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SECOND EDITION<br />
FRIDAY, OCTOBER <strong>21</strong>, <strong>2016</strong> | Kartik 6, 1423, Muharram 19, 1438 | Regd No DA 6238, Vol 4, No 173 | www.dhakatribune.com | 32 pages plus 24-page Weekend supplement | Price: Tk10<br />
Will AL council be Joy’s coming out party?<br />
• Mohammad Abu Bakar<br />
Siddique<br />
MORE STORIES ON P2 & 3<br />
INSIDE<br />
Razzak: New committee to<br />
be a blend of old and new<br />
Dhaka Tribune’s Mohammad Abu Bakar<br />
Siddique talks with Awami League’s Dr<br />
Abdur Razzak on a wide range of issues<br />
centring the 20th council of Bangladesh’s<br />
oldest political party PAGE 2<br />
Road Transport and Bridges Minister<br />
and senior Awami League<br />
policymaker Obaidul Quader has<br />
said that the ruling party’s national<br />
council is set to come up with a<br />
new leadership – a blend of the experienced<br />
veterans and energetic<br />
youths.<br />
In a recent interview, incumbent<br />
General Secretary Syed Ashraful<br />
Islam called it a high time for the<br />
third generation of Bangabandhu’s<br />
family to come into politics.<br />
Prime Minister and AL President<br />
Sheikh Hasina earlier this month<br />
said that she would be happy to retire<br />
if she got the opportunity and<br />
if the councillors managed to find<br />
a new leader of the oldest as well as<br />
largest party of the country.<br />
But much before that, the increasing<br />
involvement of Sajeeb<br />
Wazed Joy, the only son of the<br />
premier, into the activities of the<br />
government as well as the party<br />
besides serving as an ICT adviser<br />
to the prime minister, a field of his<br />
personal expertise too, has been<br />
winding the speculation of his introduction<br />
to the party line-up.<br />
Many leaders and activists –<br />
from the top tier to the grassroots,<br />
anticipate that Joy would be elevated<br />
to the post of general secretary<br />
of the party.<br />
Just two days ahead of the AL’s<br />
20th council, Joy’s possible induction<br />
dominated the air – in social<br />
media as well as party forum and<br />
even among the media workers.<br />
Joy is set to participate in the<br />
council as a councillor from Rangpur<br />
district.<br />
Convener of the Constitution<br />
Sub-committee for the council Abdur<br />
Razzak also sees the possibility.<br />
“Joy has been helping in the activities<br />
of the party and the government.<br />
“And his contribution is increasing,”<br />
said the former food minister,<br />
without elaborating how his name<br />
would be proposed for the central<br />
committee.<br />
Several activists including some<br />
coming from different districts as<br />
Fury at debate as Trump refuses<br />
pledge to respect a Clinton win<br />
• AFP, Las Vegas<br />
Turning his final presidential debate<br />
appearance into an unprecedented<br />
assault on US political<br />
convention, Donald Trump refused<br />
Wednesday to say that he would<br />
respect a Hillary Clinton victory in<br />
November.<br />
As the last head-to-head encounter<br />
of the toxic <strong>2016</strong> campaign<br />
A large boat-shaped platform, symbolising the Awami League party emblem, has been built at Suhrawardy Udyan for the ruling party’s 20th National Council scheduled<br />
for <strong>October</strong> 22-23. The photo was taken yesterday<br />
MAHMUD HOSSAIN OPU<br />
descended into mud-slinging, the<br />
Republican mogul doubled down<br />
on claims that his Democratic rival’s<br />
supporters plan to rig the vote.<br />
And when asked whether he<br />
would commit to recognizing the<br />
result of the November 8 vote no<br />
matter what, the reality television<br />
star said: “I’ll tell you at the time.<br />
I’ll keep you in suspense, OK?”<br />
Clinton declared herself “appalled”<br />
by what she said was an attack<br />
on 240 years of US democracy.<br />
And, quoting her former rival<br />
Bernie Sanders, she called Trump<br />
the “most dangerous person to run<br />
for president in the modern history<br />
of America.”<br />
Trump had come into the third<br />
televised debate of the <strong>2016</strong> campaign<br />
in Las Vegas looking to<br />
PAGE 2 COLUMN 3<br />
DSCC mayor: Dhaka to be<br />
smart city by 2017<br />
Dhaka South City Corporation (DSCC)<br />
Mayor Mohammad Sayeed Khokon,<br />
while speaking at a discussion, declared<br />
that Dhaka would be transformed into a<br />
smart city by the year 2017. PAGE 5<br />
councillors and delegates acknowledged<br />
that they had learnt about<br />
the possibility, but refused to be<br />
quoted in media as they were unclear<br />
about the final outcome.<br />
They rely on the party chief and<br />
the high command over the matter,<br />
and instead wish to wait for the<br />
council day suppressing the enthusiasm.<br />
Speculations are also there in<br />
the cyberspace. Many party supporters<br />
are seen posting photos of<br />
Joy on Facebook, giving an impression<br />
of his induction into the top<br />
tier of the party during the council.<br />
Some other activists have suggested<br />
that it may take more time.<br />
His name also came on the discussion<br />
tables during the previous<br />
councils in 2009 and 2012. But<br />
nothing came of it. •<br />
Jamaat chief Maqbul’s<br />
1971 role under scanner<br />
• Ashif Islam Shaon<br />
The investigation agency of the<br />
International Crimes Tribunal<br />
has launched a probe into the war<br />
crimes allegations raised against<br />
Maqbul Ahmed, the newly elected<br />
ameer of Jamaat-e-Islami.<br />
“An investigation officer was appointed<br />
on Wednesday to carry out<br />
a preliminary probe,” Coordinator<br />
of the agency Abdul Hannan told<br />
the Dhaka Tribune Thursday.<br />
The agency has not got any evidence<br />
against Maqbul, “but we<br />
have got some specific information<br />
from the media about his complicity<br />
in war-time crimes,” he added.<br />
“We will launch formal probe once<br />
evidence of his involvement in<br />
crimes against humanity is found.”<br />
PAGE 3 COLUMN 1<br />
Debutant Miraz stars<br />
in eventful day<br />
Mehedi Hasan Miraz became the youngest<br />
Bangladeshi to pick up five wickets<br />
on debut as the opening day of the first<br />
Test match well and truly belonged to<br />
the home side. PAGE 32
2<br />
FRIDAY, OCTOBER <strong>21</strong>, <strong>2016</strong><br />
<strong>DT</strong><br />
News<br />
Razzak: New committee to be a<br />
Ahead of the 20th council of the ruling Awami League Dhaka Tribune’s Mohammad Abu<br />
Bakar Siddique talked to the Convener of the Constitution Sub-Committee and Agriculture and<br />
Cooperatives Affairs Secretary of the party, Dr Abdur Razzak, on a wide range of issues centring<br />
the council of Bangladesh’s oldest political party<br />
What are the fundamental changes<br />
that are likely to be brought about<br />
in the declaration of the party<br />
council?<br />
Awami League is the oldest and the<br />
largest party of the country. Every<br />
council of the party is a milestone<br />
in the history of the nation and so<br />
is the 20th council. You know, we<br />
have some challenges to take on in<br />
the competitive world and in the<br />
era of open market economy. There<br />
are some emerging challenges too.<br />
Add to that new agendas in the<br />
geopolitical context. There are already<br />
some issues while some others<br />
are new, emerging ones. This<br />
country of ours has a huge population<br />
having a hell lot of economic<br />
challenges. Given the context we<br />
take up new programmes and set<br />
our goals anew in every council.<br />
Another aspect is that we try to<br />
find out the effective ways or the<br />
road-map in order to implement<br />
the aims and goals or vision we set<br />
and we undertake our programmes<br />
in the council accordingly. We also<br />
determine a structure best suited<br />
to the party to pursue the goals.<br />
At present the size and strength<br />
of the party is increasing and<br />
working area is widening. We are<br />
mulling over a plan to make some<br />
recommendations for deciding<br />
on the size of the party. Given the<br />
country’s context, we declared an<br />
elaborate vision to be achieved by<br />
20<strong>21</strong> apart from formulating the<br />
sixth Five-Year Plan.<br />
By this time, we have implemented<br />
the MDG goals: Bangladesh<br />
is now appreciated all over<br />
the world for its performance in<br />
alleviating poverty and achievement<br />
in attaining other MDGs,<br />
like reducing maternal and child<br />
mortality rates, girls’ enrolment<br />
into schools. Bangladesh is doing<br />
extremely well in achieving the 17<br />
targets. In order to keep it up and<br />
move ahead in line with this development,<br />
we have adopted our programmes.<br />
We proposed the changes<br />
eying the upcoming election in<br />
2019. And the changes and the new<br />
declarations will be reflected in the<br />
election manifesto.<br />
We had a meeting of the executive<br />
committee of our party<br />
Internet service may be<br />
disrupted for 5 days<br />
• Tribune Desk<br />
Internet service in Bangladesh might<br />
be disrupted for five days as the<br />
submarine cable at Singapore end will<br />
undergo a repair work.<br />
The disruption might begin around<br />
Sunday midnight and continue till<br />
2pm on <strong>October</strong> 27, a statement by<br />
Bangladesh Telecommunication Company<br />
Limited (BTCL) said yesterday.<br />
Earlier, the BTCL said that the<br />
repair work would start at 12:30am on<br />
<strong>Friday</strong> and end on <strong>October</strong> 26.<br />
Despite the disruption, BTCL<br />
would continue its services through<br />
alternative means, Assistant Director<br />
Tohura Sultana said in a statement.<br />
Chief Strategy Officer of Fibre@<br />
home Limited Suman Ahmed Davis<br />
told the Dhaka Tribune: “During the<br />
repair work, Singapore based traffic in<br />
Bangladesh will not get qualitative service<br />
but International Terrestrial Cable<br />
(ITC) based service or other subscribers<br />
will not face any disruption.”<br />
Meanwhile, BTCL Director (public<br />
relations and publication) Meer<br />
Mohammad Morshed told BSS: “The<br />
SEA-ME-WE-4 Consortium would<br />
carry out maintenance work of the<br />
undersea cable at its Singapore end<br />
from 12am of <strong>October</strong> 23 to 2pm of<br />
<strong>October</strong> 27 that may disrupt internet<br />
service temporarily in the country.”<br />
Bangladesh is now connected with<br />
lone submarine cable SEA-ME-WE-4.<br />
But, it has already joined another consortium<br />
SEA-ME-WE-5 that is expected<br />
to be connected with the country<br />
in December. Besides, the country is<br />
connected with ITC through different<br />
Indian companies. •<br />
CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1<br />
Fury at debate as Trump refuses pledge<br />
restore hope to his campaign just<br />
20 days before Election Day.<br />
Dogged by allegations of sexual<br />
misconduct, trailing in the polls<br />
and losing ground in key swing<br />
states, the 70-year-old was looking<br />
to capitalize on his last major<br />
chance to woo wavering voters.<br />
“The media is so dishonest and so<br />
corrupt and the pile-on is so amazing,”<br />
Trump said, referring to reports<br />
citing women accusing him of sexual<br />
assault, which he said were “fiction”<br />
and drummed up by Team Clinton.<br />
He alleged that millions of fake<br />
voters had been registered and that<br />
the 68-year-old Clinton should not<br />
even have been allowed to run because<br />
she mishandled classified<br />
State Department emails.<br />
Even some Republican lawmakers<br />
were outraged. Senator Jeff<br />
Flake said Trump was “beyond<br />
the pale” and onetime presidential<br />
candidate Senator Lindsey Graham<br />
said if Trump loses, it will be “because<br />
he failed as a candidate.”<br />
Democrats called on Republican<br />
leaders to repudiate “Trump’s utter<br />
contempt for our democracy,” as<br />
Nevada Senator Harry Reid put it.<br />
“One of our hallmarks has always<br />
been we accept the outcome<br />
of our elections,” Clinton told reporters<br />
as she flew home to White<br />
Plains, New York.<br />
“So what he said tonight is part<br />
of his whole effort to blame somebody<br />
else for his campaign, and<br />
where he stands in this election.”<br />
The extraordinary exchange<br />
was only one of a series of ferocious<br />
clashes, as the two stonyfaced<br />
candidates faced off from behind<br />
podiums on everything from<br />
immigration to Syria.<br />
At one point, Trump broke into<br />
one of Clinton’s responses to call<br />
her “such a nasty woman.” The<br />
candidates took and left the stage<br />
without shaking hands.<br />
Ripped from womb<br />
The former secretary of state scored<br />
an early hit against the Republican<br />
property mogul, alleging that Russian<br />
President Vladimir Putin was<br />
backing his run for office.<br />
Clinton cited reports from US intelligence<br />
agencies that Russian cyber<br />
attacks had targeted her party<br />
and campaign and demanded that<br />
Trump condemn the interference.<br />
“They have hacked American<br />
websites, American accounts of<br />
private people, of institutions,” she<br />
declared.<br />
“Then they have given that information<br />
to WikiLeaks for the purpose<br />
of putting it on the internet.”<br />
The Manhattan billionaire appeared<br />
not to mind giving credence<br />
to the charge that he sides with<br />
Moscow rather than Washington’s<br />
own intelligence agencies, declaring:<br />
“Our country has no idea.”<br />
Trump argued that he might negotiate<br />
better relations with Moscow<br />
than Clinton would, declaring:<br />
“Putin, from everything I see, has<br />
no respect for this person.”<br />
Clinton’s response was sharp:<br />
“Well, that’s because he would<br />
rather have a puppet as president<br />
of the United States.”<br />
Trump blustered back: “No puppet.<br />
You’re the puppet.”<br />
In what has been a bitter campaign,<br />
the two White House hopefuls<br />
got off to a subdued but oddly<br />
substantive start to the debate,<br />
compared to previous brawls.<br />
They were asked about their<br />
vision for the Supreme Court,<br />
prompting Clinton to argue the<br />
election was about “what kind of<br />
country are we going to be.”<br />
She insisted gay rights and women’s<br />
rights must not be rolled back. •<br />
RAJIB DHAR
lend of old and new<br />
News 3<br />
FRIDAY, OCTOBER <strong>21</strong>, <strong>2016</strong><br />
<strong>DT</strong><br />
on Wednesday that approved the<br />
proposal to expand the size of the<br />
committee. However, the draft of<br />
the new constitution will be presented<br />
before the council. If the<br />
councillors give their nod, it will be<br />
adopted.<br />
A proposal is there to increase the<br />
size of the central committee from<br />
73 to 81. There will be a 19-member<br />
presidium in place of the present<br />
15-member one. The party will<br />
get four joint secretaries instead of<br />
three in the present committee. And<br />
two more organising secretaries and<br />
two more members were proposed<br />
for the new committee. Besides,<br />
the constitution subcommittee also<br />
proposed not including any convicted<br />
killers of Bangabandhu and war<br />
criminals in the committee.<br />
What kind of changes is the party<br />
going to make in the leadership?<br />
Can you specify some concrete<br />
examples?<br />
I cannot say anything about this exactly.<br />
New faces might come. The<br />
existing committee might be reshuffled<br />
with a new general secretary;<br />
new faces might also be included in<br />
the other posts too like that of the<br />
organising secretary or joint secretary.<br />
New faces in the new committee<br />
is pretty much natural. But<br />
we are mulling a committee with<br />
the combination of old and young<br />
generations to strengthen the party.<br />
We want to make the party more dynamic<br />
and more organised.<br />
What does this council mean to the<br />
party, its activists and the future of<br />
the country?<br />
We said we would bring all the<br />
party activists and leaders together.<br />
The goal is to unite the party<br />
members at the grassroots level to<br />
achieve the party vision.<br />
Is there any resolution that is going<br />
to be added to the existing ones?<br />
We want the new leadership to<br />
continue the developments that<br />
we have achieved. Our target is to<br />
become a rich country, a country<br />
without poverty. And according to<br />
the SDGs, we have the aim to ensure<br />
there would be no poverty by 2030.<br />
By 20<strong>21</strong>, we want to make it a<br />
middle income country. We want<br />
to reduce poverty, increase investment,<br />
the revenue and GDP,<br />
we want to expand the role of the<br />
manufacturing sector. And our political<br />
goal is to make the country a<br />
proper democratic state.<br />
We want to ensure a democratic,<br />
secular ambiance. We will work to<br />
that end. We will continue to fight<br />
against fundamentalism and militancy.<br />
We are committed to fighting<br />
Jamaat chief Maqbul’s 1971 role under scanner<br />
After serving his party for six years<br />
as the acting ameer, Maqbul took<br />
oath on Monday after being elected<br />
as the new chief of the anti-liberation<br />
party. Most of the top leaders<br />
of the party have been convicted or<br />
executed after trial.<br />
Meanwhile, the freedom fighters<br />
in Feni raised allegations of<br />
Maqbul’s involvement in atrocities<br />
committed by Peace Committee<br />
and razakar force – formed by Jamaat<br />
– in Dagonbhuiyan Upazila of<br />
the district during the 1971 Liberation<br />
War.<br />
According to Feni district freedom<br />
fighters’ Commander Mir Abdul<br />
Hannan, Maqbul was a razakar<br />
leader of Dagonbhuiyan during the<br />
war.<br />
Upon his directives, members<br />
of al-Badr and razakar forces had<br />
abducted freedom fighter Maulana<br />
Waz Uddin, a former leader of<br />
Bangladesh Students Union and<br />
vice-president of Feni College<br />
Central Students’ Union, and later<br />
killed him in Chittagong, he said.<br />
Dagonbhuiyan unit Commander<br />
of freedom fighters Shariat Ullah<br />
Bangali accused Maqbul of masterminding<br />
the death of 10 Hindus at<br />
Laalpur village of Joylaskar Union<br />
CCTV cameras have been installed ahead of Awami League council to beef up<br />
security<br />
MAHMUD HOSSAIN OPU<br />
in the upazila. The victims were<br />
burnt to death.<br />
“In another incident, razakar<br />
Mosharraf Hossain Mosha killed<br />
freedom fighter Ahsan Ullah of<br />
Khushipur village of the upazila on<br />
the order by Maqbul. Mosha, hailing<br />
from Safua village, is still alive,”<br />
Shariat told the Dhaka Tribune,<br />
demanding investigation into the<br />
allegations against the new Jamaat<br />
chief.<br />
Mir Hannan alleged that around<br />
200 razakars of Feni including<br />
Maqbul had been enjoying impunity<br />
as no charges were brought<br />
against them at the International<br />
Crimes Tribunal.<br />
Jamaat has refuted the allegations<br />
as baseless and imaginary.<br />
During the war, the Jamaat<br />
top brass had branded the freedom<br />
fighters as miscreants, atheists<br />
and agents of India, and took<br />
part in genocide, rape, looting<br />
and arson attacks in collaboration<br />
with the Pakistani occupation<br />
forces.<br />
After taking oath, Maqbul in a<br />
written statement the same day<br />
recalled the contribution and sacrifice<br />
of the “valiant and courageous<br />
freedom fighters and the people of<br />
CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1<br />
all classes” in 1971. He also mentioned<br />
the names of Sheikh Mujibur<br />
Rahman, Ziaur Rahman, Maulana<br />
Abdul Hamid Khan Bhashani and<br />
General Ataul Gani Osmani.<br />
In the same statement, Maqbul,<br />
however, claimed that the “authoritarian”<br />
government had “unlawfully”<br />
executed five Jamaat leaders<br />
“because of their pro-active and<br />
dynamic roles.”<br />
The government has executed<br />
the death penalties of Motiur Rahman<br />
Nizami, Ali Ahsan Mohammad<br />
Mujahid; Muhammad Kamaruzzaman,<br />
Abdul Quader Molla and<br />
Mir Quasem Ali.<br />
Jamaat guru Ghulam Azam, who<br />
was given 90 years’ jail due to old<br />
age though his crimes amounted<br />
to capital punishment, died when<br />
the appeals case was pending with<br />
the Appellate Division. Another Jamaat<br />
leader AKM Yusuf died in jail<br />
during the trial period.<br />
Maqbul also claimed that Jamaat<br />
leaders Abdus Subhan, Delawar<br />
Hossain Sayedee and ATM Azharul<br />
Islam had been kept in jail to face<br />
slow death as they were sentenced<br />
on the basis of “false and baseless”<br />
allegations of crimes against humanity.<br />
•<br />
against terrorism in the regional and<br />
international spheres. We will maintain<br />
zero tolerance towards terrorism.<br />
You have been named as one of the<br />
potential party general secretary<br />
candidates. Who do you think will<br />
be the party secretary in the next<br />
council? What would you do if you<br />
were made the general secretary<br />
of the party?<br />
I do not know about it. I have never<br />
thought of it but I am committed to<br />
working for the country’s democracy<br />
with an inclusive approach<br />
excepting Jamaat, the party that<br />
worked against the country’s Liberation<br />
War and independence.<br />
The BNP said they expected<br />
democracy to be restored through<br />
the council. Do you have any<br />
comment on this statement?<br />
It is a democratic country. Elections<br />
are held constitutionally but<br />
election is just one aspect of democracy.<br />
There might be political<br />
programmes like hartal, blockade,<br />
movement, rally or procession etc.<br />
These are not unexpected in democratic<br />
politics. If we make any mistake<br />
as the government, they will<br />
protest. But this is not acceptable or<br />
understandable when they unleash<br />
violence and subversive activities in<br />
the name of hartal or blockade. Now<br />
there is democracy in the country.<br />
There are many newspapers, electronic<br />
media, online portals; people<br />
are writing or publishing whatever<br />
they like. Press is another aspect,<br />
the fourth pillar of democracy.<br />
There is elections in every sphere<br />
– from local to national level. But<br />
they (BNP) made a mistake in not<br />
taking part in the January 5 elections.<br />
We hope that they would take<br />
part in the next election to be held<br />
in 2019. We will seek their support<br />
to hold free and fair election.<br />
Is Sajeeb Wazed Joy coming to<br />
the leadership from the young<br />
generation?<br />
Joy is already contributing, more or<br />
less, to the party despite having no<br />
post. He is doing it for the government<br />
too. He helps development<br />
activities. With his professional<br />
expertise, he is contributing to the<br />
IT sector. He is performing a lot of<br />
responsibilities for the party and<br />
government as well. However, it is<br />
not known to me if he is coming to<br />
the leadership.<br />
In what process will the leadership<br />
be decided? What are going to<br />
be crucial factors in deciding<br />
leadership?<br />
The leadership will be elected as it<br />
is inscribed in our party constitution.<br />
Normally, those who have experience<br />
of running the party with<br />
organisational capability would be<br />
brought in. •<br />
Suhrawardy to be<br />
remembered in<br />
AL council<br />
• Tribune Desk<br />
Awami League (AL) will remember<br />
Huseyn Shaheed Suhrawardy<br />
along with father of the Nation<br />
Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman<br />
in their upcoming council.<br />
An invitation letter sent to a foreign<br />
dignitary, seen by the Dhaka<br />
Tribune, also suggested that the<br />
council came as an opportunity<br />
for the party to share the “indelible<br />
contributions” of the two great<br />
leaders of the nation.<br />
During the council, the contribution<br />
of the daughter of Bangabandhu,<br />
Sheikh Hasina, the existing party<br />
president and the prime minister<br />
of the country, in the political evolution<br />
of the country will also be remembered,<br />
read the invitation.<br />
Rashidul Mahmud Rasel, a member<br />
of the reception subcommittee<br />
formed for the upcoming council<br />
told Dhaka Tribune: “With the father<br />
of the nation, we would also remember<br />
Huseyn Shaheed Suhrawardy,<br />
who was president of the party in<br />
1953, as an ideological leader of AL.”<br />
“We will acknowledge his influence<br />
in making the history of the<br />
nation with great respect” he said.<br />
He also said: “Bangabandhu was<br />
in close contact with Suhrawardy<br />
from the days of involvement in<br />
politics as a student in Kolkata before<br />
the partition. After partition,<br />
he was a guide to Bangabandhu.” •
4<br />
FRIDAY, OCTOBER <strong>21</strong>, <strong>2016</strong><br />
<strong>DT</strong><br />
News<br />
TIB: Don’t take<br />
World Bank’s<br />
$2 billion<br />
• UNB<br />
Transparency International<br />
Bangladesh (TIB) has voiced<br />
concerns over the World<br />
Bank’s intention of expanding<br />
its lending portfolio by providing<br />
a loan of $2 billion to Bangladesh<br />
as climate finance over<br />
the next three years.<br />
In a statement yesterday,<br />
TIB executive director Iftekharuzzaman<br />
called upon<br />
the World Bank to recognise<br />
that to address challenges of<br />
climate change, Bangladesh<br />
is entitled to compensation in<br />
the form of grants, rather than<br />
loans.<br />
“It is unacceptable that the<br />
Bank appears to see an opportunity<br />
for expanding its business<br />
of lending in Bangladesh<br />
in the name of standing by<br />
‘the poor and the hardest hit’<br />
as a result of global climate<br />
change,” Iftekharuzzaman<br />
said.<br />
Welcoming WB President<br />
Jim Kim’s emphasis on governance<br />
and zero tolerance<br />
against corruption during his<br />
visit to Dhaka, the TIB chief<br />
said if the Bank is genuinely<br />
interested to support Bangladesh<br />
on account of climate<br />
change, it should refrain from<br />
increasing further indebtedness<br />
of Bangladesh.<br />
“Instead, the Bank should<br />
seek ways to contribute to the<br />
processes that may ensure<br />
that Bangladesh receives the<br />
promised compensation from<br />
the developed countries responsible<br />
for climate change,”<br />
he said.<br />
As one of the countries<br />
most affected by global climate<br />
change, the statement said,<br />
Bangladesh is already acutely<br />
vulnerable. The climate-affected<br />
people of this country<br />
cannot afford to further<br />
accentuate their vulnerability<br />
in the form of interest payable<br />
to the mega lending group<br />
even if such loans are offered<br />
at the best possible concessional<br />
terms.<br />
“If the World Bank is interested<br />
to expand its lending<br />
business in Bangladesh we<br />
ask it to explore other areas<br />
of public interest where,<br />
unlike climate finance, interest-free<br />
grants are unavailable.<br />
The Bank will do well to<br />
apply whatever capacity and<br />
expertise it may have to facilitate<br />
easier and enhanced<br />
scope of Bangladesh’s access<br />
to grants from such sources as<br />
the Green Climate Fund,” the<br />
statement added.<br />
TIB called upon the government<br />
not to accept any loans<br />
for climate finance, especially<br />
when grants should be made<br />
available as compensation.<br />
“We also appeal to the government<br />
to deploy all political,<br />
technical and diplomatic skill<br />
and expertise at its disposal to<br />
persuade the developed countries<br />
to deliver on their commitment<br />
to provide compensation”,<br />
the statement said. •<br />
The National Committee to Protect Oil, Gas, Mineral Resources and Ports yesterday stages a demonstration in front of the National Press<br />
Club protesting police attack on its procession demanding cancellation of Rampal Powe Plant<br />
DHAKA TRIBUNE<br />
3,6<strong>21</strong> pilgrims yet to return from<br />
Saudi Arabia after last flight<br />
• Tribune Desk<br />
The last flight of Biman Bangladesh<br />
Airlines for carrying homebound pilgrims<br />
arrived Dhaka on <strong>October</strong> 17 and<br />
the last Saudi Airlines flight reached<br />
yesterday, leaving a number of 3,6<strong>21</strong><br />
pilgrims stranded in Saudi Arabia who<br />
are yet to return to the country.<br />
This year 1,01,758 pilgrims went to<br />
Saudi Arabia to perform Hajj, but according<br />
to data provided yesterday by<br />
the Ministry of Religion, so far a number<br />
of 98,137 pilgrims came back to the<br />
