November 23, 2015

SECOND EDITION

MONDAY, NOVEMBER 23, 2015 | Agrahayan 9, 1422, Safar 10, 1437 | Regd No DA 6238, Vol 3, No 217 | www.dhakatribune.com | 32 pages | Price: Tk10

TRIAL BANDWIDTH EXPORT TO INDIA BEGINS PAGE 15

PAY SCALE AGAIN SENT FOR VETTING PAGE 32

HOW THE CLEMENCY POWER WORKS PAGE 3

Nizami appeal to end by Dec 15n Tribune Report

Attorney General Mahbubey Alam has ex-pressed hope that the Supreme Court will complete the hearing by December 15 on an appeal � led by convicted war criminal Mo-tiur Rahman Nizami challenging his death sentence.

Talking to reporters yesterday, Mahbubey said that the top court would go on a 20-day vacation from December 16 – the country’s Victory Day. So, he hoped that the hearing in Jamaat-e-Islami chief’s appeal would be completed before the vacation started.

The four-member Appellate Division bench led by Chief Justice SK Sinha com-menced the hearing on September 9. Nizami � led the appeal seeking acquittal on Novem-ber 23 last year.

So far, the defence has completed reading out the statements of nine out of the 20 pros-ecution witnesses from the paperbook.

Jamaat Ameer Nizami was sentenced to death by the International Crimes Tribunal on October 29 last year for his involvement in the killing of intellectuals by al-Badr force in Dhaka; and murder of 450 civilians and rape

PAGE 2 COLUMN 4

SQ Chy, Mujahid buried amidtight securityn Tribune Report

With threats being made that their burials would be resisted, executed war criminals Salauddin Quader Chowdhury and Ali Ahsan Mohammad Mujahid were interred in their respective home districts, amid a strict secu-rity blanket.

SQ Chowdhury, better known as Saka Chowdhury, was buried yesterday morning at his family graveyard in Gohira village, Raozan upazila, Chittagong district.

Although local Awami League leaders and activists and the Chittagong University unit of the Bangladesh Chhatra League vowed to resist the burial of the executed war criminal, there were no reports of disturbances.

Twenty platoons of police, two platoons of Border Guard Bangladesh and members of the Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) and Armed Police Battalion (APBn) were deployed to Raozan to provide security.

The BNP leader was hanged at 12:55am yesterday for crimes against humanity

PAGE 2 COLUMN 1ASMAUL HOQUE MAMUN/DT INFOGRAPHIC

QUADER MOLLAExecutedDecember 122013

SALAUDDINExecutedNovember 222015

KAMARUZZAMANExecutedApril 112015

SAYEDEEExecutedSeptember 16 2014

MUJAHIDExecutedNovember 222015

ATM AZHAR

Appeal pending

MIR QUASEM

Appeal pending

NIZAMI

Appeal pending

ABDUS SUBHAN

Appeal pending

● AKM Yusuf died during trial period on February 9, 2014● Convicted by tribunal, war criminal Abdul Alim died on August 30, 2014● Convicted war criminal Ghulam Azam died on October 23, 2014

STATUS OF WAR CRIMES APPEALS CASES

News2DTMONDAY, NOVEMBER 23, 2015

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1Nizami appealin Bausgari and Demra, killings of 52 people in Dhulaura, killings of 11 people and rape of three women in Karamja in Pabna.

Nizami, in jail since July 29, 2010, was sen-tenced to death in the 10-truck arms haul case.

In the appeal, Nizami said the tribunal failed to consider that he was never associat-ed with any Pakistan-backed auxiliary force, including al-Badr. The defence sought to ar-gue on 168 points.

In its verdict, the tribunal stated that Nizami as chief of both Islami Chhatra Sang-ha, then Jamaat’s student wing, and al-Badr had civil superior responsibility in the com-mission of o� ences.

The top court bench has so far disposed of � ve war crimes appeal cases. Jamaat sec-retary general Ali Ahsan Mohammad Muja-hid, then a top commander of al-Badr, was hanged early yesterday after his appeal case was disposed of by the apex court. l

‘Banning Jamaat a matter of time’n UNB

Food Minister Qamrul Islam yesterday said it is now a matter of time to ban Jamaat-e Isla-mi as a political party for its involvement in crimes against humanity committed during the Liberation War in 1971.

“Everyone sees the government is send-ing condemned war criminals to gallows one after another to execute the court ver-dicts. Many ask us about banning Jamaat which had acted as the mother organisa-tion of all killings during the Liberation War. Now I can say it’s just a matter of time to ban Jamaat-e-Islami as a political party,”he said.

Qamrul, also a joint general secretary of Awami League’s Dhaka city unit, came up with the remarks while addressing a discus-sion organised by Ramna thana unit of the ruling party at National Press Club.

The programme was organised a day af-ter the execution of two war crimes convicts Jamaat-e-Islami secretary general Ali Ahsan Muhammad Mujahid and BNP leader Salaud-din Quader Chowdhury.

He said Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina will take the right decision in right time over ban-ning Jamaat-e-Islami. l

Upazila Parishad Bill passed in JS n BSS

With the provision of contesting the upazila parishad elections for the post of its chair-man and vice-chairman directly nominated by a certain political party registered with the Election Commission (EC), the Upazila Parishad (Amendment) Bill, 2015 was passed in Jatiya Sangsad yesterday.

Local Government, Rural Development and Cooperatives Minister Engineer Khand-ker Mosharraf Hossain proposed for passing the bill in the House. Deputy Speaker Fazley Rabbi Miah was in the chair. The Jatiya Sang-sad unanimously passed the bill through voice vote. The new bill was an amended and modi-� ed form of the Upazila Parishad Act, 1998.

According to the new bill, upazila parish-ad chairman and vice-chairman will be eli-gible to vie for the polls if the contestant is directly nominated by any political party or an independent candidate. l

Jamaat calls day-long hartal today n UNB

Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami will enforce a countrywide dawn-to-dusk hartal today pro-testing what it said the killing of its secretary general Ali Ahsan Muhammad Mujahid by hanging him for war crimes.

Jamaat acting ameer Makbul Ahmad an-nounced the strike soon after Mujahid was executed at Dhaka Central Jail in the early hours of yesterday.

Condemned war criminals Mojahid and BNP leader Salauddin Quader Chowdhury were hanged at the Dhaka Central Jail for the atrocities they had committed during the Liberation War in 1971.

The two war criminals were executed after President Abdul Hamid rejected their mercy petitions. l

SQ Chy, Mujahid buried amid tight securitycommitted during the Liberation War of 1971.

The ambulance carrying the war crim-inal’s remains reached his ancestral home around 9am. Salauddin’s son Hummam Quader Chowdhury formally received the body from Deputy Jailer of Dhaka Central Jail Mazharul Islam.

The BNP leader was buried beside the grave of younger brother Saifuddin Quader Chowdhury in the family graveyard around 9:30am following a namaz-e-janaza held on the premises of Salauddin’s ancestral home.

According to his last wishes, the janaza was conducted by Hefazat-e-Islam Senior Nayeb-e-Ameer Mohibullah Babunagari.

Several hundred people took part in the funeral.

Salauddin’s younger brothers – BNP Inter-national A� airs Secretary Giasuddin Quader Chowdhury and Jamaluddin Quader Chow-

dhury – were absent during the burial and namaz-e-janaza. They, however, attended the gayebana namaz-e-janaza held at the city’s Parade Ground in the afternoon.

Local Awami League lawmaker ABM Fazle Karim Chowdhury, also a cousin of Salauddin, did not take part in the funeral. His son ABM Foyez Quader Chowdhury was present.

Earlier, around 1:15am yesterday, local people led by the Raozan upazila unit of the Awami League brought out a parade and dis-tributed sweets to celebrate Salauddin’s ex-ecution.

The six-time lawmaker was awarded the death penalty on October 1, 2013 for commit-ting crimes against humanity including gen-ocide and the torture of freedom � ghters and Hindus in Raozan. The Appellate Division upheld the sentence on July 29 this year.

Mujahid buried in FaridpurExecuted war criminal Ali Ahsan Mohammad Mujahid was buried early yesterday in front of Ideal Cadet Madrasa, an educational institu-tion established by his family near his ancestral home in West Khabaspur of Faridpur town.

His body reached Faridpur around 6:30am amid strict security. The area was cordoned o� at 11pm on Saturday and opened up again after 7:45am yesterday.

Mujahid’s brother Ali Afzal Mohammad Khales, a nayeb-e-amir of Faridpur district unit Jamaat-e-Islami, led the namaz-e-janaza on the madrasa premises.

Hundreds of people including local Ja-maat leaders, family members and Fajr prayer attendees at the madrasa mosque, at-tended the funeral prayers.

Mujahid was buried at 7:10am in front of the madrasa gate. l

Pakistan high commissioner summonedn Tribune Report

Pakistan is deeply disturbed over the execu-tions of two war crime convicts – Salaudiin Quader Chowdhury and Ali Ahsan Moham-mad Muzahid.

“We have noted with deep concern and anguish the unfortunate executions of the Bangladesh National Party Leader, Mr Sa-lauddin Quadir Chowdhury and Mr Ali Ahsan Mojaheed. Pakistan is deeply disturbed at this development,” said a statement of the Pakistan Foreign Ministry issued today.

As emphasized earlier, the ministry has also been noting the reaction of the inter-national community on the � awed trials in Bangladesh related to events of 1971, it said.

“There is a need for reconciliation in Bangladesh in accordance with the spirit of

Pakistan, India, Bangladesh Agreement of 9th April 1974. The Agreement calls for a for-ward looking approach in matters relating to 1971. This would foster goodwill and harmo-ny.”

Meanwhile, the foreign ministry sum-moned Pakistan High Commissioner to Bangladesh Shuja Alam today to lodge a pro-test over the statement issued by Pakistan government on the execution of war crimi-nals Salauddin Quader Chowdhury and Ali Ahsan Mohammad Muzahid.

“The high commissioner has been asked to meet acting foreign secretary Mizanur Rahman at 2:30pm today,” said a diplomat.

The foreign ministry took the decision after the Pakistan Foreign Ministry issued a statement over the execution of the war criminals. l

Activists and followers of Gonojagoron Moncho brings out a victory procession yesterday afternoon to mark the execution of convicted war criminals Salauddin Quader Chowdhury and Ali Ahsan Mohammad Mujahid MEHEDI HASAN

News 3D

TMONDAY, NOVEMBER 23, 2015

Rajon murder convict Shamim surrendersn Our Correspondent, Sylhet

Shamim Ahmed, who was sentenced to seven years in prison for killing 13-year-old Rajon, surrendered before a Sylhet court yesterday.

He is the brother of Kamrul Islam, the main accused who on November 8 was given death sentence in the much-talked case.

Shamim, 26, surrendered before the court of Metropolitan Sessions Judge Akbar Hos-sain Mridha yesterday and sought bail. The court sent him to jail rejecting the petition, additional public prosecutor Mofur Ali said.

The same court on November 8 sentenced four people including Kamrul to death and six others to di� erent jail terms. Shamim and death-row convict Zakir Hossain alias Pavel were fugitive since the incident.

Vegetable vendor Sheikh Samiul Alam Ra-jon was tied to a pole and brutally beaten to death at Kumargaon of Sylhet on July 8 ac-cusing him falsely of stealing a rickshaw van. One of the killers recorded the incident on mobile phone and uploaded it on social media prompting the authorities to take action. l

19 drug dealers heldn UNB

Dhaka Metropolitan Police (DMP) arrested 19 al-leged drug dealers conducting anti-drug drives in the capital for 24 hours until 6am yesterday. Sources at the DMP headquarters said the Detective Branch of police as well as local po-lice conducted the drives, during which the law enforcers arrested 19 drug traders and recovered 2,928 contraband yaba tablets, 10 grams of heroin, 655 grams of hemp and 13 injections from Ramna, Motijheel, Wari, Te-jgaon, Mirpur and Gulshan areas.

Legal actions were taken in this regard. l

Victims, witnesses relieved after SQ Chy’s executionn Anwar Hussain, Chittagong

Victims of Salauddin Quader Chowdhury’s war-time terror, freedom � ghters and social workers have expressed satisfaction over the execution of the notorious war criminal early yesterday.

They also urged the government to turn the city’s Goods Hill residence of Salauddin that had been used as a torture cell into a museum.

Lauding the government’s resolve to try the war criminals, they demanded speedy trial of the rest of the persons charged for committing crimes against humanity during the 1971 Liberation War.

“We had to wait for an agonising four long decades for the trial of the war crimi-nal. Now we are delighted as justice has been delivered. The departed soul of my father will now rest in peace,” said Prafulla Ranjan Singha, son of Nutan Chandra Singha killed on April 13, 1971. Prafulla testi� ed against Sa-lauddin at the International Crimes Tribunal on June 20, 2012.

The war criminal was given death sen-tence on the charge of killing Nutan Chandra, the founder of Kundeshwari Oushadhalay at Gohira in Raozan.

Freedom � ghter Kazi Nurul Absar, a wit-

ness of the case against Salauddin, said: “The carnage wrought by Salauddin Quader and his men haunts us even after four decades of the Liberation War.”

Muktijoddha Sangsad district unit chief Mohammad Shahabuddin said: “Finally, Chittagong has got rid of the stigma with his execution.”

The Chittagong chapter of Gonojagoron Moncho and Bangladesh Udichi Shilpi Goshthi also hailed the execution of the war criminal.

“Justice has been delivered with the execu-tion of Salauddin’s death sentence. This noto-rious person should have been hanged much before,” said Begum Mushtari Sha� , a noted writer and wife of a martyred physician.

Di� erent pro-liberation political and so-cio-cultural organisations brought out pro-cessions and distributed sweets celebrating the execution of Salauddin and Jamaat-e-Is-lami leader Ali Ahsan Mohammad Mujahid.

Chittagong city unit of Bangladesh Chhatra League and Raozan upazila unit of the Awami League brought out processions yesterday.

Earlier in the day, Salauddin, a Standing Committee member of the BNP, was buried at his village home Gohira under tight security. l

How the clemency power worksn Tribune Report

Existing laws say that when the apex court turns down the review petition of a death row convict, the legal battle ends there for the convict.

This therefore means that no existing laws of the country apply to the convict any more.

But, as a citizen of Bangladesh, the last thing the convict is entitled to is seeking clemency from the president. And that too has to be done exclusively under Section 49 of the Constitution of the country.

Section 49 gives the country’s president the power to pardon a person convicted of a certain crime by any court, tribunal or authority. The president also has the power to grant reprieves and respites and suspend or commute any sentence passed by lower bodies.

According to senior Supreme Court practi-tioner HAM Zahirul Islam Khan Panna, there is no prescribed form for seeking clemency; this is generally done in the form of an of-� cial application on a white paper with the convict’s signature at the bottom and has to be forwarded through the jail authorities.

The convict loses the right to consult his or her attorneys once the Supreme Court scraps the review petition.

So, the convict has to seek the clemency on his or her own accord. For people who are not accustomed to using legal terms or writ-ing o� cial letters and applications, the jail authorities arrange for assistance.Panna, chairman of the Human Rights and Legal Aid Committee of the Bangladesh Bar Council, also said that the application must have at least one of two things for being con-sidered as an o� cial clemency plea.

Either there should be a mention of Sec-tion 49 of the constitution somewhere in the application or it must clearly say that the

convict has admitted all the crimes and is seeking clemency.

In the � rst case, no matter what is written in the application, the authorities will take it that the convict has admitted all the crimes and is requesting the president to pardon him or her.

Unless at least any one of these two con-ditions is met, the jail authorities will not consider it a clemency appeal and therefore would not forward it to the next layer of au-thorities, namely, the Home Ministry, Law Ministry, Prime Minister’s O� ce and the president’s o� ce.

Yesterday, both Law Minister Anisul Huq and Home Minister Asaduzzaman Khan Kamal categorically con� rmed that there were clear mentions of Section 49 in the applications submitted by Salauddin Quader Chowhdury and Ali Ahsan Mohammad Mujahid before they were executed.

Although right after the government an-nounced on Saturday afternoon that the two war criminals had sought clemency, the families of Salauddin and Mujahid expressed doubts whether they had really done so.

Both families referred to their discussions with the war criminals on Thursday during which both had reportedly told their families that they would make a decision about clem-

ency after consulting their attorneys.However, since according to the existing

laws they are not entitled to a meeting with their attorneys, the authorities did not allow them to. The two families have criticised the government for this as well.

Even after meeting Salauddin in jail for the last time hours before he was hanged, his son Hummam Quader said his father had not sought clemency.

Yesterday, after the war criminal was bur-ied at his ancestral home in Raozan of Chit-tagong, Hummam said: “We had been repeat-edly told that Salauddin Quader Chowdhury has sought clemency. The man who is known as the tiger of Bangla cannot bow down. When we talked to my father yesterday [Sat-urday], he said: ‘Your six feet two inches tall father is a tiger; he cannot bow down’.”

When asked about the two families’ claim, Home Minister Kamal told reporters in his o� ce yesterday: “We assumed that they would not apologise. But there was mention of Section 49 in the title of the application by Mujahid. And Salauddin Quader � led his ap-plication in English. That too had mention of Section 49 towards the end.”

He also told reporters that the govern-ment has records of all the documents re-lated to the mercy pleas and therefore the claims have no point.

Asked whether the two clemency applica-tions would be published, Law Minister Ani-sul Huq said this cannot be done without the president’s permission.

He also said that the families of Salauddin and Mujahid were spreading propaganda to create confusion at home and abroad.

While the families of Salauddin and Muja-hid claim that the two did not seek clemency, neither family has clari� ed whether the con-demned men wrote to the president at all. l

Either there should be a mention of Section 49 of the constitution somewhere in the application or it must clearly say that the convict has admitted all the crimes and is seeking clemency

MONDAY, NOVEMBER 23, 2015News4DT

Indian columnist and novelist Shobhaa De speaks at a discussion session organised by the Deparment of English and Humanities of the University of Liberal Arts, Bangladesh at its Dhanmondi campus in the capital yesterday RAJIB DHAR

Mujibul: 2.587 million jobless in countryn Tribune Report

State Minister for Labour and Employment Md Mujibul Haque yesterday said the gov-ernment has no national data on the number people who are out of work.

“But according to the Labour Force and Child Labour Survey 2013 carried out by Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics, 2.587 mil-lion people above the age of 15 are jobless,” he told the parliament in response to a query.

Mujibul said di� erent ministries had tak-en a variety of initiatives to � ght unemploy-ment. “Every year, 25,000 unemployed men and women are given training at 26 technical training centres.”

He also said 125,000 unemployed people had secured employment between 2009 and 2013. l

‘Fish export earned half a billion dollars last � scal year’n Tribune Report

Commerce Minister Tofail Ahmed yesterday told parliament that the country had export-ed � sh worth $568.03 million in 2014-15 � scal year.

Replying to a query, the minister said 80% of the foreign currency came only from prawn export while 20% from other kinds of � sh.

Replying to another query, the commerce minister said Bangladesh had earned $103.24 million foreign currency by exporting vege-tables in the 2014-15 � scal year.

Responding to another query, the minis-ter said the target of exporting agricultural products was worth $676.14 million in the 2014-15 � scal year while the achievement was $586.08 million.

He said the achievement target was 86.68%.

Replying to another query, the minister said currently Bangladeshi products are ex-ported to 196 countries.

The armed force division sent a propos-al to the commerce ministry to export light arms abroad and the matter is under scruti-ny, Tofail said. l

3.1m went abroad for jobs in 7 yearsn Tribune Report

Expatriates’ Welfare and Overseas Employ-ment Minister Nurul Islam BSc yesterday told parliament that Bangladesh had export-ed more than 31 lakh workers to overseas la-bour markets since 2009.

“A total of 31,21,016 Bangladeshi workers went abroad taking immigration clearance from the Bureau of Manpower, Employment and Training (BMET) in between January 2009 and June 2015,” he said replying to a scripted question from ruling Awami League MP Fazilatun Nasa Bappy.

The minister said the present government declared the overseas employment as a trust sector and focuses on exploration of new markets alongside protecting the existing markets in this regard. Nurul Islam said now Bangladesh exports manpower to 160 coun-tries, up from 90 countries in 2006 during the tenure of BNP-Jamaat government.

In reply to another scripted question from AL MP Sanowar Hossain MP, he said Bangla-desh started exporting manpower in 1976.

As of October 2015 some 95.70 lakh Bang-ladeshi workers went abroad taking clear-ance from the BMET since 1976, he added.

Responding to a question from AL MP Hosne Ara Lutfa Dalia, the minister said a total of 8,52,990 Bangladeshi workers went abroad taking clearance from the BMET from January 2014 to October 2015. l

Khulna mayor suspension order upheldn Tribune Report

The High Court yesterday upheld the suspen-sion order of the BNP-backed mayor of Khul-na City Corporation, Moniruzzaman Moni.

The bench of Justice Tarik-ul Hakim and Justice Farid Ahmed Shibli rejected the writ petition � led by Moni against the November 2 suspension order issued by the LGRD Min-istry.

