01 Nov, 2015

n Mohammad Jamil Khan, Syed Samiul Basher Anik and Kamrul Hasan

It seems that extremist Islamists have now turned to the aides of secular activists, their � rst target. Yesterday, two publishers of slain secular writer Avijit Roy’s books were at-

tacked at their workplaces in the capital. One of them died on the spot.

None of the attackers could be arrested until � ling of this report at 10:30pm. No case was � led.

Faisal Are� n Dipan, blogger and owner of

Jagriti Prokashoni and Srijani Prokashoni, was slaughtered at his publishing house on the third � oor of Shahbagh’s Aziz Super Mar-ket in the afternoon. No one saw the killers as most of the shops on the � oor had been kept shut at that time.

The � rst attack was launched around 2:30pm on Ahmedur Rashid Tutul, 40, at his Shuddhashar publication o� ce at Lalmatia.

Blogger Ranadipam Basu, 52, and poet Tareq Rahim, 42, both friends of Tutul pres-ent at the o� ce, were also injured in the at-tack. The trio survived the attack carried out with machetes and � rearms, and were admit-ted to Dhaka Medical College Hospital.

The condition of Rahim, shot in the abdo-men, was stated to be critical.

O� cials of RAB, Police Investigation Bu-reau, DB and Tejgaon division police visited the spots and collected evidence.

On February 26 this year, Mukto-Mona blog founder Avijit and his wife and co-blog-ger Ra� da Ahmed Bonya were attacked by suspected militants after they came out of the Ekushey Book Fair. Avijit succumbed to his injuries while Bonya was critically in-jured. Both US citizens, the couple came to Dhaka to attend the book fair.

Until August, three more secularists were killed by the radical Islamists, who labelled the victims as atheists.

PAGE 2 COLUMN 1

SECOND EDITION

SUNDAY, NOVERMBER 1, 2015 | Kartik 17, 1422, Moharram 18, 1437 | Regd No DA 6238, Vol 3, No 195 | www.dhakatribune.com | 32 pages | Price: Tk10

RUSSIAN PLANE CRASHES WITH 224 PAGE 32

POWER GRID AS VULNERABLE AS EVER PAGE 5

FIRST MASS ATTACK SINCE 2005 PAGE 3

Now militants target secular publishers

2013 Ahmed Rajeeb Haider Arif Raihan DwipSep 30, 2014 Ashraful AlamNov 15, 2014 Prof AKM Sha�ul IslamFeb 26, 2015 Avijit RoyMar 30, 2015 Oyasiqur Rahman BabuMay 12, 2015 Ananta Bijoy DasAug 7, 2015 Niladri ChatterjeeOct 31, 2015 Faisal Are�n Dipan

MILITANT VICTIMS SINCE 2013

Ahmedur Rashid TutulFaisal Are� n Dipan

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1

SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 1, 2015News2DT

Now militants target secular publishersNew militant platform al-Qaeda in the Indian Subcontinent, believed to be run by banned group Ansarullah Bangla Team, claimed re-sponsibilities for the killings.

In twitter, Ansar Al Islam 4 and AQIS yes-terday claimed responsibility for the latest attacks.

After Avijit, his follower Oyasiqur Rahman Babu was chopped to death in Dhaka’s Te-jgaon area on March 30; Mukto-Mona blog-ger Ananta Bijoy Das was killed in a similar attack in Sylhet on May 12; while suspected militants killed blogger Niladri Chatterjee at his Goran apartment on August 7.

Killers took few minutesEyewitness and investigators said that the attackers had taken four to � ve minutes to conduct the Lalmatia operation on the fourth � oor of the building in C block and then left the scene on a motorcycle.

One witness said that a 17-year-old boy � rst came to the o� ce of Shuddhashar with a notebook, and said he came from Sylhet and wanted to buy books. As he entered the o� ce, two others followed him with a black bag. One of the duo had small beard.

One of the assailants then pointed his gun at Washiqul Haque, a bdnews24.com o� -cial sitting in the � rst room of the o� ce, and o� ce sta� Rasel, and held them in another room. At that time, the attackers were look-ing for Tutul saying that they wanted to kill the publisher.

Tutul, Ranadipam and Rahim were sitting in the other room. Rahim was shot twice while Tutul and Ranadipam chopped indiscrimi-nately with a machete. Later the assailants locked the o� ce from outside and left the spot.

They also locked the collapsible gate on the ground � oor so that the victims could not be rescued. Later the trio sped away on a mo-torcycle kept outside the building.

Locals said that they had heard some peo-ple screaming from the building for help. But they did not lend a hand out of fear.

There was no CCTV cameras installed in the building that also houses coaching centres.

SMS from Tutul’s phoneSub-Inspector Kamal Hossain of Mohammad-pur police told the Dhaka Tribune that he had entered the o� ce breaking the locks around 3pm and found one of the victims in a pool of blood. Two others were in another room.

Biplob Kumar Sarker, deputy commis-sioner of Tejgaon division, said that he had got a phone call and an SMS from a phone. The caller identi� ed himself as Rasel and sought help. Rasel used Tutul’s phone, the o� cial added.

“I was present at the police station and rushed to the spot with o� cials immediate-ly,” Biplob said adding that they sent the vic-tims to the hospital.

The SMS said: “Please, save us.”“Entering the house, our o� cials found

one victim on the � oor, and two others on a sofa and a chair, in critical condition,” he said adding that they had recovered an unused bullet and a bullet shell from the spot.

Asked about the general diary Tutul had � led seeking help, DC Biplob said that he could not recall the matter but added that Tutul had sought security in April and May. Police gave him security.

“We used to keep a patrol or mobile team

all the time in front of his o� ce,” said Biplob.Shaikh Maruf Hassan, additional commis-

sioner (DB and prosecution), thinks it was a planned attack.

Aziz Super Market spotDipan’s father Prof Abul Kashem Mohammad Fazlul Huq went to the market around 4pm as his son had not been responding to his call for about an hour.

“He was supposed to help his sister trans-fer their belongings to a new � at. I started calling him from 3pm. Later I went to his of-� ce and found the shutter locked.

“I banged on the shutter several times and getting no response I went to the mar-ket’s owners’ association o� ce for help. The o� cials also tried to enter Dipan’s o� ce but failed.”

They later went to the ground � oor where Dipan had another publishing house named Srijani Prokashoni and used to keep anoth-er set of keys of the Jagriti o� ce. “Then we entered the Jagriti o� ce, found Dipan’s body there and informed the police about the mat-ter,” Prof Kashem said.

He suspected that Avijit’s killers might be behind the murder of his son. “Depan had no rivalry with anyone. So we cannot con� rm who killed him.”

Alauddin, a sta� of Srijani Prokashoni, said: “Usually, sir works locking the room from inside. That is why we did not � nd it [locked door] suspicious.”

Nazmul Ahsan Naju, president of Aziz Su-per Market Owners’ Association, said that he had no idea about Dipan’s security concerns. “It was beyond our imagination that such a

killing can take place in the market.”Security Manager Anwar Hossain said that

there was no CCTV cameras installed inside the market but 10 others at the entry and exit points.

Dipan’s body was found in his chair slumped over. There was an injury mark on his neck while his spectacles were found on the � oor, Anwar added.

DB o� cial Maruf said that the two inci-dents had taken place around the same time and two groups conducted the operations. “But it is tough to say whether their ideolo-gies were the same,” he told reporters adding that the killing patterns were also same.

Rahim, Tutul in critical conditionDr Uzzal Sazu Kha, the indoor medical o� cer at neurosurgery department unit 1 of the DMCH, said that both Rahim and Tutul were in critical condition as they lost excess blood. “We are now giving them blood to recover the loss,” he said.

Apart from stab injury, Rahim received

bullet wounds on his chest. “For this reason, his condition is more critical then Tutul’s,” Dr Uzzal told the Dhaka Tribune.

Tutul was hit by machetes on his head.Dr Reaz Morshed, resident surgeon of the

DMCH, told the Dhaka Tribune that Ranadi-pam was out of danger. “But we have kept him under observation to avoid risks.”

Tutul’s wife Shamima Rina was found sit-ting outside the emergency unit. She did not want to talk on the matter. Asked about the GD, she just said that her husband had � led the GD with Mohammadpur police in Febru-ary, after the murder of Avijit Roy.

Activists from home and abroad spread the word through social media condemning the attacks. They also made open calls on Facebook for collecting blood for the injured.

Meanwhile, the supporters of Gono-jagoron Moncho brought out processions in protest against the attacks on secular voices.

Home Minister Asaduzzaman Khan Kamal said that they would take stern action against the killers. l

Shuddhashar publisher Ahmed Rashid Tutul, above, and his friend Tareq Rahim, below, kept at the emergency unit of Dhaka Medical College Hospital after they were critically injured in an attack at the publisher’s Lalmatia o� ce yesterday RAJIB DHAR / MAHMUD HOSSAIN OPU

Tareq Rahim

Ranadipam Basu

Khaleda says Dipan wasa follower of Zian Mohammad Al-Masum Molla

BNP Chairperson Khaleda, who is now in London, has claimed that slain secular publisher Faisal Are� n Dipan was a follow-er of her husband and party founder Ziaur Rahman.

Party spokesperson Asaduzzaman Ripon quoted Khaleda as making the re-mark in a press release issued last evening under the o� cial letterhead of the BNP.

In her statement, the BNP chief con-

demned the attacks on Jagriti publisher Di-pan and Shuddhashar publisher Ahmedur Rashid Chowdhury Tutul.

Praying for the salvation of the depart-ed soul, she said: “Slain Faisal Are� n Di-pan was a vice-president of the Zia Smriti Pathagar [Zia memorial library] and a ded-icated organiser inspired by the ideals of later president Ziaur Rahman.”

She also said: “This government has ut-terly failed in ensuring security of people’s lives and properties.” l

News 3D

TSUNDAY, NOVEMBER 1, 2015

HUSSAINI DALAN BLAST

First mass attack since 2005n Probir K Sarker

The fatal attack at Hussaini Dalan with handmade grenades on October 24 that to date has killed two people who joined the traditional Tazia procession of the Shia Muslims was the � rst such mass target-ed terrorist operation by militants since 2005.

Upon preliminary investigation, the law en-forcers said that Jamaat-e-Islami’s radical student wing Islami Chhatra Shibir was behind the attack, that was meant to destabilise the country’s law and order ahead of the execution of top Jamaat leader Ali Ahsan Mohammad Mujahid.

On December 8, 2005, at least eight people were killed and 40 others injured when the mem-bers of banned militant out� t Jama’atul Muja-hideen Bangladesh (JMB) launched suicide bomb attacks on the o� ces of cultural organisations Udichi and Shata Dal Shilpi Goshthi in Netrakona town.

Since then, the militant groups, who aim at es-tablishing Islamic rule in the country, did not car-ry out any organised mass attack until the one at Hussaini Dalan.

Of course, the targeted killing of individuals – mainly secular writers and Islamic scholars – did not stop. At least a dozen secularists and war crimes trial activists, and 13 religious scholars were killed and many other injured in attacks by radical Islamists during this period.

2005 was the most eventful year until now for terror. That year, the militant groups carried out � ve attacks, killing at least 25 people and injuring scores of others.

On January 5, 2005, former � nance minister Shah AMS Kibria and four other Awami League leaders and activists were killed and over 70 others injured when militants linked to Harkat-ul Jihad al-Islami Bangladesh (HujiB) launched a gre-nade attack. Kibria was returning to Dhaka after addressing a rally in Habiganj’s Baidyerbazar.

HujiB was declared outlawed on October 17 the same year.

Then BNP-Jamaat government, which had re-peatedly denied the existence of militant groups in the country, eventually banned JMB and its wing Jagrata Muslim Janata Bangladesh (JMJB) on February 23, 2005. Reports say another BNP ally Islami Oikya Jote also aided the militants during 2001-2006.

Before that, according to media reports, JMJB chief Bangla Bhai and his men killed at least 24 people and tortured some 300 others in Rajshahi region between April 2004 and January 2005.

Six months after the ban was enforced, the JMB on August 17, 2005 carried out simultane-ous blasts at 511 places in 63 districts, killing two persons and injuring many others in an apparent show of strength.

The JMB men carried out three more organised attacks only two months later.

On November 14, a JMB suicide squad member blasted bombs on the Jhalakathi court premises, killing senior assistant judges Sohel Ahmed Chow-dhury and Jagannath Paare.

Only two weeks later, another JMB suicide bomber killed eight people – four lawyers and four clients – at the Gazipur Bar Association o� ce on November 29.

The last militant attack of 2005 was fatal. Eight people were killed when JMB men blasted bombs at the o� ces of Udichi and Shata Dal Shilpi Goshthi in Netrakona town.

ArrestsAmid the repeated incidents of blasts, the law en-forcers on September 7, 2005 arrested JMB chief Saidur Rahman’s son AKM Shamim. Now in jail, Saidur is a former Jamaat leader from Habiganj.

HujiB’s operational chief Mufti Hannan was arrest-ed on October 1.

Police’s elite force Rapid Action Battalion on November 27 arrested Bangla Bhai’s sec-ond-in-command Mahtab Khamaru. But he was released after then premier’s son Tarique Rahman reportedly asked home state minister Lutfozzam-an Babar to do so.

Culture of denialBNP chief and then premier Khaleda Zia in Au-gust 2004 said that there was no Bangla Bhai. On March 15 the following year she alleged that mil-itancy was a propaganda hatched by the Awami League, then opposition in parliament.

She softened her stance in November and, ad-mitting the existence of militants, asked the peo-ple to stop religious extremism.

Leaders of the BNP and its key ally Jamaat-e-Is-lami followed Khaleda to claim that there was no existence of militant groups in the country. On June 22, 2004, then industries minister Moti-ur Rahman Nizami claimed that Bangla Bhai didnot exist. On July 22, he blamed the newspapers for creating � ctional character Bangla Bhai.

The Jamaat chief also blamed the then opposi-tion Awami League for spreading propaganda on the existence of militancy.

However, after the massive attacks of 2005,

the government was forced to arrest top leaders of JMB and JMJB in March 2006, while the subse-quent government executed six of them including Sheikh Abdur Rahman and Bangla Bhai a year later in a case � led for killing the two Jhalakathi judges.

A number of BNP ministers and lawmakers were sued by the subsequent caretaker govern-ment for patronising JMB and JMJB. They are now serving di� erent jail terms in the cases.

Previous attacksMedia reports suggest that Bangla Bhai and his men had killed at least 24 people – mostly Awami League and communists – in the Rajshahi region from April 2004 to January 2005 under the pat-ronisation of some in� uential BNP leaders.

Year 2004 too saw some gruesome militant attacks.

At least 24 people were killed and several hundred others injured when the HujiB militants launched a grenade attack on an anti-terrorism rally of the Awami League at Bangabandhu Ave-nue on August 21, 2004. Khaleda’s son is accused of masterminding the attack to kill then opposition leader Sheikh Hasina.

On May 21, HujiB militants carried out another grenade attack at the Shahjalal Shrine in Sylhet city during the visit of then UK high commissioner Anwar Choudhury. Three people were killed in the attack while Anwar narrowly escaped death.

The notorious JMB men were responsible for the bomb blasts at four cinema halls in Mymens-ingh town on December 7, 2002 that killed at least 17 people.

Radical HujiB conducted three other planned attacks between 1999 and 2001.

They planted bombs at Ramna Batamul to foil the Bangla New Year celebrations in 2001. Ten people were killed in that incident. At the court, HujiB claimed that they had carried out the attack since Pohela Boishakh was anti-Islamic.

On January 20, 2001, HujiB men blasted bombs at a meeting of the Communist Party of Bangladesh killing � ve activists of the party.

The � rst terror attack of the country was perpetrated in 1999 by HujiB, which started its operations in Bangladesh in 1992. At least 10 people were killed in bomb blasts during Udichi’s cultural programme in Jessore on March6 that year. l

1999 Jessore Udichi blast2001 CPB rally blast2001 Ramna Batamul blast2001 Bagerhat blast2002 Cinema hall blast2004 AL rally blast2005 Series bomb blasts2005 Gazipur court blast2005 Netrokona blast2015 Tazia blast

New meter fares for autorickshaws from todayn Shohel Mamun

An e� ort to crack down on runaway fare de-mands by CNG-run autorickshaw drivers will come into e� ect today, with the roads and bridges minister kicking o� a metered-fare enforcement initiative and a new fare struc-ture.

Revised fares for CNG-run autorickshaws will come into e� ect in the capital from today and in Chittagong city from next January.

But commuters are still concerned that autorickshaw drivers will take advantage of the lack of monitoring and return to over-charging passengers.

Many autorickshaw drivers, speaking o�

the record, have said as much. They said the new meter rules and fare chart would not last more than a month, implying that enforce-ment would soon � zzle out.

Abu Naser, public relations o� cer of Road Transport and Bridges Minister Obaidul Quader said: “The minister will visit Manik Mia Avenue at noon today. A high-powered committee headed by the director (admin-istration) of BRTA will also be present at the occasion. The high-powered committee has been formed to monitor possible anomalies and abuses of the rules, such as passengers being charged extra.”

The minister earlier said: “After Novem-ber 1, passengers must complain to the police

and the committee if they are charged extra or if they spot any autorickshaw with its trip meter out of order.”

According to the new fare rates, passen-gers of autorickshaws will be charged Tk40 for the � rst two kilometres of travel instead of the current rate of Tk25. They will be charged Tk12 each for each subsequent kilo-metre instead of Tk6. There will be a Tk2 waiting charge per minute.

As part of the initiative, only CNG-run autorickshaws with recalibrated meters checked by the BRTA will be allowed on the city’s streets from today.

Currently, there are more than 12,320 CNG-run auto-rickshaws in the Dhaka met-

ropolitan area but only half have BRTA-checked recalibrated meters as of 5pm yes-terday, a BRTA o� cial said.

Dhaka Mahanagar CNG Autorickshaw Oik-ya Parishad convenor Borkatullah Bulo dis-puted this � gure, telling the Dhaka Tribune that around 11,000 autorickshaws had had their meters recalibrated as of 6pm yesterday.

The daily deposit autorickshaw drivers pay vehicle owners has gone up from Tk600 to Tk900 to ensure the meter system.

Meters are maintained by six companies in the capital city, including Distribution-one and Crystal, but meters must be checked by the BRTA to ensure that they are compliant with the rules. l


Tea garden labourers’ children get gift of educationn Ishtiaq Husain, back from Habiganj

Deep in a Habiganj tea estate, a young girl has received the gift of education, something that would have been impossible to conceive of even a year ago.

Labourer Jasim Miah of Surma Tea Estate in Itakhola, Teliapara has two daughters but never dreamt he would be able to give either of them a proper education.

Because of the remoteness of the family’s place of work and residence, taking the chil-dren to the distant school was not a feasible option for the family.

But that was before the school came to them instead.

His elder daughter Sheuli Akter now at-tends school regularly where she is learning Bangla, English and mathematics.

The Online School that she attends is a new � xture at the tea estate.

Her classmates, Hosna Akter, Ha� j Uddin, Abra Sapowan, Shuvamonda, are all children of tea garden labourers.

The distance education programme is conducted online via videoconferencing technology with the aid of moderators in the actual classroom.

Morzina Akter, a member of the local com-munity with no teaching experience, helps with teaching and operations at Online School.

The objective of Online School is to ensure quality education for underprivileged and se-cluded children living in urban slums and in remote areas. It also helps to develop teachers.

Online School is a joint project of Grameenphone, Jaago Foundation and Agni Systems Limited.

Grameenphone, a top mobile operator, is providing � nancial and connectivity support for the programme.

Jaago Foundation, a non-pro� t civil society organisation is responsible for providing on-the-ground services, run school operations and design curricula for the classes.

Agni Systems Ltd is providing last mile in-ternet solutions for the schools. Agni also pro-vides technical support for internet connec-tivity to Jaago Foundation for the initiative.

