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SECOND EDITION<br />
SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 5, <strong>2017</strong> | Magh 23, 1423, Jamadiul Awwal 7, 1438 | Regd No DA 6238, Vol 4, No 279 | www.dhakatribune.com | 24 pages | Price: Tk10<br />
Yet another official found<br />
walking over ‘human-bridge’ › 3<br />
‘Draft citizenship act creates<br />
second-class citizens’ › 2<br />
Was journo Shimul<br />
targeted? › 4<br />
Pirates, cyclones and<br />
mud › 5<br />
Taskin: Variation will<br />
be key in India › 18<br />
Weekend boosts attendance<br />
on 4th day of book fair › 6
2<br />
SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 5, <strong>2017</strong><br />
<strong>DT</strong><br />
NEWS<br />
‘Draft citizenship act creates<br />
second-class citizens’<br />
• Afrose Jahan Chaity<br />
The draft citizenship law 2016,<br />
approved by Cabinet in <strong>February</strong><br />
last year, is in contravention of the<br />
constitution, experts have told the<br />
Dhaka Tribune.<br />
The law imposes restrictions<br />
on citizens born abroad and dual<br />
citizens in ways that make them<br />
“second-class citizens,” said Najrul<br />
Islam Khasru, a British Bangladeshi<br />
who is a tribunal judge in England.<br />
“This is clearly inconsistent<br />
with the fundamental rights enshrined<br />
in the Bangladesh Constitution,”<br />
he said in reply to queries.<br />
The restrictions include being<br />
ineligible to contest a parliamentary<br />
election, hold the post of President<br />
or any local government position,<br />
or be appointed to any service<br />
of the republic including a justice<br />
of the Supreme Court. It also disallows<br />
such people from being involved<br />
in any political party.<br />
These will apply not only to citizens<br />
living abroad and dual citizens;<br />
they will also affect resident<br />
Bangladeshis whose parents were<br />
abroad during her birth for any<br />
possible reason.<br />
When enacted, this law will cancel<br />
out the existing Citizenship Act,<br />
1951 and Bangladesh Citizenship<br />
(Temporary Provision) Order, 1972.<br />
However, the new law aims to<br />
clearly define dual citizenship for<br />
Bangladeshis, a term that does not<br />
appear in the current laws.<br />
Law Commission member Dr M<br />
Shah Alam, asked about the intent<br />
behind this proposed law, said:<br />
“The new law is focused on dual<br />
citizens and what rights they can<br />
exercise. There are some limitations<br />
in terms of their rights.”<br />
Imposing restrictions on Bangladeshis<br />
born abroad and those with<br />
dual citizenship would violate several<br />
constitutional rights, said Dr<br />
CR Abrar, a teacher of International<br />
Relations at Dhaka University.<br />
The proposed law breaches a<br />
number of provisions of the constitution,<br />
including the equality of<br />
all citizens, non-discrimination on<br />
grounds of birth, equality in public<br />
employment and qualifications<br />
and disqualifications of election to<br />
parliament, he said.<br />
Citizenship of the Urdu-speaking<br />
community<br />
One of the more controversial parts<br />
of the law is Section 3, which stipulates<br />
that the provisions in this<br />
law will prevail over other acts,<br />
judgments, decrees and legal instruments.<br />
In an analysis presented to the<br />
press, Shahriar Sadat, a Supreme<br />
Court lawyer, pointed out that<br />
apart from potentially undermining<br />
the supremacy of the constitution,<br />
this section could override<br />
the High Court judgment passed in<br />
2008 conferring citizenship to the<br />
Urdu-speaking community.<br />
The burden of parents’ ‘crimes’?<br />
The proposed law contains many<br />
scenarios under which people could<br />
lose citizenship because of the actions<br />
or identities of their parents.<br />
It introduces a term, “alien enemy,”<br />
a state that is or was at war<br />
with Bangladesh.<br />
If one’s parents were alien enemy,<br />
they could lose their citizenship.<br />
If one’s father or mother “denies<br />
the existence of Bangladesh” or is<br />
“engaged in any activity against<br />
Bangladesh,” that any person will<br />
not be qualified to be a Bangladeshi<br />
citizen.<br />
“The bill fails to recognise children<br />
as individuals with personal<br />
rights, holds children accountable<br />
for actions of their parents by depriving<br />
them of citizenship,” said<br />
Barrister Rashna Imam, (reporter<br />
will provide description)<br />
It can render minor children<br />
stateless by disqualifying them<br />
from citizenship if their parents<br />
have renounced Bangladeshi citizenship,<br />
she said.<br />
“There being no guarantee that<br />
the country whose citizenship the<br />
parent are acquiring confer citizenship<br />
on the child, this provisions<br />
may render the minor child stateless,”<br />
she added.<br />
“India has effectively dealt with<br />
this risk. A parallel provision in the<br />
Citizenship Act 1955 of India gives<br />
that child the option to resume Indian<br />
citizenship within one year of<br />
attaining full age if they wish to do<br />
so. We see no such provision in our<br />
law,” Rashna said.<br />
Government’s dual citizens<br />
problem?<br />
The draft law’s ban on part of the<br />
citizenry getting in public offices<br />
could potentially affect the government.<br />
In October last year, a delegation<br />
of expatriates from European<br />
countries and Australia, who came<br />
to Bangladesh to take part in Awami<br />
League’s national council, went<br />
to Finance Minister AMA Muhith<br />
to address these issues.<br />
UK Awami League’s President<br />
Sultan Mohammad Sharif,<br />
Vice-President MA Rohim, and<br />
General Secretary M Saidur Rahman<br />
Faruk were in the delegation.<br />
MA Rohim had told the press they<br />
knew of many politicians who could<br />
face problems because of the law.<br />
“We know that Public Administration<br />
Minister Syed Ashraful Islam<br />
holds a British passport. Jaitya<br />
Party Whip Selim Uddin Selim was<br />
born overseas and many people in<br />
the current parliament hold dual<br />
citizenship,” he had said.<br />
The many inconsistencies and<br />
contradictions in the law could<br />
be an unintentional result of poor<br />
drafting, Barrister Najrul Islam<br />
Khasru said.<br />
“This is a common problem in<br />
Bangladesh. One of the reasons<br />
why recently the World Justice<br />
Project again placed Bangladesh as<br />
one of the bottom 10 countries in<br />
the World for rule of law,” he pointed<br />
out.<br />
Asked about the issues<br />
raised against<br />
the draft law,<br />
Law Minister<br />
Anisul Huq<br />
said the bill<br />
was at the<br />
Legislative<br />
and Parliamentary<br />
Affairs<br />
Division<br />
for vetting.<br />
Emphasising<br />
the limitations<br />
placed on<br />
dual citizenships<br />
in the proposed<br />
bill, he said: “Expatriates<br />
are worried<br />
about the citizenship<br />
bill, and the act will be<br />
finalised keeping in mind<br />
all the possible facilities and<br />
rights of the expatriates.” •<br />
!<br />
...and the law provides for no<br />
legal recourse.<br />
NATURALISATION<br />
You have been around<br />
here for a while<br />
YES<br />
Even if your parents have always lived<br />
here, and your mother flew out of the<br />
country to have you and came back,<br />
and you grow up here, you’d still<br />
face these restrictions<br />
I you were born<br />
on a Bangladeshi aircraft or<br />
vessel, you were on<br />
Bangladeshi soil<br />
You applied<br />
for citizenship<br />
All this will be decided by<br />
officials with undue<br />
discretionary power<br />
?<br />
If the govt decides<br />
that you fall under<br />
1 or 2<br />
Or<br />
you have shown<br />
disobedience towards<br />
the sovereignty of constitution<br />
Or<br />
Living in a country which is<br />
at war with Bangladesh<br />
JUS MATRIMONI<br />
You are married to a<br />
Bangladeshi<br />
You applied<br />
for citizenship<br />
YES<br />
Parent was an<br />
‘alien enemy’<br />
NO<br />
Parents/ you<br />
were here<br />
legally<br />
YES<br />
JUS SANGUINI<br />
You were born to a<br />
Bangladeshi parent<br />
You registered<br />
with a Bangladeshi<br />
mission within two<br />
years of birth<br />
YOU’RE A CITIZEN<br />
WITH RESTRICTIONS<br />
· You can’t be in a political<br />
organisation<br />
· You can’t be employed by the<br />
government<br />
· You can’t be in an elected office<br />
But<br />
even if<br />
you’re<br />
already<br />
a citizen<br />
Your citizenship<br />
could be annulled<br />
2<br />
1<br />
YES<br />
NO<br />
Are you a justice, MP<br />
or employed<br />
by the govt<br />
NO<br />
NO<br />
NOT A CITIZEN<br />
YES<br />
JUS SOLI<br />
You were born on<br />
Bangladeshi terrotory<br />
Is one of<br />
your parents a<br />
citizen?<br />
YES<br />
Is the other a<br />
foreign diplomat<br />
posted here?<br />
NO<br />
YOU’RE A CITIZEN<br />
WITH ALL THE PERKS<br />
You want dual<br />
citizenship<br />
Is it a<br />
SAARC country<br />
or Myanmar?<br />
Or any other state<br />
the govt has banned<br />
NO<br />
Shegufta Hasnine Surur/<strong>DT</strong> Infographic<br />
Source: Citizenship Bill 2016
News 3<br />
SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 5, <strong>2017</strong><br />
Problem areas of draft<br />
<strong>DT</strong><br />
ALIEN ENEMIES<br />
Najrul Islam Khasru<br />
Secondly s4(b)<br />
states that the<br />
children of “alien<br />
enemies” would<br />
not be regarded<br />
as Bangladeshi<br />
citizens. This is<br />
problematic on<br />
many levels. The draft defines alien<br />
enemy as a state and not a person!<br />
This is again probably an unintended<br />
error. Assuming that the error is<br />
corrected and the definition is given as<br />
it is in international law, then this may<br />
turn thousands of children of Biharis<br />
in Bangladesh and the children of<br />
those collaborated with Pakistanis as<br />
stateless. Now this would be against<br />
natural justice and Bangladesh would<br />
be in breach of Art. 15 of Universal<br />
TWO KINDS OF<br />
CITIZENSHIP<br />
Najrul Islam Khasru<br />
The current world trend is to make<br />
their citizens abroad feel they are a<br />
part of the country they left behind<br />
and to encourage them to participate<br />
in development of the country<br />
economically and politically. There<br />
are numerous examples of that. But<br />
Bangladesh seems to be going against<br />
the tide sacrificing its own economic<br />
interests.<br />
Declaration of Human Rights as well as<br />
a number of international treaties.<br />
CR Abrar<br />
The law has not<br />
clearly defined<br />
this [term]<br />
and thus its<br />
application will be<br />
very subjective,<br />
selective and<br />
discretionary.<br />
Rashna Imam<br />
The Bill uses the term ‘enemy alien’ and<br />
defines it to mean<br />
any state which<br />
was or is engaged<br />
in a war against<br />
Bangladesh. For<br />
example, Pakistan<br />
was engaged in<br />
CR Abrar<br />
The law breaches a number of<br />
provisions of the Constitution.<br />
Included among those are the<br />
equality of all citizens (Article 27),<br />
non-discrimination on grounds of<br />
birth (Article 28), equality in public<br />
employment (Article29), not giving<br />
retrospective effect to offences<br />
committed before the commencement<br />
of the law (Article 35/1), free+dom of<br />
profession and occupation (Article<br />
40), qualifications and disqualifications<br />
of election to parliament (Article 65),<br />
a war against Bangladesh. However,<br />
it is pertinent to note that although<br />
the term has been defined as above,<br />
it has been used to convey a different<br />
meaning elsewhere in the Bill. For<br />
example, in section 4(2)(c)it has been<br />
used to mean a citizen of an enemy<br />
alien or state rather than the state<br />
itself.<br />
The Bill fails to recognize children<br />
as individuals with personal rights,<br />
holds children accountable for actions<br />
of their parents by depriving them<br />
of citizenship, thus exposing them<br />
to human rights violations like denial<br />
of basic rights such as access to<br />
education and health services. Having<br />
ratified the Convention on the Rights<br />
of the Child, Bangladesh is under an<br />
international obligation to reform its<br />
laws to ensure these rights and more<br />
to children.<br />
conditions for appointment of judges<br />
(Article 95) and qualification for<br />
registration of voters (Article 122).<br />
Rashna Imam<br />
Once a person has acquired citizenship,<br />
the constitution demands that he or<br />
she be given the same set of rights<br />
as any other citizen. Section 7 of the<br />
proposed act discriminates between<br />
citizens by birth and all other types<br />
of citizens, thus creating second class<br />
citizens who do not enjoy the full set of<br />
rights conferred on citizens by birth.<br />
Yet another official found walking over<br />
‘human-bridge’<br />
• Asaduzzaman Ripon,<br />
Narsingdi, Ibrahim Roni,<br />
Chandpur and Bishwajit Dev,<br />
Jamalpur<br />
After the upazila chairman from<br />
Chandpur and a land donor of a<br />
school from Jamalpur, yet another<br />
“human-bridge” walker has come<br />
to light, this time from Narshingdi.<br />
A photo that shows Monohardi<br />
Upazila Nirbahi Officer (UNO) from<br />
Narsingdi, Md Shahidullah, walking<br />
over the chests of youths at an<br />
educational institute, has gone viral<br />
on social media, stirring widespread<br />
criticism for the incongruous action,<br />
just like the other two incidents.<br />
Noticeably, Shahidullah is the<br />
second government official, the<br />
other being Haimchar Upazila<br />
Chairman Nur Hossain Patwari,<br />
who was found to be associated<br />
with the questionable practice of<br />
walking over human bodies at a<br />
ceremony, over the past few days.<br />
The photo reveals Shahidullah<br />
walking over the chests of youths<br />
Monhordi Upazila UNO from Narshingdi walks over the chests of youths forming a<br />
human-bridge at an event<br />
COLLECTED<br />
while he clutches on to bamboos<br />
that he used as railings. A bunch of<br />
spectators surround him.<br />
The Dhaka Tribune learned<br />
that the incident took place during<br />
a three-day Boishakhi Mela (fair)<br />
that was held by Monohardi Degree<br />
College last year.<br />
According to locals, a group of<br />
lathials (persons who demonstrate<br />
a form of traditional martial art using<br />
sticks) from Kapasia upazila of<br />
Gazipur, formed the human bridge<br />
to show their physical skills. They<br />
say that the act was done for fun.<br />
Admitting this, UNO Shahidullah<br />
said: “Forming human bridge is<br />
like a game.” He also claimed that<br />
he participated in the act due to the<br />
requests of the organisers and also<br />
BIRTH OUTSIDE<br />
BANGLADESH<br />
Najrul Islam Khasru<br />
Bangladeshi parents who give birth<br />
to a child outside Bangladesh (for<br />
example while they are studying,<br />
visiting or working abroad), that child<br />
would not have the full citizenship<br />
rights in Bangladesh. He/she would<br />
not be able to stand for national or<br />
local elections, would not be eligible<br />
for any government jobs and so on.<br />
They would practically be second class<br />
EXCLUDING SAARC<br />
CITIZENSHIP<br />
Rashna Imam<br />
Section 8(1) states that a citizen of<br />
Bangladesh shall not obtain citizenship<br />
of any SAARC country, Myanmar,<br />
or any other specifically prohibited<br />
state. With the exception of the<br />
above, a Bangladeshi can obtain the<br />
citizenship of any country with whom<br />
Bangladesh has diplomatic realtions.<br />
S 8(2) imposes a blanket ban on dual<br />
citizenship for citizens of Bangladesh<br />
who hold the followings posts: Judge<br />
of the Supreme Courtof Bangladesh,<br />
Member of Parliament, Constitutional<br />
posts, law enforcement, civil servants.<br />
Dual citizenship of Bangladesh<br />
and SAARC countries may have been<br />
excluded for lack of reciprocity. India’s<br />
constitution forbids dual citizenship.<br />
awarded participants Tk2,500.<br />
Asked if what he did was sensible,<br />
he replied: “They were not students<br />
of the college. They were all<br />
adults. I did it only to satisfy their<br />
caprice. However, from now on I<br />
should be careful as questions have<br />
been raised.”<br />
A similar incident had taken<br />
place at another event in Jamalpur<br />
on January 29. Dildar Hossain<br />
Prince, who is the donor of the<br />
land on which Mahmudpur Multipurpose<br />
High School at Melandaha<br />
upazila is built, walked over a “human-bridge”<br />
formed by students at<br />
a farewell event in the same school.<br />
A picture that shows Prince,<br />
who was invited to the school<br />
event, walking over the bodies<br />
of the students forming the<br />
bridge, had also gone viral on<br />
social media.<br />
Nur Hossain Patwari, the Haimchar<br />
Upazila chairman has been<br />
suspended from the position of<br />
general secretary of upazila unit<br />
Awami League. •<br />
citizens in their own country. Again this<br />
might not be intentional, who knows!<br />
CR Abrar<br />
If migrant workers do not register their<br />
children’s birth within two years of<br />
their birth or commencement of the<br />
law then they would lose the right to<br />
acquire Bangladeshi citizenship. No<br />
provision has been kept for securing<br />
citizenship subsequently. The draft law<br />
takes away the right of children of one<br />
Rohingya parent and a Bangladeshi<br />
parent to acquire citizenship.<br />
India amended the 1955 Citizenship Act<br />
to introduce a form of overseas citizenship,<br />
which stops just short of full dual<br />
citizenship and is, in all aspects, like<br />
permanent residency. However, people<br />
who have acquired citizenship in Pakistan<br />
or Bangladesh are not eligible for<br />
Overseas Citizenship. Pakistan also forbids<br />
dual citizenship with Bangladesh.<br />
Nepal, Bhutan, Afganistan and Maldives<br />
forbid dual citizenship per se.<br />
LEGAL RECOURSE<br />
Najrul Islam Khasru<br />
Regarding difficulties of the court,<br />
there are no provisions for appeal<br />
against any decisions of the administration<br />
in the draft Act (apart from<br />
the criminal provisions). Therefore<br />
only remedy would be a High Court<br />
challenge by way of a writ.<br />
Suranjit on life<br />
support<br />
• Mohammad Abu Bakr<br />
Siddique<br />
Veteran Awami<br />
League leader<br />
Suranjit Sengupta<br />
has been<br />
admitted to the<br />
coronary care<br />
unit (CCU) of<br />
Labaid Hospital<br />
in Dhaka.<br />
Around 1:30am today, Labaid<br />
Emergency Doctor Morshed Shafiul<br />
Hasan said Suranjit had been put<br />
on life support. He has been at the<br />
CCU for the past 2-3 days under the<br />
care of Prof Baren Chakraborty.<br />
A hospital source told the Dhaka<br />
Tribune that Suranjit is reportedly<br />
diagnosed with lung infection and<br />
hemoglobin deficiency.<br />
The 78-year-old politician from<br />
Sylhet joined Awami League in the<br />