The ministry took the decision as per the Local Government Act after a Khulna court accepted charges against him in two vandal-ism cases. The cases were � led last year for

attacking police and vandalising vehicles.Police pressed the charges against Moni

and 52 leaders and activists of the BNP-Ja-maat-led alliance on June 11 this year.

Moni was elected mayor defeating Awami League-backed Talukder Abdul Khaleque in 2013.

His lawyer Anisur Rahman Khan said that they would move the Appellate Division of the Supreme Court to get back Moni’s post again.

The government also suspended the may-ors of Sylhet, Rajshahi and Gazipur city cor-porations on the same ground. l

MPs in JS hail Hasina for execution of war criminalsn Tribune Report

Lawmakers of the Awami League-led alliance yesterday in parliament showered Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina with praise for the executions of two war criminals.

The lawmakers said the punishment met-ed out to war criminals had reestablished the rule of law in Bangladesh ending the dec-ade-long culture of impunity.

The lawmakers also said as Salauddin Quader Chowdhury and Ali Ahsan Mujahid sought presidential clemency they acknowl-edged that they committed crimes during the liberation war and also acknowledged that the trial was free and fair.

Ruling party lawmaker Shamim Osman said: “Nobody is above the law, everybody is

under the law. We have never imagined that those war criminals would be tried but it hap-pened due to Sheikh Hasina.”

Commerce Minister Tofail Ahmed said: “Whatever she said, she means it. She is nev-er scared of death. She completed the trial of Bangabdhu murder.”

He said Sheikh Hasina was working to rid the nation of stigma. “I congratulate her from my heart for her � rm determination to estab-lish the rule of law in the country.”

Information Minister Hasanul Huq Inu said Salauddin and Mujahid sought presiden-tial clemency and accepted their crimes. “So, there is no scope of creating controversy over presidential clemency.”

Food Minister Quamrul Islam said BNP founder Ziaur Rahman tried to eradicate the

spirit of liberation war from the country by killing thousands of freedom � ghters and re-leasing the convicted war criminals.

Relief and Disaster Management Minister Mofazzal Hossain Chowhdury Maya said, “Today I am happy. If Sheikh Hasina remains in the o� ce anti-liberation forces would nev-er dare raise their heads.”

Chief whip ASM Firoz said people of the country waited for a long time for the trial of war criminals. Former state minister for liber-ation war a� airs AB Tajul Islam said 16 crore people of the country witnessed the execu-tion of the most audacious parliamentarian.

Former foreign minister Dipu Moni said the prime minister promised to try war crim-inals and she did it.

“She (PM) freed the nation from the stig-

ma,” she said.Pointing her � nger at the foreign commu-

nity, Agriculture Minister Matia Chowdhury said those who questioned about the trial of war criminals where all these people were when the genocide took place in 1971.

Khalid Mahmud Chowdhury MP said Ja-maat leaders said there is no war criminals in Bangladesh but through Salauddin and Mu-jahid’s presidential clemency seeking, it was proved that they were war criminals.

Ruling party lawmaker Abdur Rahman said whole Bangladesh is celebrating the exe-cution of the duo.

Independent lawmaker Rustom Ali Farazi said Sheikh Hasina ensured the trial of war crim-inals with great courage and established good governance and rule of law in the country. l

Saira Mohsin elected MP unopposedn UNB

Awami League-backed candidate Saira Mo-hsin, wife of late social welfare minister Syed Mohsin Ali, has been elected uncontested in the by-election to Moulvibazar 3 constituency.

Regional Election O� cer SM Eajharul Haque, also the election’s returning o� cer, announced the uno� cial result yesterday, the last day of withdrawing candidacy, as there was no other candidate in the race.

Mohsin, who was an MP from Moulviba-zar 3, died on September 14 at Singapore General Hospital. Following his death, the EC � xed December 8 for the by-polls in order to � ll up the vacant seat. l

MONDAY, NOVEMBER 23, 2015News 5

DT

Mohona TV reporter shot, car vandalisedn FM Mizanur Rahaman, Chittagong

A journalist of Mohona TV sustained bullet injuries after unidenti� ed gunmen � red at a car of the private television station in Chit-tagong yesterday.

Rajib Sen Prince, a reporter for the TV channel, was returning to Chittagong city af-ter covering war criminal Salauddin Quader Chowdhury’s burial when his car was shot at Gohira area of Raozan upazila around 11am.

The 30-year-old was taken to Chittagong Medical College Hospital and doctors said he was out of danger, said police sources.

Asaduzzaman Limon, a cameraman who was in the car when it came under attack, told the Dhaka Tribune some 10-12 youths signalled to stop the vehicle at Gohira Bazar area.

“But they began vandalising the car and opened � re on it as our driver did not stop, leaving Prince injured,” he said.

Another reporter for Mohona TV Jahang-ir Alam said six people – four of Mohona TV and the two others of Ekushey Television - were in the car at the time of the attack.

Superintendent of police in Chittagong AKM Ha� z Akhtar and Chittagong Metropol-itan Police Commissioner Abdul Jalil Mondal visited Prince at the hospital.

Ha� z told reporters there were no police o� cials in the area when the attack was made. “The car was hit by two bullets and we have launched an investigation.”

It was not clear who made the attack but Limon claimed that Chhatra League mem-bers were responsible for it.

“But I have no idea why we were at-tacked,” added the cameraman. l

Local polls likely on Dec 30n Mohammad Al-Masum Molla

The Election Commission is likely to announce the schedules for countrywide municipal elec-tions today, said commission o� cials.

They said the commission is likely to ar-range polls on December 30.

“Annual examinations in educational in-stitutions will end in the � rst or second week of December and the Election Commission will be busy publishing the voter list in Jan-uary,” said Election Commissioner Moham-mad Zabed Ali.

“Bishwa Ijtema will be held in January and Secondary School Certi� cate tests will begin in February. Considering all these, munici-pality elections have to be held by December. That is why documents on the electoral code of conduct was sent to the Law Ministry for vetting,” he said.

The persons receiving government priv-ileges, including ministers and lawmakers, will not participate in campaigns for the lo-cal government elections, said a commission o� cial.

Election Commission Secretary Sirajul Islam said there is a chance that election

schedules would be announced today if the Law Ministry returns the documents on elec-tion rules after completing its vetting pro-cess.

Independent mayoral candidates will have to collect signatures of 100 voters in their respective municipalities and submit the signatures along with nomination pa-pers.

Political parties will be able to spend a maximum of Tk1 lakh in each municipality as per the proposed election rules.

On November 19, the parliament passed the Local Government (Municipality) (Amendment) Bill 2015, paving the way for arranging elections only for the mayoral posts in the municipalities on a partisan ba-sis.

As per the amendment, candidates nomi-nated by political parties registered with the Election Commission or independent aspir-ants will be able to contest mayoral polls in the country’s 324 municipalities.

But polls for the councillor posts, including the reserved seat councillor posts for women, will be held in non-partisan manners. l

ACC amendment bill placed in JSn Tribune Report

A bill empowering police to investigate fraud and forgery cases, which until now were being handled by the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC), was placed at parliament yesterday.

The bill, titled “Anti-Corruption Commis-sion (Amendment) Bill, 2015,” also proposed that all fraud and forgery cases except those related to government property and the du-ties of government employees and bankers be dealt by judicial magistrate courts.

Agriculture Minister Matia Chowdhury, who is in charge of the Cabinet Division in parliament, tabled the bill, and it was sent to the respective Parliamentary Standing Com-mittee for further scrutiny.

The Committee was asked to submit its re-port within a month. In the proposed amend-ment, the ACC will now investigate the bribery and corruption related cases under the o� ences of the Money Laundering Prevention Act, 2012.

Cases of fraud and forgery by government o� cials and bankers as well as forgery on government property will be tried under the ACC Act, the bill said. l

Illegal gas line users in Narayanganj to face crackdownn Aminur Rahman Rasel

Narayanganj lawmaker AKM Selim Osman has pledged to cooperate in preventing peo-ple in his constituency from getting illegal gas connections within the next two months.

He said those using illegal gas connections would be provided with LP gas cylinders if they removed the connections on their own.

“A total of 10,000 such subscribers will get this facility,” said Osman while addressing a meeting in Narayanganj port area yesterday.

He directed Titas Gas o� cials and local o� cials to crack down on those using illegal gas connections.

The meeting was organised by Titas Gas in the wake of the obstruction the company o� -cials had faced while disconnecting illegal gas connections. The agenda of the meeting includ-ed � guring out ways to resolve the problem.

Titas Gas o� cials said a consensus had been reached with local o� cials to take stern action against users of illegal gas connec-tions. l

Cox’s Bazar 30 23Dhaka 30 18 Chittagong 28 19 Rajshahi 30 16 Rangpur 29 16 Khulna 30 15 Barisal 30 16 Sylhet 30 12T E M P E R AT U R E F O R E C A S T F O R TO DAY

Source: Accuweather/UNB

D H A K ATODAY TOMORROW

SUN SETS 5:11PM SUN RISES 6:19AM

YESTERDAY’S HIGH AND LOW32.7ºC 14.4ºC

Sitakunda SrimangalMONDAY, NOVEMBER 23

DRY WEATHER

Source: IslamicFinder.org

Fajr: 5:00am | Zohr: 11:45am Asr: 3:51pm | Magrib: 5:12pmEsha: 6:31pm

PRAYERTIMES

TV journalist Rajib Sen being attended to at a hospital after he was shot by miscreants when leaving Raozan upazila in Chittagong after covering the burial of war criminal Salauddin Quader Chowdhury yesterday DHAKA TRIBUNE

Security measures beefed up ahead of Jamaat striken Arifur Rahman Rabbi

Security measures were beefed up across the country after Jamaat-e-Islami announced a general strike for today in protest at the ex-ecutions of war criminals Salauddin Quader Chowdhury and Ali Ahsan Mohammad Mu-jahid.

After the strike was announced, law en-forcement o� cials were put on alert yester-day to avert any possible subversion attempt. Police said they were ready to ward o� any untoward situation.

Deputy Commissioner (media) of Dhaka Metropolitan Police Muntasirul Islam told the Dhaka tribune police had dealt with criti-cal situations for several days before the two war criminals were hanged and they would be vigilant for the next few days.

He said any attempt to perpetrate vio-lence would be foiled as security had been tightened.

A sense of apprehension gripped people after BNP leader Salauddin and Jamaat lead-er Mujahid were sent to the gallows inside Dhaka Central Jail amid tight security early yesterday.

They feared that violence would � are af-ter the executions of the two key leaders of two parties.

Several people told the Dhaka Tribune yesterday that there could be violence as that had been the case in the past when death-row war crimes convicts were hanged.

Laila Kazi, a private university teacher, said executions of Salauddin and Mujahid meant victory for the country’s independence. l

MONDAY, NOVEMBER 23, 2015News6DT

Kurigram, Panchagarh see � rst batches leave for Indian Tribune Report

The districts of Kurigram and Panchagarh saw their � rst batches of former exclave residents leave Bangladesh to move to India yesterday.

In Kurigram, 72 people who were previ-ously residents of two former exclaves moved to the neighbouring country’s Cooch Behar district through the Bagbhandar border area in Kurigram’s Bhurungamari upazila yester-day afternoon, our Kurigram correspondent reported.

They reached the border around 11am and were able to enter India around 1:30pm, where they were welcomed by Sri P Ulagana-than, Cooch Behar district magistrate, and

Abhijit Mitra, representative of the Indian High Commission in Bangladesh.

Before the went into immigration, the for-mer exclave members were seen o� by Md Ra� qul Islam, additional deputy commis-sioner of Kurigram district, Lt Col Md Zakir Hossain, commander of 45 Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB) Battalion, Nasir Uddin Mahmud, executive o� cer of Phulbari upazi-la, and Mamun Bhuiyan, executive o� cer of Bhurungamari upazila, among others.

In Panchagarh, 48 former exclave resi-dents in Boda upazila crossed over to India yesterday morning, our Panchagarh corre-spondent reported.

They arrived at the Kajoldighi Kaliaganj

union parishad premises on Saturday after-noon for luggage checking by the o� cials of the BGB and Bangladesh Customs. After the checking was done, they left for India yester-day morning on two buses.

Additional District Magistrate of Panchagarh Md Golam Azam saw them o� with � owers as they left.

The air grew heavy as the former exclave members’ remaining families, friends and neighbours bade them a teary goodbye. Some of the exclave residents said it was rather dif-� cult to leave everything here behind.

Lakshmi Rani, one of the residents in Kurigram’s Phulbari exclave, said: “I am mov-ing with my two sons, daughter-in-laws and

grandchildren. Leaving all that I had here is breaking my heart. But I have no choice; my children want to move to India.”

Out of Kurigram’s 12 former exclaves, resi-dents of only two exclaves registered to move to India when the exclaves were absorbed, said Md Ra� qul Islam.

The second batch of residents, comprising 115 people from the absorbed Dasiar Chhara exclave, wll leaved for India tomorrow, and the third batch comprising 78 Dasiar Chhara residents will leave on Thursday.

In Panchagarh, the next batch of residents – 177 people from former Kotbhajoni and Bal-apara Khagrabari exclaves – will leave for In-dia tomorrow. l

Scientist Varmus spends time with school childrenn Tribune Report

American Nobel Prize-winner Harold Eliot Varmus discussed about his personal life and the changes that came through the trajectory of his life which inspired him to enter into the world of science and applied on di� erent � elds of scienti� c research.

On November 22, 2015, the discussion took place at the Scholastica senior campus premise at Mirpur in Dhaka.

The Nobel Laureate extend-ed over his knowledge to the students of Scholastica while he told the story of his col-lege-life and the dilemma on choosing for his future career. He pointed out the turning point of his life that his utmost interest in science motivated him to enter into Columbia University College of Physi-cians and Surgeon after com-pletion of his graduation de-gree in English literature.

He also talked about his re-search for cancer disease; the major causes of cancer dis-ease. He also showed the can-cer reduction guidelines. He put emphasis on the necessity of young people’s involvement

in scienti� c research to attain � rst hand experience on Re-search work.

Varmus has spent twenty years in research for � nding a remedy for cancer but the mission is yet to complete. Therefore, he encouraged all the students to move forward and enhance their knowledge in the � eld of science.

He appreciated the interac-tion and the question –answer session with the students of Scholastica.

Varmus was one of the par-ticipants at Dhaka Lit Fest, the pre-eminent international lit-erary conclave of the country which took place at the Bangla Academy premise from No-vember 19-21.

This year’s event was espe-cially anticipated for featuring Nobel Prize Laureate Dr Harold Eliot Varmus, a prominent can-cer researcher and the author of “The Art and Politics of Science”.

Born in 1939, at Oceanside, New York, in United States, Varmus was awarded The No-bel Prize in Physiology and Medicine in 1989 jointly with J. Michael Bishop for their dis-covery of the cellular origin of retroviral oncogenes. l

Ex-BSC MD Afzal Khan passes awayn Tribune Report

M Afzal Khan, former managing director of Bangladesh Shipping Corporation (BSC), passed away yesterday at his residence in the capital, reported UNB. He was 86.

He is survived by his wife, � ve daughters and a host of relatives, friends and well-wishers.

A law graduate, Afzal Khan, who won a Commonwealth Scholarship in 1960 for higher studies in shipping in Canada, joined the then Pakistan Shipping Corporation in Karachi and served in it in various

positions until the creation of Bangladesh Shipping Corporation after independence where he continued to work.

He rose to become the commercial director of BSC and its managing director. After his retirement, Afzal also served as the chairman of Cosmos Shipping Lines Ltd.

Afzal Khan was a son of Amanat Khan, also a law graduate, a member of Bengal Legislative Assembly, � rst Muslim chairman of Chittagong Port Trust and a renowned educationist and philanthropist. l

Noted scientist and Nobel Laureate Harold Varmus speaks with students of Scholastica School at its Mirpur campus in the capital yesterday MAHMUD HOSSAIN OPU

Q&A

Myanmar’s ‘stone of heaven,’ straight from hellQ1: How much the industry worth?Myanmar’s secretive jade industry is worth an estimated $31bn, far exceed-ing the $3.4bn sold at the country’s gem emporium last year, it’s only official market for international sales of the pre-cious stone. The estimated value of last year’s jade haul would amount to al-most half of the impoverished country’s GDP. “The numbers are staggering,” said Juman Kubba from Global Wit-ness, saying the country’s jade trade “may be the biggest natural re-source heist in modern history.” The watchdog’s valuation of jade mining in Myanmar is based on factors such as government production data, official sales prices and quality estimates as well as industry re-ports suggesting up to 80% of the pre-cious stone is smuggled directly out of the country.

Q2. Where are the mines located?Most of the world’s best quality jadeite is mined in Hpakant, a strip of torn earth in Myanmar’s insurgency-wracked northern Kachin state bordering China, a country with a voracious demand for the precious stone.

Q3. Who are involved?The Global Witness alleges that most pro� ts from the industry go to powerful military and ex-junta � gures instead of the state co� ers. It also points strong-man Than Shwe’s family with the trade. Jade from Myanmar, which is still under US sanctions, is highly prized in China as a symbol of virtue and power. O� cial Chinese import data from 2014 indicates more than $12bn of precious stones were imported from Myanmar -- the vast ma-jority jade -- dwar� ng Myanmar’s o� -cial � gures. Jade is also thought to be an important revenue stream for the rebel

Kachin Independence Army (KIA) -- large amounts of the stone are sold through il-legal mines and in rebel-held areas -- as it battles the Myanmar army.

Q4. What are the risk factors in mining?The nation’s lucrative jade mines have also long been a perilous workplace with accidents and landslides common -- land-slides killed at least nine miners in April and four in January. Once cloaked by dense jungle, the area is now ringed by naked hills, exposing it to frequent mon-soon landslides and a ferocious tropical sun. Quoting locals, the watchdog report says dozens of miners have died in recent months on unsteady mounds of rubble left by mechanised diggers, or falling to their deaths on illicit nighttime jade hunts on the sheer cli� s. l

Source: GLOBAL WITNESS

INSIDE

7D

TWorldMONDAY, NOVEMBER 23, 2015

Conditions worsen for refugees on the Balkans as winter sets inConditions for hundreds of migrants stuck on Balkan borders worsened on Sunday as temperatures dropped and a � rst smattering of snow fell. PAGE 8

Draft guideline proposes to stamp babies as ‘Dalit’ at birth in IndiaAn Indian child’s birth certi� cate may bear the stamp of his or her being a Dalit (oppressed, in some context untouchable) as per the draft guidelines framed by the government. PAGE 8

Cameron to push for joining Syria air strikesBritish Prime Minister David Cameron will this week set out the case for joining air strikes against Islamic State militants in Syria, his � nance minister said on Sunday, in a bid to persuade a parliament loath to embark on another war in the Middle East. PAGE 9

Nearly 100 bodies pulled from landslide near Myanmar jade minen Reuters, Yangon

Nearly 100 bodies have been pulled from a landslide near a jade mine in Myanmar’s northern Kachin State, local o� cials said on Sunday, and hopes are dwindling that any of an estimated 100 people missing will be found alive.

The landslide happened when a moun-tain of mining debris gave way in the early hours of Saturday in Hpakant, an area that produces some of the world’s highest-qual-ity jade. The mines and debris dump sites are hazardous and deadly accidents are common.

As of 4pm local time on Sunday, 97 bod-ies had been pulled from the landslide, said Tin Swe Myint, head of the Hpakant Town-ship Administration Department.

That number was expected to rise, but it remains unclear exactly how many people may be buried.

“We just don’t know how many people exactly were buried since we don’t have any data on people living there,” he said.

“It was just a slum with these...workers living in makeshift tents. Nobody knows for sure how many and where they had come from.”

Workers, many of them migrants from elsewhere in Myanmar, toil long hours in dangerous conditions for little pay search-ing for the precious stones.

The landslide occurred at around 3am, when many miners were sleeping, accord-ing to Ko Sai, a miner who was sleeping at a nearby camp.

It was unclear what triggered the land-slide in the mountainous region that is al-most entirely o� limits to foreigners.

Chinese tradeTin Swe Myint said that rescue e� orts were continuing and that heavy machinery was being used, but he was not hopeful survi-vors would be found.

“I think chances of � nding anyone alive are very thin,” he said.

Several companies had dumped min-ing debris at the 200-acre dump site, he

said. The dump was near a mine controlled by Triple One Jade Mining Company, he said.

An o� cial with the Hpakant Township Fire Brigade earlier said an estimated 100 people were still missing.

Much of the jade that is mined in Hpakant is believed to be smuggled to neighbouring China, where the stone is highly valued. l

Soldiers and rescue workers search for the bodies of miners killed in a landslide in a jade mining area in Hpakhant, in Myanmar’s Kachin state on Sunday AFP

Draft guideline proposes stamping babies as ‘Dalit’ at birth in Indian Tribune Desk

An Indian child’s birth certi� cate may bear the stamp of his or her being a Dalit (op-pressed, in some context untouchable) as per the draft guidelines framed by the gov-ernment, reports PTI.

Besides, schools in all states and union territories will be responsible for issuing caste and domicile certi� cates to Scheduled Caste (SC) and Scheduled Tribe (ST) stu-dents, when they are studying in VIII grade.