country after performing Hajj. That<br />
means 3,6<strong>21</strong> pilgrims are still stranded<br />
in Saudi Arabia who might remain<br />
there illegally.<br />
When asked about these pilgrims<br />
reasons behind, Secretary of Ministry<br />
of Religion Abdul Jalil said: “Some pilgrims<br />
are coming back to the country<br />
by scheduled flight of other careers<br />
between Bangladesh – Saudi Arabia.”<br />
“We can inform about the number<br />
of those pilgrims on <strong>October</strong> 25,” he<br />
also said.<br />
The secretary said that it is not<br />
possible to remain there illegally as<br />
we can easily detect who stayed back<br />
there illegally, as everyone of the pilgrims<br />
went there using Machine Readable<br />
Passport (MRP).<br />
He also informed that Saudi Immigration<br />
is yet to inform about the number<br />
of pilgrims who remained in their<br />
country.<br />
“They will inform us on <strong>October</strong><br />
25,” he added. •<br />
Imam jailed for stalking<br />
schoolgirl<br />
• Md Taieyb Ali Sarker,<br />
Nilphamari<br />
A mobile court in Jaldhaka<br />
of Nilphamari has sentenced<br />
an imam of a local mosque to<br />
three months’ imprisonment<br />
for harassing a schoolgirl repeatedly.<br />
Maulana Nurunnabi, 32, the<br />
imam of Baktiar Para Utachhari<br />
mosque of the upazila,<br />
was sent to jail yesterday<br />
morning, Jaldhaka OC Mofiz<br />
Uddin told the Dhaka Tribune.<br />
The accused had long been<br />
proposing to marry the class X<br />
student of Jaldhaka Pilot High<br />
School on her way to and from<br />
the school.<br />
On Wednesday afternoon,<br />
Nurunnabi obstructed the girl<br />
again when she was returning<br />
home after attending an examination<br />
at the school.<br />
The girl informed the headmaster<br />
about the matter immediately,<br />
following which<br />
the teachers caught Nurunnabi<br />
and handed him over to the<br />
police.<br />
Upazila Nirbahi Officer<br />
Mohammad Rashedul<br />
Huq Pradhan conducted a<br />
hearing the same night and<br />
gave Nurunnabi three months’<br />
jail after he confessed his<br />
crimes. •
News 5<br />
FRIDAY, OCTOBER <strong>21</strong>, <strong>2016</strong><br />
DSCC mayor: Dhaka to be smart city by 2017<br />
• Abu Hayat Mahmud<br />
Dhaka South City Corporation<br />
(DSCC) Mayor Mohammad Sayeed<br />
Khokon, while speaking at a<br />
discussion, declared that Dhaka<br />
would be transformed into a smart<br />
city by the year 2017.<br />
He made the declaration yesterday<br />
during a panel discussion titled<br />
“Digital Bangladesh – Perspective<br />
Smart Dhaka” on the second day<br />
of Digital World <strong>2016</strong> Conference<br />
at International Convention City in<br />
Dhaka's Bashundhara area.<br />
The DSCC mayor, while speaking<br />
as the chief guest of the panel,<br />
said: “Smart city does not mean<br />
we will turn Dhaka into London or<br />
Singapore. It means there will be<br />
improvements to the city corporations’<br />
services such as waste management<br />
and infrastructure.”<br />
He promised that technologies<br />
would be integrated into all aspects<br />
of life in Dhaka city including<br />
transport and security. He also said<br />
that WiFi zones in the city would<br />
cover more areas with topnotch<br />
connectivity services.<br />
ICT entrepreneurs urge govt to<br />
ease tendering conditions<br />
• Ibrahim Hossain Ovi<br />
Local ICT entrepreneurs and<br />
professionals yesterday urged the<br />
government to ease tendering<br />
conditions so that they also can<br />
drop tenders and win contracts<br />
for digitisation of government<br />
services.<br />
ICT professionals and entrepreneurs<br />
made the appeal at a seminar<br />
on “Industry Readiness for Digitization<br />
of Government Service”<br />
where the government policy makers<br />
also participated.<br />
In response, government policy<br />
makers, however, urged the entrepreneurs<br />
to come up with best<br />
solutions and to show the capacity<br />
to take the risk of handling big projects.<br />
Bangladesh Association of Software<br />
and Information Services<br />
(BASIS) senior vice president Russell<br />
T Ahmed moderated the seminar,<br />
organised as part of the threeday<br />
“Digital World <strong>2016</strong>” Expo<br />
being held in Dhaka.<br />
At the seminar, entrepreneurs<br />
complained that the current<br />
process of bidding is not in favor<br />
of local entrepreneurs. If we want<br />
to boost the local industry, we<br />
Participants of a panel discussion titled ‘Digital Bangladesh - Perspective Smart Dhaka’ at the International Convention Centre<br />
in Bashundhara yesterday on the second day of the Digital World <strong>2016</strong> Conference<br />
MEHEDI HASAN<br />
“With integration of technology<br />
in transport related services, daily<br />
commuting will become easier for<br />
people,” he added.<br />
“Earlier we had announced <strong>2016</strong><br />
to be the year of cleaning the city<br />
and that is being implemented. The<br />
have to create space allowing<br />
them to work jointly with foreign<br />
companies.<br />
Proposing that the conditions<br />
in the tendering process should be<br />
in such way that local companies<br />
can participate and bid, Spectrum<br />
Engineering Consortium Limited<br />
Managing Director Forkan<br />
Bin Quasem said, “When a<br />
multinational company gets a<br />
software-implementing tender,<br />
it should be mandatory to have<br />
local agents with it, so that the<br />
local professionals can acquire<br />
knowledge and experience of big<br />
projects.”<br />
“If all the software-related tasks<br />
are done by the foreign companies,<br />
the local companies will have to<br />
do only the hardware-related tasks<br />
which would bar the growth of the<br />
sector,” he added.<br />
Stressing that digital literacy is<br />
very important to digitise the country,<br />
Microsoft Asia pacific Sales<br />
Director Arijit Roy, said, “We are<br />
working with partnership so that<br />
professionals of the country can be<br />
skilled and increase capacity.”<br />
Citing example of local ICT<br />
company Tiger IT which is now<br />
working in Nepal, REVE System<br />
year 2017 will be the year for Smart<br />
Dhaka,” he said.<br />
At the discussion, World Bank<br />
Consultant Isaac Kim presented<br />
the keynote paper for the session<br />
which was moderated by Mustafizur<br />
Rahman, innovation director of<br />
CEO M Rezaul Hasan said, “We<br />
have to prove that we can take<br />
risk and want to compete with<br />
everyone. If we cannot compete in<br />
the local market, then how we will<br />
be able to compete in the global<br />
market.”<br />
“The local entrepreneurs should<br />
come up with bigger plans and<br />
solution regarding digitisation<br />
of government services with<br />
challenges and BASIS should take<br />
the lead,” said State Minister for<br />
Ministry of Power, Energy and<br />
Mineral Resources Nasrul Hamid<br />
Bipu.<br />
Advising local professionals to<br />
forget about the high efficiency<br />
of multi-national companies, the<br />
state minister said, “You should<br />
take the risk and challenge. Show<br />
your capacity and compete with<br />
others. This is the time to deal with<br />
your confidence. The market is<br />
getting bigger and we have several<br />
ministries as well as companies to<br />
digitise,” said Nasrul.<br />
Talking on the opportunity<br />
of digitisation in the day to<br />
come, the minister said his<br />
ministry is going to float tender of<br />
$200 million to digitise the power<br />
division. •<br />
Access to Information (a2i) initiative<br />
under the PMO.<br />
Kim defined smart city as an<br />
innovative city where information<br />
and communications technology<br />
(ICT) and other technological implementations<br />
improve the quality<br />
<strong>DT</strong><br />
of life and make urban operation<br />
and services efficient while ensuring<br />
that it meets that needs of the<br />
present and future generations<br />
with respect to economic, social<br />
and environmental aspects.<br />
Ashok Kumar Seetharaman, director<br />
of the eGovernment Leadership<br />
Centre at National University<br />
of Singapore, said Dhaka's growing<br />
population and transport movement<br />
was a big challenge for the<br />
authorities<br />
He recommended that the<br />
authorities take steps to reduce<br />
private transport and introduce<br />
services such as Uber, a popular<br />
taxi-booking mobile application.<br />
According to it's website, Uber<br />
is planning to start it's service in<br />
Bangladesh.<br />
Other panelists at the event<br />
were Shyam Sunder Sikder, ICT<br />
secretary; Srikant Kadambi, director<br />
public sector, Microsoft APAC;<br />
Zhou Henghui, senior smart city<br />
planner at ZTE Corporation; and<br />
Derek Sun, vice president of government,<br />
public utility sector at<br />
Huawei Technologies. •<br />
‘Govt has to lead in creating<br />
mobile financial services’<br />
• Ishtiaq Husain<br />
To get the most benefit from mobile<br />
financial services, the government<br />
will have to lead the way in establishing<br />
infrastructure for the sector<br />
and make the industry friendly,<br />
policy experts said yesterday.<br />
The view came during a seminar<br />
titled “Inclusive Finance through<br />
Technologies” at the International<br />
Convention Centre in Dhaka’<br />
Bashundhara on the sidelines of<br />
Digital World <strong>2016</strong> Conference.<br />
Yesterday was the second day of<br />
the three-day conference.<br />
At the seminar, keynote speaker<br />
Krishnan Dharmarajan, executive director<br />
of Center for Digital Financial<br />
Inclusion, talked about barriers of<br />
technology based financial services.<br />
He said: “Bangladesh has a huge<br />
population but a large percentage<br />
of it is economically weak.”<br />
“Low literacy and awareness<br />
about financial products are a barrier<br />
for technology based financial<br />
inclusion,” Dharmarajan added.<br />
He also criticised the existing<br />
mobile financial services saying<br />
that the existing model was designed<br />
to cater only to the urban<br />
customer segment.<br />
Sanjay Patel, South East Asia<br />
specialist sales director, APAC, said:<br />
“MFS is needed for everyday life as<br />
an access to sustainable and secure<br />
financial services which contributes<br />
directly in increasing income and reducing<br />
vulnerability for the poor.” •<br />
TEMPERATURE FORECAST FOR TODAY<br />
Dhaka 33 <strong>21</strong> Chittagong 34 24 Rajshahi 33 19 Rangpur 32 19 Khulna 33 20 Barisal 33 22 Sylhet 34 20<br />
Cox’s Bazar 33 25<br />
PARTLY CLOUDY<br />
FRIDAY, OCTOBER <strong>21</strong><br />
DHAKA<br />
TODAY<br />
TOMORROW<br />
SUN SETS 5:28PM<br />
SUN RISES 5:59AM<br />
YESTERDAY’S HIGH AND LOW<br />
35.4ºC<br />
19.5ºC<br />
Jessore<br />
Tetulia<br />
Source: Accuweather/UNB<br />
PRAYER<br />
TIMES<br />
Fajr: 5:25am | Jumma: 1:15pm<br />
Asr: 4:15pm | Magrib: 5:41pm<br />
Esha: 7:45pm<br />
Source: Islamic Foundation
6<br />
FRIDAY, OCTOBER <strong>21</strong>, <strong>2016</strong><br />
<strong>DT</strong><br />
News<br />
Kamal: None of the forest robbers,<br />
pirates, militants be spared<br />
• Tariqul Islam, Barguna<br />
A forest robber is seen surrendering a firearm to home minister at Barguna circuit house yesterday<br />
Minister for Home Affairs Asaduzzaman<br />
Khan Kamal yesterday said<br />
none of forest robbers, pirates and<br />
militants would not be spared.<br />
He also urged all the people who<br />
are involded in anti-state activities<br />
to surrender and lead a normal<br />
life.”<br />
The minister made the comment<br />
while addressing a surrender<br />
ceremony of 14 forest robbers on<br />
Barguna Circuit House premises in<br />
the morning.<br />
At the programmes, ringleader<br />
of forest robbers Sagar and his 13<br />
cohorts have surrendered to Rapid<br />
Action Battalion along with a large<br />
amount of firearms and ammunition.<br />
The surrendered pirates are<br />
ringleader Alamgir Sheikh alias<br />
Sagar, Kamrul Fakir, Abdul Malek,<br />
Kader Sheikh, Hafizur Rahman,<br />
Kabir Sardar, Delwar Sheikh, Hasan<br />
Sardar, Nanna Fakir, Tauhidul Islam,<br />
Razu Sheikh, Litan Hawlader<br />
and Tariqul Gazi.<br />
They formally surrendered in<br />
presence of Home Minister Asaduzzaman<br />
Khan Kamal and RAB<br />
Director General Benazir Ahmed at<br />
Barguna Circuit House premises on<br />
Thursday morning.<br />
Initially the pirates surrendered<br />
to RAB on <strong>October</strong> 19 during a raid<br />
in Sundarbans. They laid down<br />
their arms including- 20 foreign<br />
and locals guns and over 500<br />
rounds of bullets.<br />
On September 8, fourteen robbers<br />
of two Sundarbans-based<br />
DHAKA TRIBUNE<br />
pirate gangs surrendered to law<br />
enforcers with arms and ammunition<br />
in presence of Home Minister<br />
Asaduzzaman Khan Kamal at the<br />
headquarters of Rapid Action Battalion<br />
(RAB) in Barisal city. •<br />
Motaleb Hossain Lipu<br />
RU student<br />
found dead<br />
• Abdullah Al Dulal, Rajshahi<br />
A student’s blood-stained body was<br />
found on the campus of Rajshahi<br />
University yesterday morning.<br />
University staff found the body<br />
of Motaleb Hossain Lipu, 22, in a<br />
drain behind the Abdul Latif Hall<br />
around 8am and informed police<br />
about the matter.<br />
Officer-in-Charge of Motihar<br />
police station Humayun Kabir<br />
said the body was recovered from<br />
a drain behind the hall’s dining<br />
room.<br />
Lipu was a resident of room 253<br />
at Abdul Latif Hall. He was a second<br />
year student of the Mass Communication<br />
and Journalism department.<br />
His hometown is Mukimpur<br />
village, Jhenaidah.<br />
The body has been sent to Rajshahi<br />
Medical College morgue for<br />
an autopsy, said OC Humayun. •<br />
Enormous irregularities<br />
surface over Tk10 rice<br />
• SM Samsur Rahman,<br />
Bagerhat<br />
The government has trying to<br />
eradicate sufferings of the ultra<br />
poor people through providing<br />
rice at Tk10 per kilogram for<br />
five months a year during the<br />
lean season.<br />
But a section of ruling party<br />
men and unscrupulous local representatives<br />
of Bagerhat district<br />
are spoiling government’s efforts.<br />
Locals alleged that local ruling<br />
party men and representatives<br />
are committing irregularities<br />
with Tk10 rice distribution.<br />
Local leaders of Awami<br />
League and deprived of the district<br />
said, responsible people<br />
have listed solvent people and<br />
distributed cards among them<br />
instead of poor and helpless,<br />
enrolled name of keens and<br />
relatives in the lists, inscribed<br />
names by taking bribe, appointed<br />
ruling party men as distributors,<br />
name of several members<br />
of a family listed, given cards<br />
to government employees, taken<br />
Tk300 but distributed 15-20<br />
kg rice instead of 30kg, offered<br />
cards to vulnerable group feeding<br />
(VGF) card holders, provide<br />
less rice in weight and not submit<br />
list to local authorities.<br />
In Kachua upazila, local<br />
leaders of ruling party and local<br />
representatives distributed<br />
cards after taking Tk10 for per<br />
card, put government officials<br />
and rich people’s names in the<br />
lists. During rice distributing<br />
processes dealers of the upazila<br />
are giving less rice weight.<br />
Momotaj Begum, headmaster<br />
of a local primary school,<br />
said: “Local representatives<br />
enlisted me and my husband’s<br />
name without our concerns.”<br />
Nakib Faisal Ohid, chairman<br />
of Badhal union in the upazila,<br />
said: “Local people have added<br />
his relative’s names in the list<br />
mistakenly.”<br />
In Morrelganj upazila, local<br />
people contended that influential<br />
leaders with the help of<br />
local chairmen and members<br />
took Tk200 to Tk500 from poor<br />
people to enlist their names<br />
in the lists. However, helpless<br />
people of Putikhali union did<br />
not get rice as chairman of the<br />
union failed to submit lists of<br />
poor people local people.<br />
Shachan Mia Shamim, chairman<br />
of Putikhali union, ignored<br />
the allegation and said:<br />
“Due to insufficient of rice authorities<br />
have failed to distribute<br />
them rice.” •
AL’S NATIONAL COUNCIL<br />
Narayanganj AL expecting<br />
central committee posts<br />
• Tanveer Hossain,<br />
Narayanganj<br />
Narayanganj has a historic association<br />
with Awami League.<br />
The district with five upazilas<br />
had played significant roles in Language<br />
Movement and Liberation<br />
War both. Despite this rich political<br />
background, Narayanganj Awami<br />
League could not bag any place<br />
in the cabinet as well as in Awami<br />
League central committee. That is<br />
why the leaders and activists of the<br />
district Awami League are looking<br />
forward to the upcoming national<br />
council of the party.<br />
They are expecting lawmakers<br />
Shamim Osman and Nazrul Islam<br />
300 shops,<br />
houses gutted<br />
• Ziaul Haque, Rangamati<br />
News 7<br />
FRIDAY, OCTOBER <strong>21</strong>, <strong>2016</strong><br />
Babu to be elected as the central<br />
committee members, because in<br />
the district Awami League committee,<br />
which was declared on <strong>October</strong><br />
9 after long 14 years, Shamim and<br />
Babu did not get any position.<br />
The 20th national council of the<br />
ruling party is going to be held in<br />
the capital’s Suhrawardy Uddan<br />
on 22-23 <strong>October</strong>, while the party’s<br />
central committee will be formed<br />
through voting.<br />
A total of 169 councillors, who<br />
will vote in election of the central<br />
committee, and the same number<br />
of activists from Narayanganj<br />
would join the three-yearly council,<br />
said Abdul Hye, president of<br />
the district AL and also administrator<br />
of Zila Parishad.<br />
But many more were interested<br />
to go to Dhaka, at least, to witness<br />
the council, said M Saifullah Badal,<br />
president of Fatullah Awami<br />
League.<br />
Despite prevalent excitement<br />
ahead of the council, no decoration<br />
or lighting is seen in the town, even<br />
in the party office, and important<br />
places of the district.<br />
Khokon Shaha, general secretary<br />
to Narayanganj city Awami<br />
League, said as they would go to<br />
the council in a grand caravan of<br />
buses and would present themselves<br />
differently, they did not concentrate<br />
on the decoration of the<br />
places. •<br />
KGDCL goes tough on<br />
misuse of gas<br />
• Anwar Hussain, Chittagong<br />
Karnaphuli Gas Distribution Company<br />
Ltd (KGDCL) has launched<br />
a special drive to check misuse of<br />
gas.<br />
The gas distribution company<br />
has formed a total of 18 vigilance<br />
teams for conducting the drives<br />
against misuse of gas.<br />
From <strong>October</strong> 2014 till September<br />
<strong>2016</strong>, the vigilance teams of the<br />
KGDCL severed as many as 2,344<br />
connections, including 2,152 domestic<br />
and 120 commercial ones<br />
for illegally using gas.<br />
The gas distribution company<br />
also suspended supplying gas<br />
to a total of 12,690 consumers for<br />
arrears. Later, 10,785 consumers<br />
were given reconnections as they<br />
cleared off the outstanding bills<br />
amounting to Tk 44.40 lakh.<br />
Police to ban hawkers from public transport<br />
<strong>DT</strong><br />
As per Bangladesh Gas Act 2010,<br />
an illegal gas user can be awarded<br />
with three months to one year imprisonment<br />
and fined ranging from<br />
Tk10,000 to Tk5 lakh.<br />
The vigilance teams also removed<br />
3,569 feet long illegal gas<br />
pipeline after conducting drives in<br />
many parts of the city in the last<br />
two years.<br />
A total of 31 mobile courts were<br />
also conducted by the executive<br />
magistrates of Chittagong district<br />
administration in the last 24<br />
months where 181 gas connections<br />
were severed and 694 cluster gas<br />
cylinders were seized.<br />
The mobile courts sentenced eight<br />
offenders with different terms of imprisonment<br />
and realised Tk11.10 lakh<br />
as fine. A total of 13 cases were filed<br />
against offenders during the drives of<br />
the mobile courts. •<br />
An elderly woman was killed and<br />
300 shops and houses were burnt<br />
in a fire at Durchhari Bazar, Bagaichhari<br />
upazila, Rangamati early<br />
yesterday.<br />
The deceased was identified as<br />
Shikha Saha.<br />
The fire originated from a shop<br />
namely Sunil Dey Bedding Store<br />
around 12:30am.<br />
As there are no available fire services<br />
in Baghaichhari, the nearest<br />
firefighters were called from Khagrachhari,<br />
but it could not reach<br />
the area due to the inaccessible<br />
hilly roads.<br />
Upazila Nirbahi Officer Tajul Islam<br />
said: “This disaster could not<br />
be stopped in time due to unavailability<br />
of fire service in the upazila.”<br />
Later, BGB, army and police personnel<br />
along with the locals went<br />
to the spot and brought the fire under<br />
control. • A fire breaks out at Durchhari Bazar, Bagaichhari upazila, Rangamati early yesterday that left one person killed and 300 houses and shops gutted DHAKA TRIBUNE<br />
• Arifur Rahman Rabbi<br />
The Dhaka Metropolitan Police<br />
(DMP) plans to ban hawkers from<br />
public transport following the arrest<br />
of 19 doping gang members,<br />
yesterday.<br />
Dope gang members are known<br />
to sedate people without their<br />
knowledge with rubbing sedative<br />
ointments on their noses and robbing<br />
them of their possessions.<br />
They usually pose as hawkers on<br />
public transport.<br />
DB Joint Commissioner Abdul<br />
Baten said: “DMP is planning to ban<br />
hawkers from conducting business<br />
inside buses so that we can prevent<br />
the activities of dope gangs.”<br />
“We will take a decision regarding<br />
the matter after holding meetings<br />
with the proper authorities<br />
and transport owners’ association,”<br />
he added. Police have found<br />
that the dope gangs have increased<br />
their activities recently, he said.<br />
“The dope gang members return<br />
to their criminal activity after being<br />
released from jail or securing bail,<br />
said Baten.<br />
We will take a<br />
decision regarding<br />
the matter after<br />
holding meetings<br />
with the proper<br />
authorities and<br />
transport owners’<br />
association<br />
Last week, DB police have raided<br />
different areas of the capital and<br />
have arrested 19 members of dope<br />
gangs on Wednesday, added the<br />
official.<br />
They were identified as Jamal,<br />
Sayed, Rana, Enamul Haque alias<br />
Enam, Abul Hossain, Arif Hossain,<br />
Mona, Almaj Shekh, Imran Ali,<br />
Milon Patoary, Milon alias Patkata<br />
Milon, Rana, Alamgir, Shajib,<br />
Rubel, Manik Rahman alias Saju,<br />
Shakil Siddik, Sujon and Joynal.<br />
They were arrested from<br />
Sayedabad and Gabtoli bus terminals,<br />
Bongshal, Bhatara, Kamalapur<br />
BRTC bus stand and some<br />
other areas of Dhaka.<br />
Joint Commissioner Baten said<br />
that a lot of these criminals are not<br />
from Dhaka, they come here from<br />
adjoining districts and usually join<br />
such snatching gangs first.<br />
These crimes usually go unreported<br />
as victims prefer not to get<br />
into a legal hassle, he said.<br />
“We are trying to prevent such<br />
crimes and have taken additional<br />
security measures in the strategic<br />
points of the city and shopping<br />
malls to catch these criminals,”<br />
added Baten. •
<strong>DT</strong><br />
8<br />
World<br />
FRIDAY, OCTOBER <strong>21</strong>, <strong>2016</strong><br />
SOUTH ASIA<br />
UN urges Sri Lanka to<br />
reduce army’s grasp<br />
A UN rights expert Thursday reiterated<br />
calls for Sri Lanka to step up<br />
reconciliation efforts and reduce<br />
the military presence in former war<br />
zones seven years after the end of<br />
fighting. UN minority rights expert<br />
Rita Izsak-Ndiaye urged the government<br />
to press ahead with healing<br />
the wounds of the conflict, after<br />
coming to power last year promising<br />
reforms and reconciliation. AFP<br />
INDIA<br />
Indian court acquits 14 over<br />
2002 Gujarat massacre<br />
An Indian court on Thursday upheld<br />
appeals by 14 Hindus convicted over<br />
the massacre of 33 Muslims burnt<br />
alive during some of the worst religious<br />
unrest the country has seen<br />
since independence. The victims<br />
had crowded into a small house<br />
seeking shelter during a wave of<br />
anti-Muslim violence in the western<br />
state of Gujarat in 2002, triggered by<br />
a train fire in which Hindu pilgrims<br />
were burnt alive. AFP<br />
CHINA<br />
Hong Kong lawmakers<br />
blocked from taking oath<br />
Hong Kong’s legislature again<br />
descended into chaos Wednesday as<br />
pro-Beijing politicians blocked the<br />
swearing in of two new lawmakers<br />
who want a split from China, in an<br />
increasingly divided parliament. It<br />
comes as fears grow in the semi-autonomous<br />
city that Beijing is tightening<br />
its grip, fuelling an independence<br />
movement in Hong Kong. AFP<br />
ASIA PACIFIC<br />
Philippines’ Duterte<br />
announces separation<br />
from US<br />
Philippines’ President Rodrigo<br />
Duterte declared his separation<br />
from longstanding ally the US<br />
in Beijing on Thursday, as he<br />
rebalances his country’s diplomacy<br />
towards China. I announce my<br />
separation from the United States,<br />
he said to applause at a meeting in<br />
the Chinese capital. AFP<br />
MIDDLE EAST<br />
US government sanctions<br />
Hezbollah fundraisers<br />
The US Treasury Department took<br />
action on Thursday to disrupt the<br />
operations and fundraising of the Iranian-backed<br />
Hezbollah organization,<br />
imposing sanctions on four people<br />
believed to be Hezbollah financiers<br />
and one firm, Global Cleaners SARL.<br />
The sanctions prevent US citizens doing<br />
business with the individuals and<br />
organization. Saudi Arabia joined the<br />
United States in imposing sanctions on<br />
some of the people. REUTERS<br />
World diplomats seek post-battle<br />
plan for Mosul<br />
• Tribune International Desk<br />
Iraq’s prime minister vowed Thursday<br />
to protect civilians fleeing the<br />
battle to oust Islamic State extremists<br />
from Mosul, as the offensive<br />
picked up speed and diplomats<br />
worked to ensure the gains are<br />
lasting - and that jihadists don’t escape,<br />
reports The Associated Press.<br />
French President Francois Hollande,<br />
hosting a conference on stabilising<br />
Mosul, urged the international<br />
community not to abandon<br />
the city once the multi-pronged<br />
military operation is over. Diplomats<br />
from the US, Iraq and some<br />
20 other countries gathered in<br />
Paris to devise a plan to protect civilians,<br />
distribute aid and address<br />
questions about governing areas<br />
newly liberated from IS.<br />
The offensive for Mosul - Iraq’s<br />
second-largest city and the biggest<br />
IS-held city - is expected to<br />
take weeks, if not months. There<br />
are fears it could unleash sectarian<br />
tensions, and threaten civilians in a<br />
region ravaged by years of violence.<br />
Iraqi Prime Minister Haider<br />
Al-Abadi said Thursday that Mosul<br />
may fall sooner than expected.<br />
“The fighting forces are currently<br />
pushing forward toward the town<br />
more quickly than we thought,<br />
and more quickly certainly than<br />
we established in our plan of campaign,”<br />
he told the Paris conference<br />
via video transmission.<br />
French Foreign Minister Jean-<br />
Marc Ayrault warned that up to<br />
a million people might try to flee<br />
Mosul, and said authorities must<br />
check each one to make sure extremists<br />
aren’t among them.<br />
Ayrault also said the international<br />
community must think<br />
about the next step - notably,<br />
what do about the IS stronghold of<br />
Raqqa in Syria.<br />
As the Mosul fighting intensifies,<br />
al-Abadi said the Iraqi government<br />
is “providing support for internally<br />
displaced people,” and opening<br />
humanitarian corridors amid the<br />
ongoing military operations.<br />
“We will not allow any violations<br />
of human rights,” he said.<br />
He stressed that the battle is led<br />
by Iraq and is not a foreign invasion,<br />
though it has military support<br />
from a broad US-led coalition.<br />
He also praised the diverse nature<br />
of today’s Iraqi forces, including<br />
Kurdish peshmerga, fighting IS.<br />
Dutch Foreign Minister Bert<br />
Koenders, speaking in Paris, said<br />
his government will contribute<br />
$1.1m to fund demining activities<br />
in Mosul once Islamic State fighters<br />
have been driven out.<br />
“By demining these areas, people<br />
who have fled can safely return<br />
to rebuild their lives,” Koenders<br />