early ‘90s. Suranjit was appointed<br />
railway minister in 2012 but<br />
resigned within five months after<br />
a bribery scandal. He was later reappointed<br />
as a minister without<br />
portfolio. •
4<br />
SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 5, <strong>2017</strong><br />
<strong>DT</strong><br />
News<br />
Was journo Shimul targeted?<br />
• Aminul Islam Rana, Sirajganj<br />
The murder of the Daily Samakal’s<br />
upazila correspondent Abdul<br />
Hakim Shimul has triggered a<br />
countrywide outrage against<br />
Shahjadpur Municipality Mayor<br />
Halimul Haque Miru and his<br />
cohorts, who are allegedly involved<br />
in criminal activities.<br />
During the initial investigation,<br />
police said Shimul had been shot<br />
by Miru.<br />
Miru, who is one of the accused<br />
in a case filed over the murder, is<br />
currently in hiding.<br />
Police have arrested two of his<br />
brothers in connection with the<br />
fatal clash that took place in front<br />
of Miru’s house in Shahjadpur,<br />
Sirajganj on Thursday. Four others<br />
were arrested in the murder case.<br />
Nasir, 3 others<br />
arrested over<br />
journo Shimul<br />
shooting<br />
• Aminul Islam Rana, Sirajganj<br />
Police have arrested four people<br />
including local Awami League activist<br />
KM Nasir in connection with<br />
the murder of Daily Samakal correspondent<br />
Abdul Hakim Shimul.<br />
The detainees were picked up<br />
from different areas of Shahjadpur<br />
upazila in Sirajganj during separate<br />
police raids on late Friday night, said<br />
Abul Hasnat, additional superintendent<br />
of police in Shahjadpur circle.<br />
Police only revealed the identity<br />
of Nasir, who was arrested in<br />
Chhoy Aani village. Nasir is a member<br />
of the Awami League’s Shahjadpur<br />
unit.<br />
Among the four, only Shimul<br />
is listed as an accused in Shimul<br />
murder case; the other three are<br />
suspected of being involved in the<br />
incident, Hasnat said.<br />
Meanwhile, Shimul’s wife<br />
Nurun Nahar filed a case against<br />
18 individuals, including Shahjadpur<br />
Municipality Mayor Halimul<br />
Haque Miru, his two brothers Pintu<br />
and Mintu, and three unidentified<br />
suspects.<br />
Earlier, local Awami League leader<br />
Bijoy Mahmud filed another case<br />
with police against 25 people including<br />
Miru and his two brothers.<br />
Shimul, Shahjadpur upazila<br />
correspondent of national Bangla<br />
newspaper the Daily Samakal,<br />
died on Friday after being shot in<br />
the head during a clash between<br />
two rival groups of the local Awami<br />
League on Thursday.<br />
Police said the bullet that hit<br />
Shimul was fired from Miru’s shotgun.<br />
Police later seized the gun.<br />
Miru went into hiding after the<br />
incident. •<br />
According to eye witnesses,<br />
Shimul, 42, was taking photos of<br />
the clash which ensued when a<br />
faction of the local Awami League<br />
attacked the mayor’s house.<br />
He was pointing his camera at<br />
the house when the mayor came<br />
out with his shotgun and opened<br />
fire, they said.<br />
“Shimul caught the mayor firing<br />
from his gun on camera. When the<br />
mayor noticed it, he shot Shimul<br />
too. We demand execution of the<br />
mayor and his brothers,” Shimul’s<br />
cousin Dr Abul Kalam Azad told the<br />
Dhaka Tribune.<br />
Some of the locals suspect<br />
that Shimul’s stance against the<br />
mayor’s recent decision to raise<br />
municipality tax, along with two<br />
otherjournalists, might have made<br />
him a target.<br />
Protests ring around country over Shimul’s death<br />
• Tribune Desk<br />
They said Shimul was a hardworking<br />
journalist and popular in<br />
the area.<br />
Jahurul Islam, Shahjadpur<br />
correspondent of the Daily Amar<br />
Sangbad, said he was a close<br />
acquaintance of Shimul’s and was<br />
with him when he was shot.<br />
“Shimul was taking photos of<br />
the violent clash between two rival<br />
groups of the local Awami League.<br />
Four or five rounds of bullets were<br />
fired from the mayor’s house when<br />
his rivals attacked the house,” he<br />
said. “I did not see who was firing<br />
the bullets, but one bullet hit<br />
Shimul in the right eye.”<br />
Quoting the locals and the case<br />
statement, Shahjadpur police<br />
station OC Rezaul Haque said Miru<br />
was the primary suspect in the<br />
murder.<br />
People from different walks of life,<br />
including journalists from around<br />
the country came out on the streets<br />
yesterday to protest the murder of<br />
journalist Abdul Hamid Shimul,<br />
Shahjadpur correspondent of Daily<br />
Samakal, and demanded justice for<br />
the heinous crime.<br />
Thousands of people participated<br />
in the Namaz-e-Janaza of<br />
Shimul, which was held at Shahjadpur<br />
Pilot High School premises<br />
in Sirajganj. Shimul’s body was<br />
buried later yesterday at his village<br />
home in Madla-Kakilabari after a<br />
second Namaz-e-Janaza there.<br />
A human chain was organised to<br />
protest Shimul’s murder at University<br />
of Dhaka yesterday. Protesters<br />
demanded immediate detention of<br />
alleged killer Shahzadpur Municipality<br />
Mayor Halimul Haque Miru.<br />
They also demanded exemplary<br />
punishment for the crime that has<br />
shocked people from around the<br />
country.<br />
The protesters also urged AL to<br />
expel the mayor from the party.<br />
“Samakal Shuhrid Shomabesh”<br />
organised the hour-long human<br />
chain at DU’s Raju Memorial<br />
Sculpture around 11:00am on<br />
Saturday.<br />
Shahed Chowdhury, city editor<br />
of Daily Samakal, Shamakal Chief<br />
Reporter Loton Ekrum, Divisional<br />
Editor of Samakal Shuhrid Shomabesh<br />
Shirajul Islam and members<br />
of JU and DU Shuhrid Shomabesh<br />
participated in the programme<br />
among numerous others.<br />
Speaking at the rally, Shahed<br />
Khan said the government should<br />
expel the alleged mayor from the<br />
RAB Assistant Superintendent<br />
of Police Hasibul Alam and<br />
Shahjadpur circle Additional<br />
Superintendent of Police Abul<br />
Hasnat were present during this<br />
conversation.<br />
However, earlier during a phone<br />
conversation, Miru refuted the<br />
allegations against him and said he<br />
liked Shimul.<br />
“I had no complaints about<br />
Shimul. He was injured when the<br />
attackers hurled crude bombs at<br />
my house,” the mayor told the<br />
Dhaka Tribune.<br />
The mayor claimed that he was<br />
being framed by some locals.<br />
However, the doctors who<br />
conducted the post-mortem<br />
examination of Shimul’s body<br />
found a bullet in his skull, said Civil<br />
Surgeon Sheikh Manzur Rahman.<br />
Saiful Islam, a businessman<br />
from Shimul’s village Madla, said:<br />
“Everyone knows that Shimul’s<br />
murder was premeditated. Miru<br />
and his two brothers planned it.”<br />
Sirajganj 6 constituency<br />
lawmaker Hasibur Rahman Swapan<br />
demanded that Miru be arrested<br />
soon and brought to book.<br />
“Miru fired five bullets from<br />
his gun, one of which hit Shimul<br />
in the head. He was there to<br />
discharge his duty as a journalist,”<br />
he said yesterday before attending<br />
Shimul’s namaz-e-janaza.<br />
Condemning the murder,<br />
Awami League Publicity Secretary<br />
Hassan Mahmud said the killers<br />
must be brought to justice.<br />
He further said the investigators<br />
should see whether any “intruder”<br />
had committed the murder. •<br />
Colleagues of slain Daily Samakal journalist Abdul Hakim Shimul gather around Raju Memorial in front of the TSC in Dhaka University yesterday to hold a human chain in<br />
protest of his shooting death<br />
MEHEDI HASAN<br />
party to prove AL’s willingness<br />
for justice as some AL leaders acknowledged<br />
the mayor’s involvement.<br />
Sirajganj AL, along with journalists<br />
called for a half-day shutdown<br />
in Sirajganj. Shops and businesses<br />
in the area remained closed and<br />
transportation was scarcely available.<br />
Journalists, activists of Chhatra<br />
League and people in general<br />
wore black badges in their demonstrations.<br />
Protesters also came out yesterday<br />
in Rajshahi, demanding justice<br />
for Shimul’s murder. Rajshahi<br />
Press Club organised a human<br />
chain at the Zero Point in the city.<br />
Apart from journalists, politicians,<br />
students and teachers, people from<br />
all other walks of life participated<br />
in the demonstration.<br />
A human chain was also organised<br />
in front of the Noagaon Press<br />
Club at 12pm. The protesters demanded<br />
a safer working environment<br />
for journalists.<br />
Gaibandha Press Club arranged<br />
a human chain at the same time<br />
where numerous journalists demanded<br />
the arrest of Halimul<br />
Haque Miru, the alleged perpetrator.<br />
Dinajpur Press Club held a human<br />
chain from 10am-12pm in<br />
front of the club. They stressed<br />
that no other journalist should be<br />
in danger for carrying out their duties.<br />
Barisal Bureau Chief of Daily<br />
Samakal, Pulok Chaterjee led<br />
demonstrations in Barisal. People<br />
from all walks of life joined in to<br />
demand justice for Shimul. A human<br />
chain was organised at 11am at<br />
the Sadar Street in the city. •
News 5<br />
SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 5, <strong>2017</strong><br />
Pirates, cyclones and mud<br />
Bangladesh’s island solution to Rohingya crisis<br />
• Reuters<br />
The island is two hours by boat<br />
from the nearest settlement. There<br />
are no buildings, mobile phone reception<br />
or people. During the monsoon<br />
it often floods and, when the<br />
seas are calm, pirates roam nearby<br />
waters hunting for fishermen to<br />
kidnap for ransom.<br />
Welcome to Thengar Char, a<br />
muddy stain in the murky waters<br />
of the Bay of Bengal, identified by<br />
Bangladesh as a short-term solution<br />
to the humanitarian crisis<br />
unfolding on its border with Myanmar,<br />
across which some 70,000 Rohingya<br />
Muslims have fled.<br />
Those refugees, escaping an army<br />
crackdown on insurgents that began<br />
in October, have joined more than<br />
200,000 Rohingya already living in<br />
official and makeshift camps, straining<br />
resources in one of Asia’s poorest<br />
regions. Bangladesh says the refugees<br />
bring crime and a risk of disease.<br />
The influx has prompted Dhaka<br />
to revive a plan - much criticised<br />
by humanitarian workers when it<br />
was first proposed in 2015 - to move<br />
thousands of people to this uninhabited<br />
island about 250km (150 miles)<br />
northwest of their border camps.<br />
While most experts dismiss the<br />
scheme as impractical, a Bangladeshi<br />
minister told Reuters this week that it<br />
was determined to push ahead, adding<br />
authorities would provide shelters,<br />
other facilities and livestock.<br />
Local administrators, however,<br />
say they have not been informed,<br />
and when Reuters visited the island<br />
the only signs of activity were a few<br />
buffalo lazily grazing on the yellow<br />
grass along its shores.<br />
“We have only heard bad things<br />
Is social arbitration the answer to conflict resolution?<br />
• Tribune Desk<br />
Myanmar Rohingya refugees look on in a refugee camp in Teknaf, in Bangladesh’s Cox’s Bazar, on November 26, 2016<br />
about the Rohingya. If they work with<br />
the pirates and get involved in crime<br />
- we don’t want them here,” said Mizanur<br />
Rahman, 48, the administrator<br />
of Might Bangha village, the closest<br />
settlement to Thengar Char.<br />
Rahman added, however, that if<br />
the Rohingya were “good people”,<br />
they should be helped on humanitarian<br />
grounds. Others from the<br />
village echoed that sentiment, saying<br />
that as fellow Muslims, they deserved<br />
assistance.<br />
The crisis is the biggest challenge<br />
facing the government of Aung San<br />
Suu Kyi, straining Myanmar’s relations<br />
with the countries of the region<br />
hosting large Rohingya populations<br />
such as Bangladesh and Malaysia,<br />
but also the United States.<br />
About 1.1million Rohingya live in<br />
At a discussion yesterday, titled<br />
“National Access to Justice<br />
Conference on Sustainability of<br />
Community Legal Services,” the<br />
participants discussed how social<br />
arbitration could become the best<br />
method for settling minor disputes<br />
as it would ensure access to<br />
justice for all parties.<br />
The programme was arranged<br />
by the WAVE Foundation in partnership<br />
with Madaripur Legal Aid<br />
Association (MLAA), Nagorik Uddyog<br />
and Community Legal Services<br />
(CLS) Program and was held at<br />
the Pan Pacific Sonargaon Dhaka.<br />
The participants spoke about<br />
how the social arbitration system<br />
would address the limitations of<br />
the conventional arbitration system<br />
and ensure that all parties<br />
were provided equal opportunities<br />
to present their grievances<br />
and receive fair solutions.<br />
In 2016, there were approximately<br />
3.1 million unresolved<br />
court cases. Many of the pending<br />
cases could be resolved through<br />
apartheid-like conditions in northwestern<br />
Myanmar, where they are<br />
denied citizenship. Many in Buddhist-majority<br />
Myanmar regard<br />
them as illegal immigrants from<br />
Bangladesh, while the authorities in<br />
Dhaka say they are Myanmar nationals<br />
and must ultimately go back.<br />
Pirates and machine guns<br />
It takes about two hours by boat<br />
from Rahman’s village on the coast<br />
of Sandwip - one of the largest islands<br />
in an archipelago in southern<br />
Bangladesh - to Thengar Char.<br />
Reuters journalists were escorted<br />
there by a fishing boat and a coastguard<br />
vessel carrying seven officers<br />
equipped with Chinese-made machine<br />
guns to stave off potential pirate<br />
attacks.<br />
social arbitration.<br />
Speaking at the event, Justice<br />
M Enayetur Rahim said that establishing<br />
a social arbitration system<br />
would ease the burden on the judiciary<br />
system and stop people from<br />
going to court with simple disputes.<br />
He also felt that this system<br />
would save much time and money<br />
for justice seekers.<br />
“NGOs can work with the government<br />
to motivate people to use<br />
this system. NGO paralegal teams<br />
can assist the poor and marginalised<br />
justice seekers,” he said.<br />
AFP<br />
Villagers complain criminals roam<br />
the nearby waters, seizing vessels,<br />
stealing the catch and releasing fishermen<br />
only after receiving a ransom.<br />
Thengar Char is flat and featureless,<br />
covered by bushes, grass and<br />
windswept trees.<br />
It emerged from the sea about<br />
11 years ago, off Sandwip’s western<br />
coast, one of the myriad of shifting,<br />
unstable islands formed by sediment<br />
in the mouth of the mighty<br />
Meghna river.<br />
While Thengar Char looked calm<br />
on a sunny winter afternoon, the<br />
main objection voiced by aid agencies<br />
to Bangladesh’s plan is the area’s<br />
unforgiving climate.<br />
“These areas are cyclone and<br />
flood-prone,” said Quamrul Hassan,<br />
a meteorologist at the Bangladesh<br />
The suggested social arbitration<br />
system would follow a preset<br />
policy or guideline which would<br />
ignore the parties’ social or political<br />
status and focus only on the<br />
subject of dispute. The aim of the<br />
social arbitration system would be<br />
to garner a mutual understanding<br />
between parties. The arbitrators<br />
would also be well trained and<br />
provide long-term legal solutions.<br />
The participants felt that a separate<br />
legal framework should be<br />
created for the system and also<br />
expressed a hope that this system<br />
<strong>DT</strong><br />
Weather Department, adding that<br />
the islands in the Bay of Bengal were<br />
“especially risky” to inhabit.<br />
“Average rainfall during the monsoon<br />
season in the coastal areas is<br />
more than double that of the other<br />
parts of the country.”<br />
Many people living on the islands<br />
are regularly evacuated during the<br />
cyclone season to shelters built on<br />
the coast, said local journalist Saleh<br />
Noman. He thought the relocation<br />
plan wasn’t realistic.<br />
“There is a similar island in the<br />
area and it took some 40 years for it<br />
to develop. Bet even now it’s all very<br />
basic,” said Noman.<br />
There are currently around<br />
30,000 Rohingya living in camps<br />
run by the United Nations near border<br />
with Myanmar, while tens of<br />
thousands more are crammed into<br />
slums that have grown up around<br />
them, without proper sanitation or<br />
healthcare.<br />
The Rohingya from those settlements<br />
sometimes find employment,<br />
but most are sustained by<br />
local villagers and rations quietly<br />
distributed by international aid<br />
agencies.<br />
“We can operate here, but we<br />
can’t really talk about it,” said one aid<br />
worker based in the border region.<br />
Rohingya refugees Reuters spoke<br />
to did not want to stay where they<br />
were - but neither did they want to<br />
be moved to Thengar Char.<br />
“We left everything in Myanmar,”<br />
said Abu Salam from Kya Guang<br />
Taung, a village in northern Myanmar<br />
that was destroyed in the crackdown.<br />
He crossed the border in December.<br />
“That’s where our home is. If only<br />
we could get citizenship, we would<br />
like to go back.”•<br />
would be especially beneficial to<br />
women.<br />
Jerome Sayre, team leader of the<br />
CLS Program chaired and Mohsin<br />
Ali, executive director of WAVE<br />
foundation presented the keynote<br />
speech. Additional Secretary of the<br />
Ministry of Law, Justice and Parliamentary<br />
Affairs Md Mostafizur Rahman,<br />
Chief Co-ordinator of MLAA<br />
Khan Mohammad Shahid, Chief<br />
Executive of Nagorik Udyok Zakir<br />
Hossain and Senior Governance Adviser<br />
of DFID Bangladesh Joel Harding<br />
also spoke at the event. •<br />
TEMPERATURE FORECAST FOR TODAY<br />
DRY WEATHER<br />
LIKELY<br />
SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 5<br />
Dhaka 31 14 Chittagong 29 18 Rajshahi 29 14 Rangpur 30 14 Khulna 30 14 Barisal 31 15 Sylhet 32 12<br />
DHAKA<br />
TODAY<br />
TOMORROW<br />
SUN SETS 5:48PM<br />
SUN RISES 6:37AM<br />
YESTERDAY’S HIGH AND LOW<br />
31.5ºC<br />
8.8ºC<br />
Rangamati<br />
Srimangal<br />
Source: Accuweather/UNB<br />
PRAYER<br />
TIMES<br />
Cox’s Bazar 30 18<br />
Fajr: 6:5am | Zohr: 1:15pm<br />
Asr: 4:30pm | Magrib: 5:56pm<br />
Esha: 7:45pm<br />
Source: Islamic Foundation
6<br />
SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 5, <strong>2017</strong><br />
<strong>DT</strong><br />
News<br />
Helper drove truck over<br />
crowd killing 7 children<br />
• Jasim Majumder, Khagrachhari<br />
Truck helper Mohammad Sumon, who<br />
rammed a truck into a group of Buddhist<br />
devotees without the designated<br />
driver onboard on Friday, killing seven<br />
children and a woman, was sent to jail<br />
by a court.<br />
Additional Chief Judicial Magistrate<br />
(ACJM) Rokeya Begum from a Khagrachhari<br />