The domicile certi� cate is issued by the authority concerned of the state govern-ment or union territory to prove that the person bearing the certi� cate is a resident of the particular state or union territory (UT) which is issuing it.

Such certi� cate is issued as proof of resi-dence to avail domicile or resident quotas in educational institutions and in the state or central government services, as also in the case of jobs where preference to local resi-dents is available.

“The possibility may also be explored to indicate the SC or ST status in the birth cer-ti� cate,” reads the draft guidelines for states and UTs, formed by the Department of Per-sonnel and Training (DoPT).

With a view to ease the di� culties faced by SC or ST students in obtaining certi� -cates, it is proposed that caste certi� cate

and the residency certi� cate may be issued to SC and ST students, all over the country, when they are studying in VIII grade, it said.

A window of two months in Septem-ber-October or any other time frame decid-ed by the state government or UT concerned may be allocated for completing this exer-cise. The school will get the documents col-lected from all the SC and ST students and arrange to submit them to the relevant state government authority or revenue authori-ties for making the requisite certi� cates, as per the draft guidelines.

The authorities would scrutinise those

documents and within a period of 30-60 days, would issue the certi� cates. If the certi� cate of any student is rejected, reasons will be pro-vided and provision for one time appeal may be allowed by the state authorities, it said.

Once the certi� cate is made, it would be given to the students through the school au-thorities and would be kept with them for safe custody for availing the bene� ts, conces-sions and facilities available to the concerned category of students, the guidelines said.

The DoPT has sought comments from all stakeholders on these draft guidelines by December 21. l

MONDAY, NOVEMBER 23, 2015World8DT

SOUTH ASIANepal police kill two protesters in fresh charter clashesNepalese police shot and killed two protesters after fresh clashes erupted in the country’s southern plains as a crisis over a new con-stitution deepens, a senior local o� cer said Sunday. The clashes broke out late on Satur-day in the southeastern district of Saptari as protesters armed with batons and home-made tools tried to block a highway in de� ance of police orders, the o� cer said. -AFP

INDIAAssam governor: Indian Muslims free to go to PakistanAssam Governor PB Acharya sparked o� a fresh controversy on Sunday, stating that Indian Muslims who feel persecuted in the country are “free to go” to Pakistan. “Indian Muslims are free to go anywhere... Many of them have gone to Pakistan. If one wants to go Pakistan or Bangladesh, he is free to go. If he is persecuted like Tasleema Nasreen....” Acharya said all Indian-origin people, in-cluding Muslims, persecuted in any foreign lands were welcome in the country. “Any In-dian-origin people persecuted in Bangladesh and in any foreign land have the legitimate right to come to India and it is our duty to receive them....” -HT

CHINAChina won’t cease building on S China Sea islesChina said on Sunday it will continue to build military and civilian facilities on its arti� cial islands in the disputed S China Sea and the US was testing it by sending warships through the area. China planned to “expand and upgrade” the civilian facilities on the islands “to better serve commercial ships, � shermen, to help distressed vessels and pro-vide more public services,” an o� cial said, adding that China rejects the notion that it is militarising the South China Sea. -REUTERS

ASIA PACIFICN Korea threatens S Korea ahead of island shelling anniversaryFive years after North Korea � red shells on to a South Korean island, Pyongyang vowed on Sunday to retaliate mercilessly should Seoul hold � re drills near the border on the anni-versary. North Korea � red scores of artillery shells at South Korea’s Yeonpyeong island on November 23, 2010, in one of the heaviest attacks on its neighbour since the Korean War ended in 1953. The threat came after the two Koreas agreed on Friday to hold talks later this month, setting the stage for the � rst government-level meeting -REUTERS

MIDDLE EAST3 killed as bomb explodes in Kurdish-held Syrian townA bomb placed on a motorcycle exploded on Sunday in a Kurdish-held Syrian town along the Turkish border, killing at least three and wounded 20 others, a monitor said. The UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said a huge blast was heard when the bike blew up in the centre of Tel Abyad, a town captured by Kurdish-led forces from IS militants in June with help from US led air strikes. - REUTERS

Conditions worsen for refugees on the Balkans as winter sets inn Reuters, Gevgelija

Conditions for hundreds of migrants stuck on Balkan borders worsened on Sunday as temperatures dropped and a � rst smattering of snow fell.

Countries along the Balkan route taken by hundreds of thousands of migrants seeking refuge in western Europe last week began � l-tering the � ow, granting passage only to those � eeing con� ict in Syria, Iraq and Afghanistan.

The move has stranded a growing num-ber of Iranians, Pakistanis, Bangladeshis and other nationalities from Asia and Africa.

A group of Iranians, blocked from enter-ing Macedonia from Greece by barbed wire and rows of police, erected a banner on Sunday announcing a hunger strike. Some blocked the railway line running between the two countries.

“We won’t go back to Iran,” one man had scrawled on cardboard. A light rain began to fall, while further north along the route snow announced the arrival of winter.

“We are people too,” said an Iranian man who gave his name as Ahmed. “We are not terrorists, just ordinary people searching for a better life. We crossed thousands of miles. For what? To be stuck here?”

Macedonia, Serbia and Croatia say they took the step to begin � ltering the � ow after Slove-nia, which is part of Europe’s Schengen zone of passport-free travel, said it would no longer

admit what it called “economic migrants.”The new measure coincides with rising

concern over the security risk of the chaotic and often unchecked � ow of humanity into Europe in the aftermath of the November 13 attacks in Paris by Islamist militants in which 130 people died.

It has emerged that two suicide bombers in-volved in the attacks took the same trail, arriv-ing by boat in Greece and then travelling north across the Balkans. Most of the attackers, how-ever, were citizens of France or Belgium.

Aid agencies have warned that those de-

nied passage and the right to seek asylum risk being left in limbo without su� cient aid against the winter.

On the Macedonian-Greek border, hun-dreds of people were stranded in dozens of tents behind barbed wire, as Syrians, Iraqis and Afghans were � ltered through fences and granted passage.

“We are not terrorists. We just go for a bet-ter life. Please let us go,” read another banner.

One man denied entry stripped to the waist and wrote on his chest, “Shoot us or save us.” l

A migrant reacts after she crossed the border from Greece to Gevgelija, Macedonia on Sunday REUTERS

Dalit kids at a school in Mumbai WIKIMEDIA

MONDAY, NOVEMBER 23, 2015World 9

DT

USAGOP lawmaker: Intelligence on IS too optimisticThe Republican chairman of the US House Intelligence Committee said on Sunday he was concerned that Penagon intelligence reports on the � ght against Islamic State did not re� ect a grimmer reality on the ground. Devin Nunes made the observation while asked on CNN about a New York Times report on whether intelligence assessments from US Central Command painted an overly optimistic picture of the � ght against Islamic State in Iraq and Syria. -REUTERS

THE AMERICASVoting starts in key Argentina runo� electionArgentines started voting Sunday in a runo� election in which pro-business right-winger Mauricio Macri will try to end 12 years of left-wing government by beating center-left-ist Daniel Scioli. Polls showed Macri could force a sharp realignment by beating Scioli, an ally of outgoing president Cristina Kirch-ner. Polls in Argentina have proved unrelia-ble in forecasting results in the past. -AFP

UKUK to boost counter-terror spending by 30% Britain is to increase its counter-terrorism funding by 30% in the wake of the Paris attacks, Chancellor of the Exchequer George Osborne said Sunday. Osborne would not rule out cuts to frontline police numbers but said he was con� dent Britain would be able to deal with a major terror assault. Osborne will deliv-er his so-called autumn statement, or budget update, on Wednesday alongside a spending review that is expected to lead to deep cut-backs aimed at slashing the de� cit. -AFP

EUROPEBelgium looks for ‘several suspects’ amid security lockdownA tense Belgian capital was locked down for a second day Sunday with police and troops pa-trolling deserted streets as authorities reviewed whether to extend a security alert meant to prevent a repeat of the bloody Paris attacks. Belgian o� cials were to meet late afternoon to review the security alert, imposed over fears jihadists planned similar attacks to those in Par-is which left 130 people dead on November 13. The city’s metro system and public buildings were closed, along with shops and restaurants after the terror alert was raised to the highest level of four because of what o� cials said Saturday was an “imminent threat.” -AFP

AFRICAGun� re, explosions in Burundi kill 5At least � ve people were killed in overnight clashes in Burundi, police said on Sunday, and residents reported a battle at the president’s o� ce in the capital Bujumbura which has been plagued by violence since a disputed presi-dential election. Hundreds have been killed in related violence since April and 217,000 people have � ed to surrounding countries, raising fears of a slide into ethnic con� ict in a region where memories of the 1994 genocide in neighbour Rwanda are still raw. -REUTERS

INSIGHT

Brexit: EU sees no quick � x over proposed reforms n Reuters, Brussels

European Union leaders are not only unlike-ly to reach a deal next month with Britain on its demands for reform of the bloc but may not even narrow di� erences at a pre-Christ-mas summit, o� cials and diplomats said.

After a week of “confessional” meetings between aides to summit chairman Donald Tusk and envoys from other member states, which should conclude on Monday, people involved told Reuters many opposed de-mands British Prime Minister David Camer-on laid out in a letter to Tusk two weeks ago.

Cameron has set an end-2017 deadline for a referendum on EU membership. In order to stay in, he says, London needs chang-es. The longer such negotiations with EU partners take and the more divided they become, the greater the risk he will fail to deliver such reforms.

One proposal many leaders object to is that immigrants from EU states should wait four years before receiving in-work bene� ts such as tax credits and support for children living abroad. O� cials and diplomats see that as discriminating between EU citizens on national grounds, which they say jars

with basic EU treaty law.“The situation is between di� cult and

very di� cult,” one o� cial said late last week, after more than 20 of the 27 other member states had had their meeting with sta� working for Tusk.

The one-to-one meetings, a standard EU procedure, are intended to frame negotia-tions and there had been some hope in re-cent months that at least the bulk of a deal might be ready for the Council to endorse at its next meeting on December 17-18.

But the o� cial said it was hard to im-agine that a deal would be reached at that summit and that even constructive discus-sions were not a certainty: “Many countries say they want more Europe, not less Europe. And Cameron wants less Europe.

“There is no agreement on individual is-sues like the four years and no one will agree to discrimination.”

A spokesman for the British government said: “We’ve always been clear that what mat-ters is addressing the concerns of the British people. We’ll be driven by substance not speed.

“The prime minister looks forward to a substantive discussion on the UK renegoti-ation at the December European Council.”

DownbeatCameron will have to work hard in the com-ing weeks to sway EU leaders to achieve a successful outcome to negotiations.

Other EU leaders see him as failing to show solidarity on matters such as the in� ux of ref-ugees to Europe and the euro zone crisis.

Earlier this month, the EU’s executive divided Cameron’s demands for reform into three categories: the feasible, the di� cult and the “highly problematic.” The last refers particularly to curbing bene� ts for workers from other EU states.

Such curbs are a particular dislike of ex-communist eastern states like Tusk’s fellow Poles, not just because many of their citizens work in the wealthier west but also because it is a touchstone of their emer-gence from Soviet control.

One EU diplomat said that, while most want to see Britain, the EU’s second biggest economy, remain in the bloc, its demands posed complex problems.

In addition, the attacks on Paris, the con-� ict in Syria and with Islamic State, plus the refugee crisis, will leave leaders with little time to negotiate with Cameron over the next month, the diplomat said. l

Cameron to push for joining Syria air strikesn Reuters, London

British Prime Minister David Cameron will this week set out the case for joining air strikes against Islamic State militants in Syr-ia, his � nance minister said on Sunday, in a bid to persuade a parliament loath to em-bark on another war in the Middle East.

Britain is already bombing IS in Iraq but Cameron has said he believes Britain should be doing more to � ght the militants, who claimed responsibility for this month’s at-tacks in Paris in which 130 people died.

France has in the days since stepped up its bombing campaign against the group’s mem-bers in Syria, who are also being targeted from the air by a US-led coalition and Russia.

Cameron is keen to avoid a repeat of 2013 when he lost a crunch parliamentary vote on air strikes against Syrian President Bashar al-Assad’s forces.

“The prime minister will seek support across parliament for strikes against that terrorist organization in Syria. Frankly Brit-ain has never been a country that stands on the sidelines and relies on others to defend us,” � nance minister George Osborne told BBC television on Sunday.

“The timetable is this: In the coming week the prime minister will come to the House of Commons ... we will make the case as a gov-ernment, we will allow MPs to digest that re-sponse and then we will see where we stand.”

Britain’s Sunday newspapers, carrying headlines including “Britain prepares for war,” reported a vote could be held within the next two weeks, with bombing under-way by Christmas.

Osborne said the Paris attacks were like-

ly changing the views of those previously opposed to British air strikes but said the government would only call a vote when it was con� dent it could win. Another defeat would be “a publicity coup” for IS and send “a terrible message about Britain’s role in the world,” he said.

Cameron has said his bid to join the U.S.-led coalition in Syria was strengthened by Friday’s United Nation Security Council resolution to redouble action against Islamic State there.

Former Labour Prime Minister Tony Blair’s decision to join the US-led Iraq War in 2003, in which 179 British service personnel were killed, remains a contentious issue in Britain.

Some in Cameron’s own Conservative Party are opposed to air strikes, so the British

leader will need to persuade some opposition Labour lawmakers to back his call for action.

Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn, who op-poses air strikes and has said he is not plan-ning to allow his party members to vote with their conscience, on Saturday said his party would consider the proposals put for-ward by the government.

His � nance spokesman John McDonnell told the BBC on Sunday the decision should not be made on a party-political lines.

“I am hoping that we can act as one, put aside party di� erences and look at the long term interests of the country,” said McDon-nell, who has previously called for Labour lawmakers to be allowed to vote in favour of strikes if they wished. l

World10DT

MONDAY, NOVEMBER 23, 2015

Western leaders agree to extend Russia sanctions by 6 monthsn Reuters

Western leaders who met on the margins of last week’s Group of 20 summit in Tur-key agreed to extend sanctions imposed on Russia for its intervention in Ukraine by six months until July of next year, a senior Euro-pean diplomat con� rmed.

The decision was taken despite mounting calls to cooperate more closely with Russian President Vladimir Putin in the � ght against Islamic State following the militant group’s November 13 attacks in Paris which killed 130 people.

US President Barack Obama, Germany’s Angela Merkel, Britain’s David Cameron, Italy’s Matteo Renzi and French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius, who represented President Francois Hollande at the summit, attended the brief meeting near the conclu-sion of the G20 meeting in Antalya.

The sanctions are due to expire in January, before full implementation of the so-called Minsk peace deal, which aims to resolve the stando� between Kiev and pro-Russian sep-aratists in eastern Ukraine.

Western countries have said all elements of Minsk need to be ful� lled before they can consider easing the sanctions.

In particular, the diplomat said, the lead-ers had concluded that it was important to maintain pressure on Russia ahead of planned elections in eastern Ukraine.

“The elections in Ukraine are heavy lift-ing,” the diplomat said, requesting anonym-ity because the agreement in Antalya was con� dential.

“We only have a chance to get what we want if we play the sanctions card. Financial sanctions need to stay in place until the bitter end,” the diplomat added.

Following the attacks, Hollande has called for a grand coalition of nations to � ght Is-lamic State, which controls large swathes of Syria and Iraq. The French president is due to travel to Moscow on Nov. 26 to discuss closer cooperation with Putin.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel will dine with Hollande in Paris the evening be-fore his trip and, according to German of-� cials, will urge him to remain � rm on the sanctions question while in Moscow. l

INSIDE

As part of her visit to Bangladesh last week, Queen Maxima of the Netherlands drew attention to the rapid spread of digital � nancial services in the country, in her capacity as the UN Secretary-General’s special advocate for � nancial inclusion.

Bangladesh’s mobile money providers are making a huge di� erence to poorer citizens by expanding the reach of digital � nancial services. Only 15% of the population has access to formal banks, but mobile � nancial services are able to cheaply and e� ciently ease the � ow of money because they are not dependent on building uneconomic brick-and-mortar buildings in remote areas.

The advantages of digital technology are spreading across other areas. BRAC is soon to digitise repayments of its micro� nance loans and hundreds of large employers in the garment sector are working to digitise wage payments.

As well as reducing transfer costs and opening up opportunities for more people to budget and invest for the future, mobile providers are a boon for the nation overall as they increase the volume of money � owing in the formal economy.

It is vital then that Bangladesh Bank rethinks its proposed new guidelines to limit MFS ownership stakes.

At present, there are 28 commercial banks with MFS licenses, but only three or four are e� ectively operating in the market, with bKash and DBBL currently succeeding in having around a 95% market share.

While it is desirable to see more competitors challenge for this market, analysts are agreed that the proposed guidelines, which would e� ectively lead to a forced divestment of BRAC Bank and Dutch Bangla Bank’s successful mobile money businesses, would end up reducing, not increasing competition.

Governments and regulators need to think very carefully before dictating changes to corporate ownership structures.

The phenomenal success of bKash is a great example of market-driven competition and innovation creating a public good by using technology to serve a need that would otherwise not have been provided.

As drafted, the new guidelines necessarily distort these principles and risk seriously undermining Bangladesh’s business and investment environment.

With the market growing fast and plenty of scope for new investment and technologies to allow new entrants to grow already, it is inappropriate to interfere with the market and undermine successful examples of entrepreneurship and innovation.

Take care not to harm the market-driven competition and innovation which has enabled mobile � nancial providers to deliver growing public bene� ts

Justice has been served

No license to kissWhat! Kissing in movies, is a problem in a country which has made ‘khullam khulla’ item songs the norm in mainstream movies. For a few seconds I am stunned with all the Munni, Sheila and others clouding the mind

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PAGE 13

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PAGE 14

Under the umbrellaWhen all of it is amalgamated into one buzzword -- a word which is now a banal cliche, we overlook the details which aid in robbing the attention it deserves

The story of Pakistan army cohorts such as Salauddin and Mujahid is not unknown. They systematically killed our unarmed, freedom-loving people and the intellectuals in the darkest nights of 1971

Don’t disrupt Bangladesh’s digital � nance success stories

11D

TEditorialMONDAY, NOVEMBER 23, 2015

BIGSTOCK

n Nadeem Qadir

Sitting far away from home and missing all the celebrations surrounding the hanging of two of the most terrible war criminals in our history is just one

of those things I will regret for the rest of my life.

When I screamed aloud “Joy Bangla” several times, I was all but sure that there were at least a few kindred souls on the streets in the chilly weather who shared, or even understood, my joy.

But what matters most at this juncture is that it has � nally happened: Justice has been served.

Thanks to my friends at RTV for giving me a “magic box” through which I could see the developments live from Dhaka sitting here in London.

I am grateful that I am at least somehow able to be a part of this historic moment, a moment of joy and satisfaction, seeing a promise � nally being kept.

Salute to our Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina for � nally making good on her pledge of delivering the justice that had been denied to us since the 1975 assassination of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, the Father of the Nation.

Horror struck the nation in 2001 when Ali Ahsan Mohammad Mujahid was made into a full minister along with Motiur Rahman Nizami in Khaleda Zia’s BNP-Jamaat alliance cabinet -- also worth remembering is that Salauddin Quader Chowdhury was a BNP senior leader and advisor to Khaleda Zia.

A friend of mine gave me a telephone call from Dhaka and literally screamed “Joy Bangla,” saying that the � ght that myself, my late mother, and thousands more had started to bring the war criminals of 1971 to justice had � nally been won … although Nizami and a few others still await their fate.

On this day we cannot help but remember the great contribution of Jahanara Imam and the Ekattorer Ghatak Dalal Nirmul Committtee.

The story of Pakistan army cohorts such as Salauddin and Mujahid is not unknown.

They systematically killed our unarmed, freedom-loving people and the intellectuals in the darkest nights of 1971. They raped our women and rejoiced with the Pakistan army in the name of annihilating “Hindus” and

“Indian agents.”They are gone now, but their crimes will

never be forgotten nor forgiven by the people of Bangladesh. That truth triumphs and justice is always served are not unknown or unpopular sentiments.

But in Bangladesh, justice has been denied time and again since 1975, with the stalled trial of the killers of Bangabandhu and the rehabilitation of anti-Bangladesh and pro-Pakistan people such as Salauddin Quader Chowdhury and Ali Ahsan Mohammad Mujahid.

They � nally met their fates on November 22, 2015.

The screeching voices of Salauddin and Mujahid � nally admitted their guilt and

sought presidential mercy and were aptly denied such clemency.

Maybe John Kerry and Amnesty International will issue another statement, which will be promptly rejected by the PM and the people of Bangladesh.

Needless to say, it is time that the US and Amnesty International � nally sided with the right side and abandoned the wrong one.

Long live our Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, the “platinum lady” as labelled by a friend. Long live Bangladesh. Joy Bangla! l

Nadeem Qadir, a senior journalist, is a UNCA Dag Hammarskjold Scholar in journalism. He is Press Minister of the Bangladesh High Commission in London.