said in a statement.<br />
French authorities believe attacks<br />
on French soil in recent years<br />
have been plotted from IS strongholds<br />
in Syria and Iraq. French<br />
warplanes and artillery are involved<br />
in the battle for Mosul, as<br />
part of the US-led military coalition<br />
backing the Iraqi campaign. Hollande<br />
said France has 4,000 people<br />
deployed in the region, including<br />
those on the Charles de Gaulle aircraft<br />
carrier and support forces on<br />
the ground near Qayyarah. •<br />
East Aleppo ceasefire has begun, promises safe exit<br />
• Reuters, Amman<br />
The Syrian military said on Thursday<br />
a unilateral ceasefire backed by Russia<br />
had come into force to allow people<br />
to leave besieged eastern Aleppo,<br />
a move rejected by rebels who say<br />
they are preparing a counter-offensive<br />
to break the blockade.<br />
State media earlier said the<br />
army had opened exit corridors in<br />
two designated areas in the Bustan<br />
al Qasr quarter and near the Castello<br />
road in northern Aleppo city.<br />
Waiting buses were shown on state<br />
television.<br />
Intensified Russian and Syrian<br />
bombing of besieged rebel-held<br />
parts of Aleppo in the past weeks<br />
has hit hospitals, bakeries and water<br />
pumping stations, and killed<br />
hundreds of civilians.<br />
The United Nations has criticised<br />
unilateral ceasefires after<br />
long sieges, saying they can be<br />
helpful only if combined with humanitarian<br />
access for those who<br />
do not want to leave.<br />
The 250,000 civilians trapped<br />
inside the besieged rebel held<br />
parts of the city have so far stayed<br />
away from the corridors. The army<br />
blames rebels opposed to President<br />
Bashar al-Assad for preventing<br />
them leaving and says they use<br />
civilians as human shields.<br />
Rebels say the goal of Moscow<br />
and Assad is to empty rebel-held<br />
areas of civilians so they can take<br />
over the whole city.<br />
State-owned Ikhbariyah television<br />
said rebels had fired a mortar<br />
barrage near to where ambulances<br />
had been heading to take<br />
patients from the besieged parts<br />
of the city for treatment in government-held<br />
areas.<br />
Medical treatment<br />
The Syrian military said on<br />
IRAQI FORCES CLOSING IN ON MOSUL<br />
Wednesday it would observe the<br />
temporary ceasefire over three<br />
days from morning to sunset to allow<br />
trapped civilians to escape and<br />
said it had pulled back to enable<br />
rebel fighters to leave the city via<br />
two designated corridors.<br />
Residents reported no raids<br />
on residential areas on Thursday<br />
morning though rebel sources said<br />
planes believed to be Russian jets<br />
flying at high altitude continued to<br />
pound targets in towns and villages<br />
in Aleppo’s western countryside<br />
and in rebel-held Idlib province in<br />
northwest Syria.<br />
People ventured onto the<br />
streets in some neighbourhoods to<br />
buy essentials before an expected<br />
resumption of nightly raids after<br />
sunset.<br />
Near the Turkish border, at<br />
least one civilian and scores were<br />
wounded when a car bomb blew<br />
up in an industrial area in the town<br />
of Azaz, a stronghold for Turkish-backed<br />
rebels who are waging<br />
a campaign to drive out Islamic<br />
State militants from their remaining<br />
foothold in the northern Aleppo<br />
countryside.<br />
Since Russia intervened in the<br />
war a year ago, the government’s<br />
side has gained the upper hand on<br />
numerous fronts, including Aleppo,<br />
where the opposition-held sector<br />
has been completely encircled<br />
for weeks.<br />
The Syrian army has pressed<br />
ahead with a major campaign, supported<br />
by Iranian-backed militias<br />
and Russian air power, to take full<br />
control of Syria’s largest city, divided<br />
between rebel and government<br />
zones since 2012.<br />
The rebels, however, say they<br />
are preparing a large-scale offensive<br />
to break the siege of Aleppo<br />
and that the Russian air force has<br />
failed. •
FACTBOX<br />
World<br />
UK heads for Brexit showdown<br />
with EU: What’s at stake<br />
Prime Minister Theresa May will come<br />
under pressure from other European<br />
Union leaders on Thursday to say what<br />
kind of deal she wants for Britain when<br />
it leaves the bloc.<br />
May, attending her first EU summit<br />
since becoming prime minister in July,<br />
has so far given only glimpses of her<br />
vision for Britain’s future relationship<br />
with the EU.<br />
Below is a summary of the most important<br />
issues in the negotiations which<br />
are due to start by March next year.<br />
Single market access<br />
British firms are likely to face barriers<br />
to the EU’s single, tariff-free market<br />
of 500m consumers because May<br />
has said she will heed the call from<br />
many voters for more controls over<br />
migration. Such controls would breach<br />
the EU’s core principle of freedom of<br />
movement for workers in the bloc.<br />
Supporters of a “hard” Brexit say<br />
Germany and other EU nations are<br />
bluffing about putting tariffs on British<br />
goods and services because their own<br />
exporters have too much to lose.<br />
But employers are worried, especially<br />
in sectors which would could<br />
face the highest tariffs if there is no<br />
deal between London and Brussels.<br />
Migration<br />
About half the immigrants coming to<br />
Britain are from the EU. May wants<br />
to cut total net migration to below<br />
100,000 a year from more than<br />
300,000 now, something that would<br />
require tough controls.<br />
Most economists say migration has<br />
helped Britain’s economy although<br />
wages for lower-paid workers have<br />
taken a small hit.<br />
May has ruled out the introduction<br />
of a points-based system modelled on<br />
the one used by Australia to select migrants,<br />
preferring a system that allows<br />
in the workers most needed by British<br />
employers.<br />
But EU leaders are unlikely to turn<br />
a blind eye to any restrictions on free<br />
movement of workers from the bloc.<br />
They fear that any concession to Britain<br />
would lead other states to demand similar<br />
deals, ultimately unraveling the Union.<br />
Budget<br />
The pro-Brexit campaign before June’s<br />
referendum argued that once outside<br />
the EU, Britain would no longer have<br />
to make contributions to the bloc’s<br />
budget, which the UK Statistics Authority<br />
estimated at about £7bn a year.<br />
But Britain might still have to pay into<br />
the EU budget in order to maintain access<br />
for its financial services industry or<br />
other key sectors. Norway and Switzerland<br />
both pay into the EU budget to have<br />
preferential access to the EU market.<br />
Customs union v trade deals<br />
Britain could seek to remain part of<br />
the EU’s customs union once it is no<br />
longer a formal member of the bloc.<br />
The customs union includes non-EU<br />
Nepal lifts ban on allowing<br />
migrant workers to Afghanistan<br />
• Thomson Reuters<br />
Foundation, Kathmandu<br />
Nepal will allow its nationals to go<br />
to war-torn Afghanistan for work,<br />
a labour ministry official said on<br />
Thursday, ending an almost fourmonth<br />
ban imposed after 13 Nepali<br />
security guards were killed by a<br />
Taliban suicide bomber in the Afghan<br />
capital.<br />
Labour Ministry Spokesman<br />
Govinda Mani Bhurtel said employers<br />
would have to make adequate<br />
security arrangements for<br />
their stay, travel and work before<br />
Nepali nationals were given a work<br />
permit by the government to leave<br />
Nepal.<br />
Nepalis are still banned from<br />
working in other conflict hotspots<br />
such as Iraq, Libya and Syria, Bhurtel<br />
said.<br />
The impoverished Himalayan<br />
nation, which relies heavily<br />
on remittances from its migrant<br />
workers, imposed the ban after 13<br />
Nepalis and two Indians who were<br />
security guards at the Canadian<br />
Embassy in Kabul were killed while<br />
on a bus on June 23.<br />
Nepal, one of the world’s 10<br />
poorest countries, is still reeling<br />
from two devastating earthquakes<br />
in 2015 that killed nearly 9,000<br />
people.<br />
Political instability since a decade-long<br />
civil conflict ended in<br />
2006 has discouraged investment,<br />
stunted growth and curtailed job<br />
creation -- forcing hundreds of<br />
thousands of Nepalis to migrate<br />
overseas in search of work.<br />
More than four million of the<br />
country’s 28 million population<br />
are working mainly in the Middle<br />
East, South Korea and Malaysia<br />
as guards, drivers, construction<br />
workers or domestic staff - sending<br />
home remittances which make up<br />
nearly 30% of the country’s annual<br />
gross domestic product. •<br />
Anti-Brexit campaigners set up a mock customs hut during a protest against<br />
Britain’s vote to leave the EU on <strong>October</strong> 8<br />
REUTERS<br />
Turkey, Andorra and San Marino who<br />
trade freely with the bloc and share its<br />
common external tariffs. But if Britain<br />
opted to stay in the customs union, it<br />
could complicate attempts to strike<br />
free trade deals with other countries<br />
around the world, a central argument<br />
of the Brexit campaign.<br />
British finance minister Philip<br />
Hammond said on Wednesday he was<br />
sensitive to the potential problems for<br />
British exporters, especially those involved<br />
in cross-border supply chains,<br />
should the country end up outside the<br />
customs union.<br />
Mechanics of negotiation<br />
May has said she will launch the formal,<br />
two-year process of negotiating<br />
Britain’s exit from the EU before the<br />
end of March 2017 and London wants<br />
to use the interim period to sound out<br />
European counterparts and decide its<br />
priorities for the talks.<br />
So far, EU leaders have rebuffed<br />
attempts by Britain to talk informally<br />
about the outlines of a final deal,<br />
something that would help London<br />
settle on its Brexit strategy.<br />
After May triggers the exit process,<br />
the other 27 EU leaders will meet within<br />
a month or two to draft instructions<br />
for the European Commission for the<br />
negotiations. Those talks will be led<br />
on the EU side by Michel Barnier of<br />
France, who had tense relationship<br />
with London when he was the Commission’s<br />
financial regulation chief<br />
from 2010 to 2014.<br />
But a new relationship, including<br />
trade ties, will probably take many<br />
more years, requiring some kind of<br />
transition agreement so that Britain is<br />
not left in limbo. •<br />
Sources: REUTERS, LONDON<br />
Argentine girl’s brutal rape,<br />
murder sparks new demos<br />
• AFP, Buenos Aires<br />
The brutal killing of a 16-yearold<br />
girl who was allegedly raped<br />
and impaled on a spike by drug<br />
dealers has sparked outrage in<br />
Argentina, where protesters plan<br />
a “women’s strike” Wednesday.<br />
Lucia Perez, a high school<br />
student in the resort city of Mar<br />
del Plata, died on <strong>October</strong> 8 after<br />
being brought to the hospital by<br />
two men who said she had overdosed<br />
on drugs. But after doctors<br />
noticed signs of violent sexual<br />
penetration, investigators pieced<br />
together a different story.<br />
Prosecutors say the two men<br />
drugged, raped and impaled her<br />
through the anus, causing pain so<br />
excruciating that she went into<br />
cardiac arrest and died.<br />
The killing is just the latest incident<br />
of horrific gender violence<br />
in Argentina, which has seen<br />
more than a year of mass marches<br />
to protest brutality against<br />
women.<br />
Last year in June, protests<br />
broke out nationwide over a trio<br />
of gruesome killings: a kindergarten<br />
teacher whose estranged<br />
husband slit her throat in front of<br />
her class; a 14-year-old girl whose<br />
boyfriend allegedly beat her to<br />
death because she got pregnant;<br />
and a woman whose ex-boyfriend<br />
stabbed her to death in broad daylight<br />
at a Buenos Aires café.<br />
In the latest protest, 50 activist<br />
groups have called on women<br />
across the country to go on<br />
“strike”, taking to the streets<br />
dressed in black.<br />
One organiser, Sabrina Cartabia,<br />
said the goal was to protest<br />
not only Perez’s killing, but a culture<br />
that values women less than<br />
men. That is visible in statistics<br />
such as the unemployment rate,<br />
she said: 9.3% nationally, but 12%<br />
for women. •<br />
9<br />
FRIDAY, OCTOBER <strong>21</strong>, <strong>2016</strong><br />
USA<br />
Clinton accuses Trump of<br />
being Putin’s puppet<br />
<strong>DT</strong><br />
Clinton accused presidential rival<br />
Trump on Wednesday of being<br />
a puppet for Russian President<br />
Vladimir Putin, whose country<br />
has been accused by US intelligence<br />
officials of meddling in the<br />
US election. During presidential<br />
debate, Trump said he did not<br />
know Putin but would likely get<br />
along better with the Russian<br />
leader than Clinton. REUTERS<br />
THE AMERICAS<br />
Venezuela delays state<br />
elections to 2017<br />
Elections for Venezuela’s state governorships<br />
will be held in 2017 rather<br />
than December as expected, the election<br />
board said on Tuesday, giving<br />
the unpopular socialist government<br />
more breathing space before going to<br />
the polls. Critics say authorities have<br />
delayed the elections - and are also<br />
seeking to derail an opposition push<br />
for a referendum to recall President<br />
Nicolas Maduro - because they are<br />
frightened of letting Venezuelans<br />
have their say. REUTERS<br />
UK<br />
UK’s May vows to work<br />
closely with EU<br />
Arriving at her first European<br />
Union summit, Prime Minister<br />
Theresa May promised that Britain<br />
would remain a strong partner to<br />
the EU after Brexit and called for<br />
unity in pressuring Russia for its<br />
sickening atrocities in Syria. Her<br />
speech at a conference of her Conservatives<br />
in Birmingham in early<br />
<strong>October</strong> suggested she is leaning<br />
towards a so-called hard Brexit in<br />
which Britain would place limits<br />
on immigration. REUTERS<br />
EUROPE<br />
EU leaders lash Russia<br />
over Syria but split on<br />
sanctions<br />
European Union leaders lashed<br />
out at Russia Thursday, criticising<br />
its backing for the Syrian regime<br />
and accusing it of atrocities in the<br />
besieged city of Aleppo. The EU<br />
has imposed sanctions on Syrian<br />
officials, but unanimity is lacking<br />
within the 28-nation bloc about extending<br />
the measures to Russia. AP<br />
AFRICA<br />
South African police fire<br />
stun grenades to disperse<br />
students<br />
Police fired stun grenades to<br />
disperse hundreds of students<br />
gathered outside President Jacob<br />
Zuma’s offices on Thursday, after<br />
weeks of violent protests across the<br />
country. Demonstrations over the<br />
cost of university education, prohibitive<br />
for many black students, have<br />
highlighted frustration at enduring<br />
inequalities in South Africa. REUTERS
10<br />
FRIDAY, OCTOBER <strong>21</strong>, <strong>2016</strong><br />
<strong>DT</strong><br />
World<br />
FACTCHECK<br />
Trump, Clinton and their debate claims<br />
18 DAYS REMAIN<br />
• Tribune International Desk<br />
Donald Trump painted an inaccurately<br />
dark portrait of manufacturing<br />
in America while Hillary Clinton<br />
stretched credulity in boasting that<br />
her spending plans won’t add to the<br />
country’s debt. As well, both struggled<br />
in the presidential final debate<br />
to explain comments from their<br />
past, reports The Associated Press.<br />
A look at some of the claims in<br />
the debate and how they compare<br />
with fact:<br />
Trump: “We’re not making things<br />
anymore, relatively speaking.”<br />
Fact: Despite his “relatively speaking”<br />
hedge, the assertion is wrong. US factory<br />
production has more than doubled<br />
since 1979, when manufacturing<br />
employment was at its peak.<br />
The problem is that it takes fewer<br />
people to produce more. The United<br />
States has lost more than 7 million<br />
factory jobs, a drop of nearly 40%,<br />
since the 1979 manufacturing employment<br />
peak.<br />
Factory production, minus the<br />
cost of raw materials and certain<br />
other expenses, reached $1.91tn last<br />
year, according to the Commerce Department,<br />
which uses 2009 dollars<br />
to adjust for inflation. That’s a notch<br />
below the record set on the eve of the<br />
Great Recession in 2007. Factories<br />
have used robotics and computers<br />
to increase output even with fewer<br />
workers. The US still produces plenty<br />
of autos, planes, steel and other metals,<br />
and large industrial machinery.<br />
Clinton: “I don’t add a penny to the<br />
national debt.”<br />
Fact: Not true, according to the nonpartisan<br />
Committee for a Responsible<br />
Federal Budget. It estimates her<br />
increased spending in areas such as<br />
infrastructure, more financial aid<br />
for college and early childhood education,<br />
would increase the national<br />
debt by $200bn over 10 years. That<br />
is far less than their estimate for<br />
Trump, who they predict would add<br />
$5.3tn over 10 years. But it’s plenty<br />
more than a penny.<br />
Trump: Referring to a 2010 US-Russia<br />
treaty limiting both countries to 1,550<br />
strategic nuclear warheads: “They<br />
create warheads. We can’t.”<br />
Fact: Incorrect. The New START<br />
treaty, which Trump called “Start<br />
Up,” does not prevent either the US<br />
or Russia from building nuclear warheads.<br />
It restricts each country to a<br />
total of 1,550 warheads deployed on<br />
bombers, submarines and in underground<br />
silos and requires that this<br />
limit be reached by February 2018.<br />
Clinton: On whether she called for<br />
open borders in a 2013 speech to a<br />
Brazilian bank: “I was talking about<br />
energy.”<br />
Fact: She was actually talking about<br />
more than energy, but apparently<br />
less than an open border that immigrants<br />
can spill across at will,<br />
according to the partial transcript<br />
released by WikiLeaks.<br />
Clinton: “He held a number of big<br />
rallies where he said that he could<br />
not possibly have done those things<br />
to those women because they were<br />
not attractive enough.”<br />
Trump: “I did not say that. I did not<br />
say that.”<br />
Fact: He did say that. At an <strong>October</strong><br />
13 rally, Trump criticized the physical<br />
attractiveness of People magazine<br />
reporter Natasha Stoynoff, who has<br />
said Trump forced himself on her at<br />
Mar-a-Lago while she was interviewing<br />
him for a story. Trump said: “Take<br />
THIRD CLINTON-TRUMP DEBATE: KEY QUOTES<br />
"He has no respect for her. He<br />
has no respect for our president"<br />
"I'll tell you at the time. I'll<br />
keep you in suspense, OK?"<br />
"We have some bad<br />
hombres here and we're<br />
going to get them out"<br />
"If you go with what Hillary is<br />
saying, in the ninth month,<br />
you can take the baby and rip<br />
the baby out of the womb of the<br />
mother just prior to the birth<br />
of the baby"<br />
Source: AFP/Debate transcript/Photo: Ethan Miller/AFPPhoto/Getty Images<br />
On recognizing<br />
Nov 8 results<br />
On Russian<br />
President<br />
Vladimir<br />
Putin<br />
On deportations<br />
a look. You take a look. Look at her,<br />
look at her words, you tell me what<br />
you think. I don’t think so.”<br />
Clinton: “I want to make college<br />
debt free.”<br />
Fact: Clinton might aspire to that<br />
lofty goal, but she has only proposed<br />
making college tuition free for<br />
in-state students who go to a public<br />
college or university. Even with expanded<br />
grant aid, room and board<br />
can lead students to borrow.<br />
Clinton would have the government<br />
pay for in-state tuition at public<br />
colleges and universities for students<br />
from families earning less than<br />
$125,000 a year. Students would still<br />
need to foot the bill for housing and<br />
food, which makes up more than<br />
half of the average $18,943 sticker<br />
price at a four-year public university,<br />
according to the College Board.<br />
But Trump is correct that government<br />
would shoulder higher costs<br />
with Clinton’s plan.<br />
Her plan would cost the federal<br />
government an estimated $500bn<br />
over 10 years, with additional costs<br />
possibly for state governments.<br />
Trump: “Her plan is going to raise<br />
taxes and even double your taxes.”<br />
Fact: Clinton’s plan wouldn’t raise taxes<br />
at all for 95 percent of Americans,<br />
according to the nonpartisan Tax Policy<br />
Centre. The very wealthiest would<br />
take the greatest hit, though a doubling<br />
is highly questionable.<br />
Two-thirds of her proposed increases<br />
would hit the top 0.1% of richest<br />
Americans, the centre estimates.<br />
The main components of her tax<br />
plan: a minimum 30% tax on those<br />
earning at least $1m a year, and a 4%<br />
tax surcharge for those earning more<br />
than $5m a year. She would also cap<br />
the value of tax deductions and exclusions<br />
for wealthier taxpayers.<br />
"Well, that's because<br />
he’d rather have a puppet<br />
as president of the<br />
United States"<br />
"Now that is not the way our<br />
democracy works. We've been around<br />
for 240 years. We've had free and fair<br />
election. We've accepted the outcomes<br />
when we may not have liked them"<br />
On abortion<br />
" I don't want to see the deportation<br />
force that Donald has talked about<br />
in action in our country.... I think it<br />
is an idea that would rip our<br />
country apart"<br />
"I do not think the United States<br />
government should be stepping in<br />
and making those most personal<br />
of decisions"<br />
VIEWERS SAY CLINTON WON FINAL DEBATE<br />
A CNN/ORC poll of U.S. voters who watched the final presidential debate<br />
between Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump conclude that Clinton won.<br />
A YouGov poll of almost 40,000 respondents also puts Clinton ahead<br />
52%<br />
CNN/ORC<br />
poll<br />
Clinton Trump Clinton Trump<br />
CNN/ORC poll: 547 registered voters surveyed after debate. Margin of error: 4.0%<br />
YouGov poll: Survey of 39,934 potential voters between <strong>October</strong> 5-19, including<br />
1,844 new interviews in past 24 hours. Margin of error: 3.9%<br />
Sources: CNN/ORC, YouGov<br />
Pictures: Associated Press<br />
© GRAPHIC NEWS<br />
Clinton: on her opposition to the<br />
Trans-Pacific Partnership trade deal:<br />
“It didn’t meet my test.”<br />
Fact: It met her test when she was<br />
secretary of state and she promoted<br />
it worldwide.<br />
Hacked emails from Clinton’s campaign,<br />
released Wednesday by WikiLeaks,<br />
showed that Jake Sullivan, her<br />
top foreign policy adviser, called her<br />
a “big champion” of the deal and worried<br />
about how to handle the issue in<br />
the face of Sen. Bernie Sanders’ opposition.<br />
She later flip-flopped into<br />
opposition during the Democratic<br />
primaries against Sanders.<br />
Trump: “Hillary Clinton wanted the<br />
(border) wall. Hillary Clinton fought<br />
for the wall in 2006 or thereabouts.<br />
Now, she never gets anything done,<br />
so naturally it wasn’t built.”<br />
Fact: He’s partly right. As a senator<br />
from New York, Clinton did support<br />
the 2006 Secure Fence Act, which<br />
authorised the construction of hundreds<br />
of miles of fencing along the<br />
US-Mexico border.<br />
But it was built, contrary to<br />
Trump’s assertion. Nearly 700 miles<br />
of fencing was put in place during<br />
President George W Bush’s second<br />
term and the beginning of President<br />
Barack Obama’s first term.<br />
The fencing is placed largely in urban<br />
areas along the nearly 2,000-mile<br />
frontier. It is not the type of solid wall<br />
that Trump has pledged to construct<br />
at Mexico’s expense. The fence has<br />
miles-long gaps and gates built in to<br />
allow landowners access to their property<br />
on the south side of the fencing.<br />
Immigrants have been known to go<br />
over and around the fence.<br />
Trump: “So I just left some high representatives<br />
of India. They’re growing at<br />
8%. China is growing at 7%. And that<br />
for them is a catastrophically low number.<br />
We are growing, our last report<br />
came out and it’s right around the 1%<br />
level and I think it’s going down.”<br />
Fact: China and India are growing<br />
faster in large part because they’re<br />
playing catch-up to the United States,<br />
Democrat Republican<br />
47.4%<br />
43.3%<br />
39%<br />
YouGov<br />
poll<br />
the world’s largest economy. Those<br />
two Asian countries are starting from<br />
a much lower baseline with a much<br />
larger population than the United<br />
States, meaning that by definition<br />
they should be growing faster. Economists<br />
would warn of a dangerous<br />
bubble if the United States grew that<br />
quickly and financial markets would<br />
fear a devastating recession to follow.<br />
But China and India aren’t any<br />
better off than the US, said former<br />
Federal Reserve Chairman Ben<br />
Bernanke in an analysis released<br />
Wednesday. On a per-capita basis,<br />
China has just 10% of the United<br />
States’ income. India has about 6%.<br />
Trump: Under Hillary Clinton,<br />
“$6bn went missing” at the State<br />
Department.<br />
Fact: Not exactly. That figure is a<br />
distortion about a legitimate record-keeping<br />
concern. In 2014, the<br />
State Department’s inspector general<br />
released an alert warning that the<br />
documentation for $6bn in State Department<br />
contracts was incomplete.<br />
But there’s no reason to think that<br />
all occurred under Clinton. The inspector<br />
general, Steve Linnick, specifically<br />
disavowed the conclusion<br />
that the money went missing.<br />
Trump: Clinton “has no idea whether<br />
it’s Russia, China or anybody else”<br />
behind recent hacks of Democratic<br />
organisations and individuals. “Our<br />
country has no idea.”<br />
Fact: Trump’s refusal to point the<br />
finger at Moscow is at odds with the<br />
prevailing position of the US intelligence<br />
community. “We believe, based<br />
on the scope and sensitivity of these<br />
efforts, that only Russia’s senior-most<br />
officials could have authorised these<br />
activities,” the Office of the Director of<br />
National Intelligence said recently in a<br />
joint statement with the Department<br />
of Homeland Security.<br />
Russia has denied accusations<br />
that it was behind the effort. •<br />
Find more stories on US presidential<br />
election at www.dhakatribune.com
Advertisement<br />
11<br />
FRIDAY, OCTOBER <strong>21</strong>, <strong>2016</strong><br />
<strong>DT</strong>
<strong>DT</strong><br />
12<br />
Business<br />
FRIDAY, OCTOBER <strong>21</strong>, <strong>2016</strong><br />
TOP STORIES<br />
DCCI worried over<br />
India’s anti-dumping<br />
duty on BD jute<br />
Dhaka Chamber of Commerce and<br />
Industry (DCCI) has expressed<br />
its concern over the ‘unexpected<br />
treatment’ by Directorate General<br />
of Anti-Dumping and Allied Duties<br />
or DGAD under India’s commerce<br />
ministry. PAGE 13<br />
ECB holds rates, seen<br />
charting course to<br />
more easing in Dec<br />
The European Central Bank kept<br />
interest rates and policy guidance<br />
unchanged yesterday but may lay<br />
the groundwork for more easing<br />
to come in December as it tries to<br />
sustain a long-awaited rebound in<br />
consumer prices. PAGE 14<br />
Inflation is next<br />
nerve-jangler for<br />
investors<br />
After undershooting inflation<br />
targets for years, Bank of England<br />
Governor Mark Carney and some<br />
of his global peers are now talking<br />
about tolerating overshoots. The<br />
volte-face will necessitate nimble<br />
investor footwork. While bonds<br />
would be obvious losers, the<br />
winners will depend on whether<br />
inflation is of the good or bad<br />
variety. PAGE 15<br />
Capital market snapshot:<br />
Thursday<br />
DSE<br />
Broad Index 4,692.4 -0.2% ▼<br />
Index 1,111.8 -0.2% ▼<br />
30 Index 1,748.2 -0.1% ▼<br />
Turnover in Mn Tk 5,007.6 -10.6% ▼<br />
Turnover in Mn Vol 176.4 -22.1% ▼<br />
CSE<br />
All Share Index 14,404.0 -0.3% ▼<br />
30 Index 12,949.2 -0.3% ▼<br />
Selected Index 8,763.4 -0.3% ▼<br />
Turnover in Mn Tk 390.9 25.4% ▲<br />
Turnover in Mn Vol 14.2 -0.0% ▼<br />
Insurance scheme suggested<br />
for sustainable growth<br />
• Jebun Nesa Alo<br />
Access to social insurance, pensions<br />
and savings is very limited<br />
in Bangladesh which poses a challenge<br />
to sustainable and inclusive<br />
growth of the country.<br />
Bangladesh Social Protection<br />
and Labor Review report focused<br />
