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SECOND EDITION<br />
FRIDAY, AUGUST 4, <strong>2017</strong> | Shrabon 20, 1424, Zul-qadah 10, 1438 | Regd No DA 6238, Vol 5, No 88 | 24 pages plus 24-page weekend supplement | Price: Tk10<br />
AP<br />
Turkish nationals in Bangladesh<br />
living in fear › 2<br />
Trump<br />
blames<br />
Congress<br />
for all-time<br />
low in Russia<br />
ties › 3<br />
The inside<br />
story of<br />
Accenture’s<br />
departure<br />
from<br />
Bangladesh › 5<br />
Is a new<br />
govt-backed<br />
coalition<br />
forming? › 6<br />
WEEKEND SUPPLEMENT<br />
Six rainy day hacks for every<br />
students › 8<br />
The unofficial freshman<br />
survival guide › 16<br />
What seems to be troubling<br />
you? › 20
2<br />
FRIDAY, AUGUST 4, <strong>2017</strong><br />
DT<br />
News<br />
Turkish nationals in Bangladesh<br />
• Syed Zainul Abedin and<br />
Adil Sakhawat<br />
SPECIAL <br />
Turkish nationals who are longterm<br />
residents in Bangladesh are<br />
living in fear of persecution by<br />
their home country’s government.<br />
The Turkish ambassador has<br />
urged Sheik Hasina’s government<br />
to “take action” against Turkish<br />
nationals living here, who he says<br />
are linked to a “terrorist group” involved<br />
in last year’s attempt to topple<br />
the regime of president Recep<br />
Tayyip Erdogan in Ankara.<br />
Since the failed July 2016 coup,<br />
Turkey has been extracting its<br />
nationals from many countries<br />
around the world with the help of<br />
those governments, using various<br />
techniques.<br />
Recently, many Turkish nationals<br />
in Bangladesh have been forced<br />
to leave the country after the validity<br />
of their passports expired.<br />
A Turkish man, requesting anonymity,<br />
claimed that his embassy<br />
in Dhaka had “forcibly” confiscated<br />
his passport.<br />
He said that many Turkish children<br />
who were born in Bangladesh<br />
have no documented nationality as<br />
the Turkish consulate office denies<br />
to issue passports for them.<br />
In a recent press conference,<br />
Ambassador Devrim Öztürk<br />
claimed that some Turkish nationals<br />
in Dhaka, in particular<br />
those working at the Turkish Hope<br />
School, were involved with what<br />
he called the Gülenist Terror Organisation<br />
(FETÖ).<br />
He also accused Turkish-Bangladesh<br />
Chamber of Commerce and<br />
Industry (TBCCI) of associating<br />
with this group. He urged Bangladeshi<br />
authorities to “take action”<br />
International Turkish Hope School was established in Dhaka in 1996 as a project of Int’l Hope Company Ltd. The school in its<br />
six branches employs 396 people, including 33 Turkish and 210 local teachers<br />
RAJIB DHAR<br />
against these groups.<br />
Foreign Ministry officials who<br />
spoke to the Dhaka Tribune said<br />
they saw the ambassador’s request<br />
as a violation of diplomatic norms.<br />
The foreign secretary told the<br />
Dhaka Tribune that action has been<br />
taken against the Turkish Embassy<br />
for their conduct.<br />
‘We don’t even think about politics’<br />
Turks in Dhaka gather daily at<br />
several Turkish restaurants in the<br />
capital’s upmarket areas. Our correspondents<br />
reached out to them<br />
at one such venue.<br />
A pregnant Turkish woman who<br />
came to the restaurant with her<br />
daughter, a student of class 2, said<br />
they are closely monitoring the<br />
government’s decisions.<br />
“We do not know the actual scenario<br />
in Turkey, but we have seen<br />
the news,” she said.<br />
The Turkish community in Dhaka<br />
was shocked after reading their<br />
ambassador’s statement in the media,<br />
she said.<br />
“From our relatives and friends<br />
we came to know that Turkish nationals<br />
are facing problems. Their<br />
passports are confiscated, newborns<br />
in Turkish families are not<br />
given birth registration, simply our<br />
human rights are being violated<br />
around the world,” she said.<br />
The woman has been in Bangladesh<br />
for five years. She said she<br />
was worried about her upcoming<br />
baby’s birth registration as a Turkish<br />
national.<br />
The owner of the Turkish restaurant-<br />
himself Turkish - said the<br />
government in Ankara is just blaming<br />
innocent Turkish nationals<br />
who are not even thinking about<br />
the country’s political situation.<br />
“Our family members in Turkey<br />
said people from all walks of life -<br />
such as doctors, engineers, teachers,<br />
and government employees -<br />
are being arrested,” he said.<br />
A website maintained by anonymous<br />
journalists, www.turkeypurge.com,<br />
has been keeping track<br />
of the crackdown in Turkey since<br />
the coup.<br />
It says that up to July 31, a total<br />
of 145,711 Turkish nationals<br />
have been sacked from their jobs,<br />
122,756 have been detained, and<br />
56,987 have been arrested including<br />
274 journalists.<br />
In addition, 8,573 academics and<br />
4,424 judges and prosecutors have<br />
been dismissed, while 2,099 educational<br />
institutions and 149 media<br />
outlets have been shut down.<br />
The restaurant owner pointed to<br />
a photo montage on his wall, illustrating<br />
so many aspects of Turkish<br />
cultures.<br />
“Now they are targeting the expatriates<br />
but we are here doing the<br />
business and also promoting our<br />
country’s culture,” he said.<br />
“The Turkish government is just<br />
blaming its own citizens, which<br />
is unlawful. All these people who<br />
are being arrested, all of this is being<br />
done on the basis of suspicion.<br />
The government has no reason, no<br />
proof of the blame made on the innocent<br />
citizens.”<br />
The businessman, who speaks<br />
fluent Bangla, has been living in<br />
Bangladesh for 13 years. He said<br />
he is not too worried since he is in<br />
Bangladesh.<br />
“Bangladesh is a democratic<br />
country, But I would be worried if I<br />
were in Turkey,” he said. “I visited my<br />
mother in Turkey during last Ramadan<br />
but now I am worried whether I<br />
will be able to come back to my family<br />
in Bangladesh if I go again.”<br />
He has two sons and a daughter,<br />
all of whom are living in Bangladesh<br />
and have Turkish passports.<br />
He stressed that said if the Turkish<br />
government needs to arrest any<br />
expatriate, they need to show proof<br />
of involvement in the insurgency.<br />
He also called on their ambassador<br />
to be very specific about on<br />
whom the government is trying to<br />
impose the FETÖ tag.<br />
“Most of the Turkish people<br />
who are doing business here in<br />
Bangladesh don’t know what happened,<br />
how the insurgency happened<br />
in last year,” he said.<br />
‘No politics at Turkish Hope School’<br />
The chairman of the management<br />
committee of International Turkish<br />
Hope School (ITHS) in Dhaka has told<br />
the Dhaka Tribune that the school is<br />
an educational institution only and is<br />
not involved in politics.<br />
Bedrettin Suata described recent<br />
allegations by the Turkish ambassador<br />
to Bangladesh, Devrim Öztürk,<br />
that some staff members of the<br />
school are involved with a Turkish<br />
terrorist organisation as “their problem,<br />
not ours”.<br />
“Our position is very clear: we are<br />
educators, we not into politics,” the<br />
chairman said. “We are only dealing<br />
with education and culture. There<br />
are no harmful elements here.”<br />
Suata explained that there are<br />
many ITHS schools with the same<br />
name all over the world, but there is<br />
no chain or inter-connectivity among<br />
them.<br />
“We have no official connection<br />
with any of these schools. This is<br />
something like Chinese restaurants<br />
or Japanese martial art centres,” he<br />
said. “We have no idea about what<br />
was stated by the embassy against<br />
us. We are surprised.”<br />
Suata said the school has full confidence<br />
that Bangladesh is capable<br />
enough to find out and decide what<br />
is right and what is wrong.<br />
“We are following directions only<br />
from the Bangladeshi authority, because<br />
we are registered as a Bangladeshi<br />
educational institution,” he<br />
said. “We hope that the Bangladesh<br />
government will continue to act reasonably.”<br />
However, the chairman said the<br />
school management had decided to<br />
change the name of the school in the<br />
shortest possible time because the<br />
inclusion of the word ‘Turkish’ is creating<br />
confusion.<br />
International Turkish Hope<br />
School was established in Dhaka<br />
in 1996 as a project of Int’l Hope<br />
Company Ltd. The school in its six<br />
branches employs 396 people, including<br />
33 Turkish and 210 local<br />
teachers. •<br />
The Turkish government is just blaming its<br />
own citizens, which is unlawful. All these<br />
people who are being arrested, all of this is<br />
being done on the basis of suspicion. The<br />
government has no reason, no proof of the<br />
blame made on the innocent citizens
News<br />
FRIDAY,<br />
3<br />
AUGUST 4, <strong>2017</strong><br />
DT<br />
living in fear<br />
Global campaign of fear<br />
Turkish nationals in many countries<br />
around the world have reported facing<br />
denial of consular services, says the<br />
Netherlands-based Institute on Statelessness<br />
and Inclusion.<br />
This includes the cancellation and<br />
confiscation of passports, or the refusal<br />
to extend their validity, and the<br />
refusal to provide nationality identity<br />
cards or passports to children born to<br />
Turkish citizens abroad.<br />
It follows the publication in Turkey<br />
of decree no. 680, which provides for<br />
the withdrawing the citizenship of individuals<br />
who are suspected of crimes or<br />
rebellion against the government, or of<br />
membership of a terrorist organisation.<br />
This followed the failed coup attempt<br />
against the regime of President<br />
Recep Tayyip Erdogan in July 2016,<br />
since when several Turkish nationals<br />
have been deported from Myanmar,<br />
Thailand and Malaysia, allegedly at the<br />
request of Turkey.<br />
On May 24, <strong>2017</strong>, Muhammet Furkan<br />
Sokmen, a former employee of an<br />
international school in Yangon, was<br />
reportedly arrested at Yangon International<br />
Airport in Myanmar over alleged<br />
links to exiled Turkish cleric and politician,<br />
Fethullah Gulen.<br />
Muhammet was sent to Thailand,<br />
where he was held at an immigration<br />
detention center before being deported<br />
to Turkey on May 26.<br />
In another incident on the same<br />
day, immigration police detained a Myanmar-based<br />
education professional<br />
Furkan Sökmen and his wife and their<br />
two-year-old daughter at Yangon airport<br />
while trying to board a flight to<br />
Bangkok.<br />
US-based basketball player Enes<br />
Kanter, an outspoken critic of Erdogan,<br />
was briefly detained on May 20 at<br />
an airport in Romania upon a request<br />
from the Turkish government, but<br />
hours later he was released.<br />
On another occasion in May, at<br />
least three Turkish nationals – a teacher,<br />
an academic, and a businessman<br />
– were abducted without warning in<br />
Malaysia and deported.<br />
Separately, a Turkish teacher was<br />
detained in Georgia at the request of<br />
the Turkish government.<br />
A recent report by the Sweden-based<br />
monitoring group Stockholm<br />
Center for Freedom (SCF) said<br />
that Turkish nationals perceived to be<br />
critical of the government are being<br />
denied consular services abroad.<br />
Members of the Gulen movement,<br />
which the government accuses of<br />
masterminding the July 15 coup attempt,<br />
are targeted most in discriminatory<br />
service denials. Kurds, Alevis,<br />
and leftist groups abroad are also being<br />
made to suffer, according to SCF.<br />
Instead of being able to renew their<br />
passports, many of the Turkish nationals<br />
abroad are offered a document to<br />
return to Turkey, where they are likely<br />
to be arrested. •<br />
Trump blames Congress for<br />
all-time low in Russia ties<br />
• Reuters, Washington, DC<br />
WORLD <br />
US President Donald Trump said on<br />
Thursday Washington’s relationship<br />
with Russia is at an “an alltime<br />
and very dangerous low,” and<br />
blamed Congress for the situation,<br />
a day after he grudgingly signed<br />
into law sanctions against Moscow.<br />
Congress overwhelmingly approved<br />
the sanctions last week,<br />
leaving Trump with little choice<br />
but to sign the legislation although<br />
he has long expressed a desire for<br />
better ties with Russia.<br />
He signed the bill on Wednesday<br />
but strongly criticised it. He complained<br />
that the measure, which<br />
allows Congress to stop him from<br />
easing sanctions on Russia, infringed<br />
on presidential powers to<br />
shape foreign policy.<br />
Russian Prime Minister Dmitry<br />
Medvedev called the sanctions tantamount<br />
to a “full-scale trade war,”<br />
adding in a Facebook post that they<br />
showed the Trump administration<br />
had demonstrated “utter powerlessness.”<br />
“The hope that our relations<br />
with the new American administration<br />
would improve is finished,”<br />
he wrote.<br />
“Our relationship with Russia<br />
is at an all-time & very dangerous<br />
low,” Trump said in a Twitter post<br />
on Thursday.<br />
“You can thank Congress, the<br />
same people that can’t even give<br />
us HCare!” added, referring to a<br />
bitter setback this month when his<br />
fellow Republicans, who control<br />
both chambers in Congress, failed<br />
to push healthcare legislation<br />
through the Senate.<br />
Trump’s desire for better ties with<br />
Moscow has been hamstrung by the<br />
findings of US intelligence agencies<br />
that President Vladimir Putin’s government<br />
meddled in the 2016 US<br />
presidential election campaign. US<br />
congressional panels and a special<br />
counsel are investigating. Moscow<br />
denies any meddling and Trump denies<br />
any collusion by his campaign.<br />
Congress passed the new sanctions<br />
to punish Russia over the election<br />
interference and the annexation<br />
of Ukraine’s Crimea in 2014.<br />
The legislation provoked countermeasures<br />
by Russian President<br />
Vladimir Putin, who said on Sunday<br />
that the US diplomatic mission<br />
in Russia must reduce its staff by<br />
755 people. Russia is also seizing<br />
two properties near Moscow used<br />
by American diplomats. •<br />
Foreign Ministry displeased<br />
Over the last few years, Turkey’s<br />
position against the prosecution<br />
of war crimes committed during<br />
the 1971 War of Liberation in Bangladesh,<br />
including support for war<br />
criminals Ghulam Azam and Motiur<br />
Rahman Nizami, has strained<br />
ties between the two nations.<br />
In May last year, when Nizami<br />
was hanged, Turkey withdrew its<br />
ambassador. Bangladesh nevertheless<br />
declared its support for its elected<br />
government during the failed<br />
coup in July, following which Ankara<br />
returned Öztürk to Dhaka in <strong>August</strong>.<br />
The ambassador offered words<br />
of concession after his arrival, condemning<br />
the murder of the Father<br />
of the Nation in 1975 and expressing<br />
gratitude to Prime Minister<br />
Sheikh Hasina for her support during<br />
the coup.<br />
But since the coup, the Islamist<br />
AK Party government has<br />
been pushing countries around<br />
the world to help it pinpoint Turkish<br />
nationals living abroad who it<br />
deems to be supporters of the exiled<br />
Turkish cleric and politician,<br />
Fethullah Gülen. The AK Party<br />
blames Gülen and his supporters,<br />
whom they call FETÖ, for the coup.<br />
A Foreign Ministry official said<br />
the ambassador’s statement urging<br />
Bangladesh to “take action”<br />
against people was a gross violation<br />
of diplomatic norms.<br />
“Personally, I did not like it,” a<br />
high-ranked official at the ministry,<br />
requesting anonymity, told the<br />
Dhaka Tribune on Wednesday.<br />
The official expressed grave disappointment<br />
when asked about<br />
the stance on recent remarks made<br />
by Öztürk at a press briefing on July<br />
15, on the occasion of the first anniversary<br />
of the thwarted coup attempt<br />
in Turkey.<br />
The official said a foreign office<br />
consultation (FoC) between Bangladesh<br />
and Turkey was scheduled to be<br />
held on June 4, but the Turkish side,<br />
without prior notice, postponed the<br />
meeting at the eleventh hour.<br />
The diplomat hoped that “the<br />
issue” would have been discussed<br />
in the FoC.<br />
“The FoC will be rescheduled<br />
soon,” the official added.<br />
Foreign Secretary Shahidul Islam<br />
said: “Since they have violated<br />
diplomatic norms, we have taken<br />
actions against them. But I do not<br />
want to say just now what action<br />
has been taken.” •<br />
From left, Brazilian Institutional Security Minister Sergio Etchegoyen, Indian National Security Advisor Ajit Doval, South<br />
African State Security Minister David Mahlobo and Russian Security Council Secretary Nikolai Patrushev meet with Chinese<br />
President Xi Jinping, center, in Beijing, China on <strong>Friday</strong>, July 28, <strong>2017</strong><br />
AP<br />
China-India border spat casts<br />
shadow ahead of BRICS summit<br />
• Reuters, Beijing<br />
WORLD <br />
China is taking an increasingly<br />
tough line on a border row with India<br />
amid a rising crescendo of<br />
nationalism in state media, and<br />
President Xi Jinping looks set for<br />
an awkward encounter with Prime<br />
