killed Adnani in a bombing raid Tuesday that left up to 40 IS jihadists dead. Regardless of who was responsible, analysts say his death will be a major blow to IS, which has suffered a series of setbacks this year including territorial losses in Syria and Iraq and the killings of other top figures. Not only did Adnani orchestrate Islamic State’s propaganda effort, an undertaking at the heart of its quest to lay waste modern nation states, but he also served as one of its principle military planners. If his death is confirmed, those skills will be hard to replace, even in a group as resilient as Islamic State, after a series of territorial losses and killings of top leaders. In recent months Islamic State’s losses in Iraq have mounted. Fallujah has fallen in the west and Iraqi forces have captured key approaches to Mosul, the ancient Tigris city whose fall in 2014 signalled the group’s lightning rise. Meanwhile, advances by a USbacked coalition in Syria have all but cut Islamic State off from the Turkish border, after the loss of the key town of Manbij, and started to press into its Euphrates valley heartland. Few people expect further advances against Islamic State to be rapid or straightforward, but the group’s enemies have built a clear momentum in both Iraq and Syria that has pushed it to adopt a strategy of attacks overseas. Adnani was the man behind that policy, demonstrating an ideological and tactical flexibility that allowed the group first to capitalise on its seizure of land, and then to adapt as it was forced to retreat. In doing so, Islamic State has made a switch in emphasis from its dreams of unifying all Muslims under a single, militant caliphate, to an older jihadist strategy of striking terror into its enemies by attacking them in their own countries. But it has done this partly by harnessing shock tactics and social media to inspire and guide attacks by

radicalised amateurs, rather than rely solely upon the highly trained but cumbersome militant cells of an earlier era. This, in part, was Adnani’s legacy.

Inroads into IS

Adnani was a Syrian from Binish in Idlib, southwest of Aleppo, who pledged allegiance to Islamic State’s predecessor, al-Qaeda, more than a decade ago and was once imprisoned by US forces in Iraq, according to the Brookings Institution. He was from a well-to-do background but left Syria to travel to Iraq to fight US forces there after its 2003 invasion, and only returned to his homeland after the start of its own civil war in 2011, a person who knew his family said. He once taught theology and law in jihadi training camps, according to Brookings. A biography posted on militant websites says he grew up with a “love of mosques” and was a prolific reader. He had been the chief propagandist for the ultra-hardline jihadist group since he declared in a June 2014 statement that it was establishing a modern-day caliphate spanning swaths of territory it had seized in Iraq and neighbouring Syria. Adnani had often been the face of the Sunni militant group, such as when he issued a message in May urging attacks on the United States and Europe during the holy month of Ramadan, and as in September 2014 when he called on supporters to kill Westerners throughout the world. Recent advances by the USbacked Syrian Democratic Forces, an alliance of Kurdish and Arab militias, and by Syrian rebels backed by Turkey, have made inroads into Islamic State holdings in Aleppo province, cutting them off from the Turkish border and supply lines along it. Iraqi army advances against the jihadist group meant Baghdad was on track to retake Mosul by the end of this year, the head of the US military’s Central Command General Joseph Votel said on Tuesday.

Apocalyptic prophecy

Islamic State said on Tuesday Adnani was killed “while surveying the operations to repel the military campaigns against Aleppo. It pledged to avenge his death but did not disclose details on how he died or who was killed with him. A US defence official told Reuters the United States targeted Adnani on Tuesday in a strike on a vehicle travelling in the Syrian town of alBab. He stopped short of confirming Adnani’s death, however. Such US assessments often take days and often lag behind official announcements by militant groups. Adnani’s presence in the Aleppo countryside may reflect its strategic

ABU MOHAMMED AL-ADNANI Abu Mohammed al-Adnani, born Taha Sobhi Falaha in Syria, was the official spokesman and a senior leader of the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL). He was ISIL’s main conduit for the dissemination of official messages, including ISIL’s declaration of the creation of an Islamic Caliphate. Al-Adnani was one of the first foreign fighters to oppose Coalition Forces in Iraq before becoming ISIL’s spokesman. The US Department of State designated him on August 18, 2014, as a most-wanted global terrorist.

EARLY YEARS

The 39-year-old fought against the US led coalition in Iraq and is believed to have been captured between 2005 and 2010 of the conflict. During his time at the US camp detention facility Camp Bucca, it is reported that Adnani first met Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi— the current leader and self-proclaimed caliph of ISIS.

BECOMING THE VOICE OF IS

Date of Birth: 1977 Place of Birth: Banash, Syria Nationality: Syria

Aliases: Taha Sobhi Falaha, Taha al-Banshi, Abu Mohammad al-Adnani, Abu Mohammed al-Adnani, Abu Muhammad al-Adnani al-Shami, Yasser Khalaf Hussein Nazal al-Rawi, Jaber Taha Falah, Abu Baker al-Khatab, Abu Sadek al-Rawi

and symbolic importance to Islamic State. The northwest has become both the most active theatre of Syria’s war and an arena for competing regional and global powers. The government and mainstream rebel groups, which between them hold most of Syria’s western, most populous, regions, have focused on their battle for control of Aleppo, Syria’s biggest city before the war, and a strategic prize. But to the north and east, a secondary conflict has played out as US-backed Kurdish fighters and Turkey-backed rebels, who are also fighting each other, have squeezed IS’s once expansive tracts along the Turkish border and Euphrates basin. These advances have all but cut off Islamic State from its last foothold on the Turkish border, its link to new foreign recruits, while a steady push from the north has brought its enemies to within 30km (18 miles) of its Syrian capital Raqqa. But these strategic setbacks are not Islamic State’s only interest in the Aleppo countryside: just 30km northwest of al-Bab, where Adnani was reportedly killed in an airstrike after arriving to tour the battlefield, is the village of Dabiq.

Adnani revealed the group’s aims to be a governing entity rather than a terrorist group in June 2014 when he first declared IS a “caliphate,” led by Baghdadi. He began to be known as the official spokesman of the group and the US Department of State officially designated him as a terrorist in August 2014.

WOUNDED IN BATTLE

In January 2016, reports claimed Adnani was injured in an airstrike in the Iraqi town of Barwanah. Iraq’s joint operation command said he had lost large amounts of blood and was transported to the Iraqi city of Heet for treatment.

A few streets surrounded by fields, it will be the site, says Islamic prophecy, of a final battle between Muslims and infidels that will herald the apocalypse. So important is this event in Islamic State propaganda, of which Adnani was the chief, that Dabiq was the name chosen for its online magazine that sought to inspire new recruits to its militant cause and instruct them in the ways of global jihad.

Hammered

Hammered by two years of US-led coalition air strikes and military losses on the ground, Adnani increasingly called in audio messages for attacks against the United States and Western countries. His group said it was behind deadly attacks in Paris, Nice and Brussels. The shift was partly born of tactical necessity after Western and regional governments made it harder for would-be militants to travel to Syria or Iraq to join the group. “If the tyrants close the door of migration in your faces, then open the door of jihad in theirs and turn their actions against them,” he said in an audio clip. Born in 1977 as Taha Subhi

Falaha in Syria’s Idlib Province southwest of Aleppo, he pledged allegiance to Islamic State’s predecessor, al Qaeda, more than a decade ago and was once imprisoned by US forces in Iraq. He left Syria to travel to Iraq to fight US forces there after its 2003 invasion, and only returned to his homeland after the start of its own civil war in 2011, a person who knew his family said. A biography posted on militant websites says he grew up with a “love of mosques” and was a prolific reader. A US counter-terrorism official who monitors Islamic State said Adnani’s death would hurt the militants “in the area that increasingly concerns us as the group loses more and more of its caliphate and its financial base ... and turns to mounting and inspiring more attacks in Europe, Southeast Asia and elsewhere”. Hisham al-Hashimi, a Baghdad-based security analyst that advises the Iraqi government on IS affairs: said:`As a military target, Adnani is less important than (ex war minister Omar) al-Shishani... (killed earlier this year in Iraq). His death is mainly a blow to their morale, he is the one who inspires the fighters to join in Syria.’’ l

World

THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 1, 2016

Upheaval, blockade push Nepal’s trade record deficit n Reuters, Kathmandu Nepal’s trade deficit grew to a record $6.5bn in the financial year to mid-July, an increase of 2%, as political upheaval, a blockade of its border with India and the lack of industrial development all weighed on foreign trade. Exports fell by 17.8% to $655.3m while imports grew by 0.1% to $7.2bn in the year, data from the central Nepal Rastra Bank (NRB) showed, making grim reading for the Himalayan nation

as it tries to recover from two earthquakes last year that killed 9,000 people and caused extensive damage. Landlocked Nepal depends chiefly on India for transit of overland cargo to third countries. But movement of goods came to a near halt for five months as trucks were held up at the border due to protests by ethnic minority Madhesis, objecting to a new constitution, that left more than 50 dead before ending in February. “If the deficit was due to rising

imports of capital goods and machinery for productive purposes it would not make much difference,” said Shankar Pandey, a member of the Federation of Nepalese Chambers of Commerce and Industry. Nepal’s reliance on imports of raw materials saps the competitiveness of export industries like garments and carpets - making them up to 40% more expensive than products from Bangladesh, China or India, say business officials.

Investors have steered clear of the impoverished country, deterred by a lack of market information and revolving door politics that has seen eight changes of government in as many years since the abolition of the monarchy in 2008. The widening trade deficit also reflects a shift by entrepreneurs from manufacturing to trading that entails fewer business risks and brings higher profits, Commerce Department official Hari Narayan Belbase said. Exports carry no duty except a

nominal service charge. Traditionally, Nepal has been able to bridge its trade gap with remittances from millions of workers abroad who have helped keep its overall balance of payment in surplus. Workers’ remittances increased by 7.7% and stood at $6.2bn during the year, the central bank said. “The government is basking in remittances and export promotion is not its priority,” said Anup Malla, who exports handmade woollen carpets. l

12 Business

THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 1, 2016

TOP STORIES BANGLADESH EXPORT TEND OF PROCESSED 50 5.5 4

Source: EPB

27 7.9 0

39 7.5 4

400

33 0. 16

500

39 9. 73

600

Figure in Million($)

300 200

n Ibrahim Hossain Ovi

100 0

Most tanners to fail tanning sacrificial hides in Savar

2011-12

2012-13

2013-14

2014-15

2015-16

Processed leather exports keep falling Bangladesh’s processed leather export earnings fell for the second consecutive year as the country received $278m last fiscal year which is 30% less than the previous year’s. PAGE 13

G20 to go long on rhetoric, short on economic policy G20 leaders will meet in China this weekend in a climate of economic uncertainty and sluggish global growth – but the absence of an urgent crisis means the forum will be short on breakthroughs, analysts say. PAGE 14

NBR boss appreciates illegal luxury vehicle dumping National Board of Revenue (NBR) Chairman Nojibur Rahman has appreciated the recent culture of dumping the tax-evaded illegal luxury vehicles on the streets, as saying, “Such a tendency gives us a positive signal that the people are now coming out from the ill practice of tax dodging.” PAGE 15