on the issue for the country’s existing<br />
safety net programmes.<br />
The report was launched as<br />
Bangladesh Development Series<br />
by The World Bank at a seminar<br />
held yesterday in capital.<br />
Minister for Planning AHM<br />
Mustafa Kamal attended the seminar<br />
on the launch of review report<br />
as the chief guest.<br />
The report found out that Bangladesh<br />
has a large number of safety<br />
net programmes particularly<br />
focusing on equity, but lacks programmes<br />
for resilience and opportunities<br />
through social insurance.<br />
Well-designed social insurance<br />
can provide mechanisms to collectively<br />
hedge against various<br />
risks, the report suggested.<br />
Discussants at the seminar said<br />
insurance scheme is necessary to<br />
help individuals prepare for rainy<br />
days and also inclement weather.<br />
At the same time pension<br />
scheme in the private sector should<br />
be introduced and even such<br />
scheme could be small in amount<br />
which the government and business<br />
owners can take up jointly.<br />
In his address, Mustafa Kamal<br />
said the government has put<br />
more effort on ensuring insurance<br />
scheme for labour.<br />
Insurance Development and<br />
Regulatory Authority (IDRA) has<br />
been asked to come up with social<br />
insurance scheme.<br />
The review report also focused<br />
on several challenging issues and<br />
risks which require policy intervention.<br />
Firstly, poverty and vulnerability<br />
remain high due to income<br />
shocks and limited access to risk<br />
management for the poor.<br />
Secondly, job challenges among<br />
young people are high.<br />
The youth in between the ages of<br />
15 and 24 make up about 30% of the<br />
working people entering the labour<br />
force and creating job pressure.<br />
Less participation of women<br />
in workforce is also considered a<br />
challenge towards improving labour<br />
market.<br />
The report says despite strong<br />
improvement in female literacy<br />
level, a high share of working<br />
women is engaged in non-paid<br />
family work. •<br />
BSEC to publish gazette of venture capital norms soon<br />
• Kayes Sohel<br />
Bangladesh Securities and Exchange<br />
Commission (BSEC) will<br />
publish its official gazette of venture<br />
capital norms soon, which was<br />
unveiled more than a year ealier.<br />
“We are going to publish venture<br />
capital rules soon for allowing<br />
startups and small businesses<br />
to raise fund through venture<br />
capital,” said BSEC Chairman M<br />
Khairul Hossain yesterday.<br />
Khairul was speaking at a seminar<br />
on “Venture Capital for Startups”<br />
arranged on the sidelines of a<br />
three-day flagship annual event of<br />
the country’s ICT sector with the<br />
theme “Non-stop Bangladesh” in<br />
the city.<br />
“For listing small companies<br />
having low-paid capital, we are<br />
formulating the rules. This will<br />
help boost the stock market,” said<br />
the BSEC chief.<br />
On June last year, the capital<br />
market watchdog unveiled the<br />
guidelines called the “Bangladesh<br />
Securities and Exchange Commission<br />
(Alternative Investment)<br />
Rules, 2015” to govern the venture<br />
World Bank releases a report on Social Protection and Labor Review in Dhaka yesterday<br />
capital firms.<br />
The rules came into force immediately<br />
after publication in the<br />
official gazette.<br />
Over the past several years,<br />
venture capital firms that are relatively<br />
new in the country have<br />
been operating their businesses in<br />
absence of such rules.<br />
Under some excerpts from the<br />
slew of new norms, venture capital<br />
fund could be invested primarily<br />
in non-listed equity and equity-linked<br />
securities of startups<br />
with less than two years of operational<br />
history or green field companies<br />
or emerging early-stage undertakings<br />
mainly involved in new<br />
products, services, technologies or<br />
intellectual property rights based<br />
activities or new business models.<br />
For operational eligibility, a local<br />
venture capital firm needs to<br />
have a paid-up capital of at least<br />
Tk5 crore.<br />
For a fully-owned subsidiary<br />
foreign venture capital firm, it<br />
needs to have a paid-up capital of<br />
at least Tk15 crore for application<br />
of registration, and for a partially-owned<br />
subsidiary foreign firm,<br />
COURTESY<br />
the paid-up capital will be at least<br />
Tk10 crore.<br />
The applicant firm must have a<br />
minimum net worth of 75% of its<br />
total paid-up capital.<br />
About criteria on formation of<br />
an alternative investment fund,<br />
such fund size will be minimum<br />
Tk10 crore and subscription by<br />
the sponsor is not less than 10% of<br />
the fund provided that the sponsor<br />
will subscribe at least 20% of<br />
its total subscription to the fund<br />
before registration of the fund.<br />
India has more than 200 such<br />
types of companies after promulgation<br />
of rules and regulations<br />
in 1996. A large number of venture<br />
capital companies have been<br />
formed in Pakistan after proclaiming<br />
rules in 2001.<br />
In India, venture capital financing<br />
started in 1988 with the formation<br />
of Technology Development<br />
and Information Company of India<br />
Ltd.<br />
Grameen Fund is the pioneer<br />
of venture capital in the country.<br />
It launched its operation in mid-<br />
1990s although the organisation is<br />
no more funding the private companies<br />
as venture capital. •
Business 13<br />
DCCI worried over India’s anti-dumping<br />
duty on Bangladesh jute<br />
• Kayes Sohel<br />
Dhaka Chamber of Commerce and<br />
Industry (DCCI) has expressed<br />
its concern over the ‘unexpected<br />
treatment’ by Directorate General<br />
of Anti-Dumping and Allied Duties<br />
or DGAD under India’s commerce<br />
ministry.<br />
India’s anti-dumping authority<br />
has proposed 25-30 per cent duty on<br />
the jute imported from Bangladesh<br />
and Nepal based on the investigation<br />
outcome though there is no clear<br />
finding of injury caused by Bangladesh’s<br />
exported price and volume on<br />
Indian local finished producers, said<br />
DCCI in a statement yesterday.<br />
DCCI in its statement said: “It will<br />
have negative cascading impacts on<br />
parties involved in our local jute<br />
Blockchain<br />
platform to be<br />
open-source<br />
• Reuters<br />
A blockchain platform developed<br />
by a group that includes more than<br />
70 of the world’s biggest financial<br />
institutions is making its code publicly<br />
available, in what could become<br />
the industry standard for the<br />
nascent technology.<br />
The Corda platform has been developed<br />
by a consortium brought<br />
together by New-York-based financial<br />
technology company R3. It<br />
represents the biggest shared effort<br />
among banks, insurers, fund managers<br />
and other players to work on<br />
using blockchain technology in the<br />
financial markets.<br />
Blockchain, which originated in<br />
the digital currency bitcoin, works<br />
as a web-based transaction-processing<br />
and settlement system. It<br />
creates a “golden record” of any<br />
given set of data that is automatically<br />
replicated for all parties in a<br />
secure network, eliminating any<br />
need for third-party verification.<br />
Banks reckon the technology<br />
could save them money by making<br />
their operations faster, more<br />
efficient and more transparent.<br />
They are racing to build products<br />
using the technology that will<br />
generate new revenue, with dozens<br />
of patent applications filed for<br />
blockchain-based products by Wall<br />
Street’s top lenders.<br />
“We want other banks and other<br />
parties to innovate with products<br />
that sit on top of the platform, but<br />
we don’t want everyone to create<br />
their own platform ... because<br />
we’ll end up with lots of islands<br />
that can’t talk to each other,” R3’s<br />
chief engineer, James Carlyle, told<br />
Reuters. •<br />
supply chain process, export market<br />
and dampen glorious heritage of<br />
golden fiber of Bangladesh.”<br />
According to the statement,<br />
following the anti-dumping investigation<br />
into imports of jute goods<br />
from Bangladesh in 2015, the probe<br />
body of Directorate General of<br />
Anti-Dumping and Allied Duties<br />
(DGAD) is going to propose imposition<br />
of anti-dumping duty on jute<br />
items imported from Bangladesh<br />
against accusation of Indian Jute<br />
Mills Association of lowered price<br />
and injury to domestic industry.<br />
It said when Bangladesh is working<br />
hard to improve and maintain<br />
a justified cross-border bilateral<br />
trade relation with India, this sort<br />
of decision is likely to be a blow to<br />
their endeavour.<br />
“In this regard, our commerce<br />
ministry, Tariff Commission and<br />
other government agencies concerned<br />
are requested to immediately<br />
take up the issue to review the entire<br />
technical process of anti-dumping<br />
investigation made,” said the DCCI.<br />
They also sought negotiation<br />
with the commerce ministry of<br />
India to reconsider this trade unfriendly<br />
decision to safeguard local<br />
jute industry in the greater interest<br />
of bilateral trade between Bangladesh<br />
and India.<br />
Following the anti-dumping<br />
investigation into imports of jute<br />
goods from Bangladesh in 2015, the<br />
probe body Directorate General of<br />
Anti-Dumping and Allied Duties<br />
(DGAD) is going to propose imposition<br />
of anti-dumping duty on jute<br />
Stocks nudge lower for second<br />
straight day<br />
• Kayes Sohel<br />
Stocks closed marginally lower for<br />
the second straight session yesterday,<br />
as investors continued to take<br />
modest profits.<br />
The market dipped as it opened<br />
in the morning, but recovered<br />
some points before ending negative<br />
in the final session.<br />
The benchmark index of Dhaka<br />
Stock Exchange DSEX fell 10 points<br />
or 0.2% to settle at 4,702. In the last<br />
two sessions, it declined about 20<br />
points.<br />
The DS30 index, comprising<br />
blue chips, lost 2 points to 1,748.<br />
The DSE Shariah Index was down<br />
over 2 points to 1,111.<br />
The Chittagong Stock Exchange<br />
Selective Category Index CSCX<br />
shed 28 points to 8,791.<br />
Trading activities subdued as<br />
the DSE total turnover was Tk500<br />
crore, down 10.6% over previous<br />
session.<br />
Fortune Shoes, in its first trading<br />
day, jumped more than 500% its offer<br />
price and was the most traded<br />
stock, accounting for about 10% of<br />
the total turnover.<br />
However, on sectoral basis, textile<br />
topped the turnover chart which<br />
was followed by power and banking<br />
sectors. The sectors made up nearly<br />
10% of the day’s total trade value.<br />
Amid the major sector, textile<br />
performed pretty well rising<br />
items imported from Bangladesh<br />
against accusation of Indian Jute<br />
Mills Association of lowered price<br />
and injury to domestic industry.<br />
Bangladesh usually exports jute<br />
and jute goods, yarn, twine, sacks<br />
and bags worth around $900 million<br />
to many global destinations<br />
of which is 20 per cent of Bangladesh’s<br />
export to Indian market.<br />
“Our 20 per cent jute export to<br />
India accounts for 8 per cent of entire<br />
Indian local market share,” said<br />
the DCCI.<br />
If this proposed anti-dumping<br />
duty comes under effect, it could<br />
result adverse impacts on Bangladesh’s<br />
local growers, producers,<br />
exporters and spur further trade<br />
imbalance of Bangladesh with India,<br />
said the statement. •<br />
Industries Minister Amir Hossain Amu speaks at a seminar arranged by the Bangladesh Standards and Testing Institue to mark<br />
World Standards Day <strong>2016</strong> at BSTI office in Dhaka yesterday<br />
DHAKA TRIBUNE<br />
1% with five stocks came into the<br />
top ten gainers’ list. Heavyweight<br />
banking sector remained flat after<br />
vibrant session in previous session.<br />
Telecommunications sector<br />
rose 0.6%, extending their rally for<br />
the second day.<br />
On the other hand, non-banking<br />
financial institutions, power,<br />
engineering and tannery sectors<br />
declined.<br />
Out of total 325 companies traded<br />
on the DSE, 110 moved up, 156 down<br />
while 59 remained unchanged.<br />
After Fortune Shoes, Doreen<br />
Power was the most traded share,<br />
followed by National Bank Limited,<br />
Singer Bangladesh and Paramount<br />
Textile. •<br />
<strong>DT</strong><br />
FRIDAY, OCTOBER <strong>21</strong>, <strong>2016</strong><br />
JTC meet in Nov<br />
to fix river transit,<br />
LC margin with<br />
Myanmar<br />
• Asif Showkat Kallol<br />
Bangladesh wants to boost bilateral<br />
trade relation with Myanmar<br />
through introducing transnational<br />
banking service between two<br />
neighbouring countries.<br />
The issues along with electricity<br />
and gas imports from Myanmar<br />
will be discussed at the next Bangladesh-Myanmar<br />
Joint Trade Commission<br />
meeting which is due on<br />
November 9 and 10 in Dhaka.<br />
The meeting will also fix the<br />
issues of river transit and letter of<br />
credit margin for bilateral trade between<br />
the two countries.<br />
At the meeting, the representatives<br />
of both countries will also talk<br />
about the launch of Bangladesh-Myanmar<br />
border trade, revitalising<br />
coastal vessels plying trade deal and<br />
investment opportunities in agriculture<br />
and fisheries sectors and signing<br />
of preferential trade agreement.<br />
A number of decisions like river<br />
transit and letter of credit margin<br />
are expected to be made at the<br />
meeting. Both parties agreed to<br />
work on removal of trade barriers<br />
between two countries at the last<br />
meeting of the Commission.<br />
Under the preferential trade<br />
agreement, Bangladeshi products<br />
like pharmaceuticals, MS rods,<br />
cement and television sets will<br />
get special advantage in bilateral<br />
trade. Bangladeshi shrimps, fishes,<br />
dried fishes, nuts and salt will get<br />
duty-free access to Myanmar.<br />
“It is easy to increase bilateral<br />
trade and investment between<br />
Bangladesh and Myanmar due to<br />
their geographical position,” said<br />
Senior Commerce Secretary Hedayetullah<br />
Al Mamun.<br />
“We will discuss to solve the<br />
problems like trade barriers between<br />
two countries at the next Joint Trade<br />
Commission’s meeting.” •<br />
Rahima Food’s<br />
share trading to<br />
be probed<br />
• Tribune Business Desk<br />
The Bangladesh Securities and<br />
Exchange Commission (BSEC) has<br />
formed a body to probe into the recent<br />
unusual share trading of Rahima<br />
Food Corporation Ltd.<br />
“An enquiry committee has been<br />
formed to investigate into the company’s<br />
recent unusual trading in<br />
shares in the stock exchanges and<br />
other irregularities related to the<br />
company,” said the regulator in a filing<br />
with the Dhaka Stock Exchange.<br />
Shares of Rahima Food were traded<br />
at Tk51 on <strong>October</strong> 4 last, which<br />
increased by over 70% to Tk87.30 as<br />
of yesterday on the DSE. •
14<br />
FRIDAY, OCTOBER <strong>21</strong>, <strong>2016</strong><br />
<strong>DT</strong><br />
Business<br />
ECB holds rates, seen<br />
charting course to more<br />
easing in December<br />
• Reuters<br />
The European Central Bank<br />
kept interest rates and policy<br />
guidance unchanged<br />
yesterday but may lay<br />
the groundwork for more<br />
easing to come in December<br />
as it tries to sustain a<br />
long-awaited rebound in<br />
consumer prices.<br />
Holding interest rates<br />
deep in negative territory<br />
and maintaining bond purchases<br />
at 80 billion euros<br />
per month, ECB President<br />
Mario Draghi is likely to<br />
emphasize later at a news<br />
conference the continued<br />
need for monetary stimulus,<br />
reinforcing expectations<br />
for an extension of the<br />
ECB’s asset buys beyond its<br />
scheduled end next March.<br />
The ECB has provided<br />
unprecedented stimulus for<br />
years with sub-zero rates,<br />
free loans to banks and over<br />
a trillion euros in bond purchases,<br />
all in the hope of<br />
reviving growth and lifting<br />
inflation back to its target<br />
of just below 2% after more<br />
than three years of misses.<br />
In a widely expected<br />
decision yesterday, Draghi<br />
kept the deposit rate at minus<br />
0.4% and maintained<br />
the ECB’s guidance for rates<br />
to stay at their current or<br />
lower levels for an extended<br />
period. Attention now turns<br />
to the news conference at<br />
1230 GMT (0830 E<strong>DT</strong>), with<br />
markets looking for fresh<br />
hints about its expected<br />
move in December.<br />
The trick for Draghi will<br />
be to keep the door firmly<br />
open to more stimulus<br />
without any hint of commitment<br />
that could rattle markets<br />
and lead to a repeat of<br />
turbulence set off last year,<br />
when the ECB raised expectations<br />
too high and did not<br />
fully deliver on them.<br />
Action is far from urgent,<br />
however. The euro zone<br />
economy is chugging along,<br />
inflation is at a two-year<br />
high, national budget proposals<br />
suggest a bit more<br />
fiscal support, and the early<br />
impact on euro zone economies<br />
of Britain’s decision to<br />
leave the European Union<br />
has been muted. All these<br />
suggest that the 19-country<br />
bloc is on the path predicted<br />
by the ECB in September.<br />
But Draghi and fellow<br />
board members have gone<br />
to pains in recent weeks to<br />
emphasize that this outlook<br />
is predicated on “very substantial”<br />
monetary support,<br />
a hint taken as confirmation<br />
that an extension is coming.<br />
Indeed, ECB chief economist<br />
Peter Praet has warned<br />
that a premature withdrawal<br />
of stimulus would stall<br />
and reverse the upswing, a<br />
further sign any tapering is<br />
well into the future.<br />
“Present loose (financial)<br />
conditions also reflect<br />
expectations of additional<br />
ECB action, this suggests<br />
that the ECB will have to do<br />
more just to preserve the<br />
current degree of accommodation,”<br />
UniCredit economist<br />
Marco Valli said prior<br />
to the rate decision.<br />
“Therefore, anything<br />
less than quantitative easing<br />
extension at 80bn euros<br />
per month risks tightening<br />
financial conditions via<br />
higher yields, a stronger<br />
currency and, possibly, lower<br />
risk appetite.”<br />
The ECB’s 1.74tn euro<br />
quantitative easing (QE)<br />
scheme is now set to expire<br />
in March but the bank has<br />
always said that it would<br />
run until it saw a sustained<br />
recovery in inflation.<br />
Analysts polled by Reuters<br />
unanimously expect unchanged<br />
rates with the vast<br />
majority predicting a three<br />
to six month extension to<br />
asset buys in December. •<br />
Indonesia unexpectedly cuts key<br />
interest rate<br />
• AFP, Jakarta<br />
Indonesia’s central bank yesterday<br />
unexpectedly cut its<br />
key interest rate for the sixth<br />
time this year in a bid to boost<br />
slowing growth in Southeast<br />
Asia’s top economy.<br />
Bank Indonesia reduced<br />
the rate by 25 basis points to<br />
4.75%, despite many economists<br />
having forecast there<br />
would no change.<br />
It was the second consecutive<br />
month that policymakers<br />
have trimmed rates<br />
as they scramble to boost<br />
the G20 economy, which<br />
has been losing steam in<br />
recent years due to slowing<br />
demand for its commodity<br />
exports.<br />
The bank said it had<br />
decided on the move as it<br />
believes third-quarter economic<br />
growth will not be<br />
as strong as expected. The<br />
growth data is due to be released<br />
next month.<br />
A statement said the<br />
bank “believes that monetary<br />
easing will strengthen<br />
the effort to drive domestic<br />
demand... and further push<br />
momentum for economic<br />
growth”. •<br />
CORPORATE NEWS<br />
Standard Bank Limited has recently opened its 106th branch at Shohid Abul Kashem Road, Badurtola in<br />
Chuadanga, said a press release. The bank’s chairperson, Kazi Akram Uddin Ahmed inaugurated the branch<br />
as chief guest<br />
State minister for posts and telecommunication, Tarana Halim has recently inaugurated a customer care<br />
centre of Teletalk Bangladesh Limited in banana, said a press release<br />
Walton has recently opened an exclusive distributor showroom named PK Enterprise at Tekerhar in<br />
Madaripur, said a press release. The company’s brand ambassador, Ilias Kanchan inaugurated the showroom<br />
visit our website @<br />
www.dhakatribune.com<br />
CEO and MD of Sonali Bank Limited, Obayed Ullah Al Masud has recently attended a view exchanging<br />
meeting with the bank’s officials, said a press release
Business 15<br />
<strong>DT</strong><br />
FRIDAY, OCTOBER <strong>21</strong>, <strong>2016</strong><br />
Inflation is next nerve-jangler for investors<br />
• Reuters<br />
After undershooting inflation targets<br />
for years, Bank of England<br />
Governor Mark Carney and some<br />
of his global peers are now talking<br />
about tolerating overshoots. The<br />
volte-face will necessitate nimble<br />
investor footwork. While bonds<br />
would be obvious losers, the winners<br />
will depend on whether inflation<br />
is of the good or bad variety.<br />
The former occurs when rising<br />
wages mean consumers are<br />
willing to pay more for the same<br />
goods. The less desirable sort materialises<br />
when an external shock<br />
forces suppliers to charge more, regardless<br />
of demand, as during the<br />
1970s oil price shock. Unilever’s<br />
dispute with UK retailer Tesco last<br />
week over the price of its consumer<br />
products, including yeast-based<br />
spread Marmite, gave an early taste<br />
of the latter kind.<br />
For fixed-income investors,<br />
there’s not much difference between<br />
the two. Inflation, of<br />
whatever variety, erodes the real<br />
value of returns. Aside from inflation-linked<br />
bonds, most kinds of<br />
debt fall in value when inflation<br />
accelerates.<br />
But matters are less clear cut<br />
when it comes to other asset classes.<br />
For example, consumer discretionary<br />
stocks are better placed<br />
to benefit when inflation is rising,<br />
because households are splashing<br />
out and the economy is growing<br />
faster. Less so when outside forces<br />
boost inflation. This could be the<br />
case in Britain, where a sharp fall<br />
in sterling is making imports more<br />
expensive.<br />
Investment strategies that traditionally<br />
benefit during times of<br />
higher inflation may also founder<br />
if rate-setters react more slowly to<br />
rising inflation than in the past. For<br />
instance, the relative performance<br />
of real assets, such as property, has<br />
traditionally moved in sync with<br />
US policy rates since the 1950s,<br />
Bank of America Merrill Lynch analysts<br />
say. But this relationship may<br />
be weaker if there’s a longer lag<br />
than usual between rising inflation<br />
and monetary tightening.<br />
Both US and UK headline inflation<br />
picked up, data showed on Oct<br />
18. Carney says he is willing to allow<br />
inflation to run “a bit” higher<br />
than his 2% target in order to help<br />
employment and growth. And investors<br />
think Federal Reserve Chair<br />
Janet Yellen might be inclined to<br />
do the same after she said on Oct<br />
14 that running a “high pressure<br />
economy” may be one way to reverse<br />
crisis-era scarring that was<br />
at risk of becoming permanent. If<br />
so, money managers may find it as<br />
tricky to navigate inflation risks as<br />
they did the threat of deflation. •
16<br />
FRIDAY, OCTOBER <strong>21</strong>, <strong>2016</strong><br />
<strong>DT</strong><br />
Feature<br />
Will Brexit affect Bangladesh?<br />
A lecture by SANEM<br />
• Farina Noireet<br />
On Tuesday, this week,<br />
the South Asian Network<br />
on Economic Modelling<br />
(SANEM) organised the<br />
latest in their Lecture Series, titled<br />
“What does BREXIT mean for<br />
Bangladesh and other Developing<br />
Countries?” at their premises in<br />
Gulshan 2.<br />
The main speakers at the<br />
lecture were Dr Selim Raihan,<br />
Professor of the Department of<br />
Economics at the Univesity of<br />
Dhaka and the Executive Director<br />
of SANEM, and Dr Mohammad<br />
A Razzaque, Advisor and Head<br />
of the International Trade &<br />
Regional Cooperation Section at<br />
Commonwealth Secretariat.<br />
Dr Raihan's area of focus has<br />
been researches on international<br />
trade, labour market dynamics,<br />
poverty, economic growth and<br />
political economy analysis<br />
of growth and development,<br />
while Dr Razzaque's expertise<br />
includes empirical analysis of<br />
trade performance, exchange<br />
rate behaviour, export<br />
competitiveness, regional trade<br />
arrangements and economic<br />
growth and poverty.<br />
In the wake of BREXIT, which<br />
is the UK's intention to withdraw<br />
from the politico-economic union,<br />
that is the European Union (EU),<br />
there will be significant economic<br />
and political changes not only on<br />
the EU economy but also in the<br />
world.<br />
With the UK voting to no longer<br />
be a part of the EU, developing<br />
nations such as Bangladesh, which<br />
were till date, enjoying quota free<br />
access in trading with European<br />
nations may now face adverse<br />
effects.<br />
In the lecture, Dr Raihan<br />
mentioned that Bangladesh might<br />
encounter a fall in exports of<br />
around US$330 million and a fall in<br />
its real GDP by 0.1% due to the loss<br />
in preferences in the UK market.<br />
There will also be negative<br />
effects on exports from the<br />
Pacific, CARICOM (Caribbean<br />
Community), other LDCs and Sub-<br />
Saharan African countries, not in<br />
different magnitudes.<br />
He described BREXIT as, “an<br />
unprecedented situation in the<br />
face of the effective partnership<br />
that is the EU, which, until<br />
now has been an ideal union of<br />
regional nations, one which other<br />
countries around the world strive<br />
to achieve.”<br />
He further explained the<br />
possible post-BREXIT background<br />
situation by stating, “Until now,<br />
UK's trade deals with other nations<br />
around the globe have been under<br />
the regulations of the EU umbrella,<br />
but following BREXIT, the UK will<br />
have to make their own separate<br />
trade regulations with countries<br />
they trade with.<br />
This imposing of additional<br />
trade regulations by the UK may<br />
pose to have negative economic<br />
effects on some nations. Interested<br />
foreign investors may have to<br />
pay additional taxes to access<br />
the UK market, hence making<br />
things financially challenging for<br />
developing nations.”<br />
Dr Razzaque elaborated on<br />
the historical contexts and the<br />
channels through which BREXIT<br />
might have negative effects on<br />
UK's partner countries and the<br />
potential implications of such<br />
channels. He explained: “With the<br />
value of the British Pound having<br />
gone down a significant amount in<br />
the wake of BREXIT, this will have<br />
an adverse effect on a magnitude<br />
of areas – from the income earned<br />
With the UK voting to no longer be a part of the EU, developing nations<br />
such as Bangladesh, which were till date, enjoying quota free access in<br />
trading with European nations may now face adverse effects<br />
by locals and expats living in the<br />
UK. UK is also a major provider of<br />
foreign aid and the depreciation of<br />
the British Pound will invariably<br />
have a negative impact on the<br />
countries the aid goes to as they<br />
will be receiving less than they<br />
used to before.”<br />
Dr Raihan brought the<br />
interactive lecture session to a<br />
close by ending it off on a positive<br />
note: “Since BREXIT, as a whole,<br />
is a setback, Bangladesh and other<br />
developing countries may see<br />
this either as an opportunity or<br />
a challenge, depending on how<br />
economic relationships pan out in<br />
the future.<br />
However, one silver lining for<br />
Bangladesh may be in making<br />
effective use of all the trading<br />
opportunities that will open up in<br />
the wake of trade cut-offs between<br />
UK and the EU.”<br />
The lecture was organised as<br />
a part of SANEM Lecture Series,<br />
which is aimed to share and<br />
disseminate academic researches<br />
on current economic issue.<br />
Started in 2007, SANEM is a<br />
non-profit research organisation<br />
and a network of economists and<br />
policy makers in South Asia with<br />
a special emphasis on economic<br />
modelling.<br />
