SECOND EDITION
SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 27, 2016 | Agrahayan 13, 1423, Safar 25, 1438 | Regd No DA 6238, Vol 4, No 210 | www.dhakatribune.com | 32 pages | Price: Tk10
Anti-Rampal power plant activists announce
hartal on Jan 26 if demands not met › 2
Khadiza finally speaks › Back Page
Jubo League leader abducts
schoolgirl to marry › 7
Muhammad Zamir writes
about combating climate
change › 22
Fidel Castro dies at 90 › 3
‘Shyamoli Shishu Mela to
be demolished’ › 4
Goons threatening to kill Shahnur › Back Page Santal files GD against Gobindaganj MP, UNO › 5
2
SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 27, 2016
DT
News
Anti-Rampal power plant activists announce
hartal on Jan 26 if demands not met
Government
claims that this
project will
not harm the
Sundarbans,
but I can give
them evidence
that it will.
If the prime
minister wants,
we can arrange
a debate at
the Shaheed
Minar or on
any television
channel
The National Committee to Protect Oil, Gas and Mineral Resources, Power and Ports brings out a procession from the Central Shaheed Minar in the capital yesterday
afternoon protesting the planned power plant in Rampal of Sundarbans
MAHMUD HOSSAIN OPU
• Manik Miazee, Kamrul Hasan
and Arif Ahmed
Reiterating their call to scrap the
Rampal coal power plant, citizens’
platform National Committee to
Protect Oil, Gas and Mineral Resources,
Power and Ports yesterday
said that they would come up with
alternative proposals for power
generation on January 14 next year.
National Committee Member
Secretary Prof Anu Mohammad
made the disclosure after the end
of a mass rally yesterday while
announcing a seven-point programme
including mass protests
throughout the country on December
26 and observing Global Protest
Day on January 7.
He also threatened to observe
a half-day hartal on January 26 if
their demands were not met.
The mass rally took place at the
Central Shaheed Minar demanding
cancellation of the 1,320MW coalfired
power plant near the Sundarbans
in Rampal of Bagerhat. Later,
they brought out a procession to
High Court Crossing in the afternoon.
To join the rally, activists from
seven districts of the country started
marching towards Dhaka on
Thursday. Some of the protestors
told the Dhaka tribune that they
had been obstructed by the police
and the ruling party men at some
places on their way to Dhaka.
The rally started with one
minute silence, and the opening
speech was given by Prof Anu, an
economics teacher at Jahangirnagar
University. It was presided over
by engineer Sheikh Muhammad
Shahidullah.
Communist Party of Bangladesh
President Mujahidul Islam Selim,
BaSoD General Secretary Khalequzzaman,
Ganashanhati Andolon
Convener Zonayed Saki and members
of different political parties
and non-political organisations
were also present during the programme.
Terming the movement a battle
for the existence of the country,
Prof Anu said: “It has been found
in several researches that the project
will be harmful for the nation.
Had the government ever been
concerned about the national interest,
then they would have already
stopped the project showing
respect to the public sentiment.”
Stating that some 3.5 million
people depend on the Sundarbans
alone, he said: “If the world’s last
remaining mangrove forest is destroyed,
around 50 million people
will be affected as there will be no
natural protection for them.”
He alleged that the government
was implementing the project to
please the Indian investors.
The government is adamant
about implementing the project,
claiming that it would not harm the
mangrove forest or the water species
in the nearby Pashur River.
Apart from Bangladeshis at
home and abroad, the Unesco and
the Ramsar have also demanded
that the project be shifted to any
other location expressing concerns
over the possible adverse impact
on the Sundarbans World Heritage
site.
CPB President Selim told the rally
that they would scrap the project
if the leftists were voted to power.
“They [government] claim that this
project will not harm the Sundarbans,
but I can give them evidence
that it will. If the prime minister
wants, we can arrange a debate at
the Shaheed Minar or on any television
channel. Rampal power
plant should be closed.”
Veteran columnist Syed Abul
Maksud said: “We want the country
to be developed; we also want
electricity but not by endangering
the country.”
He questioned why the government
was not constructing the
power plant elsewhere.