Capital market snapshot: Wednesday DSE Broad Index

4,526.6

0.1% ▲

Index

1,097.5

-0.1% ▼

30 Index

1,735.4

0.0% ▲

Turnover in Mn Tk

4,093.9 -22.9% ▼

Turnover in Mn Vol

101.9 -19.8% ▼

CSE All Share Index 13,900.8

-0.0% ▼

30 Index

12,632.7

-0.0% ▼

8,462.2

-0.0% ▼

Selected Index Turnover in Mn Tk

220.7 -10.3% ▼

Turnover in Mn Vol

7.0 -15.1% ▼

Despite the court order and several attempts by the government, most tanneries have yet to relocate to Savar Industrial Leather Park, thereby being unable to tan hides collected during the upcoming Eid. Instead, they would have to sustain processing rawhide in Hazaribagh area, paying a daily fine. According to Bangladesh Tanners Association (BTA) and government officials, only 40 tannery owners out of 155 is likely to start wet blue – a process of converting rawhide and skin to tanned leather using chromium salts. On June 16, the High Court slapped a daily fine of Tk50,000 on each of the 154 tanneries that would fail to relocate to Savar from Hazaribagh. Later, the fine was reduced to Tk10,000 a day in review of the petitions. While the Industry Ministry asked the tanners to process sacrificial raw hides in Savar Industrial Park especially built for the country’s over $1 billion export-earner leather industry. According to the court order, about 160 tannery owners have to pay Tk10,000 each totaling Tk1.6 crore a day until they are able to relocate factories to the saver industrial estate. “As of yesterday, a total of 10 tanneries are ready to process raw hides in the Savar industrial estate. Based on work progress, it is expected that 30-35 tannery units would be able to start operation before the upcoming Eid ul-Azha,” Abdul Quayum, project director of the Savar Leather Industrial Park, told the Dhaka Tribune. “But we are ready to treat waste of 48 tanneries as two modules of Central Effluent Treatment Plants (CETP) are fully prepared to go in operation any time.” However, leaders of the tannery owners’ platform and finished leader goods blamed the government for slow progress. They argued that the CETP is not yet ready while the water connection and sewerage line are yet to be okayed. “A total of 113 of 145 tannery owners got plot allocation in the industrial park. Of them, 20 will be able to start processing before Eid,” Md Shakawat Ullah, general secretary, Bangladesh Tanners Association (BTA) told the Dhaka Tribune. He also said another 20 tanneries from the finished leather good section are ready to go in opera-

Partial view of Savar Leather Industrial Park tion before the Eid. According to Bangladesh Finished Leather, Leather Goods and Footwear Exporters Association (BFLLFEA), a total of 20 members out of 55 would be able to start processing rawhide before Eid in the Savar Industrial Park. “We are shifting to Savar to make our industry more environmentally compliant. But the CETP is still under construction,” M Abu Taher, former chairman of BFLLFEA told the Dhaka Tribune. “If we cannot treat tannery waste, it would not bring benefits to the environment,” Taher said, alleging that sewerage and CETP are yet to get ready to provide service. He emphasised loan facility to the tannery owners and landownership. If the government offers landownership, it will help factory owners especially the small and medium ones to get loan by mortgaging their property, he added arguing that it is a costly investment and needs a huge amount of money. Brushing aside the allegation, Quayum said the CETP, sewerage line and water passage are fully ready to process waste from the factory. He also said water connection system is ready and water will be supplied to the units three to four days after demand is placed. According to the sector people, the project would be completed by June next year and all tannery owners would be able to start pro-

MEHEDI HASAN

About 160 tannery owners have to pay Tk10,000 each totaling Tk1.6 crore a day until they are able to relocate factories to the saver industrial estate. cessing in the industrial zone as about 80 companies have erected one to five floors and would be able to relocate very soon. Those who are unable to relocate will process their rawhide in Hazaribagh, paying fine as per the court directive while others will do the task in the industrial zone, said BTA leader Shakawat. “We will urge the government

to relax its position so that the tanners can do their business, or else it would hurt their rawhide collection as well its processing.” The Industry Ministry allocated plots to 155 tannery owners through the Bangladesh Small and Cottage Industries Corporation (BSCIC) in the Leather Industrial Park, which has been established on 200 acres of land in Savar. As per the agreement, the government was supposed to establish a Central Effluent Treatment plant (CETP) at the industrial park to ensure that the liquid wastes discharged by the tanners are treated before flowing into the nearby river. The government decided to transfer the tanneries from Hazaribagh amid pressure from local and international rights groups, environmental activists and buyers because of their hazardous effects on public health and environment, especially the Buriganga River. l

Processed leather exports keep falling 27 7.9 0

39 7.5 4

Source: EPB

400

0. 16

500

39 9. 73

600

Figure in Million($)

50 5.5 4

BANGLADESH EXPORT TEND OF PROCESSED

300 200 100 0

2011-12

2012-13

n Ibrahim Hossain Ovi Bangladesh’s processed leather export earnings fell for the second consecutive year as the country received $278m last fiscal year which is 30% less than the previous year’s. Exporters attributed the fall to the international buyers’ reluctance to source from non-compliant tanneries. Industry people said the country has a large stock of processed leather at the warehouses while the Eid-ul-Azha, the Muslims’ occasion of sacrificing animals, is approaching. About 70% of rawhide are collected during the Eid-ulAzha in the Muslim majority Bangladesh. “Non-compliance with environmental and other issues in the Bangladeshi tanneries

2013-14

2014-15

2015-16

are to blame for downward trend in the processed leather exports,” said an exporter. He said: “Buyers are not willing to collect processed leather from Bangladeshi tanneries as the tanneries do not properly follow environmental and health issues.” According to the Export Promotion Bureau data, the country earned $278m exporting processed leather in the fiscal year 2015-16. But the earning in the previous fiscal was about $400m. However, the total earnings from the leather and leather goods, the second highest contributor to national exports after garment industry has posted a 2.7% rise to earn $1.16bn from $1.13bn a year ago. Of the figure, an amount of $278m came from processed

leather export, $388m from leather goods and $495m from footwear export. “We have stocks of leather from last year’s collection as the buyers didn’t buy them because of concerns with environment and health hazards,” M. Abu Taher former chairman of Bangladesh Finished Leather, Leather Goods and Footwear Exporters Association (BFLLFEA) told the Dhaka Tribune. The international buyers maintain a policy in sourcing that the factories will be compliant with environmental matters, Taher said. “However, we will hopefully come out of the current dull situation soon as we are very close to relocate all tanneries to the Savar Industrial Zone. The initiative of relocation is to keep the environment safe.” On the other hand, industry people said, the recession in the export destination countries is another reason behind the slow earnings in leather exports. The Ministry of Industry allocated plots to 155 tannery owners through the Bangladesh Small and Cottage Industries Corporation (BSCIC) in the Leather Industrial Park, which has been established on 200 acres of land in Savar. This estate is aimed at making the sector environment-friendly. l

Citycell shutdown: Nine banks, three FIs in trouble n Asif Showkat Kallol Nine banks and three financial institutions are in deep trouble as shutdown of financially strapped Citycell, the country’s oldest mobile phone operator, hangs in the balance, said sources in the central bank. According to the Bangladesh Bank, Citycell has taken Tk1,500 crore loan from different commercial banks and financial institutions. Of the amount, some banks and financial institutions are the guarantors of Tk1,200 crore. “Citycell failed to repay loan as it is mired into the financial crisis over the last one year,” said a BB official. Even after the extension of loan agreement with some banks, the company failed

to continue to repay loan, he added. BB recently wrote nine banks and three financial institutions not to release fresh loan to the struggling Citycell unless meet earlier installments of loans. According to the central bank, as the guarantor of the Citycell loan, AB Bank paid Tk600 crore to different banks, City Bank Tk145 crore to BRAC Bank and Prime Bank Tk25 crore to a bank. NCCB was also the guarantor of the Citycell loan and Mutual Trust tried to realise Tk40 crore from the company. On Monday, Supreme Court gave the Citycell two month time to pay its Tk477 crore regulatory dues, twothird of which has to be paid within the next thirty days.

The telecom regulator, in a public notice on July 31, asked Citycell subscribers to shift to other operators by August 16. Later, the deadline was extended to August 23. However, in last week, the High Court directed that the mobile operator can continue its operation ‘unhindered’ until September 16, as BTRC has already given Citycell 30 days’ time to explain its position. The country’s lone CDMA operator has seen drastic fall in the number of its subscribers during the last few years. Even before the recent BTRC move, the total number of Citycell subscribers stood at 0.7 million, down from 1.9 million in 2011. Currently, the company is estimated to have 0.2 million subscribers. l

Business

THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 1, 2016

ERL pipeline construction approved n Asif Showkat Kallol

The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs has approved the Energy Division’s proposal for appointing a Chinese firm to install single-point mooring with double pipeline for the state-run Eastern Refinery Ltd.

China Petroleum Pipeline Bureau will construct the SPM on Sonadia Island in deep sea where large oil tankers will anchor, Mostafizur Rahman, additional secretary to the cabinet division, told the reporters after a meeting of the cabinet committee yesterday.

As per the latest project design, two large 36-inch pipelines would be built there to pump the oil to a storage facility on Matarbari Island in Maheshkhali. At present, large tankers anchor in deep sea and smaller ships unload and bring the oil to storage facilities of ERL. l

Business

THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 1, 2016

G20 to go long on rhetoric, short on economic policy n AFP, Beijing G20 leaders will meet in China this weekend in a climate of economic uncertainty and sluggish global growth – but the absence of an urgent crisis means the forum will be short on breakthroughs, analysts say. Eight years after the first G20 summit in Washington, when countries coordinated a response to the financial meltdown, Beijing has set a modest agenda for the Hangzhou gathering - focusing on making the world economy “innovative, invigorated, interconnected, and inclusive”. But as countries’ economic needs diverge - the US is mulling a rate hike, Japan is toying with fresh easing, Germany is sceptical of fiscal stimulus, Chinese overcapacity remains huge, and Britain has voted to quit the EU – the prospects for major unified action are dim. “At the moment there’s simply not a lot of common overlapping interests between the major econo-

People cycle past a billboard for the upcoming G20 summit in Hangzhou REUTERS mies,” Christopher Balding, professor of economics at Peking University HSBC Business School, told AFP. The G20 is made up of the world’s leading industrialised and emerging economies, which together account for 85% of the world’s gross domestic product and two-thirds of its population. But its failure to deliver on past pledges has raised questions about the credibility of future promises.

Compliance with vows made in 2015 has fallen to a low of 63%, according to analysis by the University of Toronto.

Disappointing growth

“Ongoing economic malaise has been accompanied by the unwillingness of G20 members to sustain their commitment to the structural reforms needed to meet the growth pledge,” said Tristram Sainsbury

and Hannah Wurf of the G20 Studies Centre at Australia’s Lowy Institute in a report. Despite repeated promises to achieve the G20’s mission of strong, sustainable, balanced growth, members are “not achieving any of those three terms”, Sainsbury told AFP. Every year since 2011 the IMF has revised downwards its economic forecasts made at the beginning of the year as hopes for recovery have disappointed. This summer it again cut its forecast for global growth in 2016 to 3.1%. It is a far cry from the sunny pledges of the Brisbane Action Plan two years ago, when G20 leaders set a goal of lifting collective GDP an extra 2.1% beyond baseline IMF predictions by 2018. Leaders said at the time that doing so would add $2tn and millions of jobs to the world economy. “The best way to think of the forum is a dinner party that happens to include leaders of 85% of the world economy around the table making pledges,” said Sainsbury.

“People can go and make statements, but then they go home, and there’s no guaranteed way of enforcing a commitment.” But there is no doubt the G20 was useful, he added, as it provides a platform for leaders to coordinate financial policies, bolster market confidence, and reach agreements on matters such as tax havens. “What we often say is, if the G20 didn’t exist, someone would have to invent it.”

Introspection

Beijing’s G20 presidency this year has seen some areas of agreement, with a finance ministers’ meeting in February helping bring a measure of stability to volatile markets that were hit by concerns about China’s growth and the depreciation of its yuan currency. While global growth remains underwhelming, experts say Beijing will probably seek longer-term agreements on lower-key matters at the G20 that support its domestic goals. l

NBR boss appreciates illegal luxury vehicle dumping n Tribune Business Desk National Board of Revenue (NBR) Chairman Nojibur Rahman has appreciated the recent culture of dumping the tax-evaded illegal luxury vehicles on the streets, as saying, “Such a tendency gives us a positive signal that the people are now coming out from the ill practice of tax dodging.” A luxury car was found abandoned on a road adjacent to the customs intelligence office at Kakrail in the city on Tuesday mid-night. Along with his MercedesBenz, the owner of the car also left a letter in which he claimed that he had abandoned the car just to respect the rule of law. Earlier in April, two luxury cars were found in the same condition in Sylhet. “NBR welcomes such a tendency as it gives us a signal that people are now trying to come out from the tax evasion tendency,” said Nojibur while addressing a workshop on “Value Added Tax and Supplementary Duty Act, 2012” held in the capital yesterday.

