10 Oct, 2016 by DhakaTribune

SECOND EDITION

MONDAY, OCTOBER 10, 2016

Ashwin 25, 1423, Muharram 8, 1437

Regd No DA 6238, Vol 4, No 163

www.dhakatribune.com

32 pages |

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Mashrafe roars as Tigers level series n Mazhar Uddin Captain Mashrafe bin Mortaza led from the front in what was a total team effort as they levelled the three-match ODI series 1-1 through their 34-run win in the second game at Sher-e-Bangla National Stadium in Mirpur yesterday. The visitors were bundled out for 204 after Bangladesh posted a challenging total of 238/8 in fifty overs, courtesy a half-century from Mahmudullah and some lusty blows at the end by Mashrafe. Besides Mashrafe, who put in an all-round effort, fast bowler Taskin Ahmed also bowled superbly as he provided some important breakthroughs for the Tigers. But it was Mashrafe who fired all guns first with the bat and then with the ball as he removed both the English openers Jason Roy (13) and James Vince (five) before dismissing the first ODI centurion Ben Stokes, who departed without troubling the scorers. Shakib al Hasan then accounted for the wicket of Ben Duckett (nought) after he opened the bowling. The champion cricketer also took a magnificent catch running

backwards as Nasir Hossain picked dismissed Moeen Ali to steer the home side on the verge of victory. Mashrafe eventually picked up four wickets while Taskin bagged three. Earlier, Bangladesh were asked to bat on a rather slow wicket as opening batsmen Tamim Iqbal and Imrul Kayes had to face some controlled bowling by the English pacers. Both Tamim and Imrul were looking to free their arms but the English pacemen bowled on a short pitch length without giving any room. Imrul (11) fell to the trap and was caught at deep square-leg trying to pull a Chris Woakes delivery. Woakes continued to bowl the same length and soon dismissed Tamim (14), who was caught at short mid-wicket trying to pull a  PAGE 2 COLUMN 1

Bangladesh skipper Mashrafe bin Mortaza sends down a delivery during the second ODI against England in Mirpur yesterday. The captain fantastic had a day to remember as he struck a quickfire 29-ball 44 before returning to take four wickets MAINOOR ISLAM MANIK

New JMB’s Patartek den was used for training Jamil Khan and n Mohammad Arifur Rahman Rabbi The house located in Patartek area of Gazipur, where seven militants were killed in a drive Saturday, had been used as a training centre and shelter house for the members of militant group New JMB, police said yesterday. Unless the den was busted by a team of police’s Counter-Ter-

rorism and Transnational crime (CTTC) unit, law enforcers say, those trained militants might have launched fresh attacks on their targets in the near future. “Members of the outfit used to stay here after completing training until they were assigned to carry out an operation,” a high official of CTTC, who took part in the drive, told the Dhaka Tribune yesterday. The official said that New JMB

basically chooses easy targets which come under their agenda, but their key target is to attack the foreigners. Of the seven militants killed, the law enforcers primarily identified four – Faridul Islam alias Akash alias Pravat, the gang leader; Hafez Sanaullah alias Sanwar, 22; Ibrahim, 19; and Mechanic (organisational name). Ibrahim, the son of Azimuddin

INSIDE Anomalies in fair-price rice scheme

Hundreds of low-income group of people yesterday took to the street after not getting fair price rice which have been allocated to them at Ullapara, Sirajganj.  PAGE 6

Safety inspections a mustdo in manufacturing units

For an inclusive economic growth, safety inspections are essential in non-export manufacturing industries to ensure safety for workers, trade analysts and rights activists say.  PAGE 32

from Bongshal in Dhaka, had been missing since August 8. His family filed a general diary with Bongshal police on August 9. On the other hand, Sanaullah is the son of Abu Sama from Gaibandha. The law enforcers did not get any information regarding Mechanic and three others. Sanowar Hossain, additional deputy commissioner of CTTC  PAGE 2 COLUMN 4

Nine Myanmar policemen killed in attack on Bangladesh border n Tribune Desk Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB) was put on high alert yesterday, at the request of Myanmar, after nine Myanmar police officers were killed in coordinated attacks by insurgents on posts along the border with Bangladesh in the early hours. No one has claimed responsibility but a senior local Myanmar official pointed the finger at a militant group from the Muslim Rohingya minority that has been dormant for years.  PAGE 2 COLUMN 1

News

MONDAY, OCTOBER 10, 2016

N’ganj AL committee declared after 14 yrs n

Narayanganj Correspondent

After long 14 years, a segment of the committee of Narayanganj district Awami League (AL) unit has been declared. AL Central Office Secretary Abdus Sobhan Golap confirmed the news over the phone on Sunday noon, reports online news portal Bangla Tribune. Sobhan said, “Soon we will officially inform the media about the Narayanganj AL committee in details.” Abdul Hye, presently a member of convener committee of district

AL and also administrator of Zila Parishad, has been made the president of the new committee while present district Jubo League Secretary Mohammad Shahid Badal has been declared as the Secretary. Mentionable, Shahid is familiar as a follower of Lawmaker (Narayanganj-4 constituency) Shamim Osman. Narayanganj City Corporation Mayor Dr Selina Hayat Ivy’s name has been declared for the post of Vice-President. Previously she held the same post in the dissolved district AL committee. l

Bangladesh gets 1st Catholic cardinal n Tribune Desk Archbishop Patrick D’Rozario, the highest ranked priest of the Roman Catholic Church in Bangladesh, has been promoted to a cardinal on Sunday, reports Reuters. Cardinals, who wear red hats and are known as “princes of the Church,” are the most senior members of the Roman Catholic hierarchy after the pope and serve as his principal advisers around the world and in the Vatican. Archbishop D’Rozario is 73-yearold, thus making him eligible to succeed the incumbent pope one day. Cardinals under 80, known as cardinal-electors, can enter a secret conclave to choose a new pope

from their own ranks after Francis dies or resigns. Francis, the former cardinal-archbishop of Buenos Aires, was elected in a conclave on March 13, 2013. In October 2011 he succeeded Archbishop Paulinus Costa as

Archbishop of Dhaka. He is also the president of Catholic Bishops’ Conference of Bangladesh. Along with Archbishop D’Rozario, Pope Francis on Sunday promoted 16 other Roman Catholic prelates from around the world to rank of cardinal, including 13 who are under 80 years old. Naming new cardinals is one of the most significant powers of the papacy, allowing a pontiff to put his stamp on the future of the 1.2bn-member global Church. The other cardinal-electors come from Italy, the Central African Republic, Spain, the United States, Brazil, Venezuela, Belgium, Mauritius, Mexico and Papua New Guinea. l

caught at deep mid-wicket off the same bowler. Mosaddek made a patient 49-ball 29. Mashrafe joined Nasir, who was playing his first ODI after nearly a year as Bangladesh entered their last 10 overs of the innings. The Bangladesh captain took up the responsibility and smashed the first six of the innings off

Moeen Ali before blasting another maximum over long on to finish the over. Nasir gave some valuable support to the skipper as Bangladesh added 75 runs in the last 10 overs. Mashrafe (44) was finally run out with one ball remaining while Nasir remained unbeaten on a run-a-ball 27. l

Archbishop Patrick D’Rozario

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1

Mashrafe roars as Tigers level series short ball while Sabbir Rahman played on off the bowling of Jake Ball adding only three to leave the home side struggling on 39/3. Mahmudullah was the only Bangladesh batsman who dealt well with the short ball strategy as he along with Mushfiqur Rahim added 50 runs for the fourth wicket.

But just when the pair was heading for a big partnership, Mushfiq was caught at deep fine leg trying to pull a Ball delivery, scoring 21 off 23 deliveries, and thus continuing his poor run with the bat. Shakib also departed cheaply after scoring three runs as youngster Mosaddek joined

Mahmudllah in the middle. In between all the action, Mahmudullah reached his 16th ODI fifty and kept the hosts’ hopes of posting a challenging total alive. The Tigers were then dealt a double blow. First, Mahmudullah was trapped leg before by Adil Rashid after scoring 75 off 88 balls with six fours while Mosaddek was

New JMB’s Patartek den

Nine Myanmar policemen killed The assaults hit three border posts around 1:30am local time near Maungdaw in the impoverished western state of Rakhine, simmering with tensions between Buddhists and Muslim Rohingyas, who are forced to live in dire conditions, reports AFP quoting an official and police sources. “Altogether nine police were killed, four others were injured and one is still missing,” Tin Maung Swe, a senior official within Rakhine’s state government, said. He added that eight insurgents were also killed in the attacks. Police in the capital Naypyidaw confirmed the attack and said multiple weapons were seized by the assailants. Tin Maung Swe said the attackers were “RSO insurgents”, a reference to a group known as the Rohingya Solidarity Organisation. He did not elaborate on how he knew this. The RSO was a small Rohingya militant group active in the 1980s and 1990s but has not been heard from in nearly two decades. Rakhine has been effectively split on religious grounds since bouts of communal violence tore through the state in 2012, killing scores and forcing tens of thousands to flee. The Muslim Rohingya are largely confined to camps and face restrictions which rights groups have likened to apartheid.

Several complex ethnic conflicts are rumbling across Myanmar’s borderlands, hampering efforts to build the economy after the end of junta rule. But compared to the country’s civil war-ravaged eastern and northern border states, Rakhine has not boasted a significant rebel military presence. In the last few years the Arakan Army, a small Buddhist militia which wants an independent homeland in the state, has fought sporadic battles with the military. Despite their plight the Rohingya do not have a known militant faction fighting for them. In May attackers stormed a security post at a camp for Rohingya refugees in southern Bangladesh, just across the border from Maungdaw. A Bangladeshi camp commander was shot dead and the attackers made off with weapons. Police at the time said the Rohingya themselves could be suspects. In recent years Bangladeshi police have also alleged that Rohingya refugees are involved in criminal activities including human trafficking. Any rise in violence in Rakhine will be a major concern for the new civilian-led government of Aung San Suu Kyi. She has asked former UN chief Kofi Annan to head a commission

tasked with trying to heal sectarian divisions in the state. The move was largely welcomed by Rohingya community leaders but angered Buddhist nationalists. Anti-Muslim sentiment still runs high in the region, fanned by hardline Buddhist nationalists who revile the Rohingya and are viscerally opposed to any move to grant them citizenship. They insist the roughly one-million strong group are intruders from Bangladesh, even though many can trace their ancestry in Myanmar back generations. BGB on high alert The BGB was put on high alert near Teknaf, Cox’s Bazar following the attacks, reports our Cox’s Bazar correspondent quoting a BGB official. Confirming the news, Lt Col Abujar Al Jahid, BGB commander of Teknaf 2, told the Dhaka Tribune that Myanmar requested BGB to stop the perpetrators from escaping into Bangladesh territory. He also said BGB patrols near Maungdaw – where the shooting took place – reported sounds of heavy gunfire on early Sunday. Some locals, seeking anonymity, told the Dhaka Tribune that they were terrified when they heard gunfire from over the border. Myanmar authorities believe that the attack was carried out by a separatist group, Rohingya Solidarity Organisation (RSO). l

unit, told the Dhaka Tribune that they were analysing information coming from across the country about the dead militants. “We are trying to match the information with the National Identity Card database using their fingerprints.” According to the investigators, most wanted Akash was a top leader of the New JMB, the Bangladeshi affiliate of Syria-based Islamic State. His whole family is involved with militant activities. Hailing from west Baraitali village under Gandhail Union at Kazipur of Sirajganj, Akash completed diploma engineering in computer science from Sirajganj Polytechnic Institute last year. His mother, three sisters and two brothers were arrested by the police on September 5, but the father, Abu Sayed, remains fugitive. According to the CTTC officials, Akash was one of the close aides of New JMB military and operational chief Tamim Ahmed Chowdhury, also known as Abu Dujanah al-Bengali. After the death of Tamim in Narayanganj raid on August 27, Akash got the charge of operational activities. Earlier, two other close associates of Tamim Chowdhury were killed in police raids. CTTC’s Sanowar said that absconding New JMB leader Nurul Islam Marjan or Basharuzzaman might get the opportunity to head the operations wing as the duo were Tamim’s favourites. With the death of 11 militants on Saturday, New JMB has lost at least 42 of its

members in crackdown by law enforcers since November last year while two others died at their own hands – one during a suicide operation and the other committed suicide to evade arrest. Moreover, a key financier of the group, Abdur Rahman, died at a hospital in Savar the same day. He was injured as he jumped off a five-storey building to evade arrest during a raid by RAB at his house in Ashulia area. Meanwhile, Joydebpur police said that the seven bodies were kept at Shaheed Tajuddin Ahmed Medical College Hospital for autopsy. Later the bodies would be sent to Dhaka Medical College morgue for long preservation, our Gazipur correspondent reports. No case was filed regarding the raid until filling of this report last night. Khandakar Rezaul Hasan Reza, OC of Joydebpur police, said that they would send the bodies to Dhaka for DNA tests. “We are still working to identify all the militants,” he added. l

News

MONDAY, OCTOBER 10, 2016

New JMB chief Hanif under surveillance Jamil Khan and n Mohammad Arifur Rahman Rabbi The mysterious Abu Ibrahim alHanif, whose name has emerged as the chief of Islamic State in Bangladesh, has finally been identified by local investigators. “We have finally identified Hanif after analysing statements of different members of New Jama’atul Mujahideen Bangladesh (JMB),” Sanowar Hossain, additional deputy commissioner of Counter Terrorism and Transnational Crime, told the Dhaka Tribune yesterday. “Earlier, we thought Hanif and Tamim Chowdhury were the same person but before conducting the drive in Tamim’s den in Narayanganj, we had some idea that they were different people. “We suspect that Hanif is hiding in some militant den of New JMB. But we also have information that he is almost powerless in the outfit as he does not make any operational decisions,” ADC Sanowar said. He said militants used their organisational names for everyday use, which has caused some trouble in tracing Hanif. Tamim was the operation wing leader before he was killed; then the mantle went to Akash, who was killed on Saturday in a drive in Patartek, Gazipur. “Now we suspect that the operational leadership of the outfit will be taken up by either Nurul Islam Marjan or Basharuzzaman.”

Divisional leaders still elude law

Asked about the present status of New JMB, Sanowar said although a number of New JMB leaders and members had been killed recently, it still is not weakened as the group has leaders for all eight divisions – Dhaka, Chittagong, Rajshahi, Barisal, Khulna, Sylhet, Rangpur and Mymenshingh. However, there was no evidence that these divisional leaders were carrying out any operational activities. According to law enforcers, since the Holey Artisan Bakery attack took place in Gulshan, a total of 33 members of New JMB members have been killed in drives and one other has committed suicide. However, the law enforcers are yet to arrest the 12 second and third-tier top leaders of New JMB. Some of them have already fled to India. Of these leaders, top New JMB men have been identified as Nurul

Islam Marjan, Jahangir alias Rajib Gandhi, Shraiful Islam Khalid, Mamunur Rashid Ripon and Abdus Sakib alias Mastar Sakib. Khalid and Ripon are suspected to be in India.

Focus on Dhaka and surrounding areas

Officials of the CTTC unit said due to the drives against militants, members of the outfit are choosing to hide in Dhaka’s surrounding districts. Around Dhaka, their places of choice are Gazipur, Narayanganj, Keraniganj, Savar and Kamrangirchar area. In their investigation, law enforcers found that militants were choosing these areas as the presence of law enforcement is low there, as is the rent. A senior official of CTTC, requesting anonymity, told the Dhaka Tribune that New JMB was focusing on Dhaka and its surrounding areas in a bid to grab more media coverage and public attention. ADC Sanowar said the group was now trying to find easy targets around Dhaka as they would not get the chance to do anything inside the city. Besides increasing law enforcement vigilance, ADC Sanowar, also suggested that the public should remain alert and inform law enforcement agencies if anything suspicious is found happening them. Officials of CTTC said they had arrested at least 150 members of the outfit since last year.

Vigilance still needed

A senior CTTC official said: “The militants are now looking for targets in Dhaka’s surrounding districts. If any target matches with their agenda, there is a possibility of attack.” In this regard, Monirul Islam, the chief of CTTC unit, said the rise of New JMB took place during 2014 and 2015 at the time of political violence in Bangladesh. “They took that chance to set up their base in Bangladesh.” Although a number of drives have weakened their power and activities but the outfit still has the capability to rise again if it gets opportunities like political unrests in the future, Monirul said. “So, we have to remain alert and build awareness among the public so that they can notice suspicious activities around them,” added Monirul Islam. l

Country’s tallest Durga ready Chandra Kuri, n Ranajit Noakhali Country’s tallest Durga idol has been built in Chowmuhani area of Noakhali this year and the 71-foot- tall idol was built in the memory of 1971 liberation war. The idol was made of clay and it is cement coated placed in districts business hub Choumohoni area which might set the country’s records in various ways, with the tallest idol and mega budget. The idol-maker who crafted the Durga, Amal Krishna Pal hailed from Shariyatpur expressed his experiences to the Dhaka Tribune. Amal Krisna said: “I have been crafting idols since 1974. The 71- foot- Durga

idol is the tallest one I have ever made and also my greatest achievement in my life.” “It took three months and 12 idol-maker worked hard to craft the idol,” he said. Noakhali District Commissioner Badre Munir Ferdous told the Dhaka Tribune that the 71-foot-tall Durga idol is constructed in the memory of 1971 and it is the tallest idol ever in the country. He also admired the artist and Bijoya Puja Udjapan Committee for such initiative. Tapash Saha, secretary of Bijoya Puja Udjapan Committee of the Bijoya Puja Mandap on Chowmuhani College Road of the upazila, the largest in Bangladesh by area, said that it is the tallest

Durga idol in the country with Tk32 lakh budget. Begumganj upazila, once blessed by the presence of Mahatma Gandhi on a communal peace mission, hit the headlines again after it was reported that a 71-foot-tall goddess Durga idol is being made there to celebrate the upcoming largest festival of Bangladesh’s Hindu community. It is being made to celebrate 20 years of the mandap, he added. In 2015, Deshapriya Park in Kolkata hosted the tallest Durga idol and though the idol is the tallest in the world. The 88-foot- tall idol has been made by artist Mintu Pal along with 40 other artists who had been working on the idol and the pandal at Deshapriya Park for over two months. l

Rahman received funds for New JMB Hasan and Nadim n Kamrul Hossain, Savar Abdur Rahman, the key financier of New JMB who was arrested during a raid on Saturday and died a few hours later in a hospital, started living in Ashulia around six months ago to provide funds for the recent terrorist attacks, investigators claimed yesterday. A senior official of Rapid Action Battalion told the Dhaka Tribune that the documents recovered during the raid showed that he received money from both home and abroad. It is not yet confirmed from which countries the money was sent, but RAB says it was sent by individuals, not any organisation. Rahman did not use normal banking process to collect the money. The RAB official, requesting anonymity, said they also learnt the names of two operatives – Sohel and Milon – who personally carried cash money to members of New JMB – the moniker used to identify the new faction of banned militant outfit Jama’atul Mujahideen Bangla-

desh - for their militant operations. Shahnaz Akhter Ruma, wife of Abdur Rahman who was also arrested during the raid, is also an active leader of the militant organisation, the RAB official told the Dhaka Tribune. “We have acquired some important information from the drives of Saturday. We may conduct some more drives soon.” Meanwhile, two cases were filed against Ruma and four unknown individuals with Ashulia police station under the Anti-Terrorism Act and the Explosives Act yesterday evening. Humayun Ahmed, deputy assistant director of RAB 4, filed the cases listing Ruma as prime accused because Rahman succumbed to his injuries a few hours after his arrest. The couple’s three children, who are currently in police custody, will be sent to the victim support centre today, said Ashulia police station OC Mohsinul Kadir. Ruma will be sent to court today. RAB Deputy Assistant Director Humayun said Rahman used several aliases to rent houses before

he moved to Ashulia. He used names of Nazmul Haque, Enamul Haque and Sarwar Zaman to find accommodation in the past, RAB has learnt. There is a possibility that his current name Abdur Rahman is fake as well. Rahman was identified by a national ID card that RAB found during the raid, where his name was stated as Abdur Rahman, father’s name was listed as Abdullah, and address was listed as Kushkhali village in Satkhira. Our Satkhira correspondent contacted Superintendent of Police Altaf Hossain yesterday, who said police had not found anyone named Abdullah in Kushkhali whose son’s name was Abdur Rahman. “The villagers did not recognise Rahman when his photo was shown to them,” Altaf told the Dhaka Tribune. Local union parishad Chairman Shafiqul Islam Shyamol corroborated Altaf’s statement. RAB sources said national ID cards can be forged, so they would use his fingerprints to find his real identity. l

News

MONDAY, OCTOBER 10, 2016

Killed militant Akash coaxed mother, sisters to join JMB n Aminul Islam Rana, Sirajganj Faridul Islam alias Akash, killed in a raid in Patartek area in Gazipur on Saturday, had coaxed his mother, two sisters and other women to join in militancy. Police claimed that after joining the an offshoot of the banned militant outfit Jama’atul Mujahideen Bangladesh (JMB) Akash had formed a new suicide unit with female members and recruited his mother and two sisters to carry out large-scale subversive activities across the country. Miraj Uddin Ahmed, superintendent of police of Sirajganj, said: “After his orientation with the New JMB, Akash coaxed his mother and two sisters to join in militancy.” In a press briefing on September 5, the SP said: “Following the instruction of New JMB master-

minds, Akash had formed a new suicide unit with the female members of JMB. He recruited his mother, sisters and other women from his locality for this unit. They all were trained to conduct large-scale subversive activities across the country.” Miraj Uddin attended the press briefing after an anti-militant drive at Jamua village in Sadar upazila of Sirajganj district on the day. During the drive, police arrested four female members of JMB along with Akash’s mother Fulera Begum, 45, sisters Shakila, 18, and Salma, 16. Later, Shakila and Salma confessed that they were coaxed into joining militancy by their brother Akash, said police sources. Akash also influenced his father Abu Sayed, now in absentia after the raid at Jamua village, to join with JMB, said locals.