Minister Narendra Modi at a multilateral<br />
summit next month.<br />
Diplomats say Beijing would like<br />
to resolve the border issue before a<br />
summit of the BRICS nations - that<br />
also groups Brazil, Russia and South<br />
Africa - in the Chinese city of Xiamen<br />
in early September, and ensure nothing<br />
dampens what China wants to be<br />
a show of cooperation and friendship<br />
among developing countries.<br />
But that could be tough. On<br />
Wednesday, China ramped up the<br />
rhetoric, accusing India of “concocting”<br />
excuses over the illegal<br />
entry of the South Asian nation’s<br />
military into Chinese territory.<br />
“China will take all necessary<br />
measures to safeguard its legitimate<br />
and lawful rights and interests,”<br />
the Foreign Ministry said.<br />
The two sides’ troops are confronting<br />
each other close to a<br />
valley controlled by China that<br />
separates India from its close ally,<br />
Bhutan, and gives China access to<br />
the so-called Chicken’s Neck, a thin<br />
strip of land connecting India and<br />
its remote northeastern regions.<br />
Most previous standoffs, such<br />
as one in 2014 just ahead of a rare<br />
trip to India for Xi, were resolved<br />
with both sides withdrawing their<br />
forces. There has been no shooting<br />
since a brief border war in 1962.<br />
Talks are happening behind the<br />
scenes, but with little apparent<br />
progress. Meantime, Chinese and<br />
India media have been taking a<br />
strident approach, with a Chinese<br />
state-run newspaper last week saying<br />
China could use force.<br />
An Indian magazine’s front cover<br />
last month showing a map of<br />
China shorn of Tibet and self-ruled<br />
Taiwan also ignited public anger on<br />
Chinese social media with thousands<br />
of angry posts.<br />
“The problem is the media on<br />
both sides are whipping things<br />
up. This makes it hard for China<br />
or India to back down,” said a Beijing-based<br />
source who is familiar<br />
with the discussions between the<br />
two sides.<br />
The Indian government has<br />
asked political parties to refrain<br />
from politicising the issue and allow<br />
diplomacy to work. •
4<br />
FRIDAY, AUGUST 4, <strong>2017</strong><br />
DT<br />
Advertisement
News 5<br />
FRIDAY, AUGUST 4, <strong>2017</strong><br />
Terminated: The inside story of Accenture’s<br />
departure from Bangladesh<br />
• Manik Miazee<br />
SPECIAL <br />
Late last year, the 500-odd employees<br />
of consulting and outsourcing<br />
giant Accenture PLC’s Bangladesh<br />
office grew worried at the company’s<br />
failure to attract fresh business.<br />
There were rumours flying around<br />
that if the Dhaka office didn’t see an<br />
upturn in fortunes soon, Accenture<br />
might pull out. In February this<br />
year, the employees’ union staged<br />
a protest against what they saw as<br />
the management’s inability to grow<br />
the Bangladesh business.<br />
Accenture, a Fortune 500<br />
company with global revenues<br />
in excess of $32 billion annually,<br />
launched its Bangladesh operation<br />
in 2013, paying a reported $10 million<br />
for a 51% stake in GPIT, a subsidiary<br />
of mobile phone operator<br />
Grameenphone.<br />
The plan was for the new company,<br />
Accenture Communications<br />
Infrastructure Solutions Limited,<br />
to provide information technology<br />
support to Grameenphone as well<br />
as function as an outsourcing hub<br />
for Telenor, the Norwegian telecommunications<br />
conglomerate which<br />
controls Grameenphone and several<br />
other mobile operators in the region.<br />
Accenture’s leadership thought<br />
the Bangladesh arm’s long term<br />
viability would be ensured by attracting<br />
new outsourcing contracts<br />
from North America and Europe,<br />
several people with knowledge of<br />
the deal with Telenor said.<br />
At the time, Bangladeshi experts<br />
welcomed the entry of a<br />
leading outsourcing company like<br />
Accenture, which they said would<br />
cement the country’s image as an<br />
emerging hub for business process<br />
outsourcing or BPO.<br />
Last month, Accenture Communications<br />
Infrastructure Solutions<br />
Limited informed all its 556 employees<br />
that their services would<br />
not be required after November,<br />
prompting the employees’ union<br />
to call an immediate strike.<br />
Interviews with several current<br />
and former Accenture employees<br />
reveal that the relationship between<br />
the management, almost<br />
entirely composed of Indian staff<br />
from the company’s Hyderabad<br />
office, and the Bangladeshi employees,<br />
most of whom had been<br />
brought over from GPIT, was troubled<br />
from almost the beginning.<br />
Tensions rose in 2014 after the<br />
management cut some employee<br />
benefits, including a 20,000 taka<br />
allowance to buy mobile phones,<br />
given every two years at GPIT. The<br />
Bangladeshi employees were also<br />
asked to work an extra hour, which<br />
the management said would help<br />
sync production with the Hyderabad<br />
office.<br />
The aggrieved employees decided<br />
to form a union to ensure collective<br />
bargaining rights. Eventually<br />
around 400 of the 556 staff members<br />
joined the union.<br />
The protest in February was<br />
quickly followed by another standoff<br />
in April when the management<br />
terminated Azizur Rahman, an<br />
analyst with the Workplace team.<br />
Protests on the floor, however,<br />
failed to sway the management.<br />
“I think they wanted to test the<br />
waters by sacking me,” Azizur Rahman<br />
said. “I was never given any<br />
reason for my termination. They<br />
made an example of me.”<br />
When Accenture took over<br />
GPIT and Grameenphone’s IT support<br />
contract in 2013, the<br />
mood was optimistic.<br />
Bob Sell, group chief<br />
executive of Accenture’s<br />
Communications, Media<br />
& Technology operating<br />
group, said in a statement:<br />
“We are excited to<br />
be investing in the largest<br />
IT services company in<br />
Bangladesh.”<br />
He added that the “strategic<br />
investment” would<br />
allow Accenture to tap<br />
into a robust pool of skills<br />
and capabilities in the country.<br />
However, Accenture’s GPIT deal<br />
was only a small part of a US$215<br />
million global contract with Telenor<br />
to provide services in areas including<br />
Finance & Accounting, HR,<br />
IT and transactional purchases.<br />
Under the global deal, Accenture’s<br />
Bangladesh office started<br />
working for several other Telenor<br />
subsidiaries including Telenor Pakistan,<br />
Thailand-based telecom<br />
operator Dtac, Malaysia’s Digi, and<br />
Telenor Global Shared Services<br />
(GSS), Telenor’s worldwide service<br />
center for Finance, HR & payroll,<br />
procurement and IT services.<br />
However, the ‘local contract’<br />
deal with Grameenphone was seen<br />
as the mainstay of the Bangladesh<br />
operation, since the ‘global contract’<br />
work was spread out over<br />
several Accenture offices. Several<br />
current and former Bangladeshi<br />
employees said Accenture never<br />
grew the Dhaka office into a proper<br />
hub. The management of Accenture<br />
Communications Infrastructure<br />
Solutions Limited always looked to<br />
the Hyderabad office for guidance.<br />
“The Dhaka office was a satellite,”<br />
a former employee said.<br />
The Bangladeshi employees felt<br />
the Indian bosses did not fully understand<br />
the local work culture and<br />
many hankered after the ‘old days’<br />
of GPIT under Grameenphone<br />
management. The management<br />
was frustrated by the union’s demands<br />
and viewed the employees’<br />
increasing activism as a problem, a<br />
source said.<br />
Tensions also grew between the<br />
sole senior Bangladeshi manager,<br />
CEO Raihan Shamsi and Chief Operating<br />
Officer (COO) Purushothama<br />
Kadambu. The friction between<br />
the two men led to the sidelining of<br />
Raihan who spent most of this year<br />
at Accenture’s Kuala Lumpur office,<br />
according to sources.<br />
Raihan Shamsi declined to comment.<br />
Purushothama Kadambu<br />
could not be reached for comment.<br />
The first real jolt to the Accenture<br />
Bangladesh business came last year<br />
RAJIB DHAR<br />
DT<br />
when Telenor Pakistan decided to<br />
withdraw its work. At roughly the<br />
same time, Accenture was locked in<br />
negotiations with Grameenphone<br />
to increase service charges. After<br />
the negotiations failed, Telenor<br />
opted for an open tender for services,<br />
leading to the GP contract<br />
to be awarded to Wipro, a Bangalore-based<br />
Indian BPO company.<br />
Grameenphone also reacted by<br />
creating an in-house unit to provide<br />
IT support, a move which<br />
analysts said reverted back to the<br />
‘GPIT model’.<br />
The loss of the GP contract was<br />
the final blow for Accenture. The<br />
management no longer saw the<br />
Bangladesh office as a viable business<br />
unit.<br />
“It was easy for them to distribute<br />
the remaining work to the India<br />
offices,” a source said. “The management<br />
had no commitment to<br />
Bangladesh.”<br />
Accenture PLC did not respond to<br />
requests for comment. A public relations<br />
firm working with the Bangladesh<br />
office, said in a statement:<br />
“Accenture, Telenor Group, and<br />
Grameenphone are working closely<br />
together to re-organise several engagements<br />
across Asia and Europe.”<br />
Shahin Ahmed, general secretary<br />
of Accenture Employees Union,<br />
Bangladesh, said this left the Bangladeshi<br />
employees in the lurch.<br />
“Many of us left Grameenphone<br />
to work for Accenture in 2013,” he<br />
said. “The future is uncertain for all<br />
of us now.”<br />
Shahin called on the government<br />
to intervene, saying Accenture’s<br />
departure would send the<br />
wrong signal to the international<br />
BPO industry. He said: “No one<br />
will remember that Accenture left<br />
because the management here fell<br />
out with Grameenphone.<br />
“All everyone will remember is<br />
that Accenture’s Bangladesh venture<br />
failed.” •<br />
TEMPERATURE FORECAST FOR TODAY<br />
LIGHT TO MODERATE<br />
RAIN LIKELY<br />
FRIDAY, AUGUST 4, <strong>2017</strong><br />
Dhaka 35 28 Chittagong 34 28 Rajshahi 33 28 Rangpur 32 27 Khulna 34 27 Barisal 34 27 Sylhet 33 26<br />
DHAKA<br />
TODAY<br />
TOMORROW<br />
SUN SETS 6:40PM<br />
SUN RISES 5:29AM<br />
YESTERDAY’S HIGH AND LOW<br />
35.5ºC<br />
23.8ºC<br />
Chandpur<br />
Rangamati<br />
Source: Accuweather/UNB<br />
PRAYER<br />
TIMES<br />
Cox’s Bazar 31 27<br />
Fajr: 4:55am | Jumma: 1:15pm<br />
Asr: 5:15pm | Magrib: 6:55pm<br />
Esha: 8:45pm<br />
Source: Islamic Foundation
6<br />
FRIDAY, AUGUST 4, <strong>2017</strong><br />
DT<br />
News<br />
BRAC UNIVERSITY PROTESTS<br />
Probe finally underway<br />
• Mahadi Al Hasnat<br />
CURRENT AFFAIRS <br />
The protesting students of Brac<br />
University accepted the probe<br />
committee formed by the authorities<br />
after the fifth member was announced<br />
as Maimuna Syed Ahmed,<br />
a student of law in her final year.<br />
The committee started working<br />
from Thursday.<br />
Sabbir Ahmed, an alumnus of the<br />
university told the Dhaka Tribune:<br />
“We have fixed three agendas to<br />
present before the vice-chancellor.<br />
The agendas are the registrar and<br />
two other officials should resign or<br />
be terminated, harassment or assault<br />
on students (calling up their<br />
parents and threatening to cancel<br />
their scholarships etc) to be addressed<br />
and the responsible individuals<br />
to be punished, and withdrawing<br />
all allegations against Farhaan.”<br />
Responding to the students’<br />
demands, the university formed<br />
a five-member investigation committee<br />
on Tuesday.<br />
The committee includes Prof<br />
AFM Yusuf Haider, former pro<br />
vice-chancellor of Dhaka University,<br />
Prof Syed Manzoorul Islam, former<br />
head of DU English department,<br />
Prof Afsan Chowdhury of Brac and<br />
Tajdin Hasan, president of Brac University<br />
Alumni Association.<br />
Former teacher Farhaan Uddin<br />
Ahmed was allegedly assaulted by<br />
Registrar Maj Gen (retd) Muhammad<br />
Sahool Afzal, Assistant Registrar<br />
Md Mahi Uddin and Senior<br />
Officer of Co-Curricular Activities<br />
Jabed Rasel, according to a case<br />
filed with Banani police on July 30.<br />
The news of the assault sparked<br />
an outrage among Brac University<br />
students who have been protesting<br />
since Sunday.<br />
Nine hours of hunger strike<br />
withdrawn<br />
Six students of Brac University<br />
have withdrawn their hunger strike<br />
on Thursday evening.<br />
The students from the Brac<br />
School of Law, protesting against<br />
the university administration had<br />
sat down for hunger strike from<br />
11am Thursday.<br />
The strike was withdrawn after<br />
various teachers reassured them<br />
that all necessary steps would be<br />
taken to resolve the situation.<br />
The protesters demanded the<br />
registrar and two more BracU officials<br />
resign for allegedly assaulting<br />
a lecturer. They also demanded security<br />
personnel who clashed with<br />
the students and reportedly sexually<br />
harassed the female students<br />
also be punished.<br />
Is a new govt-backed coalition forming?<br />
• Fazlur Rahman Raju and<br />
Manik Miazee<br />
POLITICS <br />
Several prominent politicians have<br />
been meeting each other recently<br />
in an effort to form a shadow coalition<br />
for the upcoming elections,<br />
sources say.<br />
On Wednesday, JSD President<br />
ASM Abdur Rab, General Secretary<br />
Abdul Malek Ratan, Nagorik Oikya<br />
Convener Mahmudur Rahman<br />
Manna and Gano Forum’s Executive<br />
Presi-dent Subrata Chowdhury, Jatiya<br />
Party Co-Chairman GM Quader<br />
attended a meeting at Bikalpadhara<br />
Bangladesh President AQM Badruddoza<br />
Chowdhury’s home.<br />
A participant of the meeting,<br />
seeking anonymity, told the Dhaka<br />
Tribune: “If BNP decides to boycott<br />
the elections then this coalition<br />
can help win 20 seats.”<br />
“On July 13, when the police<br />
Protesting assault on them, several students of Brac University started an indefinite hunger strike yesterday, which they<br />
eventually withdrew in the evening after the university authorities assured them of looking into the matter MEHEDI HASAN<br />
barred their meeting at Rab’s<br />
house, it was actually a political<br />
ploy to show people that this coalition<br />
was happening,” he said.<br />
Sources said: “As the leaders<br />
of the newly formed coalition are<br />
well-known respectable people,<br />
the election results will be acceptable<br />
if they participate.”<br />
Jatiya Samajtantrik Dal (JSD-Rob)<br />
General Secretary Abdul Malek<br />
Ratan said: “This meeting was<br />
held to form a new political<br />
coalition.”<br />
Nagorik Oikya Convener and<br />
former AL organising secretary<br />
Mahmudur Rahman Manna told<br />
Ershad has plans to leave the Awami League<br />
alliance in all capacities and wants to participate<br />
in the upcoming election on his own<br />
According to the protesters, a<br />
group of teachers have assured<br />
them that they will form another<br />
probe committee within three<br />
working days to investigate the incident<br />
of students being harassed.<br />
They also issued an ultimatum,<br />
saying the hunger strike has been<br />
withdrawn for just three days to let<br />
the committee form.<br />
BracU VC Prof Syed Saad Andaleeb<br />
told the Dhaka Tribune that<br />
the authorities have almost come<br />
to a resolution over the problem. •<br />
the Dhaka Tribune: “We want to<br />
form a new political coalition beyond<br />
the two major political alliances<br />
led by Awami League and<br />
BNP.<br />
“We want a free and fair election<br />
where all parties can participate,<br />
and the results will be acceptable<br />
to everyone. If the Jatiya Party severs<br />
all ties with the Awami League<br />
then we will talk to them about<br />
joining this new coalition.”<br />
A source very close to HM Ershad<br />
told the Dhaka Tribune that<br />
Ershad has plans to leave the Awami<br />
League alliance in all capacities<br />
and wants to participate in the upcoming<br />
election on his own. The<br />
newly-formed coalition has come<br />
as a blessing to Ershad because<br />
now he can quit the Awami League<br />
alliance and join with the new coalition.<br />
Bikalpadhara Bangladesh President<br />
Badruddoza Chowdhury<br />
told the Dhaka Tribune that they<br />
discussed a new political alliance<br />
during the meeting on Wednesday,<br />
adding: “You will be notified if we<br />
have any news.”<br />
During a press briefing at HM Ershad’s<br />
office in Banani, he said: “I<br />
will leave my post as the prime minister’s<br />
special envoy after speaking<br />
with Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina.<br />
Four members of the cabinet from<br />
the Jatiya party will also leave.”<br />
Meanwhile, Awami League<br />
General Secretary Obaidul Quader<br />
and BNP Secretary General Mirza<br />
Fakhrul Islam Alamgir both welcomed<br />
the formation of the new<br />
coalition. •<br />
Interim Pakistan<br />
PM may stay<br />
put amid doubts<br />
over Sharif's<br />
brother<br />
• Reuters, Lahore<br />
WORLD <br />
Interim Pakistani leader Shahid<br />
Khaqan Abbasi took control of<br />
prime ministerial duties on Thursday<br />
after a guard of honour amid<br />
growing uncertainty that the<br />
brother of ousted leader Nawaz<br />
Sharif will eventually take over the<br />
job as planned.<br />
Sharif, disqualified by the Supreme<br />