Zonayed Saki said dismissed
the government claim that they
would use advanced technology at
the project to mitigate pollution,
saying: “The Rampal plant project
manager himself told media that
they will not use ultra super critical
technology.”
Biplobi Workers’ Party General
Secretary Saiful Haque said that
most of the ministers could not
speak up against the project in fear
of losing their jobs. Almost half of
them would protest against the
coal-fired power plant, he claimed.
Speakers also urged the government
to quit coal and go for sustainable
energy sources including
solar and wind power to generate
electricity.
People started gathering at the
Shaheed Minar from the morning
though it was scheduled to begin
at 2:30pm. Several thousand green
activists took part in the event.
Several cultural organisations
including Udichi Shilpi Goshthi
performed songs calling for national
consensus to save the Sundarbans.
Rally under tight vigilance
Even though there was significant
number of police and RAB deployed
at the Central Shaheed Minar
area, the law enforcers did not
use batons to disperse the protesters,
like what they do all the time
– be it while staging a procession or
holding a long-march – on the same
issue.
Police in uniform and plainclothes
patrolled the area throughout
the programme to ensure law
and order.
Shahbagh police OC Abu Bakkar
Siddique said that they provided
adequate security as the National
Committee had taken permission
from the DMP to hold the programme.
Since they had no permission for
holding any procession, the police
allowed them to march the streets
under protection. The OC said that
the organisers had told them about
the procession little before the end
of the rally. •
News 3
SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 27, 2016
DT
Fidel Castro dies at 90
• AFP, Havana, Cuba
Cuba’s historic revolutionary leader
Fidel Castro died Friday aged 90,
after defying the United States during
a half-century of iron-fisted rule
and surviving the eclipse of global
communism.
One of the world’s longest-serving
rulers and modern history’s
most singular characters, Castro defied
11 US administrations and hundreds
of assassination attempts.
His younger brother, President
Raul Castro, announced the news
shortly after midnight but gave no
details of the cause of death.
Fidel Castro crushed opposition
at home from the moment he took
power in 1959 to lead the communist
Caribbean island through the
Cold War. He stepped aside only in
2006 after intestinal surgery.
For defenders of the revolution,
Castro was a hero who protected
the ordinary people against capitalist
domination.
For his opponents, including
thousands of Cuban exiles living
in the United States, he was a cruel
tyrant.
Castro eventually lived to see the
restoration of diplomatic ties with
Washington last year.
National mourning
President Raul Castro, who took
power after his elder brother Fidel
was hospitalised in 2006, announced
the news on national television
just after midnight Friday
(0500 GMT Saturday).
The government on Saturday decreed
nine days of mourning.
From November 26 to December
4, “public activities and shows will
cease, the national flag will fly at
half-mast on public buildings and
military installations,” a statement
from the state executive said.
Castro’s ashes will be buried in
the southeastern city of Santiago on
December 4 after a four-day procession
through the country, it added.
‘Symbol of an era’
Castro’s death drew strong reactions
from world leaders.
“The name of this distinguished
statesman is rightly considered the
symbol of an era in modern world
history,” said Russian President
Vladimir Putin in a telegram to Raul
Castro.
Former Soviet leader Mikhail
Gorbachev said the late leader left a
“deep mark in the history of mankind.”
“Comrade Castro will live forever,”
said Chinese President Xi
Jinping in a message read on television.
“Castro was “a great man of
our time... History and people will
remember him.”
French President Francois Hollande
said Castro “represented, for
Cubans, pride in rejecting external
domination.”
Venezuelan President Nicolas
Maduro, Cuba’s main ally in the region,
said on Twitter: “It is up to us
to continue his legacy and carry his
flag of independence.”
‘Socialism or death’
Fidel Castro came to power in 1959
as a black-bearded, cigar-chomping
32-year-old, in a revolution against
former dictator Fulgencio Batista.
“When this war is over, a much
longer greater war will begin: the
war that I am going to wage against
them,” the United States, he had
said in 1958.
“I realise that will be my true
destiny.”
Living by the slogan “socialism
or death,” Castro kept the faith to
the end, even as the Cold War came
and went.
He endured more than 600 assassination
attempts, according to
his aides, and the disastrous USbacked
Bay of Pigs invasion attempt
in 1961.
“If I am considered a myth, the
United States deserves the credit,”
he said in 1988.