court issued the order.<br />
Sumon, the helper of the truck in<br />
question, was driving the vehicle all on<br />
his own without the actual driver onboard,<br />
when he apparently lost control of<br />
the vehicle and rammed into a crowd that<br />
was attending the funeral of a Buddhist<br />
monk at Atulia Buddha Bihar in Khagracchari.<br />
Sumon does not have a driver’s license,<br />
and reportedly, the actual driver of<br />
the truck, Mohammad Polash, had gotten<br />
off the vehicle at an earlier point on the<br />
route.<br />
Although, the police seized the truck<br />
and detained Sumon, Polash is still at<br />
large.<br />
Among the victims, three were from<br />
the same family, two children and their<br />
mother. At least 15 others were left injured<br />
in the accident as well.<br />
The victims of the brutal incident<br />
are: Uchinu Marma, 15, Ankoching Marma,<br />
15, Ukyaching Marma, 5, Nunuma<br />
Marma alias Tuntuni, 6, Neimra Marma,<br />
40, from Chongrachhari village under<br />
Mohalchhari upazila, Pulu Marma, 6,<br />
from Tabalchhari area under Matiranga<br />
upazila and Chaithoprue Marma, 15,<br />
from Nakapa under Ramgorh upazila in<br />
Khagrachhari district.<br />
Sub-Inspector Md Mozaher Hossain<br />
of Matiranga police station filed a case<br />
over the incident accusing driver Mohammad<br />
Polash, 35, son of late Monu<br />
Mia of Bachchapara, and helper Mohammad<br />
Sumon, 22, son of Md Abdul<br />
Hoque of Merung village under Dighinala<br />
upazila in the district.<br />
The dead devotees have been cremated<br />
by family members in accordance<br />
with their religious practices. •<br />
Youths posing as BCL<br />
men vandalise restaurant<br />
• Anwar Hussain,<br />
Chittagong<br />
A group of youths, allegedly<br />
claiming themselves as<br />
the activists of Bangladesh<br />
Chhatra League, the student<br />
wing of ruling Awami<br />
League, vandalised a restaurant<br />
in Chittagong city<br />
yesterday.<br />
Mir Md Nurul Huda, officer-in-charge<br />
of Chawkbazar<br />
police station, confirmed<br />
the incident of<br />
vandalism, saying that<br />
some students of Chittagong<br />
College exchanged<br />
some heated words with the<br />
restaurant authorities over<br />
a trifling matter.<br />
At one stage, the students<br />
became agitated,<br />
started vandalising inside<br />
the restaurant called<br />
Sadia’s Kitchen, he said.<br />
Mezbah Uddin, the restaurant<br />
manager, said: “A<br />
group of seven to eight<br />
youths turned up there<br />
and had their meal, demanding<br />
30% discount<br />
claiming themselves as<br />
BCL activists after the bill<br />
of the food was placed<br />
to them.”<br />
“As we did not grant<br />
their demand, they (students)<br />
began vandalism,”<br />
he added. •<br />
Police: Bivor was killed<br />
over land dispute<br />
Children flip through books at a stall to find what catches their eye on the 4th day of the Ekushey Book Fair<br />
Weekend boosts attendance on<br />
4th day of book fair<br />
• SM Najmus Sakib<br />
The fourth day of the month-long Amar<br />
Ekushey Book Fair <strong>2017</strong> saw 139 new<br />
books come in, with significant attendance<br />
of book lovers making publishers<br />
happy due to rising book sales.<br />
The book fair received a huge turnout<br />
yesterday, with people of all ages<br />
at the Suhrawardy Udyan and Bangla<br />
Academy premises, as it stayed open<br />
from 11:00am to 8:30pm yesterday as<br />
scheduled.<br />
Those in attendance included a number<br />
of prominent writers and publishers.<br />
The weekend brought additional<br />
opportunity for children in its<br />
“Shishu-Prohor” on the fairground.<br />
Children came with their parents to<br />
enjoy the fair and special event, which<br />
included animal shaped decorations<br />
around the fairground space, as well as<br />
books and comics to encourage reading,<br />
said visitors and organisers.<br />
Meanwhile, the last day of the fourday<br />
long international conference on<br />
Translated Literature, Youth Literature<br />
and Bangla Drama and Literature was<br />
also held on the Bangla Academy premises<br />
throughout the day, with Prof Khaliquzzaman<br />
Elias, Prof Hayat Mahmud<br />
and Rashed Rouf among the speakers.<br />
Later, a poem recitation programme<br />
MAHMUD HOSSAIN OPU<br />
was also held, where noted poets participated.<br />
On the fifth day of the fair, a<br />
seminar on Ahsan Habib marking his<br />
100th birth anniversary and a cultural<br />
event will take place at the Bangla Academy<br />
premises.<br />
At the fair, government sponsored<br />
publications have set up their stalls at<br />
Bangla Academy premises, while the<br />
stalls of private publications are at the<br />
park area of Suhrawardy Udyan. A total<br />
of 663 stalls have been allocated to 409<br />
publishing houses.<br />
The book fair will remain open from<br />
3pm to 8:30pm every day, and from<br />
11am to 8:30pm on holidays and weekends.<br />
•<br />
• Tarek Mahmud<br />
Police say 12-year-old Redwanul<br />
Islam Bivor was<br />
murdered because of land<br />
disputes, according to the<br />
confession made by Al-Amin,<br />
the perpetrator of the crime.<br />
Bivor was stabbed to<br />
death by Al-Amin near his<br />
house in Jatrabari when he<br />
was playing with his cousin<br />
on January, 30.<br />
Jatrabari police station<br />
Sub-Inspector (SI) KM Azizul<br />
Haque said Al-Amin who<br />
gave the statement before a<br />
Dhaka court under Section<br />
164 of Criminal Procedure<br />
Code said he stabbed the<br />
boy because his father Abdul<br />
Mannan Munshi had land disputes<br />
with Bivor’s father Nazrul<br />
Islam Babu for a long time.<br />
Police also took his<br />
younger brother Armin on<br />
a two-day remand for more<br />
information.<br />
On January 30, when<br />
Bivor, a sixth grader of Narinda<br />
Government School,<br />
was playing with his cousin<br />
Rafid in front of his house in<br />
the Golapbagh area in Jatrabari<br />
when Al-Amin enraged<br />
jumped in on Bivor and<br />
stabbed him to death.<br />
Bivor was taken to Dhaka<br />
Medical College Hospital<br />
where doctors pronounced<br />
him dead.<br />
Police arrested Al-Amin<br />
a short time after and said<br />
his father had sent him on<br />
an inter-district bus so that<br />
he could runaway and hide.<br />
‘Al-Amin’s father<br />
had sent him on<br />
an inter-district<br />
bus so that he<br />
could runaway’<br />
“However, Abdul Mannan,<br />
could not be arrested yet,”<br />
said the SI adding that the<br />
police were actively looking<br />
for him and conducting<br />
drives to find him.<br />
Bivor’s father Nazrul Islam<br />
said: “They killed by son for<br />
something as trivial as land<br />
dispute which could have<br />
been solved in a peaceful way.<br />
I want exemplary punishment<br />
for these barbarians.” •
News 7<br />
SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 5, <strong>2017</strong><br />
<strong>DT</strong><br />
Nasrul: Power<br />
connections<br />
within a day<br />
of applying<br />
• Aminur Rahman Rasel<br />
State Minister for Power Nasrul<br />
Hamid has ordered all Palli Bidyut<br />
Samity (PBS) to issue connections<br />
to homes within a day of applying.<br />
Speaking at a conference of the<br />
general managers of PBSs organised<br />
by the Bangladesh Rural Electrification<br />
Board (BREB) yesterday,<br />
the state minister said the government<br />
was taking strict initiatives to<br />
crack down on field-level corruption<br />
in rural electrification.<br />
He also instructed the PBSs<br />
to connect industrial consumers<br />
within 28 days of applying.<br />
‘In rural areas people<br />
do not get enough<br />
power regularly<br />
due to the poor<br />
transmission system’<br />
“National power consumption per<br />
capita now is 407 Kilowatt-hour<br />
(kWh). If we want to become a middle-income<br />
country then the consumption<br />
should be 1 Mwh,” he said.<br />
The state minister urged everyone<br />
to work hard to get electricity<br />
to the entire nation by 2018.<br />
Power Division acting Secretary<br />
Ahmed Kaikaus said: “Distribution<br />
companies cannot provide power<br />
outside of their designated territory.<br />
Action would be taken against<br />
those who violate this rule.”<br />
Mohammad Hossain, Director<br />
General of Power Cell, said: “In rural<br />
areas people do not get enough<br />
power regularly due to the poor<br />
transmission system.”<br />
He requested that renovations<br />
to power transmission be brought<br />
under Power Grid Company’s National<br />
Load Dispatch Center across<br />
the country.<br />
BREB Chairman Maj Gen Moin<br />
Uddin said that the incidence of<br />
transformer blasts has now declined.<br />
Among the 79 PBSs under the<br />
BREB, system loss has increased<br />
in 13 PBSs where the percentage of<br />
raise is 2%.<br />
In the remaining 66 PBSs, system<br />
loss has been reduced by 1%.<br />
Kishoreganj Palli Bidyut Samity’s<br />
President Sadikur rahman said:<br />
“Due to 132 kV overload of transmission<br />
line in Kisorganj, frequent<br />
and long load shedding takes place.”<br />
Bhola Palli Bidyuit Somity’s<br />
General Manager Md Kefayetullah<br />
said: “We have to face massive costs<br />
when connecting new lines and we<br />
have to sell per unit electricity for Tk<br />
6.04, even though we need to spend<br />
Tk6.62 in per unit. So the government<br />
should give us subsidy.” •<br />
Visitors admire a photo installation at Chobi Mela IX – the largest photography festival in Asia running from Feb 3-16. This year’s theme is ‘Transition.’ The festival will<br />
feature over 30 exhibitions with work from 27 artists spanning 16 countries. Visitors can take part in workshops, artists’ talks and panel discussions<br />
RAJIB DHAR<br />
24 ‘Islami Samaj’ men held while<br />
‘plotting sabotage’<br />
• FM Mizanur Rahaman,<br />
Chittagong<br />
Police claimed to have detained<br />
twenty-four suspected members of<br />
a blacklisted Islamist group called<br />
Islami Samaj while allegedly holding<br />
a clandestine meeting in Chittagong.<br />
Members of special task group<br />
and detective branch (DB) of Chittagong<br />
Metropolitan Police (CMP)<br />
booked them raiding a house in the<br />
premier port city’s Nayabazar area<br />
on Friday night.<br />
The arrestees are - Md Ruhul<br />
Amin,45, Md Yusuf Ali, 46, Amir<br />
Hossen, 50, Jamal Uddin, 42, Abu<br />
Hanif Hariz, 53, Md Rafiqul Islam<br />
alias Rubel, 27, Alamgir Hossen, 35,<br />
Didar Hossen, 35, Md Anwar,44,<br />
Md Shah Alam, 40, Md Rabiul Hossen,<br />
37, Md Towhidul Islam, 22,<br />
Md Anwar Hossen, 42, Md Abdul<br />
Wahab, 54, Md Abdur Rab, 40, Md<br />
Sadeq, 42, Md Abu Bakkar Kamal,<br />
50 Md Abdur Kader, 27, Md Akbar<br />
Hossen, 42, Md Saiful Islam, 26,<br />
Md Ibrahim Khalil, 26, Md Mobarak<br />
Ali, 45, Md Abdul Hakim, 45 and<br />
Md Robiul , 28.<br />
Ruhul and Yusuf are the top<br />
leaders of the group’s of Chittagong<br />
region and Tongi district units, police<br />
said, adding, that Yousuf was<br />
earlier arrested in Jamalpur for being<br />
in touch with banned Islamist<br />
militant outfit Jama’atul Mujahedeen<br />
Bangladesh (JMB) in 2008.<br />
The police also seized some organisational<br />
documents and leaflets<br />
of the group from the spot of<br />
the raid.<br />
The organisation’s objective is to establish<br />
Islamic rule in the country as it opposes<br />
democracy terming it a man-made system and<br />
contradictory to the rule of Islam<br />
The organisation doesn’t believe in<br />
the country’s existing democratic<br />
system and laws since it is aiming<br />
to establish Khelafat (caliphate),<br />
according to police.<br />
The information surfaced in<br />
a press briefing organised by the<br />
CMP at its headquarters yesterday.<br />
Paritosh Ghosh, deputy commissioner<br />
of DB at the CMP, then<br />
told reporters that the outfit members<br />
had been working for a Khelafat<br />
state in the country like many<br />
other militant groups.<br />
The detainees have lower educational<br />
and social background, as<br />
he said, while their target group is<br />
underprivileged and low-income<br />
people since the latter can easily be<br />
redicalised through misconception<br />
of Islam.<br />
Claiming that the twenty-four<br />
men were plotting sabotage at the<br />
meeting, the police official, however,<br />
could not confirm which militant<br />
organisation Islami Samaj is<br />
linked to.<br />
Police said they were verifying<br />
the primary information divulged<br />
especially by the Ruhul and Yusuf.<br />
A case was later filed under Special<br />
Powers Act with Pahartali police<br />
station in this connection.<br />
Details on the outfit:<br />
According to GlobalSecurity.<br />
org, a military issues think tank,<br />
Islami Samaj is a break away<br />
faction of Jamaat-e-Islami and<br />
was established on May 17, 1997<br />
by the party founder ameer Mufti<br />
Abdul Zabbar who in 1983 formed<br />
a dissident group of Jamaat<br />
following his disagreement with<br />
Jamaat leader Golam Azam.<br />
The present ameer of the organisation<br />
is Syed Humayun Kabir, a<br />
former member Islami Chhatra<br />
Shibir, Jamaat’s student front.<br />
The organisation’s objective<br />
is to establish Islamic rule in the<br />
country as it opposes democracy<br />
terming it a man-made system and<br />
contradictory to the rule of Islam.<br />
Headquartered in Comilla, the<br />
Islamist group was blacklisted<br />
back in 2007 along with six other<br />
like-minded organisations.<br />
From tailor to top leader:<br />
Hailing from Chandpur, Yusuf<br />
was a tailor before he joined the<br />
group, police said.<br />
CMP DB’s Additional Deputy<br />
Commissioner Humayun Kabir<br />
told the Dhaka Tribune that he<br />
(Yusuf) left his profession as a tailor<br />
and started to work for the platform<br />
and stay at its Tongi office to<br />
look after organisational activities.<br />
Upon his connection with JMB,<br />
Yusuf was arrested in 2008 and<br />
came out of jail two months later,<br />
finally joining Islami Samaj, stated<br />
the other police official, Paritosh. •
<strong>DT</strong><br />
8<br />
World<br />
SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 5, <strong>2017</strong><br />
SOUTH ASIA<br />
UN lifts sanctions on<br />
notorious Afghan warlord<br />
The UN Security Council has lifted<br />
sanctions on the notorious Afghan<br />
warlord Gulbuddin Hekmatyar,<br />
previously branded “a global terrorist”<br />
and accused of war crimes.<br />
The move follows a peace deal<br />
between Hekmatyar’s insurgent<br />
group Hezb-i-Islami and the Afghan<br />
government in September that<br />
granted him legal immunity. AFP<br />
INDIA<br />
Police kill two suspected<br />
militants in Indian Kashmir<br />
Two suspected rebels were killed<br />
Saturday in Indian-administered<br />
Kashmir in a firefight that broke<br />
out when government forces<br />
intercepted a vehicle they were<br />
travelling in, police said. Superintendent<br />
of police, Imtiyaz Hussain,<br />
said they had information that the<br />
militants were travelling toward<br />
the city of Srinagar. AFP<br />
CHINA<br />
China accuses US of<br />
violating WTO rules<br />
Beijing accused Washington of<br />
“protectionism” and violating<br />
global trade rules on Saturday, Chinese<br />
media reported, after the US<br />
imposed hefty tariffs on certain Chinese<br />
steel imports. The US Department<br />
of Commerce on Thursday<br />
imposed duties ranging from 63%<br />
to 190% on Chinese exporters that it<br />
accuses of selling their products at<br />
below fair value. REUTERS<br />
ASIA PACIFIC<br />
Malaysia reopens island<br />
row with Singapore<br />
Malaysia on Friday reopened a<br />
decades-old dispute with Singapore<br />
calling on the UN’s top court<br />
to overturn a 2008 ruling granting<br />
its neighbour sovereignty over<br />
a tiny but strategic island. In a<br />
filing to the International Court of<br />
Justice, Kuala Lumpur maintained<br />
new documents had been discovered<br />
in British archives backing its<br />
territorial claim to the islet. AFP<br />
MIDDLE EAST<br />
Pentagon pulls down<br />
video of Yemen raid<br />
A US commando raid in Yemen that<br />
was beset with problems triggered<br />
fresh controversy Friday after the<br />
Pentagon published a jihadist video<br />
meant to highlight the value of intel<br />
seized during the operation, only<br />
to pull it moments later. The video,<br />
which US special operations forces<br />
seized from a computer, depicted a<br />
masked jihadist at a whiteboard delivering<br />
lessons on “How to Destroy<br />
The Cross” and demonstrating how<br />
to make explosives. AFP<br />
US judge deals severe legal<br />
blow to Trump travel ban<br />
• AFP, Los Angeles<br />
A US federal judge on Friday ordered<br />
a temporary, nationwide<br />
halt to President Donald Trump’s<br />
ban on travellers from seven Muslim-majority<br />
countries, in the<br />
most severe legal blow to the controversial<br />
measure.<br />
The restraining order issued by<br />
Seattle US District Judge James<br />
Robart is valid nationwide pending<br />
a full review of a complaint<br />
filed by Washington state Attorney<br />
General Bob Ferguson.<br />
“The constitution prevailed<br />
today,” Ferguson said, describing<br />
the judge’s decision as historic.<br />
“No one is above the law – not<br />
even the president.”<br />
But the White House quickly<br />
hit back, making clear it was ready<br />
for a drawn-out battle. It initially<br />
denounced the decision as “outrageous”<br />
but later removed the<br />
word from its statement.<br />
Limbo<br />
Friday’s ruling was not the first to<br />
challenge the travel ban, but it was<br />
the most sweeping as it effectively<br />
vacated the main tenets of the<br />
order.<br />
Ferguson said the order technically<br />
means that anyone with a<br />
valid visa must be allowed entry<br />
into the country by Customs and<br />
Border Protection (CBP).<br />
But it was unclear whether<br />
the Trump administration would<br />
succeed in challenging it, leaving<br />
travellers in limbo over their legal<br />
status.<br />
Ferguson had filed a suit to invalidate<br />
key provisions of Trump’s<br />
executive order which bars Syrian<br />
EU leaders unite over<br />
Trump concerns<br />
• AFP, Valletta, Malta<br />
European Union leaders voiced<br />
concerns about US President<br />
Donald Trump at a summit in<br />
Malta on Friday, saying they<br />
needed to stick together to face<br />
an increasingly uncertain global<br />
future.<br />
The 28 countries showed a<br />
flash of unity by backing a plan<br />
to curb mass migration from<br />
Libya by helping the north African<br />
state’s coastguard to stop<br />
boats making the dangerous<br />
crossing to Italy.<br />
But worries about the new<br />
US administration overshadowed<br />
the talks, with French<br />
President Francois Hollande<br />
slamming Trump’s “unacceptable”<br />
comments backing Britain’s<br />
decision to leave the EU.<br />
“He shouldn’t meddle in<br />
in the European Union’s business,”<br />
Hollande told reporters.<br />
“It is unacceptable that there<br />