Court last week, named Abbasi<br />
as temporary prime minister and<br />
outlined plans for brother Shahbaz<br />
Sharif to take over once he contests<br />
and wins a parliamentary by-election<br />
in less than two months.<br />
But doubts seem to have surfaced<br />
about those plans since<br />
Sharif's ruling Pakistan Muslim<br />
League-Nawaz (PML-N) party used<br />
its hefty majority in the National<br />
Assembly to elect Abbasi as prime<br />
minister on Tuesday.<br />
Three senior PML-N officials<br />
said that Shahbaz's eventual installation<br />
as prime minister was no<br />
longer a foregone conclusion, while<br />
two of Shahbaz's Lahore-based<br />
aides added that the chances of<br />
him taking over were receding.<br />
"Nawaz Sharif is in two minds<br />
about Shahbaz's premiership," said<br />
one of Shahbaz's aides in Lahore.<br />
Asif Khawaja, former defence<br />
minister and staunch Nawaz ally,<br />
told Geo TV late on Wednesday<br />
that the plan to make Shahbaz<br />
premier was "almost confirmed",<br />
but added Nawaz as the leader<br />
of the party "has the prerogative to<br />
revise (or) amend his decision - or<br />
stick to it".<br />
Opposition politicians have<br />
slammed Nawaz's plans as dynastic,<br />
with opposition party leader<br />
Imran Khan decrying Pakistani<br />
politics as a "form of monarchy".<br />
Still, analysts say the relatively<br />
smooth transition to Abbasi after<br />
Nawaz was disqualified has eased<br />
fears that nuclear-armed Pakistan<br />
could be plunged into a prolonged<br />
bout of political turmoil.<br />
2018 poll<br />
PML-N officials say the main reason<br />
why Shahbaz may not take<br />
over is linked to the 2018 general<br />
elections, and the party's fears that<br />
its grip on the vital Punjab province<br />
will weaken if he steps down<br />
as chief minister.<br />
The way Pakistan's political system<br />
is set up means any party that<br />
sweeps Punjab, which houses more<br />
than half of Pakistan's 190 million<br />
people, will most likely go on to<br />
form a government after the general<br />
elections in mid-2018. •
News<br />
FRIDAY,<br />
7<br />
AUGUST 4, <strong>2017</strong><br />
DT<br />
Trump backs stiff curbs on legal immigration<br />
• Tribune Desk<br />
WORLD <br />
US President Donald Trump on<br />
Wednesday threw his weight behind<br />
efforts to give English-speakers<br />
priority for US residency cards<br />
and halving the number of legal<br />
migrants admitted to the country.<br />
Trump joined with Republican<br />
Senators David Perdue of Georgia<br />
and Tom Cotton of Arkansas to<br />
promote the bill, which so far has<br />
gained little traction in the Senate.<br />
“This legislation demonstrates<br />
our compassion for struggling<br />
American families who deserve<br />
an immigration system that puts<br />
their needs first and puts America<br />
first,” Trump said during an event<br />
Wednesday in the White House’s<br />
Roosevelt Room.<br />
It was the latest example of the<br />
president championing an issue<br />
that animated the core voters of<br />
his 2016 campaign, following decisions<br />
to pull out of the Paris climate<br />
treaty and ban transgender people<br />
from the military.<br />
Nationalist agenda<br />
Perdue and Cotton’s legislation<br />
would replace the current process for<br />
obtaining legal permanent residency,<br />
or green cards, creating a skillsbased<br />
point system for employment<br />
visas. The bill would also eliminate<br />
the preference for US residents’ extended<br />
and adult family members,<br />
while maintaining priority for their<br />
spouses and minor children.<br />
Overall, immigration would be<br />
slashed 41% in the legislation’s first<br />
year and 50% in its 10th, according<br />
to projection models cited by the<br />
bill’s sponsors. The bill would also<br />
aim to slash the number of refugees<br />
in half and eliminate a program<br />
that provides visas to people<br />
from countries with low rates of<br />
immigration.<br />
The rollout included a combative<br />
press briefing led by Trump<br />
policy aide Stephen Miller, who<br />
clashed with the media over the<br />
US President Donald Trump, centre, makes an announcement on immigration with US Senator Tom Cotton, left, R-Arkansas<br />
and US Senator David Perdue, right, at the White House in Washington, DC, on <strong>August</strong> 2, <strong>2017</strong><br />
AFP<br />
plan and accused one reporter of<br />
being “cosmopolitan” when he<br />
suggested it would only bring in<br />
English-speaking people from Britain<br />
and Australia.<br />
The president has made cracking<br />
down on illegal immigration a<br />
hallmark of his administration and<br />
has tried to slash federal grants for<br />
cities that refuse to comply with<br />
federal efforts to detain and deport<br />
those living in the country illegally.<br />
But he has also vowed to make<br />
changes to the legal immigration system,<br />
arguing that immigrants compete<br />
with Americans for much-needed<br />
jobs and drive wages down.<br />
The bill’s supporters, meanwhile,<br />
say it would make the US<br />
more competitive, raise wages and<br />
create jobs. •<br />
Organisation of Islamic Cooperation Secretary General Dr<br />
Yousef bin Ahmad Al-Othaimeen paid a courtesy call on Prime<br />
Minister Sheikh Hasina at her office yesterday COURTESY<br />
OIC secy gen praises<br />
Bangladesh’s success<br />
in curbing terrorism<br />
• Syed Zainul Abedin<br />
FOREIGN AFFAIRS <br />
Dr Yousef bin Ahmad Al-Othaimeen, secretary general<br />
of Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), has highly<br />
praised Bangladesh’s success in countering terrorism.<br />
He made the comment while talking to media after<br />
meeting Foreign Minister AH Mahmood Ali yesterday.<br />
Dr Yousef said: “There is no scope for terrorism in Islam.<br />
Bangladesh has successfully countered the terrorism<br />
which are carried out in the name of Islam. Bangladesh’s<br />
firm stance on this issue is certainly praiseworthy.”<br />
All OIC member countries will be with Bangladesh,<br />
he said, proposing an integrated road-map to resolve<br />
the Rohingya crisis in Bangladesh.<br />
He also urged the international community to be<br />
with Bangladesh in resolving the crisis.<br />
Appreciating Bangladesh’s step to move the Rohingya<br />
camp to Thengar Char Island he, said: “I do highly<br />
appreciate Bangladesh’s support to the Muslim community<br />
Rohingya while they were persecuted in their<br />
homeland.”<br />
The OIC secretary general, who is leading a<br />
five-member delegation, arrived in Dhaka on a four-day<br />
visit Wednesday night in his maiden tour to Bangladesh<br />
after assuming office in November last year. •<br />
IOJ to field<br />
candidates<br />
in all 300<br />
constituencies<br />
• Anwar Hussain, Chittagong<br />
POLITICS <br />
Islami Oikya Jote (IOJ) will field its<br />
candidates in all 300 constituencies<br />
in the next general elections.<br />
Mainuddin Ruhi, central joint<br />
secretary general of the IOJ, announced<br />
the matter during a meeting<br />
with the newly formed committee<br />
of the organisation’s Chittagong<br />
chapter in the port city yesterday.<br />
He, who is also the central joint<br />
secretary general of Hefazat-e-Islam,<br />
said the IOJ had already decided<br />
to run in the polls and nominate<br />
favourable aspirants for all the parliamentary<br />
seats.<br />
“The masses are expecting the<br />
Islamic parties to come to state<br />
power, bolstering Islamic ideology<br />
to help establish the rule of law<br />
in the country. So, we are keen to<br />
form a social Islamic government<br />
in Bangladesh to make their dream<br />
come true,” said Ruhi.<br />
“We believe in protecting the<br />
rights of the oppressed. Bangladesh<br />
will emerge as a modern ideal Islamic<br />
state if religious-minded people<br />
and Islamic scholars could come<br />
to the state power,” he further said.<br />
According to him, candidates endorsed<br />
by the Islamic scholars (Alem,<br />
Ulema and Mashayekh) should be<br />
voted to power in this case.<br />
He also issued a clarion call to all<br />
for joining the IOJ to help Bangladesh<br />
turn into a welfare state. •
8<br />
FRIDAY, AUGUST 4, <strong>2017</strong><br />
DT<br />
News<br />
BB orders changes to credit card guidelines<br />
• Shariful Islam<br />
BANKING <br />
Bangladesh Bank is updating the<br />
credit card operation guidelines of<br />
authorised banks to better manage<br />
the risks to their businesses and to<br />
protect the interest of customers.<br />
The central bank issued a circular<br />
yesterday directing the CEOs<br />
of all commercial banks across the<br />
country to implement the new<br />
measures with effect from January<br />
1, 2018.<br />
The new guidelines concern the<br />
issuance of supplementary credit<br />
cards, the terms of contracts, interest<br />
or profit rates, various charges,<br />
Thirty six million blind people globally,<br />
expected to triple by 2050<br />
• AFP, Paris<br />
WORLD <br />
and the billing process.<br />
According to the central bank’s<br />
circular, the card issuers will be<br />
allowed to issue foreign currency<br />
or dual currency supplementary<br />
credit cards.<br />
Also affected by the changes are<br />
the collection or recovery mechanisms,<br />
fraud control, and security<br />
of the cards.<br />
Bangladesh Bank wants a PIN<br />
code or biometric safety measure<br />
at every point of sale outlets<br />
(POS) for card security. In addition,<br />
a PIN code for all domestic<br />
face-to-face POS transactions,<br />
3D Secure Application for e-commerce<br />
transactions, SMS and email<br />
alert for credit card transaction<br />
The world’s blind will increase<br />
threefold from about 36 million<br />
today to 115 million in 2050 as populations<br />
expand and individuals<br />
grow ever older, researchers said<br />
Thursday.<br />
The number of people with a<br />
moderate to severe vision impairment<br />
– only those not corrected by<br />
glasses, contact lenses or an operation<br />
– will also near triple, from<br />
about 217 million to 588 million<br />
over the same period.<br />
Most of those affected live in Africa<br />
and Asia, a team wrote in The<br />
Lancet Global Health journal.<br />
Looking at data from 188 countries,<br />
the researchers concluded<br />
that the prevalence of blindness –<br />
the number of blind per population<br />
group – decreased from 0.75% in<br />
1990 to 0.48% in 2015.<br />
The rate of moderate to severe<br />
visual impairment declined from<br />
3.83% to 2.9% over the same time.<br />
“This is almost certainly because<br />
of improved health interventions,”<br />
such as cataract surgery,<br />
study co-author Rupert Bourne of<br />
the Anglia Ruskin University said.<br />
But the rough numbers have not<br />
stopped rising in step with population<br />
growth and ageing. Most visual<br />
problems occur in older people.<br />
The new forecast is based on<br />
UN population projections, even<br />
assuming that the prevalence continues<br />
to decline, said Bourne.<br />
Telephone calls and visits for recovery of<br />
unpaid dues should be limited to a<br />
convenient time as/to be defined in the<br />
published policy of the card issuer and<br />
communicated to customers at the time of<br />
issuance of credit card<br />
The research did not consider<br />
the impact of possible improvements<br />
in diagnosis, treatment, and<br />
access to healthcare, as “nobody<br />
can accurately estimate” what<br />
those will be, he added.<br />
Someone with moderate visual<br />
impairment is considered to be<br />
unable to legally drive, and would<br />
not recognise another person from<br />
across the street.<br />
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The number of blind people across the world is set to triple from about 36m to 115m by 2050, a study warned<br />
BIGSTOCK<br />
“With the number of people<br />
with vision impairment accelerating,<br />
we must take action to increase<br />
our current treatment efforts at<br />
global, regional and country levels,”<br />
said Bourne.<br />
“Investing in these treatments<br />
has previously reaped considerable<br />
benefits, including improved quality<br />
of life, and economic benefits as<br />
people remain in work.” •<br />
Dhaka Tribune<br />
shall also be ensured.<br />
The central bank’s circular said:<br />
“The enlisting of merchants shall<br />
be done on due diligence and evaluation.<br />
The card issuer shall educate<br />
the merchants about the use<br />
of POS machine, genuineness and<br />
security features of credit card, signature<br />
verification and their rights<br />
and responsibilities under the<br />
agreement.”<br />
The central bank also said the<br />
interest or profit rate on the outstanding<br />
amount on the credit card<br />
should not exceed 5% of the highest<br />
interest rate offered in any credit<br />
of the respective bank. “Interest<br />
or profit shall be charged on the<br />
unpaid amount due for payment,”<br />
the circular said.<br />
“In the event of a due date falling<br />
on a <strong>Friday</strong>, Saturday or any<br />
other public/bank holidays at the<br />
beginning of each year, the card<br />
issuer shall allow the grace period<br />
(holiday) as required for payment<br />
to be made on the next working<br />
day,” the circular said.<br />
Telephone calls and visits for<br />
recovery of unpaid dues should be<br />
limited to a convenient time as/to<br />
be defined in the published policy<br />
of the card issuer and communicated<br />
to customers at the time of<br />
issuance of credit card. •<br />
Bangladesh asks<br />
Chinese bank to<br />
fund $1bn-worth<br />
of development<br />
projects<br />
• Asif Showkat Kallol<br />
DEVELOPMENT <br />
Finance Minister AMA Muhith on<br />
Thursday announced that Bangladesh<br />
has asked for a loan of $1bn<br />
from China-based Asian Infrastructure<br />
Investment Bank.<br />
Minister Muhith met with AIIB<br />
Vice-President DJ Pandian at the<br />
Secretariat.<br />
DJ Pandian said Bangladesh is a<br />
rapidly growing country who needs<br />
to strengthen its infrastructure to<br />
provide for millions of citizens. He<br />
expressed his eagerness to foster a<br />
strong relationship between Bangladesh<br />
and AIIB.<br />
The AIIB established in 2016<br />
looks to infrastructure in the<br />
Asia-Pacific region. It has 80<br />
member countries and a capital of<br />
$100bn, which is two-thirds of the<br />
Asian Development Bank and half<br />
of the World Bank.<br />
The minister said the loan could<br />
sponsor seven infrastructure projects<br />
including power, rail and<br />
roads.<br />
The minister also said two of<br />
the projects have already been<br />
approved. The first project will<br />
connect 2.5m people in the rural<br />
areas to the national grid. It will<br />
also upgrade two sub-stations and<br />
convert 85km of overhead distribution<br />
lines in North Dhaka. It was<br />
approved on June 24, 2016. It also<br />
was the first AIIB project to be approved<br />
by a government.<br />
The second project is improving<br />
the natural gas infrastructure and<br />
efficiency of Titas Gas Field. It will<br />
also involve constructing 181kmlong<br />
gas pipeline from Bakhrabad<br />
to Chittagong. •
News<br />
9<br />
FRIDAY, AUGUST 4, <strong>2017</strong><br />
DT<br />
Islamic Foundation<br />
to launch Halal<br />
Diagnostic Lab<br />
• Tarek Mahmud<br />
HEALTH <br />
The Islamic Foundation Bangladesh<br />
is set to launch its Halal Diagnostic<br />
Laboratory in Dhaka’s Agargaon<br />
on <strong>August</strong> 4.<br />
The first of its kind in the country,<br />
this lab will test products for<br />
their compliance with Islamic rules<br />
and regulations before giving them<br />
Halal certificates.<br />
Islamic Foundation’s Director<br />
General Shamim Mohammed Afzal<br />
said: “The Secretary General of the<br />
Organisation of Islamic Cooperation<br />
(OIC) Dr Yousef bin Ahmad Al-Othaimeen<br />
will inaugrate the specialised<br />
lab after a meeting at the auditorium<br />
of the Islamic Foundation’s<br />
Head Office on <strong>Friday</strong> evening.”<br />
Dr Yousef bin Ahmad Al-Othaimeen<br />
will attend the meeting as the<br />
chief guest, while Religious Affairs<br />
Minister Principal Matior Rahman<br />
will preside over the meeting. Islamic<br />
scholars from around the country are<br />
also expected to be present.<br />
Islamic Foundation’s Assistant<br />
Director (Public Relations) Muhammad<br />
Nizam Uddin told the Dhaka<br />
Tribune: “Islamic Foundation usually<br />
certifies different organisations<br />
for their Halal products. The lab is<br />
set up to test the products before<br />
issuing the Halal certificate.”<br />
Around 50 companies had been<br />
issued Halal certificates by the Islamic<br />
Foundation already. •<br />
US asks Bangladesh for<br />
info on Syrian rebel group<br />
Yarmouk Martyrs Brigade<br />
• Asif Shawkat Kallol<br />
FOREIGN AFFAIRS <br />
The US embassy in Dhaka has requested<br />
the government to provide<br />
any information it has about<br />
the activities of Syrian rebel group<br />
Yarmouk Martyrs Brigade in Bangladesh<br />
or elsewhere, a Foreign Ministry<br />
official says.<br />
The group pledged allegiance<br />
to the IS after its formation in 2012<br />
and is responsible for a number of<br />
attacks throughout Southern Syria.<br />
In the letter dated July 23, the<br />
embassy informed the Foreign<br />
Ministry that the US amended the<br />
designation of the group as a Specially<br />
Designated Global Terrorist<br />
(SDGT) entity on July 21, to change<br />