Justice has been served

The story of Pakistan army cohorts such as Salauddin and Mujahid is not unknown. They systematically killed our unarmed, freedom-loving people and the intellectuals in the darkest nights of 1971. They raped our women and rejoiced with the Pakistan army in the name of annihilating “Hindus” and “Indian agents”

Justice for the war crimes of 1971 has been a long time coming BIGSTOCK

With the hangings of Salauddin and Mujahid, the nation can � nally breathe a sigh of relief

Opinion12DT


Opinion 13D


n Towheed Feroze

I can call it a coincidence of sorts; while sitting inside the lush interior of the Bashundhara Cineplex in an almost decadently comfortable sofa for the � lm

to start, the news on BBC radio in the mobile phone casually caught my attention -- the kissing scenes in the new bond � lm, Spectre, will have to be curtailed in India because the censors think they are too long. This actually means such extended, steamy smooching is certainly not � t to be shown before the masses.

What! Kissing in movies is a problem in a country which has made “khullam khulla” item songs the norm in mainstream movies. For a few seconds, I am stunned with all the Munni, Sheila, and others clouding the mind. So let me get this straight: Titillation of the extreme sort with close-up shots of the navel, cleavage plus suggestive biting of the lower lips pose no threat to moral values, but when foreign actors get into torrid lip-locking sessions, the bastion of conservatism

suddenly � nds cracks appearing.In fact, the problem is not with Indian

censors alone. The pseudo-puritanical stance is a common veil, applied in almost all South Asian countries, Bangladesh included.

Though, thankfully, Mr Bond has been allowed full liberty on our screens. But who knows, these moral outbursts have this peculiar quality of becoming contagious. The super spy may see his kissing rights revoked if the censors here suddenly wake up to a renewed and overzealous sense of conservative ideals.

Interestingly, in India, the tawdry TV soap operas, based mainly on the murky sides of middle class family life, regularly present extra-martial a� airs in a variety of mouthwa-tering formats, just to spice things up.

In fact, such family life shenanigans have a huge following in Bangladesh. In local lingo, if you want to learn “kutnami” then soaps are a must.

Cutting down kissing scenes on the pretext of safeguarding the moral platform is � imsy when the entire net is open for all of us to dive (and get lost) into the world of unremitting sexual variation.

But maybe the rationale is that, if a � lm like Bond is made for the whole family, then it must not contain elements that may create uneasiness in a multi-age audience.

Well, the counter point is, the Hindi soaps may not be showing direct kissing but the cleverly masked vices they portray do far more harm.

I would say that stratagems devised to trigger discord between a couple or wrest a trophy husband from a woman are hardly

edifying items.Once more, Bertrand Russell comes to

mind: We have two philosophies, one which we practice but don’t preach and the other which we preach but don’t practice.

Coming to the central role of both Hindi and Bangla movies, still today, the standard rule (followed like gospel) is that, the hero cannot be a person with any � aws. If he drinks then maybe such an act will be out of frustration for not getting the girl, but otherwise, he will be a fully convention-abiding person; which usually means no sex before marriage.

Though some � lms have dared to come out of this formulaic template, the majority does not � out this format. And, despite the girl dancing with her midri� exposed -- spouting lines like, “I am a chicken tandoori, and must be consumed with alcohol” or “I am a matchstick, don’t touch because I will burn you to cinder” -- she is portrayed as a virgin.

If movies are supposed to mirror the zeitgeist of a particular period, then, I have to say, please do not watch them to learn about the � ne nuances of social credo.

In fact, once upon a time, in the 50s, Hollywood was in a similar state. The feel-good � lms of the time presented megastars upholding orthodox values in romance plus family life, while in real life, most led lives short of Roman dissolution.

Thankfully, Hollywood soon moved away from the illusory “morally correct” path to bring in more tainted reality, entering a formula where heroes were not always the nice guy without the vice. And central feminine characters also emerged as stunningly attractive but unscrupulous.

Why South Asia makes such a fuss about so-called conventional values in celluloid remains to be impartially analysed.

Is it because there is a fear that, if this ruse is not maintained, the unsavoury truth will come out and shatter that citadel of righteousness?

In many � lms of this region, a common line is used to death: “We come from middle class backgrounds and cling on to our social restrictions with honour.” It seems a bit dissonant with the real picture, where ambition drives men and women both to practically separate the image of the modest person from the one who ferociously pursues better social standard, creature comforts, and individual contentment, often with callous disregard for conventions.

To end, let’s go back to 1983, when Bond came to India. Roger Moore played the lead but no outrage happened over the name of the � lm (Octopussy), which, and I am not exaggerating, has a heavy undertone of sexual notoriety about it.

The � lm shows a � ctitious island dominated by young, agile women dressed in translucent clothes. Oh well, I guess we are having, what can be called, a resurgence of moral correctness.

So, Mr Bond, kiss another day. l

Towheed Feroze is a journalist currently working in the development sector.

No license to kiss

What! Kissing in movies is a problem in a country which has made ‘khullam khulla’ item songs the norm in mainstream movies. For a few seconds I am stunned with all the Munni, Sheila and others clouding the mind

Which do we cut out of our � lms -- kisses which are too long or steamy item songs? BIGSTOCK

How hypocritical are South Asian censor boards when it comes to censorship?

Opinion14DT


n Promit Ananyo Chakraborty

The inclusion of all forms of sexual harassment on the street under the umbrella term “eve teasing” is plain wrong, since the word is de facto

redundant, less sensitive, and super� uous -- which is a grave injustice to the range of awkward situations women and girls in this country have to face every day.

The term “eve teasing” is a South Asian version of the word “catcalling,” and I often wonder if the word was invented to sugar-coat, if not exclude, the ugly realities on the ground.

A headline in newspapers with the words “eve teasing” makes a lot of readers eschew the real issue, often by stereotyping it with normal, quotidian incidents, and thus, readers fail to comprehend the gravity of the news, the severity of the crime, and the underlying implications of the situation.

Often, we Bangladeshis are blamed for not being creative.

But, when it comes to crimes against women, we defy this “reputation.” Our girls face catcalling, mocking, inappropriate gazing -- just to name a few -- in the daily course of their lives.

Many people are very desperate to prove how similar their nature is to that of beasts, often by touching girls inappropriately in crowded places.

But when all of it is amalgamated into one buzzword -- a word which is now a banal cliché, we overlook the details which aid in robbing the attention it deserves.

While we do not necessarily need to invent new words, or use arcane terms, an honest description of what happened is required -- whether it’s a Facebook post, newspaper article, or case study.

Another important point is, many atrocities against women fall under criminal o� ense, and hence deserve appropriate punishment, but terming it as eve teasing trivialises the issue and may impact the verdict from legal institutions.

Many types of sexual harassment don’t include the general notion of eve teasing.

And the bitter truth is, they are way more prevalent, acts such as inappropriate touching, harassing someone on the phone, inappropriate gazing at body parts.

Therefore, we can’t give the o� enders indemnity by letting them vindicate themselves by touting the fact that since they didn’t comment or catcall, they did not commit a crime.

The majority of girls and women in Dhaka travel by public transport which, though it does not sound pleasing, is a hub for potentials o� enders.

Right from the moment one steps until the moment one gets down, girls and women have to stay alert during the whole journey since o� enders often lurk waiting for the opportunity.

The excuse of the bus being � lled up with passengers is often used by o� enders and malingerers as an excuse for standing or sitting in close proximity.

Apart from that, a large percentage of the pie chart of street sexual o� enses is occupied by apodyopsis aided with impertinent gazing.

Unfortunately, often perpetrators of this crime never get their “just desserts” and

get away with either a little chastisement or nothing at all.

What about when a driver accosts girls and asks for details and later gropes them inappropriately?

Can such heinous acts be commensurate with a whistle blow and get punished by the same metric?

Every street sexual harassment incident has its own gravity, and hence should be reported and judged on a case to case basis. Using an umbrella term often blurs the whole process, as it does in this case, and contrib-utes to abate the attention it deserves. l

Promit Ananyo Chakraborty is a freelance contributor.

Under the umbrellaThe term ‘eve teasing’ doesn’t quite cover sexual harassment

When all of it is amalgamated into one buzzword -- a word which is now a banal cliche, we overlook the details which aid in robbing the attention it deserves

Harassment is a lot more pervasive than just inappropriate comments BIGSTOCK

15D

TBusinessMONDAY, NOVEMBER 23, 2015

PM: Government to continue support for capital market developmentPrime Minister Sheikh Hasina yesterday said the government would continue to provide necessary support for the capitalmarket development as it can help collect required capital forbuilding industries and infrastructure. PAGE 16

Is the bubble bursting for India’s online start-ups?Hundreds of layo� s at several Indian start-ups have sparked fears the bubble is starting to burst for the country’s e-commerce com-panies, amid claims by analysts that many of them are overvalued. PAGE 18

Eight lakh RMG workers to receive training on workplace safety A total of eight lakh RMG workers will be trained under the initiative “Improving Working Conditions in the RMG sector in Bangladesh,” Bangladesh Employers Federation (BEF) said yesterday. PAGE 17

Capital market snapshot: SundayDSE

Broad Index 4,596.8 1.4% ▲

Index 1,107.2 1.4% ▲

30 Index 1,745.8 1.4% ▲

Turnover in Mn Tk 4,306.5 6.7% ▲

Turnover in Mn Volume 123.7 9.7% ▲

CSEAll Share Index 13,972.3 1.0% ▲

30 Index 12,287.6 0.4% ▲

Selected Index 8,500.3 1.0% ▲

Turnover in Mn Tk 310.3 16.6% ▲

Turnover in Mn Volume 10.0 14.8% ▲

INSIDE

TICFA MEET TODAY

Focus on GSP, investment n Asif Showkat Kallol

The second Ticfa meeting between Dhaka and Washington in the US capital today will discuss to boost bilateral trade and invest-ment, o� cials said.

The meeting will also discuss the issues like generalized system of preferences (GSP) and duty-free access of Bangladeshi products to the US market.

A � ve-member delegation led by Com-merce Secretary Hedayet Ullah Al Mamun will represent the Bangladesh side in the meet. Foreign secretary and labour and employment secretary are also in the dele-gation.

The delegattion will meet with the US in-vestor and business assciation leaders dur-ing the visit.

“We hope that the US investors will in-ject more funds into Bangladesh,” said He-dayet Ullah Al Mamun.

US Deputy Chief of Mission David Meale, who will represent the US Embassy at Ticfa, said Ticfa is about expanding the potential of the two countries’ bilateral trade and investment relationship, which includes promising new areas, from pharmaceuticals to increased investment in infrastructure to information technology.

Earlier on November 10, Commerce Min-ister Tofail Ahmed said

Bangladesh will focus on GSP issue in the Ticfa meeting with the USA with a high hope that there will be a solution to the long-pending issue.

“We expect to get back GSP bene� t after the Ticfa meeting. Bangladesh will keep GSP issue on high of its agenda,” he said.

US Ambassador in Dhaka Marcia Bern-icat said Bangladesh export growth to the US market is “robust” and the GSP will be in the agenda of the Ticfa meeting.

She said the future export potential of the country will also be discussed at the meeting as some products like pharmaceu-ticals has a good potential of to the US in future.

“We’ll also discuss making two-way trades more robust. How we can increase the trade in both ways. We’re now partner countries, we’ve shared values and US is friend of Bangladesh,” Bernicat added.

There will also be discussions on oth-er topics including intellectual property rights, government procurement policy, import liences, quota, investment climate, signing MoU on women empowerment and assistance in science and technology sector.

Besides, improvement of labour stand-ards in the Bangladeshi factories will also be presented in the meeting as this was a

condition to get back GSP in the US market. O� cials said the US is likely to demand

withdrawal of new tax on Coca Cola, a US brand of veberage, as the Bangladesh gov-ernment increased tax on the drink to 25% in the current budget from 15% earlier. The US o� cials want it to reduce to former rate.

About intellectual property rights, the US o� cials said no talks on the issue is nec-essary now as the World Trade Organisation has already extended the property rights waiver to 2033, according to the Ticfa work-ing papers.

Hedayet Ullah Al Mamun said Bangla-desh hopes that the US investors will inject more funds into Bangladesh. He said he will have meetings with the US investors asso-ciations.

He said discussions on the revival of GSP and allowing Bangladeshi products duty-free access to the US market will “de� -nitely be held.”

Secretary said they would also talk to high o� cials of the US in� uential labour group AFL-CIO about Bangladesh’s im-provements in labour standards.

Regarding the US-led Trans-Paci� c Partership (TPP), he hoped that the US of-� cials would take Bangladesh’s view on the TPP.

The � rst meeting of the Trade and In-vestment Cooperation Framework Agree-ment (Ticfa) was held in April, 2014 in Dha-ka, after the much-talked-about bilateral trade pact was signed between Bangladesh and the USA in November, 2013. l

Bandwidth export to India begins on trial n Ishtiaq Husain

A trial run for bandwidth export to India started from Akhaura yesterday following which Bangladesh Submarine Cable Com-pany Limited (BSCCL) will kick o� its for-mal export on December 01 through Akhau-ra-Agartala frontier.

On November 16, Bangladesh and India connected its optical � bre at zero point on the Akhaura-Agartala border.

BSCCL Managing Director Monwar Hos-sain disclosed the matter to the Dhaka Trib-une over cellphone.

On June 6, the state-owned company BSCCL signed a deal with the Indian state-owned Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited ( BSNL) for exporting bandwidth during In-dian prime minister’s visit to Bangladesh.

According to the agreement, BSNL decid-ed to import 10 Gbps bandwidth for Tripura state from September this year, but the ex-port had been � xed one month ahead in Au-gust. Later, both party missed the deadline.

The submarine cable company will get the payment at the beginning of each quar-ter while Bangladesh will earn Tk9.6 crore a year by exporting bandwidth to India.

The bandwidth export price is 33% high-

er than that in domestic market though there are also opinions against the latest price of bandwidth.

The deal has been signed initially for a year and it can be extended for two more years, a BSCCL o� cial said, adding that the bandwidth price will be reviewed after a year.

“The laying of cable lines on Bangladesh side was completed earlier than the stipu-lated time, but our counterpart India fell a little behind us. That is why the total work was delayed,” said Monwar Hossain.

The state-owned com-pany has the capacity to export bandwidth up to 50 Gbps, he told the Dhaka Tribune.

Tarana Halim, state min-ister for Post and Telecom-munications, said BSCCL will earn a huge revenue through exporting unuti-lised bandwidth. As Bangla-desh will connect to another 14,00 Gbps undersea cable by 2016, so it will be a huge backup for the country.

The Indian state of As-

sam and Meghalaya had also shown interest in importing bandwidth from Bangladesh.

Since the lifetime of Bangladesh’s sub-marine cable will end within the next 12 years, there is no other alternative to ex-porting bandwidth.

Bangladesh has a bandwidth capacity of 200 Gbps, of them only 33% is used.

Industry insiders say the country’s de-mand for bandwidth may reach 210 Gbps by 2021.

In 2006, Bangladesh got connected to the current submarine cable at a cost of $63m. l

‘We hope that the US investors will inject more funds into Bangladesh’

Business16DT


ADB signs $250m loan to help develop capital market n Tribune Report

Asian Development Bank (ADB) and Bang-ladesh government yesterday signed a loan agreement worth US$250m to help Bangla-desh continue capital market reforms, said the bank in a statement yesterday.

Saifuddin Ahmed, joint secretary, Econom-ic Relations Division (ERD), and Kazuhiko Hi-guchi, country director, Bangladesh Resident Mission of ADB, signed the agreement on their respective behalves at the ERD in the city.

“ADB has been supporting the govern-ment’s initiatives to improve capital markets, and this new assistance will help the govern-

ment strengthen the markets further,” said ADB Country Director Kazuhiko Higuchi.

“The third program supports policy actions to strengthen the Bangladesh Securities and Exchange Commission, boost institutional in-vestor demand, broaden the supply of � nan-cial instruments, including sukuk, and pro-mote a more liquid government bond market.”

In the Seventh Five Year Plan, the govern-ment is targeting to achieve annual gross do-mestic product (GDP) growth of 8% in the � s-cal year 2020. Achieving this goal will require attracting more private investment. Further development of the capital markets is an im-portant catalyst towards that end. l

Stocks rise sharply amid technical glitch n Tribune Report

Stocks gained sharply yesterday, shrugging o� technical glitch, led by mainly banks, pharmaceutical and engineering sectors.

The buy and sale of shares halted for one and a half hour on the Dhaka Stock Exchange (DSE) yesterday, leaving some traders frus-trated for hours.

The country’s prime bourse failed to open the trade in the morning as no brokerage � rms could log in to the main server.

The problem was � xed during noon and trading resumed at 12 pm and ended up at 4pm. Trading usually begins at 10:30am and ends at 2:30pm. The trading halt underscores techno-logical challenges faced by the stock exchange, which have had several outages in this year.

In August, trading was suspended on DSE for two hours and in May it has to shorten trad-ing hour for the technical fault glitch despite upgrading technology a few months back.

“The trading system of Dhaka Stock Ex-change had a delayed start due to a technical issue which appears to relate to the infra-structure and not the Matching Engine or the Order Management System,” said the DSE in a statement. It said work was in progress to identify, isolate, and rectify the issue.

However, technical glitch did not deter in-vestors in participation of trading, as stocks witnessed sharp rally, buoyed by the bank, pharma ceutical and textile sectors.

The benchmark DSEX climbed up over 65 points or 1.5% to 4,596.

The Shariah index DSES rose 15 points or 1.5% to 1,107. The blue chip comprising index DS30 closed at 1,745, rising around 25 points or 1.5% to 1,745.

The Chittagong Stock Exchange Selec-tive Category Index CSCX moved up over 83 points to 8,500. Trading activities improved as the DSE turnover stood at Tk430 crore, up 6.6% over the previous session. Engineering sector attracted investors as it accounted for more than 20% of the total turnover.

Lanka Bangla Securities said though mar-ket saw buying enthusiasm immediately after opening, investors might have reacted positive-ly to the news of hanging of war criminals and decision on providing cash incentives for boost-ing the export of pharmaceuticals, shipbuilding and some other non-traditional products. l

PM: Government to continue support for capital market developmentn Tribune Business Desk

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina yesterday said the government would continue to provide necessary support for the capitalmarket de-velopment as it can help collect required cap-ital forbuilding industries and infrastructure.

“To achieve sustainable development goals, huge investment isnecessary. A bold, accountable and e� ective capital market plays animportance role in collecting re-quired capital for buildingindustries and infrastructure. I hope the Bangladesh Secu-rities andExchange Commission will remain vigil and take farsighted steps inthis regard,” she said.

The Prime Minister was addressing a func-tion at her o� ce before witnessing a signing ceremony between the Bangladesh Securi-ties and Exchange Commission (BSEC) and the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) to enhance cooperation between the two regulatoryauthorities, reports UNB.

Urging all concerned to work with utmost

sincerity, Sheikh Hasina hoped that the MoU, signed yesterday between the two capital market regulators, would help � ourish the economies of the both countries.

To build a transparent, accountable, skilled, stable and strongcapital market in the country, she said her government has been-implementing a number of programmes, including strengthening the BSECthrough enactment of laws and undertaking various programmes to protect investors’ interests and ensure good governance

The steps also include introduction of a tribunal for disposal ofcases related to the capital market, introduction of improved digitalprocess for detecting irregularities in share transaction and their supervision, and managing share-related activities and enact-ment ofa � nancial reporting law, she said.

The Prime Minister said her government’s steps also includeintroduction of new prod-ucts related to the capital market, establish-ment of digitalised clearing and settlement company andskill development through

training of regulating bodies and capitalmar-ket personnel and introduction of � nancial literacy programme to improve the capital market.

“I think an opportunity will be created to strengthen our capital market utilising the experiences of the Securities and Exchange Boardof India through the signing of this MoU. I would like to request theBangladesh Securities and Exchange Commission to in-troduce Financial Literacy Programme for creating awareness among prospectiveinves-tors,” she said.

Commerce Minister Tofail Ahmed, PM’s Advisers HT Imam and Dr Moshiur Rahman, State Minister for Finance and Planning MA Mannan, IndianHigh Commissioner to Bang-ladesh Pankaj Saran, FBCCI President Abdul Matlub Ahmed, BSEC commissioners, and Board of Directors of DSE were,among oth-ers, were present at the signing ceremony. Fi-nance Minister AMA Muhith, BSEC Chairman Dr M Khairul Hossain and SEBI Chairman UK Sinha also spoke on the occasion. l

Apparel sector’s training centre CEBAI gets accreditation n Tribune Report

The Centre of Excellence for Bangladesh Ap-parel Industry (CEBAI) has received accredi-tation as a Registered Training Organization (RTO) from the Bangladesh Technical Educa-tion Board, said a press release.

BTEB is a statutory authority for ensuring quality and certi� cation in technical and vo-cational education and training.

CEBAI was established through a joint e� ort of ILO, the Bangladesh Garment Man-ufacturers and Exporters Association (BG-MEA), Swedish retailer H&M and the Swed-ish government in late 2014.

Its role is to implement certi� ed training within the national skills development poli-cy (NSDP) of Bangladesh to improve the qual-ity of work and productivity in RMG factories and to enable workers to have their skills for-mally recognised.