According to district police, Faridul Islam alias Akash, alias Pravat, regional commander of a new offshoot of banned militant outfit

‘Following the instruction of New JMB masterminds, Akash had formed a new suicide unit with the female members of JMB’ Jama’atul Mujahideen Bangladesh, hailed from Sirajganj district and was named as Akash after his orientation with JMB. Akash was orientated with JMB through Tariqul, leader of JMB Northern region, who was killed

Azimpur raid: 3 female militants on 7-day remand n Md Sanaul Islam Tipu

in Kuthibari bomb blast in Sherpur of Bogra district on April 3 in this year, said police sources. Akash, locally known as Faridul, had completed his diploma engineering from Sirajganj Polytechnic Institute and he was wanted for several cases filed by Detective Branch. Abdul Hannan, principle of Sirajganj Polytechnic Institute, said: “Faridul had completed his study from our institution but we did not notice that he was a top militant leader.” Rowshon Ali, second officer of Sirajganj DB, yesterday said: “Faridul had joined in JMB through Tariqul and he was wanted for one year.” Earlier, on Saturday, seven militants were killed in a ‘gunfight’ with the members of Counter-Terrorism and Transnational Crime unit (CT) in Patartek area in Gazipur. l

A Dhaka court yesterday sent three female militants arrested during September 10 Azimpur raid on seven days’ remand. Metropolitan Magistrate Md Nur Nabi passed the remand order after the militants had been produced before the court by investigation office Additional Commissioner of Counter Terrorism and Transnational Crime Unit Md Ehsanul Haq. One of the militants, Shaila Afrin told the court that all three had been coaxed into joining militancy by their husbands. A militant was killed and the trio – Afrin alias Priyoti, 25, Adedatul Fatema alias Khadiza, 35, and Shaila Afrin, 23 – were injured when the CTTC raided a militant den in Azimpur on September 10. Police lodged a case the next day against several suspected militants including the three women with Lalbagh police station. l

SC stays HC order to recognise 2,367 guerrillas as Freedom Fighters n Tribune Desk The Supreme Court has stayed a High Court order till October 30 that had instructed the government to recognise 2,367 guerrillas of National Awami Party (NAP), Communist Party and Chhatra Union as freedom fighters. Chamber Judge of the Appellate Division Justice Hasan Foez Siddique passed the order on Sunday afternoon, in response to a petition filed by the government seeking a stay on the High Court verdict. The petition has been sent to the regular bench of Appellate Division for hearing on October 30. On September 8, while delivering verdict in response to a writ petition filed by the guerrilla fighters, the High Court instructed the government to recognise 2,367 guerrillas as freedom fighters of the War of Independence in 1971, and to give them proper status, dignity and facilities of freedom fighters. The writ petition was

filed in January, 2015, by Pankaj Bhattacharya, deputy commander of the guerrilla force which was formed with leaders and activists of National Awami Party (NAP), Communist Party and Chhatra Union on March 26, 1971.

A gazette notification was published mentioning the 2,367 guerrillas as FFs in 2013 In the petition, he said that the Bangabandhu-led Bangladesh government had recognised guerrilla fighters as freedom fighters and published their names in government notifications just after the war. A gazette notification was published in July, 2013, by the Ministry of Liberation War Affairs mentioning the 2,367 guerrillas as freedom fighters, but in October 2014, they scraped it without any explanation. l

MA Khan Rokon

Businessman MA Khan passes away n Tribune Desk

MA Khan Rokon, a pharmacist and businessman well known in Bangladesh and the United States, passed away at his home in Baridhara, Dhaka in the early hours of October 07. Khan was a humble man who had a zest for life and an immense passion for poetry and arts. He doted on his children and wife, cherished the company of others, and was simply adored and respected by all. Khan was the second son of Abdul Quayum Khan of Dhanmondi. He was buried yesterday at the Azimpur graveyard. He left his wife Nazma Khan, son Muiz Khan, daughter Parsa Aisha Khan and son-in-law Arish Akanda. His Qulkhwani will be held on Friday October 14, 2016 at Baridhara Jam-e-Masjid after Asr prayers. l

NGOs urge president to stop new law n Nure Alam Durjoy

Representatives from national and International NGOs have urged the president not to give his consent to Foreign Donations (Voluntary Activities) Regulation Act 2014, saying the law would pave the way to violate freedom of expression and thought. At a press conference yesterday morning at Dhaka Reporters’ Unity, representatives of 18 national and international NGOs lodged protests against the newly passed law. NGO activists said in the name transparency and accountability, government mainly wanted to demoralise voluntary work and regulate NGO activities, especially to violate the freedom of expression. They also urged the government to bring necessary amendments to the law through discussions with stakeholders. There are similar provisions in the proposed law for individuals, NGOs and voluntary and charity works which is illogical, they said. Moreover, there are conflicting provisions for individuals’ charity works, said Sultana Kamal, human rights activist and also a formar caretaker government adviser. Last week, the parliament passed the bill and the cabinet approved the it on June 2, 2014.

The High Court yesterday rejected the bail petition by ruling Awami League lawmaker Amanur Rahman Khan Rana in the case filed over the murder of freedom fighter Faruk Ahmed. Amanur had moved the bail plea with the High Court following the rejection of Tangail’s First Additional District and Sessions Judge on September 26. The High Court bench of justices Md Abu Zafor Siddique and Khizir Ahmed Choudhury yesterday also rejected the plea considering it as ‘not pressed.’

n Abu Bakar Siddique The government yesterday released one more stress tolerant paddy variety for farmers’ demonstration, making the number of such varieties to 18, with an aim to boosting agricultural production in the changing climatic situation. The newly-released BRRI Dhan 78, an Aman variety developed by Bangladesh Rice Research Institute (BRRI), can cope with saline and submergence situation simultaneously. “This stress tolerant high-yielding paddy variety can produce 4.5 to 7 tonnes in each hectare and is less affected by diseases and pest attacks,” said Md Azim Uddin, chief seed technologist of Agriculture Ministry. Earlier, the government re-

The bill has a provision for canceling registration the of an NGO for making malicious and derogatory statements against the constitution and constitutional bodies of the country. Mentioning this, Sultana Kamal said the provision to cancel NGO registration is not only vague, open to misinterpretation and wayward but also contradictory to the rights to freedom of expression provided in the constitution. Transparency International Bangladesh’s Executive Director Dr Iftekharuzzaman, Bangladesh Environmental Lawyers Association’s chief executive Syeda Rizwana Hasan, Nijera Kori coordinator Khushi Kabir, Manusher Jonno Foundation Executive Director Shaheen Anam spoke at the press conference among the others. “If there is no explanation or definition of this term ‘malicious statement,’ there will be an opportunity to misuse it,” Khushi Kabir said. She said they had sent a letter to the president and expressed the hope that the president will consider their demand. Syeda Rizwana Hasan said there will be a serious impact on the social works especially on individuals because of this law. l

THUNDERSHOWER WITH RAIN MONDAY, OCTOBER 10

Dhaka

Chittagong

Mujibur Rahman Agricultural University which is photo sensitive and can produce 4.5 to 6 tonnes per hectare. Apart from these, the government yesterday registered 11 hybrid paddy varieties introduced by different private companies including Mitali Enterprise, Mollika Seed Company Limited, Ispahahani Agro Limited and Syngenta Bangladesh Limited. The meeting also approved two saline tolerant potato varieties named BARI potato 72 and BARI potato 73, developed by Bangladesh Agricultural Research Institute. In addition, a saline tolerant and short-lived wheat variety named BINA wheat 1, developed by Bangladesh Institute of Nuclear Agriculture, was also released yesterday. l

Islam Reza, n Tajul Gaibandha Two newborn conjoined twins born in Sundorganj, Gaibandha have been taken to Dhaka Medical College and Hospital (DMCH) on Saturday for separation surgery. The girls are being treated at the hospital’s paediatric surgery section under the care of Associate Professor Dr Shainoor Islam, said the twin’s father Raju Miah. Civil Surgeon of Gaibandha Dr Nirmolendu Chowdhury said: “The newborn conjoined twins had been tested at the modern paediatric specialist hospital.” He further explained the complications these conjoined twins face, saying: “One of the twins has fully functioning urethra and rectum while the other does not have those, which is why they have been referred to DMCH for their surgery.” The conjoined twins were born on September 28 to farmer Raju Miah and his wife Shahida Begum in Sundorganj union of Gaibandha. They were born at home with the help of a midwife and seem to have normal organ functions expect that one twin does not have urethra and rectum passages. l

Rajshahi

DHAKA TODAY SUN SETS 5:37PM

leased eight saline tolerant, seven drought tolerant and two submergence tolerant paddy varieties in Bangladesh in the last 13 years. According to the fifth assessment report of the Inter-governmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), Bangladesh is at specific risk from climate change due to its exposure to sea-level rise and extreme events like salinity intrusion, drought, erratic rainfall and tidal surge which will hamper the country’s food as well as livelihood security. In addition to BRRI Dhan 78, the National Seed Board yesterday at its 90th meeting released another Boro hybrid variety named BRRI Dhan 5 developed by BRRI, the state-run research body. The board also released an Aman paddy variety, BU Dhan 2, developed by Bangabandhu Sheikh

Conjoined twins taken to DMCH for surgery

On January 18, 2013, Faruk was found murdered in front of his house in the town’s College Para area. His wife Nahar Ahmed filed a murder case with the local police. Police pressed charge sheets against 15 men in connection including the lawmaker. Amanur surrendered before the Tangail court last month and was sent to the jail. His lawyers yesterday argued before the High Court to try and secure him bail by saying that the lawmaker was not named in the FIR and because he surrendered before the law he was not at risk of skipping bail as he is a respected lawmaker. l

TEMPERATURE FORECAST FOR TODAY

MONDAY, OCTOBER 10, 2016

Bangladesh releases 18th stress tolerant paddy variety

MP Amanur’s bail plea rejected n Tribune Desk

News

Rangpur

Conjoined twins born on September 28 in Gaibandha has been taken to DMCH for separation surgery on Saturday DHAKA TRIBUNE

Khulna

Barisal

YESTERDAY’S HIGH AND LOW

TOMORROW SUN RISES 5:54AM

34.5ºC Ishwardi

23ºC Syedpur

Source: Accuweather/UNB

PRAYER TIMES

Sylhet

Cox’s Bazar

Fajr: 5:20am | Zohr: 1:15pm Asr: 4:30pm | Magrib: 5:56pm Esha: 8:00pm Source: Islamic Foundation

News

MONDAY, OCTOBER 10, 2016

Anomalies in fair-price rice scheme Ultra poor take to the street in Sirajganj protesting irregularities

CCC places Tk2,225 crore budget

n Amunul Islam Rana, Sirajganj

n Anwar Hussain, Chittagong

Hundreds of low-income group of people yesterday took to the street after not getting fair price rice which have been allocated to them at Ullapara, Sirajganj. Over 100 residents of Domdoma, Betakandi village, Kaliganj and Pechorpara villages under Panchakrosi union parishad formed a human chain in front of union parishad office in the afternoon, demanding disbursement of rice allocated to them by the government. Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has recently inaugurated the ‘Food Friendly Programme for the Ultra-Poor’ in Kurigram. Under the programme, the ultra-poor families will be able to buy 30kg rice a month during five months – March-Apri and September to November. The government has allocated 750,000 tonnes of rice for the programme, especially for poor women, widows and women with disabilities. Samad Promanik who was chanting slogans against the irregularities in the rice disbursement, said: “The government has allocated rice at Tk10 per kg for us. But we did not get that rice. Where the allocated rice has gone? I thought that the government allocated the rice in fair price to get rid us of extreme poverty. Now, we are seeing reverse situation, as rich people are getting more rich gobbling up rice of the poor.” Ahad Ali of Domdoma village, Nuru Mia of Char Domdoma and

The Chittagong City Corporation (CCC) placed a budget of Tk2,225.67 crore for 2016-17 fiscal yesterday. Mayor AJM Nasir Uddin announced the budget, the second one after he assumed office, at a function at KB Abdus Sattar Auditorium of city corporation building. In the budget, Tk985.10 crore was shown as income from development aid and Tk42.95 crore will come from other sources. In the proposed budget, income of Tk1015.63 crore will come from three types of taxes. Tk242.46 crore will come from tax arrears while Tk550.89 crore has been fixed as income from current taxes and Tk222.27 crore will come from other taxes. In the budget, Tk1,121 crore has been fixed as development expenditure of the city. It is the highest expenditure sector. The money will be spent in excavating a canal, repairing the rundown roads and setting up an asphalt plant in the city. While placing the budget, Mayor AJM Nasir Uddin claimed that it was a pragmatic and exceptional one. With the CCC Chief Executive Officer Kazi Md Shafiul Alam in the chair, the budget session was addressed by Chief engineer Lieutenant Colonnel Mohiuddin Ahmed, Chief Education Officer Nazia Shirin and Chief Revenue Officer Monjurul Islam. l

Low-income group of people at Panchakrosi union, Ullapara, Sirajganj demonstrate in front of the union parishad office yesterday, protesting the irregularities in the rice disbursement DHAKA TRIBUNE Rubia Khatun of Betakandi who were standing beside Samad echoed the same words. The agitators said although they got ration card of fair price rice, but they were yet to get rice from UP office. They alleged that dealer Ferdous Ara, wife of union parishad member Nazrul Islam, had misappropriated their rice. She was selling rice at black market. They also claimed that dealer Ferdous Ara took Tk300 from per ration card holder and gave rice to them. People, who did not provide the amount to her, were deprived

off the fair-price rice. Feroz Uddin, union parishad chairman, told the Dhaka Tribune that Pancrosi union parishad would provide rice to 1,000 poor families through two dealers. He said he had been informed that 70 families out of 75 families of Betakandi did not get rice under the scheme. Moreover, 15 families of Shakhwat village, which has no existence in the locality, had got rice under the programe. Ferdous Ara, however, said Feroz Uddin prevented people from coming out of their villages to receive rice because he wanted to

tarnish her husband’s image. She also alleged that people who staged demonstration had been instigated by Feroz and his men. Maruf Bin Habib, chairman of Uillapara upzila, asked ration card holders to file a written complaint to deputy commissioner and upzila nirbahi officer. Deputy Commissioner Kamrun Nahar told the Dhaka Tribune that she had already given directive to the UNO to look into the matter. “If we find any kind of irregularities in the process, we will take action against the people responsible for the misdeed, she added. l

Gas connection of 6 CNG stations severed in Comilla n Tribune Desk

Bakhrabad Gas Distribution Company Limited (BGDCL) and Comilla district administration cut gas connections of six CNG stations of the district on charge of selling gas by tempering meters, in the last 15 days. Naimul Alam Khan, deputy general manager (public relation) of BGDCL said: “A vigilance team of BGDCL led by Md Yusuf Ali, general manager (engineering service) of BGDCL, conducted a drive at Kala Kachua area on Dhaka-Chittagong Highway and cut gas connection of Sakura CNG Filling Station in allegation of tempering gas meters yesterday around 4pm. According to BGDCL information, a team of BGDCL led

by Rezaul Islam Khan and Md Yusuf Ali, managing director and general manager of BGDCL, respectively, conducted drives at Amtali and Syedpur areas on Dhaka-Chittagong Highway on Wednesday and cut gas connections of Saburia CNG Filling Station and Nur and Brothers CNG Filling Station on charge of selling CNG by tempering meters. On September 27, a team led by SM Habibur Rahman, general manager of BGDCL conducted a drive at Comilla Sadar Dakshin upazila on Dhaka-Chittagong Highway and cut gas connectional of Bhuiyan CNG Filing Station in allegation of tempering gas meter. The team also fined the station Tk1, 00,000 in this connection. During the drive, Engineer

Mokammel Haque, deputy-secretary of Power, Energy and Mineral Resources ministry, was present at the spot. On September 26, a mobile court of district administration led by Shohag Chandra Saha, executive magistrate, in drives cut gas connections of Rahma CNG Filling Station at Alekhachar area and M/S Comilla CNG Filling Station in Debidwar upazila for tempering gas meters. The court also fined Tk50, 000 to Rahma CNG Filling Station and Tk1, 00, 000 to M/S Comilla CNG Filling Station in this connection. BGDCL along with district administration conducted the drives following an instruction from Prime Minister’s office to stop illegal gas using in the district. l

News

MONDAY, OCTOBER 10, 2016

None claims bodies of Tangail militants n Afzal Hossain, Tangail Although almost two days passed since two militants have been killed by the members of law enforcement, none has claimed their bodies. Acting on a tip off, a team of RAB 12 made an operation in Mirzamath area, Kagmara on Saturday morning that left Atikur Rahman, 20, and Sagor Hossain, 25, dead on spot. Postmortem of the deceased were conducted at Tangail Medical College Hospital on Sunday. But no

case was filed in this connection. Police Super Muhammad Mohiuddin Faruki said: “Autopsy of the bodies have been conducted. But no body has claimed their bodies. After scrutinising identities of the militants, we filed a case.” Muhammad Mohiuddin Faruki a seven-member team of RAB headquarters had collected DNA samples of the deceased. It is mentionable that Atikur Rahman and Sagor Hossain hailed from Rajshahi had started living at the house since September 28. Meanwhile, police released

owner of the house, who was arrested after the drive, in the early hours of the Sunday. He said: “Identifying themselves as students, they took rent of my house. When, I asked for their identity card, then they told me that they would provide me their ID cards after seven days. We came to know that they were militants when members of law enforcement agencies conducted a drive at my house.” Local residents said as the duo were bachelors, they knew a little bit about them.