Online School uses simple videoconfer-encing technology to operate distance learn-ing classrooms. WebEx, a CISCO product, is used to conduct classes.

The school utilises laptops, webcams, sound systems, large screen TVs, sketch

boards for teachers and at least 1.5 MBPS data speed (duplex). To ensure the data speed, the project uses � bre-optic or radio connectivity for its internet connection.

Curricular content is either collected from outside sources or developed by the project itself.

Beginning with the Elementary Class, a combination of Play Group and Nursery, stu-dents of Online School have reached Class 1. The school follows the English language ver-sion of the national curriculum.

Grameenphone started the � rst Online School in August 2011 with 80 students. At the end of the � rst academic year, a compar-ison of performance was done among similar types of schools – Banani School, Rayerbazar School and Online School.

The � ndings were clear. On a GPA scale of 4, Online School had a

year-end average GPA of 3.3725 while Ba-nani School and Rayerbazar School achieved 2.8675 and 3.08, respectively.

Today there are 693 students in 10 schools located in Gazipur, Gaibandha, Rajshahi, Ma-daripur Bandarban, Teknaf, Rangpur, Dina-jpur, Habiganj and Lakshmipur.

Online School’s Teacher’s Centre, a set of studios, was established to host distance classes from Dhaka. It is situated on 3,000 square foot of space in Rayerbazaar and con-sists of 10 studios.

It is capable of hosting 10 classes, each 3 to 4 hours long, simultaneously. The centre can handle 20 classes every day. l

First responders expand coverage on Dhaka-Ctg highwayn Shohel Mamun

Bangladesh’s highways are now being served by a company providing emergency � rst-re-sponders in the event of an automobile acci-dent.

TraumaLink currently helps crash victims free of charge by connecting them to local � rst responders. Between November 2014 and October 2015, the company’s volunteers and service team attended to 144 incidents and treated 250 victims.

After successfully completing a pilot pro-ject in Daudkandi upazila on a 15km stretch of the Dhaka–Chittagong Highway where dozens of road tra� c injuries occur every month, the service area was increased by an-other 5km in June.

TraumaLink is the recipient of a USAID DIV grant that will enable the for-pro� t busi-ness entity to increase its coverage by an-other 100km of highway over the next year, according to its website.

The company currently charges non-gov-ernmental organisations fees to train their sta� , but said it had not determined whether or not it would, in the future, charge fees for emergency services.

TraumaLink Bangladesh’s president is Jon Mousally, an emergency care physician at Massachusetts General Hospital.

“When tra� c injuries occur, victims and bystanders call our emergency hotline and our operators quickly dispatch help,” Bidhan Chandra Pal, the company’s vice-president of operations, said.

The company currently works on a 20km stretch of the Dhaka–Chittagong highway from Daudkandi to Tirchar. It has trained 134 local volunteers so far, who are each provid-ed with a � rst-aid kit, a badge and a vest.

Some 21,316 people die in road accidents each year in Bangladesh – 58 highway accident fatalities every day, according to the Global Sta-tus Report on Road Safety 2015 released by the World Health Organisation on October 19. l

Gonojagorn calls countrywide demonstration todayn Arif Ahmed

Gonojagoron Moncho yesterday announced countrywide demonstration today protest-ing the brutal attacks on country’s publishers that killed one and injured three others.

Spokesperson of Gonojagoron Moncho Imran H Sarkar announced the programme in the evening after visiting Dhaka Medical college Hospital.

“ In the capital a public gathering will be held at Shahabag Projonmo Chattar around 3pm,” Imran said.

In an immediate reaction, Imran blamed government for the poor law and order situation that instigated frequent killing of free thinkers.

“The government has failed to provide ad-equate safety to people resulting in murders of writers and bloggers one after another. l

Bangladesh Sector Commanders’ Forum forms a human chain in front of the National Press Club yesterday to protest against Amnesty International who raised questions about the trial and appeal process of convicted war criminals SYED ZAKIR HOSSAIN

On a scale of 4, Online School had a year-end average GPA of 3.3725 while Banani School and Rayerbazar School achieved 2.8675 and 3.08, respectively

SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 1, 2015News 5

DT

Source: Accuweather/UNB

D H A K ATODAY TOMORROW

SUN SETS 5:19PM SUN RISES 6:05AM

YESTERDAY’S HIGH AND LOW

32.0ºC 20.5ºC

Sylhet Jessore

SourceL IslamicFinder.org

PRAYER TIMESFajr 4:46am

Zohr 11:42amAsr 3:43pm

Magrib 5:20pmEsha 6:50pm

WEATHER

SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 1

F O R E C A S T F O R T O D A YDhaka 29 21Chittagong 27 23Rajshahi 29 20Rangpur 30 19Khulna 27 22Barisal 27 22Sylhet 29 19Cox’s Bazar 25 23

NOVEMBER 1 BLACKOUT

Power grid as vulnerable as evern Aminur Rahman Rasel

Not a single one of the 32 recommendations made to safeguard the national power grid has been implemented, a year after the No-vember 1 blackout pulled the plug on the country.

The blackout shut the country down for over 12 hours, following two back-to-back breakdowns of the national grid.

The eight-member high-powered govern-ment body formed to probe the nationwide blackout did not lay the blame for the grid failure on a speci� c o� cial or functionary, but said systemic problems in the grid sys-tem were responsible.

Experts say the power grid remains at risk because those systemic issues have not been dealt with, leaving the country vulnerable to another blackout “at any time.”

Shamsul Alam, energy adviser of the Con-sumer Association of Bangladesh (CAB), said: “We typically do not see recommendations implemented after such incidents and that is why we have not got out of this condition.

“We are now facing the same risk of black-outs and it may happen at any time.”

Since the blackout, there have been several small-scale power system collapses at several power stations including Ashuganj Power Sta-tion and Ulon Grid at Rampura in Dhaka.

Preliminary action has been taken on only one of the 32 recommendations: the Power Cell, a wing of the Power Division, has invit-ed Expressions of Interest (EoI) for “Consult-ing Services for Reliability Study of Bangla-desh Power Grid System.”

Aside from inviting EoI for consultants to

assess the magnitude of the problem, noth-ing has been done to implement the recom-mendations.

But the top managers of the country’s power infrastructure say they are not in a hurry.

Power Division Secretary Monowar Islam said: “It is a long term matter to implement the recommendations to avoid a blackout. In this case, the time frame does not matter.”

Power Cell Director General Moham-mad Hossain, also member secretary of the eight-member probe body, yesterday told the Dhaka Tribune: “We have held workshops, taken suggestions from experts and have in-vited EoI and several consulting � rms have responded to our invitation. We are going through their responses.”

The Power Grid Company of Bangladesh (PGCB), whose remit is to look after the pow-er grid, is responsible for implementing al-most all of the recommendations.

The PGCB’s managing director, Md Ma-sum Al-Beruni, says the recommendations will be implemented in due time. “We have taken some plans to implement the recom-mendations and we are highly committed to execute those gradually.”

The plans include ensuring the security of supervisory control and data acquisition (SCADA) and digitising the National Load Dispatch Centre (NLDC).

Last November 1, a lack of coordination in the supply and demand of electricity caused the national grid’s frequency to drop, tripping the Bheramara sub-station and causing a cascade e� ect that rapidly shut the whole system down.

According to the � ndings of the probe

committee, the national grid failure com-menced at 11:28am on November 1 when the National Load Dispatch Centre (NLDC) sys-tem frequency rapidly dropped to below 45 Hz, well beneath the minimum threshold of 48.9 – 51 Hz.

On the day, the forecast demand was 4,553MW and forecast power generation was 4,674MW, but a sudden spike in demand caused the grid’s frequency to dip, ultimate-ly causing the system to fall.

When frequency drops, voltage declines, and the low voltage registered at Bheramara sub-station caused it to trip.

Following this, one of the circuits con-necting the Bangladeshi grid to Indian power supplies, Bheramara-Behrampur Circuit 1, also tripped.

At the time, India was supplying 444MW of electricity to Bangladesh. The tripping of Cir-cuit 1 caused a major de� cit in supply of power to the grid, causing it to become unbalanced.

This imbalance, in turn, caused all the power stations in the country to shut down. The whole process took just 14 seconds to transpire.

The committee’s key short term rec-ommendations include the updating and maintenance of grid sub-stations and power plant equipment, especially transformers, circuit breakers, isolators, arresters and bat-tery-chargers.

It has called for a study of why the High Voltage Direct Current (HVDC) sub-station tripped, including looking into network set-ting problems, and the creation of an inde-pendent operator for the power transmission system. l

Non-MPO teachers continue fastunto deathn Tribune Report

Non-MPO teachers continued their fast-un-to-death for the second day in front of the National Press Club yesterday demanding inclusion of their educational institutions in the Monthly Pay Order (MPO) facilities.

If their institutions get the MPO, they would enjoy 100% basic salary from the ex-chequer.

Under the banner of Non-MPO Education-al Institutions, the teachers said non-MPO teachers and employees had been living in miserable conditions for years. They got no salary from the government and the educa-tional institutes were not capable to give a portion of their salary every month.

“We will continue fast-unto-death until our demands are met,” said Taposh Kumar Kundu, general secretary of Non-MPO Edu-cational Institutions Teachers and Employ-ees Federation.

Education Minister Nurul Islam Nahid, on October 29, said the MPO could only be awarded to them after increasing of educational budget.

There are more than 8,000 educational institutions, including schools, colleges, ma-drassas and technical institutions, which are waiting for MPO. l

Detective Branch o� cials present the 17 men, arrested from di� erent parts of the capital for involvement in the leak of question papers of Dhaka University admission test, at DB headquarters yesterday MEHEDI HASAN

CLOUDY


AL to � nalise party candidate for Moulvibazar 3 todayn Abu Hayat Mahmud

A meeting of the Awami League parliamen-tary board will be held at Ganabhaban, the o� cial residence of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina.

Party sources said the meeting will be held for choosing party candidate in the upcoming by-election of Moulvibazar 3, the constituency that fell vacant after the death of Awami League lawmaker and social wel-fare minister Syed Mohsin Ali.

With Awami League President Sheikh Hasina in the chair, the meeting will start at 6pm.

Awami League Joint General Secretary Mahbub-ul-Alam Hanif requested all the persons concerned to attend the meeting in time, says a press release.

Meanwhile, according to the Election Commission schedule, the voting will be held on December 8.

The deadline for aspirants to � le nomina-tions is November 11, and nominations will be scrutinised on Novemver 14 and aspirants can withdraw from the polls by November 22.

Chief Election Commissioner Kazi Rakib Uddin Ahmad announced the by-poll sched-ule on Thursday. l

Mahbub: Country under indirect one-party rulen UNB

BNP standing committee member Lt Gen (retd) Mahbubur Rahman yesterday alleged that the country is now under the grip of an ‘indirect one-party rule’.

“There is no democracy in the country and no existence of opposition in the parlia-ment. The country is now under the grasp of an indirect one-party rule,” he said.

The BNP leader seemed to be implying that with an absolute majority in the parlia-ment, the opposition was ine� ectual.

Mahbub came up with the remark at a dis-cussion at the National Press Club organised by Jatiya Jubo Sanghati. The discussion was organised in memory of former prime min-ister Kazi Zafar Ahmed who died on August 27 this year.

The BNP leader lambasted the government for what he described as a serious slide in the law and order situation.

“Now people are su� ering from a sense of insecurity while foreigners are being killed. Bombs were exploded at a gathering of Shia Muslims. This is a kind of attack that we have never seen in the past. In fact, we are passing through a very tough time,” he said.

The lack of democracy and leadership cri-sis are the main problems that the country is now facing, observed Mahbub.

The BNP leader called upon people from all walks of life to get united in order to re-store democracy to the country.

“Leaders and activists of the BNP and the 20-party alliance will have to vow that they will engage themselves in a united move-ment. The movement will be for restoring democratic rule to the country," he added. l

Democracy � rst, says barrister Moinuln Tribune Report

The country needs to protect democracy � rst to protect independence of the judiciary and rule of law, former caretaker government ad-viser barrister Moinul Hossain said.

“Thinking about protecting independence of the judiciary by killing democracy is like watering a tree after uprooting it,” he told a discussion organised to mark the eighth an-niversary of separation of the judiciary from the executive.

Rights group Humanity Foundation or-ganised the event at the National Press Club.

Terming the present government jocular, the eminent jurist said that the government was playing double role in politics – both as

the opposition and the ruler. “It is like eating both the banana and the milk together,” he said.

Moinul also criticised reporters and law-yers for acting as party supporters whereas they were supposed to protect democracy. “Nowadays, some lawyers and journalists have become part of the forces who are try-ing to destroy democracy,” he added.

“They cannot do like this … Even the Press Club and the Supreme Court lawyers’ forum have factions. If they are divided by the Awa-mi League and the BNP, how will the people become powerful then?” he questioned.

Several speakers at the function alleged that the judiciary was still dependent on the executive on some issues.

Former Supreme Court judge Justice Amirul Kabir Chowdhury said that the government had not implemented the 12-point directives of the apex court mentioned in the verdict of separating the judiciary.

“It is a bad luck for the country. The magistracy has been separated but their appointment, transfer and promotion are kept under the executive control,” he added.

The programme was chaired by Humanity Foundation Chairman AI Mahbub Uddin Ahmed. Bangladesh Bank’s ex-governor Salehuddin Ahmed moderated the event while Bangla newspaper the daily Prothom Alo’s Joint Editor Mizanur Rahman Khan presented the keynote paper. l

Ashraf: Psychological war on in BNP leadershipn Tribune Report

Public Administration Minister Syed Ashraful Islam yesterday said a psychological war was going on between BNP leaders for negative and destructive politics indulged by BNP Chief Khaleda Zia and her son Tarique Rah-man.

After his return from the United Kingdom yesterday the ruling party spokesperson briefed journalists at Sylhet MAG Osmani Airport.

He reached Sylhet MAG Osmani Airport en route to Shahjalal International Airport in the capital on a � ight from London about 10:20am.

Prime Minister’s Adviser on Public Ad-ministration a� airs HT Imam accompanied him, reports BSS.

After a brief stay for nearly one hour at Osmani Airport, Syed Ashraful Islam left Syl-het for Dhaka Shahjalal Airport about 11-:10 am.

During his brief stay, leaders of Sylhet Dis-trict Awami League made a courtesy call on Syed Ashraful Islam at Osmani Airport.

Brie� ng waiting reporters on the topic of their discussion at Osmani Airport, General Secretary of Sylhet City Awami League Asa-duddin Ahmed quoted Syed Ashraful Islam as saying: “A sense of unrest is now prevail-ing in BNP and a psychological war is also going on now between Khaleda-Tarique and many BNP stalwarts.”

For this reason, Shamsher Mobin Chow-dhury resigned from the party. Many more BNP leaders can tender their resignation too, he said.

District Awami League General Secretary Sha� qur Rahman Chowdhury quoted Syed Ashraful Islam as saying: “Shamsher Mobin Chowdhury resigned from BNP as a distance has already been created between him and Khaleda-Tarique.”

He (Syed Ashraf) termed the recent killing of two foreigners a conspiracy against the state. He also instructed party leaders and workers to remain vigilant in facing the con-spiracy.

Central Awami League Organising Sec-retary Mizbahuddin Siraj, Sylhet City Unit President Badar Uddin Ahmed Kamran, act-ing president of district unit Lutfur Rahman, Vice-President Ashfaq Ahmed and district Awami Juba League Convener Alam Khan Mukti were present, among others, at the air-port. l

Poribesh Banchao Andolon forms a human chain in front of the National Press Club yesterday to discourage unnecessary honking of horns and demanding implementation of the sound pollution (control) rules SYED ZAKIR HOSSAIN

INSIDE

7D

TWorld

Romanian nightclub � re leaves 27 deadA � re in a Bucharest nightclub killed 27 people and injured 184 during a rock concert that featured � reworks late on Friday, Ro-manian government o� cials and witnesses said. PAGE 8

SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 1, 2015

White House says will not release emails between Obama, ClintonThe White House will not allow the imme-diate release of emails exchanged between President Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton from when she was secretary of state, a sen-ior administration o� cial said on Friday. PAGE 10

With Syria deployment, Obama crosses own red lineEven as President Barack Obama sent US troops back to Iraq and ordered the military to stay in Afghanistan, he insisted Syria would remain o� limits for Ameri-can ground forces. Now the president has crossed his own red line. PAGE 9

Indian intellectuals alarmed by rising intolerance attacksn AP, New Delhi

First writers then artists, followed by � lm-makers, historians and scientists. The cho-rus of Indian intellectuals protesting reli-gious bigotry and communal violence grows louder by the week with a single message for Prime Minister Narendra Modi: protect India’s tradition of secularism and diversity.

Those protesting are angry and worried by a spate of deadly attacks against atheist thinkers and minorities, and by Modi’s rel-ative silence through it all. That silence ap-pears to have encouraged some of his party colleagues to make comments asserting Hindu pride and superiority.

On Thursday, more than 100 scientists, including some of India’s top nuclear phys-icists, space scientists and mathematicians, expressed their anguish at the ways in which they said “science and reason were being eroded in the country.” The protest by scientists is signi� cant, given that most work for the government or in state-funded organisations and so could risk being pun-ished for speaking out.

“What we are witnessing instead is the active promotion of irrational and sectarian thought by important functionaries of the government,” the scientists said in a state-ment. They said the dozens of Indian writ-ers who have returned national awards in protest had “shown the way.”

The uproar among intellectuals began in late September, when a village mob beat a Muslim man to death and put his son in crit-ical condition over rumors that their family was eating cow meat. In fact, it had been a goat. Ten people have been arrested in con-nection with the attack.

There have been other incidents in recent years, including the killings of three atheist scholars who had campaigned against reli-gious superstition, and more mob killings over rumors of cow slaughter or smuggling. Many Hindus, who make up more than 80

percent of India’s population of 1.25 billion, consider cows to be sacred, and many states ban the slaughtering of the animals.

Communal violence and prejudice are nothing new for India, born as a secular de-mocracy in 1947 amid deadly Hindu-Mus-lim riots that killed an estimated 1 million people. Since then, horri� c riots and clashes have erupted at intervals, mostly between Hindus and Muslims.

Yet India has still largely been seen as overwhelmingly tolerant, with a cacopho-ny of cultures that have lived side by side for centuries. Secularism is enshrined in its constitution.

Some political analysts said that the pro-tests were going too far in making it seem like India was on the brink of a fascist re-volt, and that the government may simply be stumbling in its communication strategy. Modi has no media spokesman, instead re-lying largely on senior ministers and his of-� cial website to get his messages out.

“If you look at the history of religious violence in India, it is far less today than it was three decades ago,” analyst Ashok Ma-lik said. “This is part of the democratic dis-course in India. While I’m not doubting the concerns of writers and artists, their use of words like ‘fascist’ is over the top.”

Worries over India’s secular identity began rumbling before Modi was elected prime minister last year. Modi and his Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party won the election in a landslide, largely on promises of lifting the economy.

But some cautioned that his support was grounded in the party’s Hindu base, and not-ed that Modi himself had come up through the militant Hindu fundamentalist organi-sation Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh. For years, the group has been accused of stok-ing anti-Muslim prejudice, including among teenagers attending youth camps.

Modi, having dodged allegations of re-sponsibility for deadly 2002 riots in Gujarat,

insisted during his election campaign that he would be prime minister for all of India and guaranteed protection for minorities.

Since taking o� ce, however, Modi has said very little on the subject of tolerance and diversity, even questioning why his government should be called on to com-ment on local matters.

Yet his government has also clearly pro-moted Hindu pride and practices, such as calling for a nationwide ban on cow slaugh-ter and leading an international day of yoga.

Scientists as well as historians have said they are increasingly alarmed by govern-ment attempts to rewrite Indian history by distorting facts about a glorious Hindu past.