SANEM aims to promote<br />
the production, exchange and<br />
dissemination of basic research<br />
knowledge in the areas of<br />
international trade, macro<br />
economy, poverty, labour market,<br />
environment, political economy<br />
and economic modelling.<br />
It seeks to produce objective,<br />
high quality, country and South<br />
Asian region specific policy<br />
and thematic research. SANEM<br />
contributes in governments’<br />
policy-making by providing<br />
research support both at<br />
individual and organisational<br />
capacities.<br />
SANEM maintains research<br />
collaboration with global, regional<br />
and local think- tanks, research<br />
and development organisations,<br />
universities and individual<br />
researchers.<br />
SANEM promotes young<br />
researchers from Economics,<br />
Business and Social Sciences to<br />
undertake independent research<br />
works on contemporary issues<br />
and also arranges regular training<br />
programs on economic modelling<br />
and contemporary economic<br />
issues for both Bangladeshi and<br />
other South Asian participants. •
Feature<br />
17<br />
FRIDAY, OCTOBER <strong>21</strong>, <strong>2016</strong><br />
<strong>DT</strong><br />
Curtains fall on Fall Meet up <strong>2016</strong><br />
• Features Desk<br />
Fall is always dazzling. A lot of<br />
us admire this time of the year<br />
when everything bursts with a<br />
final sort of beauty, as if nature<br />
had been saving up all year for the<br />
grand finale. And this year, to add<br />
colour to this winsome season<br />
in Dhaka, Fall Meet-Up <strong>2016</strong> was<br />
organized by MIB Spirit – Made<br />
in Bangladesh, Ajo – fast casual<br />
and relax dining, SM Products and<br />
Headoffice Communication from<br />
<strong>October</strong> 13 to <strong>October</strong> 15 at the<br />
MIB- Spirit Studio, Dhaka.<br />
This season, the celebrations<br />
were loud and big with 15 local<br />
exhibitor brands showcasing<br />
their awe-striking collections and<br />
over 6000 visitors embracing this<br />
spirit. Be it the exclusive paintings<br />
by Amar Bangladesh, the dazzling<br />
bags of Rene Bangladesh, the<br />
one-of-a-kind bookmarks by<br />
Ruth, the sweetest honey by<br />
Sundarbans Bee Busy and the<br />
‘wow’ caricatures by Cartoon<br />
People or the exceptional designs<br />
by Made with Love, the soughtafter<br />
notebooks by SM Products,<br />
the striking Closet of Tatiana, the<br />
remarkable sketchbooks by Boka<br />
Baksho, the jute-printed saris by<br />
Sweet Potato, the striking designs<br />
of Paint Me Yellow by Sabah Khan<br />
and the mesmerizing dreamcatchers<br />
by Stellar, every flavour<br />
of the Fall Meet-Up ignited the<br />
occasion.<br />
MIB Spirit - Made in<br />
Bangladesh which is a lifestyle<br />
brand that has specialised in<br />
crafting bag and currently focuses<br />
on a range of products which<br />
include accessories that ignites<br />
the true feeling of national pride<br />
& patriotism; MIB Spirit - Made<br />
in Bangladesh has portrayed<br />
the products at the Fall Meet-up<br />
which has exhibited the authentic<br />
root of made in Bangladesh.<br />
Dedicated to the local wisdom<br />
and environment of Bangladesh,<br />
all products introduced by the<br />
brand are green, locally sourced,<br />
stylish and yet of top-notch<br />
quality. Ajo was available at the<br />
event for dine-ins and takeaways,<br />
and has served a few popular<br />
items from the prior menu and<br />
some new ones.<br />
If you had come to Fall<br />
Meet-up <strong>2016</strong>, you would have<br />
been left spell-bound by the<br />
incomparable charm of each of<br />
the goods that carried no foreign<br />
thread. Starting from the shawls<br />
from Rangamati by Closet of<br />
Tatiana and the cotton saris by<br />
Sweet Potato to the wooden rings<br />
by Boka Baksho and exclusive<br />
embroidery by Paint Me Yellow<br />
by Sabah Khan, every product<br />
sang a song of the Bangladeshi<br />
culture. Every good carried<br />
the smell of the mysterious<br />
resources enriching the heart of<br />
Bangladesh. If you paid a visit,<br />
you must now be feeling proud<br />
of the minds blooming in this<br />
country, bringing to you such<br />
incredible creations. How cool<br />
is the brand which ensures that<br />
the finest Bangladeshi products,<br />
upon receiving orders from<br />
Australia, are internationally<br />
shipped to spread the Bengali<br />
culture throughout the world and<br />
tries to use Bangladeshi delivery<br />
companies for this purpose! This<br />
spirit was embraced by Sweet<br />
Potato.<br />
It is true that we can find<br />
inspiration from a lot of places,<br />
but certainly, the Fall Meetup<br />
was one of the best places<br />
in that list. There are many<br />
such occasions when we feel<br />
disappointed about not being<br />
able to produce something<br />
exceptional to make ourselves<br />
stand out in the crowd. We often<br />
blame our upbringing or lack<br />
of opportunities in our lives for<br />
stopping us from realising our<br />
goals. In this Fall Meet-up, you<br />
could meet Amar Bangladesh,<br />
consisting of three local painters,<br />
who can neither speak nor hear<br />
what you say but can easily<br />
communicate with the brush<br />
that speaks what runs in their<br />
minds. It is their passion to<br />
draw what they want to express<br />
that outshone their disabilities<br />
and welcomed such interested<br />
visitors in their stalls. There<br />
was also the brand Ruth, whose<br />
owner had recently begun her<br />
work designing bookmarks<br />
and stickers, born of a passion<br />
to play with the pen or pencil.<br />
One of the biggest attractions<br />
was the Cartoon People team,<br />
whose portrait caricatures stole<br />
the crowd. The enthusiasm and<br />
patience with which they drew<br />
interested patrons mesmerised<br />
everyone. Such young people,<br />
with their warmest smiles and<br />
endearing hopes, were bound<br />
have won your hearts in the Fall<br />
Meet-up<br />
One of the best parts of the<br />
Fall Meet-up <strong>2016</strong> was the warm<br />
atmosphere of the MIB Spirit<br />
studio. Though a not very huge<br />
place, the tenderness of the crowd<br />
could cajole your soul to call it<br />
one of the most refreshing places<br />
ever without a shadow of doubt.<br />
The gorgeous lighting, the green<br />
surroundings, the soothing air<br />
carrying thousands of stories, the<br />
amiable nature of the exhibitors,<br />
the excitement of the visitors and<br />
the wonderful display of the true<br />
beauty of Bangladesh could melt<br />
you undoubtedly. It was an ideal<br />
hub for you to hang out with your<br />
friends, click pictures of yourself<br />
and the surroundings, check<br />
the different stalls, grab your<br />
goodies and make memories. The<br />
picturesque background attracted<br />
many photographers as well.<br />
The special products of Fall<br />
Meet-up <strong>2016</strong> were featured<br />
at the Facebook Live sessions<br />
directly from the exhibition by RJ<br />
Kazria Kayes and fashion blogger<br />
Dr. Niloy Farhana of Vogue &<br />
Vagabond; Beyond. Furthermore,<br />
Biskut Factory, Beat Baksho,<br />
TheJhakanakaProject, B’s Closett,<br />
The Fashionoholic and lifestyle<br />
bloggers, Bardots and Newton<br />
also attended live streaming<br />
sessions with the event’s exhibits<br />
at the Fall Meet-up <strong>2016</strong>.<br />
To top it all off, this time Radio<br />
Shadhin 92.4 FM came live at<br />
the Fall Meet-Up for a music<br />
performance during the closing<br />
ceremony of the event. The<br />
concert took place from 8pm to<br />
9:30pm on <strong>October</strong> 15, <strong>2016</strong> after<br />
the conclusion of the exhibition.<br />
If you were part of the crowd, you<br />
would have swayed in the beauty<br />
of Bengali classics performed by<br />
Rushnaf and Beat Baksho. The<br />
concert gave even more life to<br />
the event. Though exhausted,<br />
many exhibitors and visitors<br />
did not forget to tap their feet in<br />
the tune of these music sessions<br />
and to cheer the performers for<br />
bringing such a beautiful end to<br />
this marvelous event. To those<br />
who missed the Meet-up this<br />
time, there isn’t any reason to<br />
be disheartened because in the<br />
next season, things are going<br />
to be even bigger, even louder<br />
and even warmer. To add an end<br />
note, this event was, Made with<br />
Love, Made with Affection, Made<br />
with Utter Dexterity, and Made<br />
in Bangladesh (adapted from the<br />
quote of MIB Spirit). •
18<br />
FRI DAY, OCTOBER <strong>21</strong>, <strong>2016</strong><br />
<strong>DT</strong><br />
Feature<br />
Gear up for the first national cinema quiz contest<br />
Enliven Youth Platform organises CineQ <strong>2016</strong><br />
• Feature Desk<br />
Inspiration, determination, and<br />
belief were the catalysts and<br />
sources of power to kick off<br />
the first national cinema based<br />
quiz contest named CineQ <strong>2016</strong>,<br />
with the collective efforts of<br />
the members of the Enliven<br />
Youth Platform. CineQ <strong>2016</strong> was<br />
just a programme idea before<br />
September 9, and the enthusiastic<br />
and passionate youngsters soon<br />
began to make their plans to give<br />
visibility to their concept, creating<br />
cineQ within just five days.<br />
Within three days of launching<br />
the event page on Facebook<br />
with a preamble speech after<br />
confirming the venue and date,<br />
people engagement increased<br />
exponentially to hit half a million.<br />
According to the specialists, visual<br />
learning is twice as effective as<br />
verbal learning, if not more. As<br />
it is required to watch the given<br />
movies thoroughly for the quiz<br />
contest to trump cineQ <strong>2016</strong>, a<br />
participant will certainly learn a<br />
lot of issues and will get the gists<br />
of the movies.<br />
Since cinema is one of the<br />
primary sources of knowing<br />
cultural trends and norms, the<br />
programme is aimed at ensuring<br />
students gain in-depth knowledge<br />
about national and international<br />
culture. This exposure can<br />
contribute to eradicating<br />
superstition and conservative<br />
ideals, encourage students to<br />
think out of the box, and provide<br />
a cultural education through<br />
entertainment.<br />
Enliven Cinema Club<br />
(ECC) is a concern of Enliven<br />
Bangladesh, which has received<br />
permission from the Ministry<br />
of Information and has already<br />
started to organise the ‘Young<br />
Filmmakers for Development<br />
Sector’, an initiative funded by<br />
SNV Bangladesh in 2015. ECC is<br />
presenting cineQ <strong>2016</strong> for the first<br />
time with Enliven Youth Platform<br />
(EYP), as one of their signature<br />
programmes. Enliven Cinema<br />
Club, from its commencement,<br />
has been involved with CARE<br />
Bangladesh, UNDP, Swiss contact,<br />
SNV and EMK Center for different<br />
initiatives, and are proudly moving<br />
forward with its large volunteer<br />
groups.<br />
The quiz competition has been<br />
designed for school, college and<br />
university students where they<br />
will be separated into Group A, B<br />
& C respectively. The teams needs<br />
to be formed with two or three<br />
members from any institution but<br />
from the same group. The movie<br />
list comprises of world classic<br />
movies, award winning movies,<br />
liberation war based movies and<br />
movies with strong messages.<br />
The main objective of the cineQ<br />
<strong>2016</strong> programme is to focus on the<br />
positive sides of the movies, so<br />
that young minds can learn and<br />
understand the depth of the film<br />
movement to nurture the very<br />
best of knowledge, inspiration and<br />
information.<br />
Hundreds of teams have<br />
already registered at cineQ till<br />
now. Registered teams are giving<br />
their reviews on cineQ <strong>2016</strong> on<br />
a daily basis with mentionable<br />
excitement. “It’s our chance to<br />
shine as movie freaks. All those<br />
movies when we should’ve studied<br />
finally pay off!” - these kinds of<br />
messages are already popping up<br />
on social media. Though the last<br />
date of registration was <strong>October</strong><br />
18, due to plenty of requests, the<br />
date has been extended to <strong>October</strong><br />
24, <strong>2016</strong>.<br />
According to the specialists, visual<br />
learning is twice as effective as verbal<br />
learning, if not more. As it is required to<br />
watch the given movies thoroughly for<br />
the quiz contest to trump cineQ <strong>2016</strong><br />
A huge number of enthusiastic<br />
youth from all over the country<br />
will be congregating for the<br />
day-long programme with an<br />
exciting two round cinema quiz<br />
battle, short film screening,<br />
traditional bioscope show, spot<br />
quizzing, a photo session zone<br />
and prize giving ceremony. A lot<br />
of exciting gifts and prizes will<br />
be awarded; for instance, prizemoney<br />
and crest for the champion<br />
and finalists, t-shirts, books and<br />
mugs for the spot quiz winners<br />
and online quiz winners, and<br />
certificates for all participants.<br />
The special contribution of a 32-<br />
inch LED TV by Sohana Electrics,<br />
quiz partner of the event, will be<br />
awarded for the most outstanding<br />
performance of the day.<br />
Appreciation is still pouring in<br />
from different people, along with<br />
positive encouragement, valuable<br />
proposals and promising support,<br />
including the contribution<br />
of AHOBAN Youth Charity<br />
Foundation as strategic partner.<br />
Their campus ambassadors<br />
have made it possible to take<br />
the programme to another level<br />
in only three days, with their<br />
extensive in-campus promotion<br />
and viral social media campaign.<br />
A number of renowned clubs<br />
like the BUET Film Society, and<br />
MIST Literature and Cultural<br />
Club are working as outreach<br />
partners. Meraki, a prominent<br />
food restaurant, is contributing<br />
as gift partner and presenting<br />
food coupons worth 5000 taka to<br />
the winning team of each group.<br />
Dhaka Tribune, the media partner<br />
of the event, are also giving their<br />
support.<br />
Online and offline registration is<br />
open for all interested participants<br />
with 2-3 members’ teams.<br />
Ticketchai.com is working as<br />
the reservation partner to make<br />
the registration process more<br />
convenient. For further queries,<br />
visit the facebook page http://bit.<br />
ly/CineQ<strong>2016</strong> or register at bit.ly/<br />
ApplyCineQ<strong>2016</strong> •
Biz Info<br />
19<br />
FRIDAY, OCTOBER <strong>21</strong>, <strong>2016</strong><br />
<strong>DT</strong><br />
| park |<br />
Concord Entertainment presents Foy’s Lake complex<br />
The brand new Foy’s Lake Resort is a<br />
unique getaway where you can stay in<br />
luxurious accommodation while enjoying<br />
the natural beauty of Foy’s Lake and the<br />
entertainment of its two theme parks - Foy’s<br />
Lake Amusement World and Sea World.<br />
The whole complex is located in Pahartoli,<br />
Chittagong, on approximately 320 acres of<br />
land.<br />
Whether taking your kids on holiday,<br />
enjoying a corporate retreat or a<br />
romantic break, a stay at the resort is an<br />
unforgettable experience. Facilities include<br />
air-conditioned rooms, colour cable TV,<br />
restaurant, credit card facilities, en suite<br />
bathrooms, room service, car parking and<br />
convenience store. Recreational facilities,<br />
other than the theme parks, include BBQ<br />
nights, cultural programmes, boat rides, and<br />
concerts and shows by leading artists.<br />
The Amusement World allows you to<br />
have fun as well as enjoy the serenity and<br />
peacefulness of Foy’s Lake, and the Sea<br />
World is full of splash pools, water coaster<br />
rides, and all the usual features you would<br />
expect from a world class water theme<br />
park. The rides include Wave Pools, Slide<br />
World, Family Pool, Tube Slides, Multi-Slide,<br />
Waterfall, Doom Slide, Play Zone and Dance<br />
Zone. There are separate changing rooms<br />
and toilets for ladies and gents, lockers for<br />
valuables, local and international food, as<br />
well as Foy’s Lake Resort and shops. •<br />
| grant | | milestone |<br />
WTU offers President Scholarship <strong>2016</strong> to BUFT<br />
Six Seasons celebrates its third<br />
anniversary<br />
Recently, 11 students from the<br />
various departments of BGMEA<br />
University of Fashion and<br />
Technology (BUFT) received the<br />
President Scholarship <strong>2016</strong> in<br />
Masters programmes at Wuhan<br />
Textile University (WTU), China,<br />
under an education collaboration<br />
agreement between BUFT and<br />
WTU.<br />
The students selected<br />
for the scholarship are Md<br />
Moshiur Rahman, Md Rasel<br />
Mia, Md Raihan Sikder, Saifur<br />
Rahman, Rajon Ahmed and<br />
Mustary Akter Jhumu from<br />
the Department of Apparel<br />
Manufacture and Technology<br />
(AMT), Md Abu Yousuf and<br />
Ramjan Ali from the Department<br />
of Knitwear Manufacture and<br />
Technology (KMT) and Tamanna<br />
Hayder, Tausif Al Mehran and<br />
Tanzila Tabassum from the<br />
Department of Fashion Design<br />
and Technology (F<strong>DT</strong>). The<br />
scholarships cover all living and<br />
educational expenses. •<br />
Six Seasons Hotel, the luxury<br />
boutique hotel in Gulshan 2,<br />
celebrated its third anniversary on<br />
<strong>October</strong> 18, <strong>2016</strong>. Many respected<br />
corporations, banking and media<br />
partners, and foreign dignitaries<br />
were present at the anniversary<br />
programme. The management of<br />
Six Seasons Hotel thanked all the<br />
attendees for their continuous<br />
support to ensure Six Seasons<br />
remains the number one ranked<br />
hotel in Dhaka, and promised<br />
to provide an even better guest<br />
experience in the coming years.<br />
Kazi Aaquib Shams, Six Season’s<br />
director, said, “We are not the<br />
biggest hotel, but we are the<br />
quietest, most-ideally located<br />
hotel with the tastiest food, most<br />
luxurious rooms, innovative<br />
concepts and by far the best service<br />
in the industry. Our innovation,<br />
ethics, product and service quality<br />
is what keeps us at the very top”.<br />
The program continued with a<br />
grand buffet dinner and highly<br />
enjoyable live music. •
<strong>DT</strong><br />
20<br />
Editorial<br />
FRIDAY, OCTOBER <strong>21</strong>, <strong>2016</strong><br />
TODAY<br />
Trump may not<br />
accept election<br />
results<br />
Hillary had the last laugh. She was<br />
poised, and radiated confidence that<br />
comes from thorough preparation<br />
PAGE <strong>21</strong><br />
Technology can<br />
bring us together<br />
Landlocked countries need to use<br />
the nearest cable landing station of<br />
neighbouring countries. This provides a<br />
big scope for regional collaboration<br />
PAGE 22<br />
The future is digital<br />
BIGSTOCK<br />
The question about<br />
who wants Rampal<br />
The police attack on the procession<br />
walking to hand over a memorandum to<br />
the Indian High Commission was more<br />
remindful of panic than concern over<br />
law and order<br />
PAGE 23<br />
Be heard<br />
Write to Dhaka Tribune<br />
FR Tower, 8/C Panthapath,<br />
Shukrabad, Dhaka-1207<br />
Send us your Op-Ed articles:<br />
opinion.dt@dhakatribune.com<br />
www.dhakatribune.com<br />
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https://www.facebook.com/<br />
DhakaTribune.<br />
The views expressed in Opinion<br />
articles are those of the authors<br />
alone. They do not purport to<br />
be the official view of Dhaka<br />
Tribune or its publisher.<br />
Better internet connections, better cyber security, better digital<br />
education -- that is what Bangladesh needs to move forward into the<br />
<strong>21</strong>st century.<br />
And Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina understands the importance of<br />
digital.<br />
To that end, the government’s initiative to set up a world standard forensics<br />
lab, a cyber security agency, and a digital security council deserves praise.<br />
One of the most basic outcomes of improved internet infrastructure will be<br />
accelerated economic growth. With the widening spread of the internet across<br />
the country, we have witnessed the rise of mobile banking improve financial<br />
inclusion by providing mobile banking services to even the remotest areas of<br />
Bangladesh.<br />
By building on this infrastructure, and opening up our digital borders, the<br />
nation stands to reap the benefits of online payment systems such as PayPal,<br />
which has already expressed interest in Bangladesh as a potential market,<br />
and will allow citizens to earn money from overseas companies from their<br />
own homes, not to mention easing the process of remittance flowing into the<br />
country.<br />
But better cyber-security is imperative. As made evident by the Bangladesh<br />
Bank heist earlier this year, lax cyber security can cost the nation dearly. The<br />
PM deserves kudos for taking serious steps to bring digital security up to world<br />
standard.<br />
It is projected that by 2025, 60% of Bangladesh’s population will have<br />
access to broadband connectivity, and with better government policies on the<br />
internet, better digital education across schools, and the setting up of high-tech<br />
parks, the vision of a truly digital Bangladesh is appearing realistic.<br />
We live in an age where it takes milliseconds for information to travel from<br />
one corner of the world to another, thanks to the internet. For Bangladesh to<br />
truly integrate with the developed world and become a player in the global<br />
economy, digital is the only way.<br />
For Bangladesh to<br />
truly integrate with the<br />
developed world and<br />
become a player in the<br />
global economy, digital is<br />
the only way
Opinion <strong>21</strong><br />
<strong>DT</strong><br />
FRIDAY, OCTOBER <strong>21</strong>, <strong>2016</strong><br />
Trump may not accept election results<br />
Clinton is now 3-0 in the debates<br />
LETTER<br />
FROM<br />
AMERICA<br />
• Fakhruddin Ahmed<br />
Only winners and losers<br />
are the denizens of the<br />
world of Donald Trump.<br />
Rightly or wrongly,<br />
Trump proclaims himself as the<br />
ultimate winner, and has utter<br />
disdain for the “losers” of the<br />
world.<br />
Here is the irony: If Trump were<br />
honest, he would characterise<br />
the majority of his supporters<br />
-- blue collar whites struggling<br />
economically -- as “losers.”<br />
One never sees Trump visiting<br />
the modest households of his<br />
financially-strapped white<br />
supporters. They have to travel<br />
hundreds of miles to Trump rallies<br />
to listen to their hero, who has not<br />
articulated any plan to alleviate<br />
their suffering.<br />
A rigged election?<br />
With 20 days to go before the<br />
November 8 election, and the polls<br />
predicting Trump’s defeat (Nate<br />
Silver puts the chance of a Clinton<br />
victory at 87%), Trump is now<br />
warning his supporters that the<br />
elections will be “rigged.”<br />
An election loss will demolish<br />
the persona of a “winner” Trump<br />
has cultivated so carefully over a<br />
lifetime. A loss at the hands of a<br />
woman, Hillary Clinton, will be<br />
unacceptably humiliating for a<br />
misogynist like Trump.<br />
If he can convince his<br />
supporters that the election has<br />
been “rigged,” he is off the hook.<br />
Even if Hillary Clinton wins,<br />
Trump can claim that he had not<br />
actually lost -- the election was<br />
stolen from him. He can still wear<br />
the mantle of a “winner.”<br />
The third and last presidential<br />
debate on <strong>October</strong> 19 in Las Vegas<br />
was overshadowed by Trump’s<br />
assertion that he may not accept<br />
the results of the presidential<br />
election scheduled for November 8<br />
if he loses. This is unprecedented<br />
in the 240-year history of the<br />
United States.<br />
Historically, every loser of a<br />
presidential election had conferred<br />
legitimacy on the winner by<br />
conceding the election, and<br />
wishing the president-elect all the<br />
best. This has been the case even<br />
when the election results were in<br />
doubt.<br />
There was a clear winner<br />
For example, in 2000, Al<br />
Gore won half a million more<br />
popular votes nationwide than<br />
George W Bush. However, when<br />
the Supreme Court stopped the<br />
recount of votes cast in Florida,<br />
which could have resulted in a<br />
Gore victory, Al Gore conceded<br />
the election to Bush in an act of<br />
patriotism.<br />
Trump’s refusal to vouch that<br />
he will concede the election if he<br />
loses, strikes at the foundation of<br />
America’s democracy. If he follows<br />
through with his threat, it will<br />
weaken American democracy. As<br />
the world is world painfully aware,<br />
it was the weakness in Western<br />
European democracy in the 1930s<br />
that gave rise to fascism.<br />
Without offering any shred<br />
of evidence, Trump contends<br />
that there is widespread voter<br />
fraud in cities like Philadelphia,<br />
Chicago, and St Louis. Translation:<br />
Inner city blacks in Philadelphia,<br />
Chicago, and St Louis are stealing<br />
the election from the white folks.<br />
A study has found that there<br />
were only 31 cases of voter-fraud<br />
out of a billion votes cast between<br />
2000 and 2014. The problem is<br />
exactly the opposite. Instead<br />
of becoming a more inclusive<br />
party, for the last 30 years, the<br />
Republicans have attempted<br />
to make it harder for African-<br />
Americans and Latinos to vote, by<br />
enacting legislations that require<br />
voter IDs.<br />
Trump is not really talking<br />
about voter fraud; he is saying that<br />
the election will be “rigged.” What<br />
he means is that the states and the<br />
federal government will conspire<br />
to disenfranchise the American<br />
voters, and illegally decide that<br />
Hillary Clinton is the winner.<br />
Interestingly, two-thirds of<br />
the states, including the key<br />
battleground states of Ohio and<br />
Florida are under Republican<br />
control. The secretary of state<br />
for Ohio, a Trump supporter, has<br />
chastised Trump for impugning<br />
the integrity of the election<br />
process, as has Senator Marco<br />
Rubio of Florida. After Trump’s<br />
debate comment, several more<br />
senators and high-ranking<br />
Republicans have condemned<br />
Trump’s comment.<br />
Better prepared, but just as bad<br />
Sniffing as heavily as in the<br />
previous two debates, Trump<br />
was, nevertheless, much better<br />
prepared for the third. He seemed<br />
to hold his own in the first 20<br />
minutes as he stuck to his talking<br />
points on immigration and trade.<br />
When the moderator asked<br />
specific questions on foreign<br />
policy and national debt, Trump’s<br />
Hillary had the last laugh. She was poised, and<br />
radiated confidence that comes from thorough<br />
preparation<br />
answers became more and more<br />
nebulous. He would try and<br />
answer a question for about 10<br />
seconds, then become incoherent<br />
and rehash grounds he had<br />
covered before.<br />
As Clinton criticised Trump<br />
and the Republicans for not only<br />
condoning, but also encouraging,<br />
Russians to hack into her and the<br />
Democratic Party’s emails as they<br />
attempt to influence America’s<br />
election and elect Putin-friendly<br />
Trump as president, Trump<br />
refused to condemn Putin or the<br />
Russians.<br />
Trump denied the allegations<br />
of sexual assault levelled against<br />
him by 11 women, adding that<br />
they were all looking for their 15<br />
minutes of fame, and that Hillary<br />
Clinton had put them up to it.<br />
Once again, Trump denied<br />
that he had supported the 2003<br />
invasion of Iraq, although proof<br />
exists that he did, and repeatedly<br />
called Hillary a liar. Trump used<br />
REUTERS<br />
the slang “bad hombres” (bad<br />
fellows) to describe illegal Mexican<br />
immigrants.<br />
At one point, Trump said that<br />
Clinton should not be allowed to<br />
run for president because of the<br />
crimes she had committed. Amid<br />
gasps from the audience, Trump<br />
interrupted Clinton and called her<br />
“such a nasty woman.” Clinton and<br />
Trump did not shake hands before<br />
or after the debate.<br />
Hillary had the last laugh.<br />
She was poised, and radiated<br />
confidence that comes from<br />
thorough preparation. She smiled<br />
a lot, and had a thorough answer<br />
for every question. A CNN/ORC<br />
poll of debate watchers declared<br />
Clinton the winner by 52% to 39%<br />
for Trump. Hillary is now 3-0 in<br />
the 3 debates, and well on her<br />
way to a resounding victory on<br />
November 8. •<br />
Dr Fakhruddin Ahmed is a Rhodes<br />
Scholar.