Castro was at the centre of the Cuban
Missile Crisis in 1962, as the world
stood on the brink of nuclear war.
Eventually the Soviet Union
backed down in its bid to station
strategic missiles on Cuban soil.
Revolution
Born August 13, 1926 to a prosperous
Spanish immigrant landowner
and a Cuban mother of humble
background, Castro was a quick
learner and a keen baseball player.
His political path was set when
he formed a guerilla opposition to
the US-backed government of Batista,
who had seized power in a 1952
coup.
In 1953 Castro led a small rebel
force that attacked a major military
base, the Moncada Barracks in Santiago,
in a bid to oust Batista. The
drive failed. Castro was put on trial,
and in a self-defence speech said he
did not care if was convicted.
“History will absolve me,” he famously
said.
After two years of prison Castro
went into exile in Mexico and
organized followers for their ultimately
triumphant uprising.
On December 2, 1956 the rebels
sailed to southeastern Cuba on the
ship Granma. Twenty-five months
later, they ousted Batista and Castro
was named prime minister.
Castro threw Cuba’s lot in with
the Soviet Union, which bankrolled
his regime until 1989, when the
Eastern Bloc’s collapse sent Cuba’s
economy plunging.
Ceded power
Fidel ceded power to his younger
brother Raul, now 85, in July 2006.
The revolutionary icon underwent
intestinal surgery and disappeared
from public view.
Castro married three times and is
known to have fathered eight children.
•
4
SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 27, 2016
DT
Mayor shuts
down Shyamoli
Shishu Mela
• Abu Hayat Mahmud
The Dhaka North City Corporation
(DNCC) authorities yesterday shut
down the lone children’s park in
the northern part of the capital over
dodging lease payment and not renewing
the contract, announcing
that soon it will be demolished.
The authorities sealed off the
park during a drive in presence of
Mayor Annisul Huq but assured
that it had been closed for the time
being. It would soon be reopened
as a public park, they said.
The drive was conducted to recover
the park from its operator
Via Media Limited on allegation of
dodging the lease payment, and for
operating the park without renewal
of contract for more than a decade.
The Via Media Limited had
leased the Gulshan public park also
from the then undivided Dhaka
City Corporation (DCC) and established
a highly commercial Wonderland
Amusement Park there.
In 2012, the Rajuk demolished the
Wonderland for breaching the contract,
Annisul told reporters.
“We have recovered this city corporation
land [1.4 acres] after a long
legal battle with the Shishu Mela authorities,”
he said, adding that the
DNCC would reopen the park soon
for the people of all ages including
children since it is a public property.
The mayor said: “The operator,
Via Media Limited, filed a case
against the city corporation although
they were continuing business
without paying the dues.
“Finally, after a long legal battle
the court passed its verdict in favour
of the city corporation; that is
why we have come here to recover
the public property. The authorities
of the Shishu Mela have been
asked to pay their 12 years’ dues
and shift their rides and equipment
within the next seven days, otherwise
it will be demolished.”
In reply to a query, he said that
the DNCC would recover its 50 illegally
occupied parks, playgrounds
and open spaces across half of the
capital within the next two years. Of
them, three more parks are to be recovered
very soon. He also warned
that no one would be allowed to
grab any public land in the city.
DNCC public relation department
sources said that the then
undivided DCC leased the park to
Via Media at Tk1,45,756.05 in 2002
for three years under the condition
that once the term is over the contract
had to be renewed.
The Public Works Department
(PWD) handed over the public park
to the city corporation in 1985.
After the departure of the mayor
from the spot, Via Media’s General
Manager Nurul Huda claimed to the
media that the park had been shut
down without any prior notice.
“We have filed two writ petitions
with the High Court. Verdict
has been pronounced in one case
but the other is still pending. So we
will take legal step against the city
corporation’s move,” he said.
Nurul, however, kept mum
when asked about the dues. •
News
PM flies to Hungary today
• BSS
Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina left
for Budapest for a 4-day long bilateral
visit, on invitation from
Hungarian President Dr Janos Ader
yesterday.
During her stay, she will take
part in different sessions of the Budapest
Water Summit 2016 (BWS), a
two-day long event. Furthermore,
she will have a meeting with Hungarian
Prime Minister Victor Obran
and call on President Janos.