This year’s national science conference, an annual gathering of the country’s top brains, devoted an entire session to discussing ancient Indian technology with claims that jumbo air-planes and organ transplants were common in India thousands of years ago. Some said that the Hindu elephant god Ganesh proved that ancients had mastered plastic surgery.

“I fear that we are losing our democracy and replacing it with a Hindu religious au-tocracy,” said molecular biologist PM Bhar-gava, adding that he would be returning a national award in protest. “I would not like to live in a country that has lost its democra-cy and has become a theocratic state.”

Modi’s government and party colleagues have largely remained nonplussed.

Indian Culture Minister Mahesh Sharma suggested that unhappy writers could stop writing if they found the country’s cultural climate not conducive to their work.

“This is as good as saying that intellectu-als will be silenced if they protest,” Romila Thapar, a scholar of ancient India, said in a statement along with 50 other historians.

A day earlier, more than 100 artists also criticised the government for dismissing writers’ and scholars’ concerns and said the government had a responsibility to ac-knowledge public dissatisfaction. l

In this October 6 � le photo, an Indian woman participates in a protest in New Delhi, India against the killing of a Muslim farmer by villagers upon hearing rumors that the family was eating beef, a taboo for many among India’s majority Hindu population AP

SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 1, 2015World8DT

SOUTH ASIA Election violence kills 11 in PakistanAn armed clash between supporters of rival political parties left at least 11 people dead during local government elections in South-ern Pakistan on Saturday, o� cials said. The violence erupted in Khairpur district, northwest of the port city of Karachi, with the two groups exchanging � re.“The two groups belonging to the Pakistan Peoples Party, which rules Sindh province, and the Pakistan Muslim League, headed by a famous spiritual leader Pir Sahab Pagara, clashed with each other just an hour before the end of polling time,” local police o� cial Pir Muhammad Shah told AFP. AFP

ASIA PACIFICSix children among 15 killed in Philippine market � reFifteen people including six children per-ished on Saturday after they were trapped in a burning market in the southern Philip-pines, police said. The victims were sleeping in the padlocked building when the � re, believed to have been triggered by faulty electrical wiring, broke out before dawn, Chief Inspector Joel Tuttuh told AFP. AFP

MIDDLE EASTPalestinian wielding knife shot deadIsraeli security forces shot and killed a Pal-estinian who ran at them with a knife in the occupied West Bank on Saturday, police said. An Israeli police spokeswoman said that at a checkpoint in the northern West Bank a Pal-estinian holding a knife ran toward a security o� cer who called on him to stop. “When he did not heed those calls the security man shot toward him in order to neutralise him and as a result the terrorist was killed,” spokeswoman Luba Samri said. Palestinian medical o� cials said he was 18-years-old. REUTERS

INDIAIndia folk singer arrested over anti-government songA popular folk singer was arrested in south-ern India on Friday for allegedly writing and singing a song that criticised the local gov-ernment over state-owned liquor shops, his lawyer said. Kovan, known in Tamil Nadu for his songs against alcoholism, was arrested overnight at his residence after police found a video of the song allegedly condemning the state’s popular leader, Jayalalithaa Ja-yaram. “Kovan was arrested around 2:30 am because he sang a song and it was uploaded on social media,” Jim Raj Milton, a lawyer for the singer told AFP by phone. AFP

CHINAChina sentences cult leader to life in prisonChina has sentenced the head of what it calls a cult to life in prison on charges including rape and fraud, state news agency Xinhua said on Saturday, continuing a crackdown on what it views as dangerous illegal movements. After a probe lasting more than a year, a court in the southern province of Guangdong on Friday sentenced Wu Zeheng, founder and leader of the Buddhist-inspired Huazang Dharma group, and � ned him 7.15 million yuan, Xinhua cited the court as saying. REUTERS

Romanian nightclub � re leaves 27 dead, 184 injuredn Reuters, Bucharest

A � re in a Bucharest nightclub killed 27 peo-ple and injured 184 during a rock concert that featured � reworks late on Friday, Romanian government o� cials and witnesses said.

In one of the capital’s worst disasters in decades, about 400 people, mostly young adults, stampeded for the only available exit as the club in the basement of a Commu-nist-era sport-shoe factory � lled with smoke.

Several witnesses said there were � re-works inside the club. Colectiv Club’s Face-book page said the show would feature pyro-technic e� ects.

Deputy Interior Minister Raed Arafat said 17 of the 27 dead had yet to be identi� ed and that 146 people remained in hospital.

“Unfortunately, the death toll may change taking into account the severity of their in-juries,” he said after an emergency meeting early on Saturday.

A pillar covered with foam panels and the club’s ceiling went up in � ames and then there was an explosion and heavy smoke, the witnesses said. Many people admitted to hospitals had su� ered burn and smoke inha-lation injuries or were trampled.

TV footage showed police o� cers and par-amedics trying to resuscitate young people ly-ing on the pavement while sirens wailed with more ambulances deployed to the scene.

“There was a stampede of people running out of the (Colectiv) club,” a man who es-caped without shoes told Reuters.

A young woman who was released from the hospital after minor injuries described the club bursting into � ames.

“In � ve seconds the whole ceiling was all on � re. In the next three, we rushed to a single door,” she told television station Antena 3. l

Candles are displayed around a portrait of one young boy who died in a � re at nightclub in Bucharest on October 31 AFP

China faces mounting pressure over maritime claimsn AP, Washington

Pressure on China over its claims to most of the strategic South China Sea went up a couple of notches this week. First the US sent a warship, in its most direct challenge yet to Beijing’s arti� cial island building. Then, over Chinese objections, an interna-tional tribunal ruled it had jurisdiction in a case brought by the Philippines on mari-time claims.

Neither action appeared likely to stop China in its tracks, as it seeks to assert its control over resource-rich waters that it considers vital to its security. Beijing is ex-pected to put a higher priority on what it sees as its strategic interests than its inter-national reputation.

But it could damage China’s e� orts to win more respect on the global stage as it emerg-es as an economic and military power.

The United States, which has had little success to date in its � ve-year e� ort to put diplomatic pressure on China over its un-compromising pursuit of claims to more than 80 percent of the South China Sea, is hoping that makes a di� erence. It wel-comed the tribunal decision and said it ex-pected Beijing to abide by the � nal ruling next year.

Although the tribunal was set up on the basis of a provision of the 1982 UN Conven-tion on the Law of the Sea that both the Philippines and China have rati� ed, China has boycotted the proceedings. On Friday

its Foreign Ministry declared that the rul-ing on jurisdiction was “null and void” and would have no binding e� ect on China.

The Philippine case, which was � led be-fore the tribunal in The Hague in January 2013, contends that China’s massive terri-torial claims are invalid under the conven-tion. The tribunal on Thursday decided it has jurisdiction in the case.

The tribunal will also examine whether a number of Chinese-occupied reefs and shoals — including an arti� cial island that was skirted by a US warship this week in a freedom of navigation maneuver that riled Beijing — do generate, or create a claim to, territorial waters and an economic zone. A US ally, the Philippines, contends that they do not.

“The fact that the tribunal did not reject jurisdiction on anything in the case brought by the Philippines, and could end up ruling against it on all these counts, introduces uncertainty and anxiety for China,” said Bonnie Glaser, senior adviser for Asia at the Center for Strategic and International Stud-ies think tank.

In all, six Asian governments have over-lapping claims in the South China Sea, straddling some of the world’s busiest sea lanes and in areas with rich � shing grounds and potential undersea oil and gas � elds. China’s massive construction to transform at least seven shoals and reefs into islands in the disputed Spratly Islands have ratch-eted up tensions. l

SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 1, 2015World 9

DT

USABillionaire donor backs Rubio for US presidentOne of the wealthiest and most in� uential Republican donors is throwing his support behind the presidential campaign of US Sen-ator Marco Rubio of Florida, the New York Times reported on Friday. Billionaire New York investor Paul Singer sent a letter to dozens of other donors on Friday declaring his support for Rubio in a major blow to the struggling campaign of former Florida Gov-ernor Jeb Bush, the newspaper said. REUTERS

THE AMERICASLargest marijuana seizure ever in ArgentinaTwelve tons of marijuana being smuggled from Paraguay into Argentina aboard a tanker truck were seized Friday in an a� uent suburb of Buenos Aires, o� cials said. The driver, a Paraguayan national, was held for questioning. Daniel Scioli, the governor of Buenos Aires province, called it the “largest seizure in the history” of his country. Scioli will face a con-servative rival, Mauricio Macri, in a run-o� for the Argentine presidency on November 22. AFP

UKCameron likely to spell out EU reform proposals in week of November 9British Prime Minister David Cameron is likely to send details of his proposed reforms of the European Union to fellow EU leaders in the week starting November 9, a spokeswoman said on Friday. Cameron has previously said he planned to spell out his proposals in early November, a key step in his renegotiation push ahead of an in-out referendum on Britain’s EU membership. Cameron plans to hold the referendum before the end of 2017. REUTERS

EUROPEPunch-up at German asylum centre leaves 6 injuredSome 50 people at a German shelter for asy-lum seekers engaged in a violent brawl over-night, hurling chairs and beating each other with table legs, leaving six people injured, police said Saturday. The punch-up, which took place in the northern town of Itzehoe, was the latest illustration of the rising tensions between refugees at the country’s over-stretched reception centres. The dispute broke out during the evening meal on Friday when an Arabic-speaking refugee insulted a group of Kurds, a police statement said. The confronta-tion quickly escalated, drawing in around 50 people who threw tables, chairs and benches and beat each other with table legs. AFP

AFRICAVice president of Congo election commission resignsThe vice president of Democratic Republic of Congo’s election commission resigned on Saturday, a source at the presidency said, throwing the country’s troubled election process into further turmoil. André Mpung-we’s resignation comes just three weeks after the president of the commission, Apol-linaire Malumalu, quit his post for health reasons. The source did not give a reason for Mpungwe’s resignation. REUTERS

ANALYSIS

With Syria deployment, Obama crosses own red linen AP, Washington

Even as President Barack Obama sent US troops back to Iraq and ordered the military to stay in Afghanistan, he insisted Syria would remain o� limits for American ground forces. Now the pres-ident has crossed his own red line.

His deployment of up to 50 US special op-erations troops into northern Syria to assist in the � ght against the Islamic State is the kind of incremental move that has de� ned Obama’s ap-proach to the Middle East in his second term.

While the US military footprint in the region grows, each step is taken on a small scale so as to reassure the public that Obama isn’t plunging the country into another large, open-ended con-� ict.

The strategy may help ease Americans back into the realities of war, but regional experts as well as some of Obama’s political allies say his slow ramp-up may be insu� cient in defeating the fast-moving militants.

“Deploying a handful of US special operations forces to Syria will not change this situation sig-ni� cantly,” Frederic Hof, Obama’s former Syria special adviser, said of Friday’s announcement. “It is a Band-Aid of sorts.”

Sen. Brian Schatz, a Democrat from Obama’s home state of Hawaii, said the latest escalation “is unlikely to succeed in achieving our objective of defeating IS and instead threatens to embroil the United States in Syria’s civil war.”

The military campaign against the Islamic State is nowhere near the size and scope of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. Obama has repeat-edly used the costly and unpopular Iraq war in particular as an example of what he’s tried to avoid in the region.

But the signi� cance of Friday’s announce-ment was more about the location of the deploy-ment, not the number of troops. It marks the � rst time the US has openly sent forces into Syr-ia, expanding the geographic reach of Obama’s military e� orts in the Middle East.

For years, the president has cast the chaos in Syria as exactly the type of situation he was elect-

ed to keep the US military out of. Washington has no partners in the Syrian government and few good options among opposition leaders. There is no ground force that the US can quickly train.

But the crisis has become unavoidable for Obama, particularly since the Islamic State grew out of the chaos and crossed the border into Iraq. What the president could once cast as a civil war that needed to be solved by Syrians has threatened to upend the whole region.

Obama’s � rst move was to deploy a few hun-dred US troops to Iraq to train and assist local forces in the � ght against the Islamic State. It marked a return to Iraq for the US military after the 2011 withdrawal, which was a ful� llment of Obama’s campaign promise to end the war he inherited from President George W. Bush.

But over the past year, the number of US troops in Iraq has expanded to about 3,300. In another escalation, the US also began launching airstrikes against the Islamic State in both Iraq and Syria.

Despite killing as many as 12,000 militants, the bombing campaign has not signi� cantly weakened the Islamic State’s capacity to hold territory, and the group’s ranks have been re-plenished by foreign � ghters and others.

Obama had hoped the strikes in Syria would be complimented by a ground force trained by Americans elsewhere in the region. But the train-and-equip program failed spectacularly and the president abandoned it earlier this fall.

The new US deployment into Syria essentially replaces that e� ort.

The decision allows Obama — who has been under pressure by the Pentagon and internation-al partners to make progress against the Islamic State — to contend he’s seeking new ways to ad-dress the crisis. The White House also argued the president wasn’t backtracking on his commit-ment to keep US troops out of Syria because the presence was narrow in size and scope.

But to some, the White House appears to be more concerned about being able to keep that political promise than in taking action that could have a more substantial impact in resolving the

situation on the ground.“War has a harsh reality in that in order to

have an e� ect you have to be present,” said Jer-ry Hendrix, a retired Navy � ight o� cer and the director of the Defense Strategies and Assess-ments Program at the Center for a New Ameri-can Security.

The White House put no timetable on how long the American forces would stay in Syria, though Obama has previously said he expects the campaign against the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria to last beyond his presidency.

The escalation of the Pentagon’s campaign against the Islamic State follows Obama’s an-nouncement two weeks ago that he was re-versing course and keeping American troops in Afghanistan beyond next year.

That means the president who inherited two military con� icts will likely hand his successor three. l

BREAKING VIEWS

China’s two-child policy delivers wrong baby boomChina’s Communist leaders have delivered a baby boom, but not the one they are hoping for. Diaper and dairy stocks jumped on news that the state will in future permit all couples to have two children. Though the birth rate may inch up as a result, it won’t have much impact on China’s ageing population and shrinking workforce.

The decision to relax the one-child policy after 36 years will a� ect roughly 90 million Chinese families, according to the government. Investors promptly rushed to � nd companies which would bene� t from an in� ux of infants. Shares in baby formula maker Beingmate rose 10 percent in Shenzhen, while French dairy gi-ant Danone hit a � ve-month high. Shares in Chi-na Child Care, the Hong Kong group known for

its Prince Frog baby shampoo and bath prod-ucts, bounced 22 percent.

Yet the excitement is premature. Rural fam-ilies, ethnic minorities, and couples that are both only children were already exempt from the existing rule. And previous changes to the policy have produced little response. In 2013, the authorities allowed couples where one par-ent is an only child to have a second baby. But of the 11 million couples that were eligible, only 1.5 million applied, according to state media. In wealthier, urban Beijing, the number was just 30,000.

The � gures underscore the scale of China’s demographic challenge as it faces slowing eco-nomic growth and a shrinking labour pool. To-

day, over 67 percent of the population is aged between 15 and 59, according to data from the United Nations. But by 2050, that number will shrink to 50 percent, while over a third of the population will be over 60.

Convincing educated, urban women to have larger families will be the hardest. In Shanghai the fertility rate – the average number of chil-dren born to each woman – is 0.7, well below the national rate of 1.7. The soaring cost of living in cities is one big reason why an increasing num-ber of women choose not to have children at all. It will be harder to encourage Chinese mothers than it was to prevent them from giving birth. l

Source: REUTERS

REUTERS

World10DT


UN draft resolution asks UN to refer North Korea to ICCn AP, United Nations

The European Union and Japan circulated a draft UN resolution Friday that condemns “gross” human rights violations in North Ko-rea and encourages the UN Security Council to refer the reclusive Asian nation to the In-ternational Criminal Court.

The draft General Assembly resolution encourages the council to consider targeted sanctions against those “who appear to be most responsible” for acts that a ground-breaking UN commission of inquiry report early last year said “may constitute crimes against humanity.”

Marzuki Darusman, the special rappor-teur on human rights in North Korea, put the spotlight on forced labour in North Korea as a human rights violation in a report to the General Assembly Wednesday that also cited summary executions, arbitrary detention, torture, massive ill-treatment of individuals in political prison camps and severe discrim-ination based on social class.

The draft resolution, obtained by The As-sociated Press, strongly urges the North Ko-rean government to immediately end human rights violations, close prison camps and tackle the root causes leading to people � ee-ing the country.

The 193-member General Assembly is expected to vote on the resolution in December. l

White House says will not release emails between Obama, Clintonn Reuters, Washington/NewYork

The White House will not allow the imme-diate release of emails exchanged between President Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton from when she was secretary of state, a sen-ior administration o� cial said on Friday.

The emails may be withheld until after Oba-ma leaves o� ce under the Presidential Records Act, according to the White House, a law that governs public access to the president’s records.

The number of emails involved has not been made public. The White House said Obama and Clinton, who is now running as a Democrat to succeed him in o� ce in 2017, exchanged emails “on occasion.”

A federal judge has ordered the State De-partment to publicly release all of Clinton’s emails from her four years as the nation’s top diplomat between 2009 and 2013 after a Vice News reporter sued the department under freedom of information laws.

The State Department is releasing them in monthly batches through to next January; another 4,400 were released on Friday. They range from dull exchanges on scheduling matters to information that the government has redacted from public release because it is classi� ed and could harm national security if disclosed.

It was not immediately clear whether US

District Judge Emmet Sullivan would agree with the US executive branch’s decision, which was � rst reported by the New York Times, that Clinton’s emails with Obama did not have to be released under his order. The State Department declined to comment.

Steven Aftergood, the director of the Feder-ation of American Scientists’ Project on Gov-ernment Secrecy, said that “email messages to the president are potentially exempt” from release under freedom of information laws. However, federal judges have occasionally ruled against this exemption, Aftergood said.

Ryan James, a lawyer representing Vice News in the Clinton email lawsuit before Judge Sullivan, said he planned to challenge every “withholding or redaction” that does not meet the standards of freedom of information laws.

Clinton has spent months defending her de-cision to use only a private email account con-nected to a server in her New York home for her work as secretary of state, an arrangement that � rst came to light in March. She returned the emails to the department late last year.

The Federal Bureau of Investigation has taken the server Clinton used while secretary of state, along with other computer hardware belonging to her, to examine whether sensi-tive government information was mishan-dled, which can be a crime in some circum-stances, or exposed. l

Refugees and migrants cross by boat the Aegean sea from Turkey, to reach the Greek island of Lesbos, on October 31 AFP

INSIDE

The two attacks yesterday that left one killed and three seriously injured make clear the extent of the threat that militants pose to the nation.

That the targets were two publishers of the work of slain writer Avijit Roy, together with two more secular and free-thinking bloggers,

leaves no room for doubt as to the mind-set of the perpetrators and their motive for their murderous attacks.

We may not know precisely who committed the attacks, but we know, beyond any shadow of doubt, that they must have been Islamist militants, striking yet another blow against Bangladesh’s proud history of secularism and free-thinking, in their e� orts to silence secular voices and strike terror into the heart of the entire nation.

We can no longer remain complacent in the face of this threat. Enough is enough. The militants have made it abundantly clear that they are playing for keeps and that they are in it for the long haul.

It is us or them. The soul of the country is at stake.Make no mistake, we are now in the midst of a battle for the very existence

of this country as the free and independent nation we fought for and proudly built up over the past four decades.

The good news is that the militants and their fellow travelers who would want to turn Bangladesh into a religious theocracy and will stop at nothing to achieve their goal, are nothing more than a handful, reviled by the vast majority.

A united and determined Bangladeshi people will face down this threat. We have faced down far worse in the past and can do so again now. We will prevail.

We are not afraid and we will not be cowed. But we need to take this threat seriously. Not just the government and law enforcement, but every one of us who does not wish to see Bangladesh go down the dark path to militancy and theocracy.