Lutfar Rahman, neighbour of Atikur and Sagor, said: “We are panicked as two militants lived near to us, but did not know about them. We had no contact with the militants, as they started staying at the house a few days back.” Shahidul Islam, another neighbour, said: “People of Mirzamath area are peace-loving. But militants from outside of the area entered the area, but we did not notice them. We are hoping that administration will take actions to improve law and order in the locality.” l

Farmers of Rajshahi are compelled to use contaminated water from drains connected with Naohata River, polluted by city garbage, to irrigate their cropland as there is no alternative. The picture was taken yesterday from Pashuhat area AZAHAR UDDIN

Habiganj four schoolboys murder case hearing deferred again n Md Noor Uddin, Habiganj .The hearing of four kids murder case in Habiganj has been deferred again due to the appeal of newly appointed public prosecutor (PP) for the case. District and Sessions Judge Md Atabullah fixed October 16 for the hearing in presence of accused Abdul Ali, 60, who allegedly ordered killing the four children, his two sons Rubel Mia, and Jewel Mia, Shahed Ahmed Bashir and Habibur Rahman Arju yesterday. Trilok Kanti Chowdhury Bijan got the appointment as special PP

for the case on Sunday following an appeal of the plaintiff to appoint a new lawyer, said Trilok. The PP said as he got the appointment today, he requested the court to give him some time to study the case. Responding to his request, the court deferred the hearing. The previous hearing was scheduled on October 1, which was deferred on October 9 over the appeal of the plaintiff Abdal Mia, father of ill-fated child Monir Mia. On February 12, Monir, 7, Zakaria Shuvo, 8, son of Abdul Wahid Miah; Mohammad Tajel Mia, 10,

son of Abdul Aziz; and Ismail Miah, 10, son of Abdul Kader, went missing after they went to a nearby playground at Sundrateki village in Bahubal upazila of the district in the afternoon. Their bodies were found under sand at a place adjacent to the village five days later. Afjal filed a case with Bahubal police station on February 18. Officer-in-charge Moktadir Alam of Detective Branch of Police pressed charges against nine people in the case on April 5. The district’s women and children repression prevention tribu-

nal took the charges into cognizance and issued arrest warrant against three fugitives in the case on June 28. District and Sessions Judge Atabullah took over the case, as the tribunal’s Judge Kiron Shankar Haldar had been transferred to another place. Meanwhile, four of the accused, including Rubel and Jewel, gave confessional statements to the court. Another accused Bachchu Mia was killed in a “gunfight” with Rapid action Battalion (RAB) soon after the incident. l

Five missing Netrakona students last traced at Kakrail n Hanif Ullah Akash, Netrakona Five students, who went missing from Mohishber village at Purbadhala upazila in Netrakona on October 1, were last traced in the capital’s Kakrail mosque area. The missing students are Arif Mia, 14, son of Shafiqul Islam; Belal Hossain, 15, son of Farid Mia; Noyon Mia, 14, son of Helal Uddin; Md Ridoy, 13, son of Ainuddin; and Rakibul Islam,13, son of Hamed Ali. The police traced them on October 6 after tracking a phone in Kakrail mosque area of Dhaka city in the afternoon. All of the boys left their houses in the morning on October 1, telling their families that they were going to the educational institutions. Among the missing students, Belal carried a mobile phone when he left home. The phone rang the day they went missing and the next day, but nobody received the calls. After that it was switched off. Belal and Noyon are students of class 8 and class 6 respectively at Shaldigha Talimat-E-Islamia Dakhil Madrasa in Shyamganj of Purbadhala, while the other three are students of Shyamganj Jalshuka Kumudganj High School. Belal and Noyon are cousins, while Arif is their nephew, said police and family members of the missing students. The families of the boys filed a general diary (GD) with Purbadhala police station on October 5 in this connection. Police said locals saw the students riding a Mymensingh-bound train on the day they left homes. Abdur Rahman, officer-incharge of the police station, told the Dhaka Tribune that earlier, Ridoy and Rakibul remained missing for more than one month. The police were also looking into the matter, added the OC. Rowshanara Begum, a teacher of the madrasa, said Noyon remained absent from the madrasa very often. He also remained quiet in the class, added the teacher. Joydev Chowdhury, police super of Netrakona, said a team of the law enforcers had been working to find the boys. l

8 World

MONDAY, OCTOBER 10, 2016

A Pakistani militant linked to a number of high-profile attacks was killed in a joint Afghan-US special forces operation in eastern Afghanistan. Qari Ajmal, a leader of the banned Lashkar-e-Jhangi, was wanted for major attacks, notably one on the Sri Lankan cricket team in 2009 that killed six police and wounded seven players. AP

INDIA

India under pressure on HFCs India will face pressure to speed up its plans for cutting greenhouse gases used in refrigerators, air conditioning and aerosols when governments meet this week to hammer out what would be a 3rd key deal to limit climate change in a month. About 150 nations meet in Rwanda, from October 10-14 to try to agree a phase down of factory-made hydrofluorocarbon (HFC) gases. AFP

CHINA

China sentences former Yunnan party boss to death China has sentenced the former Communist Party boss from the southwestern province of Yunnan to death for bribery with a twoyear reprieve, the latest official to fall in President Xi Jinping’s sweeping war on graft. A court said Bai Enpei, 70, abused his posts, including as party chief in Yunnan until 2011 and earlier as the top official in the western province of Qinghai, illegally amassing more than $37m in assets. REUTERS

ASIA PACIFIC

Malaysia detains 16 terror suspects Malaysian police said on Sunday they have arrested 16 people for suspected militant links after a twoweek operation across the country. The arrests were made between September 21 and October 6. Fifteen were Malaysians and the other was a citizen of a North African country. The suspects were aged between 20 and 38 years old. REUTERS

MIDDLE EAST

Turkey: 38 IS militants killed in northern Syria Thirty-eight IS militants were killed in northern Syria over the last 24 hours, the Turkish military said on Sunday. The British-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said on Saturday that IS fighters had captured those villages in a counter attack near the Turkish border, but the Turkish military statement contradicted this account. REUTERS

What to watch in second US presidential debate n Tribune International Desk Donald Trump will have 90 minutes Sunday night to save his presidential campaign, as he faces off against Hillary Clinton in a debate that will cap one of the most extraordinary weekends in American political history. Republicans -- including vice presidential nominee Mike Pence -- are criticising Trump for his vulgar comments about advances he has made toward women that came to light Friday. And an ever-growing list of senators and top GOP officials want Trump replaced on the ticket. Trump insists he won’t leave the race, and he and allies (those that remain, at least) indicate he’ll go on the attack against Clinton. There’s one thing on everyone’s mind Sunday night in St Louis at the town hall debate co-moderated by CNN’s Anderson Cooper. Here’s what to watch:

The tape -- what will Trump say?

Soon after the “Access Hollywood” tape became public on Friday, Trump released a statement that read, in part: “I apologise if anyone was offended.” That wasn’t sufficient. Hours later, Trump released a video message: “Anyone who knows me knows these words don’t reflect who I am. I said it, I was wrong, and I apologize,” Trump said, looking into the camera. He made a brief appearance Saturday on Fifth Avenue in front of Trump Tower, and a couple of calls to newspapers vowing to stay in the race. But this will be his first live appearance and one that guarantees follow-up questions. Although Trump has apologised, he has not yet addressed serious concerns raised by the hot mic video. Most notably, Trump’s suggestion that he made aggressive advances toward women -- including the comment that he would “grab them by the pussy” -- has raised grave new questions about whether he touched women without their consent. This is Trump’s chance to convince Americans that he is sincere in his apology and that he can be trusted as commander in chief. If he can do that, as well as score points on his core issues of trade and security, he may be able to survive.

THE RACE FOR THE WHITE HOUSE Collated opinion polls as of October 7

ND SD WY

NY 29

MT WA 12 OR 7

Democrat Republican

CT 7 3 ID 4

3 3 3

MN 10 WI 10

NV UT 5 6 6 6

MI 16 OH 18

PA 20

VA 13 KY WV 5 8 CO NC 55 SC TN MO AZ 9 KS 15 electoral 9 6 11 10 11 college votes NM 5 OK 7 AR 6 AL GA LA MS 9 16 TX 6 8 3 38 AK 4 FL 29 HI CA

NH 4 ME 4 MA 11 3 RI 4

IL 20

IN 11

D.C.

US, Afghan joint forces kill Pakistani militant

NE IA

SOUTH ASIA

solid support leaning solid leaning

Undecided

NJ 14 3 3 MD 10

Votes needed to win 270 Clinton Trump 52 Undecided

115

237

122 113

165 136

US citizens select 538 electors, who pledge to vote for either Hillary Clinton or Donald Trump. The candidate who obtains an absolute majority of electoral college votes (270) becomes president. Source: RealClearPolitics

What will Trump say about Bill Clinton?

After the first debate, Trump congratulated himself for refraining from bringing up Bill Clinton’s “indiscretions.” “I’m really happy I was able to hold back on the indiscretions in respect to Bill Clinton. Because I have a lot of respect for Chelsea Clinton,” he told CNN’s Dana Bash. When pressed by Bash on what he would have said, Trump responded: “Maybe I’ll tell you at the next debate.” It now appears that Trump may do exactly that on Sunday. The GOP nominee has already given two indications that he is preparing to target the former president -- and the Clintons’ marriage -- on the debate stage. Immediately after the “Access Hollywood” video was released, Trump said in a statement: “Bill Clinton has said far worse to me on the golf course - not even close.” In the video message hours later, Trump capped his curt apology with this: “Bill Clinton has actually abused women and Hillary Clinton has bullied, attacked, shamed and intimated his victims.” “We will discuss this more in the coming days,” Trump added. And he retweeted two tweets from Juanita Broaddrick, the Arkansas nursing home administrator who alleged that Bill Clinton had raped her in 1978. Clinton has denied the allegations, and there was never any legal action against him.

The strategy of dredging up Clinton’s extramarital affairs, such as those with Monica Lewinsky and Gennifer Flowers, enjoys minimal support within the Republican Party, and top GOP leaders are wary of going down this path. Given the timing, it could also be interpreted and dismissed as desperate.

What does Hillary Clinton say?

Clinton has kept a low profile all weekend, staying in New York for debate prep, and so this will be the first time she responds in person to the Trump tape. In recent weeks, the Democratic nominee had already adopted highlighting Trump’s past remarks about women as a major strategy, aimed at hammering home the point that Trump is temperamentally unfit to be president. The Clinton campaign has featured Alicia Machado, for example -- a former Miss Universe whom Trump has made disparaging comments about -- in online ads, and facilitated Machado sharing her story with the media. Clinton may be less keen on addressing her husband’s extramarital affairs if Trump decides to go there. Asked last month whether she feels any obligation to object to a spouse’s indiscretions being brought up in the campaign, Clinton simply answered: “No.”

Clinton faces questions on her speeches

The Trump bombshell Friday came at roughly the same time the Clinton team was dealing with problems of its own -- WikiLeaks posted thousands of hacked emails from Clinton campaign chairman, John Podesta, that appear to include excerpts of Clinton’s private speeches to Wall Street companies. Those excerpts could validate what some of Clinton’s critics have said all along: that the Democratic nominee is out of touch with the middle class. In one 2014 speech, Clinton appears to acknowledge that she is “kind of far removed” from the struggles of everyday Americans -comments that could haunt her in Sunday’s debate and on the campaign trail. “My father loved to complain about big business and big government, but we had a solid middle class upbringing,” she said in the remarks. “And now, obviously, I’m kind of far removed because the life I’ve lived and the economic, you know, fortunes that my husband and I now enjoy, but I haven’t forgotten it.” With all the attention on Trump, the excerpts haven’t gotten much attention. But figure Clinton will have to explain her reasoning for those comments Sunday. l

Source: CNN

MONDAY, OCTOBER 10, 2016

Saudi Arabia-led coalitions airstrike kills 140 at Yemen funeral n Tribune International Desk Saudi-led warplanes struck a funeral at a community hall in the Yemeni capital Sanaa, the country’s Houthi-run administration said on Saturday, but the coalition denied any role in the attack. More than 140 mourners were killed, according to local health officials cited by the United Nations, in an attack that prompted a strong rebuke from Washington, a key Saudi ally. The death toll was 82, according to Ghazi Ismail, the administration’s acting health minister. The reason for the discrepancy in numbers was not immediately clear. The UN said reports from health officials in Yemen also indicated more than 525 were wounded in the attack. The death toll was one of the largest in any single incident since the Saudi-led alliance began military operations to try to restore President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi to power following his ousting by the Iran-aligned Houthis in March 2015.

‘Shocked and outraged’

Jamie McGoldrick, the UN humanitarian coordinator in Yemen, said in a statement that the humanitarian community in the

country is “shocked and outraged” by the airstrikes. He condemned the “horrific attack” and reminded all parties to the conflict “that under international humanitarian law, they are obliged to protect civilians and civilian infrastructures.” He called for an immediate investigation into the incident.

Pakistan-based terrorist group Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) suffered the maximum damage in the cross-LoC surgical strikes on terror launch pads carried out by Indian army with assessment reports of radio intercepts indicating that around 20 of its militants were killed. The assessment reports available from Indian Army’s field units which included radio conversations between various Pakistani formations showed maximum damage was inflicted on LeT at Dudniyal launchpad in Pakistan-occupied-Kashmir (PoK), opposite to Kupwara sector of North Kashmir, according to sources in the know of details of the recent surgical strikes. The sources said on Sunday that five teams culled out from the army division in the area were tasked to destroy launchpads of terror groups located at Kail also known as Kel and Dudniyal. In a well calibrated operation, which started on the intervening night of September 28 and 29, the Indian Army moved across

the LoC and smashed four launch pads that were under the guard of a Pakistani post located 700 metres from the LoC. The sources said that the terrorists were not expecting an action by the Indian Army and therefore were taken by surprise. The terrorists, mainly belonging to the LeT, were seen running towards the Pakistani post when they were killed by the Indian troops, according to the assessment reports. After the successful strike inside the PoK, an effective radio monitoring and strict vigil was maintained, the sources said, adding the wireless messages from radio intercepts of Pakistani army indicated that at least 10 LeT terrorists had been been killed during the multiple and near synchronised surgical strikes on four launch pads. There was heavy movement of Pakistani army vehicles till the break of dawn and all the bodies were cleared off and taken away, the sources said, adding as per the radio intercepts there was a mass burial in the Neelum valley. Similar blow was dealt to the

Senator McCain withdraws support for Trump Senator John McCain has become the latest senior figure in the party to withdraw his endorsement of Donald Trump as more of the candidate’s offensive comments about women were aired in the US. The Arizona senator issued a statement declaring it impossible to continue to offer even conditional support for Trump, in the wake of leaked video. THE GUARDIAN

Russia considering military bases in Cuba

Smoke rises from the community hall where Saudi-led warplanes struck a funeral in Sanaa, the capital of Yemen on October 9 REUTERS

Latest tragedy in country’s civil war

Saturday’s funeral was held for Sheikh Ali al-Rawishan, father of Interior Minister Galal al-Rawishan, an ally of both the Houthis and President Saleh. The Saudi-led coalition backs Hadi’s government which, together with its own allies, is fighting the Houthis and Saleh loyalists in a civil war that broke out in 2014. Roughly 3,799 civilians have been killed since the Saudi-led air campaign began in March of last year, according to a recent report

by the UN’s human rights chief, Zeid Ra’ad al-Hussein. The UN and rights groups estimate the conflict has claimed the lives of at least 9,000 people and displaced nearly 3 million more in the Arab world’s poorest country. According to the report, coalition airstrikes were responsible for 60% of civilian deaths over a year-long span starting in July last year. Just under one-quarter — 475 — civilian deaths were attributed to rebel forces like those loyal to Saleh, and another 113 to affiliates of al-Qaeda and the Islamic State group. l

LeT suffered maximum damage in surgical strikes n Tribune International Desk

USA

THE AMERICAS

US’ deeply disturbed’ by the violence

The United States has been backing the Saudi-led coalition, but White House national security council spokesperson Ned Price said the US is “deeply disturbed” by the reports on the funeral hall airstrike which “if confirmed, would continue the troubling series of attacks striking Yemeni civilians.” He warned that US security cooperation with Saudi Arabia “is not a blank check.” “In light of this and other recent incidents, we have initiated an immediate review of our already significantly reduced support to the Saudi-led coalition and are prepared to adjust our support so as to better align with US principles, values and interests, including achieving an immediate and durable end to Yemen’s tragic conflict,” Price said in a statement late Saturday.

World

Indian army soldiers take positions during their patrol near the Line of Control in Nowshera sector, about 90km from Jammu, India AP terrorist launch pads located at Balnoi area opposite of Poonch in which nine people belonging to LeT were killed as per the radio intercepts of Pakistani army, the sources said. According to the sources, there were intelligence reports that terrorists were planning to enter into India from various directions in Kashmir as well as Jammu region. The sources said that the army waited for the opportunity when the terrorists were in the process of gathering at one place before

giving them a bloody nose. Pakistan has contested the claims of Indian army and said that there was no surgical strikes carried out. They only admitted that two of their soldiers were killed in cross border firing. However, after the operation was over, the sources said, duty officer at the Director General of Military Operation in Pakistan was informed about the strikes carried out by the army in PoK. l

Source: HT

Russia is considering restoring military bases in Cuba, Cold War flashpoints and lasting symbols of the enmity between the US and Soviet Union. Nikolai Pankov, the Russian defence minister, said Moscow was rethinking the decision to close the bases, according to Russian news agencies. TELEGRAPH

Britain backtracks over listing foreign workers The British government stepped back Sunday from a plan to make employers list their foreign workers as it talks tough on immigration following the Brexit vote, after a backlash among business leaders. We are not going to be asking companies to list or name or publish or identify their foreign workers,” Defence Secretary Michael Fallon told BBC radio, saying the proposal had been misinterpreted. AFP

EUROPE

18 killed in PKK car bomb in southeast Turkey Ten Turkish soldiers and 8 civilians were killed on Sunday when suspected militants of Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) detonated a 5-tonne truck bomb that ripped through a checkpoint near a military outpost in the country’s southeast, the prime minister said. Another 27 people, including 11 soldiers, were wounded in the blast which hit the Durak gendarmerie station, 20km from the town of Semdinli. REUTERS

AFRICA

Desmond Tutu wants the option of assisted death Retired South African cleric and anti-apartheid campaigner Archbishop Desmond Tutu said in a published commentary that when his time comes, he would want the option of an assisted death. The 85-year-old Nobel Peace Prize winner, who has been living with prostate cancer for nearly 20 years, reiterated his support for assisted dying in an opinion piece published on the Washington Post on his 85th birthday. REUTERS

World

MONDAY, OCTOBER 10, 2016

Q&A

Why war on Aleppo is so important n Tribune International Desk Russia vetoed a French-drafted United Nations Security Council resolution on Saturday that would have demanded an immediate end to airstrikes and military flights over the Syrian city of Aleppo. It also called for a truce and humanitarian aid access throughout Syria. It is the fifth time Russia has vetoed a UN resolution on Syria during the more than five-year conflict. The previous four times Moscow was backed by Beijing, but on Saturday China abstained from the vote. The vote in the Security Council on Saturday afternoon was 11 countries in favour, two against and two abstentions. The Russian Foreign Ministry said on Sunday a draft French UN Security Council resolution on Syria would have helped Islamist militants in the Aleppo area by protecting them from aerial bombing. In a statement, the ministry also said the French text was politicised and one-sided. China’s UN Ambassador Liu Jieyi said some of the content of the French draft “does not reflect the full respect for the sovereignty, independence, unification and territorial integrity of Syria,” while the content of the Russian draft did. Shortly after the Russian veto, the Security Council rejected the rival draft presented by Moscow by a vote of nine against, four in favour and two abstentions. Britain, France and the United States voted against the Russian measure that called for a ceasefire but did not mention a halt in the air strikes. Russian Ambassador Vitaly Churkin, who holds the council presidency, said the two votes represented “one of the strangest spectacles” at the Security Council because all 15 members knew from the outset that they would fail.