its primary name to Khalid bin Al-<br />
Walid Army, and to add new aliases.<br />
The State Department classified<br />
the organisation as a SDGT entity<br />
on June 10 last year. Around the<br />
same time, the group changed its<br />
name to Khalid bin Al-Walid Army<br />
after merging with several groups<br />
operating in Southern Syria.<br />
IS announced the group’s name<br />
change and merger through its<br />
Amaq News Agency.<br />
A Foreign Ministry official, declining<br />
to be named, confirmed to<br />
the Dhaka Tribune on Wednesday<br />
that they had received the letter<br />
from the embassy.<br />
The United States<br />
welcomes …<br />
any information<br />
that Bangladesh<br />
would like to<br />
share regarding<br />
the activities of<br />
this organisation<br />
in Bangladesh or<br />
elsewhere<br />
“We have forwarded it to the Home<br />
Ministry who will now handle the<br />
matter,” added the official.<br />
Bangladesh has been denying the<br />
presence of IS or IS affiliated groups<br />
in the country.<br />
Designation, the letter said, is a<br />
tool in a comprehensive, multi-faceted<br />
approach to countering terrorist<br />
organisations.<br />
Amending the designation<br />
“sends a powerful signal to those<br />
that engage in violent activities<br />
and reaffirms the US government’s<br />
opposition to terrorism.”<br />
The embassy pointed out that<br />
when the designation is effective,<br />
any assets the group holds under<br />
US jurisdiction are frozen, and US<br />
individuals and entities are prohibited<br />
from engaging in any transaction<br />
with the group.<br />
Any US citizen who would engage<br />
in prohibited transactions<br />
with the group could face up to 20<br />
years’ imprisonment.<br />
The US requested Bangladesh<br />
to take similar actions against the<br />
group, if it had not already taken it.<br />
Besides, the US said it would welcome<br />
any information regarding actions<br />
that are undertaken to enforce<br />
sanctions against the organisation.<br />
“The United States welcomes …<br />
any information that Bangladesh<br />
would like to share regarding the activities<br />
of this organisation in Bangladesh<br />
or elsewhere,” the letter added.<br />
When the Dhaka Tribune contacted<br />
Home Secretary (Public Security<br />
Division) Kamal Uddin Ahmed about<br />
the letter on Wednesday, he said that<br />
he was not aware of it. •<br />
JU summons<br />
82 students for<br />
trolling teachers<br />
on Facebook<br />
• JU Correspondent<br />
CURRENT AFFAIRS <br />
Jahangirnagar University has<br />
formed an investigation committee<br />
over “offensive” posts on a Facebook<br />
page trolling the teachers of<br />
biotechnology and genetic engineering<br />
department.<br />
The probe body has summoned<br />
82 students of the department for<br />
interrogation. It has sent letters to<br />
the students asking them to meet<br />
its members at 10am Thursday.<br />
The letters stated that the “indecent”,<br />
“disrespectful”, and “offensive”<br />
trolling and comments on<br />
Facebook page “BGEians Democrat”<br />
have damaged the reputation<br />
of the department.<br />
Sources said several students of<br />
the department opened the Facebook<br />
page 18 months ago where<br />
they had been posting comments<br />
on their teachers’ behaviours,<br />
teaching styles, evening courses<br />
and other issues of the department.<br />
The page is currently shut down.<br />
Associate Professor Abdullah<br />
Mohammad Sohayel, convener<br />
of the investigation committee,<br />
said: “The students have not been<br />
served show cause notices yet.”<br />
Meanwhile, the biotechnology<br />
and genetic engineering department<br />
has postponed the final examinations<br />
of 2012-13 and 2013-14 sessions<br />
scheduled for <strong>August</strong> 3, 7, and 8. •
10<br />
FRIDAY, AUGUST 4, <strong>2017</strong><br />
DT<br />
Advertisement
Govt to form<br />
FSC to deal with<br />
financial crises<br />
• Asif Showkat Kallol<br />
BANKING <br />
BRAC Bank earns<br />
record profit in H1<br />
• Tribune Desk<br />
METRO <br />
BRAC Bank Limited has made<br />
a record profit of Tk2,421 million<br />
after tax during the first<br />
half (January-June) of <strong>2017</strong>,<br />
said a press release issued<br />
yesterday.<br />
The year-on-year profit is<br />
39% higher than Tk1,746 million<br />
documented in the same<br />
period a year ago, the bank<br />
said in its formal earning disclosure<br />
at a programme held<br />
in the capital. Local and foreign<br />
Investment analysts and<br />
capital market experts participated<br />
in the programme.<br />
The bank’s Net Asset Value<br />
(NAV) per share stood at<br />
Tk27.86 compared to Tk26.15<br />
at the end of June 2016.<br />
The government will form<br />
an apex body – Financial Stability<br />
Council (FSC) – to deal<br />
with financial crises of banks<br />
and financial institutions and<br />
bail them out in need, officials<br />
have said.<br />
The decision to set up an<br />
FSC came at a meeting attended<br />
by Bangladesh Bank<br />
Deputy Governor SK Sur<br />
Chowdhury and Finance<br />
Minister AMA Muhith who<br />
was in the chair.<br />
Sur presented the concept<br />
paper on Financial Stability<br />
Council at the Finance Division<br />
meeting held yesterday.<br />
Officials that attended the<br />
meeting said the proposed<br />
council would work as a resolution<br />
authority to solve<br />
financial crises of banks and<br />
financial institutions.<br />
The FSC will include all financial<br />
sector regulators, Ministry<br />
of Finance, Bangladesh<br />
Bank, Bangladesh Security<br />
Exchange Commission, Micro-credit<br />
Regulatory Authority,<br />
Insurance Development<br />
Regulatory Authority and National<br />
Board of Revenue.<br />
Against the backdrop of<br />
global financial crisis, many<br />
countries have come up with<br />
large-scale government support<br />
and financial bailout for<br />
failed banks and other financial<br />
conglomerates in order to<br />
maintain financial stability.<br />
According to the presentation<br />
paper, bailout programmes<br />
may not bring an<br />
expected outcome if the loopholes<br />
in the existing resolution<br />
mechanism are not fixed.<br />
In the current resolution<br />
mechanism, many regulators<br />
come up with separate<br />
problem-solving ideas which<br />
ultimately fail to address the<br />
issues.<br />
There is a need to set up an<br />
apex body to deal with crisis<br />
resolution, especially when<br />
it comes to making decision<br />
on bailout for the banks and<br />
financial institutions (FIs) hit<br />
by cash crunch.<br />
Under the FSC, two working<br />
groups – Resolution<br />
Regime for Banks/FIs and<br />
Macro-financial Monitoring<br />
– have been proposed along<br />
with a coordination council<br />
headed by the governor of<br />
Bangladesh Bank.<br />
The framework and terms<br />
of references for the proposed<br />
FSC and two working<br />
groups have been extensively<br />
discussed at the meeting<br />
which will be finalised by the<br />
government after a critical<br />
review and feedback from<br />
participating regulators and<br />
think tanks. •<br />
The Earnings Per Share<br />
reached Tk2.66 during January-June<br />
period this year from<br />
Tk2.10 recorded during the<br />
same period last year. BRAC<br />
Bank Limited CEO and Managing<br />
Director Selim RF Hussain<br />
presented the financial results.<br />
In his address, Selim said:<br />
“We are pleased to deliver a<br />
good financial performance<br />
in the first half of the current<br />
year despite difficult market<br />
condition.”<br />
He affirms that the bank<br />
continues with the momentum<br />
from 2016 and is progressing<br />
well on its journey to become<br />
the best bank in the country.<br />
AK Joaddar, deputy managing<br />
director and CFO, and<br />
other senior officials of the<br />
bank were, among others,<br />
present at the event. •<br />
News 11<br />
FRIDAY, AUGUST 4, <strong>2017</strong><br />
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DT<br />
12<br />
Editorial<br />
FRIDAY, AUGUST 4, <strong>2017</strong><br />
TODAY<br />
Can we have a<br />
greener city?<br />
We should be doing everything in our<br />
power to plant more trees to ensure our<br />
future environmental, ecological and<br />
climate security<br />
PAGE 13<br />
BIGSTOCK<br />
Please don’t abuse the law<br />
Escaping the trap<br />
Addressing inequality includes things<br />
like making vocational training<br />
accessible to the poorest<br />
PAGE 14<br />
Let’s face it: Section 57 of the ICT Act is<br />
an ill-conceived piece of legislation.<br />
There is simply too much scope<br />
for misuse and abuse, and it stands<br />
against the principles of free speech and<br />
promises of a Digital Bangladesh.<br />
Ideally, it should be scrapped, so it is good<br />
to see Roads, Transport, and Bridges Minister<br />
Obaidul Quader point out that misuse of the<br />
act was indeed taking place, which is indeed<br />
unfortunate and needs to be stopped.<br />
At the very least, we must have<br />
mechanisms in place to make sure the act is<br />
used judiciously.<br />
Without the proper safeguards in place,<br />
there may well be rampant abuse of the law,<br />
and nobody wants that.<br />
We must have<br />
mechanisms in place<br />
to make sure the act is<br />
used judiciously<br />
All is not OK<br />
in Pakistan<br />
If the army was to bring in Imran Khan<br />
to power, they would literally have to rig<br />
the entire election<br />
Be heard<br />
Write to Dhaka Tribune<br />
FR Tower, 8/C Panthapath,<br />
Shukrabad, Dhaka-1207<br />
Send us your Op-Ed articles:<br />
opinion.trib@gmail.com<br />
www.dhakatribune.com<br />
Join our Facebook community:<br />
https://www.facebook.com/<br />
DhakaTribune.<br />
The views expressed in opinion<br />
articles are those of the authors<br />
alone and they are not the<br />
official view of Dhaka Tribune<br />
or its publisher.<br />
PAGE 15<br />
We can’t lose our competitive edge<br />
Falling prices in the global RMG market -- due<br />
to falling global demand -- are squeezing our<br />
profit margin even as our share in the global<br />
market has increased 0.50%.<br />
If we cannot improve our competitive edge in the<br />
RMG market, we may be priced out eventually.<br />
That is because the market is constantly in flux --<br />
what with the relentless march of globalisation -- and<br />
we have to keep adapting to the shifting dynamics.<br />
Our competitors are not sitting idle either: They are<br />
continuously investing to shore up their comparative<br />
advantage, which, in turn, makes us relatively less<br />
efficient.<br />
And the only way to keep efficiency up is to invest<br />
in our inadequate infrastructure -- the biggest barrier<br />
Bangladesh must overcome in order to thrive in the<br />
competitive world of international trade.<br />
Efficiency is the name of the game.<br />
We have to keep<br />
adapting to the shifting<br />
dynamics
Opinion 13<br />
Can we have a greener city?<br />
It’s impossible to estimate just how much trees do for us<br />
DT<br />
FRIDAY, AUGUST 4, <strong>2017</strong><br />
Forests protect the environment from pollution and contribute to biodiversity<br />
BIGSTOCK<br />
• Shishir Reza<br />
Every living being is<br />
dependent on trees in<br />
some way or the other. A<br />
lack of plants and forests<br />
can therefore threaten our very<br />
existence.<br />
Given the increasingly crowded<br />
concrete jungle we are now living<br />
in, planting more and more trees<br />
has become imperative.<br />
It would also save us a lot of<br />
unnecessary costs.<br />
A tree that lives for 50 years can<br />
generate $31,500 worth of oxygen,<br />
provide $ 62,000 worth of air<br />
pollution control, recycle $37,500<br />
worth of water, and prevent<br />
$31,500 worth of soil erosion.<br />
Moreover, forests contribute<br />
to about 1.74% of the total GDP of<br />
Bangladesh.<br />
The importance of trees and<br />
forests<br />
Trees play an important role in<br />
protecting irrigation and hydraulic<br />
structures, also in keeping the<br />
rivers and ports navigable. It also<br />
plays a key role in protecting<br />
coastal areas from natural<br />
calamities.<br />
Forests protect the<br />
environment from pollution and<br />
their contribution to biodiversity is<br />
immense. Forestry is a long-term<br />
production system. The multiple<br />
uses of forest resources have been<br />
recognised from the beginning of<br />
civilisation.<br />
Trees serve as a natural habitat,<br />
providing support to a wide<br />
variety of flora and fauna. They<br />
provide a sense of privacy and<br />
security to the wildlife, seeking<br />
shelter in the woods, apart from<br />
providing them with food and<br />
nutrients.<br />
Trees remove excess amounts<br />
of carbon dioxide and air<br />
pollutants in attendance in the<br />
atmosphere, including sulfur<br />
dioxide, ozone and nitrogen oxide.<br />
In return, they give us oxygen<br />
required for living life.<br />
Even the biodiversity gets<br />
enriched in turn.<br />
Trees regulate the climate by<br />
moderating the effects of the<br />
sun, wind and rain. While they<br />
moderate summer temperatures<br />
by providing shade, in winters,<br />
they act as windbreaks for home,<br />
thus helping save on heating costs.<br />
Trees reduce soil erosion and<br />
also help to improve the fertility of<br />
soil. Rich soil transfers nutrients to<br />
food, which contributes to human<br />
health.<br />
Other benefits<br />
The greenery of trees adds colour<br />
to the landscape and enhances its<br />
beauty.<br />
Trees and shrubs planted<br />
around homes also provide<br />
evaporative cooling benefits.<br />
They are great absorbers of<br />
noise.<br />
Noise pollution can be reduced<br />
to a great extent by planting more<br />
and more trees. Planting of trees<br />
facilitates better management of<br />
flood water.<br />
Trees also moderate flood<br />
hazards by allowing the rainwater<br />
to percolate into the soil, instead<br />
of running over it.<br />
The demand for clean drinking<br />
water can also be met by planting<br />
new trees. Forests and plants<br />
naturally slow the runoff of<br />
rainwater, thereby filtering it. Once<br />
slowed, rainwater seeps down to<br />
refill underground storage tanks or<br />
aquifers.<br />
Also, they prevent water from<br />
mixing with the salt water of<br />
oceans. This is of immense help,<br />
as salty water takes much longer to<br />
re-enter the fresh water portion of<br />
the hydrological cycle.<br />
Combat climate change<br />
Bangladesh is one of the countries<br />
most vulnerable to climate change.<br />
This is due to our geographic<br />
location, population explosion,<br />
floodplains, incidences of poverty<br />
and overwhelming dependence on<br />
natural resources.<br />
Global warming, as a result of<br />
climate change, will eventually<br />
reduce food productivity,<br />
availability of fresh water,<br />
increase environmental hazards,<br />
energy conflict, mass migration<br />
and increase diseases -- malaria,<br />
diarrhoea, and AIDS.<br />
Climate change not only<br />
affects human development and<br />
biodiversity conservation but also<br />
poses a threat to human security.<br />
We should be doing everything in our power to plant more trees both<br />
in rural and urban areas to ensure our future environmental, ecological,<br />
and climate security<br />
No country knows this better than<br />
Bangladesh, where millions of<br />
people are suffering as a result.<br />
Sudden, severe catastrophic floods<br />
and cyclones have increased in<br />
intensity and frequency in recent<br />
times, owing to increased rainfall<br />
in the monsoon.<br />
As the sea level rises,<br />
Bangladesh is experiencing the<br />
brutal after-effects of coastal<br />
inundation and erosion, cyclones,<br />
salinity intrusion, deforestation,<br />
loss of biodiversity, agricultural<br />
land shrinking and large scale<br />
migration.<br />
Scientists predict that, due<br />
to tropical cyclones and salinity<br />
intrusion into farming lands in<br />
coastal areas, environmental<br />
refugees will exceed 20 million in<br />
the coming future.<br />
Equipped with this<br />
foreknowledge, we should be<br />
doing everything in our power to<br />
plant more trees both in rural and<br />
urban areas to ensure our future<br />
environmental, ecological, and<br />
climate security.<br />
A concerted effort<br />
In Bangladesh, social forestry<br />
programs have to be introduced<br />
at grassroots levels with a view<br />
to meeting the forest product<br />
requirements of local population<br />
and to reverse the ecological and<br />
climatic degradation.<br />
Through such programs not<br />
only can we increase our capacity<br />
for conservation of soil and<br />
water resources but also improve<br />
socio-economic conditions for<br />
our population. In particular,<br />
they can provide much needed<br />
employment opportunities to the<br />
rural population<br />
Apart from that, we have to<br />
escalate plantation efforts to meet<br />
the demand for fuel wood, small<br />
timber, bamboo, fodder, and<br />
other minor forest produces on<br />
sustainable basis.<br />
A national focus on<br />
plantation efforts, supported by<br />
appropriate policy, will allow<br />
cottage industries to develop in<br />
rural areas; we can also utilise<br />
the available land to the best<br />
advantage according to its<br />
production capacity. •<br />
Shishir Reza is an environment analyst<br />
and associate member of Bangladesh<br />
Economic Association.