We must pour all of our resources into battling this scourge, and we cannot rest until it has been vanquished. We must all unite against this murderous and barbarous foe and together ensure that it is defeated. The time for complacency is over.

We can’t say that we haven’t been warned.

It is us or them. The soul of the country is at stakeBe heard

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Bangladesh faces an existential crisis

11D

TEditorialSUNDAY, NOVEMBER 1, 2015

BIGSTOCK

Why doesn’t India take a stand on ISIL?

Stuck on the same roadThe movement of tra� c sketches a rough anatomy of our society, re� ecting our greatest strengths and weaknesses. Our greatest strength lies in our adaptability and patience, while our lack of respect for other human beings is our greatest weakness

PAGE 12

PAGE 13

PAGE 14

Sel� e meets hel� e But what would be appropriate for the video recording as distinct from the still-shot sel� e? How about hel� e? That is, in onomatopoeic e� ect, as close to hell� re as we can get

There is little evidence that India is trying to ride two horses, but reluctance to choose a side may be negative for the country’s desire to be taken seriously as a responsible global power. Still, many are asking themselves why India, which regularly experiences terrorist attacks, will not show global responsibility and leadership in the � ght against a terror such as ISIL?

Opinion12DT


n MJ Akbar

How many elections has the mobile phone witnessed? It began to come into its own about a decade ago, when inexpensive calls and SMS

expanded the universe of individual commu-nication to an exceptional level. But its pow-er to intervene signi� cantly in the democrat-ic debate matured only with the widespread availability of the smartphone, and its most potent instrument, the video camera.

The sel� e is a benign aspect of the mobile camera. The video ampli� ed this pleasure, eliminating distance brie� y but powerfully by transmitting family or friendship experi-ence. It did not take too long before mobile video exploded into a weapon of mass vigilance. Yet another “demtech” revolution has taken place as technology has reinvented democracy once again.

Every such phenomenon needs a name, and “demtech” seems an appropriate inven-tion for the impact of technology on democ-racy. I hope, naturally, that the word catches on. But what would be appropriate for the video recording as distinct from the still-shot sel� e? How about hel� e? That is, in onomato-poeic e� ect, as close to hell� re as we can get -- and the mobile video is lighting � res from hell below the feet of politicians.

Our politicians, across all parties, have still not fully grasped the meaning of life in the focus of a 24-hour camera. I have seen,

during the present Bihar campaign, citizens rudely displaced by the speeding convoys of thoughtless candidates, recording their revenge instantly on their mobiles. This revenge is party neutral, and will certainly play some part on polling day. But this na-iveté, to use only the most charitable word, of politicians is not limited to anonymous candidates destined for anonymous careers. Even leaders don’t get it.

It would be unusual if nothing unusual hap-pened in a Bihar Assembly election. But even by the dramatic standards of discourse and behaviour set by the likes of Laloo Prasad Ya-dav, the video-sight of a tantrik baba kissing a bemused Nitish Kumar on the cheeks was fruity to the point of bizarre. Nitish Kumar

is a sober leader, not given to maverick gim-micks. This video was taken in the middle of 2014, when he had not recovered from mas-sive defeat in the general elections, and was probably in need of any kind of psychological reassurance, even from a chap with voodoo propinquities. But the relevant point is a bit askance of what he did.

Nitish Kumar had absolutely no idea that there was a candid camera in the vicinity and he was being recorded. He was on a private, or even secret, visit to someone who could, hopefully, predict a better future at a time when everything was in shambles. Ergo: Everyone present in that room was someone whom Nitish Kumar implicitly trusted. And yet, one individual violated that trust.

Which, in turn, brings us to a dubious aspect of the hel� e syndrome. Trust is going to be even more vulnerable to temptation. Trust has always been at a premium in poli-tics. After all, the history of politics is replete with betrayal; and there is no shortage of contemporary evidence either. But when betrayal is verbal, through a leaked story perhaps, you can always limit damage by fudge or denial.

How do you deny a camera’s revelations? There is a restriction on mobile phones in many VIP o� ces because of security reasons since these machines can be converted into triggers for devices. Perhaps restrictions will be extended because VIPs want their conver-sations to remain secure as well.

The most encouraging fact about democ-racy is that it never gets easier. It is not the phone alone that has become smart; but so has the voter. Indeed, of what use is the smartphone without a smart voter? The elec-torate, for instance, has perfected the art of telling the candidate what he or she wants to hear during a campaign: Why risk displeas-ure when it is so much safer to tell the truth via the voting machine?

The phrase “will-o’-the-wisp” has gone out of fashion, for it belongs to an era when England was still a lot of fog sitting on marsh. It means, literally, a phosphorescent sort of light � oating through marshy ground; and, metaphorically, something that is di� cult or impossible to catch. It is not only candidates who get this will-o’-the-wisp treatment. The large army of third party interventionists is subject to it as well. Paradoxically, this means that it might be safer to predict on the basis of a collective reality than individual enquiry; from the mood or behaviour of an election rally rather than a chat with a person who ends up sparring with his interlocutor.

What should worry politicians, though, is that we are only on the cusp of a mobile phone’s capabilities. If its existing ability is causing disarray, then the fun has only begun. l

MJ Akbar is an Indian journalist. He is the founder of The Sunday Guardian. This article was originally written for The Sunday Guardian.

But what would be appropriate for the video recording as distinct from the still-shot sel� e? How about hel� e? That is, in onomatopoeic e� ect, as close to hell� re as we can get

Smartphone cameras are changing the game of politics BIGSTOCK

The rise and triumph of DemtechSel� e meets hel� e

Opinion 13D


n Namia Akhtar

Patience is our nation’s greatest strength -- palpable through the movement of tra� c and the frus-tration that comes along with it. It

is patience and forbearance that I observe every day while commuting.

As a regular commuter in a crammed public bus, I � nd patience to be my every-day companion. The � ow of tra� c and the haphazard gridlock are only small parts of the behavioural pattern and the disposition of the dwellers of Dhaka city. On my daily ride to work in a fully packed public bus, the social class disparity unfolds before my eyes -- the class inequality is made explicit in the selection of an individual’s mode of transport.

While the stream of vehicles cannot be used to analyse society as a whole, nonethe-less, it partially re� ects our disposition, our apathy, and the symbols of pride and elitism that are re� ected in the way of travel. Car ownership, an emblem of the aspiring mid-dle-class and elites, also serves as a source of pride, as a source of callous indi� erence to the plight of the non-car-owning commuters.

However, the insensitivity is not repre-sentative of entire car-owning population. There is a minority of private vehicle owners who carry out their social responsibility by providing lifts to their colleagues and acquaintances. Only 5% of people commute in private cars, using up 70% of road space. If the majority of car owners performed their social responsibility, tra� c jams would be signi� cantly reduced.

Apparent within the congestion is class inequality. A portrait of aloofness and insen-sitivity of the ambitious middle class and urban elites towards the wider society is mir-rored on the windows of cars. Car windows draw a barrier symbolic of class separation, of a sharp contrast between the privileged and the deprived. When the starving faces of hawkers knock at the windows in desper-ation to sell their products, they are hardly noticed by most passengers.

The knocking of hawkers and beggars at the glass windows distorts the harmony and the peace of the urban elite -- it breaks the rhythm of their music and of their coziness. There are some who roll down their car win-dows with profound kindness, while there are others who pretend to not even listen to the rumblings of the ravenous stomachs.

The invisible glass also shields the passen-gers inside in comfort against the majority of commuters travelling in public buses in sweat-drenched clothes, clinging to the person next to them. The plight of people commuting in buses hardly enters the mind of the privileged.

Despite the class di� erences, or modes of transportation, a connection is established at a super� cial level, connecting people of di� erent social classes against the cause of transportation gridlock. This solidarity is the result of patience and endurance, as

commuters envision a time when the puzzle of motorised and non-motorised vehicle entanglement will be solved, and they will reach their destinations.

This is a re� ection of a connection to our distant past of once belonging to the peasant class. Farmers and peasants usually lead a monotonous life, yet they live on through the echoes of a distant dream of a prosper-ous future for their children. While I sit in the congestion, I see the portrait of a patient farmer in the sweat of commuters, whose unfathomable fortitude fails in making him or her despondent at the notion of travelling every day to work in overcrowded public buses.

The public bus is a platform for the in-tegration of a wide range of classes; people belonging to lower social classes often sit next to individuals from the educated middle class. The barriers separating the classes

evaporate for a brief moment while travel-ling, allowing space for interaction.

Interaction takes the form of casual talks as well as rude exchanges as passengers argue with one another over trivial matters. Public buses become a marketplace for hawk-ers selling a variety of items, each bus for a brief moment transformed into a podium for the hawkers’ creative product adver-tisements, mostly through well-rehearsed rhythmic intonations.

Ear-piercing horns resonate in the air, as if such boisterous noise would supernatu-rally evoke the genie, and free the road from chaotic congestion. Blame-games become an active sport during this moment, when one driver blames another for causing the chaos; participation in the chaos is a boost to the ego.

Car horns are considered rude and im-polite in civilised parts of the world. Never

for once did I hear a vehicle horn during my long years abroad, but in Bangladesh, blaring horns is a display of masculinity.

The exhibition of masculinity also takes place through patriarchal exercises in public buses, when sexist men do not give up seats reserved for women and mindlessly justify their decision. Gender discrimination is prevalent -- bus drivers do not pick up female passengers during peak hours, and female passengers frequently become victims of sin-ister ogling. The deeply harboured sexism is also evident through the absence of women on the roads and walkways.

The movement of tra� c sketches a rough anatomy of our society, re� ecting our great-est strengths and weaknesses. Our greatest strength lies in our adaptability and patience, while our lack of respect for other human beings is our greatest weakness.

Tra� c congestion would not have been as severe an issue if we had empathy. People with vehicles would have helped those with-out then, and the transportation businesses would have given their best service to com-muters. Commuters, then, would not have to su� er due to monopoly imposed on some bus routes to ensure pro� t maximisation for certain in� uential political personnel. Only through nurturing these values can our country progress in all dimensions, creating a more equal, respectful, and just society. l

Namia Akhtar is a Research Associate at the Bangladesh Enterprise Institute.

Stuck on the same road

The movement of tra� c sketches a rough anatomy of our society, re� ecting our greatest strengths and weaknesses. Our greatest strength lies in our adaptability and patience, while our lack of respect for other human beings is our greatest weakness

In Dhaka, patience is key SYED ZAKIR HOSSAIN

We are all in this jam together

Opinion14DT


n Geir Heierstad

USA wants India to participate in the � ght against ISIL, instead meets India’s resistance. Meanwhile, Rus-sia’s Vladimir Putin opposes the US

and advocates the importance of supporting Syria’s Bashar al-Assad in the � ght against ISIL.

There is little evidence that India is trying to ride two horses, but reluctance to choose a side may be negative for the country’s desire to be taken seriously as a responsible global power.

Still, many are asking themselves why India, which regularly experiences terrorist attacks, will not show global responsibility and leadership in the � ght against a terror such as ISIL?

India and the US are creating ever more arenas for co-operation. After Barack Obama

and Narendra Modi revived what they call Strategic and Commercial Dialogue earlier this year, the � rst meeting under this um-brella recently took place. The US � elded its Secretary John Kerry, while Foreign Minister Sushma Swaraj represented India. One result of this conversation was to maintain a public condemnation of ISIL as a global security threat. Beyond this, India did not want to contribute to US coalition to combat ISIL.

Herein lies a source of concern in terms of India’s willingness and ability to take a stand and choose a side. It may not be enough that India will increase its commitment to train UN peace-keeping forces. However, India and the US co-operate and support each other, increasingly, in various areas.

India and the US share the same view on Afghanistan’s future, the need to combat terrorism globally, the necessity to achieve a common climate agreement in Paris later this year, and much more. These important signals clarify a common understanding of key challenges facing the world.

At the same time, they also point towards solutions based on what they call democrat-ic values and a belief in taking down trade barriers. It is currently di� cult to imagine an India that could come to similar joint state-ments with either Russia or China.

Nevertheless, an overriding concern is increasingly expressed: Can and will India truly contribute, when global leadership really is required? And who de� nes what is considered global leadership? Or, to take a topical challenge, why would India not help

� ght ISIL? Especially because India is also a victim of terror committed under black and other � ags.

Two answers stand out. Firstly, India does not risk distancing themselves more from Russia (and China) than what they have already done. Especially economic, but also historical, relations make it important for India to keep the two countries close.

Second, the US and India have two very di� erent approaches to how terrorism should be fought at home. US works against radicalisation and has a special focus on minority groups who are considered at risk. India does not focus on minority groups in the same way.

Instead, they focus on speci� c terrorist threats and the presence of police and coun-ter-terrorism units in exposed areas. The US tries to � ght the causes of extremism, while India accepts the existence of extremism and would rather limit the possible consequences and injuries. The starting point for talking about the global � ght against terror is thus very di� erent.

Still, the US and India agree on an increas-ing number of � elds. This, in itself, is not a given and that they do not share the world-view on a wide range of areas should come as a surprise. Disagreements concerning how to deal with ISIL does not reveal the role India seeks in shaping the world of tomorrow. l

Geir Heierstad is the Research Director at Norwegian Institute for Urban and Regional Research in Oslo, Norway.

Why doesn’t India take a stand on ISIL?

ISIL requires global counter-attack REUTERS

It is high time India steps up her game in the � ght against terrorism

There is little evidence that India is trying to ride two horses, but reluctance to choose a side may be negative for the country’s desire to be taken seriously as a responsible global power. Still, many are asking themselves why India, which regularly experiences terrorist attacks, will not show global responsibility and leadership in the � ght against a terror such as ISIL?

15D

TBusinessSUNDAY, NOVEMBER 1, 2015

Experts: Good governance key to implementation of SDGsGood governance is the centre in implementing Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) for Bangladesh, say experts. PAGE 16

Oil industry slipping into the red as outlook dimsThe oil sector is slipping into the red after years of fat pro� ts as the steep slump in oil prices shows little sign of ending, with this quarter shaping up to be the worst since the downturn started. PAGE 17

Eurozone exits de� ation but pressure for ECB boost persistsEurozone in� ation rose to zero percent and out of negative territory in October, o� cial data showed Friday, but the level is still low and will press the European Central Bank to pump up its stimulus. PAGE 18

Capital market snapshot: Past WeekDSE

Broad Index 4,564.5 -1.8% ▼

Index 1,092.3 -1.9% ▼

30 Index 1,726.0 -2.1% ▼

Turnover in Mn Tk 17,568.4 30.9% ▲

Turnover in Mn Volume 515.0 39.0% ▲

CSEAll Share Index 13,958.3 -1.7% ▼

30 Index 12,368.0 -1.1% ▼

Selected Index 8,491.6 -1.7% ▼

Turnover in Mn Tk 1,238.2 3.4% ▲

Turnover in Mn Volume 38.1 14.4% ▲

INSIDE

NBR plans three-day winter tax fair this monthn Tribune Report

National Board of Revenue is planning to organise a three-day income tax fair from November 19 in seven divisional headquar-ters including Dhaka where the event will be held in two locations.

The event has been styled as “Winter Tax Fair,” which will be organised for the � rst time in Bangladesh.

Usually, the NBR holds week-long na-tional income tax fairs across the country on September 16-22 every year. O� cials said the winter edition of income tax fair had been introduced as the NBR saw a huge interest among taxpayers in such events.

Besides, during the September fair � -nance minister gave an advice to the reve-nue board to organise a winter fair.

The NBR now awaits � nance minister’s approval to a proposal of the fair. After hav-

ing approval, the tax authorities would start taking preparations for the fair, o� cials said.

According to the plan, the winter tax fair will take place in Dhaka O� cers Club prem-ises and in the income tax zone–9 com-missioner’s o� ce. In other divisional headquarters - Chittagong, Khulna, Ra-jshahi, Sylhet, Barisal and Rangpur - the fair will be organised at the respective income tax commissioner’s o� ces.

The fair will provide one-stop services including registration of electronic taxpayers identi� cation number (eTIN), submission of income tax returns and online payment facilities.

During the nationwide fair in September, the NBR collected Tk2,035.32 crore as in-come tax and received 161,000 income tax returns. The week-long fair provided ser-vice to around 758,000 visitors across the country. l

LDCs exempted from paying patent drugs royalty till 2032n Sheikh Shahariar Zaman

Bangladesh and other least developed coun-tries would not need to pay royalty for pro-ducing patent drug till 2032, said o� cials.

The trading nations under the World Trade Organisation decided to extend the transition period of pharmaceuticals prod-ucts for the LDCs.

The right to produce patent drug free by the LDCs was scheduled to expire by the end of this year.

“It’s a big achievement. We’ve not only extended the time for 17 years but also secured additional protection for the poor countries,” Shameem Ahsan, Bangladesh ambassador to Geneva, told the Dhaka Tribune.

Bangladesh is the coordinator for the LDCs and led the negotiations with other countries in Geneva where the WTO head-quarters is located.

“We insisted that it was important for the LDCs’ public health systems. We contin-ued negotiations for more than six months at the delegation level to reach the con-clusion,” said Ahsan, who is representing Bangladesh as the coordinator of the LDCs.

The delegation-level decisions will be submitted to TRIPS Council and General Council of WTO for approval.

“We expect to complete both the levels by the end of November,” he said. Ambas-sador said with the extension of time, the LDCs would enjoy the royalty exemption for the longest-ever period.

Under the new agreement, the poor countries get waiver from TRIPS Article 70.8 and 70.9.

The ambassadors of all the member countries and civil society members were supportive of the LDCs demand.

LDCs are the most vulnerable and poor-

est segment of the international community. According to the United Nations, more

than 70% of the LDC population lives on less than $2 per day and an estimated 252m people live with hunger.

World Bank data from 2014 reports that only 36% of least developed countries have

access to improved sanitation facilities while 68% have access to improved drink-ing water source.

As of 2012, two thirds of people in LDCs lacked access to electricity.

In 2014, GNI per capita for LDCs was $915, compared to $55,200 of the United States.

In 2001, the Doha Declaration on TRIPS and Public Health, which exempted LDCs from pharmaceutical products patenting until January 1, 2016, had a hugely positive impact in improving access to a� ordable treatment.

The noncommunicable disease is anoth-er growing challenge for LDCs as its preva-lence increases and treatments are simply una� ordable, especially as most of the medical expenses in LDCs are borne “outof-pocket”. l

‘We insisted that it was important for the LDCs’ public health systems. We continued negotiations for more than six months at the delegation level to reach the conclusion’

Business16DT


DCCI for quick business regulatory reformsn Tribune Report

The Dhaka Chamber of Commerce and Indus-try (DCCI) has called upon the government to execute business regulatory reforms quickly in order to brighten the country’s image and ensure business environment for attracting foreign and local investments.

DCCI President Hossain Khaled made the call at a media brie� ng yesterday.

The business tycoon was expressing his reaction on “Doing Business 2016: Measur-ing Regulatory Quality and E� ciency” – the World Bank’s � agship report on business friendliness of the world’s economies where Bangladesh slid to 174th out of 189 countries.

The country fell behind two places from 172th in 2015.

“The government took up a lot of reform initiatives, but many of which remained un-implemented. That is why we slipped from the ranking,” Khaled said, demanding quick implementation of reforms.

If Bangladesh fails to address the issues identi� ed by the World Bank, its competi-tiveness in local and global trade and com-merce will be hampered and FDI won’t land here, he added.

“But above all, we have to ease regulato-

ry framework and reduce procedural delays as regards getting business licence, and if it is done, new entrepreneurs will venture into business here in the country.”

Recently, Bangladesh has graduated to a lower-middle income country and aims to get the middle-income status by 2021, and for achieving the goal, the country’s ranking needs to be advanced, said the DCCI boss.