Here are some of the key questions surrounding the battle for Aleppo:

Why is Aleppo so important in the Syrian war?

Before the war started in 2011, Aleppo was Syria’s most populous city and its economic hub. President Bashar Assad can’t credibly claim to rule Syria without it. Assad has been intending to retake it for years. For the opposition, it’s the most significant urban area where it has control. While many have fled the area, Eastern Aleppo shows the rebels do have significant grassroots support. It’s a place where the rebels can display how Syria could be without the rule by the Assad family, which has run the country for more than four decades. A local council has provided a semblance governance, service and schools for the past several years.

Who’s fighting?

Syria’s military has extensive help. There’s the Russian air force, Lebanon’s Hezbollah militia and assistance from Iran. There are also Shia Muslim militiamen from Afghanistan and Pakistan who are helping the government. On the rebel side, there are two main operations rooms organizing the defences. They’re mostly Syrian fighters, not foreign, but they represent a mix of ideologies. One of the leading groups was a branch of al-Qaeda until recently and is still seen as its ally. The various factions get support from Arab Gulf countries and Turkey. The US supports what it considers non-extremist groups that seek to remove Assad from power. The CIA and Saudi Arabia provide weapons, but not as many as rebels have asked for or the anti-aircraft weapons they seek. One group you won’t find in Aleppo is the Islamic State. That extremist group is based in Raqqa,

in eastern Syria. In fact, some of the rebel groups in Aleppo have fought against IS in other areas.

Are civilians being targeted in Aleppo?

Yes. Throughout the civil war, the Syrian government army has conducted indiscriminate attacks on civilians. UN investigators have accused it of targeting medical facilities, which have frequently been struck. The UN says more than 370 civilians — about one-third of them children — have been killed in eastern Aleppo since September 23. There are estimates of perhaps a few dozen civilians being killed in western Aleppo in recent weeks. The Syrian military has recently attacked the so-called White Helmets, volunteers who rescue victims from rubble. The group re-

ceives aid from the US Rebel forces also strike civilians in government areas. But without an air force, the rebels’ weaponry is smaller and has less reach. In some towns, the government has followed a pattern of besieging an area, pounding it with air strikes and then offering to let the rebels and civilians flee — basically a surrender of the turf. Such a campaign in Aleppo could take months.

Why are so many civilians still in Aleppo?

Millions of Syrians have fled their homes during the five years of fighting, and there’s been a large exodus from Aleppo as well. But the UN says there could still be 2m people in the city. In eastern Aleppo, perhaps a quarter-million people remain, according to the UN NPR has spoken with people remaining in Aleppo. Some say they fear the regime will take their homes if they leave. Many are too poor and have no place else to go, except tent shelters near the Turkish border, which is now often closed. Some say they stay because they believe they are helping their neighbours and resisting the Assad regime.

What is the US doing — and not doing?

Russia Ambassador Vitaly Churkin and Venezuelan Ambassador Rafael Ramirez vetoes a draft resolution that demands an immediate end to air strikes and military flights over Syria's Aleppo city, at the UN Headquarters in New York REUTERS

In Syria, the US has been focused on IS, launching thousands of air strikes on the group that’s conducted terror attacks in the West. There are hundreds of US troops in northern Syria, aiding local militias in their fight to take ground from IS. But, again, IS isn’t a factor in the

city of Aleppo. Washington also provides aid to refugees and humanitarian relief for Syrians — around $6bn so far, according to the State Department. The US Agency for International Development says it’s the world’s largest donor to White Helmet rescue teams, giving them at least $23m in assistance so far. Rebels in Aleppo say they get some aid from intelligence agencies in the US and Saudi Arabia, but complain it’s not nearly enough. They say they recently received some ground-to-ground rockets, but haven’t received anti-aircraft weapons to defend against air strikes. US officials worry anti-aircraft weapons could fall into the hands of extremists, who could use them elsewhere. The New York Times reported that last month, Secretary of State Kerry told opposition representatives that arming the rebels more would just add fuel to the violence: “Russia puts in more. Iran puts in more,” he said. The US has tried to negotiate with Russia for a ceasefire in Aleppo, but those talks collapsed. Some have called for no-fly zones or safe zones near Aleppo. Kerry stepped up his rhetoric on Friday, saying, “Russia and the regime owe the world more than an explanation about why they keep hitting hospitals and medical facilities and children and women. These are acts that beg for an appropriate investigation of war crimes. ... They’re beyond the accidental now – way beyond.” l

Sources: CBC, NPR

World

MONDAY, OCTOBER 10, 2016

Ethiopia declares state of emergency to stop protests n Tribune International Desk

The Ethiopian government has declared a state of emergency effective immediately following a week of anti-government violence that resulted in deaths and property damage across the country, especially in the restive Oromia region, reports The Associated Press. In a televised address on Sunday morning, Ethiopia’s Prime Minister Hailemariam Desalegn said the

state of emergency was declared because there has been an ‘enormous’ damage to property that was carried out in his country. “We put our citizens’ safety first. Besides, we want to put an end to the damage that is being carried out against infrastructure projects, education institutions, health centres, administration and justice buildings,” said Desalegn on the state Ethiopian Broadcasting Corporation. “The recent developments in

Ethiopia have put the integrity of the nation at risk,” he said. “The state of emergency will not breach basic human rights enshrined under the Ethiopian constitution and won’t also affect diplomatic rights listed under the Vienna Convention,” said Desalegn. The internet is blocked across many parts of Ethiopia, residents reported Sunday. The government has blocked the internet for more than a week to prevent Tribune In-

ternational Deskprotesters from using social media to get supporters to attend demonstrations. Major towns and cities across Ethiopia’s Oromia region are experiencing unrest and widespread violent protests after dozens were killed on October 2 in a stampede triggered when police fired tear-gas and bullets to disperse protesters at the annual Irrecha thanksgiving celebration in Bishoftu town. Anti-government protests con-

tinued Sunday. Many roads into and out of the capital, Addis Ababa, are blocked by protesters and those who try to drive through are targeted by people who jump out from behind bushes and hurl rocks. The state broadcaster said details of the state of emergency will be communicated to the public later Sunday. In a separate development, Ethiopian officials summoned Egypt’s ambassador to the country, Aboubakr Hefny, for discussions. l

12 Business

MONDAY, OCTOBER 10, 2016

TOP STORIES Mujibul asks factory owners to ensure workplace safety State Minister for Labour and Employment Mujibul Haque yesterday urged the factory owners to play a responsible role in ensuring safe workplace to avert untoward incident like Tampaco Foils fire. PAGE 13

‘Fighting OPEC only for the brave’ OPEC is back in the business of influencing oil prices as Saudi Arabia works with Russia and Iran to limit output, and only “a brave person” would bet against this, oil bull Andy Hall said in his latest investor letter. PAGE 14

Capital market snapshot: Sunday DSE Broad Index

4,698.6

-0.5% ▼

Index

1,122.4

-0.8% ▼

30 Index

1,762.3

-1.3% ▼

Turnover in Mn Tk

5,592.9

14.4% ▲

Turnover in Mn Vol

182.2

9.8% ▲

All Share Index 14,443.0

-0.5% ▼

30 Index

-0.4% ▼

CSE

Selected Index

13,061.3 8,792.6

-0.5% ▼

Turnover in Mn Tk

442.6

44.2% ▲

Turnover in Mn Vol

13.9

27.1% ▲

Occupational safety and health training to benefit 800,000 RMG workers n Tribune Business Desk A total of 8,00,000 ready-made garment workers from 585 factories across the country will receive training on occupational safety and health under EOSH programme. The announcement was made at the launch of a third phase of Essentials of Occupational Safety and Health (EOSH) designed by the International Labour Organisation’s International Training Centre in Turin. The training for workers covers seven priority areas for the RMG sector namely fire safety, electrical safety, trips, slips, falls and good housekeeping, dangerous substances, ergonomics, personal protective equipment and first aid. State Minister for Labour and Employment Mujibul Haque Chunnu inaugurated the third phase of EOSH in the capital yesterday. The initiative incorporates a core group of 114 master trainers from BEF, BGMEA, BKMEA and RMG factories that aims to train 8,038 RMG managers and supervisors in occupational safety and health. In the latest phase, this group will build awareness of key OSH issues amongst 8,00,000 workers in 585 factories by June 2017, according to the project organiser. “Safety in the workplace is a major priority of the government of Bangladesh. This training will contribute greatly to that goal as both workers and employers will benefit from improved safety

Workers at a garment factory in the captial practices,” Mujibul said. In his speech, ILO Country Director Srinivas Reddy said it has been a considerable effort and success to train over 8,000 mid-level managers and supervisors in a number of priority OSH areas in 585 factories. This third phase as it seeks to cascade this knowledge to some 8,00,000 workers will make a major contribution to safety in the sector, added Reddy. Talking on the recent Tampaco Foils fire, he said there is no room for complacency. “Strengthening the capacity of

regulatory oversight bodies is key as is the need to bring together diverse stakeholders to establish a stronger culture of preventative safety in all industrial sectors.” “Workers safety matters greatly for Canadian, and Canada is committed to ensuing safety and working on identifying potential hazards,” Canadian High Commission to Bangladesh Benoit-Pierre Larmee said. “Our government has provided $8 million for workers safety improvement.” Golam Mainuddin vice-president, Bangladesh Employers’

MAHMUD HOSSAIN OPU

Federation said: “A safe work environment is a priority issue for the Bangladesh Employers’ Federation.” All parties should work together to implement occupational safety and health measures at the workplace in accordance with the related laws and provisions of the country, he noted. BGMEA president Siddiqur Rahman, BKMEA second vice-president Mansoor Ahmed, and Abdul Mukit Khan, representing the National Coordination Committee for Worker’s Education, were present at the programme. l

MONDAY, OCTOBER 10, 2016

Mujibul asks factory owners to ensure workplace safety n

Tribune Report

State Minister for Labour and Employment Mujibul Haque yesterday urged the factory owners to play a responsible role in ensuring safe workplace to avert untoward incident like Tampaco Foils fire. The junior minister, however, said ready-made garment workers will get Tk5 lakh in case of retirement or industrial accident. The minister came up with the remark while he was addressing the launching ceremony of third phase of Essentials of Occupational Safety and Health (EOSH) in the

capital yesterday. “There are over 83 lakh economic units in the country, and to inspect these, Bangladesh needs 20,000 inspectors. Currently, we have 250 safety inspectors.” If the owners themselves do not play a responsible role, it is quite impossible for the government alone to inspect all those factories, said the junior minister. “Workers are the partners of production and your business cannot run without them. It is your duty, not the government’s, to ensure safe work place.” Terming the workers compensa-

tion insufficient, Mujibul said the ready-made garment workers will get Tk5 lakh in case of retirement or industrial accident, of which Tk3 lakh will come from workers welfare fund and the rest from insurance scheme. Meanwhile, the state minister urged the factory owners to deposit 5% share of its profits to the workers welfare fund for the betterment of workers. According to the rules of Bangladesh Labour Act 2013, the owners of export-oriented garment industries will contribute 0.03% of export value to the workers’ welfare

fund. Of the fund, 50% will be kept for welfare purpose and the rest for tackling any untoward situation. “If you share the profit to Labour Welfare Fund (Shramik Kalyan Tahabil), we will launch pension scheme for the workers.” According to the labour law, a company has to share 5% of its annual profit with the workers and to contribute a part of it to Labour Welfare Fund. There are Tk180 crore in the fund to date, according to the Labour and Employment Ministry. l

Tofail: Exports to China increasing n Tribune Business Desk Commerce Minister Tofail Ahmed yesterday said export of Bangladeshi products to China is on the rise at the rate of 25% percent, reports BSS. “The export volume would exceed $1 billion soon,” the minister said while speaking at a roundtable. Economic Reporters’ Forum (ERF) organised the event titled “Bangladesh-China Bilateral Trade and Investment: Potentialities and Challenges” at CIRDAP Auditorium. Mentioning that China has been allocated space at Special Economic Zone (SEZ), he said the SEZ would be the best place for investment for relocating the Chinese ready-made garments. “Bangladesh would provide all kinds of necessary cooperation for Chinese investment in the country,” added Tofail. Referring to different features of 7th Five Year Plan, the commerce minister said special initiatives, including cash incentive, have been taken to increase the export volume. Now the total trade volume between Bangladesh and China is $11 billion while Bangladesh is exporting goods worth nearly $1 billion. “The trade deficit would be narrowed soon,” expected the minister. CPD additional Research Director Dr Khandker Golam Moazzem made his keynote presentation while ERF president Saif Ahmed Dilal chaired the roundtable. Former Industries Minister Dilip Barua, BNP Standing Committee Member Lt Gen (Retd) Mahbubur Rahman, PRI Vice Chairman Dr Sadik Ahmed, BIISS Chairman Munsi Foyez Ahmed and BFUJ President Manjurul Ahsan Bulbul, among others, spoke on the occasion. l

Major General Aziz Ahmed, director general of Border Guard Bangladesh, and chairman of Shimanto Bank Ltd, formally inaugurates the principal branch of Shimanto Bank by cutting ribon at Shimanto Square in the capital yesterday

Shimanto Bank opens principal branch n Tribune Business Desk Shimanto Bank Ltd opened its principal branch at Shimanto Square in peelkhana near Dhanmondi of the capital yesterday. Through the opening, the bank kicked off its journey. Major General Aziz Ahmed, director general of Border Guard Bangladesh, and chairman of Shimanto Bank Ltd, formally inau-

gurated the principal branch. Managing Director & CEO Muklesur Rahman, other directors, senior officials of BGB and Shimanto Bank and local dignitaries were present on the occasion. In his speech, Major General Aziz Ahmed said this bank will serve all active and retired members of Border Guard Bangladesh as well as general people of the country. He hopes that Shimanto Bank

will help people living in border areas come into mainstream economic activities which would ultimately combat illegal activities at the frontiers. Managing Director & CEO Muklesur Rahman said the bank will provide world-class banking services. The branch will soon be equipped with all modern facilities to provide quality banking services to its customers, added the CEO. l

Nestlé’s nutrition science fair kicks off n Tribune Business Desk Nestlé Nutrition Institute (NNI) has launched a countrywide nutrition science fair in a bid to training some 10,000 nurses from different hospitals and healthcare centres across the country on child nutrition and childbirth. The fair entitled “The Journey of 1000 Days” began on October 8

on the premises of Shahjahanpur Railway Colony High School in the capital. It will be held in 64 districts in 66 days across the country by turns while an NNI caravan will tour the areas. The science fair will gradually be held in Mirpur, Savar, Old Dhaka and Keraniganj, and later in the district levels by phases. Iqbal Sobhan Chowdhury, media affairs adviser to the prime

Business

minister, was present in the fair as the chief guest while Prof Dr Mohammad Abdul Aziz, secretary general of Swadhinata Chikitsak Parishad, as a special guest. In his speech, Iqbal Sobhan said: “Nurses play a crucial role during childbirth and afterward, and giving them proper training is a must to ensure good health for both the newborn and the mother.” l

BB: Default loans concentrated to few big groups n Asif Showkat Kallol A major part of large loans distributed by banks in Bangladesh have remained stuck in the hands of a few industrial groups, shows Bangladesh Bank data. Officials identified this as a reason behind concentration of default loans to few big companies. According to the data, the total amount of loans distributed as of December, 2015 is Tk5,85,000 crore. Half of the amount is held up by top 50 borrowers, which is Tk2,90,000 crore, while an amount of Tk90,000 crore is at the hands of 20 borrowers only. More than 631 bank borrowers owe Tk50 crore each. Bangladesh Bank says a total of 25 banks are “in a serious financial trouble due to top three loan defaulters” in the country. Although at the end of December, 2015, the number of banks facing trouble reduced to 21, default loans got centralised to few banks instead of decenterlisation of loans. A number of 35 banks are also in trouble due to top 10 defaulters. Top loan defaulters of the country’s banking sector owe Tk33,000 crore. Some of the loans were taken in their own names and some in other names. Bangladesh Bank report shows while a lesser-known company unusually owes Tk8,000 crore, a reputed and well-known company owes Tk5,000 crore to banks. l

Stocks open week down n Tribune Business Desk

Stocks opened week down yesterday as major sectors closed the session with falling trend at both Dhaka and Chittagong Stock Exchanges, reports BSS. Among the major falling sectors in DSE were steel and jute when 202 securities incurred loss due to lower activities. Insurance sector, however, advanced marginally at the day’s closing. The broader DSEX index of DSE finished the first session of the week 25.10 points down at 4698.63. The Shariah Index DSES and the blue-chip Index DS30 followed it by 8.97 points down at 1122.42 and 22.34 points down at 1762.25 respectively. The daily turnover in value at DSE was Tk559.29 crore. Among the traded 324 issues at DSE, 83 closed higher against 202 losing issues while 39 remained unchanged. At CSE, 240 issues traded while 152 closed lower against 69 higher. l

Business

MONDAY, OCTOBER 10, 2016

‘Fighting OPEC only for the brave’ n Reuters OPEC is back in the business of influencing oil prices as Saudi Arabia works with Russia and Iran to limit output, and only “a brave person” would bet against this, oil bull Andy Hall said in his latest investor letter. The hedge fund manager is up nearly 18% for the year at his $2.5bn Astenbeck Capital Management in Southport, Connecticut, after his fund rose 6% in September as oil rallied. With the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries now looking to limit output for the first time since 2008, the cartel can no longer be ignored, he said in Astenbeck’s October investor letter, seen by Reuters on Friday. OPEC declined to cut output two years ago after oil breached $100 a barrel, instead letting the biggest oil market collapse in a generation happen as the price plunged. “Now Saudi Arabia has declared it wants higher prices and is working with the rest of OPEC - and quite possibly Russia - to achieve them by

curbing production,” he said, adding that this included Saudi arch rival Iran. “It’s a brave person who bets against this combination of factors.” Hall’s remarks come as OPEC officials embark on an unusual flurry of meetings in the next six weeks to nail down details of the Algiers deal. Oil prices settled down 1% on Friday after hitting June highs above $50 this week. Prior to that, they jumped as much as 15% over a week after OPEC announced its planned cuts on Sept 28. Still, the market is trading at just half of the mid-2014 high above $100. Astenbeck did not return an email seeking comment. OPEC hopes to bring its output to 32.5 million to 33 million barrels per day, cutting about 700,000 bpd from a global glut estimated by analysts at 1 million to 1.5 million bpd. The amount that each member cuts would be decided at the group’s policy meeting in Vienna in Nov 30, it said. Many analysts are skeptical of OPEC’s pledge as it has been maxing out production whenever possible. l

CORPORATE NEWS

Intraco LPG Ltd launches an auto gas filling station at Shajapur of Shahjahanpur in Bogra on Saturday. Intraco Group Chairman HM Hakim Ali was present at the inauguration. The company says it has a plan to open nearly 200 LPG auto gas stations across the country

Bank Asia has recently provided training on Islamic banking and Salamah operation to its officers in Chittagong region, said a press release. The bank’s EVP, Md Shahabullah inaugurated the training programme

Elusive 2016 Fed interest rate hike coming into focus n Reuters The US economy’s readiness - or not - for an interest rate rise is likely to once again take the global economic spotlight in the coming week, just a month before a hotly contested US presidential election. Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton and Republican Donald Trump face off in the second presidential debate ahead of the November vote, after a recent slight bounce for Clinton in the polls since the first debate two weeks earlier. Under Chair Janet Yellen, the Federal Reserve has done very little to surprise investors other than to repeatedly play up the likelihood of, and then put off, a follow-up hike to last year’s baby step bringing rates a little above zero. Minutes on Wednesday of the Federal Open Market Committee’s September policy meeting, at which three members voted for a hike, could do more than any data release to convince investors

of what already looks like a greater than 50-50 chance of a December rate rise. Markets are still mostly addicted to dovish pronouncements from central bankers and so hawkish minutes have the potential to disrupt, as would similar talk from Yellen at a scheduled speech on Friday at a Federal Reserve Bank of Boston conference. Her host, Boston Fed President Eric Rosengren, was one of the Fed’s biggest doves until the last meeting when he changed his tune rather suddenly and dissented for a rate rise. “The September FOMC minutes should help to shed light on what appeared to be a contentious meeting,” noted economists at Credit Suisse. “In our view, the data in the US should be sufficient to support a hike this year, but the Fed’s cautious approach and the under appreciated risk from the presidential election make further delays more likely than not. We con-

tinue to expect the next rate increase won’t occur until May of 2017.” That stance is a familiar one, suggesting a degree of complacency about the Fed’s intentions after it signalled rate rises several times this year only to back off from delivering. The missing ingredient is inflation. While wage inflation picked up to 2.6% in what was otherwise an unremarkable September employment report on Friday, broader measures of inflation show price pressure is remarkably tame this late in a multi-year economic expansion. Low inflation remains the main story in Europe as well, confounding for years now the European Central Bank’s myriad prescriptions to get it anywhere near its 2% target. Official inflation data for September from Germany, France, Italy and Spain are all due in the coming week and, not surprisingly, none of them are expected to show any real pickup. l

Business

MONDAY, OCTOBER 10, 2016

Health

MONDAY, OCTOBER 10, 2016

Milk: The good, bad and ugly

or ages milk has been promoted as a super food. And why shouldnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t it be? If you look at the nutrition contents of milk, you will find that it has a great combination of protein, carbohydrate and fat. Milk comes with a host of minerals and vitamins that are needed for the human body to remain healthy. Another important characteristic of milk is its ability to transform into products such as cheese, butter, ghee, and many more. Milk and milk products are often an important part of many different kinds of food. Letâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s really look into whether milk is actually the super food as is advertised.