should be, through a certain<br />
number of statements by the<br />
president of the United States,<br />
Washington state Attorney General Bob Ferguson speaks at a press conference<br />
outside US District Court, Washington in Seattle on <strong>February</strong> 3<br />
AFP<br />
pressure on what Europe<br />
should or should not be.”<br />
Other leaders said that while<br />
they wanted to maintain transatlantic<br />
ties they also had to be<br />
realistic faced with a president<br />
who has backed further exits<br />
from the EU and called Nato<br />
“obsolete”.<br />
“Obviously there was some<br />
concern on some decisions<br />
taken” by Trump, said Maltese<br />
Prime Minister Joseph Muscat,<br />
the summit’s host, but there<br />
was still a “sense we need to<br />
engage with the US.”<br />
British Prime Minister Theresa<br />
May, German Chancellor<br />
Angela Merkel and Hollande all<br />
briefed their colleagues on their<br />
contacts with Trump, with May<br />
saying Trump was “100 percent<br />
committed” to the Nato alliance.<br />
Rhetoric had run high in the<br />
lead-up to the meeting with EU<br />
President Donald Tusk listing<br />
Trump with Russia, China and<br />
Islamic extremism among the<br />
main “threats” to the EU in a<br />
quickly-changing world. •<br />
refugees indefinitely and blocks citizens<br />
of Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia,<br />
Sudan, Syria and Yemen from entry<br />
into the US for 90 days. Refugees<br />
from countries other than Syria are<br />
barred from entry for 120 days.<br />
The State Department said Friday<br />
that up to 60,000 people from<br />
the seven targeted countries had<br />
their visas cancelled as a result of<br />
the order. A Justice Department<br />
attorney, however, told a court<br />
hearing in Virginia that about<br />
100,000 visas had been revoked. •<br />
Iran vows roaring missiles,<br />
defies new US sanctions<br />
Iranian-made missiles at Holy Defence<br />
Museum in Tehran<br />
REUTERS<br />
• Reuters, Dubai<br />
A Revolutionary Guards commander<br />
said Iran would use its<br />
missiles if its security is under<br />
threat, as the elite force defied<br />
new US sanctions on its missile<br />
programme by holding a military<br />
exercise on Saturday.<br />
Tensions between Tehran and<br />
Washington have risen since a recent<br />
Iranian ballistic missile test<br />
which prompted US President Donald<br />
Trump’s administration to impose<br />
sanctions on individuals and<br />
Epic battle<br />
looms over<br />
Trump’s SC pick<br />
• AFP, Washington, DC<br />
Neil Gorsuch, nominated this week<br />
by President Donald Trump to fill<br />
a vacant seat on America’s highest<br />
court, faces an epic confirmation<br />
battle in the US Senate.<br />
Gorsuch’s main task will be to<br />
argue that he is not the partisan, reactionary<br />
judge his critics say, in a<br />
process that will last months in the<br />
amphitheater of Capitol Hill.<br />
If cabinet members can remain in<br />
office a maximum of the eight years<br />
spanning two presidential terms – exceedingly<br />
rare in any case – Supreme<br />
Court justices are appointed for life.<br />
Cabinet members require a majority<br />
of 51 votes from the country’s<br />
100 senators. Supreme Court justices<br />
must land at least 60 in order<br />
to avoid the possibility opponents<br />
would obstruct the process by<br />
mounting a filibuster – a procedure<br />
that essentially prevents a vote<br />
with endless debate.<br />
With only 52 seats in the Senate,<br />
the majority Republicans will have<br />
to convince at least eight Democrats<br />
to cross party lines to vote for<br />
a nominee who supports the death<br />
penalty and other core right-wing<br />
positions. •<br />
entities linked to the Revolutionary<br />
Guards.<br />
Trump’s national security adviser<br />
Michael Flynn said the Washington<br />
was putting Iran on notice over<br />
its “destabilising activity”, and<br />
Trump tweeted Tehran was “playing<br />
with fire”<br />
“We are working day and night<br />
to protect Iran’s security,” head of<br />
Revolutionary Guards’ aerospace<br />
unit, Brigadier General Amir Ali<br />
Hajizadeh was quoted as saying by<br />
Tasnim news agency.<br />
“If we see smallest misstep<br />
from the enemies, our roaring<br />
missiles will fall on their heads,”<br />
he added.<br />
Despite the heated words, US<br />
Defence Secretary Jim Mattis said<br />
on Saturday he was not considering<br />
raising the number of US forces in<br />
the Middle East to address Iran’s<br />
“misbehaviour”, but warned that<br />
the world would not ignore Iranian<br />
activities.<br />
Iran’s Revolutionary Guards is<br />
holding the military exercise in Semnan<br />
province on Saturday to test<br />
missile and radar systems and to<br />
“showcase the power of Iran’s revolution<br />
and to dismiss the sanctions,”<br />
according to the force’s website. •
SATURDAY, DECEMBER 24, 2016 Poush 10, 1423, Rabiul Awwal 23, 1438 Regd No DA 6238, Vol 4, No 236 www.dhakatribune.com 32 pages Price: Tk10<br />
BSS<br />
World<br />
9<br />
SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 5, <strong>2017</strong><br />
<strong>DT</strong><br />
Indians go to the polls in test for<br />
Modi’s cash ban<br />
• AFP, New Delhi<br />
Millions of Indians began voting<br />
Saturday in regional elections seen<br />
as the first major test of Prime Minister<br />
Narendra Modi’s party after<br />
his controversial move to ban all<br />
high-value notes last year.<br />
Five Indian states will elect new<br />
governments over the next five<br />
weeks in a multi-phased election,<br />
with voting kicking off in northern<br />
Punjab and coastal Goa in the west.<br />
Modi’s bold move to ban the notes<br />
that made up 86% of the currency<br />
was aimed at curbing widespread<br />
tax evasion, but has also dented<br />
growth and caused widespread pain<br />
to the millions of Indians who lack<br />
access to formal banking.<br />
His personal popularity has<br />
remained high well into his first<br />
term, but the elections are being<br />
BSS<br />
Hasina: Literature can prevent<br />
youths from straying › 2<br />
Palestinian President<br />
Abbas in city › 3<br />
What NCC win means for AL › 2<br />
EDITORIAL Improving public<br />
transport is the answer › 20<br />
Trump picks conservative<br />
judge for SC › 8<br />
Beware of Bangladesh › 24<br />
Urban poor under<br />
govt health care<br />
radar › 32<br />
Were the Dhaka<br />
› 5<br />
Exiled from<br />
forests,<br />
Paraguay’s<br />
Ache people<br />
want land › 9<br />
seen as a test of its endurance.<br />
In a tweet Saturday morning,<br />
the Hindu-nationalist leader<br />
called on voters in the first phase<br />
to exercise their right to vote.<br />
Modi’s party is likely to lose<br />
out in Punjab, where it has been<br />
in power alongside its regional alliance<br />
partner since 2007, but also<br />
where a turnaround for the centre-left<br />
opposition Congress Party<br />
is possible.<br />
28 parties to contest key<br />
Dutch elections<br />
• AFP, The Hague<br />
The Dutch electoral committee on<br />
Friday fired the starting gun on<br />
next month’s hotly contested elections,<br />
revealing a stunning 28 parties<br />
will jostle for votes.<br />
A total of 81 parties – from the<br />
establishment ruling Liberals of<br />
Prime Minister Mark Rutte to the<br />
more colourful such as the Pirate<br />
Party – had registered to take<br />
part.<br />
But the electoral committee revealed<br />
Friday that most had not<br />
met the criteria to do battle for a<br />
share of the 150-seat lower house of<br />
parliament.<br />
“Twenty-eight parties will be<br />
taking part in the parliamentary<br />
elections on March 15,” the committee<br />
announced.<br />
The Dutch news agency ANP<br />
said it would set a post-World War<br />
II record, as the largest number of<br />
parties to compete in elections previously<br />
was in 1922, when there<br />
were 53 on the ballot. •<br />
Indian voters queue to cast their ballots in the Punjab Legislative Assembly and<br />
Amritsar Lok Sabha elections in Amritsar on <strong>February</strong> 4<br />
AFP<br />
Big test<br />
But the biggest test for Modi will be<br />
in India’s most populous state Uttar<br />
Pradesh (UP), where the ruling<br />
Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) won<br />
big in the 2014 general election.<br />
The state is important because<br />
it sends the highest number of MPs<br />
to the upper house of the national<br />
parliament, where the BJP currently<br />
lacks a majority.<br />
The northern state of Uttarakhand<br />
and Manipur in the northeast<br />
will also elect new governments,<br />
with results for all five<br />
states due on March 11.<br />
Modi needs to win state elections<br />
to gain more seats in the nation’s<br />
upper house of parliament,<br />
which has blocked reforms seen<br />
as crucial to fuelling the economic<br />
growth it has promised voters. •<br />
Le Pen kicks off campaign,<br />
promises French freedom<br />
• Reuters, Lyon<br />
France’s far-right party leader<br />
Marine Le Pen kicked off her<br />
presidential campaign on Saturday,<br />
hoping promises to shield<br />
voters from globalisation boost<br />
her chances at a time of French<br />
political turmoil.<br />
Opinion polls see the 48-year<br />
old daughter of National Front<br />
(FN) founder Jean-Marie Le Pen<br />
topping the first round on April 23<br />
but then losing the May 7 run-off<br />
to a mainstream candidate.<br />
But in the most unpredictable<br />
election race France has known<br />
in decades, the FN hopes a twoday<br />
rally in Lyon, where Le Pen<br />
is spelling out her electoral platform,<br />
will help convince voters to<br />
back her.<br />
“This presidential election<br />
puts two opposite proposals,” Le<br />
Pen said. “The ‘globalist’ choice<br />
backed by all my opponents ...<br />
and the ‘patriotic’ choice which I<br />
personify.”<br />
USA<br />
US revoked 60,000 visas<br />
after Trump order<br />
The United States revoked 60,000<br />
travel visas after President Donald<br />
Trump ordered a ban on visitors<br />
from seven mainly-Muslim<br />
countries, the State Department<br />
said Friday. “Fewer than 60,000<br />
individuals’ visas were provisionally<br />
revoked to comply with the<br />
Executive Order,” said Will Cocks,<br />
spokesman for the department’s<br />
bureau of consular affairs. REUTERS<br />
THE AMERICAS<br />
Mexico, Turkey speed up<br />
free trade negotiations<br />
Mexico and Turkey agreed on<br />
Friday to speed up negotiations for<br />
a free trade agreement in the wake<br />
of protectionist threats from US<br />
President Donald Trump. Mexican<br />
Foreign Minister Luis Videgaray<br />
and his visiting Turkish counterpart<br />
Mevlut Cavusoglu said the<br />
two governments have held seven<br />
rounds of talks and will meet again<br />
in the coming weeks. AFP<br />
UK<br />
UK soldier admits plotting<br />
N Ireland terror acts<br />
A British soldier on Friday admitted<br />
stockpiling an arsenal of<br />
explosives and making bombs for<br />
a Northern Ireland-related terror<br />
attack. Ciaran Maxwell, 31, a Royal<br />
Marine, admitted preparing terrorist<br />
acts between 2011 and 2016.<br />
Maxwell appeared at England’s<br />
Central Criminal Court in London<br />
via videolink from prison. He will<br />
be sentenced in the same court, on<br />
a date yet to be fixed. AFP<br />
EUROPE<br />
250,000 homes without<br />
power as storm hits France<br />
Gale-force winds battered France’s<br />
southwestern Atlantic coast on<br />
Saturday, leaving more than quarter<br />
of million homes without power.<br />
National weather agency Meteo<br />
France said winds reaching speeds<br />
of up to 148km per hour had<br />
battered the coast. Three western<br />
regions were put on red alert as<br />
the storm felled trees and brought<br />
down powerlines, cutting off roads<br />
although there were no immediate<br />
reports of casualties. AFP<br />
AFRICA<br />
Libya halts more than<br />
400 migrants<br />
Libya’s coast guard said Saturday it<br />
intercepted more than 400 African<br />
migrants attempting to reach Europe,<br />
a day after EU leaders agreed<br />
on moves to curb mass migration<br />
from the country. General Ayoub<br />
Qassem, the coast guard spokesman,<br />
said 431 people on inflatable<br />
crafts were rounded up between<br />
Thursday and Saturday at sea off<br />
the town of Sabratha. REUTERS
<strong>DT</strong><br />
10<br />
Business<br />
SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 5, <strong>2017</strong><br />
CAPITAL MARKET SNAPSHOT: PAST WEEK<br />
DSE Broad Index 5,365.1 -4.5% ▼ Index 1,254.8 -2.9% ▼ 30 Index 1,956.9 -4.0% ▼ Turnover in Mn Tk 47,969.4 -44.6% ▼ Turnover in Mn Vol 1,406.7 -48.6% ▼<br />
CSE All Share Index 16,602.7 -4.6% ▼ 30 Index 14,507.1 -4.5% ▼ Selected Index 10,063.7 -4.6% ▼ Turnover in Mn Tk 2,899.0 -41.6% ▼ Turnover in Mn Vol 108.8 -38.1% ▼<br />
6% of budget<br />
deficit met in<br />
five months<br />
• Asif Showkat Kallol<br />
Only 6% of the budget deficit has<br />
been met in the first five months of<br />
the fiscal year 2016-17, according to<br />
official data.<br />
The government estimate of fiscal<br />
deficit for the year is Tk97,853<br />
crore. Of the figure, an amount of<br />
Tk5,893 crore has been met in the<br />
July-November period.<br />
In the last fiscal year, the budget<br />
surplus was Tk723 crore than in the<br />
same period a year ago.<br />
The state borrowed 63.01% of<br />
total estimate in the form of selling<br />
saving instruments within five<br />
months of the current fiscal year.<br />
According to the latest data, the<br />
sales of National Savings Deposit<br />
stood at Tk13,095 crore during the<br />
period. This is also 43.30% lower<br />
than that in the same period in<br />
FY2015-16.<br />
During July-November period<br />
of the last fiscal year, the net borrowing<br />
through NSD certificates<br />
totaled Tk19,289.99 crore.<br />
A Finance Division official said<br />
Bangladesh budget expenditure pattern<br />
has not come out of the “May-<br />
June syndrome” yet as most of<br />
budget expenditure happened at the<br />
last couple months of the fiscal year.<br />
He said 22%-23% of the total<br />
budget deficit should be met within<br />
five months of the year. “But<br />
the government agencies have not<br />
enough capacity to increase development<br />
expenditure.”<br />
About borrowing by saving instruments,<br />
he said the government<br />
loans from saving certificates have<br />
also created heavy burden on state<br />
exchequers as the interest rate of the<br />
Biman sees profit two years in a row<br />
• Ishtiaq Husain<br />
After incurring losses for five consecutive<br />
years, the national flag<br />
carrier, Biman Bangladesh Airlines,<br />
is turning into a profitable entity as<br />
it has made profits for two consecutive<br />
years.<br />
Though Biman gained Tk276<br />
crore neat profit after paying all taxes<br />
in fiscal year 2015-16, the amount,<br />
however, is Tk48 crore less than<br />
it made a year ago, according to a<br />
saving instruments is above 11%.<br />
According to the official, the<br />
state agencies have not stopped taking<br />
loans from saving instruments<br />
as it is one kind of “open tap.”<br />
As per the data by the Controller<br />
General of Accounts, the tax revenue<br />
collection was Tk63,091 crore<br />
or 29.99% of total budget estimate<br />
during the five months, which is<br />
better than last year’s.<br />
Last year the earning of National<br />
Board of Revenue was Tk61,979<br />
crore. The mop up from non-tax<br />
revenue earnings stood at Tk9,220<br />
in five months but the total estimated<br />
is Tk32,350 crore, according<br />
to the NBR data.<br />
The total receipts (from total<br />
revenue and grant) of the government<br />
during the five months was<br />
Tk77,826 crore or 31.35% of the estimates<br />
for the current year.<br />
The total development expenditure<br />
during the July-November is<br />
Tk16,612 crore of total estimates of<br />
Tk1,10,700 crore.<br />
Total income during the period<br />
is Tk72,310 crore while the budget<br />
estimate is Tk2,42,752 crore.<br />
Senior Finance Secretary Mahbub<br />
Ahmed, however, said the<br />
overall budget implementation in<br />
first five months is good compared<br />
to that in previous year.<br />
“But the development expenditure<br />
is not up to the mark as the<br />
ministries and divisions do not<br />
have enough capacity to utilise<br />
their development funds,” he told<br />
Dhaka Tribune yesterday.<br />
“We have formed a committee<br />
to look into the interest rate of saving<br />
instruments as the interest rate<br />
is high compared to bank rates.” •<br />
press release Biman issued recently.<br />
In FY2014-15, the carrier profited<br />
by Tk324 crore.<br />
The airliner had been incurring<br />
losses from FY2009-10 to FY2013-14<br />
in a row, but the situation is getting<br />
better because of its major overhaul.<br />
According to the document, the<br />
number of passengers carried by Biman<br />
rose by 8 lakh in the last three<br />
years. Biman has carried around<br />
23,18,000 passengers in FY2015-16,<br />
which was around 20,20,000 a year<br />
Decoration lights were kept in display while visitors seen busy choosing their products at a stall at the just concluded Dhaka<br />
International Trade Fair. The fair was held on January 1-<strong>February</strong> 4<br />
SYED ZAKIR HOSSAIN<br />
DITF ends with higher export orders<br />
• Tribune Business Desk<br />
The exhibitors at Dhaka International<br />
Trade Fair (DIFT) ended yesterday<br />
have seen a hike in their export<br />
orders worth Tk243.44 crore.<br />
Export Promotion Bureau (EPB)<br />
Vice-Chairman and Chief Executive<br />
Officer (CEO) Mafruha Sultana<br />
came up with the disclosure while<br />
she was delivering closing remarks<br />
in the capital yesterday.<br />
The four-day extension of DIFT<br />
fetched them more orders than<br />
obtained in the previous year, the<br />
exhibitors said.<br />
Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina inaugurated<br />
the 22nd edition of DITF<br />
on January 1, which was scheduled<br />
to end on January 31, but the EPB<br />
extended the trade show by four<br />
days to <strong>February</strong> 4, considering the<br />
demand from the exhibitor.<br />
ago, and 15,71,000 in FY2013-14.<br />
It has transported 40,009 metric<br />
tonnes of cargo in FY15-16, which<br />
is, however, 7% less than that in<br />
the previous fiscal year.<br />
The cargo transportation was<br />
a bit lower after the United Kingdom<br />
on March 8, 2016 put a ban on<br />
Bangladesh, added the release.<br />
The figure of transportation<br />
would go high after the UK withdraws<br />
ban on the direct freight to<br />
London from Dhaka. •<br />
During the 35 days expo, exhibitors<br />
sold products of Tk113.53 crore<br />
while they bagged export orders of<br />
Tk243.44 crore, said Sultana.<br />
In the last DIFT, exhibitors got<br />
orders of Tk235 crore.<br />
“Business is the prime mover of<br />
the economy. Under the dynamic<br />
leadership of Prime Minister<br />