He also claimed that people are now dumping their tax-evaded luxurious vehicles spontaneously on the streets as they got the message that the existing leadership of NBR won’t bow down to any pressure. NBR boss also claimed that the NBR has also been working successfully on preventing money laundering by filing some cases recently. Appreciating the service holders, Nojibur said: “Executives of banks and financial institutions are paying their tax properly. Though there are some problems, we don’t want to terrify the people.” He also assured the service holders of settling all the problems through negotiations. Responding to a question that the bank executives are scared about NBR’s notice over tax collection, Nojibur said: “We will raise the issue at the review meeting on revenue collection to be held today (Thursday).” NBR has undertaken various measures to create awareness through training programme over new VAT law. l

CORPORATE NEWS

Sonali Bank Limited has recently held a management committee meeting, said a press release. The bank’s MD and CEO, Md Obayed Ullah Al Masud attended the meeting as chief guest

NCC Bank Ltd has recently opened an ATM Booth at Bashundhara Residential Area in Dhaka, said a press release. The bank’s chairperson, Abdus Salam inaugurated the booth

Business

THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 1, 2016

Feature

THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 1, 2016

Getting to the other side n Mahmood Sadi

hile crossing the Karwanbazaar underpass once, I was approached by two students of Architecture Department of Ahsanullah University of Science and Technology who were conducting some sort of research survey on underpasses.

They asked me whether I prefer the underpass over the footbridge while crossing a road. I replied: “underpass.” When they asked why, I said, “When using the underpass, you need to go down instead of climbing up. That’s easier because you are not working against gravity.” One of the students then told me that after crossing the road, I need to climb up the stairs, so what’s the difference? I had no answer. Later, while conversing with one of my architect friends, I figured out the answer. Psychologically it’s easier to start crossing the road by going down rather than climbing up the stairs. I, however, didn’t have any research findings to back my idea up. Since I didn’t take any contact numbers from those students, I couldn’t know the outcome

of their survey either. Later, I conducted a small survey among my friends trying to figure out whether people choose the footbridge or the underpass. I got a mixed response. Most of them, however, said one thing: they always prefer jaywalking to cross the road more than they prefer taking either of those two options.

Jaywalking rules The truth is that the purpose of building underpasses and footbridges is lost because people still prefer jaywalking as the prime option for getting to the other side of the road. Dhaka is one of the worst pedestrian-friendly cities in the world. Walking along its footpath has been a difficult task due to rampant encroachment made by different vendors. Adding to the woes of pedestrians is the nuisance created by motorcyclists who suddenly invade footpaths trying to avoid traffic on the roads. Dhaka Metropolitan City has about 2290km of roads and the total length of footpaths is only 388km. Yet a study conducted by Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) in 2010 showed that from 20 million daily Dhaka commuters, 30% commute on

foot travelling between 0 to 2.5km distances. This huge number of pedestrians has to cross the road for a number of times on a single day. There are 54 footbridges in total and three underpasses in the capital, however, those are not enough to support the high number of commuters. Ironically, even these footbridges and underpasses are

lying unused as people get too impatient to cross roads and don’t bother walking that “extra mile” while getting to the other side of the road. The sorry state of footbridges Besides lying unused, several of the footbridges are in dilapidated condition; hawkers have made some of the bridges their trading ground and eveteasers choose these spots as their playing field. The bridges located at the busy points or adjacent market are mostly taken up by hawkers as they have positioned their makeshift shops to make way for quick sales. Farmgate, the area with the capital’s heaviest traffic has three footbridges as major inter-city buses use the route but people still jaywalk there as the bridges are occupied by hawkers and their

customers. Moreover, it is also a thriving ground for pickpockets. Meanwhile, the biggest footbridges in the capital located at the Mirpur -10 Chottor is also mostly occupied by hawkers that sell mobile phone covers, trinkets, toys, peanuts, fruits, hosiery, cosmetics and several other things. Bridges which are not occupied by hawkers, like those situated on VIP road or next to educational institutions are in dire states. The footbridge located on Mirpur road next to Dhanmondi Govt Boys has grass growing on it. The footbridge located at Suritola next to Suritola Primary School has become the local man’s dustbin. Kakrail’s overbridge located in front of Wills Little Flower School is suffering the same fate. It is to be noted that one of the students of this school died two years ago under the bridge while he was jaywalking during a busy hour. Some of the bridges even become a safe place for drug abusers. The bridges located at BUET, Azimpur, Baridhara Natun Bazaar, BAF officers mess and Bangla College are becoming the ideal spot for drug abusers especially since after a certain hour, those bridges have zero traffic. Better cases for underpasses The three underpasses in DhakaGulistan under the Dhaka South City Corporation and Karwan Bazar and Gabtoli underpass under the Dhaka North City Corporation experience relatively more traffic than footbridges. Aside from the Gulistan underpasses that house fullfledged markets, the other two underpasses were in a very sorry state before the Mitsubishi Corporation took the responsibility of transforming the Gabtoli underpass and the underpass near ATN News and IFIC Bank. Now these two underpasses

have become aesthetic and functional and a huge number of people use it on a daily basis. The Gulistan underpass, however, is also in derelict condition, with no repair work having been done for many years. It houses a total of 104 shops in the underground market and the owners association have been asking the civic body to repair it for a long time now. Meanwhile, the government intends to build two new underpasses connecting the parliament to NAM Bhaban while another is between Shahjalal International Airport and Airport railway station in the capital. The new underpasses, however, will be built with multipurpose usage facilities akin to a tunnel, sources shared. Other solutions? Dr Sarwar Jahan, professor of Urban and Regional Planning Department of BUET said that both footbridges and underpasses are constructed in the city to facilitate smooth walking pathways for pedestrians. “However, modern cities across the world have regulated traffic management and strong enforcement which makes crossing roads through zebra crossing possible. In Dhaka, people are too impatient and traffic systems are not at all regulated, so using zebra crossing becomes a distant possibility here.” He said that the city planners should look at alternative infrastructure which are more pedestrian-friendly to curb jaywalking. “The truth is footbridges or underpasses are no longer the preferred choice for pedestrians’ world over. Structures like half-elevated roads with subways are advisable and I think Dhaka should consider building these.” l

THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 1, 2016

Jhumpa Lahiri’s ‘In Other Words’ n Atiya Rumni Mahmood In Other Words is Jhumpa Lahiri’s latest book, her memoir! Her own love story! Jhumpa Lahiri, a fiction writer and a Pulitzer Prize recipient in 2000, achieved success in her previous books by talking about others, and their lives, based on places where she has never lived. But in her latest book, In Other Words, she talks about herself - her own love story based in Italy. She was born in London and grew up in Boston, USA. Her parents were from West Bengal, India. Bengali was factually her mothertongue but she had never lived in Calcutta (her parents’ native city); so, in essence it’s a foreign language for her. At home she spoke Bengali with an accent but could not read or write in that language, while outside home it was all English. She is very vocal about the agonies of her dual linguistic existence during her younger days. She says: “I never felt that Bengali was fully mine and I never felt that English was fully mine either. I had studied Italian for many years — simply for the love of it”. But she also studied the language “for another kind of need, I suppose — a more irrational, emotional need.” Her earlier writings reflect a kind of compulsion: she needed to bring her parents’ long-lost, distant place back to them through her creative writings. Once that purpose seemed redundant for her (after her first four books), and her characteristic incessant sensitivity taunted her to express her identity - a writer, this time - she wished for something new and wanted to revive her anonymity in a very different literary arena. She abandoned her English for Italian as her new mode of expression and wrote In Other Words. Jhumpa Lahiri’s Italian acoustic relationship began in 1994 when she went on a trip to Florence, Italy. In her book she begins her first chapter telling us about her expedition to swim and her desire to go to the other side of a small lake in an isolated place. Once she crosses the lake and is standing on the other side, she reflects on her journey: “After crossing, the known shore becomes the opposite side: here becomes there. Charged with energy, I cross the lake again. I am elated”...... I got hooked onto the book with this paragraph. It has so much depth to it. Her power of illustration represents metaphorically the intensity of her internal and external struggles as she endeavours to learn and write

in the Italian language that she is in love with. This is her linguistic autobiography, her self-portrait. The genre of work does not leave much scope for Jhumpa Lahiri to be very creative. But she is a creative story teller. Her past stories were amazingly intertwined with her imagination, creativity and artistic lyrics. The long distance between her parents’ far-off land and her existence had made it possible for her to be creative. There she could tangle a web of complex, delicately drawn relationships and culture across the continents. But In Other Words the focus is narrowed on her, on the writer, on a single passion and an intimate relationship: between her and the Italian language. Jhumpa Lahiri possesses an amazing power to observe, to pen insights into the craft of writing. Even in a new language she didn’t lack her skilled writing ability and artistic vigour. Her self reflections are so vivid with her intimate thoughts, as she chronicles the process of learning the language in her chapters. Her emotions are inspired by her linguistic drive. When she is expressing her obsession, she writes: “A little like Matisse’s “Blue Nudes,” groups of cutout, reassembled female figures, I feel naked in this book, pasted to a new language, disjointed”.....In her new book she felt like Matisse, who moved away from his traditional painting and developed

Her earlier writings reflect a kind of compulsion: she needed to bring her parents’ long-lost, distant place back to them through her creative writings

a new artistic technique. The pages are written in small sentences, sometimes a bit abrupt, very much unlike her prior writings. But her candid revelation about her limitations with the new language lets us appreciate her more. She says “It comes in a flash. I hear the sentences in my brain. I do not know where they originate, I don’t know how I am able to hear them. I am afraid it will all disappear before I get it down.” Then she continues, “In English I can consider what I can write, I can stop after every sentence to look for the right words, to reorder them, change my mind a thousand times.” ..... Yet here her short

sentences are insightful and full of wisdom. They are stimulating for an audience in search of its own change of course. In Other Words is a short book, about 100 pages of actual texts, translated by Ann Goldstein. Lahiri and Goldstein appear parallel in this book. Lahiri’s Italian, is printed on the left-side pages and Goldstein’s English translation on the right. It consists of 24 chapters, of which there are two where she is telling two fictional short stories. Jhumpa Lahiri’s inspiring tone led me to relate with her subject and her place of creativity. This has indeed been a good read! l

Book Review

Biz Info

THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 1, 2016

| hospitality |

| meeting |

Hotel Highgarden’s conference hall

ADB interested to support ICT sector in Bangladesh to produce IT skilled manpower

Hotel Highgarden has a 100 person seating arrangement at their new conference hall. It is equipped with state-of-the-art fixtures and furnishings that allow for flexible layouts. Furthermore, the conference hall also includes a multimedia projector and motorised screen. For bookings call +880197771-237-882 or mail info@ hotelhighgarden.com or log onto www.hotelhighgarden.com. l

| competition |

Asian Development Bank (ADB) will initiate a project in Bangladesh for the development of the ICT sector of the country to produce IT skilled manpower and also help the country to build its digital capacity in 2017. ADB will assist the proposed project involving 250 million US dollars. The project will end in 2022. The project will be implemented in Dhaka University, Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology, Jahangirnagar University, Jessore University of Science and Technology, Islamic University of Technology, East West University, Ahsanullah University of Science and Technology, BRAC University and Daffodil International University under the supervision of the UGC. At the same time, UGC along with High Tech Park authority will supervise the IT sector.

and removal of existing challenges of the IT sector were elaborately discussed in the meeting. UGC chairman in his speech said that the successful implementation of the project will play a significant role in human resource development, employment generation, capacity building of universities and curriculum development. Rudi van Dael, senior social sector specialist, Bangladesh Resident Mission, ADB, Professor Dr Md Akhtar Hossain, member, UGC, Hosne Ara Begum, managing director, Bangladesh High Tech Park authority, Professor Dr A A M S Arefin Siddique, vicechancellor, Dhaka University, Professor Dr Saiful Islam, vice-chancellor, Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology, Professor Dr Md

UGC Chairman Professor Abdul Mannan held a meeting on the proposed project with the vice-chancellors of the universities and representatives from ADB, Bangladesh High Tech Park authority and ICT sector on September 29 at the UGC Bhaban. During the meeting, UGC chairman, vicechancellors and others present took part in the discussion with ADB representatives in their headquarters in Manila, Philippines through video conference. Determination of procedure of the project implementation, finding out demand and the identification