14<br />
FRIDAY, AUGUST 4, <strong>2017</strong><br />
DT<br />
Opinion<br />
Escaping the trap<br />
As we pull people out of poverty, let’s make sure more don’t fall in<br />
• Shazia Omar<br />
To be without a home<br />
Addressing inequality in human development includes things like<br />
making vocational training accessible to the poorest, abolishing of<br />
the dowry practice<br />
The extreme poor are not<br />
the same as the moderate<br />
poor.<br />
First, they cannot<br />
easily connect with the<br />
mainstream economy, because<br />
they lack assets (physical,<br />
financial, and human) or because<br />
they lack voice and/or social<br />
capital.<br />
Second, the trap-centric view<br />
of extreme poverty implies that<br />
certain threshold levels of assets<br />
are needed to overcome the<br />
chronic extreme poverty trap.<br />
Third, the real economic<br />
world of the extreme poor<br />
resembles more a game of<br />
“snakes and ladders,” whereby<br />
they periodically make efforts to<br />
climb up the income ladder and<br />
are periodically pushed back by<br />
various shocks originating in poor<br />
health, natural disasters, and<br />
personal insecurities.<br />
The state of the poor<br />
Most extreme poor households are<br />
landless. Majority of the heads of<br />
the extreme poor households are<br />
also illiterate.<br />
A large proportion of extreme<br />
poor households are female<br />
headed households. Housing<br />
conditions of a large proportion<br />
of extreme poor households are<br />
also very shabby, and about half of<br />
the extreme poor households still<br />
practise open defecation.<br />
They do not have any savings.<br />
Many of them have no or only one<br />
source of income, and suffer from<br />
food insecurity as well.<br />
Six major extreme poverty<br />
programs have been reviewed here<br />
to have an understanding of them:<br />
Target beneficiaries, and delivery<br />
of assets, transfers, and services.<br />
They include: Char<br />
Livelihoods Program (CLP),<br />
Rural Employment Generation<br />
for Public Assets (REOPA),<br />
Strengthening Household<br />
Abilities for Responding to<br />
Development Opportunities<br />
(SHOUHARDO), BRAC’s Targeting<br />
the Ultra-Poor (TUP) Program,<br />
Urban Partnerships for Poverty<br />
Reduction (UPPR), and Economic<br />
Empowerment of the Poorest<br />
Program (EEP/Shiree).<br />
Evidence shows all the<br />
programs have been successful<br />
in reaching out to respective<br />
target beneficiaries, and the lives<br />
and livelihoods of beneficiary<br />
households have been improved.<br />
A good proportion of them have<br />
been able to move themselves<br />
out of extreme poverty due to the<br />
interventions of the programs.<br />
We have estimated the total as<br />
well as average annual costs of<br />
the interventions per beneficiary<br />
household, which is found to be<br />
reasonable.<br />
Still, a question remains about<br />
how effective the extreme poverty<br />
programs are in making actual<br />
significant positive impact in<br />
the lives and livelihoods of the<br />
extreme poor beneficiaries, and<br />
helping them to graduate from<br />
extreme poverty in a sustainable<br />
manner.<br />
The ones not making it<br />
Three factors, among other, came<br />
up as correlates of non-graduation<br />
among the extreme poor<br />
beneficiary households: Elderly,<br />
female headedness, and illiteracy<br />
of the heads of the households.<br />
This is certainly not an<br />
exhaustive list, but this can give<br />
some ideas about the households<br />
that cannot make progress.<br />
The cost of graduating the<br />
extreme poor out of poverty based<br />
on these programs comes to less<br />
than an average of $500. If we plan<br />
to spend this amount over the<br />
period of five years, then it comes<br />
down to $100 per beneficiary<br />
household (each year) to achieve<br />
the desired target of “zero extreme<br />
poverty.”<br />
Financing “Zero Extreme<br />
Poverty” is thus feasible without<br />
jeopardising high growth. This<br />
is because the mobilisation of<br />
aggregate resources needed to<br />
eradicate extreme poverty is<br />
affordable, feasible, and doable.<br />
End to extreme poverty by 2021<br />
There are five ingredients in the<br />
making of a successful strategy for<br />
ending extreme poverty by 2021.<br />
First, the overall importance of<br />
the favourable macro context that<br />
DHAKA TRIBUNE<br />
underpinned decline in extreme<br />
and chronic poverty. It is “easier<br />
to pull a boat when wind is in your<br />
favour,” as any boat-puller in rural<br />
Bangladesh would corroborate.<br />
It is, therefore, crucial<br />
to maintain this favourable<br />
macroeconomic context for<br />
sustaining decline in extreme<br />
and chronic poverty in the next<br />
decade.<br />
This would mean sustaining<br />
the five major drivers of growth<br />
-- agriculture, rural non-farm<br />
sector, exports, remittances, and<br />
urbanisation -- in the days ahead.<br />
Micro successes need to be<br />
nationally replicated on a wider<br />
scale. Some have been in the area<br />
of poverty reduction, while others<br />
have taken place in the area of<br />
human development (as in the<br />
case of female stipend schemes<br />
and immunisation programs).<br />
A defining marker of many of<br />
these programs is that they aimed<br />
to provide consequential transfer<br />
of resources (assets or financial<br />
savings) to the extreme poor<br />
clients.<br />
Shocked into poverty<br />
Shocks play a decisive role in<br />
shaping the pace of extreme<br />
poverty reduction. For every two<br />
people that climb out of poverty,<br />
one falls in. If there were no<br />
slippages into poverty due to<br />
preventable shocks, Bangladesh<br />
would have experienced much<br />
faster decline in poverty and<br />
extreme poverty.<br />
Since health shock is found<br />
to be single most important<br />
explanatory factor underlying fall<br />
into extreme poverty, effective<br />
health protection for the poor and<br />
the poorest should be the given<br />
top policy priority. Other shocks<br />
include natural disasters, evictions<br />
and death, or disability in the<br />
family.<br />
Addressing inequality in human<br />
development includes things like<br />
making education and vocational<br />
skills training accessible to the<br />
poorest, reducing the incidence of<br />
child marriage, addressing child<br />
nutrition needs, and abolishing of<br />
the dowry practice.<br />
High prevalence of dowry, for<br />
instance, leads to early marriage<br />
“age at first marriage” for girls in<br />
70% of cases in rural Bangladesh<br />
tend to be below the legally<br />
permissible age of 18.<br />
This leads to a vicious cycle<br />
of early marriage, low maternal<br />
nutrition, low birth-weight,<br />
high stunting rates for children,<br />
affecting future schooling,<br />
occupational choice, and<br />
productivity.<br />
And finally, the renewed<br />
emphasis on social protection is<br />
a welcome move, but it needs to<br />
ensure that it is not side-lining<br />
the extreme and chronic poverty<br />
agenda.<br />
Not a dream<br />
The central message regarding<br />
financing “zero extreme poverty”<br />
is that eradicating extreme poverty<br />
is not only desirable, but also a<br />
fiscally feasible plan-target.<br />
However, financing is not just<br />
about finding the right amount of<br />
resources, it is also about fostering<br />
the right kind of institutions<br />
and approaches. The GoB-donor<br />
compact can lead to the replication<br />
of already successful pilots to<br />
deepen interventions designed to<br />
support the extreme poor.<br />
NGOs can play a crucial role. To<br />
prevent the poor from slipping into<br />
extreme poverty, the government<br />
must play a lead role to address<br />
health shocks, mitigate adverse<br />
effects of natural disasters, and<br />
improve governance conditions to<br />
reduce law-and-order shocks.<br />
Identifying the extreme poor<br />
and maintaining an extreme<br />
poor database is important, but<br />
it is equally important to install<br />
machinery for realtime data<br />
collection through a decentralised<br />
information system, given the<br />
fast-changing poverty dynamic in<br />
the country.<br />
Decentralisation is also needed<br />
for attaining other virtues of<br />
development – broad-based and<br />
timely access to service delivery,<br />
increased beneficiary satisfaction,<br />
and deepening local democracy. •<br />
Shazia Omar is a poverty activist and a<br />
writer, currently working as a consultant<br />
at the Social Security Policy Support<br />
Project.
All is not OK in Pakistan<br />
Is Imran Khan any better than the corrupt Nawaz Sharif?<br />
Opinion 15<br />
DT<br />
FRIDAY, AUGUST 4, <strong>2017</strong><br />
• Sharif Hasan<br />
Nawaz Sharif has been<br />
forced to step down<br />
as Pakistan’s Prime<br />
Minister. On July 28, five<br />
bench judges of Pakistan Supreme<br />
Court unanimously found Nawaz<br />
Sharif guilty and disqualified him<br />
from holding office in Pakistan.<br />
He came under the scanner<br />
along with his children when they<br />
were linked to offshore companies<br />
in the Panama papers. It has been<br />
alleged that Sharif’s family bought<br />
property in the UK with assets<br />
disproportionate to their known<br />
sources of income.<br />
He was less than a year away<br />
from becoming the first PM in<br />
Pakistan’s history to complete a<br />
full term in office. Sharif’s luck is a<br />
special one -- this is the third time<br />
he failed to complete an entire<br />
term.<br />
Pakistan’s first prime minister<br />
was murdered three years into<br />
his term. Four prime ministers<br />
have been overthrown by the<br />
army. A number of others have<br />
been dismissed without reason or<br />
without any major reason.<br />
So, Nawaz Sharif getting the<br />
short end of the stick thrice over<br />
is unfortunate, but not really<br />
unexpected. Had he been able to<br />
complete his term, it would have<br />
made history.<br />
A system beyond repair<br />
REUTERS<br />
Pakistan and its army<br />
Sharif was the one leader in<br />
Pakistan with local support, as he<br />
won a fair election. Now that he<br />
is gone, several questions arise.<br />
Firstly, with him gone, does the<br />
army become more important?<br />
I don’t think Nawaz Sharif ever<br />
really challenged the army in the<br />
past, although on some occasions<br />
he did try to push the envelope a<br />
bit.<br />
One has to remember how the<br />
army used Imran Khan in 2014<br />
to pull Nawaz Sharif down when<br />
he wanted to prosecute Pervez<br />
Musharraf, and after that, Sharif<br />
simply laid his arms before them --<br />
he never challenged the army and<br />
he never tried to oppose them.<br />
So, frankly, whether Nawaz<br />
Sharif is there or not, the army will<br />
stay equally powerful -- no matter<br />
who comes in as a chief. The deep<br />
state continues to rule Pakistan.<br />
How would Imran Khan fare?<br />
Secondly, with Nawaz Sharif<br />
knocked out, given the fact that<br />
he did well in the last elections,<br />
will Imran Khan do even better or<br />
possibly become the next prime<br />
minister of Pakistan?<br />
The charges on which Sharif<br />
was dismissed are articles 62 and<br />
63 -- which say that one has to be<br />
truthful and honest to become a<br />
member of the parliament.<br />
Imran Khan certainly doesn’t<br />
fit the clause of articles 62 and 63.<br />
There are offshore companies that<br />
he never declared, there are assets<br />
which are dodgy. Maybe because<br />
he never had public office, he can’t<br />
be classified as corrupt.<br />
But tax evasion is a crime,<br />
hiding your assets is a crime,<br />
which means you are not truthful.<br />
So, ideally, Imran Khan and all<br />
his other cronies should also be<br />
disqualified. But if they aren’t,<br />
then it would be very clear that<br />
Imran Khan is somebody whom<br />
the army favours. He might be a<br />
good cricketer but that’s where it<br />
ends. He is a maverick, and not<br />
quite right in the head.<br />
Will the army want somebody<br />
like him coming and running the<br />
country? He has never even run a<br />
municipality -- he now wants to<br />
run the whole country.<br />
Truth be told, if elections were<br />
held today, despite Supreme<br />
Court’s, verdict Nawaz Sharif<br />
would win. Imran Khan may be<br />
an attractive person on television<br />
and many do speak against<br />
Nawaz Sharif -- but Khan has no<br />
substance.<br />
Also, Supreme Court may have<br />
disqualified Sharif from holding<br />
a public office, but it has not<br />
disqualified him from election<br />
campaigning. And if Nawaz Sharif<br />
is able to run a campaign in his full<br />
strength, Imran Khan stands no<br />
chance. And that would be better<br />
for Pakistan and it’s welfare.<br />
Because Imran Khan has close<br />
ties with terrorist organisations,<br />
his election cannot be good<br />
for Pakistan, nor for Pakistan’s<br />
relationship with any of its<br />
neighbouring countries.<br />
Thirdly, Imran Khan is one of<br />
those characters whose presence<br />
on TV is disproportionate to his<br />
electoral presence. Could that<br />
change in the next election?<br />
If the army were to bring in a<br />
guy like Imran Khan to power,<br />
they would literally have to rig<br />
the entire election. Because Khan<br />
just does not have the party<br />
machinery, the perseverance,<br />
or the political sense to actually<br />
marshal the kind of support you<br />
need, especially in Punjab.<br />
His party is virtually nonexistent<br />
in Sindh, and Baluchistan<br />
doesn’t count anyway. So,<br />
If the army were to bring in Imran Khan to<br />
power, they would literally have to rig the<br />
entire election. Khan just does not have the<br />
party machinery<br />
if Punjab is going to be the<br />
battleground, Nawaz Sharif has<br />
the politics of patronage in place<br />
and he has the party machinery.<br />
Even if Nawaz Sharif is<br />
disqualified, he can become the<br />
Bal Thakre of Pakistan and become<br />
the puppeteer behind the guy who<br />
becomes the next PM.<br />
What this judgement does is it<br />
infects a virus in Pakistan’s already<br />
unstable political system, whereby<br />
now you’ll have the judiciary being<br />
a significant player, trying to run<br />
the country on its own. And, if this<br />
now is going to become a template,<br />
no member of parliament, and<br />
much less any prime minister, is<br />
going to be safe. •<br />
Sharif Hasan is currently working as a<br />
field researcher on behalf of Centre for<br />
Genocide Studies (CGS), University of<br />
Dhaka.