“ILO considers CEBAI as an important new institution driven by the industry to play a valuable role in meeting the changing needs of the Bangladesh RMG sector as it seeks to move up the value chain,” said Srinivas Red-dy, ILO County Director for Bangladesh.

“At the same time it helps RMG workers, particularly women, improve their skills, in-comes and gain skills certi� cation,” he said. l

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and Finance Minister AMA Muhith witness a signing ceremony between Bangladesh Securities and Exchange Commission and Securities and Exchange Board of India in Prime Minister’s O� ce yesterday DHAKA TRIBUNE

Business 17D


Monetary policy risks becoming ine� ective n Reuters, Berkeley

Monetary policy risks becoming ine� ective in a world where growth is sluggish, economies are deeply interconnected and interest rates are already near zero, a top European Central Bank policy maker said on early yesterday.

Speaking at the University of California Berkeley, ECB execu-tive board member Benoit Coeure called for academics and policy makers to address issues at the root of a global economic malaise, singling out the euro zone’s inability to revive domestic demand.

“The capacity of the global economy to generate growth is under question,” Coeure said in remarks prepared for a speech.

“In a global zero lower bound environment, surplus coun-tries hold world output down.” l

Atiur blames lax internal control for banks’ irregularity n Tribune Report

Bangladesh Bank Governor Atiur Rahman has blamed the laxness in internal banking control system for the massive irregularities in some banks.

“We have taken some e� ective measures to strengthen the supervision and monitoring system,” said governor while addressing the annual banking conference held yesterday at the Bangladesh Institution of Bank Manage-ment (BIBM) auditorium in the capital.

The central bank governor inaugurated a two-day conference organised by BIBM.

The central bank has brought some chang-es in its supervision strategy after massive forgeries, said the governor.

“Corporate good governance and account-ability of boards were given more priorities to retain stability in the banking sector,” he added.

He also hoped that an intensi� ed supervi-sion would help to overcome existing weak-nesses.

Tou� c Ahmed Choudhury, director general of BIBM presented a research paper on bank-ing sector of the year 2014 at the conference. l

Eight lakh RMG workers to receive training on workplace safety n Tribune Report

A total of eight lakh RMG workers will be trained under the initiative “Improving Working Conditions in the RMG sector in Bangladesh,” Bangladesh Employers Federa-tion (BEF) said yesterday.

The BEF is implementing the project in association with ILO, Canada, Netherlands and the UK.

Under the initiative, a total of 114 master trainers have already been trained up.

The master trainers are senior trainers and certi� ed by the International Training Centre of ILO, said BEF Secretary General Farooq Ahmed after the evaluation of Master Train-ers Meeting.

The master trainers will train 8,000 mid-level mangers by March 2016 through 400 training sessions, Farooq said, adding that the trained mid-level managers will afterwards train 8 lakh workers by the � rst quarter of 2017.

“We want to expand the training pro-

gramme beyond the RMG sector and extend it to leather industry,” he added.

The BGMEA, BKMEA and BEF are demon-strating that they are very important actor in Bangladesh to bring about a cultural shift to put safety and safe workplace in the RMG, said Paolo Salvai, activity manager of ITC of ILO.

“We worked very strictly with BGMEA, BKMEA and BEF to create a pool of master trainers to see trainer in action at company level,” said Salvai.

Improving safety at workplace means im-proving compliance, success of RMG sector, and success in Bangladesh’s RMG means suc-cess for the entire country and society as a whole, he added.

Indeed, capacity and skill development are underway in line with Occupational Safe-ty and Health, said Tuomo Poutiainen, RMG programme manager of ILO in Dhaka.

Commenting on the issues, Tuomo said: “It is not minor feed; it a major achievement in the making of safety.”

“It is a challenging training in the sense

that we are talking about 400 factories, 8,000 mid-level mangers and talking outreaching about half a million of workers’ rights,” he added.

As per the training schedule, of the 8,000 mild-level managers, the Bangladesh Gar-ment Manufacturers and Exporters Associ-ation (BGMEA) will train 4,500, while the Bangladesh Knitwear Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BKMEA) 3,500. After the completion of mid-level mangers’ train-ing, a mid-level trained manger will train 100 workers to reach the 8-lakh target.

The component “Building the capacity of Occupational Safety Health (OHS) Systems” aims at reinforcing the capacity of workers, supervisors and managers in the RMG sector to improve the safety of their workplace.

The key issues to be addressed in the RMG factories by the capacity building project are � re safety, electrical safety, good house-keeping, dangerous substances, ergonomics, noise protection and preventing violence at work. l

Hospital canteens to come under VAT netn Syed Samiul Basher Anik

The National Board of Revenue is working to bring the canteens and restaurants, owned and operated by di� erent private hospital authorities, inside the hospitals under the Value Added Tax (VAT) net.

The � eld o� ces have already start-ed monitoring and conducting drives to bring those eateries under the VAT net following the NBR Chairman No-jibur Rahman’s instruction. The VAT commissionerates were asked to col-lect VAT from such canteens after reg-istering them with the Business Iden-

ti� cation Number (BIN), o� cials said.It is reported that most hospital

authorities collect a huge amount of money by selling food to patients and their visitors, but they do not have any Business Identi� cation Number (BIN) Number for operating the service.

Most hospitals do not charge VAT from their clients, but some do so, of-� cials said, adding that these canteens and restaurants therefore remain out of the VAT net.

“They do business through sales of di� erent food items. In addition, pric-es � xed in such canteens are higher than those in other hotels. So, the � eld

o� ces will conduct drives to check whether these hospitals have any BIN,” said an NBR top o� cial.

Once identi� ed, the hospitals will have to register with BIN and have to provide VAT challan receipts to their customers, he added.

On November 12, the VAT intelli-gence wing of NBR conducted a drive at Anwar Khan Modern Hospital in Dh-anmondi and found that the hospital does not have any BIN although it has a canteen which is open for all.

“The hospital has a huge amount of sales, but does not pay any VAT,” an o� cial said. l

Tazreen victims may get compensation by January n Tribune Report

The victims and family members of Tazreen Fire incident are likely to get the � rst lot of their compensation by January and � nal disbursement by April 2016.

A Tazreen Claims Administration Trust (TCA Trust) formed in 2014 will oversee the compensation issues.

“As soon as claims review process is complete, each claimant will be noti� ed of the result of the review. After that payment will be made in full which will be sent to each claimant’s bank accounts that were opened for them in Dutch Bangla Bank Lim-ited on the day of registration of their claims,” said a statement of ILO yesterday.

“It is expected that � rst payment to families of the deceased and missing workers Tazreen will be made in January 2016,” added the statement.

“Thanks to the regular support of the ILO, the Government of Bangladesh and the signatory organisations. We are happy to get the TCA Trust up and running,” said Executive Commission-er of the Trust, Mojtaba Kazazi.

After all the hardship trauma victims and their families have been through, they will be able to receive their payments that are due, added Mojtaba. l

Business18DT


CORPORATE NEWS

The Premier Bank Limited has recently celebrated its 16th Anniversary at a hotel in Dhaka. Commerce Minister Tofail Ahmed was present at the occasion as chief guest along with the bank’s chairperson, Dr HBM Iqba

Amari Dhaka has recently been awarded Best Luxury Contemporary Hotel of 2015 in Bangladesh at Luxury Travel Guide Global Awards programme. General manager of Amari Dhaka, Kelly Lewis received the award

Export Import Bank of Bangladesh Limited has recently opened its 98th branch at Mithamoin in Kishorgonj. Parliament Member Rezwan Ahamed Tau� q inaugurated the branch as chief guest while the bank’s managing director, Dr Mohammed Haider Ali Miah presided over the inaugural ceremony

Is the bubble bursting for India’s online start-ups? n AFP, Mumbai

Hundreds of layo� s at several Indian start-ups have sparked fears the bubble is starting to burst for the country’s e-commerce com-panies, amid claims by analysts that many of them are overvalued.

Restaurant search website Zomato, food delivery app TinyOwl and property portal Housing.com are all letting sta� go, and ex-perts are warning of echoes of the dot-com boom which crashed spectacularly in 2000.

“The valuation bubble is bursting. The valuations had reached levels where they were ridiculous and could not be justi� ed at any level,” said Arvind Singhal, chairman of management consulting � rm Technopak.

Wealthy investors boosted by low interest rates have been lining up to lavishly back India’s booming start-ups, with the govern-ment hailing the sector as proof of the coun-try’s entrepreneurial spirit.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi views on-line startups as key to providing jobs to as-pirational young Indians, seeking to fuel the sector through a government campaign, “Start up India, Stand up India”.

In September he visited Silicon Valley call-

ing on deep-pocketed investors to turn their attention to India’s thriving start-up ecosys-tem, with large tech hubs in the cities of Ban-galore, Hyderabad and Mumbai.

Yet despite the billions of dollars invested in recent years, most of India’s online start-ups are yet to turn pro� ts and investments are largely based on speculative future earnings.

“Investors are not looking objectively at the sector. They are just seeing a few success stories and ignoring the failures, just like they did in the dot-com era,” Paras Adenwa-la, investment consultant at Capital Portfolio Advisors in Mumbai, told AFP.

Adenwala is concerned that once the United States’ central bank starts moving on interest rates, as it has long been tipped to do, investors will be less generous with their cash, making the situation worse.

“You will see a lot of these start-ups falling by the wayside once the US Federal Reserve starts raising rates and funding dries up,” he said.

Dramatic scenesRecent events at TinyOwl, Zomato and Hous-ing.com suggest that not all is well.

There were dramatic scenes at TinyOwl’s o� ces in Pune, in the western Indian state of Maharashtra, earlier this month when dis-gruntled sta� refused to leave the building after losing their jobs.

They also held hostage a member of top management, who laid o� 300 employees, preventing him from leaving for two days as they demanded the immediate payment of their severance deals.

TinyOwl co-founder and chief executive

Harshvardhan Mandad said the redundan-cies had been necessary to get the start-up on a more sustainable footing.

“This has involved some di� cult deci-sions for us as well, but we believe it’s an in-tegral step for the sustainability and growth of the business,” Mandad said.

Housing.com recently � red 600 employ-ees, according to widespread reports, and on Thursday announced there would be a “reorganising of the company”, although it declined to con� rm the layo� s.

Zomato, a so-called “unicorn” startup be-cause it is valued at more than $1 billion, is laying o� 10 percent of its 3,000-strong sta� worldwide, mostly in the United States.

An o� cial for the New Delhi-headquar-tered company, which operates in 22 coun-tries, said “the restructuring that led to the redundancies was based on a business call”.

“I do not think that the pace of growth has suddenly slowed. Is the market correcting? Perhaps it is, and I guess it’s about time that happened as well,” added the o� cial, who asked not to be named.

Some signs of consolidation are already evident in the highly competitive market.

Grofers, a “hyperlocal” grocery app that allows customers to order goods from corner shops online, last month made two acqui-sitions in a week, taking over its shuttered competitor Townrush and meal delivery ser-vice SpoonJoy.

And earlier this month Mumbai-based CarTrade, a portal for selling used autos, ac-quired its rival CarWale for an undisclosed sum.

Singhal, the Technopak chairman, sees the job cuts as part of an inevitable “evolu-tion” of startups, where the early movers lacked well thought-out business models but successors will learn from their mistakes.

“It will encourage new startups with clearer plans,” he said. l

A gardener plants seedlings at the entrance of Start-up Village in Kinfra High Tech Park in the southern Indian city of Kochi REUTERS

‘This has involved some di� cult decisions for us as well, but we believe it’s an integral step for the sustainability and growth of the business’

News 19D


Installments on car-parking spaces to be demolishedn UNB

The government will launch eviction drives to demolish unauthorised installments set up on car-parking spaces of all buildings - both residential and commercial buildings – in capital Dhaka and other cities within a week.

The decision was taken at an inter-minis-terial meeting held at the Ministry of Housing and Public Works on Sunday with its minister Engineer Mosharraf Hossain in the chair.

The meeting observed that parking spaces and basements of many buildings are occu-pied by setting up shops, restaurants, clinics, schools and coaching centres, forcing cars to be parked on city streets causing tra� c con-gestions.

Besides, many commercial and residential buildings set up ramps on footpaths to facili-tate the entry of cars into the parking spaces of those buildings, causing trouble to pedes-trians.

The meeting also decided to demolish the ramps through conducting drives in Dhaka, Chittagong, Rajshahi and Khulna city corpo-rations.

Rajuk, Chittagong Development Author-ity (CDA), Rajshahi Development Authority (RDA) and Khulna Development Authority (KDA) will launch the drives in their respec-tive cities.

The eviction drive will be launched as per the infrastructure lists of the Local Govern-ment Division.

Mayor of Dhaka North City Corporation Annisul Haq, Mayor of Dhaka South City Cor-poration Sayeed Khokon, Housing and Public Works secretary Mohammad Moinuddin Ab-dullah, Rajuk Chairman GM Zainal Abedin, CDA Chairman Abdul Salam, KDM Chairman Brig Gen M Samsul Alam Khan, RDA Chair-man Abdus Samad were, among others, pres-ent at the meeting. l

COCAINE EXISTENCE IN SUNFLOWER OIL

Court � xes Dec 7 for hearing n FM Mizanur Rahaman, Chittagong

A court in Chittagong yesterday � xed Decem-ber 7 for the hearing of much-talked about cocaine haul case.

“The court of Chief Metropolitan Magis-trate Rahmat Ali set the new date of the co-caine case asking investigation o� cer of the case to be present as the court will observe the charge sheet of the case,” said Additional Deputy Commissioner Kazi Muttaki Ibn Mi-nan (Prosecution).

On Thursday, Detective Branch (DB) of Chittagong Metropolitan Police (CMP) pressed charge sheet against eight people.

Assistant Commissioner (AC) of DB Mo-hammed Kamruzzaman (nnorth) also in-vestigation o� cer of the case submitted the charge sheet with the Chief Metropolitan Magistrate (CMM) court.

Then AC Kamruzzaman said: “Police submitted charge sheet accusing eight peo-

ple with the CMM court while police has dropped the name of an accused Nur Mo-hammed, chairman of Khan Jahan Ali Group, from the charge sheet as his involvement was not found during the investigation”.

“After conducting chemical tests of evi-dences and recording deposition of 58 wit-nesses, police submitted the charge sheet,” the AC added.

The accused are Cosco Shipping Agency’s Manager AKM Azad, Mondol Group’s Com-mercial Executive Atikur Rahman, Real Es-tate Company o� cial’s Mostafa Kamal, Prime Hatchery Limited’s Manager Golam Mostafa Shohel, Security Company O� cial Mehedi and C&F Company O� cial Saiful Islam.

Two other accused – Fazlur Rahman and Bokul Mia – were shown fugitive in the case.

Earlier, the DB’s Chief Kusum Dewan had told the media that they would write letter to Interpol and British specialised police organ-isation New Scotland Yard to � nd out details

about the duo.Acting on a tip-o� , Directorate of Customs

Intelligence and Investigation (CIID) sealed a container carrying 2,140 kilograms of liquid cocaine in 107 drums in Chittagong Port on June 6.

The Chittagong Port sources said the con-tainer was loaded from Uruguay on March 30 and it arrived at Chittagong Port on May 13 via Singapore Port.

Since then, it had remained in the port’s yard and none has claimed the consignment grow-ing suspicion among the port scrutiny team.

The Directorate of Customs Intelligence and Investigation authorities, with the infor-mation of police, on June 7 sealed the con-tainer in Chittagong Port’s Container Termi-nal Yard 3.

During interrogation, the owner of im-porter Khan Jahan Ali Ltd said one of his em-ployees identi� ed as Sohel had brought the consignment using the company’s address. l

Couple jailed for life for killing n Tribune Report

A court in Chittagong yesterday sentenced a couple to death for killing a person at Mir-sarai upazila, Chittagong 10 years back.

Judge of Public Security Tribunal Sayeda Hosne Ara handed down the verdict against Nur Mohammed and his wife Rahima Be-gum, said tribunal’s Public Prosecutor Ja-hangir Alam.

“The court pronounced the death penalty against the couple examining all the records, evidence and deposition of seven persons while both the convicts are on the run after coming out from the jail on bail”, said the PP.

According to the case statement, one Abul Kalam, elder brother of Nur Mohammed, was hacked to death by the couple over a family feud while the he was returning from their sister house on November 11, 2010.

After investigation, police placed the charge sheet with court on January 2, 2006. l

SCHOOLBOY SAYEED MURDER CASE

Capital punishment demanded for killersn Our Correspondent, Sylhet

Saleha Begum, mother of schoolboy Sayeed, abducted and later killed by miscreants in March in Air Port area in the district, yester-day demanded capital punishment to the killers.

Public Prosecutor (PP) advocate Abdul Malik said Saleha came up with the demand while she and � ve others went to the Sylhet Court for testifying in her son’s murder case.

Sources said on March 11, Abu Sayeed, 9, a fourth grader of Shahi Eidgah Hazrat Sha-hi Mir Govt Primary School was abducted, while his kidnappers demanded Tk5 lakh in ransom.

On 14 March, police recovered the decom-

posed body from the house of police consta-ble Ebadur at Jharnapar in the city.

Police arrested constable Ebadur Rahman, Rakib and Geda in connection with the killing.

The arrested were then interrogated at the police station where they reportedly con-fessed to killing the schoolboy.

Constable Ebadur Rahman made a con-fessional statement under Section 164 before Judge Shahedul Karim of Sylhet Metropoli-tan Magistrate Court-1.

Abdul Matin, victim’s father, � led a mur-der case against the arrested and three other unidenti� ed people.

Quoting Ebadur who once lived with the family of Matin on sublet, Additional Deputy Commissioner (ADC) of Sylhet Metropolitan

Police Rahmat Ullah said the policeman with the help of Rakib and Geda had kidnapped Sayeed.

Later, they took him to Ebadur’s house in Jharnapar area and demanded Tk 5 lakh as ransom from his family over the phone for his release.

They, however, slashed the amount to Tk2 lakh but did not say where to pay it.

By the time, Matin approached police and RAB for help.

RAB-9 Company Commander ASP Mainuddin Chowdhury said they detected the location through mobile phone tracking and conducted a raid on the house of Ebadur.

They found the body wrapped in seven sacks- one put into another. l

Couple found deadn Our Correspondent, Habiganj

Police have recovered the bodies of a married couple from Borotol village under Nabiganj upazila of Habiganj district. The deceased are Jubair Rahman, 25, and his wife Lima Akhter, 20.

Nabiganj SI Abdur Rahman said: “They were found hanging from the ceiling of their bedroom around 10am Sunday. “We are trying to � nd out if it was a murder or a suicide.” l

Two jailed for proxy examn Our Correspondent, Mymensingh

A mobile court yesterday sentenced two youths to one-year imprisonment for giving proxy in admission test of ‘Gha’ at Jatiya Kabi Kazi Nazrul Islam University yesterday.

The convicts were Akbar Hossain, student of Political Science department and Mitu Mian, student of Urdu department of Dhaka University Dr Rasedunnabi, chairman of me-dia committee for admission of the univer-sity, said the two were held while they were giving proxy in the examination. l

Commuters have to su� er a lot while travelling through a link road to Hatirjheel project, Begunbari, in the capital as the road lies in a dilapidated condition for lack of repair. The photo was taken yesterday SYED ZAKIR HOSSAIN

News20DT


Alim Jute Mill workers demand due payment soon n Our Correspondent, Khulna

Workers of Alim Jute Mills Limited yesterday brought out a procession with sticks protest-ing privatisation of the mill and demanding due payment yesterday.

Over 100 workers of the mill brought a procession from main gate and the proces-sion paraded di� erent roads of Khulna city.

Later, they held a rally addressed by gen-eral secretary of CBA Sangram Committee Convener Abdur Rashid, CBA president Ab-dul Salam Jomaddar, Abdul Hamid Sardar, Saiful Islam Litu, Hafez Abdus Salam, Md Ka-wsar Ahmed, Sheikh Jakaria, Abbas Biswas, Akbar Ali, Iqbal Hossain and Aminul Islam.

Speakers at the rally said over 2,000 work-ers of the mill had been leading a sub-human life as their salary had not been given for sev-eral months after its administrative power was handed over to private sector.

Sources said production at the mill had

been suspended since factory had been run-ning under private administration.

A lot of goods worth about Tk4 crore have been lying unsold in the mill due to negli-gence of the authorities, said the sources.

They were also demanding adequate al-location of fund for buying raw materials for the mills, payment of their arrear wages, payment of 20% dearness allowance, explo-ration of markets both at home and abroad for gearing up sale of products and removal of corrupt o� cials.

The government announced privatising the Alim Jute Mills at the beginning of this year.

Apart from Alim Jute Mill, a cash crunch hit eight state-owned jute mills in Khulna and Jessore regions.

But the mills’ authorities said this was the result of unsold jute products piling up at the factories and not particularly a � nancial problem. l

One held in Sundarganj cop-murder case n Our Correspondent, Gaibandha

Police arrested a man yesterday in the dis-trict, an accused of Bamondanga police mur-der case, � led in 2013.

The arrested was Md Samiul Islam,28, son of Tofazzal Hossain of Chaintala village un-der Sundarganj upazila.