Abdus Sattar, vice-chancellor, Jessore University of Science and Technology, Professor Dr Shahidul Hasan, vicechancellor, East West University, Professor Dr A M M Shafiullah, vice-chancellor, Ahsanullah University of Science and Technology, Professor Syed Saad Andaleeb, vice-chancellor, BRAC University, Touhid Hossain, general secretary, Bangladesh Association of Call Centre and Out Sourcing, Uttam Kumar Paul, secretary general, Bangladesh Association of Software and Information Services were present. l

Apex NPCE 2016

The Rajuk College Photography Club (RCPC) was founded in 2012 for the photography enthusiasts from Rajuk college. There have been several exhibitions within the short lifespan of RCPC. This September 2016, they are going to organise a nationwide photography competition and exhibition titled “Apex National Photography Competition & Exhibition NPCE 2016” intended to bring photography enthusiasts from schools, colleges and universities together under one platform to showcase their

talent in different categories of photography. Apex Footwear Limited, the renowned footwear manufacturer of Bangladesh is the proud title sponsor of this NPCE 2016. Bangladeshi Photographers from any school/ college/university are welcome to participate. Participants are categorised into two groups. Group A goes for school and college students and group B is for university level students. Photo submission started on July 24, 2016 and ended on August 19, 2016. About 3,000+ photos have been submitted

from 34 districts. Photos were judged by Hasan Chandan, Latif Hossain and Shafiqul Alam Kiron. With the grand opening ceremony on September 1, 2016, the three day long Apex NPCE 2016 will be open for all to visit. The chief guest of the opening ceremony is the principal of Rajuk Uttara Model College Brig Gen M M Salehin. Moreover, the presence of many prominent photographers along with the participants, club members and the students of RUMC will help make Apex NPCE 2016 a grand event. l

Biz Info

THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 1, 2016

| signing |

| meals |

Miles and Bappa Mazumder first artists from Bangladesh under ArtistSpread platform

BBQ Bangladesh to give 20% discount on all items

The world’s leading music and home entertainment label Sony DADC and its official marketing and distribution partner in Bangladesh Creinse Limited, announced Miles as the first band and Bappa Mazumder as the first solo artist from Bangladesh chosen under ArtistSpread initiative to be globally distributed by Sony DADC. The announcement was made at a program held in La Meridien Dhaka. Rajat Kakar, managing director of Sony DADC India graced the occasion as the special guest, where some of the leading music personalities of the musician fraternity were present. Under the three-year tie-up of both Miles and Bappa Mazumder with Sony DADC and Creinse Limited for ArtistSpread, Sony DADC will market and distribute music albums, release singles and most importantly engage in cross country artist collaboration with some of the leading artists from India and the international arena. The content will be distributed across 200 platforms across multiple distribution channels. The name of the first female artist to be selected for ArtistSpread will also be announced sometime next month after the selection process is completed. Celebrating the announcement, Miles lead vocalist Shafin Ahmed commented “This is the biggest regional and global music distribution platform for Bangladeshi artists and we feel privileged to be the first ambassador of the venture. The Bangladeshi music scene is very lively and we have brilliant musicians here who are yet to be recognised in the international market. ArtistSpread is a great

platform to spread Bangladeshi music across the world. Under the banner, we are bringing out a number of exciting projects, which will hit the music scene very soon.” Bappa Mazumder expressed immense pride and gratitude on his selection, “It is a great pleasure and honour for me to say that my next album titled as ‘Bappa Mazumder’ is going to be released from Sony DADC. This is indeed a great step forward to present Bangladeshi artists and bands to the international music arena and I wish them all the very best.” Rajat Kakar, managing director, Sony DADC India said, “We are privileged and proud to expand our horizon to Bangladesh which is a vibrant ground of talented musicians. In recent years, we have noticed the emergence of significant talent and music emanating from Bangladesh. With the platform of ArtistSpread we hope to bring the best from Bangladesh to the world in alliance with our able and professional partner in Bangladesh, Creinse Limited.” Explaining ArtistSpread to the invitees of the occasion, Rajat said, “This initiative of Sony DADC and Creinse Limited is a unique regional and global music distribution platform for Bangladeshi artists and the first such initiative taken by Sony DADC for any market across the world. So this only signifies the interest and importance Sony DADC is placing on the Bangladesh market. Under this platform, Bangladeshi musicians and performers will be able to choose among three paid distribution service platforms to distribute their content to India and global scene across

200 distribution platforms encompassing online, telecom, streaming, e-commerce and retail distribution, as relevant. Beyond global and regional distribution, Bangladeshi artists will also get the opportunity to work with both celebrated regional and international music stars. ArtistSpread is the biggest music distribution platform for Bangladeshi artists regionally and globally under the endorsement of Sony DADC. “ ArtistSpread will facilitate Bangladeshi artists to enter the Indian market through a basket of distribution platforms such as leading Indian online and streaming platforms, Indian Telecom VAS Offerings, leading Indian e-commerce platforms and music retail stores. Physical albums will also be produced from the manufacturing plant of Sony DADC and released under Sony DADC brand for sale in leading Indian music chain stores and outlets. In addition, ArtistSpread will also create opportunities for music collaboration projects with Indian and global artists. Moreover, as value added service for all Bangladesh artistes who subscribe to the ArtistSpread platform, will be a facility to register with the biggest live events company in India. This will give Bangladeshi artists much needed exposure to the Indian music and event management community to create live events opportunity. Sony DADC will also put efforts to promote Bangladeshi artists in India through PR and marketing distribution, both in online and offline platforms. Creinse will promote the artistes through Social Media and other communication platforms. l

BBQ Bangladesh is going to offer 20% discount on all menu items with free home delivery. The terms and conditions include the following: • The offer is valid only for the Gulshan outlet • The offer is valid only for their own delivery system

• The delivery is not applicable for HungryNaki and Food Panda deliveries • Any other discount will not be valid on top of this offer. For more info contact BBQ, 175/A, Gulshan Avenue, Gulshan 2, Dhaka 1212, Bangladesh. Phone: 0177611778. l

| meals |

Human chain at NUST

Students, teachers and officials of Noakhali Science and Technology University formed a human chain on August 31, to protest against the national daily Jugantor after alleging that the newspaper had printed false and manipulated reports that hurts the reputation of the university. Mominul Haque, registrar, Mehedi Mahmudul Hasan,

chairman of the teachers’ body, Md Ruhul Amin, general secretary, and Dr Md Yusuf Miah, provost were present among others. Speakers stood in unison to protest false reports that have been circulated by the daily Jugantor and wishes for the honourable prime minister and education minister to step in and look into the matter. l

20 Editorial

THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 1, 2016

TODAY

John Kerry’s nine hours in Dhaka The recognition by our government of foreign inspiration and linkage of the terrorist groups operating in the country is probably the single best outcome of Kerry visit PAGE 21

India is next door, has a complex everyday relationship with Bangladesh, and is part of our security and political structure. That is why the Rampal plant is not just an energy issue or a matter of rights PAGE 22

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.

Our city needs planning, not punishment

The struggle for Olympic glory

Be heard

MEHEDI HASAN

Rampal: The political environment

here is none other but Rajuk to be blamed for Dhaka’s current situation. Since the Holey Artisan attack, continuous eviction drives in and around the city have led to loss of employment for many, and crores in losses for businesses. Rajuk must recognise that it is its own inability to make modern and adequate plans for Dhaka that has led our capital to this predicament. Removing schools, universities, and restaurants now, for which in many cases multiple government authorities had given permission. There is no co-ordination between government institutions, as a result of which, it is the people who suffer. It is fine to follow the letter of the law, but when a law is so patently athwart the public good, it is important to revise the law and to do so with urgency. Forcible implementation of laws that defy good sense does no one any good. Rajuk has continued with the eviction drive despite repeated warnings from leading experts in the field, such as architects, engineers, and entrepreneurs. A good example of Rajuk’s immense blunder is Dhanmondi, which was initially planned for a little over a thousand plots, but when apartment blocks were being approved, each plot was housing 20 families or more. Not only has this led to Dhanmondi becoming severely congested as an area, but also one which has not experienced a commensurate increase in commercial spaces. As a result, many “illegal” establishments have sprung up to meet essential needs of the communities. No one wants to see rampant growth of commercial spaces in residential areas either. It is high time for policies that would embrace the concept of mixed use neighbourhoods for real. Capacity for schools can be capped -- by number of seats, say -- based on plot size, built space, parking space, width of road in front, and access to outer roads. No one would object to the eviction of establishments that fail to meet the conditions of smart ratios and set and sensible fees. But keeping one of the world’s most populous capitals on tenterhooks with periodic eviction drives is absurd. Rajuk needs to plan out the city that is Dhaka as a holistic entity in conjunction with other government bodies, and all stakeholders, so that, ultimately, it is the citizens who are benefitted. Continuously wreaking havoc on the lives of those who keep this city running will achieve nothing at all, in the long run or short.

Keeping one of the world’s most populous capitals on tenterhooks with periodic eviction drives is absurd

Opinion

THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 1, 2016

John Kerry’s nine hours in Dhaka The success of the visit will be determined by what happens next

A new hope to end terrorism?

n Ziauddin Choudhury

he busiest secretary of state (foreign minister in most other countries) in the world spent a precious nine hours of his time in Dhaka on Monday, calling on the prime minister, his counterpart in Bangladesh, and other top officials. This was no social call, nor an appearance to attend any special event. It was to deliver a message on US concern on the terror threat that Bangladesh faces, and to offer a helping hand to meet the threat. The whole trip was unknown to the world, including the US, until about two weeks before it actually happened. Not that the planning of the trip was shrouded in secrecy, it was revealed well in advance. But the trip has obviously taken some of the observers by surprise, as much for the fact that this is the first official trip by John Kerry to Bangladesh as for its suddenness. To many observers in Bangladesh including our foreign policy experts, this visit has cleared some opaqueness in US-Bangladesh relationship that developed in the last few years over several issues, including reported US comments on violation of democratic processes, human rights, and holding of last elections in Bangladesh. For understandable reasons, our government has viewed these

PMO

comments with some amount of dismay and apprehension, and has responded coldly to the comments. In the not too distant a past, US overtures for a collaborative dialogue with the main opposition, when emissaries from US government were sent to the country, did not gain much favour with the government. In this background, a visit by a US secretary of state to Bangladesh, however sudden and short it may be, definitely would raise many eyebrows. Is this a sign of opening of a new chapter of goodwill from the US to Bangladesh? Does this augur a change in the US view of politics in the country and acceptance of status quo? Or is the visit designed to convey US concern on the radical Islamic militancy that has been developing in the country and its nexus with global terrorism and other radical affiliates, especially those spawned by IS that US is fighting? Fortunately the questions have been answered by John Kerry himself at the end of his short visit. Yes, the visit was to renew ties with a friendly country, but more importantly it was to forge an understanding with the government on the need to fight radicalism and terrorism, have mutual cooperation in combating the threat, and offer US help to Bangladesh in equipping the country with training and

technology to put down the growing threat. His remarks did not reveal any lack of trust or confidence in Bangladesh and its willingness to combat terrorism. He in fact dismissed a suggestion from an international correspondent (from VOA) that Bangladesh could be “hiding its head in the sands” on terrorism in the country and its nexus with foreign militants. He was confident that Bangladesh was well aware of the threat and its foreign implications. The reasons for such confident and reassuring comments from John Kerry apparently came from the assurances that he received from Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, who, according to him, agreed with the need for stemming the growth of terrorism domestically as well as internationally. She also agreed to cooperate with the US on measures that both countries need to take to fight terrorism and radicalism. This is good news for us, who have been weary of the radical threat looming in the country after waves of attacks. This is also good news that the prime minister agreed with John Kerry (as reported in the press) that the country’s terrorism is no work in isolation; its link goes well beyond our borders. The recognition by our government of foreign inspiration and foreign linkages of the

terrorist groups operating in the country is probably the single best outcome of Kerry visit. Heretofore, quite a few ministers in the government have been constantly harping on the theory of home-grown terrorism aided and abetted by the opposition parties whenever a terror attack took place. This catchphrase has been repeated in the face of compelling evidence of terror work being launched by militants and radicals who have been inspired or trained by external elements. In fact, the denial of foreign influence and foreign trained radical presence in the country, and attribution of terrorist work only to opposition party by the government became so characteristic that the foreign press described these as a ploy to suppress all opposition in the country. It is conceivable that the Kerry visit was warranted by repeated terror attacks in Bangladesh and apparent government attempts to tamp these down as handiwork of homegrown terrorism aided and abetted by opposition parties. A good evidence of this blinderdriven view of terrorism was the launching of anti-terrorism campaign in the country which led police to haul thousands of people suspected of terrorism, who later transpired to be mostly workers of the opposition parties. Most ironically, two of the most

deadly terror attacks (Gulshan and Sholakia) happened immediately after the conclusion of the antiterror campaign. John Kerry has termed his visit as successful. For any dignitary who undertakes a foreign visit at his country’s interest, a mission has to be termed as successful unless the host seriously botches the visit. No such thing happened in this visit. To the contrary, John Kerry was received very well, he visited the country’s founder’s ex residence (now a museum) to pay his respects, and he earned our respect by recalling his own stance during our liberation war. It does not matter if his visit did not entail other subjects dear to Bangladesh (such as trade, lifting of GSP embargo, etc). What matters is that he was able to get the ears of those who matter in Bangladesh to the nexus of terrorism in the country with foreign forces and foreign ideology, and make our leaders agree to fight this menace with greater determination and will.