16<br />
FRIDAY, AUGUST 4, <strong>2017</strong><br />
DT<br />
Downtime<br />
CROSSWORD<br />
CODE-CRACKER<br />
ACROSS<br />
1 Fish (3)<br />
3 Salad item (6)<br />
8 Be adjacent to (4)<br />
9 Born (3)<br />
10 Comfort in sorrow<br />
(6)<br />
11 Cross out (6)<br />
14 English city (5)<br />
17 Oozes (5)<br />
20 Powerful (6)<br />
24 Entertained (6)<br />
26 Fishing pole (3)<br />
27 Bound (4)<br />
28 Puffs up (6)<br />
29 Tree (3)<br />
DOWN<br />
1 Stylish (4)<br />
2 Daybreak (4)<br />
3 Trick (4)<br />
4 Coral isle (5)<br />
5 Silly (5)<br />
6 Dry, of champagne (3)<br />
7 Pays attention (5)<br />
12 Mature (3)<br />
13 Headwear (3)<br />
15 Consume (3)<br />
16 Clamour (3)<br />
17 Heavenly bodies (5)<br />
18 Emit through pores (5)<br />
19 Hex (5)<br />
21 Lyric poems (4)<br />
22 Catch sight of (4)<br />
23 Melt, as snow (4)<br />
25 Cut grass (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 21 represents R so fill R<br />
every time the figure 21 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
What’s on<br />
17<br />
FRIDAY, AUGUST 4, <strong>2017</strong><br />
DT<br />
EVENTS AROUND TOWN TODAY<br />
THEATRE<br />
FESTIVAL<br />
MOVIE<br />
THEATRE<br />
WORKSHOP<br />
STAR CINEPLEX<br />
Where Bashundhara city, Dhaka<br />
What Movie Showtime (Aug 4)<br />
3RD DUSS NATIONAL SCIENCE FESTIVAL <strong>2017</strong><br />
When 8am-8pm<br />
Where TSC, University of Dhaka, Nilkhet Road, Dhaka<br />
What Science festival by Dhaka University Science Society.<br />
CDS PRESENTS - 2ND DEBATERS’ CARNIVAL 2K17<br />
When 10am<br />
Where Cambrian Campus-6, Dhaka, Bangladesh<br />
What Debate league final in which 8 teams will be fighting<br />
face to face for the ultimate championship. For more<br />
information: 01770335709.<br />
CULTURAL EVENT<br />
BORSHAMONGOL<br />
When 6:30pm<br />
Where Chhayanaut Cultural Center, house 72, road 15A,<br />
Dhanmondi, Dhaka<br />
What A cultural event to commemorate the rainy season.<br />
Voyankor Sundor (2D): 11:10am,<br />
1:50pm, 4:20pm, 7pm<br />
Dunkirk (2D): 2pm, 7:10pm<br />
Kidnap (2D): 11:30am, 2:20pm,<br />
4:40pm, 6:50pm<br />
War for the Planet of the Apes (2D):<br />
11:10am, 4:10pm<br />
Spiderman Homecoming (3D):<br />
10:50am, 1:45pm, 4:40pm, 7:30pm<br />
The Dark Tower (2D): 10:50am,<br />
1pm, 3:10pm, 5:20pm, 7:30pm<br />
Valerian and the City of a TP (3D):<br />
11am, 1:45pm, 4:30pm, 7:20pm<br />
BLOCKBUSTER CINEMAS<br />
Where Jamuna Future Park, Dhaka<br />
What Movie Showtime (Aug 4)<br />
Transformers: The Last Knight<br />
(3D): 11:30am, 2:30pm, 4:20pm,<br />
7:25pm<br />
Spider-Man: Homecoming (3D):<br />
11:30am, 1:45pm, 4:30pm, 7:20pm<br />
The Mummy (3D): 5:05pm, 7:30pm<br />
Baywatch (2D): 2:30pm, 5pm<br />
Despicable Me 3 (3D): 11:40am,<br />
5:30pm<br />
Dunkirk (2D): 12:30pm, 2:50pm,<br />
5:10pm, 7:30pm, 7:55pm<br />
Voyankor Sundor (2D): 12pm,<br />
2:30pm, 5pm, 7:30pm<br />
The Dark Tower (2D): 12:20pm,<br />
2:10pm, 7:30pm<br />
Valerian (2D): 11:30am, 2:20pm,<br />
7:25pm<br />
GRAPHIC DESIGN FREE CLASS<br />
When 10am-12pm<br />
Where UYS Lab, 31 Mohakhali Commercial Area, Colombia<br />
Super Market, 4th floor, Banani, Dhaka<br />
What A free class on graphic design by UYS Lab.<br />
WOMEN SELF DEFENSE SEMINAR<br />
When 5pm-7pm<br />
Where Gulshan Karate Dojo, 50 Gulshan Avenue, Circle-1,<br />
Dhaka<br />
What A two-hour long intensive self defense seminar for<br />
women by Gulshan Karate Dojo. For more information:<br />
01822365179.<br />
EXHIBITION<br />
1ST NATIONAL CHILDREN’S PHOTOGRAPHY<br />
FESTIVAL <strong>2017</strong><br />
When 10am<br />
Where Bishwo Shahitto Kendro, Kazi Nazrul Islam Avenue,<br />
Dhaka<br />
What A two-day long exhibition of children’s photography by<br />
Kashful Factory.<br />
Radisson Blu Dhaka wins The Luxury Restaurant<br />
Awards<br />
Radisson Blu Dhaka Water<br />
Garden celebrated the accolade<br />
of The Luxury Restaurant Awards<br />
for its restaurants. For the first<br />
time in the History of ‘The World<br />
Luxury Restaurant Awards’, a<br />
restaurant based in Bangladesh<br />
has won this prestigious award.<br />
Radisson Blu Dhaka Water<br />
Garden has achieved this feat not<br />
for just one restaurant but for two<br />
restaurants at the same time in<br />
winning two separate categories.<br />
Sublime won the ‘Best Restaurant<br />
for European Cuisine’ in the<br />
South West Asia Region and Spice<br />
& Rice won the ‘Best Restaurant<br />
for Asian Cuisine’ in the same<br />
region beating all other countries<br />
and entrants.<br />
World Luxury Restaurant<br />
Awards inspires excellence and<br />
ignites healthy competition in<br />
the Luxury Restaurant Industry.<br />
The awards further promote<br />
the nominated restaurants<br />
based on culinary excellence<br />
and memorable experiences<br />
from outstanding atmosphere<br />
and service. World Luxury<br />
Restaurant Awards highlights<br />
those categories for which the<br />
restaurant should be renowned,<br />
further attracting more attention,<br />
not only from food experts,<br />
journalists and gourmands, but<br />
to a host of visitors from around<br />
the globe.<br />
“We are extremely proud of<br />
our professional, talented and<br />
hard working food and beverage<br />
team which under the guidance<br />
of director of F&B Ramani<br />
Shanmugam and Executive Chef<br />
Jed Archdeacon has become<br />
the leading F&B in Bangladesh<br />
in <strong>2017</strong>. We thank all our loyal<br />
customers and owners for being<br />
with us and supporting us,”<br />
Christoph Voegeli, the general<br />
manager of Radisson Blu Dhaka<br />
Water Garden, said in a press<br />
release.•<br />
CSE Day celebrated at Northern<br />
University<br />
• Features Desk<br />
The Department of Computer<br />
Science and Engineering (CSE) of<br />
Northern University Bangladesh<br />
(NUB) celebrated “CSE DAY <strong>2017</strong>”<br />
on <strong>August</strong> 1, at the Banani campus.<br />
A programming contest,<br />
showcasing of hardware and<br />
software projects and a gaming<br />
contest took place as part of the<br />
program. Students of the CSE<br />
department participated in these<br />
events.<br />
The program was presided<br />
over by Md Raihan-ul-Masood,<br />
the Department Head of CSE.<br />
Professor Dr Abu Yousuf Md<br />
Abdullah, Chairman of NUB<br />
Trust graced the program as the<br />
chief guest. Professor Dr Anwar<br />
Hossain, Vice-Chancellor of NUB,<br />
Professor Dr M Kaykobad BUET<br />
CSE department and Professor Dr<br />
Anwarul Karim, ProViceChancellor<br />
also attended the program as<br />
special guests.<br />
The program started with the<br />
programming contest in which<br />
16 teams participated. About 45<br />
students participated in gaming<br />
contest. There were 13 hardware<br />
and software projects displayed<br />
in the program. Hardware and<br />
software projects were judged by<br />
Professor M Kaykobad.•
DT<br />
18<br />
Sports<br />
FRIDAY, AUGUST 4, <strong>2017</strong><br />
Australia all set to visit Bangladesh<br />
• AFP, Melbourne<br />
Australia’s bruising and protracted<br />
cricket pay dispute was finally<br />
resolved yesterday with players<br />
and management agreeing on<br />
a new “in-principle” deal, ensuring<br />
upcoming series against<br />
Bangladesh, India and England<br />
can go ahead.<br />
The players appeared to be the<br />
winners in the five-year agreement,<br />
worth an estimated Aus-<br />
$500m ($396m), as they retained<br />
the revenue-sharing model they<br />
had been fighting for - with women<br />
cricketers also included for<br />
the first time.<br />
The bad-tempered stand-off<br />
had been rumbling for months,<br />
rattling the game and badly<br />
straining the players’ relationship<br />
with governing body Cricket<br />
Australia.<br />
Some 230 cricketers had been<br />
unemployed since the end of<br />
June when their contracts expired,<br />
putting this month’s Test<br />
tour to Bangladesh under serious<br />
threat.<br />
“Yesterday’s agreement is<br />
the result of sensible compromises<br />
by both parties,” said CA<br />
chief James Sutherland, adding<br />
that the “core issues” had been<br />
worked out.<br />
He said the five-year deal<br />
would “restore much certainty to<br />
the game of cricket”.<br />
“It will allow all players - state<br />
and international players - to be<br />
contracted immediately and it<br />
will also allow the all-important<br />
tour of Bangladesh to proceed as<br />
planned.”<br />
Captain Steve Smith welcomed<br />
the deal on Twitter, adding:<br />
“It’s been a long and challenging<br />
process and it’s great that<br />
we can now get on with playing<br />
the game that we all love.<br />
“I’m excited that we can all<br />
start working together again<br />
to continue to grow our great<br />
game.”<br />
At the heart of the dispute had<br />
been the divisive issue of revenue-sharing.<br />
CA wanted to scrap the model<br />
that has governed players’ salaries<br />
since their first memorandum<br />
of understanding was brokered<br />
20 years ago.<br />
Players have been paid a percentage<br />
of gross revenue for the<br />
past two decades, and they argued<br />
that changing the system<br />
would make them employees<br />
rather than partners with incentives<br />
to grow the game.<br />
CA wanted to pay them from<br />
a set pool instead, with only surplus<br />
revenue shared, to give it<br />
more cash to invest in grassroots<br />
programs and facilities.<br />
In the end, it was the players<br />
who came out on top, with the<br />
revenue-sharing model retained.<br />
Under the new deal, they will<br />
share up to 30% of agreed revenue<br />
- 27.5% of forecast revenue<br />
streams, and a 2.5% performance<br />
pool.<br />
This is estimated to be worth<br />
Aus$500m over the next five<br />
years.<br />
Under the previous system,<br />
male players had been sharing up<br />
to 26% of revenues.<br />
In a significant move, the format<br />
will also apply to female<br />
players in what the Australian<br />
Cricketers’ Association said was<br />
“the biggest pay rise in the history<br />
of women’s sport in Australia”.<br />
Players also won a greater say<br />
on scheduling.<br />
“The new MOU is a great<br />
achievement for the players and<br />
the game,” said ACA president<br />
Greg Dyer.<br />
“Like anything worthwhile it’s<br />
been hard to achieve. But what<br />
has been agreed is ground-breaking<br />
for Australian sport.<br />
“One MOU for men and women,<br />
the maintenance of the partnership<br />
model, and record investments<br />
for grassroots cricket<br />
is what we wanted and it’s what<br />
has been achieved.”<br />
Smith can now lead his team<br />
to Dhaka on <strong>August</strong> 18 with their<br />
futures secured.<br />
It also ensures that a one-day<br />
tour to India in September and<br />
October and the showpiece home<br />
Ashes series against England,<br />
beginning in November, are now<br />
safe.<br />
An Australian A tour to South<br />
Africa last month was called off<br />
after players announced a boycott,<br />
and Sutherland admitted relationships<br />
within the game had<br />
been “tested”.<br />
“Both parties acknowledge<br />
and regret that,” he said.<br />
“We are restoring certainty<br />
and beginning to repair relationships,<br />
especially with the fans.<br />
We want the focus to be back<br />
on the cricket.” Sutherland had<br />
warned that unless negotiations<br />
produced a compromise this<br />
week, he would take the matter<br />
to arbitration and let the industrial<br />
umpire sort out the mess. •<br />
BCB elated with<br />
Australia Tests<br />
confirmation<br />
• Tribune Report<br />
The BCB expressed delight after Cricket Australia<br />
confirmed their tour of Bangladesh later<br />
this month, bringing an end to the dispute with<br />
its players over payment.<br />
The BCB’s media and communications committee<br />
chairman Jalal Younus spoke to the<br />
media following CA’s confirmation of the tour<br />
going ahead as per schedule.<br />
Jalal said the BCB was always confident of<br />
CA and its cricketers reaching a solution over<br />
their dispute and arrive in Dhaka as per schedule<br />
for the two-match Test series.<br />
Australia are scheduled to reach Dhaka on<br />
<strong>August</strong> 18.<br />
The cricket community in the country was<br />
anxious as doubts loomed over Bangladesh’s<br />
first Test series against Australia in 11 years.<br />
All the speculation was erased yesterday<br />
morning after news broke out of CA reaching a<br />
deal to resolve Australian cricket’s protracted<br />
pay dispute.<br />
The deal has made the way for the nation’s<br />
professional cricketers to be re-contracted and<br />
for this month’s scheduled Test tour to Bangladesh<br />
to proceed as planned.<br />
The in-principle agreement was signed after<br />
a final round of face-to-face negotiations<br />
between CA CEO James Sutherland and his<br />
Australian Cricketers’ Association counterpart<br />
Alistair Nicholson in Melbourne yesterday<br />
morning, reported an Australia-based news<br />
website.<br />
Details of the deal and the new five-year<br />
Memorandum of Understanding that it underpins<br />
are expected be revealed at a formal media<br />
announcement, to be held at the MCG.<br />
“We were always confident of the tour going<br />
ahead as planned because it was totally their<br />
internal issue this time, between the board and<br />
the cricketers’ association,” Jalal told the media<br />
yesterday.<br />
The last scheduled Australia tour of Bangladesh,<br />
in 2016, was called off due to security<br />
concern.<br />
“We were confident that they will reach a<br />
solution. However we (BCB) were always prepared<br />
to face all kinds of situations, we were<br />
ready to host even if the series got confirmed<br />
within a day’s notice,” the BCB director added.<br />
Jalal said the BCB is happy with the series<br />
going ahead as planned.<br />
“It is a very important series for us as we do<br />
not get to play Test matches. Bangladesh have a<br />
month-long tour of South Africa in September<br />
so the Australia series will be a good opportunity,”<br />
he explained.<br />
The Aussies will play a two-day warm-up<br />
game before taking on host Bangladesh in the<br />
two-Test series.<br />
The first Test will be played in Mirpur’s Shere-Bangla<br />
National Stadium from <strong>August</strong> 27-31<br />
while the second Test in Chittagong’s Zahur<br />
Ahmed Chowdhury Stadium is scheduled to be<br />
held from September 4-8.<br />
Venue for the two-day warm-up game is<br />
however, yet to be decided.<br />
The initial plan of having the game in Fatullah’s<br />
Khan Shaheb Osman Ali Stadium got ruled<br />
out due to severe drainage problem.<br />
According to Jalal, the BCB is planning to<br />
hold the tour game in BKSP. •
Spanish league stall<br />
Neymar move<br />
Sports 19<br />
DT<br />
FRIDAY, AUGUST 4, <strong>2017</strong><br />
• AFP, Barcelona<br />
Spain’s football league refused to<br />
accept a 222m euro ($260m) cheque<br />
today in a new twist to Neymar’s<br />
“transfer of the century” from Barcelona<br />
to Paris Saint-Germain.<br />
Representatives of the 25-yearold<br />
Brazilian were turned away from<br />
the Madrid headquarters of La Liga<br />
after their payment to meet Barca’s<br />
buyout clause was refused by officials<br />
who have accused the French<br />
club of breaching transfer rules.<br />
“We can confirm that the legal<br />
representatives of the player attended<br />
La Liga to pay the clause<br />
and this has been rejected,” a<br />
spokesperson told AFP.<br />
The move may delay Neymar’s<br />
transfer but is unlikely to derail it,<br />
according to experts.<br />
However, the player, initially<br />
expected in Paris later yesterday,<br />
is now due to arrive a day later,<br />
according to airport sources in the<br />
French capital.<br />
The transfer dominated front<br />
pages across the world with many<br />
commentators aghast at the rampant<br />
inflation in football transfer<br />
fees with Neymar’s new mark more<br />
than doubling the previous record<br />
set by Manchester United’s capture<br />
of Paul Pogba last year.<br />
However, in the French capital<br />
there is huge excitement at PSG’s<br />
Qatari-backed project landing a star<br />
name to finally make them feared<br />
among European football’s elite.<br />
“Neymar to PSG - the transfer of<br />
the century”, splashed Le Parisien’s<br />
front page with<br />
the first five pages<br />
devoted to his impending<br />
arrival.<br />
“Neymar could be<br />
wearing the parisian shirt from this<br />
week,” added Le Parisien with a<br />
possible presentation to take place<br />
at PSG’s Ligue 1 opener at home to<br />
Amiens on Saturday.<br />
French President Emmanuel<br />
Macron added to the anticipation,<br />
saying the move was “good news.”<br />
The mood was understandably<br />
more somber in Spain.<br />
Madrid-based sports daily AS<br />
ran with “pay and go” alongside a<br />
smiling Neymar, whilst Marca described<br />
the move as “the signing<br />
that changes the history of football.<br />
In Barca, attention turned to<br />
who the Catalans can sign to replace<br />
Neymar in the month before<br />
the transfer window closes with<br />
Liverpool’s Philippe Coutinho and<br />
Borussia Dortmund’s Ousmane<br />
Dembele both linked.<br />
There was also scepticism at<br />
the role played by PSG’s owners<br />
Oryx Qatar Sports Investments at<br />
a time of political crisis for the oil<br />
rich state emirate which has been<br />
boycotted by its Gulf neighbours in<br />
recent months and will play host to<br />
the World Cup in 2022.<br />
Spanish newspaper El Mundo<br />
described the move as a “state<br />
signing.”<br />
Whilst coaches,<br />
including United manager<br />
Jose Mourinho, have lamented<br />
that the move could<br />
cause even greater inflation<br />
in transfer fees and player<br />
wages, France’s Budget Minister<br />
claimed to be “delighted”<br />
Neymar will earn a reported<br />
30m euros after tax.<br />
“If in fact Neymar does come to<br />
a French club, the budget minister<br />
will be delighted at the tax that<br />
he will be able to pay in France,”<br />
Darmanin told France Inter radio.<br />
PSG’s finances will come under<br />
heavy scrutiny in the years to come<br />
with both La Liga and Barcelona<br />