Sub-Inspector Raza Mian of Sundarganj police station, said Samiul was a charge sheeted accused of police murder case in 2013 in the upazila.

According to sources, Jamaat-Shibir ac-tivists swooped on a police team after cir-culating a rumour through loudspeakers of mosques that their village fell prey to rob-bers leading to a deadly clash that left 50 people injured including 22 policemen on July 28,2013.

The clash erupted as a police team went to Khanabari and Kadamtala areas under Sun-darganj upazila to arrest Jamaat-shibir men accused in cases � led for killing policemen in Gaibandha.

The Jamaat-Shibir men torched a pick-up van of police and vandalised nearly 12 hous-es during the nearly eight-hour clash. They encircled the police team which went � rst to make the arrest.

Police said a team of Sundarganj police went to Khanabari and Kadamtala areas un-der Sarbananda union of the upazila around 1am to arrest local Jamaat leader Azadul Is-lam in connection with a case � led for killing policemen on February 28, 2013.

On the day, after the International Crimes Tribunal (ICT) delivered death sen-tence against Jamaat leader Delwar Hossain Sayedee for crimes against humanity dur-ing the country’s liberation war in 1971, Ja-maat-Shibir men unleashed a reign of terror in Sunderganj.

They attacked a police camp at Bamon-danga and lynched four constables to death. Four more people were also killed in the vi-olence.

Later, police � led a case accusing 100 per-sons. l

Trader hacked to death in Gazipurn Our Correspondent, Gazipur

A businessman was hacked to death by uni-denti� ed assailants at Deupara village, Kali-ganj upazila in Gazipur.

The deceased is Kamal Hossain, 37, son of Shahidur Rahman alias Lal Mia.

Deceased’s cousin Shamsul Hoque Bhu-iyan said: “Kamal was returning from his workplace around 10pm on Saturday when

some unidenti� ed assailants attacked him with sharp weapons as he reached Deupara Railway Crossing area.”

He said Kamal was taken to Kaliganj Upazila Health Complex and later shifted to Red Crescent Hospital where he died around 12:30am yesterday.

Kaliganj SI Azizur Rahman said: “Two people have been detained for their suspect-ed involvement with the killing.” l

Alleged robbers lynched by villagers n Tribune Report

Two suspected robbers killed by mob-beat-ing while they were committing robberies in the early hours of yesterday.

In Gazipur, a suspected thief was beaten to death at north Ramjanpur village of Kalki-ni upazila in the district early yesterday.

The deceased was Bachchu Bepari, 45, son of Moslem Bepari of the village.

Villagers and police sources said, while Bachchu was trying to steal a locally made vehicle of one Paritos Kirtonia, his family members started screaming sensing his pres-ence. Villagers rushed to the spot and beaten Bachchu to death.

On information, police rescued Bachchu and took him to Kalkini Upazila Health Com-plex where doctors declared him dead.

Kripa Sindu, o� cer-in-charge of Kalkini police station, said Bachchu was a profes-sional thief.

In Jamalpur, a man identi� ed as Khoka, 35, was killed in a mass beating at Mannia vil-lage, Islampur upazila. Local people caught Khoka red-handed when he went to the vil-lage to commit robbery. He died on the spot.

O� cer-in-Charge of Islampur police station told the Dhaka Tribune that Khoka was ac-cused in several cases with the police station.

Two separate cases were � led with respec-tive police stations. l

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MONDAY, NOVEMBER 23, 2015Learn English

Cinema and politics by Carolyn HardwickDon’t just sit there, participate!

Film producers are usually in it for the money, whatever they might say about wanting to produce great art or entertainment. But when Jeff Skoll, founder of Participant Productions, says he wants his films to change the world, you somehow believe him. After all, he doesn’t exactly need the money.

Skoll, together with a university colleague, founded eBay, and consequently is now a billionaire. When he left eBay in 2000 he turned his sights to philanthropic projects. He had long harboured a dream to write stories that would change the world, but then realised he could use his wealth to hire writers. And what better way to get those stories out to the public than to make them into films?

Participant Productions came into being in 2004, and now has its first batch of successful films under its belt. Syriana, starring George Clooney as an American spy, looks at how America’s dependence on Middle Eastern oil results in global

violence. Another George Clooney film, Good Night, and Good Luck, which the actor also directed and co-wrote, is a drama about Senator Joseph McCarthy and his attempts to censor American television news. In 2007 An Inconvenient Truth, the film presented by Al Gore about the climate crisis, won Academy awards for Best Documentary Feature and Original Song. The first film to come out, North Country, was less successful at the box office than the Clooney films, but still critically acclaimed. Starring Charlize Theron, it tells the story of a woman working as a miner, and the sexual harassment she and her female colleagues face.

Hollywood has seen a spate of ‘political’ films, such as Munich, The Constant Gardener and Blood Diamonds, and it could be said that Participant is jumping on the bandwagon. Nobody else, however, is doing what Skoll is doing. Participant works in partnership with activist groups and organises a specific campaign to tie in with each film. Its community website (www.

participate.net) helps people get involved by taking part in group blogs as well as the campaigns.

For North Country the company has set up a campaign to end sexual harassment and domestic violence, and the website has downloadable information kits. Good Night, and Good Luck is tied in with a campaign to promote better reporting of the news, which encourages people to write in with news stories from their neighbourhoods. Syriana’s campaign is Oil Change, which aims to reduce dependence on oil by informing people about ways they can make a difference as individuals.

Are these campaigns having any effect? It’s too early to say, but if the number of people visiting the website is anything to go by then the message is getting across that people can participate and films can be a vehicle for social change. l

Pre-reading task

1 How often do you go to the cinema?

2 How many George Clooney � lms can you name?

3 Have you seen any ‘political’ � lms?

Now, read the article and compare your experiences with those outlined in the article.

Exercise 1Comprehension: Multiple choice. For each question choose the correct answer: 1. How did Je� Skoll make a lot of money?

a by producing successful � lmsb by setting up eBayc by writing stories

2. Which of these � lms does not feature George Clooney?a. Syrianab. Good Night, and Good Luckc. North Country

3. What is the main function of www.participate.net?a. to inform people about campaignsb. to give details of the � lmsc. to encourage people to set up their own blogs

Exercise 2Vocabulary: Use words from the text to � ll the gaps:Syriana1. George Clooney plays a US ........2. examines link between America’s oil

dependency and world ........3. an associated campaign is ........ Change4. its aim is to help people as ........ to

reduce dependency on oil

Good Night, and Good Luck5. co-written and ........ by George Clooney6. true story about Joseph McCarthy’s

censorship of American ........ news7. an associated campaign promotes

better reporting of the ........

North Country8. Charlize Theron plays a ........9. looks at the issue of ........ harassment10. an associated campaign aims to

end sexual harassment and ........ violence

Word search

Exercise 11 b2 c3 a

Answers

See if you can find these words in the grid. They can be horizontal, vertical, diagonal and backwards.

ACTIV_STNE_S BANDW_G_N PARTICIP_TE CAMPAI_N PROD_CE DIRE_TPRODUCT_ON IND_V_DUALS VIOLENCE

N O I T C U D O R P P A YJ A Z E O Z C J I I R K RV I O L E N C E N B O K PC A M P A I G N D B D D AU T Q Z U J I R I E U C RT X S W E N Q L V Q C X TL S I Y O S Q F I M E M IT Z I N O G A W D N A B CT C C V J C U Y U L Q V IO D E W I J B P A A F K PB O Y R H T P E L M J T AK K U D I N C W S W S T TD I E D I D N A N U P B E

Exercise 21 spy2 violence3 Oil4 individuals5 directed

6 television7 news8 miner9 sexual10 domestic

The ideas factory 11

Want to find more learning activities? Visit www.britishcouncil.org/learnenglish © British Council 2012

Feature22DT

MONDAY, NOVEMBER 23, 201522D

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In conversation with Harold Varmusn Saqib Sarker

Arguably one of the biggest names on the DLF ticket this year was Harold Varmus MD, a co-recipient of the Nobel Prize for his cancer research. We decided to have one � nal conversation with Dr Varmus before the curtains went down on the festival.

DT: Scientists have a reputation of understanding the world only through the language of science. But you studied literature as well. How does that shape your view of the world?

Varmus: I am not unique. People have this idea that if you are a scientist then you are not anything else. Most of my colleagues, my friends, have very rich cultural interests. They are interested in music, art, literature, and in theatre. So, I think it’s a mistake to say that if you are scientist, you have no interest in arts and in humanities. As for how this in� uences my world view, I don’t know, for it depends on who you are. There’s no simple answer to that question. For me, most of my cultural interests are mainly a pursuit of pleasure. I enjoy hearing music, the theatre, reading books and learning about other cultures, but there’s no simple answer to that question.

There has been unfathomable advances in the study of natural sciences and yet, as a species, we are threatening our own destruction through nuclear warfare or climate disaster, which scientists now know is irreversible. Why aren’t we concerned?Yes, true. I agree with that. But some of us are very concerned. You have to understand that taking steps politically for whatever required is very di� cult. Frankly there are two issues, one is trying to reduce the amount of greenhouse gases that we put into the environment, and that is the result of using energy. People want to use energy because they want to take advantage of the things that science and technology have provided. They want to have lights, they want to have heat, they want to have fuel to run their cars. It’s very di� cult for people to say that countries which are emerging, like Bangladesh or India or China, should not use energy, and only European countries and America should. So, to be fair, we are going to have to � nd ways to develop sources of energy that don’t contaminate the environment. And we have not been very successful in doing that.

I think that most of the major countries are under-invested in developing alternative sources of energy that are less damaging to the environment. I agree with you entirely that we have been successful in decreasing

diseases, that we have made life healthier and safer, but in my own lifetime, the population of the world has gone up almost two and a half fold, and that’s a very serious problem. We have also developed many uses for energy that have resulted in high CO2 levels in the atmosphere with a threat of temperatures rising to a point where oceans will rise. Glaciers and icebergs are diminishing as well.

The second way to cope with that is to think about what my friends call adaptation. That’s expensive. Bangladesh, in particular, has a major threat because of how low the country is. In many areas it’s at sea level or below. Hence, adaptation is a useful way to recognise that it’s going to be very di� cult to reduce the change in the climate, assuming that these changes are at least partially due to human in� uences.

I think that is the scienti� c consensus.

Should the scienti� c community do more? The scienti� c community would do more but it needs the resources. And to say to somebody that we need better sources, more e� cient sources of energy and that nobody can do the research to try to � nd those resources without money to pay for the laboratories, is di� cult. I think virtually all countries, including the US, are underinvested in that kind of research.

I personally think, right now, it’s more important for our species to seek those alternative sources of energy than to do medical research.

As the co-chair of the PCAST (President’s Council of Advisors on Science and Technology) you praised President Obama’s Cairo speech hoping that it would create more scienti� c partnerships. What would a more internationally interlinked scienti� c community look like? Well, I think the scienti� c community is quite international, but what I was hoping to see was made di� cult because the Arab Spring didn’t work out as well as we would have liked. What all of us were hoping for, I think, was that the leading American and European scientists to go to countries where science is still in its early stages of development, and help them. Egypt being one of those countries, with many others as well, we hoped to develop better scienti� c training programmes, build laboratories, build collaborations between northern countries and southern countries. Indeed, at that time, PCAST was hoping to develop a programme for having [what was] called scienti� c envoys, with leading scientists of the US going to many parts of the world to encourage the development of scienti� c programmes and build collaborations.

You are a passionate advocate for free dissemination of academic knowledge. Do you think that open access publishing can become a mainstream practice?I think it has become mainstream. We need to talk about ‘open source,’ for it means a lot of di� erent things. My primary objective was to be sure that the scienti� c literature is widely shared and I think we have made a lot of progress there. Making data open was not a matter and on that regard we have had partial success. Part of the di� culty is that some of that data is sensitive, some of it personal. So, you have to respect privacy and the right of patients to keep their own health data private if they wish to. So, all of us are working on ways to de-identify and secure the identity of people from that data. The reason why people don’t want their health data to be made public is because it might be used to discriminate against them in appointments, in health insurance and life insurance. So, I think all of us want to respect the rights of individuals to keep that information private. Other forms of data may be a little less sensitive, but scientists in general want to be sure that they get full value from the data that they have collected before it’s shared with everybody. And that’s the balancing di� culty of the act.

You performed with your son’s jazz band. One of the performances (at Boston Museum) is actually on YouTube, put up by the WGBH forum. We wanted to know more about that...It’s an interesting combination. I think it was reasonably successful, putting scienti� c ideas and some interesting images from science with music. I think it works pretty well to tell a story about how cells work and how cells behave badly when they undergo mutations

Photo: Rajib Dhar

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Photo: Syed Zakir Hossain

Most of my cultural interests are mainly a pursuit of pleasure. I enjoy hearing music, the theatre, reading books and learning about other cultures

and about to turn into cancer cells. I think we explained cancer pretty well together. But even though it’s interesting, [it is] very di� cult to put that show together; takes too much time and it’s expensive. So, we don’t do it very often. Happily, YouTube now provides it for everybody.

Science understands how the cell behaves but literature attempts to understand how the “self” behaves. Should we put more emphasis on the studying of literature on a national level? I don’t know enough about the Bangladeshi education system to know what you should do. I would say that considering your country [having a population of] 160 million people,

contributions that are made to science from Bangladesh seem rather small. And I know it may be expensive to support science but I think for reasons we were discussing earlier, it’s important that certain kinds of science be practiced here as you may su� er, more than others, from climate change and the rising demands from people for better sources of energy. So, having people working here in Bangladesh on diseases that are common in the country, on problems of environmental contamination, atmospherical change, better sources of energy, things that are critical to your economy...food science...all these things seem to be good things for Bangladesh. You’ve got lot of smart people; a lot of people. It seems to me that focusing

some of your resources to nurture the talent of people here who have an aptitude for science would be a good investment. Economically it pays o� , helps to support other kinds of industry and has the bene� t for a better way of life.

What would be your advice to a Bangladeshi student who wants to go into serious research work? Well, I never give advice to everybody because it doesn’t count. But for somebody with an aspiration to become a scientist, depending on the kind of science, it would require an educational system that allows people between the ages of, say, � ve and � fteen, to learn something about the principles of doing experiments, rational thinking and learn about how nature works. And then, at a certain point, you develop a system of higher education where people can learn what’s going on in the world of science or you have an opportunity for people to go abroad and learn the frontiers of science. You know, it’s one thing to learn what science taught us 10 or 20 years ago, and there are plenty of good books and things available online. But if you have to do science, you have to know what’s happening now; where the frontiers are, where the new discoveries are being made. That means learning to work in a laboratory, working with somebody

who understands the frontiers in any � eld. And if you can’t provide that in Bangladesh it is necessary to go abroad, to Europe, to Australia, to India, to the US and learn where the frontiers are. The good thing is that, when people do that, at least some of them come back begin to develop a scienti� c community here in the country. That is certainly happening in India and China. Their scienti� c programmes are advancing rapidly and it’s good for the country. They have pharmaceutical industries, they have start-ups in bio-tech, and they have companies specialising in information technology. All these make money for the country and also provide a richer culture.

Finally, are you enjoying your stay here in Dhaka?I’m having a good time but I do feel that I’m not as free to move around as I would like because of all the security concerns. I’m regretting that because when I go to a new place, I like to feel a freedom of movement. But one of my ambitions was to come to see the Louis Kahn buildings, specially the parliament. It’s really a fantastic place to visit, and I was able to do that. I have been to the war museum and visited the Kennedy Centre. So, I’ve seen some things. But mostly I’m here at the festival and the hotel, and not really getting around much. l

Insight24DT


n Features Desk

Motorcycles are among the most popular vehicles of choice around the globe. In Bangladesh, the evergreen appeal of motorcycles is evident, especially among the youth. The role of motorcycles is becoming increasingly important not only as a means of style or fashion, but also as a mode of necessity. People of all ages in Bangladesh are leaning towards the vehicle to dodge the intolerably persistent tra� c jams especially in Dhaka and Chittagong, which has resulted in a continuously surging demand for the popular vehicle. As if to embody “digital Bangladesh,” more people are resorting to online classi� ed websites to avail their coveted brand of motorcycle as much as they are visiting showrooms.Bikes have become more popular than ever before at divisions and districts outside Dhaka. Although not su� ering from as much tra� c congestion as the capital, the regularity of motorcycle purchase is on the rise in those areas as these vehicles are available, cost-e� cient and a fast means of transport. The trend of bike purchase is increasing among the youth, too. Students and young professionals choose motorcycles as a primary mode of transport. When it comes to cost-e� ciency, speed and ease of travel, motorcycles have no better alternative. In response, motorcycle companies are introducing products with new features. To get the latest ones, a lot of bike owners sell their current bikes. They use classi� eds websites to sell these bikes where a huge number of people who want to buy a good motorcycle at a great deal can � nd them.Statistics from the Bangladesh Road Transport Authority (BRTA) website shows that the number of registered motorcycles in Bangladesh is 112,813 as of August 2015, as opposed to 90,685 in 2014 and 85,808 in 2013. In Dhaka, motorcycles consist of 46.71% of all registered vehicles. The numbers are speaking for themselves.Apart from being used as personal transport, people in the outskirts of Dhaka and other cities have embraced motorcycles as public transport as well. Unlike big cities, the unavailability of buses or other modes of quick transport at some routes makes motorbikes a dependable means of fast-paced transport.Skyrocketing cost of car ownership across the nation is another in� uencing factor behind the surging popularity of motorcycles. High fuel prices are also a contributing factor. It is a very economic alternative to cars and public transports, especially in cities. The type of bike purchased depends a lot on the buyer’s age, demand and taste. Purchasing habits of people di� er between regions. In Bangladesh, a majority of young bikers prefer light yet stylish motorcycles, while their older counterparts mostly prefer even lighter versions. So what brands do a majority of motorcyclists prefer?Browsing Ekhanei.com, Bangladesh’s leading online classi� ed website, Bangladeshi bikers are seen to primarily prefer brands like Bajaj

Motorcycles booming on classi� ed websites

(29.84% of all motorcycle brands uploaded), Hero Honda (14.39%), Yamaha (11.51%), and TVS (10.12%). These brands, which are simultaneously light, stylish, and cost-e� cient, are preferred mainly by university-going students and young professionals. People who visit online classi� ed websites are mainly in their teens to late thirties and have access to internet. These people are becoming more internet savvy in general and prefer using classi� ed websites to � nd the best deal on their desired product or do a general market survey before buying anything. Online classi� eds makes buying or selling very convenient and saves a lot of time. It is testi� ed by a 73% increase in uploads on the website in 2015, compared to 2014.Further research reveals that in the period of August, September, and October of 2015, motorcycle ads accounted for 20% of all vehicle ads posted on the website, highlighting a great demand for the vehicle.

The growing dependency on motorcycles is further highlighted by an increase in 4% of contribution of motorcycle ads among all vehicle ads posted on the website in the month of August, September, and October 2015 compared to the same time frame last year. More than 64% of all motorcycle ads on the website are contributed from cities outside the Capital, which represents the immense demand all over the country.More and more people are counting on brands such as Walton and Freedom Runner motorbikes over foreign alternatives. This is a positive sign showing that people are also choosing local brands over foreign products. An even more encouraging scenario is the slow but steady rise in number of female customers for motorcycles in the country, re� ected by inquiries online as well as riders on the streets.Shylendra Nathan, CEO at Ekhanei.com said, “The intense tra� c jam in Dhaka leads people to switch to motorcycles as a

dependable mode of transportation. With time, an increasing number of people are choosing the internet for buying and selling motorcycles, like so many other products. This is a major step forward towards realising the dream of Digital Bangladesh.”