The good

Milk comes with a host of macro-nutrients. Each litre of full fat pasteurized milk contains around 35 grams of fat, 40 grams of carbohydrate and 30 grams of protein. If it is non-fat, then it have a a slightly different ratio: 10 grams of fat, 40 grams of carbohydrate and 30 grams of protein. Also, 87% of milk is water, containing biotin, magnesium, vitamin

Photo: Bigstock A, vitamin B-12, vitamin D, vitamin K, riboflavin (and many others), along with the above mentioned macro nutrients. Hence, a person who exercises intensely can choose milk as the perfect recovery drink. Another important property of milk is that it has electrolytes, which is essential to regain energy and recover from electrolyte imbalance. Lastly, the protein present in milk is casein and whey in a ratio of 80% and 20% respectively. Research suggests that these are very high quality proteins needed for good muscle development. So, whether you exercise or not, milk will benefit your health.

The bad

Having discussed all the benefits regarding this nourishing drink, lets now look at some cons that are associated with milk and milk based products. One problem is lactose intolerance in humans. When we are young we tend to have the lactase enzyme in our system, which helps break down lactose. As we grow up, lactase production gradually decreases. So, many of us tend to feel

Each litre of full fat pasteurized milk contains around 35 grams of fat, 40 grams of carbohydrate and 30 grams of protein

bloated after drinking milk, and some worst case scenarios even include nausea and diarrhoea. Also, many people are allergic to milk and dairy. Symptoms of the allergic reaction include skin rashes, asthma etc. Recent researches also show that milk consumption is not actually good for bone health. The reason behind this is that the body cannot absorb the calcium in pasteurized milk properly. Research also shows that the pasteurization process

denatures the protein present in milk.

The ugly

Unfortunately, in the modern dairy industry, cows are not raised the way they were before mass industrialized production. Two of the notable differences are, injecting anti-biotic so that cows stay healthy and injecting growth hormones so that they produce more milk. Now, both anti-biotic and growth hormones might sound

okay because they should help humans too. Anti-biotic keeps us healthy and helps us fight against the invasion of foreign bodies in our blood stream. However, anti-biotic on a regular basis makes the body anti-resistant to it. In simple terms, this means the bodyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s mechanism to fight unhealthy foreign particles diminishes over time. On top of that, regular dosage of anti-biotic destroys the gut flora, therefore the good bacteria needed for digestion and gut health are at risk. Growth hormones found in milk are even more dangerous. Various researches have shown a direct link with prostrate cancer in male adults and ovarian cancer in female adults. Also, casein protein, which is a globular slow, digesting protein, has also been shown to trigger prostrate cancer. My conclusion when it comes to diet in most cases will always be limitation rather than exclusion. In my opinion, with so many research data at our hand, it is safer to consume milk and dairy products in moderation. It is always better to be safe than sorry. l

Education

MONDAY, OCTOBER 10, 2016

University Review:

Cracking US Business Schools Encourage recommenders to use anecdotes wherever possible

This is the fifth in a five part review series of top US and UK-based universities

n Sajid Amit

merican Business Schools have long held a rather vaunted place in the realm of global business school rankings as well as recruitment by Fortune 500 companies – not to mention – a place rather cherished in the imagination of business students and professionals young and old. Hollywood movies and TV shows on Wall Street have increasingly caught on among corporate circles in Bangladesh. The names of the top US Business Schools are more ubiquitous among young Bangladeshi bankers, entrepreneurs, stock market professionals, marketers, etc., than they were even 10 years ago. So nowadays, I often find myself discussing business school applications, cracking the GMAT Verbal and Quant, recommendations, and the allimportant Personal Statement. To start with the personal statement, since this is one area where I increasingly think Bangladeshi students get mixed advice, and an area where I have informally developed a reasonable amount of experience, there is no one size fits all approach. However, it is important to know that business school admissions are competitive and even if you are a highly regarded young banker, entrepreneur or marketer, you will have to find ways to showcase your uniqueness. So how do you stand out among the crowd, viz-à-viz your

personal statement, especially if you are vying for the top schools, e.g., Stanford, Berkeley, Harvard, Northwestern, Wharton, Columbia, or MIT? First and foremost, I find from second-hand experience (coaching others), that a macro- or meta perspective almost always helps. You want to be able to picture the forest and not just the trees, whether it is in terms of how you talk about your current role as a banker or entrepreneur in Bangladesh, or how you intend to use the business school learning and networking for your career aspirations. So for instance, if you are a banker working on syndicated loans, or let’s say servicing large corporates with industrial and term loans, you want to be able to think about and speak about the credit market in Bangladesh at large, how it fares with western counterparts, how it contributes to the overall growth of the country, what sort of credit products and policy changes are in the offing in the long run, and generally show yourself to be the thoughtful candidate that you are. Say you are a banker working with large RMG companies. You want to be able to think through, succinctly, how your day-to-day work in servicing RMG companies’ credit needs fits into the larger edifice of RMG companies’ financing requirements and their contribution to the overall national and even global story. If you understand the dynamics of the global manufacturing industry and

how it trickles down to Bangladesh and to your role, talk about it! This is important for international applicants as Admissions Offices want to see if you can take what you do situate it in a larger (often global) context. The reason is that emerging markets, whether BRIC or the lesser known Frontier Economies like ours, will continue to be the markets that push global growth in the longer run. Now let’s say you are a marketing professional applying to b-schools, you could do well to situate your day-to-day activities in the larger context of the demographic, cultural and historical particularities of Bangladesh that drive and inform how products and services are marketed to Bangladeshis. How you understand consumer behavior in the cultural context and in effect your intellectual nimbleness will matter much, almost as much as whether you work at a Unilever or a lesserknown firm. Meanwhile, entrepreneurs at the helm of start-ups or midstage companies may want to think through and speak about their experiences with navigating the complex landscape of seed funding, doing market assessments, creating demand, courting angel investors and VCs, in the context of the fledgling yet promising start-up scene that exists in our country. This is an angle I personally think will be quite interesting for US Business School Admissions Offices. Courses on entrepreneurship, venture

capital and the “new economy” are increasingly popular at business schools. Other than that, if you are serious about cracking the top schools, you have to consider your undergraduate GPA, the quality of your undergraduate education, the quality and sometimes, diversity of your work experience, demonstrable leadership skills, recommendations, and of course, the GMAT score. The GMAT score cannot be emphasized enough and whilst many applicants wonder why it is considered such an important barometer for business school success, studies do indicate that applicants who score higher on GMAT, not just in Quant but also in Verbal, fare much better in terms of deductive thinking, analytical abilities, and overall, a certain ability to make decisions when confronted with complex and contradictory information. Your undergraduate GPA will not make or break your chances, but if you are unsure about your GPA, you will do well to compensate in terms of quality and number of years of work experience. Although I am aware of successful Bangladeshi applicants with less than 5 years of experience, you will have higher chances of getting in if you have 7 or more, as long as you have interesting experiences in business operations and leadership. Your recommendations will matter and it is usually advisable to seek recommendations from a diverse set of recommenders. The position or authority they hold will matter

as well as how well they know you. So if you get a recommendation from the MD of your bank, it would make more sense if he or she can also write about your candidacy from a reasonable level of acquaintance. Also encourage recommenders to use anecdotes wherever possible. Lastly, say you are not an entrepreneur, financial services professional, or marketer, i.e., you do not fit into the stereotypical profile of a business school applicant, e.g., you work at an NGO, and are wondering whether a US Business School is the way to go. It can be and often is! Class profiles in recent years at top business schools indicate a greater preference for diversity of professional experiences. In the case of Bangladesh, if you are a development-sector professional and work at a local or international NGO, you should certainly consider applying if you are interested. As the Bangladesh economy continues to grow, bilateral and multilateral funding will lessen, as a result of which, development sector programs will inexorably head towards marketbased approaches. Hence, there is a solid argument to be made for the relevance of a global business education to NGO professionals. l Sajid Amit is Director, CES, University of Liberal Arts (ULAB). He is an alumnus of Dartmouth College, SOAS University of London, and Columbia University.

Feature

MONDAY, OCTOBER 10, 2016

Social enterprises and how they work in Bangladesh n Features Desk

he British Council launched two new survey reports titled ‘The State of Social Enterprise in Bangladesh’ and ‘Social Enterprise Policy Landscape in Bangladesh’ yesterday at Hotel Ascott Palace Ltd. in Baridhara. Produced by the British Council, the study on Bangladesh was led by Overseas Development Institute (www. odi.org) with support from BetterStories, UnLtd and Social Enterprises UK. The first report, ‘The State of Social Enterprise in Bangladesh’, attempts for the first time to understand the scale of social enterprise activity in Bangladesh as well as the sectors in which social enterprises are focused and the beneficiaries that they support. It provides quantitative information about the operations, turnover, beneficiaries, staff and impact of the social enterprise sector in this country. It also provides similar information about social enterprises in India, Pakistan and Ghana. The second report, ‘Social Enterprise Policy Landscape in Bangladesh’, surveys the existing enabling environment for social enterprises in the country. It looks at government activity that influences social enterprise. It also compiles suggestions from government and sector stakeholders about potential policy changes that would encourage social enterprise development. The report identifies and focuses on three main areas – finance, skills development, and awareness raising – for targeted policy support. Social enterprises are businesses which trade for a social purpose, re-invest surpluses into their social objective, and make themselves accountable for their actions, rather than simply maximising profits for owners and shareholders. Social enterprise is a growing and dynamic sector

of the Bangladesh economy. It is creating jobs for disadvantaged groups, empowering women, and addressing social exclusion across the country. Bangladeshi social enterprises are young and so are their leaders. The survey indicates that 77% of the social enterprises in Bangladesh were registered between 2009 and most leaders are aged under 35.

Supporting the most vulnerable

The research revealed that social enterprise is growing in Bangladesh, with nearly half of all social enterprises six years old or younger. 90% of social enterprises are working with individuals from socially and economically disadvantaged communities, creating employment opportunities especially for disadvantaged groups. Social enterprises have made impacts in a number of fields. A third of respondents work in the education sector, while other commonly selected sectors included services, business development services and entrepreneurship support, livelihoods and employment creations and health and social care.

Promoting women’s empowerment

The survey findings revealed that a fifth of Bangladeshi social enterprises are led by women – significantly higher than in mainstream business (5%). Women in social enterprises make up 41% of the full-time equivalent workforce, more than double the participation rate than women in the general workforce in Bangladesh.

Turnover, income, business confidence

Bangladeshi social enterprises are generating an average annual turnover of Tk2.1 million and nearly three-quarters of the enterprises expect a substantial

Bangladeshi social enterprises are young and so are their leaders

increase in turnover in the next financial year. Most Bangladeshi social enterprises expect their venture to grow and they have wide-ranging growth plans – particularly expanding into new geographic areas (76%) and developing new products and services (61%), through investment in their teams (85%) and by attracting capital to expand (74%). Two-thirds of Bangladeshi social enterprises hope to replicate or franchise their business models.

Challenges and growth constraints

The report shows that lack of technical skills is seen as the biggest barrier to growth, followed by access to debt finance, lack of social enterprise awareness and cash flow constraints. Lack of understanding of social enterprise is seen as a significant barrier to growth. Donations and grants are the most common sources of funding, with few social enterprises securing concessional loans or equity. Limited capital supply

is seen as the primary funding constraint.

Methodology, numbers and caveats

The survey was based on a range of sources including existing datasets as well as a specific survey that was developed and conducted for the research In Bangladesh. A total of 149 organisations completed the survey. Using these calculations, the survey makes an initial estimate that there could be around 150,000 social enterprises currently operating in Bangladesh and they have already reached approximately 207,397 beneficiaries. This is a first attempt to capture the size, scale and impact of the social enterprise sector in Bangladesh. The British Council acknowledges that the survey did not generate a sufficiently large dataset to allow for the results to be fully representative, but it offers an important sample pool to facilitate more scientific and robust research in future. It is hoped that others will build upon

it and that the British Council will be able to conduct a follow up survey in three years’ time. Mairi Mackay, Global Head Social Enterprise, British Council, said, ‘By supporting an enhanced understanding of social enterprise activity in Bangladesh, India, Pakistan and Ghana, the survey will raise awareness of the tremendous social value that social enterprises are creating and will help us track how the sector grows. Such research, we hope, will also help policy makers, social investors, development agencies and other key actors provide more targeted and enhanced support to the social enterprise sector.” Barbara Wickham Director Bangladesh, British Council, said: “Bangladesh has been a global pioneer in social enterprise and I believe that this survey comes at a pivotal moment for the country. Today there is a small but vibrant social enterprise movement in Dhaka and a relatively large amount of ongoing social enterprise activity across the country. However, to date there has been little quantitative evidence about the operations and impact of social enterprises in Bangladesh. This survey is an important step in remedying that knowledge gap that will inform the delivery of our social enterprise programme in Bangladesh, disseminate sector knowledge and best practice between the UK and Bangladesh and support our shared goal of building safer, more inclusive and prosperous societies.”l

MONDAY, OCTOBER 10, 2016

| initiative |

| event |

Dove Day

DHL Express honoured as Top Global Express Provider at Payload Asia Awards 2016

Dove, a personal care brand of Unilever, runs a Self-Esteem project which promotes that beauty should be a source of confidence, not anxiety. Dove Self-Esteem Project aims to equip young people with the tools they need to develop their self-esteem. The initial global aim was to reach 15 million young people with Dove Self-Esteem Education by 2015, against which it has already successfully touched a staggering 19.4 million young lives by the end of last year. The new ambition of this program is committed to reaching an additional 20 million teenagers globally with the SelfEsteem Project, by the end of 2020. Dove Day is an initiative of Dove Self-Esteem Project where students engage in self-esteem workshops. In Bangladesh, Dove Day has come alive on October 6, this year in Motijheel Govt Girls High School, Civil Aviation High

School, Tejgaon Govt. Girls’ High School, Viqarunnisa Noon School and College, Uttara Girls’ High School and College, Azimpur Govt Girls’ School and College, Mohammadpur Preparatory School and College, Chittagong Govt Girls’ High School, and Wireless Jhautala Colony High School. Bangladesh has been conducting Dove Day for the past two years with the participation growing year after year. Employees of Unilever Bangladesh Limited and the business partners participate in Dove Day. The employees have to go through a training session to conduct the workshops in schools. Around 85 Unilever managers including Leadership Team members and business partners went to schools and took more than 1200 students through the session on this day. In the workshops, the participating students were informed about appearance

pressure and the sources of appearance pressure. The perception of society which often makes people look artificially beautiful and how to avoid beauty pressure looking at these images - both were discussed in the workshop. Students did several activities and role plays to discuss and internalise what real beauty is about to help improve their selfesteem. At the end of the session, all the participants took pledge to become change agents. Students had a newfound appreciation of their uniqueness after the session, and each of them wrote what they loved about themselves on the ‘Dove Day Wall.’ A girl should explore her inner beauty with confidence and rediscover herself. Dove hopes that every girl grow up, enjoying a positive relationship with the way they look, and help reach their full potential. l

| education | Northern University held a workshop on “Pedagogy and Metacognitive Techniques and Tools”

A three day long workshop entitled “Pedagogy and Metacognitive Techniques and Tools,” was held at the BIIS hall Northern University Bangladesh, by IQAC of the universitys for enhancing quality education. As chief guest at the workshop, prof Dr AYM Abdullah, chairman of the Northern University Bangladesh trust said, “A nation can progress through quality

education and research.” He urged the faculty members of the universities to ensure and enhance quality education, and to be involved in research for the interest of our nation. Zillur Rahman, Additional Director of IQAC, NUB moderated the workshop while K Ahmed Alam, associate professor and Head, Department of English conducted different session.

The Vice Chancellor (acting) of Northern University Prof Dr A W M Abdul Huq, Pro-VC Prof Dr Anwarul Karim, Treasurer Md Anwar Hussain, and Registrar Lt Col (Retd) Aqtedar Ahmed Siddiqui, were present as special guests. The faculty members from different departments participated in the workshop. The Deans of different faculties and the heads of different departments where also present. l

Biz Info

DHL, the world’s leading international express services provider, has been awarded Global Express Provider of the Year at Payload Asia Awards 2016. The company won the Customer Choice Award for the fifth year running, and Industry Choice Award for the third consecutive year. The accolades recognise the company’s continuous innovations and investments for enhanced customer benefits such as faster and broader access to international markets and customised logistics solutions. Ken Lee, CEO of DHL Express Asia Pacific, said, “The awards are a strong recognition of our extensive and robust suite of customer services and logistical flexibility. As more local businesses enter the global marketplace, we bolstered our network and infrastructure in the region to better support our customers’ growing business needs in global trade. Since the start of the year, we have made significant investments in our facilities to scale up capabilities

in the region to keep pace with Asia Pacific’s continued growth. These include new gateways in Auckland, Jakarta and Tokyo, as well as custom-built state-of-theart service centers in Kaohsiung and Hong Kong. In addition, we have offered a new Phnom PenhBangkok flight service to enhance Cambodia’s global connectivity and trade relations. Our ongoing investments continue to enhance our extensive operational network and underscore our commitment to providing high quality service to support our customers’ growth ambitions.” l

| hospitality |

Conference, workshop, or family programs at EmmaNuelle’s Inn

The roof top Conference Hall of EmmaNuelle’s Inn at Road # 71, House 9/C, Gulshan 2, Dhaka-1212 is modernly equipped for medium range Conference, workshop or for family programs is offering special rates, with fresh and hygienic food and snacks. The Conference Hall is 1850 square feet and can be set up with round table, U shape or theater

style. Separate private rooms for both men and women are also available. Served by trained professionals, EmmaNuelle’s Inn guarantees satisfaction for its customers. For details and quotes contact via hotline: 01841399999, 01919526436 or e-mail: reservation@emmanuellesinnbd., Facebook : EmmaNuellesInn l

20 Editorial

MONDAY, OCTOBER 10, 2016

TODAY

One-armed wrestling The Indians must realise that Pakistan is not over-ripe for decimation. Pakistan is a sovereign nation of 200 million, capable of more than simple armwrestling PAGE 21

Trump, America, and the Muslim World Blaming everything on America would be just an amusing quirk, not a debilitating malaise in Muslim countries, if it was not accompanied by a binding inability to critically examine culture and society PAGE 22

What a wonder In the early 80s, when the notion of female lead roles was not common, Linda Carter created a stir in Dhaka. We were, in one word, smitten PAGE 23

Be heard Write to Dhaka Tribune FR Tower, 8/C Panthapath, Shukrabad, Dhaka-1207 Send us your Op-Ed articles: opinion.dt@dhakatribune.com www.dhakatribune.com Join our Facebook community: https://www.facebook.com/ DhakaTribune. The views expressed in Opinion articles are those of the authors alone. They do not purport to be the official view of Dhaka Tribune or its publisher.