Sheikh Hasina, the government is<br />
ensuring a business-friendly environment,”<br />
Public Administration<br />
Minister Syed Ashraful Islam said.<br />
He was addressing the closing<br />
ceremony of the month-long trade<br />
show as the chief guest.<br />
The government is also working<br />
to relocate the DIFT from the city<br />
to a new zone at Purbachal through<br />
establishing a permanent venue,<br />
said the minister.<br />
The Federation of Bangladesh<br />
Chambers of Commerce and Industry<br />
(FBCCI) president Abdul Matlub<br />
‘Exhibitors sold products of Tk113.53 crore and<br />
bagged export orders of Tk243.44 crore during<br />
the expo which continued from Jan 1 to Feb 4’<br />
Ahmad and senior Commerce Secretary<br />
Hedayetullah Al Mamoon<br />
were present at the function.<br />
A total of 21 countries including<br />
Bangladesh have taken part this<br />
year in the fair that had 580 stalls<br />
and pavilions in different categories.<br />
•
Business 11<br />
<strong>DT</strong><br />
SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 5, <strong>2017</strong><br />
Stocks resume<br />
today after fall<br />
last week<br />
• Ibrahim Hossain Ovi<br />
Dhaka stocks witnessed sharp fall<br />
last week as investors went on selling<br />
spree to book profits after being<br />
warned by recently unveiled monetary<br />
policy.<br />
Stock brokers and investors have<br />
blamed Bangladesh Bank (BB) for its<br />
cautionary direction to banks and<br />
non-banking financial institutions.<br />
In monetary policy statement,<br />
the central bank warned the banks<br />
and financial institutions to be<br />
cautious about loan diversion to<br />
stock market as the country’s stock<br />
exchanges had earlier witnessed a<br />
sharp rise.<br />
This week, with decreased turnover,<br />
first two trading sessions of<br />
the week saw a combined 200 point<br />
negative index movement. The<br />
next two trading days saw the market<br />
go through a 50 point upward<br />
movement. However, with a 100 index<br />
decrease in the last trading day,<br />
the week ended on a negative note<br />
losing 253 points over the week.<br />
DSEX, the broad index of the<br />
Dhaka Stock Exchange (DSE) ended<br />
the week at 5,365 points losing<br />
4.5% or 253.5 points.<br />
DS30, the blue chip index declined<br />
by 81.58 points or 4% to finish<br />
at 1,957 points. DSE Shariah Index<br />
plunged 38 points or 2.92% to<br />
close at 1,255 points. Out 331 trade<br />
issues, 44 advanced, 281 declined<br />
and 5 remained unchanged.<br />
Week on week turnover has seen<br />
a drastic fall to Tk4,797 core, which<br />
was Tk8,657 crore during the last<br />
week. The daily averaged turnover<br />
was at Tk959 crore, registering a decline<br />
of nearly 45% over the previous<br />
week’s average of Tk1,731 crore.<br />
“With a hope to get better return<br />
ahead of year-end divined declaration,<br />
investors put more funds<br />
on the stocks in the last couple of<br />
weeks. But, BB’s direction has created<br />
a panic, provoking the investors<br />
to sell out their stocks,” a stock<br />
broker told the Dhaka Tribune on<br />
condition of anonymity,<br />
He also urged the central banks<br />
to give the direction to banks secretly<br />
as it would not create any<br />
panic among the investors.<br />
“I thought it was better for me<br />
to sell out the stocks soon after<br />
the central banks gave the cautionary<br />
direction to the banks and<br />
non-banking financial institutions<br />
about the stock market behavior,”<br />
Rafiqul Islam, an investor, told the<br />
Dhaka Tribune.<br />
He said: “We incurred huge losses<br />
in 2010 due to Bangladesh Bank<br />
move and do not want to be loser<br />
once again.”<br />
Large cap sectors showed negative<br />
performances throughout<br />
the week. Non-Banking Financial<br />
Institutions (NBFIs) lost by 8.07%,<br />
the highest losers, followed by<br />
Banks 7.65%, Engineering 3.44%,<br />
Fuel 3.25%, Pharmaceuticals<br />
1.87%, Foods and Allied 0.68% and<br />
Telecommunications 0.45%. •<br />
Brand Forum to operate nationwide<br />
• Kamrul Hasan<br />
Bangladesh Brand Forum (BBF)<br />
would spread its activities across<br />
the country in the coming decades<br />
for frequent branding of the country’s<br />
local products.<br />
Although BBF has been working<br />
based in the capital, its upcoming activities<br />
will focus on all eight regions<br />
of the country, BBF Managing Director<br />
Shariful Islam said yesterday.<br />
BBF is an initiative working with<br />
the vision – Transforming Bangladesh<br />
through applying branding<br />
ethos among local corporates.<br />
The managing director came up<br />
with the announcement while disclosing<br />
their strategic plan at a programme<br />
held to celebrate the 10th<br />
year of anniversary of the initiative<br />
in Dhaka.<br />
The BBF, at the event, launched its<br />
first ever calendar at the programme.<br />
French Ambassador to Bangladesh<br />
Sophie Aubert unmasked the<br />
calender as the chief guest in the<br />
programme.<br />
Responding to a query on Bangladesh<br />
Youth Fest, an initiative of<br />
BBF to act as bridges between the<br />
academic and corporate worlds,<br />
Shariful said only youths based in<br />
Dhaka were participants of the fest<br />
as of now.<br />
“But the upcoming youth fest,<br />
to be hosted this year, would be<br />
held with participants from all the<br />
regions,” he said. In the first stage,<br />
a competition would be held regionally<br />
and then a grand finale<br />
would be in Dhaka.<br />
“Through the initiative, we<br />
could get products from more<br />
brands from the regional level that<br />
would help the country’s economy<br />
to be more vibrant,” added the BBF<br />
managing director.<br />
Public Administration Minister Syed Ashraful Islam hands over the Highest VAT<br />
Payer prize to Walton Group Executive Director Eva Rizwana at the concluding<br />
ceremony of Dhaka International Trade Fair <strong>2017</strong> yesterday. Local electronics<br />
brand Walton was awarded first prizes in VAT payment and as the Best Premier<br />
Pavilion. Walton was awarded the first prize in the same category last year<br />
Praising the role of BBF during<br />
the last 10 years, the French ambassador<br />
said promotion and protection<br />
of intellectual property, that<br />
is done by BBF for the last decade,<br />
is required in a frequent manner to<br />
uphold the country’s economy.<br />
The programme also hosted a<br />
photo exhibition by BBF Director<br />
Nazia Andaleeb Preema.<br />
Speaking as a special guest, noted<br />
painter Kanak Chanpa Chakma<br />
appreciated the new concepts being<br />
drawn by the BBF director.<br />
An audio visual documentary<br />
was played at the programme on<br />
Nazia Andaleeb Preema where she<br />
said: “In order to learn, you have to<br />
explore. And to explore, you have<br />
to live.”<br />
Bangladesh Brand Forum is an<br />
initiative to share knowledge with<br />
the business community and the<br />
future leaders. •<br />
Sheikh Selim<br />
urges investment<br />
in poultry sector<br />
• Tribune Business Desk<br />
Parliamentary committee chief<br />
Sheikh Fazlul Karim Selim urged<br />
the investment in poultry and<br />
hatchery sectors.<br />
“The government has put emphasis<br />
on these sectors as Bangladesh<br />
can meet its growing protein and nutritional<br />
demands locally,” he said at<br />
the launch of Toyo Feed Limited in<br />
Dhaka yesterday.<br />
Sheikh Selim is the Chairman of<br />
Parliamentary Standing Committee<br />
on the Ministry of Health and<br />
Family Welfare. State Minister for<br />
Fisheries and Livestock Narayan<br />
Chandra Chanda, also spoke. •
<strong>DT</strong><br />
12<br />
Editorial<br />
SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 5, <strong>2017</strong><br />
TODAY<br />
Things might change<br />
in the Middle East<br />
This year is likely to also see Israel<br />
facing the growing challenge of a<br />
resurgent Hezbollah. This might<br />
encourage Israel, unencumbered by<br />
Washington’s reproach, to intensify its<br />
operations in Syria and Lebanon<br />
PAGE 13<br />
When a marriage<br />
falls apart<br />
It is tough to see a couple go through<br />
the stress of it all. Relationships are<br />
broken, children are affected<br />
FOCUS BANGLA<br />
PAGE 14<br />
Standing with Palestine<br />
Trump has broken<br />
his oath<br />
The US president has no experience in<br />
public office and will have to learn that<br />
the American republic can be governed<br />
only with respect for the American<br />
values protected by the constitution<br />
PAGE 15<br />
Be heard<br />
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or its publisher.<br />
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas’s first official visit to<br />
Bangladesh renews the friendship between Bangladesh and<br />
the Palestinian people.<br />
Bangladesh has long been a supporter of the cause<br />
of Palestine, and we thank Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina for<br />
expressing solidarity with Palestine, and its demand for full<br />
statehood.<br />
Having earned our own independence through a bloody<br />
struggle, Bangladesh has a natural empathy for the struggles of the<br />
people of Palestine.<br />
For the world to know peace, the Israel-Palestine conflict<br />
must be resolved, and the violence perpetrated on the rightful<br />
inhabitants of Palestine must be stopped.<br />
The latest Israeli move to set up new settlements in the occupied<br />
Palestinian territory in the West Bank, then, must be condemned.<br />
Israel has amped up its aggressive tactics backed up by the<br />
Trump administration in the US, and is now trying to establish<br />
more Jewish settlements in the occupied territories.<br />
This would displace thousands of Palestinians who rightfully live<br />
on that land.<br />
Furthermore, Trump’s plan to support the shifting of the Israeli<br />
capital to Jerusalem is a bad sign of things to come.<br />
It is immoral to take away from Palestinian people their<br />
homeland -- and yet this international crisis has gone on for far too<br />
long without any kind of satisfactory solution.<br />
The people of Palestine and the people of Israel must work out<br />
a way to live side by side in peace, and this cannot happen if the<br />
United States does not give full recognition to Palestine as a state,<br />
like so many other nations have already done.<br />
The one-state reality that Israel is trying to impose is unjust, and<br />
the world must stand against it.<br />
The one-state reality that<br />
Israel is trying to impose<br />
is unjust, and the world<br />
must stand against it
Opinion 13<br />
<strong>DT</strong><br />
SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 5, <strong>2017</strong><br />
Things might change in the Middle East<br />
The region will cast a long shadow on the rest of the world<br />
How will the Middle East evolve in <strong>2017</strong>?<br />
REUTERS<br />
indicated that IS is losing power<br />
not only in Syria and Iraq but also<br />
in Libya. It appears to have been<br />
degraded from being a group<br />
with conventional military force<br />
capability to being a terrorist<br />
or insurgent force. Dispersed<br />
throughout the areas they once<br />
controlled, remnants of IS will<br />
remain relevant by exploiting<br />
ethnic and sectarian divisions<br />
throughout Iraq and Syria.<br />
While IS has been commanding<br />
the attention of the international<br />
community, al-Qaeda has also<br />
been quietly rebuilding itself.<br />
No review of the evolving<br />
situation in the Middle East can<br />
be complete without reference<br />
to Israel and Palestine. <strong>2017</strong> will<br />
present Israel with a variety of<br />
opportunities, the biggest of<br />
which will come from its security<br />
guarantor, the US. Israel will<br />
P O S T<br />
BREAKFAST<br />
• Muhammad Zamir<br />
Now that Donald Trump<br />
is the new president<br />
of the United States,<br />
there is speculation on<br />
every aspect of different issues<br />
that feature prominently on the<br />
international agenda. Particular<br />
interest has been evoked with<br />
regard to the unfolding dynamics<br />
within the Middle East and North<br />
Africa and the need for a fresh<br />
assessment of the scenario that in<br />
all probability will unfold in the<br />
context of Syria, Turkey, US-Iran<br />
relations, the Gulf, and in some<br />
areas of North Africa. It would also<br />
be fitting to refer to the common<br />
effort in fighting IS.<br />
It is certain that the US will<br />
continue to be engaged with<br />
the Middle East in <strong>2017</strong> as it was<br />
during in 2016. However, it will, in<br />
all probability, be more judicious<br />
in its engagement and will give<br />
other countries a more active<br />
participatory role in the effort<br />
to find solutions to problems.<br />
This, in all likelihood, will play<br />
out primarily in and around the<br />
Syria-Iraq battlefield, an equation<br />
which continues to affect the<br />
neighbours, intensify the ongoing<br />
rivalry between Turkey and Iran,<br />
and heighten sectarian tensions<br />
and the security paradigm of the<br />
region.<br />
One needs to start with Syria.<br />
Many might be thinking that the<br />
Syrian civil war will end in <strong>2017</strong>.<br />
Some are also pointing towards the<br />
fact that the forces loyal to Bashar<br />
al-Assad have not only retaken the<br />
critical city of Aleppo but also now<br />
control a few major cities and have<br />
the luxury of consolidating the<br />
gains they have made.<br />
All of this is true but it still<br />
looks unlikely that the conflict<br />
will end in <strong>2017</strong>. The loyalists<br />
associated with Assad are putting<br />
up a good fight but it is unlikely<br />
that they will be able to finish the<br />
civil war. They will also be drawn<br />
to areas held by the Islamic State<br />
in the eastern city of Deir el-Zour,<br />
where other loyalists are currently<br />
besieged. Consequently, there is<br />
still a lot work left for them to do,<br />
and any number of things can shift<br />
the balance of power in such a<br />
conflict-ridden country.<br />
Under Trump, the US<br />
might adapt its strategy in<br />
Syria, favouring one that more<br />
selectively aids specific groups<br />
in the fight against the IS rather<br />
than those fighting the Assad<br />
government. Washington will be<br />
expected to continue its backing<br />
of the Kurdish forces but will curb<br />
support for rebels in Idlib.<br />
Russia, on the other hand, is<br />
expecting to use their presence<br />
more tactically and is hoping to<br />
exact concessions, including the<br />
easing of sanctions, in a broader<br />
negotiation with Washington.<br />
It would also be safe to assume<br />
that while other powers are<br />
preoccupied with the fight<br />
against IS, Turkey will expand its<br />
sphere of influence in northern<br />
Syria and Iraq, driven as it is by<br />
its imperative to block Kurdish<br />
expansion.<br />
To avoid complications,<br />
however, Turkey will have to<br />
carefully manage tensions with the<br />
This year is likely to also see Israel facing the growing challenge of a<br />
resurgent Hezbollah. This might encourage Israel, unencumbered by<br />
Washington’s reproach, to intensify its operations in Syria and Lebanon<br />
US over Washington’s continued<br />
support for the Kurds. It needs to<br />
be understood here that efforts<br />
pertaining to Turkey’s resurgence<br />
might be interpreted by Iran as<br />
threatening Iran’s arc of influence<br />
across northern Syria and Iraq.<br />
This could persuade Tehran to<br />
encourage Shias in Baghdad to<br />
resist such Turkish moves.<br />
At this point one needs to<br />
turn to Iran and the prospective<br />
durability of US-Iranian relations<br />
during this year. Observations<br />
by several members of Trump’s<br />
team suggest that the new US<br />
government might be less tolerant<br />
of Iranian actions.<br />
Analysts have observed that<br />
it is unlikely that the Trump<br />
administration will completely<br />
dismantle the nuclear agreement<br />
but Trump is likely to take a hard<br />
re-examination of its facets. It<br />
needs to be noted here, however,<br />
that deterioration in US-Iran<br />
relations would only benefit<br />
Russia. The recent US executive<br />
order restraining Iranians from<br />
visiting the US will not help.<br />
This is likely to tighten Russia’s<br />
relationship.<br />
Saudi Arabia is expected to<br />
follow developments in US-Iran<br />
relations very carefully in view<br />
of its regional proxy battles with<br />
Iran. The rest of this year should<br />
see Saudi Arabia trying to reduce<br />
its budget deficit and move<br />
forward towards translation of its<br />
ambitious Vision 2030 and Vision<br />
2020 plans. Saudi Arabia will also<br />
struggle to steer Yemen toward<br />
a negotiated settlement, while<br />
the UAE firms up its position in<br />
southern Yemen. Saudi Arabia will<br />
also continue to give its allies in<br />
North Africa -- Egypt and Morocco<br />
-- economic and security support<br />
in exchange for their support of its<br />
foreign policy in places like Yemen<br />
and Syria.<br />
Egypt will remain involved<br />
in Libya because Egyptian and<br />
Emirati support for nationalist Gen<br />
Khalifa Hifter, who commands the<br />
Libyan National Army, is beginning<br />
to pay off. It looks likely that<br />
Hifter will be able to strengthen<br />
his military and political control<br />
in Libya.<br />
Hifter’s divisiveness is<br />
however bound to impede UN-led<br />
negotiations to form and approve<br />
a unity government. This means<br />
that Libya will continue to be a<br />
battle space among rival militias<br />
with Libya’s oil wealth being their<br />
sole objective.<br />
Latest developments have<br />
clearly have freer rein to pursue its<br />
interests without rebuke.<br />
The country will also benefit<br />
from a more assertive US policy<br />
on Iran. An emboldened Israel,<br />
despite recent observations in the<br />
United Nations Security Council<br />
and the Conference in Paris in<br />
the third week of January, will<br />
probably accelerate settlement<br />
development in the West Bank,<br />
even if doing so incites attacks<br />
from Palestinian militants.<br />
However, this year is likely to<br />
also see Israel facing the growing<br />
challenge of a resurgent Hezbollah.<br />
This might encourage Israel,<br />
unencumbered by Washington’s<br />
reproach, to intensify its<br />
operations in Syria and Lebanon in<br />
an attempt to weaken Hezbollah<br />
and limit their access to advanced<br />
weaponry.<br />
It will be a complex scenario,<br />
worth watching with caution. It<br />
will also cast a long shadow on the<br />
rest of the world. •<br />
Muhammad Zamir, a former<br />
Ambassador and Chief Information<br />
Commissioner of the Information<br />
Commission, is an analyst specialised in<br />
foreign affairs, right to information, and<br />
good governance. He can be reached at<br />
muhammadzamir0@gmail.com.