Getting new electricity connection here re-quires on an average 404 days, which in� ates the cost of doing businesses while property reg-istration takes 244 days that shoots up the cost.

Power generation has increased while its outage reduced, he said, urging the govern-ment to expedite new electricity connection to the industries to increase production and generate more employment.

Bangladesh needs to reduce the number of export documents to 7 from 12. In China, it requires a set of 7 such documents where-as in India it needs 3, Khlaed said, proposing online document submission system while registration and licencing for business.

The trade body also blamed the Board of Investment (BoI) for the declining trend of doing business in the country.

In reply to a question, the DCCI president said: “I do not see any e� ective activities of

BoI. If it does its duties properly, local and foreign direct investments will increase in the country.”

“We want to see more proactive role of the trade facilitator.”

The Doing Business Report 2016, the World Bank’s � agship report on the business friendliness of the world’s economies, was released on Wednesday. The report found that Bangladesh’s global ranking has slipped in ease of doing business, standing at 174th position among 189 nations.

According to the report of WB and Inter-national Finance Corporation, of 10 indica-tors, Bangladesh slipped down to � ve and remained unchanged in � ve.

For starting a business, Bangladesh’s rank slipped to 117 in 2016 from 115 the year before.

As regards power connection, the country is the lowest performer among the surveyed economies, coming 189th. For registering property, the country slipped into the last place from its previous position of 188th.

For enforcing contracts, the country’s ranking remained unchanged near the bot-tom of the pile, at 188.

Among South Asian countries, India ranked 130th, Pakistan 138th, Sri Lanka 107th, Nepal 99th and the Maldives 128th. l

Experts: Good governance key to implementation of SDGsn Tribune Report

Good governance is the centre in implement-ing Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) for Bangladesh, say experts.

They have also identi� ed other challenges like promoting peace and justice, reducing inequality, strong institution, tackling cli-mate change and quality data in implement-ing SDGs.

The experts were speaking at a dialogue on National Level Implementation Challeng-es of 2030 Agenda, jointly arranged by Centre for Policy Dialogue (CPD), Southern Voice on Post-MDG International Development Goals and the Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung (FES), Bangladesh in the city yesterday.

Under SDGs adopted by the United Na-tions in September this year in New York, 15-year implementation period of 17 goals and 169 targets will come into e� ect on 1 January next year.

Presiding over the event, CPD Board of Trustees member and Founder Chairperson of BRAC Sir Fazle Hasan Abed said, “I personally think it is a citizen agenda.. not the govern-ment and civil society agenda. Citizen Agenda means citizen needs to know what it is and what needs to be achieved in next 15 years.”

To publicise the agenda, he suggested for introducing SDGs in the secondary education.

Picking upthe goal 16of SDGs of promot-ing peaceful and inclusive societies for sus-tainable development, provide access to jus-tice for all and build e� ective, accountable and inclusive institutions at all levels for im-plementation challenge for Bangladesh, he said,“I think this is very important.”

President of the Inter-Parliamentary Un-ion (IPU) Saber Hossain Chowdhury laid em-

phasis on framing a national development plan for creating the pathway to achieve the goals and targets.

He said reducing disparity, tackling cli-mate change, political will and governance are the main challenges. He said the goal 16 is the accelerator to achieve other goals.

Former Finance Minister M Syeduzzaman said good governance, strengthening institu-tion and local government are the main chal-lenges in achieving MDGs.

Former � nance adviser to the caretaker government Mirza Azizul Islam recommend-ed giving priority in implementing SDGs.

“Achieving all the targets in SDGs is not possible,” he said adding that Bangladesh should � gure out which one is rational for implementation in its context.

Planning Minister AHM Mustafa Kamal expressed his commitment to address the

challenges pointed out in the dialogue. Director of the International Centre for

Climate and Development (ICCAD) at the Independent University Saleemul Huq said combating climate change is a global chal-lenge.“You cannot do anything without ad-dressing climate change.”

UN Resident Coordinator and UNDP Res-ident Representative in Bangladesh Robert D Watkins said strengthening local govern-ment will really make a di� erence in imple-menting SDGs.

ODA (O� cial Development Assistance) is a decimal part of overall funding of SDGs as do-mestic resource mobilisation is most important for � nancing SDGs implementation, he said.

Presenting the keynote paper, CPD Distin-guished Fellow Debapriya Bhattacharya put forth management, coordination and leader-ship issues for SDG implementation. l

Planning Minister AHM Mostafa Kamal speaks at a dialogue on ‘National Level Implementation Challenges of 2030 Agenda’ in Brac Centre Inn, Dhaka yesterday DHAKA TRIBUNE

IMF urges US Fed to be cautious in hiking ratesn AFP, Washington

The International Monetary Fund on Friday urged the Federal Reserve to be cautious on raising rates, warning that tightening too fast could force it to reverse and possibly lose credibility.

In a review of the world’s top industrial economies ahead of the November 15-16 G-20 summit in Antalya, Turkey, the IMF said the United States and the global economy face risks tied to the impending rate hike, which would be the � rst in more than nine years.

The Federal Reserve on Wednesday put o� the decision, but pointed to the distinct possibil ity that it could happen in December.

While a rate rise would represent the Fed’s con� dence in US economic growth, the IMF warned that it could happen “amid large un-certainty about slack in labor markets, the neutral policy rate and the path for in� ation and wages.”

It said global � nancial stability is often in the balance, given that an increase in the Fed’s benchmark rates could spark “abrupt” shifts in global investment portfolios and high market volatility. l

Syeduzzaman: BBS data is politically motivatedn Tribune Report

Former Finance Minister M S yeduzzaman has raised question about data quality of Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics (BBS)—the national statistical agency.

“Data produced by the BBS is not depend-able and may be politically motivated,” he said at a dialogue on National Level Imple-mentation Challenges of 2030 Agenda ar-ranged by Centre for Policy Dialogue (CPD) in the city yesterday.

“It is important to make BBS independent and autonomous and to keep it out of politi-cal in� uence.”

In reply to him, Planning Minister AHM Mustafa Kamal, who was present at the event, o� ered outsourcing for producing data.

“I often faced this question. They don’t believe in our method. But I am empowered to work with you all.”

Media earlier reported that a lower than-expected provisional estimate of the coun-try’s economic growth for the � scal year 2014, done by the BBS, evoked deep dissatis-faction in the planning ministry.

The government revised its economic growth target downward to 6.5% from 7.2% because of long spell of political unrest cen-tering on January 5, 2014 parliamentary polls.

According to BBS, GDP growth stood at 6.01% in FY14. At that time, World Bank (WB) has projected 5.4% GDP growth in FY14 as the economy su� ered a loss of US$1.4bn due to the January 5, 2014 poll related political turmoil.

Asian Development Bank ADB) forecasted 5.7%, International Monetary Fund below 6% during the period. l

Business 17D


Oil industry slipping into the redn Reuters, London

The oil sector is slipping into the red after years of fat pro� ts as the steep slump in oil prices shows little sign of ending, with this quarter shaping up to be the worst since the downturn started.

The world’s top oil companies have strug-gled to cope with the halving of oil prices since June 2014. They have cut spending repeatedly, made thousands of job cuts and scrapped projects.

The lower-for-longer outlook for oil prices took its heaviest toll yet in the third quarter as oil companies again reported a dramatic drop in income. Some saw results swing into the loss column, and the industry had bil-lions of dollars in impairment charges.

“This downcycle poses signi� cant chal-lenges,” Je� Sheets, ConocoPhillips’ chief � -nancial o� cer, told investors on a conference call after the company posted a loss.

With 10 of the top 20 European and North

American oil and gas producers having re-ported third-quarter results, seven have posted losses.

These include Royal Dutch Shell, Italy’s Eni and in North America Occidental Petro-leum Corp, Anadarko Petroleum Corp, Hess Corp, Suncor and ConocoPhillips.

Shell posted a third-quarter loss of $7.4bn on Thursday, hit by a massive $8.2bn charge after halting its exploration in Alaska’s Arctic sea and a costly oil sands project in Canada.

Downward revisionAbout half of Shell’s charges re� ected a down-ward revision of the long-term oil and gas price outlook, Chief Executive Ben van Beurden said. Net pro� t excluding identi� ed items col-lapsed to $1.8bn from $5.85bn a year ago.

Eni posted a net loss of $1bn and France’s Total had a sharp drop in pro� t, though its re-sults were stronger than expected.

ConocoPhillips, the largest US independ-ent oil and gas company, reported a quarterly

loss of $1.1bn and lowered its 2015 spending target 7%.

Smaller companies also showed signs of pain. Marathon Oil Corp slashed its quarterly dividend 76% to preserve cash as it tries to weather the slump.

“The sector is rapidly moving into the red,” Je� eries oil and gas equities analyst Ja-son Gammel said.

“It is slowly going to claw its way back into the black through cost-reduction e� orts, but that will take time. It will depend on price movements, but it will take time to get all these cost savings through the system.”

Even after cost e� ciencies and spending cuts, European oil companies on average will require an oil price of around $78 a barrel in 2016 to cover spending and dividend pay-ments, according to Je� eries estimates be-fore the latest results.

Analysts polled by Reuters expect Brent crude to average a much lower $58.60 a bar-rel in 2016. l

Men work on an oil rig at Sinopec’s Shengli oil � eld in Dongying, Shandong province REUTERS

Atiur: RTGS to boost business activitiesn Tribune Report

Bangladesh Bank Governor Atiur Rahman said Real Time Gross Settlement (RTGS) will accelerate business activities as well as en-sure good governance.

The system will facilitate check clearing of large amount instantly which will have posi-tive impact on the country’s economy, he said while addressing a seminar on “Development of payment systems in Bangladesh: payment and remittance through Real Time Gross Set-tlement” presenting as the chief guest.

Bangladesh Bank in association with Asian Development Bank jointly held the seminar at a city hotel in the capital yesterday.

Bangladesh Bank Deputy Governor Nazneen Sultana chaired the event while Bank and Financial Institutions Division Secretary

M Aslam Alam attended it as special guest. The government banks are still lagging be-

hind despite providing digital services, said Alam. He hoped that all state-owned banks will be fully digitised by the year 2016 as the govern-ment has taken up some projects in this regard.

He said the problems that businessmen faced during check clearing of large amount have been solved because of introduction of RTGS system.

The central bank has launched the system on October 21 to facilitate business activities.

A total of 55 banks have participated in RTGS system and clients of 5,000 online branches of those banks are entitled to get the service from the � rst day. Currently, 56 banks have a total of 9,000 branches and all will come under the RTGS system gradually.

The inter bank transaction of Tk1 lakh and

above will be held instantly through the new system. A total of � ve foreign currencies as well as local currency will be entitled to tran-sect under the system.

Bangladesh RTGS is implemented under the project of Institutional Support for Mi-grant Worker’s Remittances, Component A: Remittance and Payment Infrastructure De-velopment with the � nancial assistance of Asian Development Bank (ADB).

The RTGS can be de� ned as the contin-uous (real-time) settlement of funds trans-fer individually on an order-by-order basis (without netting).

“Real time” means processing of instruc-tions at the time they are received rather than at some later time while “Gross Settlement” refers to the settlement of funds individually without netting with other transactions. l

Stock market posts losses for 4th weekn Tribune Report

For the fourth straight week, stock market continued to decline with all indices losing 2% each.

A number of factors, including low-er-than-expected third quarter earnings re-sults, weak macro-economic condition, regula-tory order on margin loans, decline in ranking of ease of doing business and month-end ad-justment in portfolio might be causes behind negative sentiment in the market, analysts say.

During the week that ended on Thursday, the benchmark of Dhaka Stock Exchange, DSEX, sank to four-month low to 4,564, fall-ing 83 points or 1.8%.

The blue-chip comprising index, DS30, was down 36 points or 2% to 1,726.

The DSE Shariah Index, DSES, fell over 21 points or 2% to 1,092.

The Chittagong Stock Exchange Selective Categories Index, CSCX, closed at 8,491, los-ing 145 points or 1.7%.

Among the heavyweights, Lafarge Sur-ma, Grameenphone and GSK registered fall in earnings growths and Olympic Industries, BATBC and Square Pharma witnessed a con-siderable growth in bottom-line in Q3.

Lanka Bangla Securities said investors went for selling their stakes amidst concern regarding macroeconomic condition.

It said recent decline in imports, exports and remittance growth made investors worried about the broad economy.

Third quarter (Q3) earning declarations of corporate entities were mixed, which also made investors cautious, added the stock broker.

“As the ‘psychological’ support of 4,600 was broken, investors went for selling frenzy almost throughout the week,” it added.

IDLC Investments said the market went through another gloomy week as depression gripped investors’ mindset.

It said continuous � ow of quarterly earn-ings with mixed or lower-than-expected dis-closures put investors in a defensive mood to further positioning.

“Rather, clientele opted for spread search to book short-term pro� t or remained in sideline.”

Moreover, the news of lower remittance � ow as reported by Bangladesh Bank, ero-sion of competitiveness in export market as reported by World Bank, regulatory bar to providing margin loan in new issue and re-categorised issue for the � rst 30 trading sessions and pessimistic news on the ease of doing business in Bangladesh kept investors thinking again before participation in market activities, said the IDLC. l

‘As the psychological support of 4,600 was broken, investors went for selling frenzy almost throughout the week’

Business18DT


CORPORATE NEWS

Eurozone exits de� ation but pressure for ECB boost persistsn AFP, Brussels

Eurozone in� ation rose to zero percent and out of negative territory in October, o� cial data showed Friday, but the level is still low and will press the European Central Bank to pump up its stimulus.

ECB head Mario Draghi hinted heavily this month that the central bank will boost its contested bond-buying programme given low in� ation levels across the 19 countries that share the euro.

The step up to zero percent from negative 0.1% a month earlier will do little to reverse Draghi’s course, analysts said.

The EU’s Eurostat statistics agency also said eurozone unemployment dropped to 10.8% in September, the lowest level since January 2012.

Across the EU’s 28 members, the rate stood at 9.3%, it said.

“Although today’s in� ation and unem-ployment data for the eurozone revealed small improvements, they are still very weak by past standards, suggesting that the ECB cannot a� ord to delay increasing its policy support much longer,” said Jessica Hinds,

European economist at Capital Economics.In March, the ECB launched a more than

one-trillion-euro stimulus plan running through to September next year in order to get in� ation closer to its 2% target.

‘No taboos’Despite that, the ECB’s chief economist this week told AFP that there is a growing risk that in� ation in the eurozone will not return to levels conducive to healthy economic growth, thus opening the door to more cen-tral bank action.

“There are no taboos,” Peter Praet said, on the measures needed to push in� ation back to more suitable levels.

The exit from de� ation came as the steep fall in energy prices, led by oil, slowed in Oc-tober to 8.7% annually instead of 8.9% the previous month, the data showed.

ING analyst Teunis Brosens said the in-� ation data made the “in� ation anxieties” expressed by the ECB last week seem “odd”.

“It is hard to escape the notion that in� a-tion was merely an excuse to talk down the euro exchange rate last week,” Brosens said, referring to the euro’s strong trading against

the US dollar that hurts Europe’s exporters.Unemployment in the eurozone has fallen

steadily from the 12.1% peak reached in 2013, but divergences across the monetary bloc re-main wide.

Crisis-hit Greece again posted the highest rate of unemployment in the eurozone at 25% in July, the latest data available.

Just weeks ahead of elections, Spain post-ed a still high 21.6%, though this was down from 24% a year ago.

Youth unemployment in Spain stood at 46.7%, but steeply lower than 53.7 percent a year earlier. In Italy, the rate was 11.8% last month, down from 11.9% in August.

Even with the signs of improvement in It-aly, “the path toward levels of employment close to the rest of Europe seems to be an extremely long and di� cult one,” Riccardo Padovani, head of research institute Svimez told Bloomberg.

French unemployment crept lower to 10.7% from a month earlier but was still up from 10.4% a year ago.

In Germany, unemployment remained at historically low level of 4.5%, as measured by Eurostat, down from 5% a year earlier. l

Al-Arafah Islami Bank Limited has recently opened an agent banking outlet at Abidpur in Comilla. The bank’s deputy managing director, Md Rezaur Rahman inaugurated the outlet

Mercantile Bank Limited has recently opened its 102nd branch at Gareeb-E-Newaz Avenue in Uttara, Dhaka. The bank’s chairperson, Al-Haj Akram Hussain inaugurated the branch

Top ECB policy makers reinforce case for fresh stimulusn Reuters, Berlin

The European Central Bank will keep printing money until price growth picks up and has a duty to use all instruments in its toolbox, in-cluding a deposit rate cut, to achieve its in� a-tion target, three key ECB policy-makers said.

Their messages reinforced expectations for fresh policy action from the ECB after President Mario Draghi said last week the bank was considering new stimulus meas-ures and would decide on the matter when it gets updated in� ation forecasts from its sta� in December.

ECB Executive Board member Benoit Coeure said the bank might need to reduce its deposit rate if it sees a risk of price growth rebounding more slowly than previously ex-pected.

“If we see a risk that in� ation would go back to 2%... in a much more sluggish way than would be previously expected ..., that may also mean an adjustment of the depos-it facility rate,” Coeure said in Mexico City overnight. “It’s an open discussion.”

The ECB’s deposit rate is currently -0.2%, e� ectively making banks pay to park funds overnight at the central bank.

Vice President Vitor Constancio said the ECB will maintain low interest rates and keep expanding its balance sheet via asset-pur-chases until in� ation signi� cantly picks up.

“Our main policy rates will stay low for a prolonged period of time, in line with our forward guidance and the asset purchase programmes will keep our balance sheet ex-panding until we see a sustained adjustment in the path of in� ation,” Constancio said at an event in Berlin.

He played down concerns about price bub-bles caused by money printing and excessive credit, saying they were premature and the ECB should focus on its in� ation mandate.

Expectations of further easing by the ECB have knocked the euro against the dollar in recent days and were seen as making it more di� cult for the Federal Reserve to go ahead with its � rst rate hike since 2006.

The ECB has been buying 60bn euros ($66.41bn) worth of assets every months since March in a bid to revive anaemic in� a-tion in the euro zone. l

The European Central Bank (ECB) headquarters are pictured in Frankfurt REUTERS

News 19D


CU admission test begins todayn FM Mizanur Rahaman

Entrance exam to the honours courses at Chittagong University for 2015-16 academic session starts today.

A total of 25,776 admission seekers have applied for 546 seats under Faculty of Sci-ence (A-unit) and 4514 have applied for 85 seats existing at the Institute of Forestry and Environmental Science (J-unit).

The university authorities have installed CCTV cameras inside the campus area to hold the test in a fair environment. Around 1,000 law enforcers will be deployed on campus to manage the rush of aspirants and avoid un-pleasant situations including ragging, said CU Proctor Ali Asgar.

This year, a total of 211,952 aspirants will battle against 4653 seats which means 45 ad-mission seekers would vie for one seat, Dep-uty Registrar of CU SM Akbar Hossain told the Dhaka Tribune.

All kinds of electronic devices including mobile phone, calculator, and wristwatch were not allowed inside the exam hall.

The intake test will end on November 9. l

2 shibir men held with cocktails n Our Correspondent, Sylhet

Police arrested two members of Islami Chha-tra Shibir alongwith cocktails and pipe guns in Fenchuganj upazila yesterday.

The arrested were Mozammel Hossain, 20, son of Kamrul Islam and Rumman Miah, 21, son of Sirazul Islam.

Police sources said, on secret informa-tion, they conducted drives at Hatuganj and Hashubari area and arrested the duo with 101 cocktails and two pipe guns.

Fenchuganj police station O� cer-in-Charge Nandan Kanti Dhar said the arrested men would be sent to jail soon after � ling the case. l

Priest leaves home after Oct 5 murder attemptn UNB

Christian priest Luk Sarkar, who escaped a murder attempt on October 5, left the district last week.