The recognition by our government of foreign inspiration and linkage of the terrorist groups operating in the country is probably the single best outcome of Kerry visit

The success of Kerry’s visit cannot be simply determined by what we heard from him or the government statement on mutual co-operation and getting US help in combatting terrorism alone. The success will be determined by what follows next. We do not want to see a repeat of the catchphrase “home-grown terrorism” or “opposition hand” next time a terrorist strikes. What we want to see is an end to any terrorism or militancy in the country, and an end to rhetoric. l Ziauddin Choudhury has worked in the higher civil service of Bangladesh early in his career, and later for the World Bank in the USA.

THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 1, 2016

Long Form

Rampal: The political environment Rampal has become an issue of principles rather than arguments. This is the first part of a two-part long form

n Afsan Chowdhury

ith the BNP as an enemy, does the AL need a friend? BNP support to the antiRampal cause couldn’t come at a better time for the government. Now it has got the matter where it wanted, which was to shift it out of the “environmental and ethical energy production” space to the deadly political one which it controls. So, the point is no longer about the environment and protection of Sundarbans, but how to prevent BNP-Jamaat from halting the progress of Bangladesh, read Rampal power plant. BNP could have helped the cause by keeping its mouth shut, but a party so desperate to survive will grasp at any straw. That straw for the moment was Rampal, and now it has dragged down antiRampal agitation with it. All that the AL needs is to bring the BNP-Jamaat issue to the top, and, given the present mood, it can not only clobber the political combo but the Anu Mohammedled environmentalist combo as well, who have disowned BNP support anyway. ***** Rampal has become a major conflict issue, but is limited to the urban areas. In some sense, it’s becoming an issue of principles rather than arguments as the environment affects all of us, but few understand the technicalities involved. This has had an impact on the issue as well. The opponents of

the anti-Rampal agitations. It’s too distant, far away, and abstract for people to react to in a large way, to turn it into a movement. The result is public apathy for the nitty- gritty arguments which the activists are placing before the public. ***** But Rampal has become an issue -- however little -- for emotional, not environmental, reasons. It’s considered a threat to the Sundarbans, our national heritage. Environmentalists argue about the damage to nature, but people seem to be reacting to a concept of an abstract heritage. Nobody cares much for the Sundarbans, and even less for the tigers, but there is a sense of pride in having a UNESCO heritage site in our midst. Given a chance, many Bangladeshis would sell the tigers and trees to the highest bidder, but a heritage site is pride-generating, and that is why the movement has sustained for so long in a country where no environmental campaign ever succeeds. Even the arsenic contamination of water, which is already becoming one of the biggest killers in the country, caused, and now causes, more than a shrug. Rampal, like Kansat and Phulbari, tweaked emotional switches which made some public reaction possible. But that too was limited in scope. There was never a national movement on these issues. And nothing sustainable ever happened. ***** The other emotional part of course is India, which is financing,

Is the opposition to Rampal emotional or environmental?

Rampal can’t cite the present, but point to future dangers only, describing the price of consequences. But in a notoriously non-future-interested country, where people survive only for today, and have no luxury of contemplating what is happening tomorrow or any other future, no future arouses too much concern. This mindset has gone against

building, and going to benefit from the Rampal plant. India has the most intimately intertwined history with Bangladesh, but it has been mostly unfriendly after the honeymoon year of 1971. Soon after liberation, the relationship soured, and went seriously downhill after the Farakka barrage construction. Everything else has contributed

to that scenario, and the public perception of India is negative. So India building the Rampal plant has completely different meaning than, say, Germany building it. India is next door, has a complex everyday relationship with Bangladesh, and is part of our security and political structure. That is why the Rampal plant is

not just an energy issue or a matter of rights as Phulbari and Kansat was. It is also one where national perceptions of friendship and hostility are involved. As a result, whatever public reaction there are, is also fuelled by mutual antagonism that are rooted in the history after 1971. That makes the Rampal plant issue much more sensitive than any other international deal. And that is why more questions have been raised, and many of them have not been satisfactorily answered. l The concluding part of this long form will be published tomorrow. Afsan Chowdhury is a journalist and researcher.

BIGSTOCK

Opinion

THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 1, 2016

The struggle for Olympic glory Bangladesh still has no medals

What’s holding us back from winning one?

REUTERS

n Nahela Nowshin

angladesh, once again, returned empty-handed from the Olympics this year, retaining its title of the “most populous country to have never won an Olympic medal.” At the start of the Rio Olympics, Bangladesh was one of 75 countries with no Olympic medals. Fiji, another such country, squashed its record of Olympics duck when its rugby team won the gold and the country’s first ever medal at the Olympic Games in the inaugural men’s rugby competition. Kosovo achieved a similar feat when double world champion Majlinda Kelmendi clinched the gold in the women’s judo 52 kg category, putting the recentlyindependent country on the medal table for the first time. But Bangladesh, along with the likes of war-ravaged Congo and Rwanda, failed to secure any medals at Rio, prompting very little curiosity or concern from Bangladeshis worldwide, who seem to only have high expectations when it comes to the national cricket team. Oddly enough, Bangladesh’s poor performance at Rio or at the Olympics in general wasn’t a talking point until the Margarita Mamun saga came into focus. Mamun, born to a Bangladeshi father and a Russian mother, and the gold medalist in the women’s individual all-around rhythmic gymnastics at Rio, called her win a “victory for two countries.” When the war of words played

Although athletes have repeatedly voiced their opinions on the integral role that a coach plays during big competitive events, bureaucracy and nepotism often trump the demands and needs of athletes out on social media between those who took her statement at face value and those who asserted that Bangladesh had no role to play in her success, it was clear that the majority, like myself, conceded that Mamun would have never had the opportunities to become the star gymnast she is today had she built a life in Bangladesh. There is no question that her dreams of being a world champion rhythmic gymnast wouldn’t have seen the light of day; from being ridiculed and shamed for wearing “tight and skimpy” clothes to never being afforded proper training or basic facilities to practice, Mamun would have never stood a chance in her paternal homeland. This tug-of-war between the two camps debating the contribution of Bangladesh, or a lack thereof, to her achievements nonetheless made one thing clear: Bangladesh is desperate to claim an Olympic victory. So why is Bangladesh failing to provide an environment conducive to producing worldclass athletes able to excel in platforms like the Olympics? For many Bangladeshis, the misplaced urge to jump on the glory bandwagon (which is what happened when Mamun

won) upon a nationalistic whim and a subsequent refusal to acknowledge why it’s wrong to claim something that is not rightfully theirs, is strongly indicative of the people’s lack of trust in the country’s own athletes. With the better part of the nation’s focus and investment expended on cricket -- a colonial legacy and a powerful expression of cultural nationalism for not only Bangladesh but also for South Asia as a whole -- it is little wonder that other types of sports are widely neglected. The lack of sports infrastructure, facilities, opportunities, and incentives available to youngsters to professionally take up a career in sports (other than cricket) is a major obstacle to Bangladesh’s ability to venture past the likes of cricket and football. With the exception of trailblazers like mountaineeractivist Wasfia Nazreen, young men and women hardly have noncricket role models to look up to. Even a rudimentary Google search will show you the glaring paucity of Bangladeshi athletes competing at the international level in various sports. A general societal attitude that discourages youngsters from

pursuing their passion (including aspirations of becoming an athlete) and pushes them to pick the “safer” career path, such as engineering, medicine, and law, is killing the hopes of all those who dare to dream. Although Bangladesh boasts a few non-cricket sporting achievements thanks to athletes such as Abdullah Baki (silver medalist in shooting at the 2014 Commonwealth Games) and Asif Hossain Khan (gold medalist in shooting at the 2002 Commonwealth Games) a taste of victory at the Olympics remains a far cry. The gravity of Bangladesh’s under-performance at the Olympics is underpinned by the population factor. Besides being the eighth most populous country in the world with a population of 160 million, Bangladesh is undergoing a demographic transition thanks to its increasing growth rate in the working age population in the last decade. An overwhelming portion of the present population is below 25 years of age. It is, therefore, a cause for concern for Bangladesh to be grouped together in the “zero Olympic medals” category with countries with a minute fraction of its population; for instance,

Lesotho’s population is 2 million, while that of Swaziland is 1.25 million. The population profile of the other countries in this category in its entirety makes Bangladesh’s incompetence incomprehensible. How has it not been able to harness its youth’s potential and produce a single viable contender good enough to make it to the finals in any category of sports at the Olympics since its first appearance in 1984? Reportedly, the Bangladeshi athletes’ contingent arrived in Rio without their original coaches. Instead, officials accompanied the athletes, in effect replacing their coaches. Bangladesh Swimming Federation General Secretary Rafizuddin Rafiz served as the coach in Rio to swimmers Mahfizur Rahman Sagor and Sonia Akter Tumpa. Rafiz has no coaching background. Moreover, Bangladesh Athletics Federation’s Senior Vice-President Shah Alam was nominated to be the coach for sprinters Mezbahuddin Ahmed and Shirin Akter despite the fact that Alam left his coaching career more than a decade ago. Although athletes have repeatedly voiced their opinions on the integral role that a coach plays during big competitive events, bureaucracy and nepotism often trump the demands and needs of athletes. These malpractices are a manifestation of a broader culture of nonchalance and institutional corruption, and a widespread disregard for any sport that is not cricket. Recently, Piers Morgan came under heavy fire on Twitter because he had to say this about India: “1,200,000,000 people and not a single Gold medal at the Olympics? Come on India, this is shameful. Put the bunting away and get training.” India won two medals at Rio, none of which were gold, and Morgan simply didn’t understand the cause for so much celebration. Many Indians didn’t take his words lightly and reacted with some fiery comebacks. It now makes me wonder, if Morgan had hurled criticism at Bangladesh for being the most populous country with an Olympic duck, what would the people of my country have to say then? l Nahela Nowshin is a writer, feminist, and an independent thinker. This article was previously published in the Huffington Post.