14<br />
SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 5, <strong>2017</strong><br />
<strong>DT</strong><br />
Opinion<br />
When a marriage falls apart<br />
Something obviously went wrong somewhere<br />
• Jannatul Shahebaz<br />
If you feel your spouse is<br />
having an affair, you need<br />
to look out for the signs<br />
and understand the reasons<br />
behind why your husband or wife<br />
is cheating on you.<br />
Is it you, or something else<br />
that led them to have an affair?<br />
Why have they suddenly become<br />
indifferent towards you?<br />
Where has the love gone?<br />
Nowadays, with technology<br />
at our fingertips, having an affair<br />
sitting at home has become<br />
common phenomenon. One<br />
may not even know about one’s<br />
spouse’s affair because they may<br />
have perfected the art of lying.<br />
A post comes to my mind<br />
that I’ve seen on the internet<br />
about why so many people are<br />
drifting apart in their marriage:<br />
It states that an extra-marital<br />
affair specifically means having<br />
a relationship outside one’s<br />
marriage, which entails illicit<br />
sexual or romantic relationships,<br />
or just a romantic or passionate<br />
friendship.<br />
In addition to the traditional<br />
conventions of extra-marital<br />
affairs, now there is the possibility/<br />
threat of “online” affairs that take<br />
place on the internet. People start<br />
off as anonymous friends, kindle<br />
romances, which later may lead to<br />
adultery.<br />
Like conventional affairs,<br />
online affairs can be casual and<br />
spontaneous, and even involve<br />
long-term commitments.<br />
Most of these occur between<br />
strangers who might have never<br />
met and who become close to<br />
each other as they start to share<br />
intimate information.<br />
Many engage in extramarital<br />
affairs, regardless of socioeconomic<br />
status. In some cases,<br />
the news comes as a shock, since<br />
things appeared to be well in<br />
the marriage, to outsiders, prior<br />
to such a revelation. However,<br />
something obviously went wrong<br />
somewhere.<br />
Early marriage<br />
People who marry in their early<br />
20s would most likely have<br />
achieved some level of stability<br />
and social standing by their mid-<br />
30s.<br />
At that point, they feel that<br />
they did not really enjoy life in<br />
their 20s, and find the prospect of<br />
an extramarital affair exciting -- it<br />
becomes their desperate attempt<br />
to experience a sense of thrill and<br />
excitement.<br />
Sometimes, age becomes<br />
irrelevant and it is sheer boredom<br />
or the need to break the monotony<br />
and drudgery of everyday life<br />
which may tempt people to engage<br />
in extra-marital affairs.<br />
Inability to deal with changes<br />
Life throws us curve-balls almost<br />
every other day. Most of us<br />
are able to deal with the small<br />
changes. But big changes are<br />
tough to deal with -- a serious<br />
illness in the family, death,<br />
sudden unemployment, financial<br />
loss, etc. Many turn to people,<br />
(apart from their spouse) to deal<br />
with such changes. They may<br />
find more comfort in the arms of<br />
someone new, perhaps someone<br />
not connected to their tough<br />
circumstances in any way.<br />
Married for the wrong reasons<br />
Many people marry for the wrong<br />
reasons. Pressure from family and<br />
society tops the list in this country.<br />
After a certain point of persuasion<br />
and age, many people agree to<br />
marry without even getting to<br />
know their life partner well.<br />
Once the deed is done, they<br />
realise the mistake they have<br />
made in terms of choosing a life<br />
partner.<br />
If they meet someone who is<br />
in any way a better match than<br />
their current spouse, they are<br />
immediately attracted to him/<br />
her. And what starts as a simple<br />
friendship, usually ends being<br />
moulded into an affair.<br />
Becoming parents<br />
Becoming a parent changes<br />
everything in a husband-wife<br />
relationship.<br />
Priorities change, the time<br />
you can give each other reduces,<br />
and home environment alters<br />
drastically.<br />
While most women give their<br />
200% to being mothers, I know<br />
of several men who suddenly feel<br />
lost and unimportant at home, and<br />
indulge in extra-marital affairs.<br />
And since most women are usually<br />
too busy being mothers, they<br />
probably don’t even realise such a<br />
development for a long time.<br />
Not all marriages are built to last<br />
It is tough to see a couple go through the stress of it all. Relationships are<br />
broken, children are affected -- there could be lifelong issues with guilt<br />
and trust. It is not an easy situation for anyone involved<br />
Emotional disconnect<br />
Sometimes a couple grows<br />
emotionally disconnected from<br />
each other, the top reasons<br />
being lack of time and lack of<br />
communication with each other.<br />
To be emotionally connected,<br />
one needs to share, talk, express,<br />
listen, laugh, and show that one<br />
cares.<br />
Otherwise, over a period<br />
of time, chances are that a<br />
couple becomes emotionally<br />
disconnected which is perilous for<br />
a marriage.<br />
Also, physical dissatisfaction is<br />
probably one of the most common<br />
reasons for married people to<br />
engage in extra-marital affairs.<br />
While these are broad reasons,<br />
usually it is a combination of many<br />
of the aforementioned reasons<br />
that drives people to extra-marital<br />
affairs.<br />
All said and done, it is tough to<br />
see a couple go through the stress<br />
of it all.<br />
Relationships are broken,<br />
children are affected -- there could<br />
be lifelong issues with guilt and<br />
trust. It is not an easy situation for<br />
anyone involved. •<br />
Jannatul Shahebaz is a freelance<br />
contributor.<br />
BIGSTOCK
Opinion 15<br />
<strong>DT</strong><br />
SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 5, <strong>2017</strong><br />
Trump has broken his oath to God, and America<br />
Did Trump preserve, protect, and defend the constitution?<br />
• Anthony Lester<br />
On his inauguration as<br />
president of the United<br />
States, on January 20,<br />
Donald Trump took the<br />
oath of office in accordance with<br />
the US constitution. He swore that<br />
he would do the best of his ability<br />
“preserve, protect, and defend the<br />
constitution of the United States.”<br />
A week later, on January 27,<br />
he signed an executive order on<br />
immigration that was manifestly<br />
unconstitutional. It indefinitely<br />
barred Syrian refugees from<br />
entering the US, suspended all<br />
refugee admissions for 120 days,<br />
and blocked citizens of seven<br />
Muslim-majority countries -- Iran,<br />
Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria,<br />
and Yemen -- from admission for<br />
90 days.<br />
After the order was signed,<br />
students, visitors, and holders of<br />
green cards who were lawful US<br />
residents -- as well as refugees<br />
from around the world -- were<br />
stopped at airports in the US and<br />
abroad. Some were blocked from<br />
entering the country and others<br />
were sent back overseas.<br />
US Customs and Border<br />
Protection instructed airlines to<br />
stop passengers from the banned<br />
countries from boarding flights<br />
and to remove any who had<br />
already done so. Airline crew<br />
members from the seven countries<br />
were also barred from the US.<br />
American diplomats were told<br />
to stop visa interviews from those<br />
countries and to halt any pending<br />
visas. University presidents tried<br />
to reassure foreign-born faculty<br />
and students that they would not<br />
be harmed.<br />
In making his order, Trump<br />
showed his supporters that he<br />
would keep the promises he made<br />
to them during his campaign.<br />
But his presidential oath of<br />
office was not made only to his<br />
supporters. He promised to God to<br />
preserve, protect, and defend the<br />
constitution in the interests of all<br />
the people.<br />
The order was made while<br />
British Prime Minister Theresa<br />
May was in flight to Ankara to<br />
meet Turkish President Recep<br />
Tayyip Erdogan and conclude an<br />
arms deal with him. A few hours<br />
earlier, she had paid tribute to<br />
Trump in the hope of securing<br />
a favorable trade deal after the<br />
UK leaves the European Union.<br />
Trump spoke of the “very special<br />
relationship” between the US and<br />
the UK.<br />
It is unclear whether Trump<br />
warned his new friend May of<br />
what he was about to do. She<br />
People are standing up to the most un-American POTUS<br />
The US president has no experience in public office and will have to<br />
learn that the American republic can be governed only with respect<br />
for the American values protected by the constitution. The one that he<br />
promised to preserve, protect, and defend<br />
appeared to be humiliated and<br />
flailing when she met the press in<br />
Turkey.<br />
Later, she had to tell her<br />
Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson to<br />
protest about the effect on British<br />
passport holders and to secure an<br />
exemption for them. So much for<br />
the “very special relationship.”<br />
Trump has awakened the light<br />
sleeper of anti-Americanism<br />
abroad, weakening alliances<br />
on which Washington depends<br />
for peace and security. He has<br />
emboldened the far right across<br />
Europe. The invitation for a state<br />
visit to the UK, made with undue<br />
haste by the prime minister on<br />
behalf of Queen Elizabeth, has<br />
aroused massive protests across<br />
Britain.<br />
More than 1.5 million people<br />
have called for the invitation to<br />
be withdrawn. Parliamentarians<br />
are campaigning to prevent him<br />
from addressing their members.<br />
London’s Mayor, Sadiq Khan,<br />
has said that the visit should<br />
be postponed until the “cruel<br />
and shameful ban” is lifted. The<br />
visit will go ahead anyway, but<br />
under massive protest. Across<br />
Muslim-majority countries in the<br />
Middle East, Iraq, and Iran there<br />
is an angry backlash and credible<br />
threats of retaliation.<br />
It was unwise of May to rush<br />
to embroil her queen in political<br />
controversy by inviting Trump<br />
to a state visit in his first days in<br />
office. It was not smart for Trump,<br />
the renowned deal-maker, to<br />
encourage the breakup of the<br />
European Union, or to question<br />
the value of NATO, or to make<br />
enemies of Muslim-majority<br />
countries.<br />
America needs strong and loyal<br />
European allies in dealing with<br />
Russian President Vladimir Putin<br />
and his threats to Ukraine and the<br />
Baltic states.<br />
The US needs allies, in addition<br />
to Israel, in the Middle East.<br />
Trump’s mantra is “America First,”<br />
but he is leading his nation into<br />
dangerous isolation from the rest<br />
of the world.<br />
Before Trump rushed out<br />
the immigration order, he did<br />
not appear to seek advice from<br />
the intelligence community<br />
or the Justice, Defense, and<br />
State Departments (Homeland<br />
Security Secretary John Kelly said<br />
his department knew the order<br />
was coming, but that doesn’t tell<br />
us whether they had any power to<br />
refine it).<br />
It is not clear which government<br />
lawyers, if any, were consulted.<br />
Trump has clearly acted in<br />
disregard of the constitution<br />
and American values and the<br />
United States’ international<br />
obligations under the United<br />
Nations convention on the status<br />
of refugees.<br />
Trump boasts that he will<br />
eliminate Islamic State and al-<br />
Qaeda from the face of the earth.<br />
However, British experience in<br />
combating Irish Republican and<br />
Islamist terrorism underscores<br />
the importance of winning<br />
cooperation from communities in<br />
whose name the extremists claim<br />
to act.<br />
By alienating Muslims across<br />
the world, Trump has made<br />
enemies of those he needs as<br />
friends.<br />
His flagrant disregard for the<br />
refugee convention’s protection<br />
of those fleeing from religious<br />
and political persecution, and his<br />
REUTERS<br />
would-be preferential treatment<br />
of Christian asylum seekers,<br />
make a mockery of America’s<br />
commitment to the rule of law.<br />
In addition, he fired acting<br />
Attorney General Sally Yates for<br />
doubting the legality of his use<br />
of his executive power. Even<br />
Republicans who approve of<br />
Trump’s policy are dismayed by<br />
the incompetent way it was rushed<br />
into effect.<br />
Trump’s ban is under legal<br />
challenge in the federal courts.<br />
The ban is based on national and<br />
religious discrimination and is<br />
surely unconstitutional.<br />
Federal judges across the<br />
country have already ruled against<br />
him. The legal challenges could<br />
go all the way to the Supreme<br />
Court, which seems unlikely<br />
to endorse his ill-conceived<br />
handiwork, even if meanwhile<br />
Neil Gorsuch, Trump’s pick for<br />
a conservative new justice, is<br />
confirmed.<br />
The US president has no<br />
experience in public office and will<br />
have to learn that the American<br />
republic can be governed only with<br />
respect for the American values<br />
protected by the constitution. The<br />
one that he promised to preserve,<br />
protect, and defend. •<br />
Anthony Lester of Herne Hill QC is a<br />
Liberal Democrat member of the UK<br />
House of Lords and a barrister who<br />
practices constitutional and human<br />
rights law at Blackstone Chambers in<br />
the Temple, London. His latest book is<br />
Five ideas to Fight For. This article first<br />
appeared on Reuters News.
16<br />
SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 5, <strong>2017</strong><br />
<strong>DT</strong><br />
Downtime<br />
CROSSWORD<br />
CODE-CRACKER<br />
ACROSS<br />
1 Large crowd (3)<br />
3 Tumbled (4)<br />
6 Gold club (4)<br />
7 Early freshness (3)<br />
9 Fissure (4)<br />
10 Wrath (3)<br />
11 Be adjacent to (4)<br />
13 Dull blue (5)<br />
16 Replenish (5)<br />
18 Hospital room (4)<br />
19 Liable (3)<br />
20 Australian river (4)<br />
21 Droop (3)<br />
23 Direction (4)<br />
24 Ice cream holder (4)<br />
25 Acceptance (3)<br />
DOWN<br />
1 Mannequin (5)<br />
2 United (3)<br />
4 Way out (4)<br />
5 Fate (3)<br />
6 Dialect (5)<br />
8 Falter (5)<br />
9 Ill-mannered (4)<br />
12 Swathes (5)<br />
14 Country (4)<br />
15 Company of eight (5)<br />
17 Earnings (5)<br />
18 Caution (4)<br />
20 Dry, of champagne<br />
(3)<br />
22 Respected fear (3)<br />
How to solve: Each number in our<br />
CODE-CRACKER grid represents a<br />
different letter of the alphabet. For<br />
example, today 13 represents Q so fill Q<br />
every time the figure 13 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 />
YESTERDAY’S SOLUTIONS<br />
CODE-CRACKER<br />
CROSSWORD<br />
DILBERT<br />
SUDOKU
Feature<br />
17<br />
SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 5, <strong>2017</strong><br />
<strong>DT</strong><br />
5 ways to better networking<br />
• Nahid Farzana<br />
Networking is very important<br />
in every sector of our lives.<br />
Especially those who have their<br />
own business or start-up can’t<br />
think of going forward without<br />
proper networking. To build up a<br />
powerful personal relationship, it<br />
is important to be aware of others’<br />
expectations and adjust one’s<br />
behaviour accordingly. Here are<br />
five simple characteristics that<br />
will help you to build up a strong<br />
network.<br />
Be a good listener<br />
The ultimate success in<br />
networking depends on how well<br />
we listen and learn. Try to learn<br />
more about your networking<br />
partner, and their needs and<br />
concerns. Networking is mostly<br />
about connecting with the other<br />
person. Connect with people, help<br />
with their needs, and seek what<br />
you need.<br />
Exhibit positivity<br />
Your attitude is one of the primary<br />
things that people notice about<br />
you. Your positive attitude will<br />
make people want to cooperate<br />
and associate with you. This will<br />
help to build up your networking<br />
in no time. Businessmen with<br />
positive attitudes are considered<br />
magnetic, since everyone wants to<br />
be around them.<br />
Have the willingness to<br />
collaborate<br />
You might know a lot about others,<br />
but until you show some care, it<br />
won’t matter. Helping people puts<br />
care into action so that others<br />
can see it at work. People will be<br />
genuinely interested in building<br />
up a relationship with you when<br />
they see you are not in it just for<br />
yourself. Willingness to collaborate<br />
is absolutely essential for strong<br />
networking.<br />
Be sincere<br />
You need to be sincere in what<br />
you say and do – only listening<br />
and offering help won’t do. If<br />
you are not genuinely interested<br />
in the other person, they will<br />
know. Those who have developed<br />
successful networking skills<br />
convey sincerity at every turn.<br />
Follow up<br />
Follow up is crucial in<br />
PHOTO: BIGSTOCK<br />
networking. If you fail to follow<br />
up, people will stop wasting time<br />
on you sooner or later. It usually<br />
doesn’t matter what medium are<br />
you using to follow up, but the<br />
act of following up is absolutely<br />
necessary.•
<strong>DT</strong><br />
18<br />
Sports<br />
SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 5, <strong>2017</strong><br />
Bangladesh’s Shafiul Islam, Taskin Ahmed and Kamrul Islam Rabbi bowl during a practice session at Rajiv Gandhi International Cricket Stadium in Hyderabad yesterday<br />
Taskin: Variation will<br />
be key in India<br />
• Tribune Report<br />
Visiting Bangladesh cricket<br />
team will take part in the twoday<br />
practice match against India<br />
A at the Gymkhana ground in<br />
Hyderabad, starting today, ahead<br />
of the one-off Test match against<br />
the home side.<br />
The tourists will look to adjust to<br />
the wicket and condition after their<br />
recently concluded New Zealand<br />
tour that was mainly played in<br />
overcast weather.<br />
And on the eve of the two-dayer,<br />
fast bowler Taskin Ahmed informed<br />
that it will be a good opportunity for<br />
the visiting side to acclimatise to the<br />
condition. Taskin believes variation<br />
will be key in such condition.<br />
“Actually, it’s pretty different<br />
from New Zealand. And not only<br />
in India, across the subcontinent,<br />
the wickets are pretty flat and<br />
good for batting. They have a bit of<br />
turn as well. So, we have to adjust<br />
a bit,” Taskin told the media in<br />
the sidelines of their training<br />
session in Hyderabad's Rajiv<br />
Gandhi International Stadium<br />
yesterday.<br />
“For the fast bowlers, length<br />
will be different than New Zealand.<br />
We have to look for variations,<br />
so yes, we are thinking about the<br />
wicket and condition. I hope we<br />
can execute it well.<br />
“Yeah, we are practising as we<br />
don’t have that many experienced<br />
fast bowlers. But still, we can do<br />
well. We already proved that. And<br />
if we can execute properly, I think<br />
we can reverse and swing the ball,”<br />
he said.<br />
The 21-year old speedster said<br />
he is bowling faster than before<br />
and that there is no problem in his<br />
bowling after the bowling action<br />
test. He also praised Tigers bowling<br />
coach and West Indies great<br />
Courtney Walsh, who has inspired<br />
him to improve.<br />
“Pace is still the same. I bowled<br />
much faster in New Zealand. I have<br />
worked hard and I'm confident that<br />
I have no problems at the moment.<br />
In our team, we have the legend<br />
Courtney Walsh as our bowling<br />
coach. I was told that my bowling<br />
was al right. After that I went<br />
to Brisbane for the test. My flex<br />
was maximum seven degree and<br />
average was three. So I am pretty<br />
confident,” said Taskin.<br />
“It’s really good for us as he<br />
(Walsh) is a legend. We are taking<br />
about lots of things and trying to<br />
learn from him. If we are not able<br />
to get something from him it’s our<br />
bad luck. We all are different types<br />
of bowlers in the team so he treated<br />
everyone accordingly,” he said. •<br />
ICC moves closer to<br />
Test shake-up<br />
• AFP, London<br />
The International Cricket Council<br />
has moved closer to a radical<br />
shake-up to pave the way for Afghanistan<br />
and Ireland to become<br />
Test nations and restrict the power<br />
of the “Big Three” of India, England<br />
and Australia.<br />
Following a meeting at its Dubai<br />
headquarters, cricket’s global<br />
governing body said yesterday it<br />
had reached “agreement in principle<br />
to constitutional and financial<br />
change, further progress on future<br />
international cricket structures<br />
and agreement around the consistent<br />
use of the Decision Review<br />
System.”<br />
Among key proposals are that the<br />
top nine Test-playing countries will<br />
compete among themselves in a<br />
rolling two-year league and against<br />
the three lower-ranked teams.<br />