Monirul Islam, owner of the house where Luk Sarkar and his family used to live, said the priest and his family left the house with-out any prior notice.

Bhanu Bosh, supervisor (Pabna and Kus-htia zone) of ‘Faith Bible Church’, said Luk Sarkar was transferred to Khulna, but did not disclose his present work station.

Biplob Kumar Dash, o� cer-in-charge of Ish-wardi police station said Luk Sarkar, the priest of ‘Faith Bible Church’ in Ishwardi upazila, left the district on a transfer order as he had been su� ering from a sense of insecurity after the murder attempt on him earlier this month. l

60,000 prepaid gas metres to be installed in Chittagongn Anwar Hussain, Chittagong

A total of 60,000 domestic prepaid gas me-tres are going to be installed in Chittagong’s residential areas, with a view to checking gas pilferage and reducing waste.

Although a number of residential areas have been primarily selected for the new ser-vice, Karnaphuli Gas Distribution Company Limited authorities have plans to install pre-paid metres in the entire city.

The initially selected areas include Sho-loshahar, Nasirabad, Khulshi, Lalkhan Bazar, Halishahar, Anderkilla, Kazir Dewri, Chand-gaon, Chawk Bazar and Panchlaish.

The metres will be installed as part of the project titled ‘Natural Gas E� ciency Project’. The total cost of implementing the project has been estimated at around Tk246 crore, and is likely to be completed by 2018.

Karnaphuli Gas Distribution Company

Limited o� cials said they were hopeful that successful completion of the project would reduce gas waste as well as the su� ering of consumers to a large extent.

Consumers will be much more aware of gas usage with the introduction of the new system, they said, adding that the hassle of waiting for hours in queues to pay gas bill in the bank would be gone. Also, consumers will be able to recharge their accounts the way they do for mobile phones. For this, recharge centres will be set up at 30 points in the city.

Engineer Khaiz Ahmed Majumder, direc-tor of the project, told the Dhaka Tribune the objective of the project is to improve e� cient use and supply of natural gas by providing new facilities and thereby contributing to the country’s sustainable economic growth.

“The 60,000 prepaid gas metres will be in-stalled in Karnaphuli Gas Distribution Com-pany Limited franchise area. We have already

submitted the development project proposal and the project consultant has also been ap-pointed,” he said.

Khaiz said a signi� cant amount of gas could be saved from each burner with the introduction of prepaid metres and that gas could be supplied to key industries such as electricity and fertiliser.

“Because this will be a prepaid system, consumers will have to pay before using gas. Also, there will be no way to use gas illegally,” he added.

Of the total cost of the project, the govern-ment will bear Tk814,542,000 while Japan International Cooperation Agency will pro-vide Tk1,541,887,000. Also, Karnaphuli Gas Distribution Company Limited will provide Tk109,188,000 from its own fund.

Meanwhile, city residents living in the residential areas have welcomed the intro-duction of the new service. l

Speakers: Right to information key to all rightsn UNB

Speakers in a meeting yesterday said right to information was the key to all rights. They also stressed the free � ow of information to ensure transparency, accountability and de-mocracy in the country.

They said this government has broken the culture of hiding information by passing the RTI Act in 2009 and has established the rights of all people to get information.

An informed person is a conscious person, so people should be aware of the Act, they added.

Right to information is the key to all rights and there is no alternative to the free � ow of

information to ensure transparency, account-ability and democracy, they further added.

Chapainawabganj District Information O� ce arranged the views exchanging meet-ing with the journalists of di� erent print and electronic media on ‘Right to Information Act and Morality’ at the Chapainawabganj Sadharan Pathagar in the town.

District information o� cer Md Waheduz-zaman presided over the meeting.

Among others, head of the department of Bangla of Nawabganj Government College Professor Dr. Mazharul Islam Toru and As-sistant Station Manager of Radio Mohananda Takiur Rahman spoke on the occasion. l

One held overidol vandalism n Our Correspondent, Natore

Police arrested a man in the district yesterday for vandalising six Hindu idols of a temple in Gurudashpur upazila headquaters.

The arrested was Bikash Chandra Sheel, brother of temple committee president Mad-hob Chandra Sheel.

Additional Superintendent of Police Mun-shi Shahab Uddin said police arrested Bikash around 12pm.

On October 23, a group of masked mis-creants swooped on Chanchkoir Kacharibari Kali Mandir (temple) and damaged six idols.

The attackers also beat up an ansar mem-ber who was performing security duty at the temple during the incident.

Angered by the incident, local Hindu com-munity people burst into protests on roads, besieged Gurudaspur police station and put up blockade at various points by setting tyres a� re. l

BGB has built several business centres, a picnic spot and an amusement park on the bank of the Padma River in Rajshahi. Locals allege that education of students is hampered as they bunk classes and pass their school time at the park. The picture was taken yesterday from in front of Shishu Academy AZAHAR UDDIN

News20DT


1,977 primary school headmaster posts un� lled in Barisal n Our Correspondent, Barisal

A total of 1,977 positions for headmasters in government-run primary schools in six dis-tricts of Barisal have remained un� lled for long, which has greatly hampered education.

Barisal primary education o� ce sources said around one-third of the 6,168 govern-ment primary schools in the division are op-erating without head teachers.

The government has worked to develop school infrastructures every year but failed to � ll the posts timely, said Masud Ahmed, president of Babuganj Upazila Government Primary School Teachers Association.

He said there was no system to monitor the state of primary education either.

“The fact that such a large number of posts for headmasters have remained unoccupied

for long has not only caused the quality of primary education to fall but has also led to a variety of administrative problems,” said Jahanara Begum, a primary school teacher in Kedarpur under Babuganj upazila.

“Every government-run primary school should have four teachers. If a crucial post like the one for the headmaster remains vacant for

long, it will certainly create academic and ad-ministrative problems,” said Mahbub E Elahi, deputy director at the Barisal divisional o� ce of the Directorate of Primary Education.

“The posts of headmasters fell vacant for a number of reasons such as resignation, re-tirement, transfer and death,” he explained.

Mahbub said this is a common problem across the country and is particularly acute in primary schools located in remote areas. “The authorities have assured us of address-ing the problem. They said the vacant posts would be � lled soon.”

The Directorate of Primary Education of-� cial said the government has upgraded the post of the primary school headmaster to the second class category and the procedure to select 20,000 primary school head teachers would be initiated soon. l

Two killed in road accidentn Our Correspondent, Madaripur

At least two persons were killed in a road ac-cident at Pacchar under Shibchar on the Dha-ka-Khulna Highway in the morning.

Locals said a Shibchar bound goods laden truck crashed two persons when they were crossing the road.

They also said � sh trader Rabi,42, died on the spot and Madrasha Zahirul Islam, teacher of Madarchar was seriously injured.

Injured Zahirul Islam was admitted to Pacchar Royal Hospital. Later, he was sent to Dhaka Medical College Hospital as his condi-tion deteriorated. He succumbed to his inju-ries at noon.

Tra� c Sergeant of Shibchar Pacchar po-lice outpost Arif Hossain con� rmed the inci-dent and said police seized the truck but the truck driver and helper escaped. Bodies were sent to Madaripur Sadar Hospital morgue. A case was � led in this connection. l

Human chain protests s choolteacher murdern Our Correspondent, Bandarban

Teachers, students of several institutions and locals formed a human chain in Bandar-ban town yesterday protesting the murder of a female schoolteacher on Friday night.

Teacher Promod Chandra Barua, Nurun-nahar Absar, Zahed Sarwar, Nazimuddin, Kachingya Marma, Mira Das, Abdul Doayn and Parbatya Chhattagram Zila Parishad member Jahirul Islam spoke on the occasion. They de-manded exemplary punishment of the killer.

According to sources, Maicyaching Mar-ma,28, wife of Thoaiching Marma, an as-sistant teacher of Rupasipara Government Primary School was killed allegedly by her husband at Lama Bazar in Lama upazila.

Sirajul Islam, o� cer-in-charge of Lama po-lice station, said Thoaiching Marma locked into an altercation with Maicyaching Marma over a family feud around 8:30pm. At one stage, Thoa-iching hacked Maicyaching and slit her throat.

Hearing the scream of Maicyaching, locals came out and informed police.

On information, police recovered the body and sent it to Bandarban Sadar Hospital morgue. l

Section 144 imposedn Our Correspondent, Bhola

Local administration imposed 144 in Ramnewaz Bazar and Fishery Ghat in Man-pura upazila of Bhola district yesterday as two groups of the local unit of Awami League called separate programmes at the same place and time.

Ershad Hossain Khan, upazila nirbahi of-� cer of Manpura upazila, said the restriction would remain in force from 6am urther notice.

Police said Mohammad Alauddin, organis-ing secretary of Manpura upazila unit Awami League and local union parishad chairmam, and Jubo League leader Alamgir had been at loggerheads over sharing business money.

As a sequel to the enmity, the supporters of both groups attacked each other on Tues-day, leaving 25 people injured.

On information, police � red seven bullets to bring the situation under control.

Later on Wednesday night, supporters of Alauddin chairman launched an attack on the business establishment of Alamgir at Kalatolir Char in the upazila, leaving two supporters of Alamgir injured.

A tense situation was prevailing in the area following the incident. l

Teachers and students of educational institutions of Bandarban form a human chain yesterday demanding exemplary punishment to the killer of Maicyaching Marma, an assistant teacher of Rupasipara Government Primary School in Lama upazila DHAKA TRIBUNE

Around one-third of the 6,168 government primary schools are operating without head teachers

Career 21D

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Job matters 7 things to look for in your � rst job

How is the job atmosphere at LightCastle Partners? We believe in a collaborative culture where we work in small teams of two or three to achieve our goals. The important point to remember is “we are all problem solvers” and not “problem makers.” We work hard and enjoy ourselves as well.

What kind of person would � t perfectly in your company? We look for three things while we welcome someone to our team: Integrity (values); Focus (enthusiasm about the work we do, for instance, working with market data) and Expertise (doesn’t have to be advanced but have decent quant and communication skills).

What are the deal breakers for an employee working at LightCastle Partners? Integrity is a must. If you face problems tell us – we will do our best to help you out but please don’t compromise on integrity.

AboutAt LightCastle Partners, we help businesses simplify decisions by providing advisory and analytics services. While with advisory, we empower businesses to make prudent investment decisions by providing authentic due diligence, consumer research, company valuation, business design, and impact investment consulting services. We develop crisp, digital dashboards and run predictive analysis to articulate major insights from a wide assortment of data, enabling businesses to adopt strategic shifts to drive pro� tability.

ContactHouse 19, Road 13, Block GNiketan, Dhaka, BangladeshEmail: [email protected]: www.lightcastlebd.com

career tips

step into my o� ce

and e� ort invested in it, your o� ce should be made into your second home, with a comfortable environment and community.

The challengeIf you’re not learning something new and gaining actual experience, the job is not worth it. Period. Think of where you would want to be or what you want to do in the coming years, and the skills you learn will compliment the next. Not all skills are transferable, so make a note particularly build on the ones that are. Moreover, look into positions above the ones you shall be taking. The job may not be feasible or worth your time if there aren’t opportunities to advance within the company.

The networkThe world revolves around people, so choose a � rm which allows you to socialise and build your contacts. Your reputation outside the company will, over time, come to weigh more than what your colleagues think of you.

And of course, the moneyWell, you can’t leave out the net pay in the end. But what is being implied here is: never consider it your � rst priority when you enter your � rst job. Subtract your monthly expenses from the salary they provide accordingly (eg transport costs), and make comparisons based on the net value. If all goes well, you will have challenging job with a great environment providing enough monetary bene� ts to cover your expenses and more. l

LightCastle Partners

“Working at LightCastle Partners has been an invaluable experience for me. I get to work on exciting projects which look over various industries, with 24/7 support from the core team. The work environment is highly collaborative and it’s awesome to work with everyone in the LightCastle family. Great people all around!”

- M S Khan Rayed, Junior Associate, LightCastle, Rising Senior, IBA, DU

n Rad Sharar Bin Kamal

Barely out of university and getting job o� ers with � ve-digit salaries? Superb, but watch out! There’s much more to a job than

the grand paycheck, especially when it’s your very � rst. With equal importance, if not more, here are the other things you need to peer into before signing that acceptance letter.

The bossWhat shapes you into a better person in your career is directly, and more fundamentally, put into formation by your � rst boss. We say “better person” because there is much more to skill development than merely what you can put into your resume. A boss can shape your management and leadership skills, and have a huge impact on your ability to work independently and take decisions. That’s a lot of in� uence to wield, so choose wisely. Find a respectable and capable leader to follow, learn their positive traits and forgive their negative ones.

The timeFlexibility of time will matter, hence pay close attention to the o� ce hours required. You may

have your education, family or

other priorities which require your presence. One thing that’s commonly overlooked is the relation of the quantity of work to the o� ce hours asked for, in which the former exceeds the latter signi� cantly, leaving you stuck at the o� ce way past your shift to get the work done.The placeLocation is vital when choosing a job, especially in Dhaka. Considering if you have personal transport or otherwise, being punctual is a highly desired trait in corporate culture, and will give you a reputation as dedicated and reliable. Moreover, if the job requires you to travel, it will take a toll and your energy and wallet, both of which will accumulate over time and signi� cantly a� ect your performance at work.

The cultureIf you’re working in an o� ce for hours on end, you would want it to be enjoyable. Usually, the culture of start-up companies tends to be more welcoming and provides more room to learn skills out of your comfort zone. The importance of recognition and feedback should be an essential consideration. With so much time

Feature22DT

SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 1, 201522D

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Tech revolution in TV on cardsnFaisal Mahmud

Gone are the days of � xing antennas at the rooftop to obtain clearer pictures on your TVs. Thanks to technological advancements, the option of even rewinding programmes on Live TV has emerged.

While the Western world has been availing such services for some time now, people in Bangladesh are yet to receive the same bene� ts. It might however change soon, as Amber IT, a leading IT company in Bangladesh, is going to introduce Live TV on the Over the Top Content (OTT) applications for the � rst time ever.

In broadcasting, OTT content refers to delivery of audio, video and other media over the internet without the involvement of a multiple-system operator in the control or distribution of the content.

In Bangladesh, several of the OTT apps have already been very popular for messaging and call services. The number of direct calls made per day in Bangladesh has already declined signi� cantly due to the increasing use of OTT applications such as Skype, Viber and other apps.

Watching Live TV through OTT app however is a new concept in Bangladesh and Amber IT plans to grab that relatively new market.

Talking with Dhaka Tribune, MA Hakim, chief executive o� cer (CEO) of Amber IT said that they want to give the people better

mobility by introducing Live TV through OTT apps. “People can download our apps in their phones to watch Live TV on the go,” he said.

Hakim said that this technology has already been introduced in many countries including our neighboring country India. In this era of internet and smart TVs, consumers are migrating to these services in greater numbers as word of mouth, concerning their relative a� ordability in contrast to monthly-pay TV contracts proliferates, elaborated the CEO of Amber IT. “Besides, unlike traditional TV, Live TV through OTT app has several options, which will grab the attention of the consumer,” he added.

Providing an example, Hakim said that they are going to add features like ‘catch up service’ in their TV service. In catch up service, one can rewind and go back in the Live coverage.

“Suppose you miss the � rst 30 minutes of a LIVE football match and you want to watch those missing parts. Our catch up service will help you to rewind the LIVE match and watch what you’ve missed,” said Hakim.

Amber IT’s app will also have the recording option, he continued, “Suppose you don’t want to miss a programme but at the same time you have some very important work to do, you can record the programme from the Live TV and you can watch that later on. “Besides those, we will incorporate ‘video on demand’ options,” he added. Explaining ‘video on demand’ option, he said video on demand (VOD) are systems which allow users to select and watch/listen to video or audio content when they choose to, rather than having to watch at a speci� c broadcast time.

Hakim said that aside from local users, they also target the expatriate Bangladeshis living in di� erent countries who usually can’t watch the Bangladeshi channels except a few. Those expat Bangladeshis can install the app in their smart TV and can avail the services that Amber IT o� er.

“Also for the expat Bangladeshi subscribers, we will have set-top boxes. The set-top box is an information appliance device that generally contains a TV-tuner input, and displays output connects to a television set and an external source of signal, turning the source signal into content in a form that can then be displayed on the television screen or other displays.”

Hakim said that they have already launched the service from September 1 on a test basis. “It will take four to � ve months to launch the full-� edged service because during the test phase, many issues including internet speed, video quality, subscribers feedback on improving service will be checked. We will have adaptive bit rate technology to ensure best quality of service. Adaptive bit rate technology checks the broadband speed at the subscriber’s end and � xes the resolution of the video according to the broadband speed. It will also � x the bu� ering time.”

They have already launched the service on the mobile platform. Their app is available in Android, iOS and Windows platforms. Anybody can download that and start watching Live TV through the app. l

Photos: Bigstock

Feature 23D

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n Sadia Kamal

It was an anticipated mildly cold morning, mildly cold, much-anticipated morning and marked the last day of November. The year was 2014. The whole night and starting of the day was like a boiling cauldron of anxiety, nervousness, excitement, fear and maybe just a bit of con� dence within each player. Remembering and going over all those strategies, formations and contingency plans we had made during the practice sessions felt fresh. Yes, this was a very important day for the BRACU Girls football team. A taste of victory had already been submerged within us, as this year, we were the defending champions of the tournament in 2013. We were not ready to lose the title at any cost but simply strive to become champions again this year. Every year, the team awaits especially for this futsal (indoor football) tournament. The tournament was hosted by an outstanding and creative youth organisation called 7TEEN Events, a startup founded by Sheehan Rahman, an IBA alumni and his friends. He had the vision to start a whole new lifestyle for the people to relive their youthful exuberance through organising events of sports, eating competitions, concerts, etc. The tournaments have always been a success as they are thoroughly enjoyed by the players, the spectators and organisers themselves.

Our squad comprised of regular starters and new faces with a strong spirit to play football. The starting lineup had Farah Qazi Iqbal, winner of the best goal keeper award; Nusaiba Nasseree the newest and the � nest recruit, a fearless striker and play maker; Fairooz Nawar, the fast paced right forward; Faiza Rashid, also among the new recruits and displayed strong centre back defending skills; Sadia Kamal (myself) as the strategic, defensive mid� elder and captain. Before I move on, I would like to mention a very important person who had been a part of the team, a sheer backbone of BRACU Girls football team and former captain, Saveem Shama. A friend and a footballer the team admires deeply. A footballer who I had played against in opposing school teams, to being teammates at 7 Nation Army Girls football team, and up until university level football. Yes, we have come a long way! However this time around she had just graduated and was by no choice an ineligible player for the squad. A person who I would dearly miss during the tournament because the team was short of a strong mid� elder. However, we knew we had to � ll in the cavity and give in three times the e� ort than last time.

As we arrived at the stadium, we spotted our rival teams from East West University, North South University, IBA and Bangladesh University of Professionals. Immediately, we sensed the competition was � ercer than last year, as there were more number of teams as well as con� dent players. We

played group stage matches with each team and moved up to the semi-� nals with four wins and a single draw. Goals were scored by myself and Nusaiba. Zero goals were conceded thanks to the tremendous

defensive line that was nearly impossible to break. Soon, dawn broke to dusk and the feeling of playing in the semi-� nals, under the stadium lights, became electrifying. Energy and stamina were surely not at a high, but the level of determination, strive and sheer will power gave us the boost we needed. Hard work paid o� and we owned the semi-� nals match like champions.