24 Sport

THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 1, 2016

Saintfiet era begins today

TOP STORIES

n Tribune Report A get-together to cherish The Masters Cricket Carnival will start today at Sheikh Kamal Stadium in Cox’s Bazar. The weather is a big concern as light rain has been around for the last few days but the organisers hope that the event will be a success. PAGE 25

Bangladesh players celebrate following their 10-0 thrashing against Kyrgyzstan in the Asian Football Confederation Under-16 Women’s Championship Qualifiers at Bangabandhu National Stadium yesterday MAINOOR ISLAM MANIK

Unwanted Hart seals Torino move Former Shrewsbury keeper Joe Hart completed his loan switch to Torino yesterday and several international stars were reportedly poised for moves as the clock ticked down towards Europe’s transfer deadlines. PAGE 26

Record breaking Hales backs England Opening batsman Alex Hales does not expect to be an England record-holder for long after his 171 helped the team post a new world one-day international mark of 444 for three en route to thrashing Pakistan on Tuesday. PAGE 27

Ascent Cup enters business stage today The 11th Ascent Cup enters the business stage today when corporate powerhouse Gemcon Group face Meena Sweets to get the cup quarter-finals up and running. The crucial tie between the two giants kicks off at 7pm. PAGE 28

Goal-happy Bangladesh thrash Kyrgyzstan n Tribune Report The high-flying Bangladesh side scored a number of spectacular goals in their third match of the Asian Football Confederation Under-16 Women’s Championship Qualifiers, registering a comprehensive 10-0 thrashing against Kyrgyzstan at Bangabandhu National Stadium yesterday. Captain Krishna Rani Sarkar slammed Bangladesh’s first hattrick of the tournament while forward Anuching Mogini and defender Shamsunnahar netted brilliant braces apiece to allow the home side enjoy an evening filled with goals. Defender Nargis Khatun also scored an eye-catching goal to entertain the thousands of fans present at BNS. It was the third consecutive victory for Golam Rabbani Choton’s side and the thumping victory will no doubt boost the hosts’ confidence ahead of Saturday’s vital tie against the unbeaten Chinese Taipei, who bagged nine goals against Singapore in yesterday’s first match at the same venue. The girls in red and green dominated thoroughly against Iran and Singapore in their first two matches but yesterday’s dominance and supremacy against Kyrgyzstan topped the previous two. They not only kept around 90 percent of the ball possession but also scored some of the tour-

nament’s best goals. Among the 10 goals, perhaps the seventh goal of the game was one of the most delightful. Scored by Nargis Khatun in the 75th minute, the goal was an amazing effort by the young defender. Nargis took the free-kick from 35 yards out and it dipped down into the top right corner of the post, giving Kyrgyzstan goalkeeper Adelina no chance. The 10th and last goal of the game by Shamsunnahar in the 85th minute, which was the defender’s second, was also a spec-

RESULTS Singapore U16

0-9

Chinese Taipei U16

Iran U16

5-0

UAE U16

Bangladesh U16

10-0

Kyrgyzstan U16

tacular one. Observing the position of the opponent custodian for a moment, Maria unleashed a strike from the left corner of the box and it curved home into the near post. Krishna Rani Sarkar, who netted a brace against Singapore, notched two beautiful goals among her treble. The play-maker skipped past a couple of defenders inside a goal-mouth action in the middle of the box before smashing past Adelina to get her first one in the 43rd minute. Krishna’s second one three minutes into the second half was even better as her curled effort

from outside the right side of the penalty box entered into the top right corner. It was a cool finish when she completed her hattrick in the 80th minute. Unlike the last two matches where Bangladesh scored only one in the opening half, yesterday’s one was different as they grabbed four while their eight corners against Kyrgyzstan’s zero in the same half was proof of their sheer dominance. After two chances were misfired, striker Mogini, who was one of two changes in the starting XI replacing Sirat Jahan Shopna, broke the deadlock in the 21st minute. A Marzia Khatun free-kick fell into a goal-mouth scramble where Mogini’s initial shot was blocked by the netminder; the striker placed home on the rebound. Marzia doubled the lead at the half-hour mark. Collecting a long ball inside the box, the left winger slotted past the opposition keeper with a calm effort. Mogini bagged her second of the evening in the added time of the first half. Defender Shamsunnahar made it 6-0 in the 68th minute after converting Bangladesh’s first penalty of the tournament. It was also Shamsunnahar’s first goal in the competition. A minute before Shamsunnahar’s brilliant goal, Maria scored the ninth goal after seeing her shot slipping away from the keeper to slowly roll into the net. l

Tom Saintfiet’s new era as Bangladesh coach begins today in Male where the national football team take on hosts Maldives in a Fifa international friendly ahead of their Asian Football Confederation Cup Qualifiers Play-off against Bhutan next week. The match begins at 10pm Bangladesh time. Saintfiet signed the official contract on August 19 last month. It will be interesting to see how he drafts his formation with a number of new faces in the squad. It has been raining in Male in the last two days which is why Bangladesh had to change their official practice session yesterday, training in the afternoon. Bangladesh have no injury concern in the squad but have to play without regular midfielders Mamunul Islam and Jamal Bhuiyan. Hemanta Vincent Biswas, Emon Mahmud and Sohel Rana are likely to take charge of midfield in the duo’s absence. Bangladesh have so far beat Maldives thrice in 11 meetings and drawing five times. But recent performances give Maldives the edge after they became runners-up in the 2015 Saff Championship in Kerala. Known as the Red Snappers, Maldives beat Bangladesh in the last two occasions they met, one in Kerala at the end of last year and in 2011 again in the Saff Championship in Delhi. Both the games ended 3-1 but before 2011, Bangladesh lost only once out of nine meetings. This is the first time that Bangladesh are in Maldives ever since taking part in the Golden Jubilee tournament in Male in 2000. Bangladesh played out a 1-1 draw under English coach Mark Harrison. Today’s friendly will be preparation for both sides ahead of their 2019 AFC Cup Qualifiers Play-off round two matches on September 6. While the Red and Green will be taking on Bhutan in Dhaka in the first leg, Maldives will battle against Laos in Male. Bangladesh lost 6-0 on aggregate against Tajikistan while Maldives lost 4-0 on aggregate against Yemen. l

HEAD-TO-HEAD Bangladesh

Maldives

183

Fifa ranking

174

Matches

Wins

Losses

Draws

Goals scored

Goals against

Sport

THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 1, 2016

Mosharraf surprised by call-up n Minhaz Uddin Khan The surprise call of all-rounder Mosharraf Hossain Rubel in Bangladesh’s preliminary camp for the England series has boosted his confidence after he had been shunned for years. It has put him in the door step as he could reappear in the national colours in Bangladesh’s next oneday international series, against Afghanistan later this month. He has already started training, and the inclusion is giving him thin hope of a revival of his international career which had dimmed since his appearance in the rebel Indian Cricket League Twenty20 2008, and latterly with allegations of match fixing in the 2013 Bangladesh Premier League. Mosharraf joined the ICL in 2008, the same year he played his three ODIs for Bangladesh. It initially closed doors to the Bangladesh team but when he and his Dhaka Warriors teammates were pardoned by the Bangladesh Cricket Board, he still remained out of favour. He remained a regular performer in the domestic scene, nearly always among the top five batsmen and bowlers at the end of first-class and one-day competitions. He had also won the man-of-the-match award in the 2013 BPL final. “I was surprised with the call, very surprised. I was in Kolkata with my wife when I got the call from a friend. He told me that the selectors want me to join the camp as early as possible. There was no flight available so I travelled by road at night, crossed the border, took the first flight from Jessore to Dhaka in the morning (of August 28) and reported to the camp in the afternoon,” Mosharraf told Dhaka Tribune yesterday. The Bangladesh think-tank are searching for a left-arm spinner to partner Shakib al Hasan, and luck favoured Mosharraf after former India spinner Venkatapathy Raju, who ran a spin bowling camp with the BCB Academy last month, had apparently given a positive report on Mosharraf and this convinced head coach Chandika Hathurusingha, in the absence of Arafat Sunny who is giving his bowling action test next Thursday. The occasion is bigger for the cricketer given the trouble he had to deal with after his name got involved with the BPL fixing scandal from the second edition of the tournament which had got Mohammad Ashraful banned. Following a series of legal tussle, Mosharraf got his name cleared and made a return to the field. l

(L-R) Former Bangladesh cricketers Habibul Bashar, Khaled Mashud, Akram Khan, Khaled Mahmud, Naimur Rahman and Ehsanul Haque pose for photographs in Cox’s Bazar yesterday COURTESY

MASTERS CRICKET CARNIVAL

A get-together to cherish Shahriyar Bappa from n Ali Cox’s Bazar The Masters Cricket Carnival will start today at Sheikh Kamal International Stadium in Cox’s Bazar. The weather is a big concern as light rain has been around for the last few days but the organisers hope that the event will be a success. Two group stage matches will take place on the opening day with Renaissance Rajshahi taking on Confidence Group Dhaka Metro and Jaj Bhuiyan Dhaka Division playing against Ispahani Chittagong. Gemcon Group Khulna, captained by Habibul Bashar, will play their first match against Chittagong

tomorrow. The final of the carnival will be held at Sher-e-Bangla National Cricket Stadium in Mirpur on September 6. The six participating teams have been divided into two groups and the matches will be 16-over ties with the application of international cricket rules. Captains of the six participant teams held a press meet yesterday at the stadium where they said it is a get together of the former cricketers in the form of cricket carnival. Chittagong captain Akram Khan and Dhaka captain Naimur Rahman said the event is a great opportunity for them to be reunited with former teammates in the cricket

field again. “It is tough for us to meet each other often as we are busy in various activities after retirement. So we are happy that we have a get-together with our former teammates after so many years in this carnival. If weather is fine then we will play together, if not, then we will stay two-three days together which will help us bond again. That is the most important part for us,” said Naimur. Khulna skipper Bashar said the carnival has a vision to help former cricketers as well. “We are happy that we will play together again. But this tournament has some other aims as well.

We want to raise fund for the former players who are facing financial crisis or suffering from any illness. It is one of our main goals,” Bashar said. Rajshahi skipper Khaled Mashud said they want to create a platform from which Bangladesh cricket can be benefited in future. “We have come from different districts across the country. If we have a common platform then we can share our thoughts and ideas to develop cricket. We have a plan to extend this tournament further in the future so that all former cricketers can meet each other and make plans to develop cricket,” Mashud said. l

Samaraweera likely to join Tigers as batting consultant n Tribune Report Former Sri Lankan batsman Thilan Samaraweera is likely to join Bangladesh cricket team as the shortterm batting consultant for the upcoming Afghanistan and England series at home. Earlier, Bangladesh Cricket Board president Nazmul Hasan informed that head coach Chandika Hathurusingha is willing to add to the

support staff of the national team. Samaraweera has been working as the batting consultant of the Australian cricket academy for three months. Following the end of this month, the BCB is willing to rope in the 39-year old for a duration of 45 days. “We have already finalised the new batting consultant. However, we are yet to reveal the name as the board will announce it soon,” Akram told Dhaka Tribune. l

Sport

THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 1, 2016

TRANSFER SUMMARY Torino sign England keeper Joe Hart from Manchester City on season-long loan Manchester City striker Wilfried Bony goes to Stoke City on loan Manchester City also loan out Samir Nasri to Sevilla Roma join Crystal Palace and Bournemouth in Jack Wilshere race Leicester City agree record fee for Islam Slimani France allow Moussa Sissoko to leave to “finalise transfer” Swansea City in talks to sign West Ham United’s Enner Valencia Liverpool’s Mario Balotelli set to join Nice

Hart seals Torino move amid transfer scramble n AFP, London Joe Hart completed his loan switch to Torino yesterday and several international stars were reportedly poised for moves as the clock ticked down towards Europe’s transfer deadlines. Spending by English Premier League clubs has broken through the one billion pounds (1.17 billion euros, $1.3 billion) barrier in one window for the first time, fuelling transfer activity across the continent. England goalkeeper Hart joined modest Italian side Torino on a season-long loan after being frozen out by new Manchester City man-

ager Pep Guardiola. “Suddenly (in) my career has been an important turning: it was a sign,” Hart said in a statement on Torino’s English-language website. “Torino’s offer came in the right moment, with the right manner.” City striker Wilfried Bony, who has also failed to win over Guardiola, was pictured a t

Stoke City’s training ground. Bony tweeted: “It’s a new day and I look forward to a new exciting challenge.” Samir Nasri, another City outcast, was thought to be

close to joining Sevilla, while Eliaquim Mangala was reportedly due to sign for Valencia. Mario Balotelli, Moussa Sissoko and Jack Wilshere were among the other players reportedly set for pastures new. Balotelli, Liverpool’s wayward Italian striker, was on the verge of joining French club Nice on a season-long loan, having spent last season on loan at former club AC Milan. “If the situation works out, maybe late in the day it will be done,” an official from Nice told French sports daily L’Equipe. “If we don’t agree with Liverpool, he will leave again.” l

Tale of new coaches as South American World Cup race resumes n AFP, Montevideo

England manager Sam Allardyce talks with Wayne Rooney and Harry Kane during training on Tuesday REUTERS

Germany swansong Schweini clings to Utd n AFP, Berlin Bastian Schweinsteiger will wear the Germany jersey one last time yesterday, insisting he has not given up on his dream of playing for Manchester United despite Jose Mourinho’s snub. “My absolute dream is still to play for Manchester United,” Schweinsteiger said on the eve of Germany’s friendly against Finland in Moenchengladbach, which serves as his farewell on his 121st - and final - Germany appearance. “I have no personal problems with Jose Mourinho, he has explained his side of the situation to me. “One thing is for sure: I’m not going to stop playing football and I still believe in my own ability. “I could still help Man United if given a fair chance,” he added at the German FA press conference in Duesseldorf. “We have to wait to see what happens in September and October and how things will develop.”