threatening to report the French<br />
giants to European football’s<br />
governing body for breaches of<br />
financial fair play regulations.<br />
Clubs can be sanctioned by Uefa<br />
for making a loss of more than 30m<br />
euros over a three-year period.<br />
According to reports Neymar<br />
underwent a medical in Porto on<br />
Wednesday after say- i n g<br />
his goodbyes to<br />
his Barcelona<br />
teammates before<br />
returning<br />
to the Catalan<br />
capital late<br />
on Wednesday<br />
night. •<br />
Mourinho, Klopp split over Neymar transfer<br />
• Reuters<br />
Portuguese manager Jose Mourinho<br />
and German tactician Juergen<br />
Klopp’s conflicting views on Neymar’s<br />
imminent move from Barcelona<br />
to Paris St Germain offer<br />
an insight into how the 222m euro<br />
($263m) deal has divided opinion<br />
across football.<br />
News of a transfer that will<br />
smash the existing world record<br />
broke on Wednesday when Barcelona<br />
confirmed they had given<br />
the Brazilian forward permission<br />
to speak to the French club, who<br />
are prepared to trigger his release<br />
clause.<br />
Mourinho, who sanctioned<br />
Frenchman Paul Pogba’s world record<br />
105m euro move from Juventus<br />
to Manchester United last year,<br />
said PSG were not paying over the<br />
odds given Neymar’s quality, but<br />
he is concerned by the financial<br />
“consequences”.<br />
“When we paid that amount for<br />
Paul, I said that it was not expensive,”<br />
United manager Mourinho<br />
told British media.<br />
“Expensive are the ones who<br />
get into a certain level without a<br />
certain quality...For 200m pounds<br />
($264.46m), I don’t think (Neymar)<br />
is expensive.<br />
“I think he’s expensive in the<br />
fact that now you are going to have<br />
more players at 100m pounds, you<br />
are going have more players at 80m<br />
and more players at 60m. And I<br />
think that’s the problem.<br />
“Neymar is one of the best players<br />
in the world, commercially<br />
he is very strong and for sure PSG<br />
thought about it. So I think the<br />
problem is not Neymar, I think the<br />
problem is the consequences of<br />
Neymar.”<br />
Liverpool manager Klopp criticised<br />
the deal and questioned the<br />
effectiveness of Uefa’s Financial<br />
Fair Play rules, which stipulate that<br />
a club’s wage bill must not exceed<br />
70% of its revenue.<br />
“There are clubs that can pay<br />
fees like that - Manchester City<br />
and PSG. Everyone knows that,”<br />
Klopp told reporters in Munich on<br />
Wednesday.<br />
City are owned by United Arab<br />
Emirates billionaire Sheikh Mansour<br />
bin Zayed Al Nahyan, while<br />
PSG were taken over in 2012 by Qatar<br />
Sports Investments, an arm of<br />
Qatar’s sovereign wealth fund.<br />
“I thought fair play was made so<br />
that situations like that can’t happen.<br />
That’s more of a suggestion<br />
than a real rule. I don’t understand<br />
that. I don’t know how it happens,”<br />
Klopp added.<br />
Uefa told Reuters on Wednesday<br />
that no complaint had been<br />
received about PSG, adding that it<br />
would not block any potential deal<br />
in advance. •<br />
Spanish media<br />
hail ‘transfer of<br />
the century’<br />
• AFP<br />
Neymar’s imminent record-shattering<br />
move from Barcelona to Paris<br />
Saint-Germain was hailed as “the<br />
signing that changes the history<br />
of football” by French and Spanish<br />
media yesterday.<br />
<strong>Paper</strong>s in both cities went to<br />
town on the Brazilian striker’s forecast<br />
222m euro ($260m) transfer<br />
from the Catalan giants to PSG.<br />
With Neymar expected in the<br />
French capital later yesterday Le<br />
Parisien devoted three-quarters<br />
of its front page to the man set to<br />
become the world’s most valuable<br />
player. Under the headline<br />
“Neymar to PSG - the transfer of<br />
the century” was a photograph of<br />
the 25-year-old “photo-shopped”<br />
sporting a PSG jersey.<br />
“Neymar could be wearing the<br />
Parisian shirt from this week” read<br />
the caption, with the paper devoting<br />
its first five pages to his expected<br />
arrival.<br />
French sports daily L’Equipe<br />
devoted their entire front page to<br />
a picture of Neymar behind the<br />
wheel of his car turning up to say<br />
goodbye to Lionel Messi and his<br />
Barcelona teammates on Wednesday<br />
morning, under the headline,<br />
“He’s arriving”. In Spain, the coverage<br />
was sobre and reflective.<br />
“The signing that changes the<br />
history of football,” wrote Marca,<br />
while for AS, with a nod to the extraordinary<br />
buy-out clause PSG’s<br />
Qatari-owners are set to settle,<br />
Neymar’s transfer was a case of<br />
“Pay and go”. La Vanguardia dwelt<br />
on what his departure meant for<br />
Bacelona - “Neymar’s escape obliges<br />
Barca to reinvent themselves”.<br />
In a dramatic 24 hours Neymar<br />
paid his farewell to Barca on<br />
Wednesday morning, before jumping<br />
on a private jet to Porto to reportedly<br />
undergo a medical before<br />
his expected arrival in the French<br />
capital on Thursday afternoon.<br />
Neymar could be unveiled to<br />
fans tomorrow evening when PSG<br />
open their new Ligue 1 season<br />
against Amiens. •
20<br />
FRIDAY, AUGUST 4, <strong>2017</strong><br />
DT<br />
Green University<br />
clinch Faraaz<br />
Challenge Cup<br />
• Tribune Report<br />
Green University emerged as the<br />
unbeaten champion in the Walton<br />
Inter University Football Tournament<br />
(Faraaz Challenge Cup) after<br />
beating Far East University comfortably<br />
2-0 in the grand finale at<br />
Birsreshtha Sepahi Mustafa Kamal<br />
Stadium in Kamalapur yesterday.<br />
The champion went ahead in<br />
the 13th minute when Mohammad<br />
Rubel Islam headed home a Suman<br />
Reza cross.<br />
Rubel netted his second of the<br />
day in the 26th minute.<br />
They could have extended the<br />
lead after resumption but missed<br />
from the penalty spot.<br />
Green University goalkeeper<br />
Subho was adjudged player of the<br />
final for his brilliant display. Alamgir<br />
Rana from the champion side<br />
became the best player of the tournament.<br />
Green University’s Suman finished<br />
as the top-scorer of the tournament.<br />
The champion side received Tk<br />
two lakh as prize money while the<br />
runners-up team pocketed Tk one<br />
lakh. •<br />
Sports<br />
Respected Klitschko<br />
announces retirement<br />
• Reuters<br />
Wladimir Klitschko ruled the heavyweight<br />
scene with a steel glove<br />
for more than a decade yet it was<br />
a defeat by Anthony Joshua which<br />
ensured the Ukrainian retired yesterday<br />
with the universal respect<br />
that eluded him for so long.<br />
Often denigrated for a robotic<br />
style, short on flair, Klitschko reigned<br />
supreme in a heavyweight era suffering<br />
from a dearth of box office<br />
names. The 41-year-old dispatched a<br />
regular supply of average fighters to<br />
reach 64 career victories yet few, if<br />
any of them, will feature in a showreel<br />
of the sport’s greatest contests.<br />
Instead it will be his final fight,<br />
against Britain’s Joshua, that will<br />
be define Klitschko’s legacy.<br />
Despite a 14-year age gap and<br />
fighting in front of a partisan 90,000<br />
Wembley Stadium crowd, Klitschko<br />
produced arguably his best performance<br />
before being stopped in the<br />
11th round of a sensational fight.<br />
Had he finished off a wobbling<br />
Joshua in the sixth round Klitschko<br />
would have become only the second<br />
fighter after George Foreman<br />
to win a recognised version of the<br />
world title as a 40-something.<br />
Yet, even in defeat, a global<br />
audience finally gave the Germany-based<br />
fighter the acclaim he<br />
Sk Jamal, Ctg Abahani<br />
keep winning<br />
• Shishir Hoque<br />
Sheikh Jamal Dhanmondi Club registered<br />
their second consecutive<br />
victory in the Bangladesh Premier<br />
Football League after edging Team<br />
BJMC 1-0 at the water-logged Bangabandhu<br />
National Stadium yesterday.<br />
Sheikh Jamal made changed<br />
their foreign recruits in the starting<br />
XI with Raphael Odoyin and Solomon<br />
King getting the nod ahead of<br />
Gambian attacker Momodou Ba.<br />
Raphael created the first scoring<br />
chance of the game seven minutes<br />
into the clock but Team BJMC<br />
goalkeeper Shohag Hossain Palash<br />
denied the Nigerian striker with a<br />
decent save.<br />
In the 20th minute, Team BJMC<br />
forward Mohammad Shariful<br />
danced down the left flank to enter<br />
the penalty area before taking a low<br />
left-footer that went straight into<br />
the hands of Sheikh Jamal keeper<br />
Mitul.<br />
Team BJMC custodian Palash<br />
continued his fine display between<br />
the posts as he produced another<br />
outstanding save in the 39th minute<br />
and this time, Raphael was<br />
again on the other side.<br />
Solomon set up Raphael with a<br />
defence-splitting through pass, the<br />
latter broke into the penalty area<br />
leaving his markers behind but Palash<br />
dived to his right to deny the<br />
Nigerian’s effort.<br />
Nurul Absar gave the Dhanmondi<br />
outfit the deserved lead nine<br />
minutes into the second half.<br />
A low cross from Ali Hossain<br />
found the unmarked Nurul at the<br />
edge of the six-yard box.<br />
Nurul then placed home with a<br />
left-footed side volley.<br />
Palash made another amazing<br />
save in the 83rd minute.<br />
Substitute winger Momodou’s<br />
intial strike changed its direction<br />
towards goal after a deflection<br />
from Cameroonian defender Bayback<br />
Esaie but the Team BJMC netminder<br />
stretched to his top right to<br />
tip away for a corner.<br />
Meanwhile, big-spending Chittagong<br />
Abahani Limited also continued<br />
their winning streak as they<br />
defeated traditional crowd-puller<br />
Mohammedan Sporting Club Limited<br />
with the same margin of 1-0 in<br />
the day’s second match at the same<br />
venue. •<br />
deserved for a career in which he<br />
carried the a sport so often dragged<br />
into the gutter with professionalism<br />
and dignity.<br />
An eagerly anticipated Las Vegas<br />
re-match with Joshua was in the<br />
pipeline, yet Klitschko, who had<br />
lost his WBA, IBF and WBO heavyweight<br />
belts in a disappointing defeat<br />
by Britain’s Tyson Fury in 2015,<br />
has decided enough is enough.<br />
Klitschko’s manager Bernd<br />
Boente said his man had not lost<br />
his powers, but was no longer prepared<br />
to put himself though the<br />
10-week training camps needed to<br />
prepare for big fights.<br />
Klitschko turned professional<br />
in 1996 shortly after winning super-heavyweight<br />
gold at the Atlanta<br />
Olympics.<br />
He won his first 24 fights before<br />
losing to American Ross Puritty in<br />
1998 - his only fight in his native<br />
Ukraine. Klitschko won his first<br />
world title in 2000, beating American<br />
Chris Byrd to claim the WBO title.<br />
He suffered defeats at the hands<br />
of South Africa’s Corrie Sanders<br />
and American Lamon Brewster in<br />
2003 and 2004.<br />
After teaming up with trainer<br />
Emanuel Steward, Klitschko became<br />
a far greater all-round fighter<br />
and went 11 years unbeaten before<br />
losing to Fury. •<br />
FACTBOX<br />
• Reuters<br />
Factbox on former heavyweight<br />
world champion Wladimir<br />
Klitschko, who announced his<br />
retirement from boxing yesterday.<br />
Born: March 25, 1976 Semipalatinsk,<br />
Kazakhstan (Age 41)<br />
Win-loss record: 64-5 (53<br />
knockouts)<br />
EARLY YEARS<br />
t Won gold medal at junior<br />
European championships in<br />
Thessaloniki as a heavyweight in<br />
1993. Claimed silver at the junior<br />
world championships in Istanbul<br />
a year later.<br />
t Won gold medal at the 1996<br />
Olympics in the super-heavyweight<br />
division as an amateur.<br />
PROFESSIONAL CAREER<br />
t Built an undefeated record of<br />
24-0 with 22 knockouts before<br />
suffering his first loss to Ross<br />
Puritty in Klitschko’s only professional<br />
bout in Ukraine.<br />
t Defeated American Chris Byrd<br />
in 2000 to win the WBO heavyweight<br />
title. His reign ended<br />
with a defeat to Corrie Sanders<br />
in 2003.<br />
t Regained the IBF and IBO titles<br />
in a rematch with Byrd in 2006.<br />
t Won the WBO title for the second<br />
time by defeating Russian<br />
Sultan Ibragimov in 2008.<br />
Action from the BPL match between Mohammedan and Ctg Abahani at<br />
Bangabandhu National Stadium yesterday<br />
MD MANIK
Sports<br />
21<br />
FRIDAY, AUGUST 4, <strong>2017</strong><br />
DT<br />
India's Cheteshwar Pujara plays a shot during the opening day of their second Test against Sri Lanka yesterday<br />
DAY’S WATCH<br />
CRICKET<br />
STAR SPORTS SELECT 1<br />
4:00PM<br />
South Africa Tour of England<br />
4th Test, Day 1<br />
12:00AM<br />
Natwest T20 Blast <strong>2017</strong><br />
Birmingham Bears v Worcestershire<br />
SONY SIX<br />
10:30AM<br />
India Tour of Sri Lanka<br />
2nd Test, Day 2<br />
FOOTBALL<br />
SONY TEN 2<br />
12:30AM<br />
French Ligue 1 <strong>2017</strong>/18<br />
Monaco v Toulouse<br />
REUTERS<br />
Pujara, Rahane tons put<br />
India on top in Colombo<br />
• Reuters, Colombo<br />
Real Madrid top MLS All-Stars in shootout<br />
• AFP, Chicago<br />
Marcelo scored on the decisive penalty<br />
kick as La Liga and Champions<br />
League title holder Real Madrid<br />
took a shootout victory Wednesday<br />
over the Major League Soccer All-<br />
Stars.<br />
Real played to a 1-1 draw in regulation<br />
time in the MLS All-Star<br />
Game before taking the shootout<br />
4-2 before a sellout crowd of 61,000<br />
at Soldier Field, the home stadium<br />
of the NFL’s Chicago Bears.<br />
Borja Mayoral opened the scoring<br />
in the 59th minute for Real,<br />
which controlled possession of the<br />
ball throughout the contest.<br />
Mayoral found open space in<br />
front of the goal before taking a<br />
short pass.<br />
His well-timed shot deflected<br />
off the leg of a diving defender<br />
and into the back of the net for the<br />
Spanish giant, who were playing<br />
without superstar Cristiano Ronaldo.<br />
Dom Dwyer, an England-born<br />
member of the US national team,<br />
equalized for the MLS squad in the<br />
87th minute with a header from in<br />
close.<br />
Dwyer was in the right place for<br />
the rebound after Dax McCarty’s<br />
header off a corner kick bounced<br />
off the post, winning a foot race<br />
‘Genius Matic needs time to get ready’<br />
• Reuters<br />
Manchester United’s newest recruit<br />
Nemanja Matic is a “genius”<br />
in his understanding of the game<br />
but needs time to settle in, manager<br />
Jose Mourinho said, following<br />
the midfielder’s debut in the team’s<br />
2-1 pre-season win over Sampdoria.<br />
Matic completed his move to<br />
United from Premier League champion<br />
Chelsea on Monday, reuniting<br />
with Mourinho who coached the<br />
London side from 2013 to 2015.<br />
Mourinho said Matic “needs<br />
time” but that he would be helped<br />
by his “experience, intelligence,<br />
a genius in the way he thinks - he<br />
with Real’s 19-year-old goalkeeper<br />
Luca Zidane, who entered late in<br />
the second half.<br />
Real will now return to Europe<br />
to meet Manchester United in the<br />
Uefa Super Cup in Macedonia on<br />
Tuesday, then take on Barcelona in<br />
the two-legged Spanish Super Cup<br />
on <strong>August</strong> 13 and 16 before opening<br />
the La Liga season on <strong>August</strong> 20.<br />
Real coach Zinedine Zidane rotated<br />
his squad liberally during the<br />
contest.<br />
The stars made their appearances<br />
but he also inserted several<br />
youngsters and fringe players who<br />
are trying to make the club.<br />
At times when the stars were on<br />
thinks football.”<br />
“We will help him to be ready<br />
sooner rather than later,” the manager<br />
told reporters during Wednesday’s<br />
post-match press conference<br />
the field it was a humbling affair for<br />
the MLS.<br />
Left back Greg Garza had to<br />
leave the game in the first half with<br />
a possible separated shoulder that<br />
will cost him some time with Atlanta<br />
United.<br />
The All-Star match marks<br />
the end of a four-match, 11-day<br />
pre-season US tour for Real that included<br />
a 3-2 loss to rival Barcelona<br />
in a Clasico matchup at Miami on<br />
Sunday.<br />
Real also drew United before<br />
falling in penalties to the English<br />
side in San Francisco on July 23<br />
and lost to Manchester City in Los<br />
Angeles on July 26. •<br />
Mourinho said he was pleased<br />
for getting three of his four transfer<br />
targets in the current window, with<br />
29-year-old Matic joining striker<br />
Romelu Lukaku and defender Victor<br />
Lindelof in the club’s ranks.<br />
“To get three out of four - I<br />
thank the club for that. I will be<br />
happier if they get me four of four<br />
but they did a great effort for me,”<br />
Mourinho said.<br />
United’s victory over Sampdoria<br />
marked the end of United’s<br />
pre-season fixtures as the Europa<br />
League champion prepare to face<br />
Champions League winner Real<br />
Madrid in the Uefa Super Cup on<br />
Tuesday. •<br />
2ND TEST, DAY 1<br />
INDIA 1ST INNINGS R B<br />
Rahul run out (Chandimal) 57 82<br />
Pujara not out 128 225<br />
Kohli c Mathews b Herath 13 29<br />
Rahane not out 103 168<br />
Extras (b 4, nb 1, lb 3) 8<br />
Total (90/3 overs) 344<br />
Fall Of Wickets<br />
1-56 (Dhawan), 2-109 (Rahul), 3-133 (Kohli)<br />
Bowling<br />
Fernando 17.4-2-63-0, Herath 24-3-83-1,<br />
Karunaratne 3-0-10-0, Perera 18-2-68-<br />
1, Pushpakumara 19.2-0-82-0, De Silva<br />
8-0-31-0<br />
Toss: India<br />
Cheteshwar Pujara registered his<br />
second century of the series while<br />
Ajinkya Rahane also notched up a<br />
hundred as two of India’s most dependable<br />
batsmen laid the foundation<br />
for a massive first innings total<br />
in the second Test against Sri Lanka<br />
yesterday.<br />
Pujara’s 50th Test turned out to<br />
be an eventful one as India’s No 3<br />
nearly perished in the slip early in<br />
his innings and ran out partner KL<br />
Rahul before making amends with<br />