RABIN CHOWDHURY

Save Halda River before it’s too late

he continuous polluting of Halda river due to industrial and household waste is a serious problem. The pollution is being caused by waste from various industries and the Bayezid-Oxygen areas which are set up near canals by the river, with the waste eventually feeding into the Halda. For a river that is instrumental to the country’s economy, this kind of treatment is deplorable. The Halda river is crucial in providing water to 6.5 million people every day. Additionally, its waters are home to a plethora of fish, such as the broodfish and the carp, with the former alone generating Tk800 crore ever year. The government cannot sit back while this level of negligence and subsequent damage is carried out right under their nose. Industries and household areas must be held accountable for the waste they produce, and they must be made to use industrial waste treatment mechanisms such as effluent treatment plants. On top of that, action must be taken against tanning and dyeing factories setting up shop near river banks, which are the prime culprits when it comes to water pollution in Bangladesh. The ensuing pollution has already led to a drastic decrease in the amount of fish present in the river and, if this persists, not only will the fish lose their habitat, but plenty of people, who are dependent on them and the river, will have their livelihoods destroyed. This is to say nothing of the multitude of diseases that a polluted river can host. The time to take corrective action is long overdue. This needs to be fixed now. We cannot wait any longer.

For a river that is instrumental to the country’s economy, this kind of treatment is deplorable

Opinion

MONDAY, OCTOBER 10, 2016

One-armed wrestling India and Pakistan today stand as far apart as they did 69 years ago

What does the future hold for India and Pakistan?

REUTERS

The Indians must realise that Pakistan is not over-ripe for decimation. Balochistan is not East Pakistan. Pakistan is not a troupe of musicians and artistes who can be expelled on a whim. Pakistan is a sovereign nation of 200 million, capable of more than simple arm-wrestling

n FS Aijazuddin

urely India does not need the blood of Pakistanis to cement its own unity? It would appear that it still

does. There could be no greater or more tragic an indictment of India’s foreign policy than that, even 69 years after independence, India’s 14th prime minister, Mr Modi, should succumb to the temptation of whipping up antiPakistan hysteria to coagulate domestic support. The latest spat between these two one-armed wrestlers (their other hands are on the nuclear button) is another round in a tournament that -- if common sense had prevailed -- should have ended decades ago. One can think of no two countries since the end of World War II which have maintained such a state of contest,

such a war of words spewing from “the brazen throats of war.” Two generations on either side of the fractious border have seen 14 Indian prime ministers and 17 elected ones in Pakistan (not counting the interregnums of military opportunists). And yet, both neighbours today stand as far apart as they were in August 1947, when history created what geography deplored. During all this time, the only link between them that has endured has been not the Indus Water Treaty of 1960, nor the Vajpayee peace initiatives following his bus yatra in 1999, nor the furtive back channels, but UNMOGIP -- a cumbersome acronym for the United Nations Military Observor Group in India and Pakistan. Had that body, established in January 1949, been a human, it would have qualified for an old

age pension. Instead, it sees itself as a benign, avuncular presence with a summer home in Srinagar and a winter one in the plains in Islamabad. Secondment to UNMOGIP must rank as one of the most comfortable sinecures in the UN. It is certainly the safest. Since its creation, UNMOGIP has suffered only 11 casualties -- nine through accidents, two from illness. Its mandate is “to observe and report, investigate complaints of ceasefire violations, and submit its finding to each party and to the SecretaryGeneral.” Such oversight is not cheap. UNMOGIP’s budget for 2016-17 is $21 million. The recent exchange of fire across the line of control roused UNMOGIP from its hibernation. A spokesperson for UN Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon disclosed that UNMOGIP, despite the Indian government’s claims of surgical strikes in Pakistan, “has not directly observed any firing across the LoC related to the latest incident.” That is intriguing. If surgical strikes did take place, then why could UNMOGIP find no trace of them? Or was it relying, like the Ruet-e-Hilal committee searching the skies for the Eid moon, for “directly observed” evidence? A week ago, war seemed inevitable; today, it is receding into

improbability. War, of course, can never be ruled out as an option, for as Georges Clemenceau observed and AB Vajpayee demonstrated, “it is easier to make war than peace.” Perhaps it is not accidental that the prime minister who received Mr Vajpayee in 1999 was the man who is the current prime minister of Pakistan, Mian Nawaz Sharif. Even his detractors will concede that he has reacted to Mr Modi’s provocations with mature restraint. He could have retaliated with equally bombastic rhetoric, but he chose not to. He has been prime minister thrice already. Unlike Mr Modi, he does not need to court re-election. He knows Pakistan’s nuclear capability. He was the man who authorised the first test at Chagai. Even naïve political pundits must have recognised the palpable difference between political attitudes in India and in Pakistan. In India, all the parties (particularly the Congress) sank their differences and pledged their support to the BJP government. In Pakistan, Mr Imran Khan again reiterated his determination to sink Mr Nawaz Sharif. Even at the All-Party meeting convened on October 3 by the prime minister in a call for national unity, Imran Khan sent Shah Mehmood Qureshi to field for the PTI. Mr Qureshi’s declaration would have been more convincing had Mr Khan himself not decamped for a quick holiday to Nathiagali, and certainly more plausible had Ms Shireen Mazari (the PTI’s feisty spokesperson) not diluted Mr Qureshi’s “faint praise” for Mr Sharif with a damning modification. What does the future hold for India and Pakistan? One cannot speak for the Indians. It is clear that they regard their prime minister as a Pandava -- not Arjuna (who avoided unjust acts), or his elder brother Yudhishthira (steadfast, even in war), but as Bhima -- the most aggressive of the five. One can, however, speak for Pakistan. The Indians must realise that Pakistan is not over-ripe for decimation. Balochistan is not East Pakistan. Pakistan is not a troupe of musicians and artistes who can be expelled on a whim. Pakistan is a sovereign nation of 200 million, capable of more than simple arm-wrestling. l FS Aijazuddin lives in Lahore and is a columnist for Dawn, Pakistan’s main English-language newspaper.

Long-Form

MONDAY, OCTOBER 10, 2016

Trump, America, and the Muslim World Islam continues to be attacked from multiple angles. This is the concluding part of a three part long-form

In Pakistan, women working outside the home is frowned upon

n Shafiqur Rahman

n Egypt, supporters of the Muslim Brotherhood and former president Mohammad Morsi are absolutely convinced that America was directly responsible for the overthrow of the elected MB regime at the hands of the military and the violent suppression that followed. On the other hand, opponents of MB are unequivocally sure that America was behind the Morsi government and is now relentlessly conspiring to undermine the military regime to facilitate the return of Islamists at national power. The Egyptian media is full of fantastic facts and bizarre theories from both sides of politics, the only thing common among them is that America is behind everything. This is an all too familiar picture in almost every Muslim country. With some generalisation, we can ascribe similar narratives in the political divide in Bangladesh too. Supporters of the Awami League regime volubly express the belief that America has been incessantly conspiring against the government to bring its rightwing, religious stooges back into power. BNP supporters are certain that America, in conjunction with India, is propping up the AL government despite popular discontent. Islamists, of course, easily link everything bad with America. Blaming everything on America would be just an amusing quirk, not a debilitating malaise in Muslim countries, if it was not accompanied by a binding inability to critically examine culture and society -- of which religion is a major influence. Any objective assessment should show that culture and society of Muslim

is the core component. Democracy is also about individual rights and freedoms. Rights of minorities and individuals to express and organise are prerequisites for democracies. Negative attitudes to freedom undermines democracy, even though people may support democracy overall. Strikingly, Muslims living in both democracies and non-democracies put far higher value on social order than freedom. There is particularly one freedom that is very clearly deficient in popular attitude in Muslim countries: Religious freedom.

The attack on Islam

People rise to shield religion from being a cause of terrorism by citing sources such as Robert Pape’s famous 2003 study, where he concluded that foreign occupation causes suicide terrorism. But Pape’s study has been widely discredited since then

REUTERS

countries have not exerted insignificant influence in the current dysfunction. Let us recount some of the ways studies have found quite strong empirical evidence that, in today’s world, some religions negatively affect gender equality in education. Status of women in society is one of the most reliable bellwether of social development. Results suggest that the proportion of Hindu and Muslim adherents in a country has a negative influence on female educational attainment. Considering that India harbours 95% of the world’s total number of Hindus and India’s record on female issues would put many sub-Saharan countries to shame, influence of Hinduism on female education is not surprising. Islamic countries are more diverse, but controlled for other factors, their record on female issues is also worse compared to rest of the world.

women working in industries, the garments industry in Pakistan never came close to a fraction of its potential. Scholars have traced many of the social and political problems of Muslim countries in the Middle East and other places to a “resource curse” -- their economic dependence on oil and gas export has not only left their economies less diverse and vulnerable, but has also entrenched autocratic regimes. Because of ready availability of oil money, the leaders don’t have to invest in the people to develop the economy and they can invest in large-scale state apparatus for repression. But lots of developing countries have found oil and gas riches, not all of them suffer from weak economic and political institutions. Countries that lack a culture of challenging authority are more susceptible to resourcefuelled autocracy.

Religious conservatism and the female workforce

Democracy in Islamic countries?

Muslim countries also lag behind in terms of female workforce participation. Female workforce participation is not just beneficial for economic productivity, it also positively affects children education, women’s political participation, social mobility, and many other important social drivers. No better illustration of the impact of religious conservatism on women’s workforce participation can be found than the trajectory of Pakistan’s garments industry. Pakistan, which is one of the leading cotton producers of the world and has had a thriving textile industry since 1950s, was ideally poised to become one of the leading garments exporters of the world. Because Pakistan’s very conservative society frowns upon

Muslim who will publicly say that Hadiths are not inerrant, infallible; and the way of life these books prescribe is not perfect for all ages and times. The surprising thing is that people get surprised why Muslim youth gets radicalised so easily.

Studies generally support the worldwide popular perception that the level of democracy in Islamic countries is generally lower than non-Islamic countries at a similar level of development. Paradoxically, cross-country surveys of public opinion have consistently found that people in Muslim majority countries are, in general, more supportive of democracy than others. Considering that most Muslims do not live in democracies, this is not a just “grass is greener on the other side” syndrome; Muslims living in democracies support democracy more than those living in non-democracies. So what explains the paradox that Muslims like democracy more than others, but they still have so little of it? Democracy is just not a process of voting for rulers, although that

Blaming everything on America would be just an amusing quirk, not a debilitating malaise in Muslim countries, if it was not accompanied by a binding inability to critically examine culture and society Islam and the freedom to worship

Freedom to choose or leave faith is strikingly deficient in Muslim countries, both in policies and attitudes. Religious freedom is strongly correlated with political freedom. There is a lot of debate about how these two freedoms are specifically linked, but the broad and simple explanation is that strict enforcement of compliance in religious sphere automatically spills over to suppression of free debate on the political sphere. There are two closely related reasons that make Islam an overriding presence in the countries where Muslims are the majority. More than other religions, Islam claims to be a total way of life, fusing politics, society, and individual realms together under laws that are deemed divinely ordained. Secondly, extension of Qur’anlike infallibility to Hadith books that contain thousands of passages compiled, centuries after the death of the Prophet. Believing that holy books as inerrant and inviolable is not exclusively Islamic phenomenon, all religions have such adherents. Even in today’s America at least one in five people believe that the Bible, including the Old Testament, is the actual word of God and is to be taken literally, word for word. But that proportion is alarmingly high in Muslim countries even for Hadith books, it is only the very brave and rare

because of glaring methodological flaws, he only chose incidents of suicide attacks to explain suicide attacks and his definition of “occupation” was too broad to be meaningful. Many studies in the last 10 years have found strong correlation between religion and suicide terrorism -- in particular how the influence of Salafi-Jihadi ideology behind martyrdom operations has become all but impossible to ignore. Undoubtedly, Western criminals and foolhardy interventions in the Muslim countries are very important causes of dysfunction and radicalisation, but ignoring the religious and cultural factors only help perpetrate the perpetual victimhood. Religious ideologies frame political struggles in cosmic terms; when struggles are cosmic, earthly considerations hardly matters. Let’s end by again bringing in Trump. Ironically, hardcore Hindu nationalists in India and in the US support Trump in the hope that he will bring down the hammer on Muslims inside and outside America. Hardcore Islamists also support Trump because he will bring down the hammer on Muslims inside and outside America. Such type of level-headed thinking has made the temperament of Islamists as reputed as Mr Trump’s. l Shafiqur Rahman is a political scientist.

Opinion

MONDAY, OCTOBER 10, 2016

What a wonder Entertainment of heroic proportions

n Towheed Feroze

or those of us who were teenagers in the early 80s, the daily dose of adventure and thrill came from the television. Sunsets usually brought on the unforgettable line from stern parents and guardians: Haat mukh dhuye porte bosho (wash your hands and face and sit to study). That meant two hours on the table with or without the presence of a private tutor, who usually came wearing a tucked-in shirt and sandals, often carrying an umbrella. By 8:30pm, all young minds were occupied with the daily TV series, usually thrillers. The craze varied from season to season -- if one year it was Return of the Saint, the following year it was Six Million Dollar Man, and, then, maybe, The Fugitive. But, when Wonder Woman came on, conventional society where conservatism prevailed in thought and outlook, was taken by a storm. Obviously, parents were worried because even the other TV serials had innocuous kissing scenes cut off and here was in the program where the woman central role, Linda Carter, took on the villains wearing a provocative dress. I hear that Wonder Woman’s 75th year in comics is being celebrated with the release of a postage stamp. What can be a better accolade than having a stamp commemorating the super woman. Understandably, in the early 80s, when the notion of female lead roles was not common, Linda Carter created a stir in Dhaka. We were, in one word, smitten. She had blue eyes, a luscious smile, and when turned into the superhero, I think every man missed a few beats. Women were a bit ambivalent towards this new hero on TV. I remember that one of our neighbours had a terrible row because the wife found out that the husband was unwrapping a Wonder Woman lollipop with a rather lascivious grin -- the lollipops were meant for the son who got the Kojak and the Six Million Dollar Man themed ones, while the father kept the Wonder Woman for himself. The line that wafted to our ears: “You want to have wonder woman lollipop? You lecher!” A local uncle went and worked as an arbitrator: “Bhabi, please calm down, he will never have

Wonder Woman again.” Peace was agreed upon, though the woman never really forgave Linda Carter. Maybe a lot of housewives held a grudge against the skimpily-clad super-heroine, because the series did not last long. But the memories remained, and, till today, send a frisson through our senses. Interestingly, Wonder Woman also influenced a local writer to conjure up a risque fictional heroine called Dasyu (Dacoit) Moonlight. The 70s and 80s in Bengali fiction saw an explosion plus proliferation of heroes based on Robin Hood. Taking from the vile rich to help the persecuted poor -based on this theme came Bonhur, Panja, and then, Moonlight. The girl was a template of Wonder Woman, only she wore a black cat-suit, a black mask, and carried a leather whip. Very sado-masochistic. Come to think of it, we had our own dominatrix back then, when dungeons and handcuffs used for kink were unheard of. During that time, TV had several superhero-themed programs with the most intriguing being The Man from Atlantis, starring none other than Patrick Duffy, known widely for playing Bobby Ewing in the drama series Dallas. It was sort of an Indiana Jones type of flick made for the small screen with most adventures taking place under water, involving submerged civilisations. Duffy played a person lost from Atlantis and discovered by US scientists. Look it up on YouTube. At the height of the popularity of Casio electronic watches, came a series called The Gemini Man, who, with the press of a button on his watch could disappear for a certain period of time. Soon, the fashion trend was to get a Gemini Man watch. The most outrageous of all

Linda Carter lassoed the heart of every man

Understandably, in the early 80s, when the notion of female lead roles was not common, Linda Carter created a stir in Dhaka. We were, in one word, smitten. She had blue eyes, a luscious smile, and when turned into the super hero, I think every man missed a few beats

the superheroes was possibly the protagonist in Manimal, where the hero could transform into any animal, from a snake to a wasp.

So many superheroes but none on the silver screen? That cannot be, so cashing in on the popularity of Wonder Woman and the others,

our film industry gave us a Razia Sultana, starring ravishing Rozina as the whip-carrying, long bootswearing, horse-riding, sword-

wielding super-heroine. Bangla movies don’t make films based on the Robin Hood philosophy anymore, well, that is until we came to know that a current actress called Bobby will be playing the part of Bijli in what is being touted as the first movie to have a full-fledged Bengali superheroine. No offence, but one of my friends asked, will there be a lollipop on the theme of Bijli? l Towheed Feroze is a journalist currently working in the development sector.

24 Sport

MONDAY, OCTOBER 10, 2016

Wow, Captain Fantastic!

TOP STORIES

n Mazhar Uddin

‘Mashrafe made all the difference’ England did all the good work until Mashrafe bin Mortaza blazed all guns, scoring a quickfire 44 off just 29 balls to guide Bangladesh to a challenging total. PAGE 25

Bangladesh face crucial test A dispirited Bangladesh football team are determined to get away with a win on aggregate when they take on Bhutan in the crucial second leg of the Asian Cup Qualifiers Play-off in Thimphu today. PAGE 26

Bangladesh captain Mashrafe bin Mortaza goes big during the second one-day international against England at Sher-eBangla National Stadium in Mirpur yesterday MAINOOR ISLAM MANIK

‘We always had the belief’ Kohli, Rahane lead India’s dominance Skipper Virat Kohli recorded his second double-century in Tests as he and middle-order batsman Ajinkya Rahane helped India post a crushing 557 for five declared against a hapless New Zealand at Indore yesterday. PAGE 27

England win on Southgate debut England ground out a low-key victory over Malta in their 2018 World Cup qualifier in interim manager Gareth Southgate’s first game in charge, while Germany strolled past the Czech Republic. Daniel Sturridge and Dele Alli scored. PAGE 28

n Ali Shahriyar Bappa Bangladesh captain Mashrafe bin Mortaza yesterday said they always had the belief that they would bounce back from the heartbreaking 21-run loss in the first ODI against England. Led admirably by Mashrafe, the Tigers managed a 34-run win in the second ODI in Mirpur to level the three-match series 1-1. “Taking early wickets was key for us while defending 238. That’s why we started with Shakib [al Hasan]. We were shocked and disappointed with the last game. We were feeling down even in the warm-up session [yesterday]. But we had the belief that one moment can change everything. So that was important,” Mashrafe told the media after the game. Mashrafe said he felt happy to contribute to the victory and in the process, winning the player of the match award but informed that the nation’s success is way more important than any personal achievement.