22<br />
FRIDAY, OCTOBER <strong>21</strong>, <strong>2016</strong><br />
<strong>DT</strong><br />
Opinion<br />
Technology can bring us together<br />
Nothing cuts across geographical boundaries quite so well<br />
A better-connected world<br />
Landlocked countries need to use the nearest cable landing station<br />
of neighbouring countries. This provides a big scope for regional<br />
collaboration<br />
• Azfar Adib<br />
While the future of<br />
Saarc has become a<br />
topic of discussion,<br />
Dhaka has recently<br />
hosted two events: South Asian<br />
Telecommunication Regulatory<br />
Council Meeting, and the South<br />
Asia Economic Summit.<br />
The first one, the 17th<br />
Meeting of the South Asian<br />
Telecommunication Regulatory<br />
Council (SATRC), is an official<br />
convention of the telecom<br />
regulators in the Saarc region. This<br />
time, a delegation from Iran joined<br />
it as well. Since its formation in<br />
1997, SATRC has been actively<br />
addressing telecommunicationrelated<br />
regulatory issues and<br />
challenges of common concern to<br />
its members in collaboration with<br />
broader regional bodies like APT<br />
(Asia-Pacific Telecommunity).<br />
The second event, 9th South<br />
Asia Economic Summit (SAES IX),<br />
was organised by five regional<br />
think tanks: CPD (Bangladesh),<br />
RIS (India), SAWTEE (Nepal), SPDI<br />
(Pakistan), and IPS (Sri Lanka).<br />
With the theme of “Reimagining<br />
South Asia in 2030,” this program<br />
aimed to provide a boost to the<br />
ongoing efforts for strengthening<br />
regional cooperation among South<br />
Asian countries.<br />
Although the subject and<br />
modality of these two events are<br />
different, a common message<br />
seems to be carried by both: In<br />
the current global context, there<br />
is no alternative of continuing and<br />
utilising regional co-operation<br />
from relevant perspectives. Saarc<br />
currently has six APEX and 18<br />
recognised bodies. While the<br />
supreme summit may remain<br />
stuck due to state-level issues,<br />
these bodies, along with other<br />
forums, can play a key role to<br />
continue the regional collaboration<br />
in respective arena.<br />
Particularly, there are certain<br />
aspects where joint approach<br />
is inevitable. ICT is one of<br />
them. For example, if we go<br />
to Banglabandha Zero Point at<br />
Tetulia in Panchagarh, which is the<br />
northernmost point of Bangladesh,<br />
we shall see a board mentioning<br />
“End of Bangladesh Border.”<br />
However, if we just take out<br />
our cell phones and search for<br />
available networks, we may find<br />
network coverage of several<br />
telecom operators from both India<br />
and Bangladesh.<br />
Such is the strength and beauty<br />
of communication technology<br />
-- it can easily cross geographical<br />
boundaries.<br />
In this arena, there are<br />
numerous wings of collaboration.<br />
Let us consider internet<br />
connectivity.<br />
On a broad level, there are two<br />
possible mechanisms for a country<br />
to get connected to the ocean of<br />
the internet -- through satellite,<br />
or through cable. Due to cost,<br />
coverage, and capacity issues,<br />
use of satellite-based internet<br />
connectivity (such as VSAT) is<br />
quite limited.<br />
It is generally used for<br />
segmented purposes, in very<br />
remote or isolated locations<br />
where terrestrial connectivity is<br />
not possible, or as an emergency<br />
backup for the main connectivity.<br />
So, the majority of internet<br />
traffic between countries or<br />
continents pass over cables; to<br />
be more specific, through a vast<br />
network of undersea cables known<br />
as a submarine cable network.<br />
Cable landing stations in<br />
certain coastal cities act as<br />
the connectivity hub for this<br />
submarine cable network.<br />
Currently in the South Asian<br />
BIGSTOCK<br />
region, cable landing locations are<br />
located in Cox’s Bazar, Colombo,<br />
Karachi, Mumbai, Chennai along<br />
with Cochin, Tuticorin, and Digha<br />
in India.<br />
These landing stations pass the<br />
internet traffic of the respective<br />
country along with other<br />
countries. The concept is quite<br />
similar to sea ports which can<br />
serve as the export-import centres<br />
for multiple countries. Particularly,<br />
landlocked countries (such as<br />
Nepal, Bhutan, and Afghanistan)<br />
need to use the nearest cable<br />
landing station of neighbouring<br />
countries. This provides a big<br />
scope for regional collaboration.<br />
Recently, Bangladesh has<br />
decided to export bandwidth to<br />
neighbouring countries.<br />
Bandwidth export to the Indian<br />
state of Tripura was launched on<br />
March 23, <strong>2016</strong> through a video<br />
conference by Prime Minister<br />
Sheikh Hasina and her Indian<br />
counterpart Narendra Modi.<br />
Initially, a monthly revenue of<br />
$100,000 is being generated for<br />
exporting 10Gbps of bandwidth<br />
to Tripura, which may gradually<br />
expand up to 40Gbps. Other<br />
Indian states in the northeast also<br />
have bandwidth requirements.<br />
The same thing applies for<br />
Bhutan (where bandwidth export<br />
is planned to start soon) and after<br />
Bhutan, Bangladesh may seek to<br />
export bandwidth to Nepal as well.<br />
As a second submarine cable<br />
landing station is being deployed<br />
in Kuakata, and exploration has<br />
been going on for back-up internet<br />
connectivity through Myanmar,<br />
huge potential lies for Bangladesh<br />
in this arena.<br />
Currently, the second path<br />
of our internet connectivity is<br />
through India (towards the landing<br />
stations in Mumbai and Chennai)<br />
via International Terrestrial Cable<br />
(ITC).<br />
Let us look at another possible<br />
aspect of alliance. When anyone<br />
from Bangladesh travels to<br />
neighbouring countries such as<br />
India, Pakistan, Nepal, or viceversa,<br />
there is less probability that<br />
they will use a roaming SIM for<br />
communication due to extremely<br />
high roaming tariffs.<br />
Traditionally, roaming tariffs<br />
have been significantly high in<br />
most parts of the world due to<br />
certain factors, including complex<br />
connectivity path of roaming<br />
traffic, and revenue sharing<br />
modality between multiple parties<br />
(home operator, visited operator,<br />
and middle carrier).<br />
Still, the level of roaming tariff<br />
(percentage increase of hundred or<br />
thousand times with comparison<br />
to usual local tariff) is not justified<br />
in most cases.<br />
This issue can be best addressed<br />
through regional alignment.<br />
Roaming regulations of EU can be<br />
the best example in this regard.<br />
It strictly enforces the maximum<br />
roaming charges allowable across<br />
the EU countries, and targets<br />
to completely abolish end-user<br />
roaming charges by June 2017.<br />
Obviously, Saarc cannot be<br />
comparable with EU which is<br />
one of the strongest regional<br />
forums, having a very strong and<br />
consolidated framework. Still,<br />
some collaborative approach can<br />
be sought among the South Asian<br />
countries to regulate the roaming<br />
tariffs while ensuring the interest<br />
of both users and operators.<br />
While lack of formal alignment<br />
or procedural obligation may<br />
remain as bottleneck for<br />
regional co-operation in various<br />
sectors, ICT is one arena where<br />
collaboration may proceed<br />
through the drive of mass people,<br />
irrespective of such dependencies.<br />
Just as an example, the demand<br />
for broadcasting Bangladeshi TV<br />
channels in India has been a longlasting<br />
issue. However, even if a<br />
particular Bangladeshi channel<br />
is not being broadcast in India,<br />
anyone there can now watch it<br />
through live online streaming.<br />
So the best possible outcome<br />
can be ensured if the countries<br />
utilise such progressive flow<br />
through a collaborative approach<br />
for the betterment of this region. •<br />
Azfar Adib is a telecom professional and<br />
internet service analyst.
Opinion 23<br />
<strong>DT</strong><br />
FRIDAY, OCTOBER <strong>21</strong>, <strong>2016</strong><br />
The question about who wants Rampal<br />
How will the government handle the opposition to Rampal?<br />
• Afsan Chowdhury<br />
“Does India have the will power to<br />
say no to Hasina? I doubt it. The<br />
strategic community (majority<br />
of them) is eternally grateful to<br />
Hasina for taking action against the<br />
North East insurgents. Unless the<br />
Bangladesh government pulls out,<br />
India will not pull out. This is what<br />
I understood from my interaction<br />
here. As a government that would<br />
face election, Hasina should say no.<br />
Anyway, it has become chicken and<br />
egg theory” -- Smruti Pattanaik,<br />
Indian defence analyst<br />
Smruti Pattanaik, an Indian<br />
defense analyst with<br />
first-hand experience of<br />
Bangladesh was responding<br />
to several queries about Indian<br />
involvement on Rampal, and<br />
even a few questions which were<br />
suggesting that Rampal was an act<br />
of hostile aggression by India.<br />
This was on Facebook, and<br />
though that digital space is<br />
remarkably full of off-the-cuff<br />
remarks, this point raised has<br />
drawn attention. It is because<br />
we are used to blaming India at<br />
every step, not realising that we<br />
are also participating in many of<br />
the contentious projects. Rampal<br />
appears to have become an issue<br />
for all parties concerned. And if<br />
any country is to be blamed, it<br />
should be both.<br />
Indians are not feeling very<br />
happy about all the blaming it is<br />
getting because, for them, the<br />
cost-benefit is not just economic,<br />
but strategic and security related<br />
as well. India can have many other<br />
similar projects elsewhere, and<br />
even if Rampal is very convenient<br />
for them, it is not the only option.<br />
It’s not even a mega project that<br />
will radically adjust India’s energy<br />
needs, so it’s one of the many it<br />
can choose.<br />
But India’s main interest is<br />
increasingly that of security,<br />
and Bangladesh has been a key<br />
player in achieving that. As<br />
Pattanaik suggests, Bangladesh<br />
has delivered a significant security<br />
package by eliminating sanctuary<br />
to India’s rebellious North East<br />
insurgents, and the benefit is<br />
enormous in every way to her.<br />
So, India would hardly want<br />
to step into an unpopular space<br />
in Bangladesh. And promoting<br />
a few billion dollars worth of an<br />
energy project makes little sense<br />
if in return the Indian brand in<br />
Bangladesh is weakened and<br />
consequently the security blanket<br />
is disturbed.<br />
India also has a large number<br />
of its citizens involved in many<br />
sectors, and if India becomes<br />
vulnerable here due to the<br />
existence of a power plant, the<br />
socio-economic cost of departing<br />
Indians from Bangladesh due<br />
to heightened insecurity will be<br />
much greater compared to Rampal<br />
gains. India certainly wants to do<br />
business here, but India will never<br />
want a population that is hostile<br />
to it making security equations<br />
vulnerable.<br />
Rampal: More gratitude than gain?<br />
But can India refuse, as Smruti<br />
Pattanaik asks, given what Sheikh<br />
Hasina has helped India to gain,<br />
a rebel-diminished North East?<br />
Rampal is not a big deal for India,<br />
it’s a deal, but to Bangladesh, it’s a<br />
big fish. But while even six months<br />
back, Rampal was just a small lefty<br />
movement, it has become the most<br />
significant political project now.<br />
It’s not only a possible threat to the<br />
Sundarbans, it’s becoming one to<br />
India-Bangla relations even more.<br />
Can mainstream politics overcome<br />
the public perception that has now<br />
gained a firm footing here that the<br />
project will not be an undiluted<br />
advantage for Bangladesh?<br />
The Rampal project was never a<br />
publicly visible project which was<br />
being built somewhere far away.<br />
But the dedicated resistance of<br />
the activists, rightly or wrongly,<br />
has turned it into a much bigger<br />
problem for the government. The<br />
authorities at first completely<br />
ignored the opposition to the<br />
project, then tried to counter it<br />
through technical discussions and<br />
the loyal media support it.<br />
Next, it trashed the Rampal<br />
opponents as pro-Jamaat, and<br />
finally did the old lathi charge/<br />
tear gas routine on its procession.<br />
None, one is afraid, has worked<br />
very well for the government till<br />
date. It not only underestimated<br />
the stamina of the Rampal<br />
activists, but also saw them as just<br />
another opponent like the BNP.<br />
Rampal is not Farakka<br />
But BNP is a ragged party of<br />
geriatrics with declining public<br />
support and full of traditional<br />
posturing and bluster while the<br />
Oil and Gas Committee has much<br />
more public goodwill, though not<br />
If nothing else, protesters can make the government uneasy<br />
The police attack on the procession walking to hand over a<br />
memorandum to the Indian High Commission was more remindful of<br />
panic than concern over law and order<br />
necessarily active support.<br />
But in the public political space,<br />
the activists look like a bunch of<br />
politicians we almost never see<br />
in Bangladesh, let alone expect.<br />
They are into a cause and not a<br />
party, not into power and moneymaking<br />
but development issues.<br />
Frankly, they also have no political<br />
structure, and even if the entire<br />
Left were to come together, they<br />
wouldn’t be able to make much<br />
of a difference. But faith in the<br />
activists is increasing at a pace<br />
never thought possible before,<br />
because they are considered clean<br />
and patriotic by many.<br />
The police attack on the<br />
procession walking to hand over a<br />
memorandum to the Indian High<br />
Commission was more remindful<br />
of panic than concern over law<br />
and order. After all, the activists<br />
have no clout to call a hartal even,<br />
but it’s making the powers that<br />
be rather uneasy just by their<br />
presence.<br />
Rampal is also not Farakka,<br />
because the barrage was<br />
constructed in India arbitrarily<br />
without any consideration<br />
for Bangladesh’s water rights.<br />
Rampal, on the other hand, is an<br />
environmentally controversial<br />
project which is happening inside<br />
Bangladesh as a joint activity. If<br />
Farakka victimised Bangladesh<br />
and created permanent anti-<br />
Indian feelings, how worthy can<br />
it be for India? Public perception<br />
increasingly sees it negatively<br />
rather than discuss the pro and<br />
contra arguments.<br />
Rampal has gone beyond logic into<br />
the emotional space<br />
In Bangladesh, political<br />
accountability practices are<br />
much less but in India it is much<br />
higher, where the consequences of<br />
supporting Rampal could become<br />
an issue if it leads to other issues<br />
like loss of security. While few in<br />
India know about Rampal, more<br />
people know about it than ever<br />
before here in Bangladesh.<br />
It’s not a media issue in<br />
India, but it’s the biggest one<br />
in Bangladesh. Many support<br />
Rampal, and for good reasons.<br />
Many also are against it, though<br />
they may know less about<br />
the project. The point is, the<br />
argumentative space is largely over<br />
now and it’s a matter of collective<br />
emotions and it’s growing. That is<br />
MEHEDI HASAN<br />
why it’s something bigger than a<br />
controversial coal plant; it’s about<br />
public perception of what is right<br />
and wrong. And that is about<br />
politics, not development.<br />
Hasina’s politicians, too rusty<br />
at national politics due to lack<br />
of practice, has not even had a<br />
chance to defend the cause, and<br />
the bureaucrats and technocrats,<br />
who are in charge of politics, never<br />
a very trusted community in town,<br />
has not effectively sold the case<br />
to the public. The government<br />
has been pushed by a ragtag<br />
band of volunteer activists never<br />
thought possible and it has made<br />
the political equations far more<br />
difficult.<br />
The government’s prestige,<br />
will, and clout have all been put<br />
into the Rampal basket and to<br />
retreat or even reconsider Rampal<br />
would be considered a defeat and<br />
this government has not had one<br />
in the last decade or so. It has no<br />
intention of being pushed into a<br />
corner and it won’t. But that has<br />
put more than a coal project into<br />
the spot; its politics that is being<br />
affected although the opposition is<br />
non-existent.<br />
From a space of total<br />
confidence where it had no<br />
thought of any opposition, the<br />
mood has shifted to battling a tiny<br />
opponent. How the government<br />
handles itself and tries to build<br />
public opinion will be worth<br />
watching. •<br />
Afsan Chowdhury is a journalist and<br />
researcher.