his burgeoning 211-run stand with<br />
Rahane.<br />
Pujara, who also completed<br />
4,000 Test runs in the process, was<br />
batting on 128 at stumps, his 13th<br />
Test century containing 10 boundaries<br />
and a pulled six off debutant<br />
spinner Malinda Pushpakumara.<br />
Rahane, who survived a couple<br />
of reviews, hit 12 boundaries in his<br />
fluent 103 not out, as India utterly<br />
dominated the opening day of the<br />
contest to reach 344 for three.<br />
Alarmingly for Sri Lanka, still<br />
smarting from their comprehensive<br />
defeat in the series opener in<br />
Galle, lone frontline paceman Nuwan<br />
Pradeep left the field in the<br />
final session clutching his left hamstring.<br />
India got off to a brisk start after<br />
skipper Virat Kohli opted to bat<br />
on a dry surface with Rahul, who<br />
missed India’s victory in Galle with<br />
high-fever, and Shikhar Dhawan<br />
scoring freely against a spin-heavy<br />
Sri Lankan attack. •<br />
Average start<br />
for Siddikur at<br />
TAKE Solutions<br />
Masters<br />
• Tribune Report<br />
Premier Bangladesh golfer Siddikur<br />
Rahman, who finished an incredible<br />
third in the recently concluded<br />
Porsche European Open, started<br />
off in disappointing fashion in the<br />
inaugural edition of the TAKE Solutions<br />
Masters at Karnataka Golf Association<br />
Golf Course in Bengaluru,<br />
India yesterday.<br />
Siddikur carded two-over-par 73<br />
in the first round of the $300,000<br />
tournament to find himself tied for<br />
70th position, alongside 18 others.<br />
The 32-year old golfer from Madaripur<br />
hit three bogeys against a<br />
single birdie and trails early leader<br />
Poom Saksansin of Thailand by<br />
nine shots.<br />
TAKE Solutions is a globally recognised<br />
knowledge intensive player,<br />
delivering comprehensive and<br />
niche solutions in Life Sciences.<br />
TAKE Solutions will title sponsor<br />
the new Asian Tour tournament<br />
in India for the next three years until<br />
2019.<br />
Through this new collaboration<br />
between TAKE Solutions, Asian Tour<br />
and PGTI, at least 40 Indian golfers<br />
will have the opportunity to compete<br />
against the region’s leading golfers<br />
where a win will be rewarded with<br />
full playing rights on the Asian Tour<br />
until the end of the 2018 season. •
22<br />
FRIDAY, AUGUST 4, <strong>2017</strong><br />
DT<br />
Showtime<br />
Star Cineplex to release three anticipated flicks<br />
• Showtime Desk<br />
Much to the delight of the<br />
local movie enthusiasts, Star<br />
Cineplex is set to release three<br />
contemporary anticipated flicks<br />
on <strong>August</strong> 4 - Kidnap, The Dark<br />
Tower and Valerian and The City<br />
of Thousand Planets. Star Cineplex<br />
is releasing Kidnap and The Dark<br />
Tower on the same day of the<br />
films’ international opening, while<br />
Valerian and The City of Thousand<br />
Planets was released recently on<br />
July 21.<br />
Oscar winner, Halle Berry<br />
starrer Kidnap is an American<br />
action-thriller film which is<br />
directed by Luis Prieto and<br />
penned by Knate Gwaltney, The<br />
film follows a mother who tries<br />
to rescue her abducted son from<br />
dangerous kidnappers. Kidnap also<br />
features the likes of Lew Temple,<br />
Sage Correa and Chris McGinn in<br />
different roles.<br />
The Dark Tower, on the other<br />
hand, is an American sci-fi which<br />
has been directed and co-written<br />
by Nikolaj Arcel. The film is a<br />
continuation of Stephen King’s<br />
novel series of the same name<br />
which narrates the story of the<br />
last Gunslinger, Roland Deschain,<br />
who has been locked in an eternal<br />
battle with Walter O’Dim, also<br />
known as the Man in Black, who is<br />
determined to prevent him from<br />
toppling the Dark Tower, which<br />
holds the universe together. With<br />
the fate of the world at stake, good<br />
and evil will collide in the ultimate<br />
battle since only Roland can defend<br />
the Tower from the Man in Black.<br />
The film stars Idris Elba in the<br />
role of Roland Deschain while<br />
Matthew McConaughey plays the<br />
role of the Man in Black. Jackie<br />
Earle Haley and Katheryn Winnick<br />
are also cast members in the film.<br />
The third film, Valerian and<br />
the City of a Thousand Planets<br />
is a French sci-fi-slash-actionadventure<br />
film. Written and<br />
directed by Luc Besson and coproduced<br />
by Besson and his wife,<br />
Virginie Besson-Silla, the film<br />
is based on the popular French<br />
sci-fi comics series Valérian and<br />
Laureline.<br />
In the film, a dark force<br />
threatens Alpha, a vast metropolis<br />
and home to species from<br />
a thousand planets. Special<br />
operatives Valerian and Laureline<br />
must race to identify the<br />
marauding menace and safeguard<br />
not just Alpha, but the future of<br />
the universe.<br />
The film stars Dane DeHaan<br />
as Valerian and Cara Delevingne<br />
as Laureline, with Clive Owen,<br />
Rihanna, Ethan Hawke, Herbie<br />
Hancock, Kris Wu, and Rutger<br />
Hauer in supporting roles. Besson<br />
independently crowd-sourced and<br />
personally funded Valerian and,<br />
with a production budget between<br />
$177–210 million, it is both the<br />
most expensive European and<br />
independent film ever made.<br />
The film was released by STX<br />
Entertainment on July 21 in the<br />
United States and on July 26 in<br />
France by EuropaCorp. After it’s<br />
release, Valerian received mixed<br />
reviews from critics, some of<br />
whom criticised the writing and<br />
plot of the film but praised the<br />
visuals. •<br />
Arfin Rumey to debut in film<br />
• Showtime Desk<br />
More commonly known as a<br />
singer and music composer,<br />
Arfin Rumey has been<br />
occasionally seen in a number<br />
of music videos previously. But<br />
the popular cricketer turned pop<br />
singer is now ready to further<br />
his on-screen journey and has<br />
already signed a deal to appear<br />
in an upcoming film titled<br />
Jannat.<br />
Interestingly, he will be seen<br />
performing his own track in the<br />
film. Titled “Papi Tapi Mon,” the<br />
singer composed the song with<br />
lyrics from Sudip Kumar Dip.<br />
“The story demands a<br />
concert scene in the film which<br />
will feature a singer, singing<br />
at a Pahela Boishakh concert.<br />
The scene may be short but<br />
it is very important, which is<br />
why I’ve decided to cast a real<br />
singer in the scene and Rumey<br />
was onboard,” said Musatifzur<br />
Rahman, director of Jannat.<br />
The shooting of the film has<br />
started since Ramadan but was<br />
hindered due to rain and the<br />
director looks forward to finish<br />
the remaining bits as soon as<br />
possible.<br />
However, two popular actors<br />
of Dhallywood, Mahiya Mahi<br />
and Saimon Sadik will play the<br />
lead roles of the film. The film<br />
will also feature Aliraz, Misha<br />
Sowdagar, Shimul Khan in<br />
different roles. Produced by SS<br />
Multimedia, Sudipto Saeed Khan<br />
penned the story, while Asad<br />
Zaman wrote the screenplay of<br />
Jannat. •
Showtime<br />
FRIDAY,<br />
Liberation War based film<br />
to get an international<br />
release<br />
23<br />
AUGUST 4, <strong>2017</strong><br />
Emma Roberts<br />
confirmed for American<br />
Horror Story<br />
DT<br />
• Showtime Desk<br />
A feature film based on the<br />
unknown history of the 1971<br />
Bangladesh Liberation War is set<br />
to have a worldwide release in<br />
December this year. Titled Tumi<br />
Bahir Theke, the film has been<br />
directed by Sajal Ahmed and Ujjal<br />
Chakraborty,<br />
Tumi Bahir Theke will get a<br />
simultaneous release in London,<br />
Paris, Rome, Berlin, Stockholm,<br />
New York, Los Angeles and<br />
Montreal, among others.<br />
The political thriller is a<br />
tribute to the freedom fighters<br />
that fought for Bangladesh’s<br />
liberation.<br />
“The decision to showcase<br />
the film in the aforementioned<br />
cities is due to the influence the<br />
Bengali community wields in<br />
those regions,” Chakraborty said.<br />
The film is expected to release<br />
the occasion of the Victory Day of<br />
Photo: Amiya Tarafdar/Liberation War E-Archive Trust<br />
Bangladesh on December 16.<br />
The respective Bengali<br />
Associations will help the team<br />
in the release process, added<br />
Chakraborty.<br />
“Tumi Bahir Theke captured<br />
the atmosphere in the year<br />
1971, when some people resided<br />
outside Bangladesh - in cities like<br />
Kolkata, London and New York,”<br />
he said while talking about the<br />
story line of the film. •<br />
• Showtime Desk<br />
For the upcoming Cult season,<br />
Emma Roberts is confirmed to<br />
return to the American Horror<br />
Story franchise.<br />
The anthology horror<br />
series creator Ryan Murphy<br />
confirmed the news by posting<br />
a picture of her on Instagram<br />
on Tuesday, in which the<br />
26-year-old actress is holding<br />
up a knife with a very sinister<br />
smile.<br />
Murphy captioned the<br />
picture, “Look who showed<br />
up on the set of Cult looking<br />
glamorous and ready for<br />
action.”<br />
It’s yet to be revealed on<br />
which character she’ll be<br />
playing, or how many episodes<br />
she’ll appear in.<br />
Meanwhile, the Scream<br />
Queens actress also shared a<br />
behind-the-scenes picture,<br />
saying, “I’ve joined #ahscult<br />
will you?”<br />
Previously, she appeared in<br />
season 3, Coven, and season<br />
4, Freak Show, during she<br />
played Madison and Maggie,<br />
respectively.<br />
The latest instalment of<br />
the anthology series also stars<br />
Roberts’ real-life boyfriend<br />
Evan Peters, as well as other<br />
franchise favourites like Sarah<br />
Paulson, Cheyenne Jackson,<br />
Adina Porter, Frances Conroy<br />
and Mare Winningham. The<br />
season cast also includes Billie<br />
Lourd, Colton Haynes, Billy<br />
Eichner, Leslie Grossman,<br />
Alison Pill and the most recent<br />
addition, Lena Dunham.<br />
The seventh series of<br />
the anthology horror show<br />
will air on TV screens on<br />
September 5. •<br />
A song featuring<br />
Bangabandhu<br />
• Showtime Desk<br />
Kamalika Chakraborty grew<br />
up listening to the story of<br />
Bangabandhu from his father in<br />
her childhood. Since then, she<br />
develops immense admiration<br />
towards Sheikh Mujibur Rahman.<br />
Later, she gets the idea about<br />
level of feeling and adoration<br />
of the people of Bangladesh<br />
towards the founding father<br />
of the country when she came<br />
here. In fact, the feeling by the<br />
masses towards Bangabandhu<br />
overwhelms her. Then, she<br />
started pondering she has to do<br />
something for Bangabandhu, for<br />
the people of this land.<br />
With this thought, she started<br />
working on the song in March<br />
this year. This is her first original<br />
track, which she wrapped up in<br />
the meantime.<br />
Shawkat Islam penned its<br />
lyrics and<br />
composed<br />
its music.<br />
From early<br />
<strong>August</strong>, a<br />
music video<br />
of the song<br />
slated to air<br />
on Ekushey<br />
TV and some<br />
other channels<br />
as well.<br />
The singer<br />
said, “I wanted to<br />
portray a father figure<br />
of Bangabandhu in the eyes<br />
of the Prime Minister Sheikh<br />
Hasina. Especially, her mental<br />
state during the period when<br />
Bangabandhu was held in<br />
prison.”<br />
The singer has also revealed<br />
that the Prime Minister listened<br />
to the song, and it had an impact<br />
on her.<br />
Born in India, Kamalika is<br />
currently living in Bangladesh.<br />
She is the daughter-in-law of<br />
the late journalist and member<br />
of parli ament Baby Maudud. An<br />
avid singer from her childhood,<br />
Kamalika has garnered attention<br />
after performing in some stage<br />
shows in Bangladesh and India. •
24<br />
FRIDAY, AUGUST 4, <strong>2017</strong><br />
DT<br />
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Meet the porn king of Bangladesh<br />
• Tarek Mahmud<br />
CRIME <br />
A man, aspiring to make big bucks<br />
in a short time with his escort service<br />
and pornographic websites,<br />
was arrested from his Uttara residence<br />
in Dhaka early Wednesday<br />
by a team of Rapid Action Battalion<br />
(RAB).<br />
When taken into custody, the<br />
arrestee, Md Fuad Bin Sultan, 33,<br />
termed himself an artist of the<br />
world of pornography, said RAB<br />
1 Commanding Officer Lt Col Md<br />
Sarwar-Bin-Quasem.<br />
The RAB team also seized some<br />
pirated CDs, a laptop allegedly<br />
used to run Fuad’s porn sites,<br />
masks, equipment to run the sites,<br />
and some yaba pills.<br />
Son of former deputy inspector<br />
general Sultan Ahmed, Fuad,<br />
an English literature graduate,<br />
left a lucrative job in a multinational<br />
company in 2011 to establish<br />
his business, the RAB official<br />
said.<br />
He rented two flats in a building<br />
owned by his parents in Uttara<br />
for which he paid Tk45,000 to his<br />
mother every month. He also rented<br />
flats in Gulshan.<br />
Fuad started his business with<br />
porn. He started in 2014 and by<br />
2016 had two porn sites up and<br />
running. Eventually he launched<br />
his escort service, RAB said.<br />
“He provided naked pictures<br />
and contact details of female escorts<br />
on his websites. Access to<br />
those websites is not open to all;<br />
one has to register and get a unique<br />
password in exchange of money,”<br />
said RAB 1 Commanding Officer<br />
Sarwar.<br />
After a client chose an escort,<br />
Fuad would arrange for their “date”<br />
at one of his flats and would make<br />
videos of their sexual acts, which<br />
he would later use to blackmail the<br />
women into having sex with other<br />
clients. He also provided drugs<br />
such as yaba to his clients, the RAB<br />
official said.<br />
Fuad also posted these videos<br />
on his porn websites and sold them<br />
to porn sites abroad, he added.<br />
When he was arrested, Fuad had<br />
eight porn sites running. RAB is now<br />
working to shut all of them down, as<br />
well as preparing to take legal action<br />
against Fuad, Sarwar said.<br />
Md Fuad Bin Sultan<br />
PHOTO: RAB<br />
CTTC arrests fake Pir for using sex<br />
videos for extortion<br />
Meanwhile, a Cyber Security and<br />
Crime Prevention team of police’s<br />
Counter-Terrorism and Transnational<br />
Crimes (CTTC) unit arrested<br />
a fraud Pir in Dhaka who forcefully<br />
had sex with women in the name<br />
of “treatment,” made secret videos<br />
of the act and used those videos to<br />
extort money from the women.<br />
He tortured<br />
women supposedly<br />
possessed by Jinns<br />
as an exorcism ritual,<br />
and sometimes he<br />
forced them to have<br />
sex with him<br />
Ahsan Habib Pear, 25, was arrested<br />
from his Khilgaon residence on<br />
Tuesday after CTTC received complaints<br />
from two of his victims. The<br />
law enforcement team also seized a<br />
computer and a mobile phone from<br />
his possession.<br />
Posing as a Pir, Ahsan used both<br />
charm and intimidation to get close<br />
to his female followers, said CTTC<br />
Additional Deputy Commissioner<br />
Md Nazmul Islam.<br />
A former student of Dawra-e-Hadith,<br />
Ahsan gained popularity<br />
with his religious preaching<br />
on his YouTube channel.<br />
He also had fan clubs on Facebook,<br />
WhatsApp, Twitter and Viber,<br />
said the CTTC official.<br />
“He tortured women supposedly<br />
possessed by Jinns as an exorcism<br />
ritual, and sometimes he<br />
forced them to have sex with him,<br />
convincing the women that it was<br />
also a ritual,” he added.<br />
Ahsan also used his fan clubs<br />
to connect with female followers.<br />
He would have lewd conversations<br />
with them and sometimes met<br />
with them. During those meetings,<br />
he would convince them to have<br />
sex with him.<br />
He made videos of his sexual encounters<br />
with his followers and later<br />
used them to extort the women.<br />
“He extorted Tk500,000 from<br />
one woman and Tk300,000 from another.<br />
We found 20 such videos on<br />
his computer,” said a CTTC official.<br />
ADC Md Nazmul Islam said a case<br />
had been filed against Ahsan with<br />
Khilgaon police station under the<br />
ICT Act and the Pornography Act. •<br />
Most Indian languages<br />
may die out in 50 years<br />
• Reuters<br />
WORLD <br />
More than half of the languages<br />
spoken by India’s 1.3<br />
billion people may die out<br />
over the next 50 years, scholars<br />
said on Thursday, calling<br />
for a concerted effort to preserve<br />
the tongues spoken by<br />
the nation’s endangered tribal<br />
communities.<br />
The People’s Linguistic<br />
Survey of India (PSLI) raised<br />
the alarm during the launch<br />
of the latest 11 volumes in its<br />
planned 50 volume survey of<br />
the country’s languages. India’s<br />
people speak as many as<br />
780 different languages, the<br />
PSLI said.<br />
“At least 400 Indian languages<br />
are at the risk of dying<br />
in coming 50 years,” GN Devy,<br />
the chairman of PSLI, said.<br />
Each time a language is lost,<br />
the corresponding culture is<br />
killed, Devy said, adding that<br />
India had already lost 250 languages<br />
in last five decades.<br />
The group of scholars and<br />
teachers at PSLI documents<br />
Indian regional languages in<br />
order to conserve cultural<br />
heritage and diversity.<br />
Most at risk are marginal<br />
tribal communities whose<br />
children receive no education<br />
or, if they do go to<br />
school, are taught in one of<br />
India’s 22 officially recognised<br />
languages.<br />
“Maithili, which is spoken<br />
in the eastern state of Bihar,<br />
is at least 1,000 years old.<br />
Similarly there are several<br />
old languages which are surviving<br />
somehow in India, but<br />
we are hardly passing them<br />
on,” said political psychologist<br />
Ashis Nandy.<br />
Devy said the PSLI will<br />
start work on a project to<br />
document about 6,000 living<br />
languages spoken around the<br />
world. The report is scheduled<br />
to come out by 2025. •<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 />
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