Onto the � nals. We were up against the second strongest team, also the runners-up of last year’s tournament North South University. We knew victory wouldn’t be too sweet. Scores were nil-nil until the last minute of the exhausting thirty minutes of the game. The pressure built every second, as there was a dire need to score just one important goal. A penalty shootout was

not desirable from either teams, as chances of winning becomes a matter of pure luck. I ran up to the centre line with more risk than I should have taken, and a do-or-die spirit. Stopped the ball from being passed

to the opponent striker. It took a far aimed but strong right-legged shot. The ball hit the back of the net and we got the goal we desperately needed! The whistle went o� and the intensity � lled, quiet stadium broke into a roaring cage of tigers. BRACU Girls had just won the � nals by a score of 1-0. There we were making a human mountain out of triumph, hugging each other as tightly as we could and breaking into tears, while thanking the Almighty Who gave us strength to � ght until the last minute. BRACU Girls Football team had the vision and dream backed by persistence to reach the top and stay at the top. Today BRACU Girls Football team remains undefeated champions till the awaited Inter-University Futsal Cup 2015 arrives. l

There we were making a human mountain out of triumph, hugging each other as tightly as we could and breaking into tears, while thanking the Almighty Who gave us strength to � ght until the last minute.

Ladies football gusto!As the countdown to the Inter-University Futsal Cup 2015 begins, one team looks back at a title worth defending

News24DT


Friday, October 30, 2015 will always be a day to remember for the students of BRAC University, Savar Campus. On this day, BRAC University, organised a basketball game where BRACU residential students of Fall 2015 competed with the basketball team of Physically Challenged Development Foundation (PDF).

The objective of this programme is to create social awareness among BRAC University students, make them realise that the people whom we refer to as disabled, are in fact ‘di� erently able’, and they can work in our society and contribute to it in their own ways. It will help students become conscious about their own responsibilities towards such people and they will make their duties evident through community service and voluntary work.

The event is being organised with the aim to make the students think about the life

of people who are di� erent from them and which will, in turn, help them strive to rise above any odds.

Rehan Ahmed, campus superintendent at BRACU, Savar Campus inaugurated the programme.

From 2:45pm to 3:15pm, there was a short discussion where Rehan Ahmed, Nayeem Ahmed, operation manager of BLC Savar, Ragib Ali, faculty (IUB), Mamun-Or-Rashid, vice president (PDF), Zahid, member (PDF), faculty members of Savar Campus, all the admin and management staff, parents, guardians and students were present.

After the discussion, students took part in the basketball match with the team of PDF between 3:30pm and 4:30pm.

Parents and guardians were very happy to support such an initiative, and they were pleased to be a part of the programme. l

Rani re-rolling mills limited (RRM) is delighted to announce the lunching of its highest cyclic loading capacity earthquake restive TMT 500-550W GOLD bars by adopting direct hot rolling (DHR) technology for the � rst time in Bangladesh, utilising advanced machineries from Belgium, Germany, India, Italy and the United States of America.

The Grand Factory inauguration of RRM Group was held at its own premises located at RRM Factory, Road-21, Plot-32, Shyampur, Kadamtali Industrial Area, yesterday at 10am.

Honourable Home Minister for the Ministry of Home A� airs, Asaduzzaman Khan Kamal, attended the gala ceremony as the chief guest. He said: “Our Prime Minister, with her visionary leadership, has got the country back on track of uninterrupted development. We have solved the power crisis and already a middle income country. This success has been made possible by the industrial growth in the country. No one can hinder our growth as long as production continues at industries and the business community can work e� ciently.”

The RRM Group Chairman said: “I have been inspired to serve the nation and its citizens to live safer in a better environment. Bangladesh is on an accelerating track in building up its infrastructures with huge civil constructions in the near future. We

have tried to contribute to this through providing a better quality earthquake resistant item, in the form of TMT bars for civil constructions. I adopted direct hot rolling (DHR) process by passing traditional re-heating furnace. As a result, natural gas is saved, carbon dioxide emission is lowered. Above all a better quality product is achieved with lower environmental impact and minimised cost.”

“While the government is adequately cooperative, however, they need to adopt policies which are more industry and business-friendly,” the speakers stated.

At the end of the event, the Rani TMT 500W Gold bar was launched o� cially over a colourful celebration. Celebrities from di� erent segments of society, including journalists and people in the business community, were present there to add colour to the festive occasion. l

For the � rst time, Right Communication is going to arrange a camera fest. It will be taking place at Drik Gallery on 14, 15 and 16 of January 2016. This event will feature SLR cameras, digital cameras, lenses, camera related accessories and printers and also some of the institutions relating to cameras. There will also be CC cameras. CEO and organiser, Touhidul Islam Tusher said: “Nowadays, the demand for cameras is growing. To capture our memories, cameras are needed the most and there is no substitution. For this particular reason, we are arranging the camera fest this year, where you can get in touch with a number of reputed camera companies participating in this event. There will also

be some arrangements for a sel� e contest and getting free pro� le pictures taken by reputed photographers.”

Camera enthusiasts or camera related companies can contact: 01722231615; 01671179676. Facebook.com/CameraFest

Young Professionals Association of Bangladesh (YPAB) organised a career based event titled Career Mania [Vol-1] on October 30 from 9:30 AM to 1:00 PM at Bishwo Shahitto Kendro with an aim to develop the skills of young professionals and interested young minds.

Two di� erent sessions titled, ‘The Art of Corporate Presentation and Communication’ and ‘Personality Branding of a Corporate Leader’ was conducted by two corporate speakers. ‘The Art of Corporate Presentation and Communication’ was conducted by Syed Abul Hasnat Rubbyyet, Manager, Sales & Marketing of ABC Radio, while ‘Personality Branding of a Corporate Leader’ was conducted by Misha Mahjabeen, National Sales Manager of Tupperware Bangladesh Pvt Ltd.

Misha Mahjabeen focused on the importance of personality branding of professionals. She said: “If you are an individual, you are a unique brand. Do improve your own brand image, because in this digital world, your activities are being watched and that impacts your company’s brand equity, and even your Facebook status.”

Around 30 participants attended the

event, where most of them were young professionals and university students as well.

Moriom Akhter Nila, Sub-editor at Shajgoj.com, also one of the participants, said: “The seminar Career Mania [Vol-1] was really helpful for young professionals like us. I would like to highly appreciate the YPAB to avail this kind of opportunity. I am keenly awaiting the next Career Mania event.”

Founder of YPAB, Tarif Mohammad Khan said: “With the motto of ‘Skilled Bangladesh || Better Bangladesh’ we are focusing on developing the young professionals. The objective behind establishing a platform like this is to create and provide a network for young professionals to come together and work towards enhancing their skills to be able to keep up with the trends and demands of the current corporate � eld, as well as widen their approach to achieve global competence. We believe development is a continuous process and hence initiatives like Career Mania can help young professionals as well as potential professionals to know about the corporate world and be prepared according to the demands of the global world.” l

Balling at BRAC

First camera fest in Dhaka

YPAB’s Career Mania [Vol-1] held at Bishwo Shahitto Kendro

Unhindered Industrial Production Guarantees DevelopmentGrand Inauguration of RRM Factory Introducing `RANI TMT 500-550W GOLD’ Bar with the latest DHR technology

25D

TSportINSIDE


Best experience of my career: Eleta KingsleyChittagong Abahani’s Nigerian hitman Eleta Kingsley is attracting all the headlines right now following his exploits in the just-concluded inaugural Sheikh Kamal International Club Cup. Up against Kolkata’s East Bengal in the grand � nale last Friday, Eleta bagged a brace and also set up Hemanta Vincent Biswas. PAGE 26

Kvitova, Radwanska turn WTA Finals on its headPetra Kvitova and Agnieszka Radwanska turned the WTA Finals on its head yesterday as they ousted in-form Maria Sharapova and Garbine Muguruza to set up a surprise title match in Singapore. Kvitova had scraped into the semis after winning just one match in the round-robin phase. PAGE 27

Coutinho gives Mourinho Halloween horror showPhilippe Coutinho struck twice as Liv-erpool won 3-1 at Chelsea yesterday to ratchet up the pressure yet further on the Premier League champions’ beleaguered manager Jose Mourinho. Christian Bente-ke rubber-stamped Chelsea’s sixth defeat in 11 league games. PAGE 28

Gemcon lift 2nd Mir Corporate Football FiestaGemcon Group beat arch-rivals Bando Design Ltd to lift the 2nd Mir Corporate Football Fiesta, powered by Sailor, yesterday. At the International Turkish Hope School premises the winners rode on the back of a brace from Proshanto and a goal from Rikto to win the coveted � nal 3-0. PAGE 29

Bangladesh opening batsman Anamul Haque blasts one towards the long-o� region as wicket-keeper Mush� qur Rahim looks on at Sher-e-Bangla National Stadium yesterday. The surprise was however, the absence of the stumps during their training session. Perhaps Tigers head coach Chandika Hathurusingha can best explain the reason MAINOOR ISLAM MANIK

WHERE ARE THE STUMPS???

NCL, ROUND 6, DAY 1Barisal v Chittagong, Bogra

Barisal (1st innings): 323/1 in 90 overs(Shahriar 158*, Fazle 128*)

Sylhet v Rajshahi, KhulnaSylhet (1st innings): 176-allout in 60.3 overs

(Nasum 59, Moinul 3/20, Sanjamul 3/39)Rajshahi (1st innings): 42/2 in 8.1 overs

Rajshahi trail by 134 runs

Rain mars opening day's playn Minhaz Uddin Khan

Dhaka-Metro, Rangpur-Khulna ties rained offThe opening day's play of both the tier one matches between Dhaka and Dhaka Metrop-olis and holders Rangpur and Khulna were abandoned without a ball being bowled.

Barisal in driving seat against ChittagongRiding on the back of two centuries, Barisal concluded the opening day's play yesterday on 323 for the loss of only one wicket.

Former national opener Shahriar Nafees ended the day unbeaten on 158 along with top-order batsman Fazle Mahmud, who was not out on 128.

Even-stevens in Khulna The tier two tie between Rajshahi and Syl-het is hanging � nely in the balance after the former � nished yesterday's proceedings on 42/2, trailing the latter's � rst innings tally by 134 runs. l

Dilshan saga continuesn Minhaz Uddin Khan

The dispute between Bangladesh Premier League franchise Chittagong Vikings and Rangpur Riders over the services of Sri Lan-ka cricketer Tillakaratne Dilshan is yet to be resolved.

The two BPL franchises claimed that they acquired the services of Dilshan and that Chittagong had already paid him $30,000 in advance.

But according to Bangladesh Cricket Board director Jalal Younus, Dilshan is said to have mixed up the Chittagong payment with his outstanding wages that were due from the second edition of the BPL. In BPL 2, Dilshan played for champions Dhaka Gladiators for $75,000.

Jalal, while talking to the media in the sidelines of the BPL 2015 title-sponsor cer-

emony yesterday, said the issue will be solved within a day or two by the BPL gov-erning council.

“He took money from Chittagong think-ing that it was his outstanding payment from the second season of BPL (even though he played for the Gladiators). Now he is looking forward to playing for Rang-pur. He has said he will return the money to the Chittagong franchise but still he wants to play for Rangpur,” said Jalal yesterday.

Jalal informed that the two franchises will be asked to submit their respective con-tract papers with Dilshan.

“BPL GC will try to � nd out which fran-chise’s claim is legal and logical. I hope this issue will be solved by [today] or [tomor-row],” said Jalal.

Meanwhile, BRB Cables has been award-ed the title sponsorship rights of BPL 3. l

Sport26DT


THE STARS THAT SHONE BRIGHTn Shishir Hoque from Chittagong

The inaugural Sheikh Kamal International Club Cup promised much and lived upto its billing big time as the eight-nation tourna-ment’s curtains were drawn last Friday with the grand � nale between hosts Chittagong Abahani and Kolkata’s East Bengal.

Dhaka Tribune reviewed the performance of all the eight clubs and picked out the best player for each position following 11 days of non-stop action at MA Aziz Stadium.

Best GoalkeeperEast Bengal custodian Dibyendu Sarkar comes out on top without much hesitation. In his debut season for the Kolkata giants, this tournament might just turn out to be the turning point for the young net-minder. The

former United Sikkim goalkeeper helped his side keep two clean-sheets and was adjudged player of the match after an impressive display against Dhaka Abahani in the group-stage.

Before the � nal, Dibyendu conceded the

fewest number of goals – two – among all the goalkeepers from the eight clubs.

Best DefenderRezaul Karim will remember this competition for a long time to come. On loan from Sheikh Russel for the tournament, the national discard is enjoying a purple patch in recent years. With

un� t teammates beside him in the four-man backline, Rezaul often had to marshal the defence single-handedly. The centre-back put up a standout performance in the semi-� nal where the home side ousted Afghan premier league champions De Sphin Ghar Bazan.

Best MidfielderMohammad Ra� que was already a star even before the eight-nation tournament got under-way, having scored the all-important goal for Indian Super League holders Atletico de Kolkata in the � nal

against Kerala Blasters last year, that too in the � fth minute of injury time. However, this time around, he has opted to feature for East Bengal in the port-city instead of playing in the second edition of the cash-rich ISL. The versatile mid� elder, who can also play on the right wing and centre forward position, has been at the hub of almost all of the East Ben-gal attacks. He has also bagged three goals, including one in the semi-� nal against Dhaka Mohammedan.

Best ForwardHaving recovered from injury recently, Zahid Hossain has exhibited immense energy levels and skills throughout the tournament. The pacey national winger was also Chittagong Abahani’s best player against East Bengal in

their opening group-stage match. With four goals to his credit, including a scintillating hattrick against Dhaka Abahani in the group-stage, Zahid is the joint-highest scorer of the tournament. He was unable to score against De Sphin Ghar Bazan in the last four but cre-ated plenty of chances. l

CHITTAGONG ABAHANI HEAD COACH SHAFIQUL ISLAM MANIK

The turning point was the equalising goal just before the � rst half.

We became the champions as the best team. If we analyse the last four matches with graphs and step-by-

step, you will see that we improved in every game. The players were motivated and gave their best so they deserve all the credit.

The crowd is never a pressure rather a blessing for us and they proved it [Friday]. They cheered for the players throughout 90 minutes. They never stopped shouting. They are one of the reasons we are here [Friday].

I want to dedicate this victory to Sheikh Russel (younger son of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman). I do not want to take the credit to myself. I had very little time to train the team together and prepare for the tour-nament. It is the players who deserve all the credit. They overcame the lack of prepara-tion with motivation and dedication.

This victory will help the club to form a good squad for the next season and many will be inspired to play for the club as well. The players feel the support they received from the organisers. I connected three dots in one line. The BFF president (Kazi Salahuddin), my-self and the players. The players also delivered it on the pitch thus we became the champions.

EAST BENGAL HEAD COACH BISWAJIT BHATTACHARYA

Very immature players. They are not used to playing in such situations; playing abroad and in front of such a crowd and we got the result for that. Our right-back Avinabo Bag was

not upto mark despite playing good through-out the season. Same thing to Prohlad Roy. Biswajit Saha is a matured player but even he was not playing well.

I’m very happy with the team perfor-mance of my boys in the tournament. Nobody thought we would have reached this far. Chittagong Abahani are a fantastic team. They played really well. Manik also deserve credit. He is a great coach and built up the team very well.

It’s a fantastic arrangement. Such crowd. Local team played and they won the tourna-ment. It’s a great thing for the people of Chit-tagong and the organisers. The young players will get inspired. All hail the organisers. They did it really well. We also enjoyed a lot. They gave us enough facility. I’m happy. l

WHAT THEY SAID ‘Best experience of my career’n Shishir Hoque from Chittagong

Chittagong Abahani’s Nigerian hitman Eleta Kingsley is attracting all the headlines right now following his exploits in the just-conclud-ed inaugural Sheikh Kamal International Club Cup. Up against Kolkata’s East Bengal in the grand � nale last Friday at MA Aziz Stadium, Eleta bagged a brace and also set up Hemanta Vincent Biswas for the home side’s third goal to inspire Chittagong Abahani to the title.

After the clash, Eleta talked with the me-dia where he expressed his elation upon leading the port-city out� t to their maiden title. Here are the excerpts:

What are your thoughts on your individual performance?I tried to give my best. I believe if I go my way something would come out of the match. I took it match by match. I never get excited af-ter a win because I know there is other match yet to win. So overall my performance, to me, is not so high because there are lots of tests to do. This tournament is a great learning point for me. If I learn well I will do better.

You are the highest goal-scorer of the tournament and was also named man of the match and the most valuable player. Did you expect to get so many accolades and awards?I didn’t expect all the awards. I was not playing for man of the match. I was playing for my team to win. I believe when you play for your team to win and you get the result,

that gives you an edge to be awarded.

Is this the best experience of your football career so far?(Thinking for a moment) Yeah. I think it’s the best as far as I’m concerned. It’s best because it’s a great tournament. A lot of expectation. We tried to make name for ourselves. We tried to make name for our coach because I have always known him as great coach. I told him many times that if you take players from national team they will do better. They are all good players. I played under many coaches but this coach is special. The coach and the BFF (Bangladesh Football Federation) president [Kazi Salahuddin] gave us motivation to play such well. He told us before the � nal that it’s game between Bangladesh and India. Go and win for Bangladesh. So I think [Friday], everyone is happy, including my family. l

HIGHEST SCORERSEleta Kingsley and Zahid Hossain (both Chittagong Abahani), Moham-mad Rasool (Karachi Electric)

Mohammad Ra� que (East Bengal)

Ranti Martins (East Bengal), A� s Olayemi (Solid FC), Kazeem Amobi and Taurus Manneh (both Kolkata Mohammedan), Anwar Akbari and Reza Allah Yari (both Bazan FC)

432

Chittagong Abahani forward Eleta Kingsley

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Corporate T20 on Nov 13Al Haramain 5th Twenty20 Corporate Cricket Tournament 2015 is all set to begin from November 13 at the Dhaka Residential Model School ground. Annisul Haq, the Dhaka North City Corporation mayor is expected to inaugurate the tournament. This year the tour-nament will feature 28 renowned corporate houses of Bangladesh. The matches will be held across three di� erent venues. 28 teams will play in seven groups and the � nal match will be held on December 5. Besides the Dhaka Residential Model School ground, Shamoli Club Ground and Udayachal Club Ground will also host the matches. The participating teams are Grameenphone, IFIC Bank, Edison Group, IDLC, Nitol Motors, Bikroy dot Com, Marico Bangladesh, Energypac, Beximco Pharma, Beximco Textile, Square Group, Chevron Bangladesh, Bay Developments, Reliance Insurance, Green Delta Insurance, Data Edge Limited, LM Ericsson Bangladesh, NRB Com-mercial Bank, CNRS Bangladesh, Eastern Bank, Asiatic 360, Eastern University (teachers and o� cials), Race Asset Management, ICDDRB, Coca Cola Bangladesh, Con� dence Group, Union Capital and Qubee.

–MINHAZ UDDIN KHAN

Springboks too strong for Pumas in third place tieSouth African winger Bryan Habana and � yhalf Handre Pollard fell just short in their bids for individual records despite helping the Springboks to a 24-13 win over Argentina in the bronze medal playo� at the Olympic Stadium on Friday. Habana, who needed one touchdown to set a new outright record for the most tries by a player in World Cups, failed to get over the line in what was almost certain-ly his last tournament appearance.

–REUTERS

Bilal Asif cleared of suspect bowling actionPakistani newcomer Bilal Asif’s bowling action has been cleared after it was found to be within the legal limits, the International Cricket Council (ICC) said on Friday. The bowling action of the 30-year-old spinner was reported as suspect during the third one-day international against Zimbabwe at Harare on October 3.

–AFP

Nathan McCullum to quit international cricketNathan McCullum, 35, has said that he will retire from international cricket at the end of this New Zealand season to spend more time with his family. “I don’t want to make a big song and dance about it, but it’s time to start thinking about the next phase of my life,” McCullum told the New Zealand Herald. “I’ve got the sense that the end of this season is the right time to call it quits in international cricket.” The o� spinner had a meeting with New Zealand coach Mike Hesson and manager Mike Sandle, and will help mentor young spinners such as Ish Sodhi and Mitchell Santner over the remainder of his playing career. “We’ve got to get these guys up to speed and I’m looking forward to playing a mentoring role there.”