<strong>DT</strong><br />
24<br />
Sport<br />
FRIDAY, OCTOBER <strong>21</strong>, <strong>2016</strong><br />
TOP STORIES<br />
Moeen: Hardest 60<br />
I’ve ever made<br />
The England batters perhaps<br />
assumed that the pitch will be a<br />
good one to bat on, at least for the<br />
first two days, but the Bangladesh<br />
spinners, led by debutant Mehedi<br />
Hasan Miraz’s five-for, made life<br />
difficult for the visitors. PAGE 25<br />
Zalmi grab Shakib,<br />
retake Tamim<br />
Pakistan Super League T20<br />
franchise Peshawar Zalmi roped in<br />
ace Bangladesh all-rounder Shakib<br />
al Hasan and retook opening<br />
batsman Tamim Iqbal during<br />
the players’ draft in Dubai on<br />
Wednesday. PAGE 26<br />
Mourinho issues<br />
Rashford warning<br />
Portuguese manager Jose<br />
Mourinho does not want Marcus<br />
Rashford to be selected for<br />
next year’s European Under-<strong>21</strong><br />
Championships if the Manchester<br />
United striker is a regular in the<br />
senior England squad. PAGE 27<br />
Messi ruins<br />
Guardiola return<br />
Lionel Messi spoiled Pep<br />
Guardiola’s homecoming by<br />
scoring a hat-trick in Barcelona’s<br />
4-0 win over 10-man Manchester<br />
City in the Champions League,<br />
while Bayern Munich shook off<br />
their recent patchy form to defeat<br />
PSV Eindhoven 4-1. PAGE 28<br />
Bangladesh spinner Mehedi Hasan Miraz is all smiles following the end of the opening day’s play of the first Test against<br />
England at Zahur Ahmed Chowdhury Stadium in Chittagong yesterday<br />
MAINOOR ISLAM MANIK<br />
‘Never dreamed of such debut’<br />
• Mazhar Uddin<br />
from Chittagong<br />
Ever since he started playing in<br />
the age-level groups, Mehedi<br />
Hasan Miraz had that X-factor in<br />
him whenever he walked into any<br />
ground.<br />
After several promising displays,<br />
Miraz’s crowning moment<br />
came in the Under-19 World Cup<br />
earlier this year when he was<br />
named the player of the tournament,<br />
prompting many to label<br />
him the next Shakib al Hasan for<br />
his sheer talent.<br />
It was no surprise therefore for<br />
anyone who followed him closely<br />
over the years to see him in action<br />
yesterday when he picked up five<br />
wickets on Test debut against a<br />
formidable England side. Miraz<br />
was booming with confidence, a<br />
rare sight indeed for a teenager.<br />
The 18-year old became the<br />
youngest ever Bangladeshi to bag<br />
five wickets on debut, bettering Sohag<br />
Gazi’s record, ending the opening<br />
day’s play with brilliant bowling<br />
figures of 5/64 from his 33 overs.<br />
It was all surreal for Miraz, who<br />
informed that he never dreamed of<br />
taking five wickets in his Test bow.<br />
“I never thought that I would<br />
get five wickets in my debut<br />
match. And I didn’t even think<br />
that it would be this outstanding. I<br />
thought I would rather have an average<br />
performance where I would<br />
take one or two wickets and score<br />
30-odd runs. But when things go<br />
well, it actually goes pretty well<br />
which was the case for me,” a jubilant<br />
Miraz told the media.<br />
“Even our coach (Chandika<br />
Hathursingha) said to me that I<br />
should not think of taking five<br />
or six wickets and try to bowl on<br />
the right spot. And things went<br />
pretty well for me. All thanks to<br />
almighty Allah,” he said.<br />
According to Miraz, he was<br />
bowling outside the wicket initially<br />
but skipper Mushfiqur Rahim<br />
told him to bowl in the line of<br />
the wicket, which would in turn<br />
create more chances for him to<br />
pick up wickets.<br />
He clean bowled another English<br />
debutant Ben Duckett to get<br />
his first wicket in international<br />
cricket but Miraz said his fifth<br />
dismissal, that of Jonny Bairstow,<br />
was among his favourites.<br />
“My fifth wicket of the day<br />
where I bowled Bairstow was my<br />
favourite one. The ball skidded<br />
on to hit the stumps. The batsman<br />
was unable to understand the<br />
delivery and interestingly, even<br />
I didn’t understand what happened<br />
at that time,” said Miraz,<br />
sporting a smile.<br />
The Khulna cricketer informed<br />
that he had the experience of<br />
bowling with the new ball from<br />
his age-level days. The youngster<br />
bowled a whopping 33 overs during<br />
the opening day’s play.<br />
Miraz stated that he used to<br />
bowl long spells with Bangladesh<br />
left-arm spinner Abdur Razzak<br />
for Khulna in the National Cricket<br />
League, which helped him tremendously.<br />
He also gave credit to the Bangladesh<br />
Cricket Board’s age-level<br />
coach Sohel Islam, who mentored<br />
the youngster during his age-level<br />
days.<br />
“One thing I would like to mention<br />
is that I would like to thank<br />
Sohel sir who was our assistant<br />
coach in the U-19 level. He guided<br />
me from the U-15 days. He discussed<br />
with me continuously how<br />
to improve my bowling. I also tried<br />
to contact him [yesterday] as I am<br />
feeling really good. I believe he<br />
will also do the same,” he added. •<br />
Mehedi Hasan Miraz, at 18 years and 361 days, became the youngest bowler<br />
to take five wickets on Test debut for Bangladesh. Previously, the record<br />
belonged to Sohag Gazi, who at <strong>21</strong> years and 100 days, picked up 6/76 against<br />
the West Indies in 2012. Mehedi is also the fourth youngest bowler in the<br />
history of five-day cricket to take five wickets on debut.<br />
PLAYERS AGES FIGURES OPPOSITION YEARS<br />
Pat Cummins 18 yrs, 193 days 6/79 South Africa 2011<br />
Shahid Afridi 18 yrs, 235 days 5/52 Australia 1998<br />
Shahid Nazir 18 yrs, 318 days 5/53 Zimbabwe 1996<br />
Mehedi Hasan 18 yrs, 361 days 5/64 England <strong>2016</strong><br />
Miraz’s mentor<br />
says it’s just<br />
the start<br />
• Mazhar Uddin<br />
from Chittagong<br />
It would have been any mentor’s<br />
dream to see his student shine in<br />
his first international appearance<br />
for his country.<br />
And one could hardly ask for<br />
a better start than Mehedi Hasan<br />
Miraz, who made his international<br />
bow against England yesterday.<br />
Miraz became the youngest Bangladeshi<br />
to take five wickets on debut<br />
and also the fourth youngest bowler<br />
in the history of Test cricket to<br />
achieve the feat as he picked up 5/64<br />
from his 33 overs against England<br />
to take the home side to the driving<br />
seat during the first day’s play.<br />
Sohel Islam, who is currently<br />
the Bangladesh Cricket Board’s<br />
head coach of the Under-17<br />
age-level group, guided Miraz right<br />
from the early stages of his career.<br />
Miraz learned many bowling tricks<br />
from Sohel from his U-15 days. He<br />
was also the assistant coach of the<br />
U-19 team which was led admirably<br />
by Miraz.<br />
Sohel believes it’s just the start<br />
of a new life for Miraz. He also<br />
urged his disciple to keep his feet<br />
on the ground, forget whatever he<br />
has achieved on the first day and<br />
look to continue what he has been<br />
doing over the years.<br />
“Obviously I am very happy for<br />
him and my message to him will<br />
be to remain focused on his game<br />
and don’t let anything else come<br />
between his performance. It’s just<br />
the start of his career and whatever<br />
he has already achieved is surely<br />
the reward of his hard work,” Sohel<br />
told Dhaka Tribune over phone<br />
yesterday.<br />
According to Sohel, the biggest<br />
strength of Miraz’s bowling is his<br />
accuracy that was clearly evident<br />
right from the age-level group.<br />
“I think his biggest strength is<br />
his accuracy as he can bowl in the<br />
right line right from the start of his<br />
spell. He also has the experience of<br />
bowling with the new ball from the<br />
age-level period and it was no exception<br />
in his international debut,”<br />
he added. •
Sport 25<br />
<strong>DT</strong><br />
FRIDAY, OCTOBER <strong>21</strong>, <strong>2016</strong><br />
SCORECARD<br />
ENGLAND FIRST INNINGS R B<br />
A. Cook b Shakib 4 26<br />
B. Duckett b Mehedi 14 35<br />
J. Root c Sabbir b Mehedi 40 49<br />
G. Ballance lbw b Mehedi 1 7<br />
M. Ali c Rahim b Mehedi 68 170<br />
B. Stokes b Shakib 18 34<br />
J. Bairstow b Mehedi 52 126<br />
C. Woakes not out 36 77<br />
A. Rashid not out 5 28<br />
Extras (b14, lb4, w2) 20<br />
Total (seven wickets, 92 overs) 258<br />
Fall of wickets<br />
1-18 (Duckett), 2-18 (Cook), 3-<strong>21</strong> (Ballance),<br />
4-83 (Root), 5-106 (Stokes), 6-194<br />
(Moeen) , 7-237 ( Bairstow)<br />
Bowling<br />
Shafiul 9-1-33-0, Mehedi 33-6-64-5,<br />
Kamrul 8-0-41-0 (w2), Shakib 19-6-<br />
46-2, Taijul 17-8-28-0, Sabbir 3-0-11-0,<br />
Mahmudullah 2-0-17-0, Mominul 1-1-0-0<br />
Bangladesh captain Mushfiqur Rahim and the close-in fielders appeal unsuccessfully for the dismissal of England’s Moeen Ali during the opening day’s play of the first<br />
Test at Zahur Ahmed Chowdhury Stadium in Chittagong yesterday<br />
MAINOOR ISLAM MANIK<br />
Bangladesh’s Tamim Iqbal and Shakib al Hasan take a<br />
breather in the drinks cart yesterday<br />
MI MANIK<br />
Moeen: Hardest<br />
60 I’ve ever made<br />
• Mazhar Uddin<br />
from Chittagong<br />
The England batters perhaps<br />
assumed that the pitch at Zahur<br />
Ahmed Chowdhury Stadium<br />
in the port city will be<br />
a good one to bat on, at least<br />
for the first two days, but the<br />
Bangladesh spinners, especially<br />
debutant Mehedi Hasan<br />
Miraz’s five-for, made life difficult<br />
for the visitors.<br />
At the end of the first day,<br />
England were 258/7 with<br />
left-handed batsman Moeen<br />
Ali top-scoring with a patient<br />
170-ball 68. It was Moeen who<br />
showed the most fight among<br />
the England batsmen.<br />
The visitors found it difficult<br />
to cope with the conditions<br />
and the spin-friendly wicket<br />
and according to Moeen, it was<br />
his toughest half-century yet<br />
in Test cricket.<br />
The southpaw also praised<br />
the Bangladesh bowlers for<br />
putting in a disciplined performance.<br />
“It was very tough. [Yesterday]<br />
was the hardest 60<br />
I’ve ever made. They bowled<br />
well. They bowled very accurately.<br />
And it’s not just about<br />
surviving, it’s about scoring<br />
runs. It’s tough. They set<br />
good fields,” Moeen told the<br />
media yesterday.<br />
It was very tough.<br />
[Yesterday] was<br />
the hardest 60<br />
I’ve ever made.<br />
They bowled<br />
well. They<br />
bowled very<br />
accurately<br />
“They were dirty runs<br />
[yesterday]. It was a massive<br />
mental challenge, especially<br />
with the reviews. I kept missing<br />
the ball and they hit my<br />
pad. I couldn’t figure out why.<br />
It was a good mental challenge,”<br />
he said.<br />
It was a rather eventful<br />
<strong>21</strong>9-minute stay at the crease<br />
as he survived five reviews,<br />
including three in an over.<br />
“We are normally pretty<br />
tight, but we didn’t speak for<br />
a session. It was a tough pitch<br />
to umpire, but what can I say?<br />
The guy gave me out three<br />
times! I knew I had a hit the<br />
first one or gloved it, there<br />
was definitely something<br />
there. [Joe] Root saved me on<br />
the other two,” he said.<br />
The 29-year old went<br />
on to heap praise on debutant<br />
Miraz, informing that<br />
he bowled quite accurately,<br />
which in turn paid rich dividends<br />
for the home side.<br />
“I thought they might<br />
open with a spinner but I<br />
didn’t think it was going to<br />
spin as much. You saw the<br />
new ball, it spun straightaway.<br />
He (Miraz) bowled very<br />
accurately with the new ball.<br />
Definitely he is a good prospect<br />
for Bangladesh,” he said.<br />
Moeen is of the opinion<br />
that they are still in a good<br />
position and that their initial<br />
target would be to post close<br />
to 300 runs, or above, in the<br />
first innings. He added that<br />
the pitch has a lot to offer for<br />
the spinners and expressed<br />
hope that he, along with Gareth<br />
Batty and Adil Rashid,<br />
will play vital roles. •<br />
IN NUMBERS<br />
Bangladesh players to take a fivewicket<br />
haul on their Test debut,<br />
7<br />
including Mehedi Hasan. Incidentally,<br />
four of those have been in the last five<br />
years. No team has had more than three<br />
five-wicket hauls by debutants in this<br />
period. Across all formats, Bangladesh<br />
bowlers have taken seven five-fors in<br />
debut in last five years, again the most<br />
for any team, by a distance.<br />
Younger Bangladesh bowler to<br />
1 take five-wicket hauls in Tests, than<br />
Mehedi who was 18 years, 361 days.<br />
Enamul Haque Jr had taken three fivefors<br />
at a younger age than Mehedi’s in<br />
2005. Overall, Mehedi is the fourthyoungest<br />
bowler to take a five-wicket<br />
haul on Test debut.<br />
Number of players to score 1000-<br />
1 plus runs in a year in Tests batting at<br />
No. 6 or lower. Jonny Bairstow became<br />
the first to achieve this in this year. The<br />
previous most runs by any player at No.<br />
6 or below was 984 by VVS Laxman in<br />
2002. He was also the first player to go<br />
past 1000 Test runs this year.<br />
Partnerships of 50 or more runs<br />
6 between Bairstow and Moeen Ali<br />
in Tests this year for the sixth-wicket -<br />
most by any pair for wickets six or lower<br />
in a year. Four pairs had five such stands<br />
including Andrew Flintoff and Geraint<br />
Jones for England in 2004.<br />
Runs added by England’s first<br />
<strong>21</strong> three wickets, is their lowest in<br />
the first innings of any Test in Asia. Their<br />
previous lowest was 22 runs in Galle in<br />
2007-08.<br />
Tests missed by Gareth<br />
142 Batty between his last Test<br />
and this come-back Test - most by any<br />
player. Batty’s last Test was more than<br />
11 years ago, also against Bangladesh, in<br />
June 2005.<br />
Previous most Tests played<br />
133 by an England player, by Alec<br />
Stewart. Alastair Cook appeared in his<br />
134th Test in this match to become the<br />
most capped England player.
<strong>DT</strong><br />
26<br />
FRIDAY, OCTOBER <strong>21</strong>, <strong>2016</strong><br />
Sport<br />
PAKISTAN SUPER LEAGUE<br />
Peshawar grab Shakib, retake Tamim<br />
• Tribune Report<br />
PSL T20 franchise Peshawar Zalmi<br />
roped in ace Bangladesh all-rounder<br />
Shakib al Hasan and retook<br />
opening batsman Tamim Iqbal during<br />
the players’ draft in Dubai on<br />
Wednesday.<br />
Shakib will feature in the Pakistan<br />
Super League for the second<br />
time after playing for Karachi<br />
Kings in the inaugural edition<br />
while Tamim will participate in his<br />
second consecutive season in the<br />
same colours. Tamim had a prolific<br />
campaign last time around, scoring<br />
267 runs in six matches to emerge<br />
as the team’s highest run scorer.<br />
Peshawar will be captained by<br />
the West Indies’ Darren Sammy,<br />
in place of previous captain Shahid<br />
Afridi, while well-established<br />
internationals like Chris Jordan,<br />
Shaun Tait, Jonny Bairstow, Eoin<br />
Morgan and Brad Hodge will also<br />
turn out for Peshawar.<br />
Local players Mohammad Hafeez,<br />
Afridi and Kamran Akmal<br />
shore up the Peshawar side. Veteran<br />
Pakistan cricketer Younis Khan,<br />
who went unsold in the draft, will<br />
mentor the side.<br />
Alongside Peshawar, Karachi<br />
Kings, Lahore Qalandars, Islamabad<br />
United and Quetta Gladiators<br />
will take part in the second edition<br />
of the tournament, scheduled to<br />
be held from February-March next<br />
year.<br />
Islamabad were crowned champions<br />
of the inaugural <strong>2016</strong> PSL<br />
season, defeating Quetta in the final<br />
on February 23.<br />
New players<br />
Eoin Morgan and Alex Hales (England),<br />
Haris Sohail, Irfan Khan,<br />
Khushdil Shah, Sohaib Maqsood<br />
and Iftikhar Ahmed (Pakistan), Mohammad<br />
Shahzad (Afghanistan)<br />
and Shakib al Hasan (Bangladesh)<br />
Retained players<br />
Shahid Afridi, Wahab Riaz, Mohammad<br />
Hafeez, Kamran Akmal,<br />
Junaid Khan, Imran Khan, Hasan<br />
Ali and Mohammad Asghar (Pakistan),<br />
Tamim Iqbal (Bangladesh),<br />
Darren Sammy (West Indies) and<br />
Chris Jordan (England)<br />
Released<br />
Aamer Yamin, Musadiq<br />
Ahmed, Shahid Yousuf, Taj Wali,<br />
Israrullah and Abdur Rehman<br />
(Pakistan), Shaun Tait, Brad<br />
Hodge and Jim Allenby (Australia),<br />
Jonny Bairstow and Dawid Malan<br />
(England) •<br />
Australia quick Starc fit and ready to take on South Africa<br />
• Reuters, Sydney<br />
Australia’s pace spearhead Mitchell<br />
Starc is confident he will be fit<br />
to take on South Africa in next<br />
month’s first Test after declaring<br />
himself available for a domestic<br />
Sheffield Shield match yesterday.<br />
Starc sustained a nasty gash on<br />
his left leg in a freak training accident<br />
last month and has been<br />
sidelined since, casting doubt over<br />
his participation in the three-Test<br />
home series against the Proteas.<br />
His compatriots were sweating<br />
over his fitness after Australia<br />
slumped to an unprecedented 5-0<br />
one-day series defeat in South Africa,<br />
but yesterday Starc told 30-odd<br />
journalists assembled outside Sydney<br />
Cricket Ground he was “ready<br />
to go”.<br />
“It’s going well,” the 26-year-old<br />
said. “It’s not restricted at the moment.<br />
“The first session I had about<br />
two weeks ago, it was a bit tight,<br />
but since then it’s been fine and<br />
I’ve been bowling off the long run.<br />
“Unfortunately these things<br />
happen in life and in cricket but<br />
hopefully I can get up to Brisbane<br />
and get some bowling under the<br />
belt, then move on to Perth.”<br />
Starc will travel with the New<br />
South Wales team to Brisbane<br />
on Monday for a four-day match<br />
against Queensland, where he will<br />
play alongside fellow Test paceman<br />
Josh Hazlewood.<br />
The pace duo were always going<br />
to be rested from the ODI series<br />
even before Starc injured his leg<br />
and the left-armer was confident<br />
he could now play through six<br />
Tests against South Africa and Pakistan<br />
over the Australian summer.<br />
Starc also thought that with<br />
Barcelona’s Luis Suarez, his daughter Delfina and son Benjamin, pose with his <strong>2016</strong> European Golden Shoe trophy, which is<br />
awarded to the top goalscorer in Europe’s domestic leagues, during an awards ceremony in Barcelona yesterday REUTERS<br />
Australia’s first-choice pace attack<br />
back on board, the South African<br />
batsmen would find it far harder to<br />
score runs than they did against an<br />
inexperienced bowling unit in the<br />
ODI series.<br />
“I think the South Africans obviously<br />
played really well in that<br />
series and they’ve been talking it<br />
up coming over here to Australia,”<br />
he said.<br />
“It’s two very different teams<br />
and Josh and I are looking forward<br />
to being there in Perth. Hopefully<br />
I’m there, I’ll be making myself<br />
available for selection.”<br />
Starc, who sustained the injury<br />
when he landed on the metal base<br />
of a set of wickets during fielding<br />
practice, agreed with Australia<br />
captain Steve Smith’s description<br />
of the wound as “gruesome”.<br />
“I couldn’t actually look at it,”<br />
he said. “I didn’t actually see it<br />
until after surgery. It wasn’t the<br />
prettiest thing, and it’s still not the<br />
prettiest thing.<br />
“It’s all going well, it’s still not<br />
closed up but that won’t stop me<br />
playing.”<br />
The first Test against South Africa<br />
begins at the WACA on Nov. 3.•<br />
Williamson, Southee<br />
star in final-over win<br />
• Agencies<br />
India wouldn’t have expected a<br />
target of 243 to trouble them. But<br />
it did. Their top order tends to finish<br />
games off. Not this time. That<br />
left MS Dhoni and a set of batsmen<br />
not accustomed to finishing an innings.<br />
New Zealand exploited that<br />
to pull off a six-run victory and level<br />
the series.<br />
It was a chaotic scrap to the finish,<br />
which brought a noisy crowd at<br />
the Feroz Shah Kotla to their feet in<br />
the final stages. India were 172 for<br />
6 - and the man dismissed was the<br />
Indian captain, who was also their<br />
best option against an equation of<br />
71 runs in 63 balls. Then a goofy over<br />
from Martin Guptill - four wides, 10<br />
balls, and two wickets - brought<br />
Hardik Pandya front and centre for<br />
the second match in a row.<br />
In Dharamsala, he offered a<br />
glimpse at his utility as a new-ball<br />
bowler. In Delhi, he suggested he<br />
has promise as a man who could<br />
come in late and stay sensible under<br />
pressure. He wrestled an equation<br />
of 48 off 36 balls down to 10 off six.<br />
2ND ODI<br />
NEW ZEALAND 242/9 (Williamson 118,<br />
Bumrah 3/35, Mishra 3/60) beat INDIA<br />
236 (Jadhav 41, Dhoni 39, Southee<br />
3/52) by six runs<br />
In that time New Zealand’s disciplines<br />
were taking a beating. It<br />
was the final overs of the innings,<br />
but they didn’t even look for the<br />
yorker. Most of their success yesterday<br />
was the result of the fast<br />
bowlers hitting back of a length on<br />
a pitch that was slow.•
Sport 27<br />
<strong>DT</strong><br />
FRIDAY, OCTOBER <strong>21</strong>, <strong>2016</strong><br />
QUICK BYTES<br />
‘Mentally tough’ Modric<br />
to retire at Real Madrid<br />
Real Madrid midfielder Luka Modric<br />
wants to play out the rest of his<br />
career with the Spanish giants<br />
after signing a new contract until<br />
2020. Modric, 31, has become<br />
a fundamental part of the Real<br />
side, winning two Champions<br />
League titles, since his arrival from<br />
Tottenham Hotspur in 2012. “My<br />
wish is to retire at Real Madrid and<br />
with this renewal I am closer to that<br />
goal,” Modric said on Wednesday.<br />
“I want to thank the club and the<br />
president for having so much<br />
confidence in me. I am going to<br />
continue giving everything I have,<br />
working hard and I hope to have<br />
more success in front of me.”<br />
–AFP<br />
Pardew backs<br />
Southgate as manager<br />
Crystal Palace boss Alan Pardew is<br />
open to the England coach’s job but<br />
believes interim manager Gareth<br />
Southgate could be the answer<br />
to the national team’s current<br />
managerial crisis. Southgate has two<br />
more games in charge to convince<br />
the FA that he is the right man for<br />
the job following England’s home<br />
win over minnows Malta and a draw<br />
against Slovenia in the World Cup<br />
qualifiers this month. During his 18-<br />
year managerial career, Pardew has<br />
come up against some of the most<br />
successful managers in club football.<br />
–REUTERS<br />
Mourinho issues Rashford with<br />
England Under-<strong>21</strong> warning<br />
• AFP, Manchester<br />
Jose Mourinho does not want Marcus<br />
Rashford to be selected for next<br />
year’s European Under-<strong>21</strong> Championships<br />
if the Manchester United<br />
striker is a regular in the senior<br />
England squad.<br />
The United manager was responding<br />
to stories that England’s<br />
governing Football Association<br />
were keen to include Premier<br />
League stars, such as Rashford, in<br />
their Under-<strong>21</strong> squad for the tournament<br />
in Poland in June.<br />
Mourinho has no problem with<br />
Rashford, who turns 19 on the last<br />
day of this month, being a part of<br />
that squad - but only if he has not<br />
established himself in the senior<br />
set-up.<br />
“We are in mid-<strong>October</strong>, the<br />
Championships will be in the summer,”<br />
United manager Mourinho<br />
said Wednesday.<br />
“I think we have to wait and see<br />
what happens until then. Because if<br />
the player becomes a regular in the<br />
‘A’ national team, if you want to call<br />
it that, then to say it is important for<br />
his development (to be) with the<br />
Under-<strong>21</strong>s, makes no sense.”<br />
Gareth Southgate has been promoted<br />
from his post as England Under-<strong>21</strong><br />
boss to be the manager of the<br />
senior England team on an interim<br />
basis, with the FA still to announce<br />
if the former England defender will<br />
succeed Sam Allardyce on a permanent<br />
basis after the veteran coach<br />
was forced out after just one game<br />
following indiscreet comments<br />
made to undercover reporters.<br />
“If he’s an Under-<strong>21</strong> player in<br />
the national team, then he is an<br />
Under-<strong>21</strong> player and there is no discussion<br />
about that,” said Mourinho<br />
of Rashford.<br />
“But if he becomes a regular<br />
choice for Gareth Southgate in the<br />
first team, then we have to speak<br />
because we don’t want him going.”<br />
Rashford has five England caps to<br />
his name, four of them as a substitute<br />
in competitive internationals.<br />
Mourinho was speaking as he<br />
put the finishing touches to plans<br />
for the Europa League group game<br />
with Fenerbahce at Old Trafford<br />
yesterday. The game could be the<br />
opportunity for Wayne Rooney and<br />
Henrikh Mkhitaryan to feature in<br />
the starting side as Mourinho juggles<br />
his squad ahead of Sunday’s<br />
trip to Chelsea.<br />
Rooney has not started the last<br />
four United games and has also<br />
seen his place in the England runon<br />
XI disappear under new manager<br />
Southgate.<br />
“Wayne is working well, he is<br />
one of those responsible for the atmosphere<br />
for the players,” insisted<br />
Mourinho. “He is positive, he is a<br />
good example. We count on him to<br />
start or be on the bench. He will be<br />
there (yesterday).” •<br />
Germany climb,<br />
Belgium slip in<br />
FIFA rankings<br />
• AFP, Paris<br />
Germany have moved up to second<br />
behind Argentina as Belgium<br />
dropped out of the top three in the<br />
latest FIFA world rankings released<br />
yesterday.<br />
A pair of 2018 World Cup qualifier<br />
wins against Czech Republic<br />
and Northern Ireland lifted world<br />
champions Germany up one spot,<br />
with Brazil also up one to third.<br />
Former world number one side<br />
Belgium are on the drift, down two<br />
to fourth and out of the first three<br />
for the first time since March 2015.<br />
Spain, who beat Belgium in a<br />
friendly last month, are back in the<br />
top 10 while Euro <strong>2016</strong> sensations<br />
Wales slid one place to 11th.<br />
FIFA rankings<br />
1. Argentina<br />
2. Germany (+1)<br />
3. Brazil (+1)<br />
4. Belgium (-2)<br />
5. Colombia (-1)<br />
6. Chile<br />
7. France (+1)<br />
8. Portugal (-1)<br />
9. Uruguay<br />
10. Spain (+1)<br />
11. Wales (-1)<br />
12. England<br />
13. Italy<br />
14. Switzerland (2)<br />
15. Poland (2)<br />
16. Croatia (-2)<br />
17. Mexico (-2)<br />
18. Costa Rica<br />
188. Bangladesh (-3) •<br />
DAY’S WATCH<br />
CRICKET<br />
GAZI TV, BTV, STAR<br />
SPORTS 2<br />
10:00AM<br />
England Tour of Bangladesh<br />
1st Test, Day 2<br />
TEN 3<br />
12:00PM<br />
West Indies Tour of Pakistan<br />
2nd Test, Day 1<br />
FOOTBALL<br />
SONY SIX<br />
12:40AM<br />
Spanish La Liga<br />
Osasuna v Real Betis<br />
SONY ESPN<br />
10:45PM<br />
FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup<br />
Final<br />
STAR SPORTS 1<br />
7:20PM<br />
Indian Super League<br />
Mumbai v Goa<br />
TEN 1<br />
2:50PM<br />
A-League <strong>2016</strong>/17<br />
Melbourne City v Perth Glory<br />
12:45AM<br />
Sky Bet EFL<br />
Burton Albion v Birmingham City<br />
TEN 3<br />
12:35AM<br />
French Ligue 1 <strong>2016</strong>/17<br />
Monaco v Montpellier Herault<br />
KABADDI<br />
STAR SPORTS 2<br />
Kabaddi World Cup <strong>2016</strong><br />
7:20PM<br />
Semi Final 1: South Korea v Iran<br />
9:40PM<br />
Semi Final 2: Thailand v India<br />
HOCKEY<br />
STAR SPORTS 4<br />
Asian Hockey Champions<br />
4:00PM<br />
Pakistan v Korea<br />