Those three would comprise Zimbabwe,<br />
with Ireland and Afghanistan<br />
AFP<br />
also in line to become full or Test<br />
members provided, the ICC said,<br />
they met “membership criteria”.<br />
Meanwhile a 13-team one-day<br />
international league would be<br />
run over a three-year period leading<br />
into qualification for the 2023<br />
World Cup.<br />
Plans are also in place for a regional<br />
T20 competition structure<br />
to be developed as a pathway to<br />
qualification for the ICC World T20.<br />
The ICC statement said: “A<br />
scheduling summit will now be held<br />
in March before a detailed proposal<br />
is put to the ICC board in April.”<br />
The aim is to provide greater<br />
“context” for bilateral matches and<br />
ICC chief executive David Richardson<br />
added: “The ICC chief executives’<br />
committee has explored<br />
a whole range of solutions to the<br />
future structure of bilateral cricket<br />
ranging from the status quo to two<br />
tier leagues and every possible option<br />
in-between.” •
Sports 19<br />
<strong>DT</strong><br />
SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 5, <strong>2017</strong><br />
Ton-up Junaid<br />
as North Zone<br />
on verge of big<br />
total<br />
• Tribune Report<br />
Junaid Siddique yesterday struck<br />
an unbeaten hundred as North<br />
Zone are heading towards a big total<br />
after posting 327/4 runs against<br />
Central Zone following the opening<br />
day's play in the ongoing fifth<br />
edition of the Bangladesh Cricket<br />
League.<br />
In the other match of the second<br />
round, fast bowler Mustafizur Rahman<br />
featured for South Zone, who<br />
posted 376/6 against East Zone.<br />
North v Central, Chittagong<br />
In the port city's Zahur Ahmed<br />
Chowdhury Stadium, left-hander<br />
Junaid remained not out on 176 off<br />
276 balls, featuring 19 fours. He will<br />
resume the second day in search of<br />
his maiden first-class double hundred,<br />
alongside wicketkeeper-batsman<br />
Dhiman Ghosh, who was<br />
unbeaten on 51 with half a dozen<br />
boundaries and a six.<br />
Nasir Hossain was dismissed<br />
after scoring 55 while skipper Jahurul<br />
Islam added 39 runs to the<br />
tally. Centurion in the first round,<br />
Naeem Islam departed cheaply after<br />
scoring one.<br />
Medium pacer Shahidul Islam<br />
picked up two wickets while Dewan<br />
Sabbir and Shuvagata Hom<br />
took one each for Central.<br />
East v South, Sylhet<br />
After being asked to bat first,<br />
stumper-batsman Anamul Haque<br />
top-scored with 89 and experienced<br />
Tushar Imran made 62<br />
for South at Sylhet International<br />
Cricket Stadium. Ziaur Rahman<br />
remained undefeated on 55 while<br />
Sohag Gazi was unbeaten on 42.<br />
Mohammad Mithun was dismissed<br />
after scoring 47 while<br />
Mosaddek Hossain departed for 39.<br />
Fast bowler Ebadat Hossain<br />
picked up 3/85 from his 22 overs<br />
while left-arm spinner Saqlain Sajib,<br />
Tasamul Haque and Shahanur<br />
Rahman took one apiece for East. •<br />
5TH BCL, RD 2, DAY 1<br />
NORTH ZONE 327/4 in 89 overs<br />
(Junaid 172*, Nasir 55) v CENTRAL ZONE<br />
SOUTH ZONE 376/6 in 90 overs<br />
(Anamul 89, Tushar 62) v EAST ZONE<br />
Ace Bangladesh golfer Siddikur Rahman plays a shot during the fourth and final round in Dhaka’s Kurmitola Golf<br />
Club yesterday<br />
MD MANIK<br />
3RD BASHUNDHARA BANGLADESH OPEN<br />
Siddikur Rahman, Bangladesh<br />
Position: 2nd; Final Round: 66 (-five);<br />
Total: 271 (-13)<br />
It has been a long time since I last played so well. It<br />
was a great round and a superb week. Getting such<br />
a huge crowd following me on my home course, I am<br />
really thankful. I am happy with how I played too.<br />
It has been an excellent week. The course is great<br />
and the weather too. Most importantly, I had great<br />
home support this week. I am truly appreciative. My<br />
parents were out here supporting me and I have my<br />
brother Rafiqul [Rahman] on my bag too.<br />
Jazz Janewattananond, Thailand<br />
Position: 1st; Final Round: 67 (-four);<br />
Total: 267 (-17)<br />
I have been waiting for this win for so long. I started<br />
playing on the Asian Tour when I was an amateur,<br />
at 14. It’s just a huge relief that I managed to get the<br />
job done. It wasn’t easy. I took a step back as I lost<br />
my card for the first time in my career last season. I<br />
didn’t make the mark at Qualifying School too.<br />
I didn’t get much sleep last night to be honest. Even<br />
though I had a four-shot lead, I still wasn’t comfortable<br />
heading out. I think this is the longest 18 holes<br />
that I have played in my life.<br />
Siddikur’s stunning comeback falls<br />
four shots short of winner Jazz<br />
• Tribune Report<br />
An outstanding final round display<br />
by Siddikur Rahman earned him<br />
his best ever finish in the Bashundhara<br />
Bangladesh Open as the local<br />
golfing sensation claimed second<br />
spot with a superb five-under-par<br />
66 at Kurmitola Golf Club in Dhaka<br />
yesterday.<br />
Following consistent displays<br />
in the first three rounds, Siddikur<br />
posted a total of 13-under-par 271<br />
to finish solely as runner-up. Overnight<br />
leader Jazz Janewattananond<br />
of Thailand bagged his maiden<br />
Asian Tour title with four-underpar<br />
67 to win by four shots, ahead<br />
of Siddikur.<br />
Siddikur's second place is the<br />
best ever result by any local participant<br />
in the three-year history of<br />
the Bangladesh Open. He failed to<br />
finish in the top 30 in the previous<br />
two editions but was determined<br />
to improve his fortunes in the third<br />
edition of the Bangladesh Open.<br />
His runners-up place is one of his<br />
best performance in recent times.<br />
The 32-year old golfer began the<br />
final day with a calm and confident<br />
approach. A flawless display in the<br />
opening nine holes saw him card<br />
three bogeys. In the other half, he<br />
traded a single bogey for three birdies.<br />
Only Micah Lauren Shin from<br />
USA managed to post 66 yesterday.<br />
“I played really good golf. I<br />
struggled with food poisoning earlier<br />
this week so to finish second<br />
here, I have no complaints. I stayed<br />
at home to recuperate earlier this<br />
week so I didn’t get much preparation.<br />
I am glad I was able to recover<br />
in time for the tournament,” an<br />
elated Siddikur said after the game.<br />
Siddikur only needed a par score<br />
in the 18th hole to finish second,<br />
with Jazz already ensuring his title.<br />
“I was just playing for par on<br />
the 18. I heard Dodge [Kemmer]<br />
was at 11-under-par in the third<br />
Thailand’s Jazz smiles with the 3rd Bashundhara Bangladesh Open title<br />
MD MANIK<br />
so I thought I just needed a par to<br />
keep my second place. But I made a<br />
birdie there. It’s my favourite hole<br />
here,” Siddikur added.<br />
Among other local participants,<br />
Dulal Hossain finished joint 15th<br />
with one-under-par 70 on the final<br />
day to post a total of 279 (-five) while<br />
Zamal Hossain Molla was placed<br />
joint 26th with par 71. Mohammad<br />
Sajib Ali and Mohammad Nazim<br />
both ended joint 38th, Robin Miah<br />
and Badal Hossain finished joint<br />
47th while Mohammad Zia and Mohammad<br />
Shomrat Shikder concluded<br />
their campaign in the bottom<br />
two; 72nd and 73rd respectively.<br />
Meanwhile, 21-year-old Thai<br />
golfer Jazz started the round with<br />
a four-shot advantage, showing<br />
nerves of steel as he completed<br />
a sensational wire-to-wire victory<br />
with a winning total of 17-under-par<br />
267. The result could be a<br />
turning point for Jazz's career after<br />
failing to keep his Asian Tour card<br />
for the first time last season. American<br />
Kemmer secured his best finish<br />
in the Asian Tour after returning<br />
with a 68 to take third place. •
<strong>DT</strong><br />
20<br />
SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 5, <strong>2017</strong><br />
Sports<br />
Barca close in<br />
as confusion<br />
reigns over<br />
Real fixture<br />
• AFP, Madrid<br />
Lionel Messi struck another trademark<br />
free-kick as Barcelona moved<br />
to within a one point of La Liga<br />
leaders Real Madrid with a 3-0 win<br />
over Athletic Bilbao yesterday.<br />
Madrid have two games in hand,<br />
the first of which was supposed to<br />
take place on <strong>Sunday</strong> at Celta Vigo.<br />
However, wind damage to<br />
Celta’s Balaidos stadium has left<br />
the ground unsafe to hold the<br />
game, according to the mayor of<br />
Vigo. .<br />
Luis Enrique again made a raft<br />
of changes with the second leg of<br />
Barca’s Copa del Rey semi against<br />
Atletico Madrid looming Tuesday.<br />
Luis Suarez was left on the<br />
bench to allow Paco Alcacer a rare<br />
start and he netted his first La Liga<br />
goal since joining from Valencia for<br />
30 million euros in August.<br />
Athletic’s day was summed up<br />
with Barca’s second, five minutes<br />
before half-time. After scoring in<br />
both legs of the Copa del Rey last<br />
16 clash between the sides from<br />
free-kicks last month, Messi again<br />
outdid Gorka Iraizoz from the narrowest<br />
of angles.<br />
This time, though, the goalkeeper<br />
was more at fault than brilliance<br />
from the Argentine as Messi<br />
registered his 31st goal in 30 games<br />
this season.<br />
Messi took a rare break as he<br />
was replaced with 25 minutes to<br />
go by Sergi Roberto. Yet, even that<br />
change worked in Barca’s favour as<br />
Aleix Vidal was pushed into a more<br />
advanced role from right-back and<br />
rounded off the win by firing into<br />
the far corner 23 minutes from time<br />
for the Catalans’ 100th goal in all<br />
competition this season. •<br />
Argentine football legend Diego Maradona cheers during the Davis Cup match<br />
between Argentina and Italy in Buenos Aires on Friday. Argentina trail 2-0 REUTERS<br />
Chelsea's Brazilian-born Spanish striker Diego Costa sends a shot wide during their English Premier League match against Arsenal at Stamford Bridge yesterday<br />
Hazard sparkles for Blues, Reds rocked by Hull<br />
• AFP, London<br />
Bolt leads his All Stars to victory<br />
• AFP, Melbourne<br />
The world’s fastest man Usain Bolt<br />
led his Bolt All-Stars to victory on<br />
the opening night of the inaugural<br />
Nitro Athletics teams event in Melbourne<br />
yesterday.<br />
The world record holder for the<br />
100m and 200m sprints led the<br />
Bolt All Stars - including athletes<br />
from Jamaica, the USA and Kenya<br />
- against teams representing Australia,<br />
England, New Zealand, Japan<br />
and China.<br />
The 30-year-old Jamaican sprint<br />
star ran in the final event on the<br />
programme, the 4x100m mixed<br />
relay, featuring two male and two<br />
female athletes from each team, as<br />
did fellow Jamaican Olympic gold<br />
medallist Asafa Powell.<br />
With their captain running the<br />
EPL<br />
Chelsea 3-1 Arsenal<br />
Alonso 13, Hazard 53, Giroud 90+1<br />
Fabregas 85<br />
Palace 0-4 Sunderland<br />
Kone 10, Ndong 43,<br />
Defoe 45+1, 45+3<br />
Everton 6-3 Bournemouth<br />
Lukaku 1, 29, 83, 84, King 59, 70, Arter 90<br />
McCarthy 23,<br />
Barkley 90+4<br />
Hull 2-0 Liverpool<br />
N’Diaye 44, Niasse 84<br />
Southampton 1-3 West Ham<br />
Gabbiadini 12 Carroll 14, Obiang 44,<br />
Noble 52<br />
Watford 2-1 Burnley<br />
Deeney 10, Niang 45+2 Barnes 78-P<br />
West Brom 1-0 Stoke<br />
Morrison 6<br />
unfamiliar second leg, handing<br />
over to American Jenna Prandini,<br />
the Bolt All Stars won that race to<br />
notch up their fourth outright win<br />
of the night and finish with a total<br />
of 1080 points.<br />
The Australian team won three<br />
of the 12 events to sit second with<br />
1050 points.<br />
The two teams finished equal<br />
first in two other events while Australia’s<br />
Kurtis Marschall also tied<br />
for first place with China’s Xue<br />
Changrui in the men’s pole vault.<br />
New Zealand won the other two<br />
events, while China finished third<br />
on the points table with 845.<br />
“At the start I was a little bit worried.<br />
We started kinda slow and I<br />
was talking so much smack that<br />
everyone was looking at me like<br />
‘you’re losing’,” Bolt said.<br />
AFP<br />
Eden Hazard’s exquisite strike<br />
inspired English Premier League<br />
leaders Chelsea to a 3-1 victory over<br />
Arsenal that shattered their rivals’<br />
title challenge, while spluttering<br />
Liverpool hit a new low in a 2-0 defeat<br />
at Hull City yesterday.<br />
Belgian winger Hazard left a trail<br />
of defenders in his wake to double<br />
Chelsea’s lead in the 53rd minute at<br />
Stamford Bridge.<br />
Marcos Alonso had opened the<br />
scoring in the 13th minute with a<br />
contentious effort as the Chelsea<br />
defender clattered into Arsenal’s<br />
Hector Bellerin before heading<br />
home.<br />
Cesc Fabregas rubbed salt into<br />
Arsenal’s wounds in the 85th minute<br />
when the former Gunners<br />
midfielder chipped into the empty<br />
net after a woeful miskick from<br />
ex-Chelsea goalkeeper Petr Cech.<br />
Olivier Giroud’s stoppage-time<br />
goal was no consolation for third<br />
placed Arsenal, who trail Chelsea by<br />
12 points with 14 games remaining.<br />
It was Chelsea’s 16th win in their<br />
last 18 league games, prompting<br />
Blues boss Antonio Conte to hail<br />
the triumph as a significant moment<br />
in the title race.<br />
At the KCOM Stadium, Liverpool<br />
fell behind in the 44th minute when<br />
Alfred N’Diaye took advantage of<br />
goalkeeper Simon Mignolet’s poor<br />
handling to bag a debut goal.<br />
Jurgen Klopp’s side were finished<br />
off in the 84th minute when<br />
on-loan Everton striker Oumar Niasse<br />
raced clear to boost third bottom<br />
Hull’s survival bid.<br />
Liverpool have won only once<br />
in their last 10 games in all competitions<br />
and will be knocked out<br />
of the top four if Manchester City<br />
avoid defeat against Swansea City<br />
today.<br />
Sunderland stunned their former<br />
boss Sam Allardyce with an<br />
incredible first half goal rush to<br />
demolish fellow strugglers Crystal<br />
Palace 4-0 at Selhurst Park.<br />
Romelu Lukaku scored four<br />
times in Everton’s 6-3 victory<br />
against Bournemouth at Goodison<br />
Park.<br />
West Ham United bounced back<br />
from their mauling against City<br />
with a 3-1 win at Southampton.<br />
Watford consigned 10-man<br />
Burnley to a seventh successive<br />
away league defeat with a 2-1 success<br />
at Vicarage Road.<br />
West Bromwich Albion beat<br />
Stoke City 1-0 thanks to James Morrison’s<br />
sixth minute goal. •<br />
The winner of gold medals in<br />
the 100m, 200m and 4x100m relay<br />
at the past three Olympics, Bolt<br />
said he had never run a competitive<br />
race in <strong>February</strong> before, and<br />
was impressed with the form of the<br />
local athletes.<br />
“They came out ready. Most<br />
people aren’t really at the level that<br />
they want because it’s <strong>February</strong>,<br />
but you guys were ready and that’s<br />
what we want, competition.”<br />
Bolt may have been the main attraction<br />
but the Australian athletes<br />
enjoyed accolades from the crowd<br />
of around 7,000.<br />
Nitro Athletics involves a mixture<br />
of traditional and modified<br />
events designed to provide nonstop<br />
action over a two-hour period,<br />
with each team consisting of 12<br />
male and 12 female athletes. •
Sports<br />
Ranieri doesn't fear sack, focused<br />
on Leicester survival<br />
• Reuters<br />
The possibility of getting sacked is<br />
far from Claudio Ranieri's thoughts<br />
as the Leicester City manager is intent<br />
on ensuring the struggling Premier<br />
League champions maintain<br />
their top-flight status.<br />
EPL<br />
Leicester v Man United<br />
Man City v Swansea<br />
Following their stunning title<br />
triumph last season, Leicester<br />
have continued producing the unexpected,<br />
only this time they are<br />
battling relegation as they sit 16th<br />
in the table, two points above the<br />
bottom three.<br />
"It's not my philosophy to think<br />
about this. If my thoughts go<br />
there...I remember what was said<br />
by my chairman the first time I met<br />
him. He said 'if we go down will<br />
you stay with us?' And I said 'yes',"<br />
Ranieri told British media.<br />
"Now why do I have to think<br />
about this? I am thinking to fight<br />
and to survive. That's it. I don't<br />
speak about my position with the<br />
owner. Never do I speak with the<br />
chairman about my position," the<br />
Italian added.<br />
"We know that is football. When<br />
everything is right, everyone is fantastic.<br />
When you start to lose, the<br />
manager is bad."<br />
Ranieri said he has no problem<br />
playing striker Leonardo Ulloa,<br />
who tried to force a move away<br />
from Leicester in January and accused<br />
the manager of betraying<br />
him.<br />
"Yes, he will play, don't worry.<br />
He is a professional 100 percent. I<br />
don't know if Leo could give more<br />
because he always gives 120 per<br />
cent," Ranieri added.<br />
"Sooner or later, when he is<br />
ready, he will have the chance to<br />
play. There is no issue." •<br />
21<br />
SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 5, <strong>2017</strong><br />
New-look Juve await<br />
resurgent Inter<br />
• AFP, Milan<br />
Fit-again Claudio Marchisio could<br />
be restricted to starting on the<br />
bench as Massimiliano Allegri’s<br />
new-look Juventus bid to stretch<br />
their 27-game unbeaten run at<br />
home against Inter Milan today.<br />
Allegri has both midfielder Marchisio<br />
and key defender Andrea<br />
Barzagli back from injury lay-offs<br />
that have hampered their bid for a<br />
record sixth straight Serie A title.<br />
After conceding only two defeats<br />
in a tough two-month period,<br />
the Turin giants host Stefano Pioli’s<br />
resurgent Inter armed with a fourpoint<br />
lead on Roma in second, and<br />
a game in hand on their five closest<br />
pursuers.<br />
But although reportedly fit to<br />
start, Marchisio isn’t needed so<br />
desperately yet.<br />
Juventus have run riot in the<br />
past three games, all wins, in which<br />
injuries to defenders forced Allegri<br />
<strong>DT</strong><br />
to move away from his preferred<br />
3-5-2 to a more offensive 4-2-3-1.<br />
And from the fans, there have<br />
been few grumbles.<br />
Despite Juve being outplayed<br />
SERIE A<br />
AC Milan v Sampdoria<br />
Atalanta v Cagliari<br />
Chievo v Udinese<br />
Empoli v Torino<br />
Genoa v Sassuolo<br />
Pescara v Lazio<br />
Palermo v Crotone<br />
Juventus v Inter Milan<br />
during a 2-1 defeat at Fiorentina<br />
a fortnight ago, striker Gonzalo<br />
Higuain has hit the net six times in<br />
his past five league outings.<br />
In the past three games the Argentine<br />
has benefited from the<br />
three-pronged support of Juan<br />
Cuadrado, Paulo Dybala and Mario<br />
Mandzukic. •<br />
Cup revenge on agenda for Real<br />
• AFP, Madrid<br />
Real Madrid hope to have<br />
Luka Modric and Marcelo<br />
back fit as they seek to exact<br />
revenge for their recent Copa<br />
del Rey elimination at the<br />
hands of Celta Vigo when they<br />
return to Balaidos today.<br />
Celta weathered a second-leg<br />
storm at home after<br />
pulling off a surprise 2-1 firstleg<br />
win at the Santiago Bernabeu<br />
to progress to the last four<br />
4-3 on aggregate just over a<br />
week ago.<br />
However, the roles from the<br />
second leg of that tie look set<br />
to be reversed as a far stronger<br />
Real side travels north with<br />
Celta boss Eduardo Berizzo<br />
set to make a series of changes<br />
with his side's Cup semi-final,<br />
second leg away at Alaves on<br />
Wednesday in mind.<br />
Modric and Marcelo have<br />
missed the last two games<br />
through injury, but both returned<br />
to training on Thursday<br />
and could feature.<br />
LA LIGA<br />
Sevilla v Villarreal<br />
Sporting Gijon v Alaves<br />
Real Sociedad v Osasuna<br />
Celta Vigo v Real Madrid<br />
The presence of Modric in<br />
midfield would be doubly important<br />
to Zinedine Zidane's<br />
men with Toni Kroos suspended.<br />
Berizzo has heavily rotated<br />
his Celta side in their past two<br />
La Liga outings to prioritise<br />
the Cup.<br />
And with the Galicians just<br />
90 minutes away from a first<br />
Cup final since 2001 with the<br />
tie against Alaves delicately<br />
poised at 0-0, the Argentine<br />
expected to do so again with<br />
the likes of top scorer Iago Aspas<br />
dropping to the bench.<br />
Cup revenge was also on<br />
Athletic Bilbao's minds when<br />
they travelled to face Barcelona<br />
at the Camp Nou yesterday.<br />
Luis Enrique's men could<br />
be handed a double injury<br />
boost themselves as Andres<br />
Iniesta returned to training on<br />
Thursday and Sergio Busquets<br />
is nearing a comeback form<br />
ankle ligament damage.<br />
Enrique has defended his<br />
decision to rotate his squad<br />
throughout a demanding January<br />
and <strong>February</strong> of league<br />
and Cup commitments with a<br />
return to Champions League<br />
action at Paris Saint-Germain<br />
on <strong>February</strong> 14 also on the horizon.<br />