“Team comes first for me. Anyone could have been the player of the match. I am happy that we won,” he said. Mashrafe admitted that he knew nothing about the Jos Buttler incident. England captain Buttler was seen exchanging words with Mahmudullah after being adjudged leg before wicket. At the end of the match, there was also a tussle between Ben Stokes and Tamim Iqbal. Mashrafe though said he was not there at that moment but believes players of either side should be able to control their emotions during a match. “I don’t know who spoke to Buttler. I was focusing on the review that I took, and then I got excited by the decision. I was not even there when the second incident took place. So I don’t know exactly what happened. Sometimes, a lot of things happen in the heat of the moment. But players from both sides should control themselves,” he said.

Mashrafe praised Taskin Ahmed for his brilliant bowling display during the middle stages and said it was the young fast bowler’s effort that turned the game around for the Tigers. “I asked Shakib and Mushfiqur [Rahim] to think about what we could do. We had options between Mosaddek [Hossain], Taskin and Sabbir [Rahman]. But then I kept faith in Taskin. He is my main bowler, and has pace. He bowled extraordinarily, and took three wickets. The game came back to us through his performance,” he said. “Taskin bowled very fast and at his best rhythm. If he didn’t taken those wickets, we wouldn’t have won the game. His spell was outstanding. Top fast bowlers bowl match-winning spells, and Taskin’s spell is one of them,” he added. Mashrafe also heaped praise on Nasir Hossain for his all-round performance and said it is the best possible way to return to the team after missing several games. l

It was the type of situation where Bangladesh needed their most charismatic cricketer in the form of skipper Mashrafe bin Mortaza to deliver something extraordinary. When he came out to bat, the Tigers were struggling on 169/7 in the 42nd over and a lot depended on him if they were to post a challenging total. The home side were asked to bat and the visitors had done their homework pretty well. But perhaps, England never planned what Mashrafe was about to display. The 33-year old immediately understood the gravity of the situation and took little time in launching as he smashed the first six of the Bangladesh innings off spinner Moeen Ali over long off. He went on to blast another one over long on to finish the over. Mashrafe provided the muchneeded fire power at the end to help his side post a decent total on the board. The Bangladesh captain was sensible and took up the responsibility to go after the bowlers as all-rounder Nasir Hossain was their recognised batsman. Mashrafe ensured Bangladesh would have enough runs to defend as they added 75 runs in the last 10 overs. He was finally dismissed in the final over after scoring 44 off just 29 balls, featuring three sixes and two fours. As it were, Mashrafe was stranded six runs short from a welldeserved fifty as he was caught short of the crease. The last time the Narail Express scored a fifty was 10 years ago against Scotland. The job though was only half done as the skipper came out to bowl and immediately removed both the English openers - Jason Roy (13) and James Vince (five) - to give his side a flying start. Besides hiw bowling, he was also a livewire on the field as he threw himself on the field like a teenager on numerous occasions. He then clean bowled the first ODI centurion Ben Stokes before dismissing last-man Jake Ball to finish with impressive bowling figures of 4/29. From his big-hitting exploits to his regular breakthroughs and finally, his finishing touch; the day really and truly belonged to Mashrafe, the Captain Fantastic.l

Sport

MONDAY, OCTOBER 10, 2016

PLAYS OF THE DAY BANGLADESH V ENGLAND 2ND ODI, MIRPUR ENGLAND’S TACTICAL DISPLAY IN FIRST HOUR

England produced a magnificent bowling display in first hour of the game to halt Bangladesh’s run-scoring in an impressive manner. Opening bowlers Chris Woakes and David Willey bowled in the right channel and gave no room to Tamim Iqbal and Imrul Kayes. Both the bowlers bowled plenty of slowers and cutters during their first spell. Captain Jos Buttler set up a superb field in the first powerplay as Bangladesh managed to score only three boundaries in their first 10 overs.

MUSHFIQ JOINS 4000-CLUB IN ODIS

Wicketkeeper-batsman Mushfiqur Rahim joined the 4000-run club in ODIs yesterday. Mushfiq needed 12 runs to touch the mark and he eventually scored 21. He achieved this landmark in his 163rd innings. He scored 1000 runs in 55 innings, 2000 runs in his next 42 innings, 3000 runs in his following 28 knocks and finally, 4000 runs in his next 24 innings. Mushfiq played promisingly but failed to convert it to a much-needed big score once again. Batting on 21, he top-edged a pull and Moeen Ali took a superb tumbling catch running in from deep fine leg. And so, yet another promising innings ended in a sad way for the stumper-batsman.

MASHRAFE STEPS UP AT THE HOUR OF NEED

England captain Jos Buttler is unable to control his emotions following his dismissal against Bangladesh during the second ODI in Mirpur yesterday MAINOOR ISLAM MANIK

SCORECARD BANGLADESH R Tamim Iqbal c Ali b Woakes 14 Imrul Kayes c Willey b Woakes 11 Sabbir Rahman b Ball 3 Mahmudullah Riyad lbw b Rashid 75 Mushfiqur Rahim c Ali b Ball 21 Shakib Al Hasan c Buttler b Stokes 3 Mosaddek Hossain c Ali b Rashid 29 Nasir Hossain not out 27 Mashrafe Mortaza run out 44 Shafiul Islam not out 0 Extras (lb 4, w6, nb1) 11

B 31 18 21 88 23 14 49 27 29 1

Total (eight wickets, 50 overs) 238 Fall of wickets: 1-25, 2-26, 3-39, 4-89, 5-113, 6-161, 7-169, 8-238 Bowling Woakes 9-0-40-2, Willey 8-1-36-0, Rashid 10-0-53-2, Ball 8-0-44-2, Stokes 6-1-22-1, Ali 9-0-39-0. England Roy lbw b Mortaza Vince c Mosaddek b Mortaza Duckett b Shakib Bairstow c Rahim b Taskin Stokes b Mortaza Buttler lbw b Taskin Ali c Shakib b Nasir Woakes c Rahim b Taskin Rashid not out Willey lbw b Mosaddek Ball c Nasir b Mortaza Extras (lb7 , w6)

R 13 5 0 35 0 57 4 7 33 9 28 13

B 21 10 6 53 5 57 10 9 44 31 22

Total (all out 44.4 overs) 204 Fall of wickets: 1-12, 2-14, 3-24, 4-26, 5-105, 6-120, 7-123, 8-132, 9-159, 10-204 Bowling: Shakib 9-0-50-1 (w1), Mortaza 8.4-0-29-4 (w1), Shafiul 8-0-37-0 (w1), Taskin 8-0-47-3 (w3), Nasir 10-1-29-1, Mosaddek 1-0-5-1 Result: Bangladesh won by 34 runs MoM: Mashrafe bin Mortaza Series: Three-match series tied at 1-1

‘Mashrafe made all the difference’ n

Mazhar Uddin

England did all the good work until Mashrafe bin Mortaza blazed all guns, scoring a quickfire 44 off just 29 balls to guide Bangladesh to a challenging total. Later, the Tigers captain picked up four wickets to help his side defend a relatively small total as the home won the second ODI to level the three-match series 1-1.

They celebrated by running towards me and giving me a bit of a send off. They were delighted to get the wicket And according to England skipper Jos Buttler, it was the Bangladesh captain who made all the difference. Buttler though informed that they were confident of chasing the target after restricting the home side to 238/8 in 50 overs, only to eventually fall short by 34 runs. “I thought our first 50 overs were fantastic, we bowled brilliantly up front, we got wickets and put Bangladesh under pressure. We could have bowled them out for 190-200. Mortaza played some

good shots and got away from us a little bit,” Buttler told the media after the game. “I thought 240 was a chaseable score. Yeah, he (Mashrafe) had a really good game. He chanced his arms a little bit, was aggressive and got them up to a score of maybe 20 runs more. He bowled well as well. But still, I thought we were going to chase that down,” he said. Meanwhile, there was an incident after Buttler’s dismissal as he had an argument with the Bangladesh fielders on his way to the dressing room. The visiting captain said he might have crossed the line on that occasion. “They celebrated by running towards me and giving me a bit of a send off. Emotions were running high and obviously, they were delighted to get the wicket. Maybe I should have just walked off. Potentially, I am sure you guys can judge that for me,” he said. “Maybe it’s something in hindsight. I was disappointed with the reaction. I was obviously disappointed to get out. I probably wished I could have just walked off the field and maybe taken it up in a different way. “Maybe I think you guys always write about me as the quietly spoken guy but maybe you don’t know me that well,” he added. l

When Mashrafe bin Mortaza came to the crease, Bangladesh were hobbling at 169 for 7 after 41.4 overs. The Tigers skipper stepped up to the occasion and played a timely captain’s knock of 44 off just 29 balls. His explosive innings enabled the Tigers to a challenging total of 238. Mashrafe hit two sixes off Moeen in the 43rd over to signal his intentions. Those two over boundaries set the tempo in the slog overs. The Narail Express was eventually run out in the last over but he made a contributed a valuable 69-run partnership for the ninth wicket alongside Nasir Hossain which gave Bangladesh a good total worth fighting for.

NASIR’S COMEBACK

All-rounder Nasir made a much-awaited return to the playing XI, replacing left-arm spinner Mosharraf Hossain. The right-handed batsman played a handy knock in the latter overs, helping the side with his regular rotation of the strike as Mashrafe was blazing at the other end. Nasir made an unbeaten run-a-ball 27.

TIGERS START WITH A BANG

Bangladesh began their bowling with the best attacking option, Shakib al hasan. There was a huge appeal in the very first ball of the innings against Jason Roy. The batsman though survived by the skin of his teeth. However, Shakib was able to create pressure with his spell. But it was Mashrafe who struck the first blow when he got the wicket of James Vince in fourth over. Later, Mashrafe continued to bowl brilliantly, picking up the wickets of Roy and Ben Stokes. In between, Shakib showed his class with the ball as the ace all-rounder dodged Ben Duckett and clean bowled him in the last ball of the fifth over. After 10 overs of the first powerplay, England were reeling on 31 for 4. And thus, we had a match in our hands.

BUTTLER BLAZES

Buttler has proved himself in world cricket as one of the best clean-hitters of the ball and yesterday, he yet again proved his worth in English colours. England were 26 for 4 when Buttler came in to the middle and he immediately announced his intentions by scoring a boundary in the very first ball he faced. After that, the strokes continued to flow from his willow. The England captain played his natural aggressive game and made a run-a-ball 57 before being trapped in front by Taskin Ahmed in the 28th over.

MASHRAFE’S 50TH ODI SIX

Mashrafe seems to be adding feather to his cap every other day and yesterday was no exception. During his quickfire knock of 44, the right-hander smashed three sixes – two off Moeen and one off Willey. And when he blasted his second maximum, he became only the third Bangladesh batsman in history to hit 50 ODI sixes. He now has 52 with Tamim (64) and Mushfiq (53) ahead of him in the list. –ALI SHAHRIYAR BAPPA

Sport

MONDAY, OCTOBER 10, 2016

Bangladesh women win big in IHF Trophy n Tribune Report

Bangladesh football team’s Belgian head coach Tom Saintfiet gives instructions to his charges during training in Thimphu, Bhutan yesterday

COURTESY

Saddened Bangladesh face crucial test n Tribune Report A dispirited Bangladesh football team are determined to get away with a win on aggregate when they take on Bhutan in the crucial second leg of the Asian Cup Qualifiers Play-off at Changlimithang Stadium in Thimphu today. The game kicks off at 6pm (Bangladesh standard time). The Bangladesh side woke up yesterday morning with a bad news as midfielder Emon Mahmud

HEAD-TO-HEAD BANGLADESH

BHUTAN

185

Ranking

Matches

189 6

Wins

Losses

Draws

Goals scored

Goals against

Babu’s 57-year old mother Razia Khanom passed away owing to a heart attack at her residence in Dhaka. The Bengal Tigers’ Belgian head coach Tom Saintfiet now has to field his XI without the presence of the Abahani midfielder who has been a key part of the tactician’s plans. After being held to a frustrating goalless draw in the first leg at home early last month, the equation for the men in red and green to make it into the Qualifiers has become slightly tougher. Although a draw would be enough for the visitors to progress, it must be a scoring one. Another stalemate by the end of stipulated time would take the game to extra-time. Bangladesh have never lost to Bhutan in history, winning four out of six matches. With that said, the current situation is a bit different as the home side have improved a lot in recent years while Bangladesh are under pressure for their poor displays lately.

After hearing the loss of Emon’s mother, the players however, had a long walk of 40 minutes in the hilly area in the morning in order to adapt with Thimphu’s altitude and cold temperature. Emon is scheduled to return home today afternoon. “The whole team is shocked,” said Saintfiet in the pre-match press conference. He continued, “It’s a catastrophe. Emon was playing very good for Dhaka Abahani. He is a skilful, technical and intelligent midfield player who also has a lot of spirit and fighting mentality. After our first match against Bhutan, I was looking for solutions, and Emon was in my plan from day one.” Bangladesh created more than a dozen chances in the first leg on September 5 but a lack of finishing touch upfront left them empty-handed. Saintfiet called up veteran striker Jahid Hasan Ameli for today’s tie but the experienced

forward might only feature as a substitute while Hemanta Vincent Biswas and Shakhawat Hossain Rony are likely to play upfront. “If we had scored a goal in the first match and won that, we would have been a little more relaxed. But with 0-0, we can still play for a draw and Bhutan need to win. So we have small advantage with 0-0, but Bhutan will be playing at home, with a 10-15,000 crowd,” added the 43-year-old coach. With the absence of Emon in midfield, it is more likely that former captain Mamunul Islam could be in the starting XI. Saintfiet informed that if the midfielder starts, he will wear the captain’s armband. If he doesn’t then goalkeeper Ashraful Islam Rana will continue captaining the side. Bhutan have a new head coach in place following the first leg with Torsten Spittler replacing Pema Dorji. The new coach believes it will be a 50-50 game for both sides.l

Fan’s dream comes true n AFP, Dhaka

Blind from his infancy, 19-yearold Bangladeshi cricket fan Samiul Islam finally had the opportunity to see his favourite team in action yesterday after his eyesight was restored following an operation funded by a reality TV show. Hailing from a poor labourer’s family in northern Sherpur district, 180 kilometres (112 miles) from Dhaka, Islam was brought to Mirpur stadium in the capital to fulfil his dream of watching the Tigers play after his eyesight was success-

fully restored. A reality show named Shwapno Dekhe Chokh (Eyes see the dream) funded Islam’s treatment in cooperation with international charity Sightsavers. Islam, who lost his eyesight when he was only six months old, said he endured a harsh childhood filled with bullying and neglect due to his blindness. But despite the disability and hardships, he fostered a love for cricket and listened carefully to the commentary during matches. “I use to listen to commentary

on the radio and TV. Whenever there was a big match I would go before the TV set. “I could not see the game, but for sure, I could hear the commentary and feel the thrill,” Islam said. When asked by the donors what he wished to see first after his operation, Islam said he would love to watch a Bangladesh cricket match live. “Today my dream came true,” he told AFP during the second oneday international between Bangladesh and England. l

Bangladesh women’s team began their International Handball Federation Trophy campaign with a comfortable 47-14 victory over Sri Lanka at M Mansur Ali National Handball Stadium yesterday. The home side led the first half 22-7. The men’s handball team, on the other hand, started their mission with a 45-31 defeat against favourites India in the inaugural match of the tournament. Top-scorer of the match, Anil Kudiya scored 13 goals while Mohit netted nine for the winning side. Sohel Rana and Shakir Shamir Emon scored nine and seven goals respectively while Daliankhum Lusai netted five for Bangladesh. Bangladesh coach Qamrul Islam Kiron admitted that his team need to improve as the competition progresses. “India are a strong team but we scored 31 goals against them, that’s a good point. However, my defence has to improve in the next matches if we are to attain our goal of reaching the semis,” said Qamrul. In the day’s other matches, Nepal beat Afghanistan 27-22 at the same venue and Pakistan defeated Maldives 35-10 at Shaheed Tajuddin Ahmed Indoor Stadium. Meanwhile in the women’s category, Nepal outplayed Maldives 28-7 while India thrashed Pakistan 41-16.l

SA clinch fourth straight ODI win over Australia n Reuters, Port Elizabeth South Africa secured a fourth successive one-day international victory over Australia as captain Faf du Plessis top scored with 69 runs in a six-wicket win yesterday. South Africa had already clinched the five-match series with one encounter left to play in Cape Town on Wednesday. Kyle Abbott took four wickets as Australia were bowled out for 167 in just 36.4 overs, leaving South Africa with a modest target to chase. They did so successfully, reaching 168 for the loss of four wickets in 35.3 overs. In the three previous ODIs, South Africa’s batsmen dominated the inexperienced Australian attack. l

4TH ODI AUSTRALIA 167 in 36.4 overs (Abbott 4/40, Shamsir 3/36, Phangiso 2/17) lost to SOUTH AFRICA 168/4 in 35.3 overs (Du Plessis 69, Rossouw 33*, Tremain 2/48) by six wickets

Sport

MONDAY, OCTOBER 10, 2016

India’s Virat Kohli plays a shot in Indore, India yesterday

REUTERS

Kohli, Rahane lead India’s dominance n AFP, Indore Skipper Virat Kohli recorded his second double-century in Tests as he and Ajinkya Rahane helped India post a crushing 557 for five declared against New Zealand at Indore yesterday.