With ever-intense traffic jams and upward trend of fuel prices showing no sign of easing in the near future, the demand for motorcycles will only rise. People leaning towards the internet to find their desired products including motorcycles is yet another indication of Bangladesh transforming into a digitally engaged nation. l

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Vikings eye turnaround against Super StarsThe Bangladesh Premier League Twenty20 went o� to a fabulous start yesterday and another fascinating matchday is expected at the home of cricket - Sher-e-Bangla National Stadium - today as the Super Stars will be in action against the Vikings while the Riders will face the Bulls. PAGE 26

Bengal Tigers lose again in ChinaThe Bengal Tigers continued their miser-able run at both home and abroad as they su� ered their second consecutive defeat in the 2015 Yunnan-Asean International Football Open Tournament yesterday. The 10-man Bangladesh side went down to a shocking 1-2 defeat against Chinese club Lijiang at Mangshi City Stadium. PAGE 27

Superb Barcelona, poor MadridLuis Suarez and Neymar continued their sensational goalscoring form as Barcelona moved six points clear of Real Madrid at the top of La Liga with a 4-0 thrashing of their bitter rivals at the Bernabeu on Satur-day. Barca even had the luxury of leaving Lionel Messi on the bench. PAGE 28

Roma miss chance to go top, Juve down MilanBologna snatched a draw against AS Roma with a late penalty in a thrilling 2-2 draw on a waterlogged pitch, while Juventus beat rivals AC Milan 1-0 at home thanks to a second-half Paulo Dybala strike in Serie A on Saturday. There were three second-half penalties at Bologna as Roma missed the chance to top the table. PAGE 29

CHITTAGONG VIKINGS INNINGS R BTamim Iqbal c Misbah b Sajib 51 32TM Dilshan c Arafat b Jayed 29 16Anamul Haque c Sammy b Sajib 36 30BMAJ Mendis run out (Soumya) 39 18Ziaur Rahman lbw b Sajib 2 5E Chigumbura c Shakib b Jayed 1 3Asif Ahmed not out 17 15Mohammad Amir run out (Shakib) 1 1Sha� ul Islam not out 4 1Extras (w 6, nb 1) 7Total (7 wickets; 20 overs) 187FoW: 1-52, 2-117, 3-119, 4-122, 5-134, 6-178, 7-183Bowling Shakib 2-0-22-0, Perera 3-0-38-0, Arafat 3-0-38-0, Jayed 4-0-26-2, Al-Amin 2-0-18-0, Sammy 2-0-19-0, Sajib 4-0-26-3RANGPUR RIDERS INNINGS R BLMP Simmons c Tamim b Amir 1 9Soumya Sarkar lbw b Amir 20 9Mohammad Mithun lbw b Taskin 0 3Misbah-ul-Haq b Amir 61 39Shakib Al Hasan c Anamul b Sha� ul 1 6Al-Amin b Chigumbura 38 28NLTC Perera c Mendis b Amir 43 17DJG Sammy run out 18 7Arafat Sunny not out 1 1Saqlain Sajib not out 1 1Extras (lb 1, w 3) 4 Total (8 wickets; 20 overs) 188FoW: 1-22, 2-22, 3-22, 4-23, 5-87, 6-167, 7-167, 8-187 BowlingAmir 4-1-30-4, Taskin 4-0-35-1, Sha� ul 4-0-41-1, Enamul jr 2-0-20-0, Mendis 3-0-22-0, Zia2-0-30-0, Chigumbura 1-0-9-1

Rangpur won by 2 wickets (with 0 balls remaining)MoM: Misbah-ul-Haq (Rangpur)

CTGvRAN

Rangpur Riders’ Saqlain Sajib (L) throws his helmet in the air and prepares for a rendition of the ‘Oppa Gangnam Style’ alongside West Indies cricketer Darren Sammy (2R) as Sachithra Senanayake looks on following their two-wicket win over Chittagong Vikings in the 2015 Bangladesh Premier League Twenty20 opener at Mirpur’s Sher-e-Bangla National Stadium yesterday MAINOOR ISLAM MANIK

Rangpur ride on ‘Tuk-Tuk’Perera, Al Amin and Sammy also star with willow en route to � rst winn Reazur Rahman Rohan

Rangpur Riders bagged full points from a nail-biting run-fest against Chittagong Vi-kings to kick-start their Bangladesh Premier League Twenty20 campaign yesterday. The momentum of the match tilted both ways before a planned attack from the Riders se-cured them the two-wicket win o� the last ball. Needing just one o� the � nal ball to win, Saqlain Sajib’s straight bat was enough to beat the closing � elder as the Riders tent erupted in jubilation after chasing the steep target of 188 at the Sher-e-Bangla national stadium.

Misbah-ul Haq, who is often criticised for his slow approach, slammed the Chittagong bowlers to all parts of the ground after he managed to stay � rm and pull the Riders out of their early miseries. His 39-ball 61 proved to be the master-stroke while Thisara Perera complemented his Pakistani partner with a hurricane innings, scoring 43 from just 17 balls.

After posting the challenging total on the back of Tamim Iqbal’s half-century, Vikings almost ran away with the game by reducing Riders to just 23/4 inside four overs, courte-sy of Mohammad Amir’s opening spell.

When Shakib al Hasan walked back scoring

just one leaving Riders at 23 for four, the game was believed to be over as none imagined Mis-bah or Perera alone could pull it o� .

Opening alongside Lendl Simmons, Soumya Sarkar greeted Taskin Ahmed with two fours and a six in the second over. How-ever, Soumya’s outburst was short-lived as Amir trapped him leg-before in the next over.

The rebuilding process began with Mis-bah pairing up with Al Amin, who impressed during his 38-run stay. Despite their 64-run � fth-wicket partnership, the Vikings looked well on course for a comfortable win as Rid-ers still needed 88 o� the last 34 balls.

But the Vikings bowlers and supporters had no answer to the barbaric onslaught from Perera and Misbah as the duo, along with Darren Sammy, smashed 15, 16, 21, eight and 14 o� the last � ve overs.

Amir almost pulled back the result in fa-vour of the Vikings by returning Perera and Misbah o� consecutive deliveries, adding another twist in the penultimate over.

But Sammy struck a vital four o� Amir to reduce the margin to 14 in the last over. After a dot � rst up by Sha� ul Islam, the West Indi-an lofted a six over cover and followed it up with a wristy four through point. Although

he was run out attempting a two in the � fth ball, Saqlain only had to put bat on ball to en-sure a majestic win.

Earlier, Tamim belted 51 o� just 32 balls as he and Tillakaratne Dilshan gave the Vi-kings a rapid start, racing to 50 inside four overs. However, left-arm spinner Saqlain came on and tightened the screws from then onwards as he removed Tamim, An-amul Haque and Zia to trigger a setback in the Chittagonian charge. l

Sport26DT


COMILLA VICTORIANS INNINGS R M Imrul Kayes c Reza b Abul 0 3Liton Dasc Musta� zur b Reza 3 5MN Samuels b Musta� zur 8 9Shuvagata Hom c Yasir b Abul 4 3DI Stevens run out (Mosharraf) 5 14Mahmudul c Sangakkara b Mosharraf 22 30Ariful st Sangakkara b Mosharraf 13 13Mashrafe c Sangakkara b Abul Hsan 25 26K Santokie not out 21 16SP Narine not out 0 1Extras (b 1, w 8) 9Total (8 wickets; 20 overs) 110

FoW1-0 (Imrul Kayes, 0.3 ov), 2-8 (Liton Das, 1.2 ov), 3-21 (Shuvagata Hom, 2.3 ov), 4-27 (Samuels, 3.5 ov), 5-36 (Stevens, 7.3 ov), 6-59 (Ariful Haque, 11.5 ov), 7-66 (Mahmudul Hasan, 13.3 ov), 8-109 (Mashrafe Mortaza, 19.4 ov)Bowling Abul 4-0-29-3, Reza 4-0-27-1, Musta� zur 4-0-24-1, Yasir 4-1-14-0, Mosharraf 4-0-15-2DHAKA DYNAMITES INNINGS R BShamsur c Samuels b Mashrafe 19 17Nasir Jamshed lbw b Narine 44 44KC Sangakkara b Hider 25 29Mosaddek Hossain c Narine b Hider 7 14RN ten Doeschate not out 8 10Nasir Hossain not out 5 2Extras (w 4) 4 Total (4 wickets; 19.2 overs) 112

FoW1-29 (Shamsur Rahman, 4.4 ov), 2-84 (Nasir Jamshed, 13.2 ov), 3-98 (Sangakkara, 16.3 ov), 4-105 (Mosaddek Hossain, 18.4 ov)BowlingMashrafe 3.2-0-23-1, Santokie 3-0-16-0, Narine4-0-24-1, Shuvagata 1-0-10-0, Mahmudul 4-0-22-0, Hider 4-0-17-2Dhaka won by 6 wickets (with 4 balls remaining)

MoM: Abul Hasan (Dhaka)

COMILLA v DHAKA

Vikings eye quick turnaround against Super StarsBulls take on formidable Riders in their 2015 Bangladesh Premier League Twenty20 opener

n Reazur Rahman Rohan

The Bangladesh Premier League Twenty20 went o� to a fabulous start yesterday and another fascinating matchday is expected at the home of cricket - Sher-e-Bangla National Stadium - today.

Chittagong Vikings v Sylhet Super StarsThe Super Stars will be in action for the � rst time as they take on the Vikings in the day game. Pakistanis Shahid Afridi and So-hail Tanvir will not be available before next month as the Mush� qur Rahim-led Super Stars are expected to � eld the Lankan duo of Dilshan Munaweera and Ajantha Mendis, English all-rounder Ravi Bopara and Aus-tralian Brad Hodge as their four foreigners. Mominul Haque must use this opportunity

to remove the tag of “Test specialist” as his contribution at the top will be key for Sylhet.

The Vikings could have come in the match with a win, but they can only blame their luck. Although they have had little time to gather themselves after the defeat, they should not worry much. Their squad has the depth needed to win, but their � elding is something they should not take lightly.

Even Tamim Iqbal, the Vikings skipper who scored a mesmerising 51 o� 32 balls yes-terday, admitted, “It was a fantastic match [yesterday]. We should have scored 20 more runs. [Mohammad] Amir bowled brilliantly and we lost our way in the middle overs. The two catches we dropped cost us the match.”

Rangpur Riders v Barisal BullsBefore the start of the BPL, Rangpur’s depth

in the squad was hailed by every cricket analyst. It all seemed to fall apart after their � rst half against the Vikings yesterday, but experience had the � nal say as Misbah-ul Haq and Thisara Perera landed a win that was not even in sight with � ve overs left in the game. Shakib al Hasan, who had arrived from the US late Saturday night, looked tired in the two expensive overs he bowled while his batting approach was terrible. The result under the belt is expected to bring out more from the team which also comprises youngsters like Abu Jayed and Al Amin playing vital roles.

Shakib was right when he said, “It’s a good start for the BPL and some of our for-eign batsmen showed how to play T20 crick-et. The partnership between Misbah and Al-Amin brought us back into the game. Our top-order did not perform well and our bowl-

ing too needs improvement.”Misbah, whose calculated innings set

the platform to win, had earlier stated, “We just came together as a team in the morning [yesterday]” and if that was the case, then the win should be enough to gel the team together.

Chris Gayle, the big buy in the tourna-ment, will not be available till next month as the Bulls will have to rely particularly on their all-rounders. An average team on paper, the batting duty should be shared around by Mahmudullah, Sabbir Rahman and Brendan Taylor. Lots of eyes will be on Shahriar Na-fees too, the discarded national opener who � nished as the top run-scorer in the domes-tic � rst-class competition this season. Mean-while, a lot will also depend on the contribu-tions from o� spinner-batsmen Sohag Gazi and Sharifullah. l

Bowlers present Dhaka facile winn Minhaz Uddin Khan

Bowlers’ rampage over the Comilla Victori-ans batsmen saw Dhaka Dynamites kick o� the Bangladesh Premier League season 2015 in style as the latter defeated the former by � ve wickets with four balls to spare. The win was easy but took a little longer than expect-ed with some last-minute drama.

Mashrafe bin Mortaza-led Comilla batted � rst but the start was anything but pleasant. Dhaka pacer Abul Hasan removed opener Imrul Kayes for a duck in just the third ball of the � rst over of the innings and the fall of wickets continued as they were reduced to 27 for 4 by 3.5 overs; an average of a wicket every over.

Liton Kumar Das was out for nought while Marlon Samuels and Shuvagata Hom were restricted to single-digit scores. The pres-sure was on Darren Stevens and Mahmudul

Hasan, the last recognised batting pair for Comilla. But that partnership also failed following Mosharraf Hossain’s sharp throw from deep midwicket that dismantled the timber with Stevens a couple of inches short of the crease trying to get a single.

Mahmudul and Ariful Haque then milked some runs before the duo were sent back to the dressing room by Mosharraf but it was Mashrafe and Krishmar Santokie who pressed the gas to get Comilla past the 100-run mark. Mashrafe scored a 26-ball 25 while Santokie was unbeaten on 21 to see his side end their innings on 110 for eight.

“I thought we did well to restrict them. Abul Hasan and the rest of the bowlers did a fantastic job. We would have liked to � nish it in the 16th or 17th over. The wicket slowed down a bit. Nasir Jamshed batted well. The wicket got a bit sticky,” said Dhaka captain Kumar Sangakarra in the

presentation ceremony.Only a string of bizarre events could make

Dhaka fail to chase the small target, given their strong batting line-up. The Comilla bowlers were blunt as the Dhaka opening pair – Shamsur Rahman and Jamshed – added 29 runs in 4.4 overs. Shamsur was dismissed by Mashrafe for 19 while Jamshed was pinned in front of the stumps on 44 by Sunil Narine.

Dhaka skipper Sangakkara added 25 to the chase before Abu Haider Rony uprooted the stumps. Dhaka only needed 12 o� 21 but Mosaddek Hossain’s dismissal made things a bit interesting. With Nasir Hossain and Ryan ten Doeschate in the middle, Dhaka needed four runs in the last over. Nasir duly � nished things o� with a boundary o� the second ball.

“When you score 110, you need to pick wickets. Hopefully, we will pull it all together in the second match,” said Comilla captain Mashrafe following the game. l

Dhaka Dynamites’ wrecker-in-chief Abul Hasan (3L) celebrates one of his three wickets during their 2015 Bangladesh Premier League Twenty20 opener against Comilla Victorians at Mirpur’s Sher-e-Bangla National Stadium yesterday MAINOOR ISLAM MANIK

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U19s overcome Afghan challengeBangladesh Under-19 brought themselves back into contention for a berth in the � nal of the tri-nation series when they beat their Afghanistan counterparts by four wickets at Jadavpur University Campus in Kolkata yester-day. The junior Tigers, who lost their opening match against the hosts, skittled out the Afghans for a paltry 85 in 30.4 overs with left-arm spinner Saleh Ahmed Shawon (6/10) and captain Mehedi Hasan Miraz (2/19) causing the most damage. In reply, Bangladesh U-19 lost wickets at regular intervals but a painstaking 98-ball 32 from opening batsman Saif Hasan ensured they would eventually reach their destination with 15.2 overs still remaining. Bangladesh U-19 will take on the home side in their penultimate match tomorrow at the same venue.

Bangladesh U19s v Afghanistan U19sAfghanistan U19s 85-allout in 30.4 overs

(Saleh Ahmed 6/10, Mehedi Hasan 2/19)Bangladesh U19s 89/6 in 34.4 overs

(Saif Hasan 32, Zia 2/20, Karim Janat 2/23)Bangladesh U19s won by four wickets

–TRIBUNE DESK

Bangladesh sixth in Junior Asia HockeyBangladesh � nished their Men’s Junior Asia Cup campaign at sixth place following their 8-0 loss against reigning champions and hosts Malaysia in their � nal match at Wisma Belia Hockey Stadium yesterday. Malaysia’s Samsul Haziq bagged a hattrick, Su� Ismat and Jazlan Najmi grabbed a brace each while Azwar Rahman completed the rout with his solitary strike. The � rst half ended 3-0. The Bangladesh youngsters, under the steward-ship of head coach Mahbub Harun, began their campaign with a 3-1 loss against eventual � nalist Pakistan before beating Oman 4-3. The youngsters in red and green then beat Asian powerhouse South Korea 2-0 to � nish as the group runners-up. Bangladesh then lost to Japan to miss out on a semi-� nal berth.

–TRIBUNE REPORT

New Zealand’s Boult ‘on track’ to play third TestPaceman Trent Boult is on track to play against Australia in this week’s � rst-ever day-night Test in Adelaide, team o� cials insisted yesterday. The 26-year-old failed to bowl in this weekend’s day-night tour match against a Western Australia XI in Perth, where both sides agreed pre-match they would each have one full day of batting.

–AFP

PSG canter past Lorient on emotional afternoonParis St Germain took another step towards a fourth straight Ligue 1 title when they beat Lori-ent 2-1 away on Saturday with goals by Hervin Ongenda and Blaise Matuidi on an emotional afternoon eight days after the Paris attacks. The capital side have 38 points from 14 games and lead second-placed Olympique Lyonnais, who slumped to a 3-0 defeat at Nice on Friday, by a massive 13 points after a routine win.

–REUTERS

QUICK BYTES Bengal Tigers lose againn Tribune Report

The Bengal Tigers continued their miserable run at both home and abroad as they su� ered their second consecutive defeat in the 2015 Yunnan-Asean International Football Open Tournament yesterday. The 10-man Bangladesh side went down to a shocking 1-2 defeat against Chinese club Lijiang at Mangshi City Stadium.

In the absence of captain Mamunul Islam, the � rst half ended with the hosts taking the lead before Aminur Rahman Sajib brought parity. Lijiang though grabbed the all-impor-tant goal � ve minutes before the � nal whis-tle, leaving Bangladesh stranded on zero points after two matches.

Mid� elder Monayem Khan Raju received his marching orders in the 55th minute of the game.

The men in red and green earlier su� ered a 2-3 loss at the hands of Myanmar out� t Hantharwady United FC in their opening match. l

Halim set to enter Guinness record booksn Tribune Report

Abdul Halim, who entered the Guinness Book of World Records with the feat of bal-ancing a football on his head for the farthest distance - 15.2 kilometres in 2011 - is all set to attain another record.

Halim yesterday crossed 100 metres on roller-skates in 27.62 seconds with a football balanced on his head at platform number two of the Dhaka railway station in Kamalapur.

Guinness Book of World Records set the yardstick of crossing the 100m mark within 30 seconds and Halim made it with 2.38s to spare. The documents of the attempt will be sent to the Guinness authority in order to at-tain the o� cial acknowledgement.

Additional Deputy Commissioner of Dha-ka Metropolitan Police, Sheikh Mohammad Maruf Hasan, and Mohammad Arifuzzaman, Divisional Regional Manager of Bangladesh Railway, were present as the o� cial witnesses. Walton additional director FM Iqbal bin Anwar Dawn was also present on the occasion. l

A Bangladesh footballer (C) vies for the ball with an opposition player (R) yesterday BFF

LVG con� rms interest in CR7 returnn AFP, London

Manchester United manager Louis van Gaal con� rmed yesterday that he would be inter-ested in bringing Cristiano Ronaldo back to Old Tra� ord, six years after the superstar left for Real Madrid.

Van Gaal, quoted by several British Sun-day newspapers, said: “We are looking at all players, not just Ronaldo. But these players are mostly ungettable.

“With Ronaldo, let’s wait and hope. There is no trainer in the world that doesn’t like him. He plays on the wings and he is fast, and scores goals.”

Ronaldo cost Real Madrid a then world re-cord fee of £80 million when he left England in 2009 but he turns 31 in February and was o� the boil in Saturday’s 4-0 defeat to Barce-lona where he cut a frustrated � gure.

The Portuguese international is a three-time World Player of the Year and is Real Ma-drid’s all-time leading goalscorer. In Spain, he has won one league title as well as the 2014 Champions League.

During his time under Alex Ferguson at Old Tra� ord, he helped United win three Pre-mier League titles as well as the 2008 Cham-pions League.

Meanwhile, Van Gaal conceded United are far from pretty to watch after they ground

out a 2-1 victory at Watford on Saturday thanks to Troy Deeney’s late own goal.

Van Gaal’s side have been criticised for their conservative style of play under the Dutchman this season, but their latest defen-sive display paid dividends at Vicarage Road.

They had taken an 11th minute lead through Memphis Depay and, although Deeney’s 87th minute penalty ended a run without conceding of 10 hours, Unit-ed snatched the points at the death when Deeney turned Bastian Schweinsteiger’s ef-fort into his own net in stoppage-time.

“I have changed the system,” Van Gaal said. “Our positional game was not so good and that was disappointing. I know some people think our positional game is boring but I think it is a way to disorganise the op-ponent’s organisation. “I was very satis� ed about our defensive organisation. We didn’t give more than three chances away, one in the � rst half and two in the second.

“Memphis and Jesse Lingard played a very good game. We could have � nished the game much earlier. I have to say after the penalty, I thought we gave it away but then you see the spirit of the game.

“We created three chances in a row. It was an injection, the equaliser. I am very proud I am the manager of that team.”

Van Gaal will now assess a depleted team ahead of Wednesday’s home Champions League clash with PSV Eindhoven.

Having been without a host of players including forwards Wayne Rooney (illness), Anthony Martial (foot) and James Wilson (knee), United also lost Ander Herrera and Phil Jones at Vicarage Road.

“We are in a lousy period because there are a lot of injuries,” said Van Gaal. “We had already injuries. Antonio Valencia has been operated on. Luke Shaw, you know. Jones and Herrera are not available for Wednesday. l

28DT Sport


History repeats itself as Bernabeu faithful hail Iniestan Reuters, Madrid

Almost exactly 10 years after it � rst occurred the previously unthinkable happened again on Saturday - Real Madrid fans got to their feet to applaud a Barcelona player during the “Clasico” even though their team were losing.

Instead of the usual vitriol Barca players have had hurled at them at the Bernabeu stadium, when captain Andres Iniesta was substituted near the end of their 4-0 La Liga victory many of the Real faithful stood and clapped him o� .

Iniesta had o� ered up a masterclass of

creative mid� eld play, capped with a stun-ning strike into the top corner to make it 3-0 shortly after halftime.

Ronaldinho was given a similar reception in a La Liga game at Real’s giant arena on Nov. 19, 2005, when the Brazilian forward netted two superb goals in Barca’s 3-0 success and the home fans stood to applaud.