Sevilla also face Villarreal<br />
today. •<br />
FOOTBALL<br />
STAR SPORTS SELECT HD 1<br />
7:15 PM<br />
Premier League 2016/17<br />
Manchester City v Swansea City<br />
9:45 PM<br />
Leicester City v Manchester United<br />
STAR SPORTS HD 2<br />
8:16 PM<br />
Bundesliga 2016/17<br />
FC Augsburg v SV Werder Bremen<br />
10:16 PM<br />
Eintracht Frankfurt v SV Darmstadt<br />
98<br />
TEN 1<br />
DAY’S WATCH<br />
6:00 PM<br />
Sky Bet EFL 2016/17<br />
Huddersfield Town v Leeds United<br />
7:50 PM<br />
French Ligue 1 2016/17<br />
Toulouse FC v Angers<br />
9:50 PM<br />
Nantes v Nancy Lorraine<br />
1:50 AM<br />
Saint- Etienne v Olympique<br />
Lyonnais<br />
TEN 3<br />
12:00 PM<br />
A-League 2016/17<br />
Central Coast Mariners v Adelaide<br />
United<br />
SONY SIX<br />
5:00 PM<br />
La Liga Santander 2016/17<br />
Sevilla v Villarreal<br />
9:10 PM<br />
Atletico Madrid v Leganes<br />
11:30 PM<br />
Real Sociedad v Osasuna<br />
1:40 AM<br />
Celta Vigo v Real Madrid<br />
SONY ESPN<br />
5:30 PM<br />
Serie A TIM 2016/17<br />
AC Milan v Sampdoria<br />
2:00 AM<br />
Juventus v Inter Milan
22<br />
SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 5, <strong>2017</strong><br />
<strong>DT</strong><br />
Showtime<br />
Refashioning the Legend of Sherlock<br />
Holmes: BBC One's 'Sherlock'<br />
• Farhat Alam Brishty<br />
“The name’s Sherlock Holmes<br />
and the address is 221B Baker<br />
Street”- when Sherlock (played by<br />
Benedict Cumberbatch) uttered<br />
the famous line with his quirky<br />
smile and a wink, we knew it<br />
was going to be an unforgettable<br />
journey. Bringing Sir Arthur<br />
Conan Doyle’s Sherlock Holmes<br />
from the Victorian London to the<br />
2010’s was certainly a high-risk<br />
move, but the makers of BBC<br />
One’s Sherlock, Mark Gatiss and<br />
Steven Moffat seem to have been<br />
very aware of what they were up<br />
to. The crime drama TV series<br />
was first aired in July 2010, and<br />
has completed four seasons<br />
this January. Sherlock portrays<br />
modern versions of the detective<br />
and his comrade, Dr John Watson.<br />
The series offers more than a<br />
detective story to the audience<br />
through its emotional approach<br />
PHOTO: COURTESY<br />
– it revolves around Sherlock<br />
Holmes and John Watson’s<br />
investigations, and their not-soeasy-to-grasp<br />
kind of friendship.<br />
The first season showed<br />
how Sherlock and John met<br />
and became friends. John finds<br />
Sherlock’s deductions annoying<br />
at first, but eventually starts<br />
accompanying him to crime<br />
scenes in order to solve cases.<br />
Along the way of their journey<br />
of solving cases, they become<br />
inseparable friends, but thanks<br />
to Sherlock’s anti-social nature,<br />
he never expresses his emotional<br />
side and calls himself “a high<br />
functioning socio-path.” The four<br />
season long series saw numerous<br />
nerve-racking cases, confounding<br />
mysteries, the encounter between<br />
reality and illusion, truth and lie,<br />
strong emotions and connections<br />
between the characters – love,<br />
hate, revenge, friendship and<br />
the fight between the good and<br />
evil. The evil is represented by<br />
various villains, of course, but<br />
the criminal mastermind, James<br />
Moriarty leaves the rest behind,<br />
and makes Sherlock dance to his<br />
tunes.<br />
But does Sherlock represent<br />
the good? You need to watch the<br />
show yourself to figure out the<br />
complex mind of the detective<br />
genius. The “Sherlock” of the<br />
series, many claim, is less of<br />
a human than the “original<br />
Sherlock” in Doyle’s stories - but<br />
his emotions, friendship and<br />
vulnerability manifest themselves<br />
from time to time if you look<br />
closely. What makes Sherlock hide<br />
his human side and forces him to<br />
be the machine, the self-claimed<br />
sociopath? What made Sherlock<br />
Holmes, Sherlock Holmes? Season<br />
one, two and three do not have<br />
the exact answers, but season<br />
four gives the audience a detailed<br />
overview of Sherlock’s past which<br />
answers the burning question.<br />
The stories of Sherlock<br />
Holmes and John Watson have<br />
been retold with enthralling<br />
modifications in BBC’s Sherlock,<br />
which succeeded to retain the<br />
audience’s interest over the years.<br />
Benedict Cumberbatch does a<br />
magnificent job in portraying<br />
the modern day Sherlock.<br />
Maintaining the contemporary<br />
approach, Cumberbatch depicts<br />
the intensity of the investigating<br />
mind, and the conflict between<br />
the machine-side and the<br />
human side of Sherlock Holmes<br />
brilliantly. Martin Freeman<br />
portrays Dr John Watson as<br />
an absolutely lovable blogger,<br />
doctor and friend, with whom<br />
everyone sympathises. Other<br />
actors like Mark Gatiss (one of the<br />
makers himself), Andrew Scott,<br />
Una Stubbs, Rupert Graves and<br />
Amanda Abbington have been<br />
equally commendable in playing<br />
their respective roles of Mycroft<br />
Holmes, Jim Moriarty, Mrs<br />
Hudson, Greg Lestrade and Mary<br />
Watson. However, in the end, it is<br />
a story of two friends – Sherlock<br />
Holmes and John Watson, who<br />
solve crimes together and protect<br />
the ones under threat. It is their<br />
friendship and their immortal<br />
legend that make the series what<br />
it is. It’s not yet confirmed by<br />
the makers whether season four<br />
was the end of the series, or we<br />
will see the detective and the<br />
doctor solving crimes again. But<br />
fans surely can hope for a new<br />
season until the makers declare<br />
otherwise. •<br />
'Mata' Sri makes a comeback<br />
• Showtime Desk<br />
Married to producer Boney<br />
Kapoor in 1996, Bollywood<br />
actress Sridevi is the proud<br />
mother of two daughters –<br />
Jhanvi and Khushi.<br />
Sridevi and her daughters<br />
– Jhanvi and Khushi –<br />
constantly regale their fans<br />
with stylish pictures on<br />
their respective social media<br />
handles. The ladies post<br />
all kinds of images, be it<br />
throwbacks or smouldering<br />
selfies. The English<br />
Vinglish actress shared a<br />
ravishing photo with the<br />
elder daughter Jhanvi on<br />
Instagram, and that shows<br />
how a mother can enjoy her<br />
life with her growing kids.<br />
Now she is making a come<br />
back in Bollywood. Sridevi<br />
was interacting with the<br />
media at the launch event<br />
of single Kabhi Yaadon Mein<br />
last Thursday.<br />
The 90s’ hit song<br />
is recreated by Abhijit<br />
Vaghani and crooned by<br />
Palak Muchchal and Arijit<br />
Singh. The 53-year-old<br />
actress, who appeared in<br />
a string of commercially<br />
successful movies and<br />
has played various roles<br />
in a career spanning four<br />
decades, says she used to<br />
copy her mother to play onscreen<br />
mother.<br />
“Before I became a mother, I<br />
remembered how my mother<br />
used to talk or behave. She<br />
is always at the back of my<br />
mind,” she said.<br />
“After you become a mother,<br />
the instinct comes naturally.<br />
You don’t have to learn<br />
motherhood,” she added.•<br />
PHOTO: COURTESY
Showtime<br />
23<br />
SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 5, <strong>2017</strong><br />
<strong>DT</strong><br />
Soha turns Author<br />
Pritom captures the internet<br />
with ‘Unselfish Selfie’<br />
• Showtime Desk<br />
Bollywood actress, Soha Ali Khan is all set to<br />
publish a collection of humorous stories on her<br />
life as a royal princess and a “moderately famous”<br />
celebrity, in what is going to be her debut in writing.<br />
Titled The Perils of Being Moderately Famous, the<br />
book has been acquired by Penguin India, and will<br />
be released later this year. Soha shared this picture on<br />
Instagram, announcing her debut in writing.<br />
Soha has appeared in movies like Rang De Basanti and<br />
Tum Mile. She studied modern history at Balliol College,<br />
Oxford, and earned a Master’s degree in International<br />
Relations from the London School of Economics and<br />
Political Science. Soha said that, she is a voracious<br />
reader, and is utilising her leisure hours to<br />
write. “I can use this time creatively to<br />
pen down memories and insights. I am<br />
a princess after all. Try not to imagine<br />
me saying that while stamping my feet<br />
in a silver sequinned dress, with a<br />
tiara on my head. And as a person<br />
of royalty, I am surely entitled to<br />
some royalties,” Soha said.<br />
Born to famous cricketer<br />
Mansoor Ali Khan Pataudi and<br />
evergreen actress Sharmila<br />
Tagore, Soha Ali Khan is<br />
married to co-actor Kunal<br />
Khemmu. The actress was<br />
last seen in the 2016 releases<br />
– Sunny Deol’s comeback<br />
film Ghayal Once Again,<br />
and 31st October. •<br />
• Showtime desk<br />
Pop star Pritom Hasan strikes<br />
again, and this time he is stirring<br />
the town with a brand new<br />
music video titled “Unslefish<br />
Selfie.” Pritom seems to be<br />
shaking the town with his<br />
upbeat music compositions,<br />
R&B tracks, and colourful<br />
videos for a while now. With<br />
his upbeat compositions and<br />
Angshu’s vibrant video making,<br />
music videos of “Asho Mama<br />
He,” “Local Bus,” and “Biyain<br />
Saab,” created a new flow in<br />
the contemporary music video<br />
market of Bangladesh. Each of<br />
the videos went viral after their<br />
release, and the latest one is no<br />
exception.<br />
Although this time, the story<br />
of the video is full of dancing,<br />
singing, and rapping. Lyricist of<br />
the song is Adnan, while Pallab<br />
wonderfully did his job as the<br />
rapper. The maker of the video<br />
is Tanim Rahman Angshu. Siam<br />
Ahmed and Sharlin worked as<br />
the main models in the video,<br />
alongside Pritom.<br />
Talking about the music<br />
video, Pritom said, “I had<br />
quite a little time to finish the<br />
song. I tried to create such a<br />
video which advertises the<br />
product, but doesn’t look like an<br />
advertisement. After the release,<br />
reactions from the listeners are<br />
making me feel good now.” •<br />
WHAT TO WATCH<br />
Driver, Daisy Ridley<br />
Celebrities stand beside underprivileged<br />
children<br />
Mission: Impossible – Rogue<br />
Nation<br />
6:03pm, HBO<br />
Ethan and team take on their<br />
most impossible mission yet,<br />
eradicating the Syndicate - an<br />
International rogue organisation<br />
as highly skilled as they are,<br />
committed to destroying the<br />
IMF.<br />
Cast: Tom Cruise, Simon<br />
Pegg, Jeremy Renner, Rebecca<br />
Ferguson, Ving Rhames.<br />
Star Wars: Episode VII – The<br />
Force Awakens<br />
9:30pm, Star Movies<br />
Three decades after the defeat<br />
of the Galactic Empire, a new<br />
threat arises. The First Order<br />
attempts to rule the galaxy and<br />
only a ragtag group of heroes<br />
can stop them, along with the<br />
help of the Resistance.<br />
Cast: Harrison Ford, Mark<br />
Hamill, Carrie Fisher, Adam<br />
The Adventures of Tintin<br />
5:35pm, Zee Studio<br />
Intrepid reporter Tintin and<br />
Captain Haddock set off on<br />
a treasure hunt for a sunken<br />
ship commanded by Haddock’s<br />
ancestor.<br />
Voices: Jamie Bell (Tintin),<br />
Andy Serkis (Captain Haddock),<br />
Daniel Craig (Sakharine), Nick<br />
Frost (Thomson)<br />
Michael Jackson’s – This Is It<br />
4:00pm, WB<br />
A compilation of interviews,<br />
rehearsals and backstage<br />
footage of Michael Jackson as<br />
he prepared for his series of<br />
sold-out shows in London.<br />
Cast: Michael Jackson, Alex Al,<br />
Alexandra Apjarova, Nick Bass,<br />
Michael Bearden<br />
• Showtime desk<br />
Sabina Yasmin, Babita, Haider<br />
Hussain, Ayub Bachchu,<br />
and Syed Abdul Hadi stand<br />
beside the underprivileged<br />
children in collaboration with<br />
Distressed Children and Infants<br />
International (DCI), and IPDC<br />
Finance Limited, at a Child<br />
Rights Awareness and Fund<br />
Raising Concert. The event took<br />
place at the Krishibid Institution<br />
Bangladesh (KIB), in order to help<br />
improve their lives.<br />
Benuka Institute of Arts and<br />
children from the DCI orphanage<br />
were also present at the concert<br />
for this cause and presented a<br />
mesmerising performance. The<br />
base value of the ticket price<br />
was Tk1200 only. This amount<br />
is equivalent to the amount of<br />
money needed to fulfil the basic<br />
need of a child per month. IPDC<br />
Finance Limited came forward to<br />
enlighten this noble cause of DCI.<br />
The fund raised from this noble<br />
initiative directly went to the<br />
welfare of the underprivileged<br />
children.<br />
“At DCI, we are relentlessly<br />
working to provide the<br />
indispensable rights of the<br />
distressed children. We are<br />
devotedly working towards<br />
providing education, health,<br />
vision, and income generating<br />
opportunity to these<br />
underprivileged children who<br />
are deprived of a prosperous<br />
life ahead unless taken care off.<br />
With the help of this fund that<br />
we could raise from the concert,<br />
we would be able to help more<br />
children for the development<br />
of their future,” said Dr Ehsan<br />
Hoque, MBBS, PhD, executive<br />
director and founder of DCI.<br />
“IPDC has been always<br />
committed to social sector<br />
development that includes<br />
pioneering involvements to<br />
enlighten meaningful socioeconomic<br />
development in<br />
Bangladesh. We are proud<br />
and enthusiastic about the<br />
improvement of the livelihood of<br />
the underprivileged children, and<br />
strongly believe that the fund we<br />
could raise and the awareness<br />
that we created among general<br />
people through this collaborative<br />
effort will undoubtedly lead to<br />
a greater impact in the lives of<br />
these children, and will enable<br />
a larger number of people to<br />
participate in and benefit from<br />
the country’s economic progress<br />
in the coming future,” said<br />
Mominul Islam, MD and CEO,<br />
IPDC Finance Limited. •
24<br />
SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 5, <strong>2017</strong><br />
<strong>DT</strong><br />
Back Page<br />
HELPER DROVE TRUCK OVER<br />
CROWD KILLING 7 CHILDREN PAGE 6<br />
24 ‘ISLAMI SAMAJ’ MEN HELD<br />
WHILE ‘PLOTTING SABOTAGE’ PAGE 7<br />
Love in the time of Facebook<br />
That love knows no bounds - not even geography or culture - was proven when Elizabeth<br />
Emlick left her native Washington to build a home in Jhenaidah with Mithun Biswas.<br />
The Dhaka Tribune's Nayan Khondoker catches up with the newlyweds<br />
Tell us about yourselves.<br />
Elizabeth: I was a grade XII<br />
student from Orient, Washington.<br />
I have two brothers. My father,<br />
Roy Emlick, is also a resident of<br />
Washington.<br />
Mithun: I used to live in Singapore<br />
for over a year and a half. When I<br />
returned to Bangladesh, I started<br />
working in the social development<br />
sector.<br />
How did you find each other on<br />
Facebook? Did you have friends in<br />
common?<br />
Mithun: I have a lot of friends<br />
on Facebook – I had a common<br />
(American) friend with Elizabeth.<br />
I sent her a friend request one<br />
day, she accepted, and we started<br />
chatting.<br />
Elizabeth: I only have ten friends<br />
on Facebook and Mithun was<br />
the only friend from Bangladesh.<br />
When we started chatting on<br />
Facebook, we slowly got to know<br />
each other better and fell in love.<br />
After we finally confessed our<br />
feelings to each other, we started<br />
up a long distance relationship<br />
which continued for two and a half<br />
years.<br />
What drew you to your partner?<br />
Mithun: We just clicked instantly.<br />
At one point, I tried to go to America<br />
to visit her, but my visa was<br />
denied. This made us more determined<br />
to meet face-to-face.<br />
When did you first realise you were<br />
in love?<br />
Mithun: The first sign was probably<br />
all the hours we spent chatting<br />
with each other on Facebook.<br />
Elizabeth: I’d say three weeks into<br />
our friendship, we realised we had<br />
developed strong feelings for each<br />
other. We talked it out and decided<br />
to start a relationship.<br />
How did your friends and family<br />
react?<br />
Elizabeth: I told one of my teachers<br />
that I’d fallen for a boy from<br />
Bangladesh. Then I told my family,<br />
but they were deadset against<br />
this. They thought Bangladesh<br />
was a radical Islamist country<br />
and Bangladeshis weren’t nice<br />
people. They thought if I came<br />
here, Bangladeshis would keep me<br />
as their slave or worse, rape or kill<br />
me. My mother was the only one<br />
who gave me permission to come<br />
here but asked me to be careful.<br />
Mithun: My family was pretty nonchalant<br />
about it all.<br />
When did you decide to get<br />
married?<br />
Elizabeth: A year into our relationship,<br />
we knew we wanted a happily<br />
ever after with each other. I wanted<br />
to get to know him more first,<br />
though. Since he couldn’t get a visa,<br />
I decided to come to Bangladesh. As<br />
my family refused to support me,<br />
I had to work at Walmart for a few<br />
months as an accountant and save<br />
money to come here. Finally, I contacted<br />
the Bangladesh Embassy, got<br />
a visa and came here on January 2.<br />
How did you manage to stay strong<br />
when your family didn’t support<br />
you?<br />
Elizabeth: I love Mithun and I believe<br />
in God. That is why, when I<br />
didn’t get any support or encouragement<br />
from my family, I decided<br />
to come here on my own.<br />
Tell us a little about your wedding<br />
and the transition into life here.<br />
Elizabeth: Mithun’s family came to<br />
the airport to pick me up. We got enagaged<br />
on January 4, then got married<br />
at Shalom AG Church on January<br />
9. I had a lot of fun on the day. I got<br />
dressed for the wedding -- wore a<br />
saree and had to sit for a three hour<br />
make-up session! Everyone was enjoying<br />
themselves. I was very happy<br />
when we were finally pronounced<br />
husband and wife. At that moment, I<br />
felt unstoppable. We took photos together.<br />
I will always cherish that moment.<br />
I am ecstatic now since Mithun<br />
and I are finally together.<br />
How do you like Bangladesh?<br />
Elizabeth: The impression I had<br />
about Bangladesh was completely<br />
wrong. People here are very kind.<br />
Everyone respects and adores<br />
me. I’m entertained as a guest by<br />
everyone.<br />
The people I meet are usually<br />
from joint familes. Everyone eats<br />
together, the mothers put so much<br />
care into cooking food for their<br />
children. I really admire that about<br />
Bangladeshi households. I really<br />
like Bangladesh very much.<br />
What do you find most interesting<br />
here?<br />
Elizabeth: I really find Bangladesh’s<br />
traffic congestion very interesting.<br />
Also the way vehicles<br />
move together. It feels as though<br />
the cars will crash into each other<br />
every time, but they don’t. It’s very<br />
exciting. Besides, I really like the<br />
concept of joint familes and how<br />
guests are entertained here.<br />
Many have read and loved your<br />
story. How would you advise other<br />
young people in love?<br />
Elizabeth: Love is a matter of the<br />
heart. Different people love in different<br />
ways. One should always<br />
have faith in love but shouldn’t<br />
make any abrupt decisions. But<br />
marriage is not a simple matter –<br />
people should get to know each<br />
other first and then take gradually<br />
make their decision. •<br />
Govt to bear cost of bringing expats’ bodies back home<br />
• Syed Zainul Abedin<br />
State Minister for Foreign Affairs<br />
M Shahriar Alam reiterated that<br />
the government has decided to<br />
bear the expense of bringing back<br />
the bodies of expatriates who have<br />
Elizabeth and Mithun met on Facebook a few years ago, and as their chat conversation flowed, they fell in love. On January 2<br />
this year, Elizabeth made the grand gesture by flying to Dhaka to be united with her soulmate<br />
COURTESY<br />
died abroad, if their families are<br />
unable to bear the financial costs<br />
involved.<br />
The state minister conveyed<br />
the message to Bangladeshi<br />
expatriates via a Facebook post<br />
on Saturday, where he stated:<br />
“The government has decided<br />
some time ago to bear the cost of<br />
transporting expatriates’ bodies<br />
back home and their subsequent<br />
burials, if the families are<br />
financially incapable of doing it<br />
themselves.”<br />
Shahriar urged the Bangladeshi<br />
expats to first attempt to communicate<br />
with the concerned Bangladesh<br />
missions abroad. If the<br />
missions are unresponsive, expats<br />
should email him directly at sm@<br />
mofa.gov.bd.<br />
He pointed out that though the<br />
Wage Earners Welfare Board under<br />
the Ministry of Expatriates’<br />
Welfare and Overseas Employment<br />
is supposed to handle these<br />
situations, expats can reach out to<br />
him for help. •<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: 9132155, Circulation: 9132282, Fax: News-9132192, e-mail: news@dhakatribune.com, info@dhakatribune.com, Website: www.dhakatribune.com