3RD TEST, DAY 2 INDIA 557/5d (Kohli 211, Rahane 188, Sharma 51) lead NEW ZEALAND 28/0 by 529 runs The visitors were 28 without loss at stumps on day two of the third and final Test, with Martin Guptill on 17 and Tom Latham on six, trailing by 529. The hosts, who started the day on 267 for three, rode on the 365-run fourth-wicket partnership between Kohli (211) and Rahane (188) to flatten the New Zealand bowling. The partnership was India’s best for the fourth wicket, surpassing the 353-run stand be-

tween Sachin Tendulkar and VVS Laxman against Australia at Sydney in 2004. “This partnership was really special. We were 100 for three and from there getting 365 was really special. It will remain in our memory for a long time,” Rahane told reporters. Kohli, who scored his maiden 200 against the West Indies in July, registered his career-best Test score yesterday with a dominating display. The batsman, who resumed the day on 103 in his 48th Test, scored runs all around the park with 20 boundaries during his 366-ball stay at the crease. Overnight partner Rahane was also in blazing form, posting a career-best score in his 29th match after completing his eighth Test century. Rahane had to face a barrage of bouncers in the morning session from the New Zealand quicks, with one of the shortpitched deliveries from Matt Henry hitting his helmet. l

DAY’S WATCH FOOTBALL SONY SIX

12:30AM FIFA World Cup Qualifiers Netherlands v France

SONY ESPN 12:30AM FIFA World Cup Qualifiers Faroe Islands v Portugal

CRICKET

STAR SPORTS 1 10:00AM New Zealand Tour of India 3rd Test, Day 3

KABADDI STAR SPORTS 2 Kabaddi World Cup 2016 7:20PM England v Australia 9:40PM Thailand v Poland

Sport

MONDAY, OCTOBER 10, 2016

RESULTS 1-0

Norway

3-0

Czech Republic

Azerbaijan Medvedev 11

Germany

Mueller 13, 65, Kroos 49

Northern Ireland 4-0

San Marino

Davis 26-P, Ward 85, Lafferty 79, 90+4

Armenia

0-5

Romania Stancu 4-P, Popa 10, Marin 12, Stanciu 29, Chipciu 60

Montenegro

5-0

Kazakhstan

Tomasevic 24, Vukcevic 59, Jovetic 64, Beciraj 73, Savic 78

3-2

Poland

Lewandowski 20, 36-P, 48

England

2-0

Denmark Glik 49-og, Poulsen 69

Malta

Sturridge 29, Alli 38

Scotland

1-1

McArthur 89

Slovenia

Lithuania Cernych 59

1-0

Slovakia

Kronaveter 74

England’s Theo Walcott in action with Malta’s Alex Muscat and Paul Fenech (R) during their 2018 World Cup qualifier against Malta at Wembley Stadium on Saturday REUTERS

England win on Southgate debut, classy Germany cruise n AFP, Paris England ground out a low-key 2-0 victory over Malta in Saturday’s 2018 World Cup qualifier in interim manager Gareth Southgate’s first game in charge, while defending champions Germany strolled past the Czech Republic 3-0. Daniel Sturridge and Dele Alli scored first-half goals in front of a crowd of 82,000 at Wembley to steer England to a second straight win in Group F, leaving them two points clear at the top. Liverpool striker Sturridge

headed superbly back across Malta goalkeeper Andrew Hogg in the 29th minute following an inviting cross from club team-mate Jordan Henderson. Alli then combined cleverly with Henderson to grab England’s second goal seven minutes before halftime, the duo exchanging passes on the edge of the area before the former poked home the rebound after his initial effort was saved. Southgate and England will expect a much trickier assignment in Ljubljana when they take on Slovenia, who claimed an important 1-0

Ivorian goal blitz, drama n AFP, Johannesburg A three-goal blitz enabled Ivory Coast to whip Mali 3-1 Saturday in

RESULTS Congo

4-0

Libya

Mbokani 6, 56, Bolingi 45+2, Mubele 69

Gabon

0-0

Ivory Coast

3-1

Kodjia 25, Coulibaly 30-og, Gervinho 33

Burkina Faso

Balde 24, Sow 80

Mali S. Yatabare 1

1-1

Diawara 90+1

Senegal

Morocco

South Africa Furman 80

2-0

Cape Verde

World Cup qualifying while Burkina Faso snatched a dramatic 1-1 draw with South Africa after wasting two penalties. Democratic Republic of Congo thrashed Libya 4-0, Senegal overcame Cape Verde 2-0 and Gabon and Morocco drew 0-0 in other matchday 1 African clashes. Sambou Yatabare stunned reigning African champions Ivory Coast by racing on to a long pass and chipping the ball over slow-reacting goalkeeper Sylvain Gbohouo for an early lead in Bouake. But the Ivorians responded by laying siege to the Mali goalmouth and Jonathan Kodjia and Gervinho scored in a dazzling nine-minute spell during which Salif Coulibaly conceded an own-goal.l

home win over Slovakia, in three days’ time. Substitute James McArthur rescued a point for Scotland with an 89th-minute equaliser in a 1-1 draw at home to Lithuania, who had taken the lead through skipper Fiodor Cernych. Thomas Mueller netted a brace with Toni Kroos also on target as reigning world champions Germany extended their perfect start to Group C against the Czech Republic in Hamburg. Mueller failed to score at Euro 2016 this summer but has since re-

discovered his goalscoring touch at international level with four goals in his country’s opening two qualifiers. He tucked away Mario Goetze’s pass to nudge Germany ahead on 13 minutes, before converting a Jonas Hector cross midway through the second half after Kroos had doubled the lead shortly after the break. Kyle Lafferty struck twice, Steven Davis converted a penalty and Jamie Ward also scored to hand Northern Ireland a 4-0 win over San Marino, while Norway suffered

a shock 1-0 loss away to Azerbaijan, who now have two wins from two. Robert Lewandowski, Mueller’s strike partner at Bayern Munich, tormented Denmark as he grabbed a hat-trick in a 3-2 victory in Warsaw to leave Poland level on four points with Montenegro and Romania in Group E. Romania thrashed 10-man Armenia 5-0 in Yerevan as the visitors punished their opponents after the dismissal of Gor Malakyan in just the third minute, while Montenegro defeated Kazakhstan by the same scoreline.l

Radwanska wins in China, Murray takes China Open n Reuters Andy Murray outgunned Bulgaria’s Grigor Dimitrov 6-4 7-6(2) in the final of the China Open yesterday to claim his 40th career title. Murray closed out the match in an hour and 57 minutes to draw closer in the rankings to world number one Novak Djokovic in the battle for the year-end top spot. Meanwhile, Agnieszka Radwanska beat Johanna Konta in straight sets to take the title at the China Open in a chilly Beijing yesterday, denying the Briton her biggest career crown. l

Mercedes celebrate title triple in Suzuka Mercedes were finally able to break out the champagne yesterday after clinching their third straight Formula One constructors’ crown at the Japanese Grand Prix. Nico Rosberg eased to a comfortable win at the Suzuka circuit which, combined with a third-place finish for team mate Lewis Hamilton, lifted the German team 208 points clear of closest rivals Red Bull AFP

CROSSWORD ACROSS 1 Former Iranian leader (4) 3 Bird (5) 8 Dwell (4) 9 Minute particle (4) 11 Natural elevations (5) 12 Flying toy (4) 14 Allow (3) 15 Snares (5) 18 Permission (4) 19 Slippery catch (3) 21 Prison room (4) 24 Precise (5) 26 Orderly (4) 27 Peruvian capital (4) 28 Condition (5) 29 Church recess (4)

DOWN 1 Cicatrix (4) 2 Frenzied (4) 4 Kimono sash (3) 5 Beaks (5) 6 Lazy (coll) (4) 7 Nidi (5) 10 Small child (4) 11 Lift with effort (5) 13 Region (5) 16 Raw hide (4) 17 Scottish dances (5) 18 Peruvian animal (5) 20 Way out (4) 22 Flaccid (4) 23 Old stringed instrument (4) 25 Domestic animal (3)

Downtime

MONDAY, OCTOBER 10, 2016

CODE-CRACKER How to solve: Each number in our CODE-CRACKER grid represents a different letter of the alphabet. For example, today 15 represents L so fill L every time the figure 15 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

SATURDAY’S SOLUTIONS CODE-CRACKER

CROSSWORD

DILBERT

SUDOKU

MONDAY, OCTOBER 10, 2016

Showtime

Badhon crowned Fair & Lovely Men Channel-i Hero n Hasan Dabir Uddin With the slogan “Prove You Are The Hero,” the male pageant reality show Fair and Lovely Men Channel-i Hero powered by Bangladesh Army, crowned Bhadon Kumar Saha as the champion of this year’s season. On October 8, Saturday, Badhon left behind the other four contestants at the grand finale held at the Bashundhara International Convention Center, Navaratri, Hall-4. The competition’s first runner-up and second runner-up are Shahriar Hasan Pusan and Tonmoy Ghosh, respectively, both from Kishoreganj. Starting with performance by the top five contestants, Pusan, Sajib, Badhon, Neil, and Tonmoy, backdrop of the theme song and laser show, the ceremony startled the attendees. The band, Avoid Rafa joined the top five contestants on the stage to sing the theme song. The awards were conferred by Faridur Reza Sagar, the managing

director of Chanel-i, Jabad Aktar, the brand building director of Unilever Bangladesh, and Sabbir Ahmed, Lieutenant General of Bangladesh Army. The competition’s judges, Riaz, Ferdous and Tania Ahmed, were also present on the grand finale. Faridur Reza Sagar said, “Everyone has a hero of their own, like I had my father.” “I hope they’ll establish themselves as real hero in our media industry,” he added. Impress Telefilm Limited has already announced that an upcoming film tilled Nokkhotrer Raat, will feature the winner Badhon as the lead along with Mahiya Mahi. The film, written by the iconic writer Humayun Ahmed, will be directed by Meher Afroz Shaon. The rest of the winners of the competition will also get opportunities to play roles in telefilms and TV dramas made by Impress Telefilm Limit for the next one year.

Mahiya Mahi, Bappy Chowdhury, Mehzabien Chowdhury, Shobnom Bubly, Tanjin Tisha, Amrita, Orchita

The 12th Anniversary of Star Cineplex

n Rumpa Farzana In 2004, the Bangladeshi cinema industry was almost sinking. This is when an organisation dreamt of a fantastic journey, where common people would get entertainment together, laugh together, and cry together. So they started their dream to build a Cineplex, and with that mission they started their journey in 2002. Show Motion Limited, started in December 19, 2002, pioneering the modern Multiplex Movie Theatre industry through STAR Cineplex brand in Bangladesh and was the first Multiplex Cinema Theatre in the country. With a lucid vision for the development in the entertainment sector in the country, the local and foreign

promoters of Show Motion Ltd started the first international quality state-of-the-art multiplex cinema theatre on October 8th, 2004, at Bashundhara City Mall Panthapath, Dhaka. Star Cineplen celebrated their 12th birthday on October 8th, 2016. On the occasion of their anniversary, Cineplex arranged a grand gala night with movie screening. The hall was filled with honourable guests, celebrities, and media personalities. Actor Misha Shoudagor, was one of them, who completed his 24 years as an actor on the same day. Actress Sohana Saba was also excited because her first shoot was in 2004, when Star Cineplex started their journey. Her first film, Ayna released at Cineplex,

and recent movie Brihonnola, also premiered at Cineplex, and to her, it feels like home. Director Mostofa Kamal Raz said, “I will request Star Cineplex to make at least 50 theatres all over the country.” Gias Uddin Selim, director of Monpura thanked Cineplex for proving an environment where audience can watch movies comfortably. The event was also attented by actress Popy, director-writer Chayanika Chowdhury, and many more. Also there were some special guests who won various contests of Star Cineplex. In short, it was like a festival for the movie lovers. The festival ended with a new promise of providing more comfort to their audience in the near future. Star Cineplex now has four fully digital cinema screens with state-of-the-art 3D projection technology, silver screens, Dolby-Digital sound, and stadium seating. With a total capacity of 1,286 seats, the theatre has a large lobby with full concession stands, serving pop-corns, soft drinks, icecreams, and many other items. In addition to scheduled shows, Star Cineplex also caters to special corporate bookings, redcarpet premieres, and private events. l

Sporshia performed at the grand finale along with the top five contestants, while the biggest attraction of the night was the

performance by the folk-queen, Momtaj. l

Beyonce brings out Jay Z, Kendrick Lamar, Serena Williams to the tour finale

n Showtime Desk The final show of Beyonce’s six-month long Formation tour was something special, as the Queen herself told the crowd at New Jersey’s Metlife Stadium on October 7. For the first time in the entire tour, she brought out some guests - none other than her husband Jay Z, Kendrick Lamar, and even Serena Williams. Less than 10 minutes into the show, Beyoncé cut the music and told the audience that it

was “a special night” as Serena Williams came on the stage. The duo then recreated one of the many memorable scenes from the singer’s, “Sorry” music video. Later in the evening, Beyoncé treated the Beyhive to another surprise when she brought out her husband, Jay Z, to perform their 2013 collaboration “Drunk in Love.” Beyoncé also invited Kendrick Lamar on stage for a powerful performance of their song “Freedom.” l

Two Bangladeshis in Vogue India n Showtime Desk After model Jannatul Ferdous Peya, two more Bangladeshi ladies, Humaira Khan and Sadia Moyeen – renowned for their contribution to the country’s fashion industry – have been featured in Vogue India’s latest issue. Humaira Khan, a Bangladeshi fashion designer, has recently attracted a lot of attention after her article was featured in Vogue India. Khan set out to make Bangladeshi travelling jackets using the famous Bangladeshi jamdani textile. At first her friends mocked her and said that she was being too disillusioned. Hoping to take shake up the fashion world Humaira’s unorthodox, yet beautiful, travelling jackets have been applauded by people from different cultural. One of the reason why her effort to incorporate the jamdani fabric caught everyone’s eye is because the traditional art of weaving jamdani has been declared as an Intangible Cultural

Heritage by UNESCO. The other article that was featured in Vogue India was by celebrity beautician and owner of La Belle salon, Sadia Moyeen. Her article is on make-up trends in Bangladesh. She talked about how Bangladeshi people can regularly nourish their hair. She also discussed extensively about bridal makeups. Her article gave readers a glimpse on beautification, from a Bangladeshi perspective.l

Ishika Khan has gone to London for her baby faces among newcomers in the film industry of Bangladesh. At a very young age, she achieved great popularity because of her work in the media. This year, on March 28, Ishika Khan got married to Kaisar Khan, who is a citizen of London, and is a businessman there. So he had to return to London, within a few days of their marriage. But recently, Kaisar came back to Dhaka, and took his wife, Ishika along with him. Ishika recently annouced the arrival of a new member in the family. And Ishika and her husband wanted to have the baby in London. Ishika also mentioned that she wants to stay in London for sometime. She plans to stay in London for at least six months after the baby is born. l

n Sajal Khan Ishika Khan is known as an actress, model, anchor, music video performer, and stage performer. The way she was introduced to this industry is unlike any other story. Being a die-hard fan of cricket, she never missed a game of the national team that took place in Bangladesh; and no camera could stop gazing at her in the stadium. Ishika is one of the most popular

Showtime

MONDAY, OCTOBER 10, 2016

WHAT TO WATCH

Jack the Giant Slayer Movies Now, 9:30pm An ancient war is reignited when a young farmhand unwittingly opens a gateway between our world and a fearsome race of giants. Unleashed on the Earth for the first time in centuries, the giants strive to reclaim the land they once lost, forcing the young man, Jack, into the battle of his life to stop them. Fighting for a kingdom and its people, and the love of a brave princess, he comes face to face with the unstoppable warriors he thought only existed in legend. Cast: Nicholas Hoult, Stanley Tucci, Ewan McGregor The Hangover HBO, 11:32pm When a group of friends gets together for one last weekend-long bachelor party in Vegas, they think they had a good time. But it’s very hard to remember, and they are suffering the dreadful aftereffects of girls, party and alcohol. And then they realise they have somehow lost the groom. Now, they must struggle to retrace their wild weekend to find their friend and deliver the bridegroom to his wedding. Cast: Bradley Cooper, Ed Helms, Zach Galifianakis Troy WB, 9:00pm The film is set in the year 1250 BC. Paris, the prince of Troy, falls in love with Helen, the Queen of Sparta and wife of King Menelaus. Paris persuades Helen to leave her husband and go with him to Troy. When Menelaus finds out, he asks his brother Agamemnon to help him get her back. Cast: Brad Pitt, Eric Bana, Orlando Bloom, Brian Cox, Sean Bean Friends with Benefits Zee Studio, 5:35pm The relationship between two friends gets complicated when it turns romantic. Cast: Justin Timberlake, Mila Kunis

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MONDAY, OCTOBER 10, 2016

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Safety inspections a must-do in non-export manufacturing units n Ibrahim Hossain Ovi For inclusive economic growth, safety inspections are essential in non-export manufacturing industries to ensure workers’ safety, trade analysts and rights activists say. After the fire incident at Tampaco Foils Ltd in Tongi, Gazipur on September 10, which killed at least 35 people and injured more than 150, the issue of workplace safety in non-export industries has once again come under spotlight. “If Bangladesh wants to attain an inclusive economic growth, it will have to ensure safe workplace for all the manufacturing units instead of focusing on export-oriented industry only,” said Mustafizur Rahman, executive director of Centre for Policy Dialogue (CPD). The government and the donor agencies and rights groups are usually more focused on the export-oriented sector, especially the readymade garment (RMG) industry, Mustafiz told the Dhaka Tribune. But it is not fair that workers in a certain sector would get priority over workers in others, and it would create an imbalance which is much likely to hamper the overall growth of economy, he added. “Tampaco fire is a reminder for the Department of Inspection of Factories and Establishment to step up inspection at all factories and guarantee safety,” said Srinivas Reddy, country director of International Labour Organisation in Bangladesh. He said the incident highlighted two things that were of utmost importance: ensuring safety in every

workplace, not just the RMG industry; and employment injury benefits programme following ILO Convention 121, which provides adequate compensation to injured workers. “We are encouraging and supporting the DIFE to reach out to the factories that do not have the standard safety measures in place, and implement and monitor said measures as per Bangladesh Labour Act, 2013,” Reddy added. Tampaco fire has also drawn the government’s attention to the negative impact of keeping non-export industries out of safety inspection. “After the fire at Tampaco, the government is focusing on factories which work with boilers, chemicals and plastics, as well as explosive

and flammable material, for workers’ safety in order to avert further untoward incidents,” said Syed Ahmed, inspector general of DIFE. Under the new initiative, big industries will get priority in identifying the risks, Ahmed told the Dhaka Tribune. “I hope it will be done within the next couple of months.” He said the DIFE was also considering a crash course on safety issues for both factory owners and workers. The rights groups and trade analysts have also put stress on the necessity of implementing labour rules for safe workplace. “There are provisions under the new rules of the labour act which must be enforced, and entrepreneurs must abide by the law,” said

CPD executive director Mustafiz. “Trade union leaders and workers also have to practise unionism as per the law to have their demands met by their employers,” he added. According to the DIFE data, there are 23,218 registered factories under 42 industrial sectors in the country, more than 5,000 of which are RMG factories. However, there are about 3,500 export-oriented RMG factories, of which over 3,000 has been inspected by global retailer platforms and national authorities following the Rana Plaza collapse in 2013. The factories in 41 other sectors remain out of the scope of safety inspection, posing a threat to workers’ safety in those sectors. l

Firefighters and rescuers at work at the caved-in factory of Tampaco Foils Ltd in Tongi, Gazipur on the day of the fire incident MAHMUD HOSSAIN OPU

Assets more valuable to owners than workers n Jebun Nesa Alo

Very few factories in any industry in Bangladesh have insurance for their workers although almost all have various kinds of insurance to protect their assets in case of accidents. This results in a scenario where factory owners can be compensated in case of accidents while the families of workers who lose their lives are left with nothing. Despite mandatory group insur-

ance for factories with more than 100 workers, owners simply ignore this legal requirement. The recent fire at Tampaco Foils factory that killed 25 workers and injured more than 70 has once again brought the issue to light. The Tampaco owner took insurance coverage only for the assets while workers were neglected. The company took insurance coverage of Tk66 crore against its assets from four general insurance companies. But no group insurance

was taken covering the workers. Tazreen fire, another major accident in Bangladesh’s RMG sector, killed over 100 workers in 2012. The garment owner took fire insurance policy of Tk18 crore with Karnaphuli Insurance. He took group insurance coverage for only 20 workers with Delta Life insurance just to pass as a compliant factory and get an export permit. Rana Plaza collapse in 2013 killed 1,135 people in the country’s worst industrial disaster. Five

garment factories were housed in Rana Plaza and none of them had a group insurance policy. The survivors were compensated from welfare funds of the Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association and foreign donations. According to the amended labour law, any organisation which has a minimum of 10 workers will have to introduce accident insurance scheme for owners and workers under a joint insurance programme. l

Trade unions in non-RMG sectors vital as well n Ibrahim Hossain Ovi Lengthy and cumbersome registration process, lack of initiatives by trade union federations and negative attitude towards unionism are the key barriers to forming unions in the non-export manufacturing industry. The Dhaka Tribune has received such remarks in the aftermath of the devastating fire at Tampaco Foils Limited in Tongi that raised questions about worker safety due to the absence of a trade union in the packaging factory. Trade unions have grown in the export-oriented RMG sector due to mounting pressures post-Rana Plaza. According to the Department of Labour, there are only five trade unions in the packaging industry. These factories are located in Dhaka division while there are 522 trade unions in RMG factories, of which 434 are in Dhaka division. Although export-oriented sectors such as RMG have seen rise in union registration in recent years, the manufacturing industries producing for local markets has not unions in the real sense. Workers’ leaders and rights groups blame legal complications. “Prolonged registration process, lack of initiatives by trade union federations and owners’ negative attitude are key reasons behind this sorry state,” said Syed Sultan Uddin Ahmed, assistant executive director of Bangladesh Institute of Labour Studies. In manufacturing, workers change factories frequently, which is another problem, said Sultan. “Lack of accountability and non-implementation of labour rights are hampering the workers’ rights in the non-RMG sectors,” said Sirajul Islam Roney, president of Bangladesh Garment Workers Employee League. Nahidul Islam Noyon, secretary of Sommilito Garments Sramik Federation, said that workers cannot form unions if there are less than 100 workers in a factory. “In that case we have to form a sectoral union. But it is quite impossible if there are not enough factories of the same category in the area,” he told the Dhaka Tribune. l

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