It is expected that Sheikh Hasina
will use the trip to inaugurate the
Bangladesh-Hungarian Business
and Economic Forum.
As a member of the UN and the
World Bank high level panel on water,
Sheikh Hasina will be in attendance
at the inaugural BWS with the
Hungarian President and she is
also set to visit a Sustainable Water
Solution Expo along with other
Hawkers’ leader speaks at an
exchange-opinion discussion with
the Dhaka Tribune publisher, director
and editor yesterday, (Below) a
partial view of hawkers from the
Hawkers association RAJIB DHAR
dignitaries on Monday.
On the next day she will attend
a high level meeting of the summit
and a working lunch to be hosted
by President Janos.
She is set to meet with Obran in
the morning in a ceremony for the
signing of a number of agreements,
to be held at Kossuth Square. The
MoUs address consultation between
the respective foreign ministries
as well as cooperation with
regard to water management and
agriculture.
According to Mahmood Ali, an
MoU will be signed between the
Federation of Bangladesh Chamber
of Commmerce and Industry
(FBCCI) and their Hungarian counterparts.
The two prime ministers are set
to hold a joint press conference following
the bilateral talks.
She is scheduled to return home
on Wednesday night. •
Khaleda calls
for talks on
EC again
• Tribune Desk
BNP Chairperson Khaleda Zia has
again made a call for talks on reconstitution
of the Election Commission.
To protect everyone’s vote an
EC on the basis of discussions isn’t
trivial or only BNP’s issue. Talks are
essential, not a unilateral EC,” the
twitter message posted on Saturday
reads.
Earlier on November 19, a day after
making recommendations about
forming a new election commission,
Khaleda twitted that her proposals
on the formation of new EC
could be a foundation for initiating
a dialogue for holding an acceptable
national election with the participation
of all political parties. •
‘Indigenous people need land rights’
• Afrose Jahan Chaity
Reazul Haque, chairman of the National Human
Rights Commission (NHRC), said that
one of his long term goals was to solve the
land disputes that have plagued ethnic minorities,
and he will take steps to this regard.
He made the statement at a national seminar
on the Rights of Indigenous Human
Rights Defenders, organised by the Indigenous
People Development Service (IPDS). The
seminar was held in the capital, at the CBCB
Centre.
The seminar was organised in order to increase
awareness of the indigenous people,
where National Coordinator of the International
Labour Organisation (ILO) Alexius Chicham
gave a presentation informing the Idigenous
Human Rights Defenders of their rights,
duties and practices.
The United Nations declaration on Human
Rights Defenders 1998, which outlines the
protections and duties afforded to human
rights defenders and organisations, took a
central part of discussions.
Rezaul claimed the failure of the ILO’s Indigenous
and Tribal Peoples Convention 1957,
which was adopted by bangladesh in 1972,
was to blame for some of the problems being
faced by indigenous ethnic minorities. “It was
integrated, but never implemented, and that’s
why indigenous people face violence in this
country” he said.
The NHRC boss also urged for decisive action
against those resposible for attacks against
minorities, as well as heavy punishment in order
to discourage future atrocities. The Indigenous
Human Rights Defenders also called for
ethnic minorities to be included in the constitution
and for them to receive land rights.
Dr Meghna Guhathakur, a member of the
NHRC, also spoke on the role and importance
of human rights defenders, emphasising Chicham’s
presentation.
The President of IPDS Sanjeev Drong presided
over the national seminar.
More than 250 young indigenous human
right defenders were in attendance. •
News 5
SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 27, 2016
Santal files GD against Gobindaganj MP, UNO
• Md Tazul Islam Reza,
Gaibandha
A Santal man has filed a general diary
against 32 individuals, including
Gobindaganj lawmaker Prof Abul
Kalam Azad and Upazila Nirbahi
Officer Md Abdul Hannan, with
Gobindaganj police station yesterday.
Thomas Hembrom, resident of
Harinmari village in Gobindaganj
upazila and one of the Santals who
were violently evicted from their
ancestral land in Shahebganj-Bagda
sugarcane farm of Rangpur Sugar
Mill Ltd, filed the general diary (GD)
around 2pm yesterday.