United’s coach Mourinho has echoed Schweinsteiger in insisting there is “no problem” between the pair, but the midfielder’s plea for a “fair chance” with Manchester hung in the air in Duesseldorf. The vastly experienced 32-yearold has captained Germany since Philipp Lahm stood down as die Mannschaft’s skipper after the pair helped win the 2014 World Cup. His United contract expires in June 2018, leaving him facing the prospect of spending the next two years languishing in United’s reserves, all the while reportedly being paid £160,000. Schweinsteiger joined United in 2015 after 17 years with Bayern Munich, which saw him win every major title available to the Bavarian giants. His high-profile transfer to Old Trafford meant he linked up with ex-Bayern manager Louis van Gaal. But a knee injury in January flared up again on Germany duty in March. l

Injury-hit Argentina resume their bid for a berth at the 2018 World Cup today as Brazil head into the latest round of South American qualifiers hoping to build on their Olympic gold medal triumph. In the five months since the last batch of games in South America’s marathon qualifying campaign, both Brazil and Argentina have undergone massive upheaval, with each side parting company with their coaches. Brazil kissed goodbye to 1994 World Cup-winning captain Dunga after a dismal campaign in the Copa America Centenario which saw the five-time world champions knocked out in the group stage. Argentina meanwhile split with Gerardo Martino following his team’s Copa America final de-

feat to Chile in June, a loss which prompted a tearful Lionel Messi to announce his retirement from international football. Messi was subsequently coaxed into a u-turn by new coach Edgardo Bauza, confirming in August that he would continue to be available. But the Barcelona superstar is uncertain for today’s showdown with historical rivals Uruguay in Mendoza, with the 29-year-old struggling to overcome a groin injury. Messi has traveled to Argentina to join the squad and was seen taking part in light drills in training on Tuesday. However at least two other key players - Manchester City’s Sergio Aguero and Paris Saint-Germain’s Javier Pastore - are both definitely out. Aguero suffered a calf injury in Sunday’s 3-1 win over West Ham while Pastore has a torn right calf

muscle. Argentina, who face a trip to Venezuela next Tuesday after the Uruguay game, are currently third in the standings with 11 points after six of 18 games in the round-robin format. Uruguay, who will have star striker Luis Suarez and defensive linchpin Diego Godin back in the same starting XI for the first time since the qualifiers kicked off last October, lead the standings on goal difference from Ecuador with 13 points. While Bauza faces a difficult start to his reign against the inform Uruguayans, Brazil have a potentially awkward trip to the thin air of Quito to face Ecuador. Although the Brazilians have an impressive overall record against Ecuador - winning 24 of 30 games since 1942 - the Selecao have never won a World Cup qualifier in Quito.l

Brazil’s coach Adenor Leonardo Bacchi addresses players during training in Quito, Ecuador on Monday

REUTERS

Sport

THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 1, 2016

Record breaking Hales backs England n AFP, Nottingham Alex Hales does not expect to be an England record-holder for long after his 171 helped the team post a new world one-day international mark of 444 for three en route to thrashing Pakistan on Tuesday. Hales’s innings at his home ground

IN NUMBERS 443 The previous highest total in ODIs, by Sri Lanka against Nether-

lands in Amstelveen in 2006. England now hold the record with their 444 for 3 in this match. The previous highest total against Pakistan was 392 for 6 by South Africa in Centurion in 2006-07.

167* The previous highest score by an England batsman in ODIs, by

Robin Smith against Australia at Edgbaston in 1993. Alex Hales established a new record for his country with 171.

9 Consecutive bilateral ODI series for Pakistan in England without winning any.

22 Balls taken by Jos Buttler to reach his 50, the fastest by any

England player. He bettered Paul Collingwood’s effort of 24 balls, against New Zealand in Napier in 2007-08. Incidentally, Eoin Morgan also reached fifty in 24 balls in this match.

46.2 Overs in which England reached 400, the joint-fastest by any

team. South Africa also reached the mark in 46.2 overs against Australia in Johannesburg in 2005-06.

13.41 The run rate during the unbroken 161-run partnership between But-

tler and Morgan, the highest in any century partnership for England. Among 150-plus partnerships, this is the third-quickest by any pair.

6 England batsmen who have made five consecutive scores of 50 or more in ODIs. Root became the sixth to do so, having made scores of 65, 93, 61, 89, 85 in his last five innings. Geoff Boycott, Graham Gooch, Alec Stewart, Jonathan Trott and Hales are the other five England players to do so.

1 Instance of a bowler conceding more runs in an ODI than the 110 by

Wahab Riaz in this ODI. Mick Lewis went for 113 runs in the Wanderers ODI of 2005-06, when 400 totals were made for the first time.

0 Fifty-plus scores by a No. 11 in ODIs before Mohammad Amir

made 58 in this match. The previous highest by a No. 11 was 43 by Shoaib Akhtar which was also against England, in Cape Town in 2003 World Cup.

DAY’S WATCH FOOTBALL SONY SIX FIFA World Cup Qualifiers 3:00AM Ecuador v Brazil 6:00AM Paraguay v Chile

SONY ESPN FIFA World Cup Qualifiers 2:30AM Colombia v Venezuela 5:00AM

Argentina v Uruguay

CRICKET STAR SPORTS 2 7:00PM Pakistan Tour of England 4th ODI

TENNIS TEN 1 9:00PM US Open 2016 2nd Round Session 1

of Trent Bridge was the highest score by any England batsman in this format and helped the hosts to a 169-run win that ensured they won the series at 3-0 up with two to play. But Hales believes it’s just a matter of time before an England colleague betters his score. “I think the improvements we’ve

shown in the last couple of years, I’m not sure how long that record will stand,” he said. “The batting we’ve got all the way down to pretty much number 11 so it’s an exciting time for us as a team.” Jos Buttler made a dashing 90 not out, that included England’s fastest ODI 50 - off just 22 balls.l

Sport

THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 1, 2016

Ascent Cup enters business stage today n Tribune Report

TODAY’S MATCHES MATCHDAY 8

6:30pm, Plate Pre-QF 4 Neo Zipper v Therap BD 7pm, Cup QF 1 Gemcon Group v Meena Sweets 7:30pm, Cup QF 2 Comfit Composite v City Bank

The 11th Ascent Cup enters the business stage today when corporate powerhouse Gemcon Group face Meena Sweets to get the cup quarter-finals up and running. The crucial tie between the two giants kicks off at 7pm. In the other cup quarters, Comfit Composite lock horns with City Bank, favourites Bando Design take on Sterling Group while Green Delta encounter Qubee. Meanwhile in the plate pre-quarters, Neo Zipper battle against Therap BD while Bangla Cat pit their wits against Rangs Group. Elsewhere in the bowl pre-quarters yesterday, Brac Bank played out a 2-2 draw with Asiatic before the former got the better of the latter in the penalty shootout. Among other results, NRB Global defeated Swiss Contact 2-0, Securex beat Runner Group 6-4 while the tiebreaker was required to separate Metronet and Galaxy Group, who played out a 3-3 draw in regulation time. In the tiebreaker though, Galaxy won 4-3. l

8pm, Cup QF 3 Bando Design v Sterling Group 8:30pm, Cup QF 4 Green Delta v Qubee 9pm, Plate Pre-QF 3 Bangla Cat v Rangs Group

YESTERDAY’S RESULTS BOWL PRE-QF 6

2-2

Brac Bank

Asiatic

Brac won 5-4 on penalties BOWL PRE-QF 7

Swiss Contact

0-2

NRB Global

BOWL PRE-QF 8

3-3

Metronet

Galaxy Group

Galaxy won 4-3 on penalties PLATE PRE-QF 1

Runner Group

4-6

Securex

Action from yesterday’s Ascent Cup tournament REZWAN HUQ

Baki’s 5th gold in a row Murray, Serena ride strong serves n into US Open second round Tribune Report

Abdullah Hel Baki won his fifth successive gold medal in the 10metre air rifle event of the 28th National Shooting Championship at National Shooting Complex in Gulshan yesterday. It was not an easy ride for Baki on the concluding day of the tournament as he had to wait till his final shot in the last round to beat Narayanganj Rifles Club’s Mahmudul Hasan. He bagged gold in the 2010, 2011, 2012 and 2015 editions while the national championship wasn’t held in 2013 and 2014. The Commonwealth Games silver winner Baki, who also represented Bangladesh in the recently concluded Rio 2016 Olym-

pics where he didn’t live up to the promise, scored 202.5 points which is only 1.3 point more than Mahmudul’s collection. Shovon Choudhury, of Dhaka Rifles Club, scored 181.3 to take bronze. Earlier in the morning, the 28year old set a new record in the qualification round by scoring 596 to finish top. The previous record of 595 was owned by Commonwealth Games gold medallist Asif Hossain Khan in 2009 and Baki himself last year. “I always want to prefer keeping my concentration on my games and tournament rather than the records. But it made me happy the way I performed in the qualification despite not having enough time for preparation after returning from Olympics,” said Baki. l

n AFP, New York Wimbledon champions Andy Murray and Serena Williams powered into the second round of the US Open as the stars came out on Arthur Ashe Stadium court on Tuesday night. Williams, launching her latest bid to rewrite the record books, started strong and didn’t let up in 6-3, 6-3 victory over 29th-ranked Ekaterina Makarova. The US world number one appeared untroubled by the balky right shoulder that has hindered her in recent weeks, delivering a dozen aces and 27 winners overall

Hastings, Bailey power Australia n AFP John Hastings claimed six wickets before Aaron Finch and George Bailey’s attacking half-centuries powered Australia to a series clinching six-wicket win over Sri Lanka in the fourth one-day international in Dambulla yesterday. Australia rode on Finch’s 19-ball 55 and an unbeaten 90 from Bailey to chase down 213 in 31 overs and take an unassailable 3-1 lead in the

five-match series. Earlier Hastings career-best bowling figures of 6-45 helped bowl out Sri Lanka for 212 after electing to bat first despite Dhananjaya de Silva’s fighting 76.