–CRICINFO

QUICK BYTES

Walton UK and Africa to sponsor Zimbabwen Tribune Desk

Walton UK and Africa jointly became the o� cial sponsor of the Zimbabwe team for the upcoming away series against Bangla-desh, slated for later this month. Aiming at promoting Walton products in the potential African market, the African wing of Walton international marketing department and Walton Electronics and Automobiles Ltd UK have jointly taken such an initiative.

Johnson Ogbo, representative of Walton Africa, said there are huge markets for Wal-ton brand products in the African countries, including Zimbabwe.

To get popularity in the African markets, Walton has involved itself with the crick-et team of Zimbabwe, he said, and thanked Walton for becoming the o� cial team spon-sor of Zimbabwe.

Rokibul Islam, head of international mar-keting of Walton Group, said Africa is a gi-ant market for consumer-based electronics products. l

South Africa’s AB de Villiers plays a shot on the � nal day of their two-day match against Indian Board President’s XI in Mumbai yesterday. De Villiers scored 112 as the match ended in a draw AFP

Kvitova, Radwanska turn WTA Finals on its headn AFP, Singapore

Petra Kvitova and Agnieszka Radwanska turned the WTA Finals on its head yesterday as they ousted in-form Maria Sharapova and Garbine Muguruza to set up a surprise title match in Singapore.

Kvitova had scraped into the semis after winning just one match in the round-robin phase, but she stunned � ve-time Grand Slam champion Sharapova 6-3, 7-6 (7/3) to earn a shot at her second year-ending trophy.

Earlier Poland’s Radwanska halted the sensational debut of Spanish world number three Garbine Muguruza 6-7 (5/7), 6-3, 7-5 to reach the � nal for the � rst time.

“I didn’t expect this, for sure,” Kvitova con-ceded after her shock win over Sharapova. “I had two losses in my group, and I couldn’t re-ally believe I would play the semi� nals. And I knew Maria would be strong [yesterday].”

“But I knew I had the game to beat her, and that I really had to keep trying [yesterday],” she added.

Kvitova broke fourth-ranked Sharapova three times in the � rst set and then recovered from 5-1 down in the second, winning � ve straight games and clinching victory in the tiebreak. In the earlier semi-� nal, Radwans-ka drew on her defensive prowess and deep experience to oust the aggressive Muguruza, who is also in the doubles � nal and seemed to be feeling the pace.

“I have no words to say really,” a tearful Radwanska, who has tried and failed six times to reach the � nal, told the cheering crowd at Singapore Indoor Stadium.

“I didn’t know if I could come back after that � rst set, but I think it was a great match from the beginning until the end, so many rallies and a lot of running. I’m just so glad I could win this match in the end.” l

Cook plays down spat with Warnen AFP, Sharjah

England skipper Alastair Cook yesterday said his spat with famous rival Shane Warne had been blown out of context as he insisted he now has a better relationship with the Aussie great.

Warne irked Cook with critical comments about his captaincy last year in a newspaper column when he suggested the Englishman should step down from his role.

Visibly upset at the comments, Cook hit back, saying: “Well something needs to be done because for the three years I’ve been England captain I have in my eyes been criti-cised for a hell of a lot of that.”

But a courtesy visit by Warne to help Eng-land spinner Adil Rashid in the nets in Shar-jah on Friday ahead of the decisive third Test against Pakistan seemed to have eased out the tension.

“He was still fairly critical in the summer as well, as (former Australian captain) Michael Clarke’s best mate he was always going to do that,” said Cook of Warne’s comments during England’s 3-2 Ashes win this year.

“Me and Warne’s so-called spat, what I said was taken a little bit out of context - it was probably directed to the whole media, not just him, and people jumped on that.”

Cook said he talked to Warne on the phone last year, which helped ease the tension.

“We had a phone call for an hour, hour and a half, and have stayed in contact ever since. We have a better relationship than be-fore the phone call and it was great of him to come down,” said Cook.

“It was great of him to come down and spend some time with Rash.”

Cook believes Warne’s advice will help Rashid, who made his debut in the drawn � rst Test against Pakistan in Abu Dhabi.

“For a young leg-spinner to spend time with the greatest ever and have access to him, and for him to be so open with Adil, was brilliant,” said Cook of the meeting.l

28DT Sport


Liverpool’s Brazilian mid� elder Philippe Coutinho (L) shoots to score their second goal during their English Premier League match against Chelsea at Stamford Bridge in London yesterday AFP

Bayern’s perfect run thwarted in Frankfurtn AFP, Berlin

Mis� ring Bayern Munich dropped their � rst points of an up to now faultless season in a goalless draw at Eintracht Frankfurt on Friday.

Pep Guardiola’s Bavarian giants, who had been ten from ten this league campaign, were thwarted by a stoic Eintracht defence.

The stalemate, the � rst time Bayern have failed to win a Bundesliga game since mid-May, put them eight points clear of Borussia Dortmund, who will seek to reduce the gap at Werder Bremen on Saturday.

Bayern arrived in Frankfurt three days af-ter beating Wolfsburg in the German Cup and ahead of the arrival of Arsenal on Wednesday in the Champions League.

Bayern keeper Manuel Neuer re� ected: “We wanted to win, we didn’t create enough

chances and Frankfurt were clever.”Eintracht’s Stefan Aigner said: “We tried

to give them as little space as possible, it was a great performance from us [Friday]. It was only a point, but it means a lot.”

The game was only 17 seconds old when Aigner picked up a yellow card for a late chal-lenge on Ra� nha.

Eintracht keeper Lukas Hradecky was forced into an early one-handed save to palm Arturo Vidal’s header over the crossbar.

Bayern were dominating but having di� -culty breaking down a well organised Eintra-cht defence.

A rare foray down the other end then earned Eintracht their � rst corner, with Rob-ert Lewandowski heading Marc Stendera’s delivery out of danger.

The hosts deservedly went into the break all square. l

Angel Di Maria volleyed in with 15 minutes left to give Paris Saint-Germain a 1-0 win at Stade Rennais on Friday and extend their lead at the top of the Ligue 1 table to 10 points REUTERS

Coutinho gives Mourinho Halloween horror shown AFP, London

Philippe Coutinho struck twice as Liver-pool won 3-1 at Chelsea yesterday to ratchet up the pressure yet further on the Premier League champions’ beleaguered manager Jose Mourinho.

Ramires put the hosts ahead in the fourth minute at Stamford Bridge, but Coutinho equalised in � rst-half stoppage time and put Liverpool ahead with a de� ected shot in the 74th minute before substitute Christian Benteke rubber-stamped Chelsea’s sixth de-feat in 11 league games.

While visiting manager Jurgen Klopp was left to celebrate his � rst league win - Liver-pool’s � rst on the road since the season’s

opening weekend - it was a Halloween night-mare for Mourinho, whose job is thought to be on the line after a run of just one win in eight matches in all competitions.

Some newspaper reports had even sug-gested that he could be dismissed in the event of another defeat and he was assailed with chants of “You’re getting sacked in the morning!” by the away fans as the game wound down.

Mourinho made just one change to the team eliminated from the League Cup by Stoke City in mid-week, with Cesar Azpili-cueta replacing Baba Rahman, which meant that Cesc Fabregas and Nemanja Matic re-mained on the bench.

Diego Costa passed a � tness test after

bruising a rib at the Britannia Stadium and he wasted no time in making an impact.

The Spain striker’s back-heel on the left-hand touchline freed Azpilicueta to cross from the left and Ramires stole in front of Al-berto Moreno to celebrate his new four-year contract by heading in the opening goal.

It was the kind of start that has eluded Mourinho of late and it allowed Chelsea to retreat into their own territory and play on the break.

The right � ank proved fruitful territory for the visitors, with full-back Nathaniel Clyne and James Milner doubling up on Azpilicue-ta, but although Adam Lallana, twice, and Lucas Leiva hit the target, Chelsea goalkeep-er Asmir Begovic was not troubled. l

Sport 29D

T


Ten Sports 4:30PM WTA 2015: Final Ten Action12:00PM A-League 2015/16Western Sydney Wanderers v Perth Glory 2:45PM West Indies Tour of Sri Lanka 1st ODI 2:00AM French Ligue 1 2015/16Nantes v Olympic Marseille Ten Cricket11:00PM England Tour of Pakistan 3rd Test, Day 1 10:00PM French Ligue 1 2015/16AS Monaco v Angers Sony Six4:00PMRAM Slam T20 Challenge 2015 Star Sports 18:00PM TCS NYC Marathon Star Sports 310:00AM Ranji Trophy 2015/16Round 5 Day 3: Himachal Pradesh v Tripura 7:30PM Indian Super League Mumbai v KolKata 10:00PM BWF Grand Prix Gold 2015Bitburger Badminton Open Star Sports 4Barclays Premier League 7:30PM Everton v Sunderland 10:00PM Southampton v AFC Bournemouth1:00AM FIA F1 World Championship 2015Main Race: Autadromo Hermanos Rodraguez Mexico

DAY’S WATCH

2ND MIR CORPORATE FOOTBALL FIESTA

BEST GOALKEEPERRana (Gemcon)TOP SCORER

Proshanto (Gemcon), Imran (Bando)16 goals each

PLAYER OF THE TOURNAMENTProshanto (Gemcon)

Cup Champions : Gemcon GroupCup Runners-up : Bando Design LtdPlate Champions : AsiaticPlate Runners-up : TherapBowl Champions : IDLCBowl Runners-up : Accenture

Gemcon lift 2nd Mir Corporate Football Fiestan Tribune Report

Gemcon Group beat arch-rivals Bando De-sign Ltd to lift the 2nd Mir Corporate Football Fiesta, powered by Sailor, yesterday. At the International Turkish Hope School premises the winners rode on the back of a brace from Proshanto and a goal from Rikto to win the coveted � nal 3-0.

Gemcon dominated large parts of the game as defending champions Bando were out-played and in the process their winning run in the tournament’s history also came to an end. Proshanto’s double strike meant he ended up as the joint top-scorer with 16 goals alongside Bando’s captain fantastic Imran. Gemcon’s Rana conceded just two goals in the tourna-ment and was named the best goalkeeper while Proshanto also received the award for

the player of the tournament. They all received Smartphones courtesy of Wills Management.

Earlier, Asiatic lifted the plate champion-ship trophy beating Therap BD 3-0. Joy net-ted two goals after Emran’s scorching strike from distance handed the eventual winners the lead.

Meanwhile, IDLC won the bowl category after handing Accenture a 3-0 defeat in their � nal. Shazzad, Ibrahim and Sabbir scored one each for IDLC.

Mir Group managing director Naba-e-Za-heer, Sailor’s business and marketing analyst Mohammad Saeeduzzaman, Wills manag-ing director Asiful Islam, ITHS section head Zubayeir Beyram, chairman Badruddin Swati and Dhaka Tribune sport editor Reazur Rah-man Rohan were present during the pres-entation ceremony. l

Asiatic captain Emran Mahbub Emon (R) receives the plate champions trophy yesterday

The victorious Gemcon Group players pose with the cup champions trophy of the 2nd Mir Corporate Football Fiesta at the International Turkish Hope School premises yesterday MAINOOR ISLAM MANIK

ITHS section head Zubayeir Beyram (2R) hands over the bowl champions trophy to IDLC

K-O RESULTS

CUP QFs, WEDNESDAY Gemcon 3–1 Mir Group Bando 7–2 Computer Source Com� t 8–2 Qubee ITHS 5–3 MTB

PLATE SFs, 1ST LEGS, THURSDAY Therap 2–2 Magnito Asiatic 2–1 Grey

CUP SFs, 1ST LEGS, THURSDAY Gemcon 3–0 ITHS Bando 5–1 Com� t

BOWL SFs, 1ST LEGS, FRIDAY Vizrt 0–10 IDLC Accenture 2–1 Madchef

PLATE SFs, 2ND LEGS, FRIDAY Asiatic 2–2 Grey

Asiatic won 4-3 on aggregate Therap 1–1 MagnitoAggregate 3-3, Therap won 4-3 on penalties

CUP SFs, 2ND LEGS, FRIDAY Bando – Com� t

Bando receive walk-over, aggregate 5-1 Gemcon 3–0 ITHS

Gemcon won 6-0 on aggregate

BOWL SFs, 2ND LEGS, FRIDAY Vizrt 0–10 IDLC

IDLC won 20-0 on aggregate Accenture 4–0 Madchef

Accenture won 6-1 on aggregate

FINALS DAY, SATURDAYBowl Final

IDLC 3–0 AccenturePlate Final

Asiatic 3–0 TherapCup Final

Gemcon 3–0 Bando

Downtime30DT

SATURDAY, OCTOBER 24, 2015

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 16 represents T so � ll T every time the � gure 16 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

SUDOKU

ACROSS 1 Worker in stone (5) 7 Top airman (3) 8 Jurisprudence (3) 9 Bucolic (5) 12 Heavy Substance (4) 13 Gem (7) 15 Billiard rod (3) 16 Sheltered side (3) 18 Insect (3) 19 Joke (3) 21 3rd order of angels (7) 24 Ribbon (4) 26 Artless (5) 27 Arch (3) 28 Fresh (3) 29 Sco� (4)30 Lays Bare (5)

DOWN1 Female horse (4)2 Keen insight (6)3 Dry and withered (4)4 Hairless (4)5 Be indebted (3)6 Evade (5)10 Curve (3)11 Express amusement (5)14 Acquire acknowledge-ment (5)17 Cricket team (6)18 Thespian (5)20 State in western India (3)21 Narrate (4)22 Numeral (4)23 Piles the needle (4)25 Greek letter (3)

n Mahmood Hossain

A Brit playing an American, an American playing a Russian and a Swedish playing a German. It all smells like a Guy Ritchie recipe, and very tasty at that. Co-written and directed by Guy Ritchie, The Man from U.N.C.L.E. is a wonderful throwback to vintage, spy thrillers. And with the snappy humour of Ritchie films, this film was nothing less than entertaining.

In all honesty, it should have done slightly better in the box office, garnering mostly good reviews. Since Ritchie’s last film, Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows, four years ago, this film delivers all the right notes. The directing, with hints of his signature filmmaking, is a tad different from his past works. Ritchie brings to life a very convincing portrayal of the espionage world of the 60s. Mind you, this is a fictional story after all, which means there’s plenty of tomfoolery to be had.

British actor, Henry Cavill (you may know him as Superman) plays an American CIA agent, Napoleon Solo. He’s got all the technical skills of a super-spy, and channels the womanising ways of another agent we all know of (wink, wink). His counterpart Illya Kuryakin, played by American actor Armie Hammer, is a KGB agent with extraordinary physical abilities, who performs each assignment with unwavering e� ciency. Up until he meets the beautiful Gaby Teller, portrayed by Swedish actress Alicia Vikander.

As sweet as the interaction between Illya and Gaby is, the real chemistry falls between Cavill and Hammer. These two do an incredible job playing o� each other.

It’s also quite charming watching two very tall and able men behaving immaturely throughout the � lm, after unexpectedly forced to work together. The action, comedy and overall performances by the cast sums up for a delightful � lm. More importantly, this � lm doesn’t pretend to be what is not. Given the source material, as this � lm is

based on the 60s television series of the same name, you couldn’t expect it to be any better. However, there’s plenty of room and hints of a sequel. Ritchie will have to sit down with a grin on this one.Interestingly enough, Tom Cruise was originally offered the role of Solo, but opted out to concentrate on his own

Mission: Impossible – Rogue Nation. Fortunately, the cards fell into the right hands. It’s a win/win for everyone, really, just like this film and its open-ended, stylish finale. Worth the watch? You bet. In fact, you won’t mind watching it more than once. And let’s not dismiss the idea of a sequel either. l

Showtime 31D


Uncle Ritchie’s spy thriller

Russian airliner with 224 aboard crashes in Egypt’s Sinai, all killed

n Reuters, Cairo

A Russian airliner carrying 224 passengers crashed into a mountainous area of Egypt’s Sinai peninsula yesterday shortly after losing radar contact near cruising altitude, killing all aboard.

The Airbus A321, operated by Russian airline Kogalymavia under the brand name Metrojet, was � ying from the Sinai Red Sea resort of Sharm el-Sheikh to St Petersburg in Russia when it went down in central Sinai soon after daybreak, the aviation ministry said.

A north Sinai security source said initial examination suggested the crash could have been caused by a technical fault; but it was too early to draw any � rm conclusions. The plane, he said, had landed in a “vertical fash-ion”, contributing to the scale of devastation and burning.

“I now see a tragic scene,” an Egyptian security o� cer at the site told Reuters by telephone. “A lot of dead on the ground and many who died whilst strapped to their seats.

“The plane split into two, a small part on the tail end that burned and a larger part that crashed into a rockface. We have extracted at least 100 bodies and the rest are still inside,” the o� cer, who requested anonymity, said.

A militant group a� liated to Islamic State in Egypt, Sinai Province, said in a statement carried by the Aamaq website, which acts as a semi-o� cial news agency for Islamic State, that it had brought down the plane “in re-sponse to Russian airstrikes that killed hun-dreds of Muslims on Syrian land”.

Russia’s Transport Minister told Interfax news agency said the Islamic State claim “can’t be considered accurate”.

Russia, an ally of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, launched air raids against opposi-tion groups in Syria including Islamic State

on September 30. Security sources said there was no indication the Airbus had been shot down or blown up.

Sinai is the scene of an insurgency by mil-itants close to Islamic State, who have killed hundreds of Egyptian soldiers and police and have also attacked Western targets in recent months.

Islamic State websites have in the past claimed responsibility for actions that have not been conclusively attributed to them.

Telephones RingingRussian television showed � lm of anxious relatives and friends waiting for information at St. Petersburg’s Pulkovo airport. A mid-dle-aged woman was shown weeping and crying out.

Russian President Vladimir Putin declared a day of national mourning for Sunday. The passengers included 214 Russians and three Ukrainians.

The A321 is a medium-haul jet in service since 1994, with over 1,100 in operation worldwide and a good safety record. It is a highly automated aircraft relying on com-puters to help pilots stay within safe � ying limits.

Airbus said the A321 was built in 1997 and had been operated by Metrojet since 2012. It had � own 56,000 hours in nearly 21,000 � ights and was powered by engines from International Aero Engines consortium, which includes United Technologies unit Pratt & Whitney and Germany’s MTU Aero Engines .

Emergency services and aviation special-ists searched the wreckage for any clues to the crash. One of two � ight recorders was quickly found, but wreckage was scattered over a wide area.

The security o� cer said 120 bodies had been found intact.

Back Page32DT


UNCLE RITCHIE’S SPY THRILLER PAGE 31

LDCS EXEMPTED FROM PAYING PATENT DRUGS ROYALTY TILL 2032 PAGE 15

DILSHAN SAGA CONTINUES PAGE 25

JSC, JDC tests begin todayn Tribune Report

The Junior School Certi� cate (JSC) and Jun-ior Dakhil Certi� cate (JDC) examinations 2015 will be held across the country today.

A total of 2,325,933 students from 28,632 educational institutions are expected to take the tests. The number of JSC examinees is 1,967,447 and of them, 914,900 are males and 1,052,547 are females.

On the other hand, 358,486 students will ap-pear for the JCD tests. Of them, 167,770 are males and 190,716 are females. The number of JSC and JDC candidates rose by 235,241 this year than the previous year. Also, a total of 585 students will take the tests at eight overseas centres.

Addressing a recent press brie� ng, Edu-cation Minister Nurul Islam Nahid said the government had taken a number of steps to prevent the leak of question papers. He said surveillance had been ramped up at the BG Press, coaching centres and photocopy shops in this regard.

The minister said there would be vigilance teams at exam centres to prevent corrupt teach-ers from giving candidates illegal privileges. lAFP

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

01 Nov, 2015

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