6:30PM<br />
Malaysia v China
<strong>DT</strong><br />
28<br />
FRIDAY, OCTOBER <strong>21</strong>, <strong>2016</strong><br />
Sport<br />
RESULTS<br />
GROUP A<br />
Arsenal 6-0 Ludogorets<br />
Sanchez 12, Walcott 42,<br />
Ozil 56, 83, 87,<br />
Oxlade-Chamberlain 46<br />
PSG 3-0 Basel<br />
Di Maria 40, Lucas 62,<br />
Cavani 90+3-P<br />
GROUP B<br />
Napoli 2-3 Besiktas<br />
Mertens 30, Adriano 13,<br />
Gabbiadini 69-P Aboubakar 38, 86<br />
Dynamo Kiev 0-2 Benfica<br />
Salvio 9-P, Cervi 55<br />
GROUP C<br />
Celtic 0-2 M’gladbach<br />
Stindl 57, Hahn 77<br />
Barcelona 4-0 Man City<br />
Messi 17, 61, 69,<br />
Neymar 89<br />
GROUP D<br />
Rostov 0-1 Atletico Madrid<br />
Carrasco 62<br />
Bayern Munich 4-1 PSV Eindhoven<br />
Mueller 13, Kimmich <strong>21</strong>, Narsingh 41<br />
Lewandowski 60,<br />
Robben 84<br />
Barcelona’s Lionel Messi shoots to score against Manchester City during their UEFA Champions League Group C match at Nou Camp on Wednesday<br />
Messi ruins Guardiola’s Barcelona return,<br />
clinical Bayern thrash PSV to stop rot<br />
REUTERS<br />
• AFP, Paris<br />
POINTS TABLE<br />
P W D L<br />
GROUP A<br />
GD Pts<br />
Arsenal 3 2 1 0 8 7<br />
Paris SG 3 2 1 0 5 7<br />
Basel 3 0 1 2 -5 1<br />
L Razgrad 3 0 1 2 -8 1<br />
GROUP B<br />
Napoli 3 2 0 1 2 6<br />
Besiktas 3 1 2 0 1 5<br />
Benfica 3 1 1 1 0 4<br />
Dynamo Kiev 3 0 1 2 -3 1<br />
GROUP C<br />
Barcelona 3 3 0 0 12 9<br />
Man City 3 1 1 1 0 4<br />
M’gladbach 3 1 0 2 -3 3<br />
Celtic 3 0 1 2 -9 1<br />
GROUP D<br />
Atletico Madrid 3 3 0 0 3 9<br />
Bayern Munich 3 2 0 1 7 6<br />
PSV Eindhoven 3 0 1 2 -4 1<br />
Rostov 3 0 1 2 -6 1<br />
Lionel Messi spoiled Pep Guardiola’s<br />
homecoming by scoring a hattrick<br />
in Barcelona’s 4-0 win over<br />
10-man Manchester City in the<br />
Champions League on Wednesday,<br />
while Bayern Munich shook off<br />
their recent patchy form to defeat<br />
PSV Eindhoven 4-1.<br />
Messi pounced on a Fernandinho<br />
slip to nudge Barca in front on<br />
17 minutes, and the Argentine doubled<br />
his tally on the hour following<br />
the dismissal of City goalkeeper<br />
Claudio Bravo.<br />
The Chile international, who<br />
left the Camp Nou in August to replace<br />
Joe Hart at City, was sent off<br />
for a blatant handball outside the<br />
area having knocked his misplaced<br />
clearance straight to Luis Suarez.<br />
Messi swept in a third on 69 minutes<br />
to complete a second straight<br />
hat-trick in Europe, while Barca<br />
also finished the game a man down<br />
after substitute Jeremy Mathieu<br />
picked up a second booking.<br />
Neymar missed a late penalty<br />
but atoned with Barca’s fourth<br />
soon after as the Spaniards made it<br />
three wins from three to take control<br />
of Group C, with second-place<br />
City five points adrift.<br />
“At that level it is hard, but until<br />
10 against 11 it was open and<br />
we were competing against a team<br />
with a big personality,” Guardiola<br />
told BT Sport.<br />
Arsenal’s Mesut Ozil celebrates scoring against Ludogorets during their UEFA<br />
Champions League Group A match at Emirates Stadium on Wednesday REUTERS<br />
“But after the (red) card it was<br />
over. I spoke with (Bravo), he was<br />
disappointed but it’s part of the<br />
game.”<br />
Lars Stindl and Andre Hahn<br />
both capitalised on mistakes from<br />
Kolo Toure to gift Moenchengladbach<br />
their first points of the competition<br />
with a 2-0 win at Celtic.<br />
In Munich, Carlo Ancelotti’s<br />
Bayern dismissed concerns about<br />
their performance of late by ending<br />
a three-match winless run at home<br />
to PSV Eindhoven.<br />
Thomas Mueller grabbed a<br />
13th-minute opener at the Allianz<br />
Arena before fellow Germany international<br />
Joshua Kimmich netted<br />
his seventh goal in all competitions<br />
this season. Luciano Narsingh gave<br />
PSV hope when he halved the deficit<br />
shortly before the break, but Poland<br />
striker Robert Lewandowski eased<br />
fears of another setback with Arjen<br />
Robben netting Bayern’s fourth.<br />
However, the Bundesliga giants<br />
still trail Atletico Madrid in Group<br />
D after Yannick Carrasco’s second-half<br />
strike steered last year’s<br />
finalists to another 1-0 victory<br />
away to Russian side Rostov.<br />
Mesut Ozil notched a second-half<br />
hat-trick as Arsenal<br />
thrashed Ludogorets Razgrad of<br />
Bulgaria 6-0, the German piling<br />
on the misery for the visitors after<br />
goals from Alexis Sanchez, Theo<br />
Walcott and Oxlade-Chamberlain.<br />
“It will be difficult not to be satisfied,<br />
we scored a lot of goals and<br />
kept a clean sheet. We were fast<br />
and dangerous. We are confident<br />
and we must stay focused in every<br />
single game,” said Gunners boss<br />
Arsene Wenger.<br />
Paris Saint-Germain also have<br />
seven points in Group A, but the<br />
French champions rode their luck<br />
in a 3-0 win over Basel.<br />
The Swiss outfit twice hit the<br />
woodwork at the Parc des Princes<br />
before Angel di Maria fired the<br />
hosts ahead just before half-time.<br />
Brazilian Lucas doubled PSG’s<br />
lead on 62 minutes, with Basel defender<br />
Marek Suchy then heading<br />
against the post, before Edinson<br />
Cavani netted his 17th goal for club<br />
and country this term courtesy of a<br />
stoppage-time penalty.<br />
Napoli’s hopes of becoming the<br />
first side through to the last 16<br />
were dashed as Vincent Aboubakar<br />
struck twice in Italy to earn Besiktas<br />
an impressive 3-2 victory.<br />
Adriano put the Turkish champions<br />
ahead on 12 minutes in Naples,<br />
but Belgian winger Dries<br />
Mertens replied on the half hour.<br />
Aboubakar restored Besiktas’<br />
lead before the interval only for<br />
Manolo Gabbiadini to cancel it out<br />
from the penalty spot, with Lorenzo<br />
Insigne having seen an earlier<br />
spot-kick kept out by Fabri.<br />
But Cameroon international<br />
Aboubakar struck again four minutes<br />
from the end to move Besiktas<br />
to within a point of leaders Napoli<br />
in Group B. Benfica also registered<br />
their first win thanks to an Eduardo<br />
Salvio penalty and a Franco Cervi<br />
goal in their 2-0 triumph away to<br />
Dynamo Kiev. •
Downtime<br />
29<br />
FRIDAY, OCTOBER <strong>21</strong>, <strong>2016</strong><br />
<strong>DT</strong><br />
CROSSWORD<br />
ACROSS<br />
1 Cicatrix (4)<br />
4 First man (4)<br />
8 Floor covering (3)<br />
9 Move with bounding<br />
steps (4)<br />
10 Work hard (4)<br />
11 Numeral (5)<br />
12 Dexterous (4)<br />
14 Fish eggs (3)<br />
15 Dry, of champagne (3)<br />
17 Flow back (3)<br />
19 Tree (3)<br />
<strong>21</strong> Dash (4)<br />
23 Mistake (5)<br />
26 Visage (4)<br />
27 Popular exercise (4)<br />
28 Corded fabric (3)<br />
29 Water pitcher (4)<br />
30 Bring up (4)<br />
DOWN<br />
1 Surgical stitch (6)<br />
2 Dry (4)<br />
3 Sovereign (5)<br />
4 Drink (3)<br />
5 Birds (5)<br />
6 Monkey (3)<br />
7 Adults (3)<br />
11 Metal (5)<br />
13 Part of a theatre (5)<br />
16 Profession (6)<br />
18 Freight boat (5)<br />
20 Thin biscuit (5)<br />
22 Back of the neck (4)<br />
23 Optic (3)<br />
24 Argue (3)<br />
25 Rowing implement (3)<br />
CODE-CRACKER<br />
How to solve: Each number in our<br />
CODE-CRACKER grid represents a<br />
different letter of the alphabet. For<br />
example, today 17 represents N so fill N<br />
every time the figure 17 appears.<br />
You have two letters in the control<br />
grid to start you off. Enter them in the<br />
appropriate squares in the main grid, then<br />
use your knowledge of words to work out<br />
which letters go in the missing squares.<br />
Some letters of the alphabet may not be<br />
used.<br />
As you get the letters, fill in the other<br />
squares with the same number in the<br />
main grid, and the control grid. Check<br />
off the list of alphabetical letters as you<br />
identify them.<br />
ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ<br />
CALVIN AND HOBBES<br />
SUDOKU<br />
How to solve: Fill in the blank spaces with the<br />
numbers 1 – 9. Every row, column and 3 x 3 box must<br />
contain all nine digits with no number repeating.<br />
PEANUTS<br />
SATURDAY’S SOLUTIONS<br />
CODE-CRACKER<br />
CROSSWORD<br />
DILBERT<br />
SUDOKU
30<br />
FRIDAY, OCTOBER <strong>21</strong>, <strong>2016</strong><br />
<strong>DT</strong><br />
Showtime<br />
Habib Wahid’s new song<br />
to end poverty<br />
• Showtime Desk<br />
To spread the message about<br />
alleviating poverty in the<br />
country, singer and musician<br />
Habib Wahid has sung a new<br />
song. An initiative of the<br />
World Bank, the song is made<br />
to celebrate the country’s<br />
progress and envisions a future<br />
of possibilities for prosper<br />
Bangladesh and the world.<br />
The song “Ei Bangla Ei<br />
Manush” came out as a music<br />
video, which is directed by Maruf<br />
Raihan, while Chirkutt’s Sharmin<br />
Sultana Sumi penned its lyrics.<br />
The World Bank’s YouTube<br />
channel released the video on<br />
<strong>October</strong> 17.<br />
In a Facebook post the singer<br />
said, “I’m extremely happy and<br />
honoured to be a part of such<br />
an amazing and meaningful<br />
project! Thank you World Bank<br />
for believing in me. Thank<br />
you Sharmin Sultana Sumi for<br />
the wonderful heartfelt lyrics!<br />
Thanks to the amazing new talent<br />
Maruf Raihan and the entire<br />
team for making such an amazing<br />
video in such short notice! And<br />
the biggest thanks goes to all<br />
the powerful and hard working<br />
people of Bangladesh because<br />
you are the ones who show us the<br />
real meaning of love, patience<br />
and hard work! You people will<br />
surely make poverty history.”<br />
Thanks to the resilience of<br />
its people and development<br />
innovations, Bangladesh has<br />
helped 20 million of its people<br />
rise out of poverty in less than<br />
two decades. The World Bank<br />
thinks initiative like “Ei Bangla Ei<br />
Manush” will inspire all to build<br />
together a prosper world.<br />
For online use:<br />
https://www.youtube.com/<br />
watch?v=65dGbJpQVcU •<br />
Chai-wala<br />
to Fashionwala<br />
• Showtime Desk<br />
A “chaiwala” is starting a new<br />
career as a model after a photo of<br />
the dreamy-eyed chap went viral.<br />
Arshad Khan, 18, was manning<br />
a tea stall at the Itwar Bazaar<br />
market in Pakistan’s capital city,<br />
Islamabad, when an aspiring<br />
photographer Jiah Ali captured<br />
him working.<br />
Only four days after the image<br />
was posted on social media,<br />
Arshad has bagged himself a<br />
modelling contract with online<br />
retailer Fitin.pk.<br />
Two days after the image was<br />
posted online, Arshad told Samaa<br />
TV that women were visiting<br />
him at the stall: “About 30 to 50<br />
girls came and met me, they took<br />
pictures with me.”<br />
It seems Fitin.pk hope his<br />
smoldering unkempt mane and<br />
stubble will attract some extra<br />
visitors to their site.<br />
The internet sensation has<br />
even been spotted wearing a full<br />
suit with gelled back hair - the<br />
opposite of his laid-back look at<br />
the market.<br />
But the model is taking<br />
everything in stride. When the<br />
Samaa TV interviewer asked if<br />
he was open to acting in movies,<br />
Khan casually replied, “sure I<br />
will.”<br />
Now, Arshad can be seen<br />
posing in a collection of TV<br />
series-themed tops on Fitin.<br />
pk.com, a retailer run by<br />
university students.<br />
Social media users also saw<br />
this young man’s potential, as his<br />
piercing stare has caused Arshad<br />
to trend on Twitter in several<br />
countries.<br />
Even a Facebook user posted,<br />
“Chai walla is no more chai walla,<br />
now he is fashion walla!”<br />
“He is now being compared<br />
to film stars like Fawad Khan. I<br />
think it was basically his natural<br />
beauty which people liked,” said<br />
the photographer who clicked his<br />
picture. •<br />
Source: Indian times<br />
Mel C reveals reason she’s<br />
not part of the Spice Girls<br />
reunion<br />
• Showtime Desk<br />
Spice Girls’ Melanie C recently<br />
has revealed why she won’t be<br />
part of next year’s all-femalemusical-group’s<br />
reunion.<br />
The singer says being a<br />
mother to seven-year-old<br />
daughter Scarlet is primarily<br />
why she’s chosen not to join<br />
Mel B, Emma Bunton and Geri<br />
Horner as they celebrate the<br />
band’s 20 year anniversary.<br />
The Sporty Spice told the<br />
Sun, “The thing I’ve learned is<br />
to say ‘No’ more because, by<br />
nature, I’m a people pleaser. I<br />
had to think about myself and<br />
the most important thing in my<br />
life, which is being a mother<br />
to my little girl. I had to be<br />
present for her.”<br />
“We always said we had<br />
to be comfortable but lots of<br />
people were getting involved<br />
and I wasn’t comfortable<br />
with the direction that it was<br />
taking,” she added.<br />
Talking about her<br />
relationship with Mel B, she<br />
admitted things were tough<br />
with the “hot-headed” star,<br />
who unfollowed her on Twitter<br />
and called her a “b**ch” on The<br />
Late Late Show after Mel opted<br />
to not take part in the reunion.<br />
Mel also revealed that she’s<br />
got no plans for more kids just<br />
yet while she focuses on her<br />
“little monkey”. •
Showtime<br />
31<br />
FRIDAY, OCTOBER <strong>21</strong>, <strong>2016</strong><br />
<strong>DT</strong><br />
Aynabaji selected<br />
for film festivals in<br />
Germany and India<br />
•Showtime Desk<br />
Amitabh Reza Chowdhury’s debut<br />
feature Aynabaji is selected for<br />
the International Film Festival<br />
Mannheim-Heidelberg (IFFMH).<br />
Soon after, the thriller starring<br />
Chanchal Chowdhury and<br />
Masuma Rahman Nabila in the<br />
lead will also be screened at the<br />
47th International Film Festival<br />
India in Goa.<br />
Michael Kötz, IFFMH’s festival<br />
director, confirmed the news to<br />
the filmmaker saying that the<br />
festival’s selection committee is<br />
impressed after watching the film.<br />
The 65th International Filmfestival<br />
Mannheim-Heidelberg will take<br />
place from November 4 to 19,<br />
while Aynabaji will be featured<br />
in its International Discovery<br />
section. A total of four screenings<br />
of Aynabaji will take place in<br />
the festival from November 12<br />
to 15. The festival, established<br />
in 1952, held jointly by the cities<br />
of Mannheim and Heidelberg<br />
in Baden-Württemberg, which<br />
presents art-house films of<br />
international newcomer directors.<br />
Amitabh Reza Chowdhuy is<br />
quite happy with the news of his<br />
film being selected for IFFMH<br />
who is likely to join the festival.<br />
After returning from IFFMH,<br />
Chowdhury will head to Goa to<br />
attend the 47th International Film<br />
Festival India, which will be held<br />
from November 20 to 28. •<br />
Ae Dil Hai Mushkil- Releasing is “Mushkil”<br />
•Showtime Desk<br />
Bollywood director Karan Johar<br />
dropped a bombshell this past<br />
Wednesday with a two-minute<br />
video explaining why he will no<br />
longer work with actors from<br />
Pakistan.<br />
“Nothing else matters to me<br />
but my country,” Johar said in the<br />
video.<br />
“Going forward, I would like<br />
to say that of course I will not<br />
engage with talent from the<br />
neighboring country,” he added,<br />
referring to Pakistan.<br />
Johar has faced potential bans<br />
and threats of violence over his<br />
latest movie Ae Dil Hai Mushkil,<br />
which loosely translates as “Oh,<br />
Heart! It’s Difficult” because one<br />
of the actors is Pakistani. It is due<br />
to be released on <strong>October</strong> 28.<br />
Last week, Amey Khopkar,<br />
a leader of the nationalist<br />
Maharashtra Navnirman Sena<br />
(MNS) party, threatened to attack<br />
filmmakers like Johar.<br />
TV host Barkha Dutt tweeted<br />
she was “ashamed that we as a<br />
society have bullied (Johar) into<br />
having to prove his patriotism.<br />
‘Anti-national’ has become the<br />
label of the mob.”<br />
Many in Bollywood have been<br />
speaking against the mood to ban<br />
Pakistani artists.<br />
“Who a filmmaker casts and<br />
what a filmmaker does, shouldn’t<br />
be controlled and dictated by<br />
politics,” said Tanuj Garg, a film<br />
producer and managing partner<br />
at Ellipsis Entertainment.<br />
“A situation where a<br />
filmmaker is held to ransom is<br />
not desirable in a democracy,”<br />
he added, pointing out that<br />
India already has a powerful<br />
film certification board which<br />
strictly vets releases. “Political<br />
groups trying to impose bans is a<br />
travesty of justice.”<br />
Pakistani journalist Rafay<br />
Mahmood told CNN the mood<br />
was “depressing and tragic.”<br />
Nitin Datar, president of the<br />
Cinema Owners and Exhibition<br />
Association of India, said a<br />
number of his group’s theatres<br />
would not be releasing the movie<br />
in the states of Maharasthra, Goa,<br />
Karnataka, and Gujarat.<br />
He pointed out that the<br />
movie’s release at the end of<br />
<strong>October</strong> coincides with the Hindu<br />
festival of lights, Diwali.<br />
“This is the Diwali period. If a<br />
riot takes place ...the Diwali spirit<br />
will be spoiled,” Datar said.<br />
Tensions between India and<br />
Pakistan have soared in recent<br />
months with frequent skirmishes<br />
along their disputed border in<br />
Kashmir. A heightened sense of<br />
fear and jingoism has seeped into<br />
regular discourse, particularly in<br />
national TV news broadcasts. •<br />
WHAT TO WATCH<br />
Cast: Jay Baruchel, Cate<br />
Blanchett, Gerard Butler<br />
The Hobbit: The Battle of the<br />
Five Armies<br />
HBO 6:39pm<br />
darkness.<br />
Cast: Ian McKellen, Martin<br />
Freeman, Richard Armitage<br />
Crazy, Stupid, Love<br />
WB 2:18pm<br />
friend, Jacob, learning to pick up<br />
girls at bars.<br />
Cast: Steve Carell, Ryan Gosling,<br />
Julianne Moore<br />
Mission: Impossible – Ghost<br />
Protocol<br />
the unlikely friend of a young<br />
dragon himself, and learns there<br />
may be more to the creatures<br />
than he assumed.<br />
Cast: Tom Cruise, Jeremy<br />
Renner, Simon Pegg<br />
How to Train Your Dragon 2<br />
Star Movies 9:30pm<br />
When Hiccup and Toothless<br />
discover an ice cave that is<br />
home to hundreds of new wild<br />
dragons and the mysterious<br />
Dragon Rider, the two friends<br />
find themselves at the center of a<br />
battle to protect the peace.<br />
Bilbo and Company are forced<br />
to engage in a war against an<br />
array of combatants and keep<br />
the Lonely Mountain from<br />
falling into the hands of a rising<br />
A middle-aged husband’s life<br />
changes dramatically when his<br />
wife asks him for a divorce. He<br />
seeks to rediscover his manhood<br />
with the help of a newfound<br />
Zee Studio 9:30pm<br />
A hapless young Viking who<br />
aspires to hunt dragons becomes<br />
Furious 7<br />
Sony PIX 11:30pm<br />
Deckard Shaw seeks revenge<br />
against Dominic Toretto and his<br />
family for his comatose brother.<br />
Cast: Vin Diesel, Paul Walker,<br />
Dwanye Johnson •
32<br />
FRIDAY, OCTOBER <strong>21</strong>, <strong>2016</strong><br />
<strong>DT</strong><br />
INSURANCE SCHEME SUGGESTED<br />
FOR SUSTAINABLE GROWTH PAGE 12<br />
Back Page<br />
AYNABAJI SELECTED FOR FILM<br />
FESTIVALS IN GERMANY AND INDIA PAGE 31<br />
Debutant Miraz stars in eventful day<br />
• Mazhar Uddin from<br />
Chittagong<br />
Mehedi Hasan Miraz became the<br />
youngest Bangladeshi to pick up five<br />
wickets on debut as the opening day<br />
of the first Test match well and truly<br />
belonged to the home side with England<br />
posting 258/7 at Zahur Ahmed<br />
Chowdhury Stadium yesterday.<br />
Moeen Ali and Jonny Bairstow<br />
fought hard for their fifties but they<br />
too fell soon after reaching their<br />
milestone. England will look to<br />
stretch their innings as far as possible<br />
when Chris Woakes (36*) and<br />
Adil Rashid (five not out) resumes<br />
the second day’s proceedings today.<br />
The home side named three<br />
debutants for the first time since<br />
2008 while it was also the first<br />
time Bangladesh played with three<br />
debutants at home since the inaugural<br />
Test match in 2000 with Sabbir<br />
Rahman, Miraz and Kamrul Islam<br />
Rabbi receiving their Test caps<br />
early in the morning.<br />
Tigers skipper Mushfiqur Rahim<br />
might have lost the toss but it mattered<br />
little as the pitch had a lot to<br />
offer for the spinners, right from<br />
the opening exchanges.<br />
And it was young off-spinner<br />
Miraz who stole the show in his<br />
Test bow. He was handed the new<br />
ball in the second over of England’s<br />
innings and showed tremendous<br />
confidence. What’s more, he immediately<br />
got results.<br />
He picked up his maiden wicket<br />
in international cricket when<br />
he clean bowled another debutant<br />
Ben Duckett (14) to start off proceedings.<br />
At the other end, visiting captain<br />
Alastair Cook was no doubt quite<br />
eager to make his record breaking<br />
match a memorable one after becoming<br />
the most-capped England<br />
Test player with 134 appearances.<br />
BTRC shuts down Citycell<br />
• Ishtiaq Husain and<br />
Arifur Rahman Rabbi<br />
The Bangladesh Telecommunication<br />
Regulatory Commission<br />
(BTRC) yesterday shut down the<br />
country’s first mobile phone operator<br />
Citycell after conducting a raid<br />
on its offices and suspended its<br />
spectrum due to outstanding fees.<br />
Earlier, the spectrum allotted to<br />
mobile phone operator Citycell was<br />
suspended due to failure of paying<br />
dues, as ordered by the High Court.<br />
BTRC on August 17 issued a notice<br />
to Citycell asking to explain by<br />
30 days why its licence for the operation<br />
would not be cancelled for<br />
its failure to pay dues.<br />
Meanwhile, the raid comes<br />
in the wake of BTRC suspending<br />
Citycell’s spectrum when it failed<br />
Bangladesh spinner Mehedi Hasan Miraz bowls during the opening day’s play of the first Test against England at Zahur Ahmed<br />
Chowdhury Stadium in Chittagong yesterday<br />
MAINOOR ISLAM MANIK<br />
to pay outstanding payments.<br />
BTRC officials entered the Citycell<br />
headquarters at 5pm yesterday.<br />
Banani police Inspector Wahiduzzaman<br />
confirmed the operation<br />
to Dhaka Tribune. But he could not<br />
provide any details. He said that<br />
the operation was being carried out<br />
to follow court orders.<br />
No payments, no operations<br />
State Minister for Posts and Telecommunication<br />
Tarana Halim said<br />
the regulator suspended Citycell’s<br />
operations as it had failed to pay<br />
government dues.<br />
She announced: “BTRC has shut<br />
down Citycell’s operations and suspended<br />
the spectrum since it failed<br />
to pay the dues.”<br />
“Citycell was supposed to pay<br />
the two third of the outstanding<br />
But Shakib al Hasan gave the home<br />
side a huge relief as he shattered<br />
the timber with Cook departing<br />
for four when he tried to sweep a<br />
delivery that eventually went on to<br />
hit the stumps after deflecting off<br />
his body.<br />
Miraz then trapped Gary Ballance<br />
(one) in front; the visitors<br />
amount within four weeks, but it<br />
failed to pay the money. That is why<br />
we took the decision to implement<br />
the judgment of the court,” she said.<br />
The announcement came at<br />
press conference held at Bangladesh<br />
Telecommunication Regulatory<br />
Commission (BTRC) office<br />
while the drive was being carried<br />
out in Citycell offices.<br />
A BTRC official confirmed that<br />
the regulator suspended Citycell’s<br />
spectrum at 5pm yesterday.<br />
Tk 477crore overdue in fines, fees<br />
Citycell has owed to the government<br />
of Tk 477.51 crore since long<br />
as spectrum and license renewal<br />
fees and other charges.<br />
On August 29, a five-member<br />
bench of Appellate Division of the<br />
Supreme Court headed by Chief<br />
reeling on <strong>21</strong>/3 within the first hour.<br />
However, Moeen, who enjoyed<br />
all the luck in the world, tried to rescue<br />
the tourists alongside Joe Root,<br />
adding 62 runs for the fourth wicket<br />
as they went to lunch on 81/3.<br />
Root though was eventually dismissed<br />
after the lunch break when<br />
Sabbir took a sharp catch at slip off<br />
Justice SK Sinha gave a verdict<br />
where Citycell was allowed to continue<br />
its operation if it paid all its<br />
dues within three months.<br />
On August 17, the BTRC issued a<br />
notice to Citycell asking to explain<br />
within 30 days why its license for<br />
the operation should not be cancelled<br />
for its failure to pay dues.<br />
The telecom regulator also ordered<br />
the company to create an<br />
alternative arrangement for providing<br />
the service to its subscribers<br />
even after shutdown.<br />
On July 31, BTRC asked Citycell<br />
again to pay its all dues, including<br />
regulatory fee and fine worth<br />
Tk477 crore by August 16.<br />
Out of the total outstanding<br />
payment, two-thirds must be paid<br />
in a month while the rest of the<br />
amount must be paid within the<br />
the bowling of Miraz, scoring 40 off<br />
49 balls with five fours.<br />
But the talk of the day apart<br />
from Miraz was perhaps Moeen,<br />
who survived five reviews, including<br />
three in an over.<br />
Shakib duly picked up his second<br />
wicket of the day when he removed<br />
the dangerous Ben Stokes<br />
for 18 as England were once again<br />
struggling on 106/5. However,<br />
Moeen kept on going strong at the<br />
other end as he was joined by Bairstow.<br />
Together, the sixth wicket<br />
pair added 88 runs.<br />
Moeen was eventually caught<br />
behind to become the fourth victim<br />
of Miraz after scoring a well-made<br />
68, featuring eight fours and a six.<br />
Like Moeen, Bairstow too got<br />
lucky as he was dropped on 13 at slip<br />
by Sabbir off left-arm spinner Taijul<br />
Islam in the 49th over. He went on<br />
to score his 11th Test fifty. He also<br />
became the second wicket-keeper<br />
to score 1,000 runs in a year after<br />
Zimbabwean Andy Flower, who<br />
managed 1024 runs in 2000.<br />
The Yorkshireman was eventually<br />
dismissed after scoring 52 with<br />
the help of eight fours as Miraz hit<br />
the timber with a sliding delivery<br />
to become the seventh Bangladeshi<br />
to bag five wickets on debut, and<br />
the youngest among them.<br />
The home side will look to wrap<br />
things up when the second day’s<br />
play resumes while England will<br />
try to post a decent total in their<br />
first innings in order to remain<br />
alive in the Test match. •<br />
next two months.<br />
As per the judgment of the AD,<br />
Citycell had to pay Tk318 crore<br />
to the BTRC by <strong>October</strong> 19. But, it<br />
couldn’t do it.<br />
Besides, the AD had also given<br />
them (citycell) another one month<br />
for the remaining one third outstanding<br />
amount.<br />
“But, as the operator didn’t fulfill<br />
the first part of the judgment of<br />
AD, so there is no option for another<br />
part of the judgment,” said State<br />
Minister Tarana Halim.<br />
Bangladesh Telecom Limited received<br />
the license for telecom services<br />
in 1989.<br />
It is the only CDMA network operator<br />
in the country. It is currently<br />
owned by Singtel with 45% stake and<br />
the remaining 55% is owned by the<br />
Pacific Group and Far East Telecom. •<br />
Editor: Zafar Sobhan, Published and Printed by Kazi Anis Ahmed on behalf of 2A Media Limited at Dainik Shakaler Khabar Publications Limited, 153/7, Tejgaon Industrial Area, Dhaka-1208. Editorial, News & Commercial Office: FR Tower,<br />
8/C Panthapath, Shukrabad, Dhaka 1207. Phone: 9132093-94, Advertising: 913<strong>21</strong>55, Circulation: 9132282, Fax: News-913<strong>21</strong>92, e-mail: news@dhakatribune.com, info@dhakatribune.com, Website: www.dhakatribune.com