BRIEF SCORE, 4TH ODI SRI LANKA 212 (De Silva 76, Mathews 40, Hastings 6/45) lost to AUSTRALIA 217/4 (Bailey 90*, Finch 55, Head 40) by six wickets

Australia’s pace spearhead Mitchell Starc struck in the very first over to have debutant batsman Avishka Fernando trapped lbw for nought. Hastings, who recorded career-best figures of 6-45, soon got Kusal Mendis caught behind for one. The on-field umpire gave the batsman not out before Australia successfully reviewed the decision. Scott Boland joined the pace charge to dismiss previous match centurion Dinesh Chandimal. l

in the 63-minute contest. Williams said she wouldn’t know until she’d slept on it how her shoulder might respond to the effort. A victory would see her break the Open Era record of 22 Grand Slam titles she now shares with German Steffi Graf and close in on Margaret Court’s all-time mark of 24 major titles. While Williams has struggled since Wimbledon, Murray went from claiming a second title at the All England club to a successful defence of his Olympic gold in Rio. Vying to become the fourth man in the Open Era to reach all four

major finals in a calendar year, Murray, too, produced a dominant service performance in a 6-3, 6-2, 6-2 victory over Czech Lukas Rosol. Before the floodlights came up, Serena’s elder sister Venus claimed a Grand Slam record of her own as her 6-2, 5-7, 6-4 victory over Ukraine’s Kateryna Kozlova marked her 72nd appearance in the main draw of a major. The 36-year-old Venus, enjoying a resurgence in a 2016 season that includes a WTA title in Taiwan, survived 63 unforced errors against the rising 22-year-old, although she was pleased that her aggressive approach also yielded 46 winners. l

Australia’s George Bailey plays a shot as Sri Lanka’s Kusal Perera looks on during their fourth ODI in Dambulla, Sri Lanka yesterday AP

CROSSWORD ACROSS 1 Fault (6) 6 Aid for travellers (3) 9 Angry (5) 10 Large volume (4) 11 Corruptly mercenary (5) 12 Copy (3) 13 Stretcher (6) 15 Coarse life (4) 18 Excuse (4) 21 Playing cards (6) 24 Everyone (3) 25 Reduce in intensity (5) 28 Precious stones (4) 29 Vital organ (5) 30 Donkey (3) 31 Ruler (6)

DOWN 1 Underwater worker (5) 2 Before (3) 3 Venom teeth (5) 4 Greek letter (3) 5 Prison room (4) 6 Water filled trench around castle (4) 7 Electrical unit (6) 8 Look narrowly (4) 14 Faucet (3) 16 Fruits (6) 17 School of whales (3) 19 Permission (5) 20 Ward off (5) 21 Long detailed story (4) 22 Relief for the needy (4) 23 Auction (4) 26 Large (3) 27 Perfect score (3)

Downtime

THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 1, 2016

CODE-CRACKER How to solve: Each number in our CODECRACKER grid represents a different letter of the alphabet. For example, today 21 represents R so fill R every time the figure 21 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

THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 1, 2016

Showtime ‘I want to make films that tell the stories of ordinary people’ You started out as an actor and started directing films later on. What do you enjoy more? What is your ideology for making films? Tauqir: As I mentioned earlier, I make films to tell the story of ordinary, everyday people. Their breath, their struggles, their hopes and lives. Despite being invited to make several commercial films, I did not make any. I did not even start making advertisements although it could have yielded a huge income for me.

PHOTO: MAHMUD HOSSAIN OPU

n Kamrul Hasan Tauqir Ahmed, the famous actor and director, has recently released his fourth film – Oggatonama: The Unnamed on August 19 in seven cinema halls across Bangladesh. The film portrays how human trafficking has affected Bangladeshi expatriate workers, how the abuse of women and girls of the society took place in this cycle and how these hard workers receive disrespect everywhere. Tauqir shared his experience with the Dhaka Tribune in an exclusive interview. What inspired you to make Oggatonama – The Unnamed? Tauqir: It was sometime before 2000, I was travelling to Bangladesh from a European or a North American country. After reaching Dubai, my transit point for the journey, some colourfully dressed people boarded the plane and became incredibly noisy inside. The air hostesses seemed angry and started misbehaving with them. I figured that these

were the labourers who worked in the Middle East and actively provided for our country. The behaviour that was shown by the hostesses hurt me. Every person should be respected as a human being no matter what. The impoliteness that the workers were showing was not their fault. The authorities had failed to properly teach them and they are constantly subjected to humiliation everywhere. Some years later, I heard from one of my friends that a few Bangladeshis had died in an accident in Sharjah and the ID on one of their bodies was changed and the matter only came to light when the body reached the wrong destination. The two incidents haunted me for so long I started studying the matter. I was shocked to learn from official data that more than 14,000 Bangladeshis had died abroad in the last six years. I created the film to give people a reason to think about these problems and if this could, in any way, help to create respect for

these hard-working people. Yes, that’s the theme of my film – every person has the right to be respected. Tell us about the character of Beauty. Tauqir: I want to make films that tell the stories of ordinary people. Here, I am presenting a portion of the society and what is happening there. In order to portray the wrongful destination of the body of a deceased, I included a female character about who portrays all those women who are constantly being subjected to oppression in the society. You used a lot of symbolic imagery in the film, what is their purpose? Tauqir: Even though the film is realistic, I started with a symbolic scene that describes the theme – every human being has the right to be respected. You can see several symbolic scenes in the film that express various aspects of our lives.

How would you explain the entrance of Tollywood films in Bangladesh? Tauqir: I believe that simple is beautiful and beautiful is the truth. And this is portrayed in alternative films largely nowadays. If these Tollywood movies are quality movies, they are more than welcome. But the commercial movies now being shown at the cinemas should not be imported and shown. A particular section of the society is watching these movies, not all. Who is the audience for our quality movies? The middle class people mostly. But we have lost our middle class movie lovers and the remaining audience is from a particular section who love to watch trashy commercial movies. Film-makers are struggling to make alternative movies and these films have a very small audience. Besides, the number of cinemas in our country is dropping day by day. It is better not to import such films as they would also occupy the handful of places existing at present. Who is to blame for the absence of quality movies in Bangladesh? What is the way out of that? Tauqir: There is no alternative to government initiative in order to enliven the cultural arena,

In Dhaka, Oggatonama is being shown at Shyamoli, Balaka, Jamuna Blockbuster and Ananda. Outside the capital, the movie can be seen in Purobi in Mymensingh, Monihar in Jessore and Madhobi in Tangail’s Madhupur. especially the film industry. The government will have to spend more money to help make more quality movies and have to be selective while selecting the films. Apart from that, the cinemas should be clean and enjoyable. Piracy must also be stopped. Most importantly, we have to bring our audience back to the cinemas. For this, the government could, maybe, fix a cinema – perhaps the at hall at Shilpakala Academy – where only alternative films will be shown. They could range from Bangladeshi movies to European movies. The audience, especially the youth would be enriched watching these films. At the end of the day, we have to remember that history only remembers how civilised a nation was by the measure of its culture.l

Taylor Swift dismissed from jury duty n Showtime Desk It looks like Taylor Swift’s absence at this year’s MTV Video Music Awards was because she was called up to sit on a jury. The singer arrived on Monday in Nashville, Tennessee, to be vetted by the court for an aggravated rape and kidnapping case. Another potential juror, Tracey Bates, alerted the world of the star’s appearance. “I am on jury duty with @taylorswift13,” she tweeted. The star was in a holding area at the courtroom with dozens of others waiting to hear if they would be selected. Initially, people weren’t allowed to take pictures but

Showtime

THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 1, 2016

WHAT TO WATCH Mad Max: Fury Road HBO 7:14pm A woman rebels against a tyrannical ruler in postapocalyptic Australia in search for her home-land with the help of a group of female prisoners, a psychotic worshipper, and a drifter named Max. Cast: Tom Hardy, Charlize Theron, Nicholas Hoult, Hugh Keays-Byrne, Rosie Huntington-Whiteley, Riley Keough

the singer did go on to pose for several selfies while waiting. A number of pictures were posted on social media which have since then been deleted or made private. As it turns out, Taylor Swift won’t actually be serving on the jury. There was a conflict of interest because of an ongoing sexual assault case she in which was involved in Denver, Colorado. The Davidson County district judge agreed to dismiss her because of “concerns about an upcoming trial.” Swift had not been nominated for an award at this year’s MTV Video Music Awards but many thought her absence was because

The Secret Life of Walter Mitty Movies Now 6:20pm When his job along with that of his co-worker are threatened, Walter takes action in the real world embarking on a global journey that turns into an adventure more extraordinary than anything he could have ever imagined. Cast: Ben Stiller, Kristen Wiig, Shirley MacLaine, Adam Scott, Kathryn Hahn, Sean Penn Dawn of the Planet of the Apes Star Movies 9:30pm

of her long-running feud with Kanye West and his wife, Kim Kardashian West. Kanye had been given four minutes on stage

Song for Padma Bridge n Showtime Desk On the occasion of Eid ul Azha, popular TV magazine show Anando Mela will be telecast as usual. This time, the program has brilliant content with lots of surprises. One of them is a song that is based on Padma Bridge. The Padma Bridge is one of the longest bridges of Bangladesh which is now under construction, and in order to show its progress and usefulness, lyricist Al Mansur has written the song, music composed by Anisur Rahman Tonu. Five talented singers of this generation are singing the song. They are M S Rana, Rajiv, Sabbir, Rashed and Ripon. The song has been recorded already. l

to do whatever he wanted. He did briefly mention Taylor Swift during that time. l

A proud grandmother

n Showtime Desk Shahid Kapoor’s mother, Neelima Azim is extremely happy to get the best gift ever of her life, her first grandchild

from her first born. The actor and his wife, Mira Rajput are now the proud parents of an adorable baby girl. Mira gave birth to a baby girl on Friday, and the family has

been blooming with happiness ever since. On this occasion, the new grandmother said, “Shahid’s baby is my firstborn’s firstborn, and the first grandchild in the family. I’ve always wanted a granddaughter but we would have been happy to have either a boy or a girl. I am on top of the world right now!” She added, “I have two sons, so this is the first girl child that has come into our home, and I am very happy. We are blessed with God Almighty’s kindness. We are all very joyous.” She also informed that while some men might shy away or hesitate to hold their babies, Shahid is very good at handling his baby. He has been taking care of Mira very well, making him a great husband and a wonderful dad. l

A growing nation of genetically evolved apes led by Caesar is threatened by a band of human survivors of the devastating virus unleashed a decade earlier. Cast: Andy Serkis, Jason Clarke, Gary Oldman, Keri Russell, Toby Kebbell, Kodi Smit-McPhee Ocean’s Eleven WB 12: 53pm

Danny Ocean and his eleven accomplices plan to rob three Las Vegas casinos simultaneously. Cast: George Clooney, Matt Damon, Andy Garcia, Brad Pitt, Julia Roberts l

THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 1, 2016

Back Page

MOST TANNERS TO FAIL TANNING SACRIFICIAL HIDES IN SAVAR PAGE 12

GOAL-HAPPY BANGLADESH THRASH KYRGYZSTAN PAGE 24

Risha’s suspected killer Obaidul arrested RISHA MURDER Rahman Rabbi in n Arifur Dhaka and Taieyb Ali Sarker from Nilphamari Police yesterday arrested Obaidul Khan for allegedly killing 14-yearold schoolgirl Suraiya Akther Risha in the capital. Obaidul was arrested from Domar upazila of Nilphamari district around 7:15am yesterday. A police team brought Obaidul Khan to Dhaka from Nilphamari in the afternoon. Domar OC Ahmed Rajiur Rahman said: “Some villagers spotted Obaidul and informed us. Later, we went to the spot and arrested him with the help of the locals.”

The OC said Obaidul would be sent to Dhaka. At a press briefing, Nilphamari Police Superintendent Jakir Hossain Khan said Obaidul was arrested in a joint raid by local police, Dhaka Metropolitan Police (DMP) and Rapid Action Battalion (RAB). A local named Dulal Hossain, 40, son of Aftab Uddin at Harinchora in Domar, however, told journalists that he saw Obaidul having his breakfast at Rafiq’s hotel in Sonaray Bazar. Earlier, he saw Obaidul’s picture in newspaper and social Facebook. Then he called the Domar police and informed them about Obaidul. The Domar police came and arrested him. Later, the Dhaka Metropolitan Police (DMP) and Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) reached the scene, he said. Meanwhile, Shekh Maruf Hossain Sarder, deputy commissioner of DMP’s Ramna division, told the

A local named Dulal Hossain, son of Aftab Uddin, at Harinchora in Domar told journalists that he saw Obaidul having his breakfast at Rafiq’s hotel in Sonaray Bazar and then he informed police

Dhaka Tribune that Obaidul being was brought to Dhaka. As promised, he was arrested within 48 hours. Risha, a student of Willes Little Flower School and College, was stabbed by Obaidul on August 24 and succumbed to her injuries at the Dhaka Medical College Hospital

on Sunday. Her mother Tania Hossain suspected one Obaidul Khan, a cutting master of a Baishakhi Ladies Tailors on the Elephant Road’s Eastern Mollika Shopping Mall, of stabbing her daughter for refusing his advances. A murder case was filed with the

Ramna police station in this connection. She also said a few months ago Risha went to Baishakhi tailors to make a cloth. She gave Obaidul her mobile phone number for communicating. After that Obaidul had been been irritating Risha by phone calls. l

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