It may have helped that Iniesta is a hero in Spain for the goal that won the 2010 World Cup but it nonetheless underlined the bril-liance of the 31-year-old’s performance that Real fans again cast aside their hatred for their rivals for a moment.l

Superb Barcelona, poor Madridn AFP, Madrid

Luis Suarez and Neymar continued their sensational goalscoring form as Barcelona moved six points clear of Real Madrid at the top of La Liga with a 4-0 thrashing of their bitter rivals at the Bernabeu on Saturday.

Barca even had the luxury of leaving Li-onel Messi on the bench, but the Argentine did make his return from a two-month injury layo� half an hour from time and played a part in Suarez’s second and Barca’s fourth goal.

Suarez got Barca o� to the perfect start after just 10 minutes and Neymar deservedly doubled the visitors’ advantage just before half-time.

At that point Neymar and Suarez had scored every one of Barca’s last 19 La Liga goals, but Andres Iniesta ended that run in style when he blasted a third into the top corner.

And Messi, Neymar and Suarez all com-bined for the latter to score a fourth before

Isco sealed an embarrassing defeat for Ma-drid by getting sent-o� late on.

“I didn’t see it going like that,” said Barca boss Luis Enrique.

“We were at a superior level and generat-ed superiority in many areas of the pitch. We were solid at the back too and it was more the

merit of Barca than the fault of Madrid.”Despite just two defeats in 16 games in

charge, Madrid boss Rafael Benitez’s job is now in doubt as the home fans turned on club president Florentino Perez towards the end of the game.

“Logically we are hurting. It hurts to lose and particularly to lose in that manner,” said Benitez.

“What worries me is the team recovering mentally before the next game.”

The build-up to the match had been dom-inated by security fears after last week’s se-ries of deadly attacks in Paris which killed 130 people.

A minute’s silence was held to the tune of the French national anthem La Marseillaise and a large French � ag was unfurled by the Madrid fans before kick-o� in honour of the victims before kick-o� .

However, the sombre atmosphere quick-ly turned hostile as the home fans saw their side completely outplayed by Barca. l

Barcelona’s Luis Suarez (R) cvelebrates with Neymar after scoring the � rst goal against Real Madrid at Santiago Bernabeu on Saturday REUTERS

Real Sociedad 2-0 SevillaAgirretxe 72, Xabi Prieto 77

Real Madrid 0-4 Barcelona Suarez 11, 74, Neymar 39, Iniesta 53

Espanyol 2-0 MalagaHernan Perez 6, 20

Valencia 1-1 Las PalmasAlcacer 8 Viera 57

Deportivo 2-0 Celta VigoLucas Perez 22, Jonny 90+3-og

LA LIGA

EL CLASICO MATCH STATSReal Madrid Barcelona 0 Goals 4 13 Total shots 18 7 Shots on target 7 41 Possession (%) 59 10 Corners 4 3 O� sides 0 354 Passes completed 564

FIVE CONCLUSIONSWho needs Messi?Arguably the most remarkable part of an utterly dominant display from Barca was the fact most of the damage was in� icted without Lionel Messi on the � eld.

The four-time World Player of the Year made his return from a two-month injury layo� with the visitors already 3-0 up.

Once again it was Luis Suarez and Neymar who shone in Messi’s absence as Suarez opened and rounded o� the scoring, whilst Neymar added Barca’s second and set up two more in the second-half.

Benitez on the brink?Despite having lost just twice in 16 games in charge, a defeat of this magnitude could spell the end for Benitez. The Madrid fans called for President Florentino Perez’s resignation as their humiliation unfolded, but that is only more likely to see the top man at the club turn on Benitez. Moreover, with a club leg-end like Zinedine Zidane coaching Madrid’s reserve team, Perez wouldn’t have to look far for a popular replacement.

Iniesta brings Bernabeu to its feetNeymar and Suarez had scored Barca’s pre-vious 19 La Liga goals before Andres Iniesta ri� ed his side’s third into the top corner to end any hopes of a Madrid revival in the second-half.

Another magisterial display from the Spanish international reaped the applause it deserved when he was replaced late on, even from the frustrated Madrid fans in scenes similar to the famous reception given to Ron-aldinho after his two incredible goals in a 3-0 Barca win at the Bernabeu 10 years ago.

Bale posted missing againIn his 100th game in a Madrid shirt, this was a glorious chance for Gareth Bale to dispel the mounting critics of his impotent displays in a Real shirt for the past 18 months.

Yet, despite playing in his favoured role behind the striker, Bale had no impact on the game whatsoever and the time may be com-ing when Madrid decide to cut their losses on the Welshman with a series of Premier League clubs said to be interested.

Is Sergi Roberto La Masia’s newest star?Whilst Madrid started with 10 foreigners for the � rst time in a Clasico, Barca remained true to their traditions with � ve graduates from their La Masia academy in the starting line-up. One of those � ve, Sergi Roberto, was rewarded for his � ne form this season with a start in the position on the right side of the attack usually occupied by Messi.

And he was Messi-like in setting up the opening goal as he drove at the Madrid defence before timing a perfect pass into the path of Suarez.l

Sport 29D

T


Bor. M’gladbach 2-1 HanoverTraore 35, Ra� ael 84 Sobiech 65

VfL Wolfsburg 6-0 Werder BremenGalvez 11-og, Kruse 44, 87, Vieirinha 56, Dost 78,Guilavogui 67

VfB Stuttgart 0-4 FC Augsburg Esswein 11, 17, Callsen-Bracker 36, Koo 54

Frankfurt 1-3 LeverkusenMedojevic 45 Hernandez 23, 39, Calhanoglu 72

Cologne 0-0 Mainz 05

Schalke 04 1-3 Bayern MunichMeyer 17 Alaba 9, Martinez 69, Mueller 90+2

RESULTS

Channel 9Bangladesh Premier League 20152:00PMSylhet Super Stars v Chittagong Vikings6:45pmRangpur Riders v Barisal BullsSony Six7:15PM Champions Tennis League 2015 Star Sports 17:00PM Hockey SeriesIndia v Australia Star Sports 42:00AMEnglish Premier League Crystal Palace v Sunderland

DAY’S WATCH

AC Milan defender Alex Dias da Costa (L) vies with Juventus mid� elder Anderson Hernanes during their Italian Serie A match in Turin on Saturday AFP

‘Etihad win can be base camp’n AFP, Manchester

Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp hopes that his side’s brilliant 4-1 dismantling of former Premier League leaders Manchester City will convince his players that they can surmount any obstacle.

Roberto Firmino scored his � rst Liver-pool goal and set up two more as the visitors surged to a 3-0 lead inside the � rst 32 min-utes at the Etihad Stadium on Saturday, with Martin Skrtel rubber-stamping victory late on after Sergio Aguero had reduced the de� -cit shortly before half-time.

Liverpool have now beaten champions Chelsea and City in successive away games and while they lie six points o� the Champi-ons League places, Klopp believes that vital self-belief is being forged.

Asked what had changed for Liver-pool since the dismissal of his predecessor

Brendan Rodgers last month, Klopp replied: “For us it’s not important what’s di� erent.

“What is important is that we can see and feel that there’s a development in our game. We need common experience that we can talk about, work with and other things.

“That’s why I say we can do better than tonight in many parts of the game. Maybe not in counter-attacks, because they were really good, but of course we can better defend and we can start to believe in our strength.l

Dominant Bayern go eight clearn AFP, Berlin

Javi Martinez scored his � rst goal for Bayern Munich for two years on Saturday as their 3-1 win at Schalke 04 opened an eight-point lead in the German league.

After second-placed Borussia Dortmund’s shock 3-1 defeat at Hamburg on Friday, Pep Guardiola’s Bayern took their chance to ex-tend their lead.

David Alaba’s early goal was cancelled out by Schalke’s Max Meyer before Martinez, then Thomas Mueller struck for Bayern.

“You have to work for every victory in the Bundesliga and we always have to go to 100

percent,” said Mueller.“Opponents don’t make it easy and re-

cently the � ve-man defence has become fashionable.

“I don’t know if supporters like it so much, but the opponents try and stop everything.”

Bayern took a fortuitous lead in Gelsen-kirchen when Alaba’s long-range shot clipped Leon Goretzka’s heel and � ew into the Schal-ke net with nine minutes gone.

Schalke drew level through Meyer’s superb goal on 17 minutes when he turned Bayern captain Philipp Lahm and powered his shot past goalkeeper Manuel Neuer. But Bayern maintained their unbeaten record in Germa-

ny’s top � ight when Spain’s Martinez headed Arjen Robben’s pin-point cross on 69 minutes.

It was the centre-back’s � rst league goal for Bayern since August 2013, then Mueller added a late third by curling his shot inside the far post. Earlier, Germany striker Max Kruse netted twice in Wolfsburg’s 6-0 rout of Werder Bremen.

There was a minute’s silence at all Bun-desliga grounds - the players also wore black armbands - out of respect for the victims of the Paris terror attacks. Stuttgart’s 4-0 thumping at home to Augsburg was delayed by 15 minutes due to the tightened security checks at stadiums across the country. l

EPL: TOP 4Team P W D L GD PTS

1 Leicester City 13 8 4 1 8 28

2 Man United 13 8 3 2 10 27

3 Man City 13 8 2 3 14 26

4 Arsenal 13 8 2 3 12 26

Roma miss chance to go top, Juventus down Milann Reuters

Bologna snatched a draw against AS Roma with a late penalty in a thrilling 2-2 draw on a waterlogged pitch, while Juventus beat rivals AC Milan 1-0 at home thanks to a second-half Paulo Dybala strike in Serie A on Saturday.

There were three second-half penalties at Bologna as Roma missed the chance to top the table in a contest heavily a� ected by rain and the state of the playing surface.

Mattia Destro came back to haunt his for-mer club with an 87th minute equaliser from the penalty spot for the hosts after substitute Vasilis Torosidis, duped by the run of the ball on the wet pitch, brought down Emanuele Giaccherini.

The draw takes Roma up to second, lev-el on 27 points with leaders Fiorentina and third-placed Inter Milan, who play Empoli and Frosinone respectively yesterday. l

Bologna 2-2 RomaMasina 14, Destro 87-P Pjanic 52-P, Dzeko 72-P

Juventus 1-0 AC MilanDybala 66

RESULTS

Downtime30DT


CALVIN AND HOBBES

PEANUTS

DILBERT

How to solve: Fill in the blank spaces with the numbers 1 – 9. Every row, column and 3 x 3 box must contain all nine digits with no number repeating.

CODE-CRACKER

CROSSWORD

SUDOKU

YESTERDAY’S SOLUTIONS

CODE-CRACKER

How to solve: Each number in our CODE-CRACKER grid represents a di� erent letter of the alphabet. For example, today 2 represents T so � ll T every time the � gure 2 appears.You have two letters in the control grid to start you o� . Enter them in the appropriate squares in the main grid, then use your knowledge of words to work out which letters go in the missing squares.Some letters of the alphabet may not be used.As you get the letters, � ll in the other squares with the same number in the main grid, and the control grid. Check o� the list of alphabetical letters as you identify them.

ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ

CROSSWORD

ACROSS1 Bellow (4)6 Wet spongy ground (3) 7 Symbol of o� ce (4)9 Business transaction (4) 10 Musical note (5)11 Tree (5)12 Flightless bird (3) 14 Discourage (5)17 Utters gratingly (5)20 Anger (3)21 Added clause (5)23 Up and about (5)25 Labyrinth (4)26 Micro-organism (4)27 Help (3)28 Biblical quotation (4)

DOWN 1 Steering device (6)2 Counting frame (6)3 Acting part (4)4 Pale (3)5 Precious stone (3) 7 Deep mud (4)8 Drink (5)10 Insane (3)13 Minister’s residence (5)15 Long angry speech (6)16 Say again (6)18 Sti� y neat (4)19 Term of respect (3)22 Send out (4)23 Mature (3)24 Attempt (3)

SUDOKU

Showtime 31D


Quantum of SolaceSony PIX 4:30pmJames Bond � nds out about a huge secret organisation called Quantum. He believes that the organisation had something to do with the death of Vespa, his love. He follows a set of clues to Haiti and meets Camille, a mysterious woman. Camille leads Bond to Dominic Greene, a businessman working within the organisation. James Bond gets caught in Greene’s sinister scheme. That’s when he is forced to break o� from M’s orders.Cast: Daniel Craig, Olga Kurylenko, Mathieu Amalric

Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s EndZee Studio 4:10 pmIn the � nal chapter of the Pirates trilogy, Will, Elizabeth and Captain Barbossa embark on a desperate quest to save Jack Sparrow from a monstrous sea creature controlled by Davy Jones. To complete their mission, they must travel to Singapore to confront Chinese pirate Captain Sao Feng and sail into treacherous waters to sink the terrifying ghost ship known as the Flying D utchman. Now headed beyond the very ends of the earth, each must ultimately choose a side in the � nal battle.Cast: Johnny Depp, Orlando Bloom, Keira Knightley

WHAT TO WATCH

n Showtime Desk

Riya Sen, the grand-daughter of legendary Bangla ac-tress, Suchitra Sen and younger sister of Raima Sen, has already established her position as an actor by featuring in exalted � lms including Abohoman and Noukadubi. And now, to widen her horizon, she is all set to appear in a Bangladesh-India joint production � lm. She will be appearing in Hero 420 with Bangladeshi Nusrat Faria and her compatriot, actor Om.

“When I got the proposal, I couldn’t deny it because of the nature of the production and the people I am go-ing to work with. I couldn’t be more happy to work in a � lm like this,” said Riya, talking about her engagement in the � lm.

In the story, Riya has to don a daughter of an aristo-cratic and politically conscious family who is con� dent, fashion conscious and beyond everything, a love-en-thusiast on the inside.

On November 20, the � lm went to the � oor at a shooting spot in Kolkata while Riya joined on the � rst day of � lming. The 34-year-old beauty is supposed to take part again in the � lming in early December in, said a source from the production team.

Riya last appeared in a Bangladeshi � lm 14 years back in Mone Pore Tomake, with Dhallywood actor Riaz. Last year, she was linked with Iftakhar Chowdhury’s production Shaare Teen Mon, with Mosharraf Karim taking the lead, but unfortunately the project hasn’t seen the light yet.

Saikat Nasir from Dhaka and Sujit Mondal from Kolkata are jointly directing the � lm while production being handled by Jaaz Multimedia of Bangladesh and SK Movies of India. Some of Bangladesh-India joint production ventures were facing criticism over violating rules. Saikat Nasir has con� rmed to the media that the production of Hero 420 will be taking into concern all regulations in the joint-venture production. l

Riya Sen in a joint-venture � lm

Back Page32DT


RIYA SEN IN A JOINT-VENTURE FILM PAGE 31

FOCUS ON GSP, INVESTMENT PAGE 15

BENGAL TIGERS LOSE AGAIN IN CHINA PAGE 25

BRIEF SCORESMATCH-1

V Rangpur Chittagong

Chittagong 187/7 in 20 overs(Tamim 51, J Mendis 39, Anamul 36;

Sajib 3/26, Jayed 2/26)Rangpur 188/8 in 20 overs

(Misbah 61, T Perera 43, Al Amin (2) 38;Amir 4/30, Chigumbura 1/9)

Rangpur won by two wickets

MATCH-2

V Dhaka Comilla

Comilla 110/8 in 20 oversMashrafe 25, Mahmudul 22, Santokie 21;

Abul 3/29, Mosharraf 2/15Dhaka 112/4 in 19.2 overs

Jamshed 44, Sangakkara 25, Shamsur 19; Hider 2/17, Mortaza 1/23

Dhaka won by six wickets

TODAY’S FIXTURES2PM, MIRPUR

Sylhet Super Stars v Chittagong Vikings

6:45PM, MIRPURRangpur Riders v Barisal Bulls

BPL 2015CORNER

Tarana: Facebook block not related to execution of war criminalsn Tribune Report

State Minister for Post and Telecommunica-tions Tarana Halim yesterday said there is no relevance between the blocking of virtual so-cial network Facebook and the execution of two war criminals.

“We blocked Facebook and online mes-saging services WhatsApp and Viber after getting directives from the Home Ministry on public security issues. It is a temporary situation and is certainly has no connection with the execution of two war criminals,” she told the Dhaka Tribune, responding to mass concern over the restriction on the popular social media services.

The decision to block the social media plat-forms came on November 18, soon after the Su-preme Court rejected review petitions placed by war criminals Salauddin Quader Chowd-hury and Ali Ahsan Mohammad Mujahid.

“After public safety and security is en-sured, the restriction on Facebook will be lifted,” the state minister added. l

PSC, Ebtedayee exams shifted to Nov 30n Tribune Report

The Primary School Certi� cate (PSC) and ma-drasa equivalent Ebtedayee examinations 2015 for � fth-graders scheduled for Monday has been shifted to November 30, 2015.

The examinations have been shifted af-ter Jamaat-e-Islami called a dawn-to-dusk countrywide shutdown for today protesting the execution of Ali Ahsan Mohammad Mu-jahid, the general secretary of Jamaat-e-Is-lami.

The examinations would be held on No-vember 30 at 11:00am, said a press release of primary and mass education ministry.

The examinations began across the coun-try on Sunday in which around 32,54,514 stu-dents are participating. l

Pay scale order resent for vettingn Asif Showkat Kallol

The Finance Division has once again submit-ted the eighth pay scale order for civil serv-ants to the Law Ministry for vetting.

On October 26, Finance Minister AMA Mu-hith brought back the o� cial order from the Law Ministry for reviewing.

The Implementation Wing of the Finance Ministry sent the 12-page order to the Law

Ministry after incorporating a new provi-sion that says public servants will get higher grades.

An o� cial of the Implementation Wing said if there was no queries from the Law Ministry, then the eighth pay scale order would be passed in two days.

“We hope that the gazette noti� cation for the eighth pay scale will be issued in � rst week of next month,” the o� cial said.

According to the new structure, a 5% cumu-lative increment will replace the old time scale and selection grade systems. A civil servant will graduate to the next pay grades once after 11 years of service and then after 16 years.

The eighth pay scale for public servants got cabinet consent on September 6.

The new pay scale for 2.1 million civ-il servants will be retrospectively e� ective from July 1, 2015. l

Bangladesh misses global digital passports deadlinen Adil Sakhawat

Certain that it will fail the International Civil Aviation Organisation’s (ICAO) global No-vember 24 deadline to switch from handwrit-ten passports to machine-readable passports (MRPs), Bangladesh has sought until Decem-ber 2018 to make the transition.

Civil Aviation and Tourism Minister Rashed Khan Menon con� rmed to the Dha-ka Tribune yesterday that an extension had been sought from the ICAO.

The main obstacle to meeting the dead-line is posed by thousands of illegal Bangla-deshi expatriates living in various countries and by migrant labourers living in Saudi Ara-bia whose travel documents are held by their employers, a high o� cial of the Civil Avia-tion and Tourism Ministry said.

ICAO set November 24 as the deadline af-ter which nobody will be allowed to travel in-ternationally without an MRP. The deadline makes MRPs mandatory for nationals of all countries, including Bangladeshis.

“Bangladesh has � led a di� erence with

the ICAO and has requested an extension to use handwritten passports until December 2018,” Menon said.

Departures from international standards are regulated by Article 38 of the Chicago Convention on International Civil Aviation.

Generally, when a state is unable to com-ply with a speci� c standard, it has an obli-gation to give notice to the ICAO by “� ling a di� erence” under Article 38.

Foreign Minister AH Mahmood Ali on No-vember 19 told parliament that some 1,132,337 migrants were yet to be issued MRPs.

Joint Secretary for Civil Aviation and Tourism Abul Hasnat Md Ziaul Haque told the Dhaka Tribune that not just Bangladesh, but Japan, Nepal and several African coun-tries had also failed to meet the deadline.

When asked about the di� culties that Bangladeshi migrants would have to face af-ter tomorrow, the joint secretary said: “As far as I know, our passport authority has stopped issuing handwritten passports. Expatriates who do not have MRPs can easily apply for them at Bangladesh embassies and high

commissions.“The deadline is for those who want to

leave their own country using handwritten passports.”

According to the ICAO website: “The re-quirement that non-MRPs expire by 24 No-vember 2015 applies to all types of passports: Ordinary, Diplomatic and Service. However, it does not apply to temporary travel docu-ments or passports of limited validity in cas-es of emergency, which usually have a short validity period and are issued by consulates to distressed nationals so that they could re-turn to their home country.”

Abul Hasnat said: “Illegal migrants do not apply for MRPs because if they contact embassy o� cials, they would be required to return home. Expatriates living in Saudi Ara-bia are � nding it di� cult to apply for MRPs because their handwritten passports are kept by their recruiters or employers.

“They will be able to return home when their work permits expire. They either have to apply for MRPs or temporary travel documents from the nearest Bangladesh embassy.” l

Students busy writing in their answer scripts on the � rst day of the Primary School Certi� cate examination at the Shegunbagicha High School examination centre yesterday MEHEDI HASAN

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 O� ce: FR Tower, 8/C Panthapath, Shukrabad, Dhaka 1207. Phone: 9132093-94, Advertising: 9132155, Circulation: 9132282, Fax: News-9132192, e-mail: [email protected], [email protected], Website: www.dhakatribune.com

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November 23, 2015

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