Gobindaganj police station
OC (investigation) Al Md Nazmul
Ahmed registered the GD, in which
400-500 unidentified individuals
were also listed as suspects in the attack
on Santals.
Thomas was accompanied by a
10-member delegation comprising
representatives of Association of
Land Reforms and Development,
Ain O Salish Kendra, Bangladesh Legal
Aid and Services Trust (BLAST)
and Nijerai Pari when he went to the
police station to file the GD.
Speaking to the Dhaka Tribune,
Gobindaganj OC Subrata Kumar
Sarker said Rangpur Sugar Mill
Managing Director Abdul Awal,
Sapmara Union Parishad Chairman
Shakil Ahmed Bulbul who is also
the president of Bangladesh Chhatra
League’s Gobindaganj unit, Katabari
Union Parishad Chairman Md Rezaul
Karim, local Awami League leader
Md Hossain Fuku, and a few workers
of the sugar mill are also among the
accused listed in the GD.
This is the second case filed by
Santals over the incident. The first
one was filed on November 16 by
Swapan Marmu, from Moalipara village
in Gobindaganj, accusing 500-
600 people, but none of the accused
were named.
Santal leaders claimed that the
first case was not filed by affected
Santals.
“Police have tactfully made a
Santal who lives outside of Madarpur
and Joypurpara communities
[the affected villages] and file the
case to save the real culprits,” said
Jatiya Adivasi Parishad President Rabindranath
Soren in an immediate
reaction.
OC Subrata said 20 people had
been arrested in connection with the
case filed by Swapan Marmu.
“Today’s [yesterday’s] complaint
has been registered as a general diary
and will be filed as a case after
we receive the court’s order in this
regard. Since a case has already been
filed on the incident, we will take
further action in accordance with
the court’s directive,” he told the
Dhaka Tribune.
Around 2,000 Santal families
from 15 villages in the Shahebganj-Bagda
farm area were evicted
by police and RAB on November 6
and 7.
Local Bangalis loyal to the local
lawmaker also took part in the eviction
drive, looting and torching the
Santal houses. At least three Santals
were killed during clashes and at
least 30 people were injured, including
nine policemen.
Police filed at least three cases
against the local Santals – the last one
lodged after the November 6 eviction
drive for obstructing the law enforcers
from performing duties. Four
Santals were arrested in this connection
and are currently out on bail.
The land in question, originally
owned by local Santals and some
Bangalis, was acquired by the then-
East Pakistan government in 1962 for
the sugar mill. In 2014, some found
that the contract for acquisition had
been violated by the mill authority.
As the contract stated that any
violation would transfer the land’s
ownership back to the original owners,
the Santals along with some
Bangalis built 600 homes on 100
acres of the 1,842-acre farmland and
started living there in July.
DT
However, the evicted Santals told
the Dhaka Tribune that both Sapmara
UP Chairman Bulbul and Gobindaganj
MP Azad had urged them to
start living on the land.
Santals receive 67 more
sacks of paddy
The sugar mill authorities handed 67
more sacks of paddy over to the Santals
yesterday, sources said.
The paddy, originally sown by the
Santals, was harvested by around
100 employees of the sugar mill who
volunteered to harvest and package
the paddy.
A combined harvester machine
was also used in the process.
Around 10 acres of paddy was
harvested yesterday, said the mill’s
MD Abdul Awal.
The authorities started harvesting
the paddy on Thursday and has
given 149 sacks of paddy – amounting
to 298 maunds or around
11,123kg – to Santals till yesterday,
he added. •
Bangladesh to send 1 million
migrant workers in 2017
• Adil Sakhawat
Bureau of Manpower, Employment
and Training (BMET) Director
General Salim Reza yesterday said
Bangladesh will send 1 million migrant
workers in 2017.
Salim speaking at a national
consultation programme arranged
by Brac ahead of the Global Forum
on Migration and Development
(GFMD) in December said: “The
Malaysian and KSA manpower market
is opening up again to Bangladeshi
migrant workers and we had a
very fruitful meeting with UAE last
month and that market will open to
Bangladeshi manpower very soon.”
He said they hoping to send the
1 million migrant workers abroad
next year.
As of November this year, 21,
6,57,632 Bangladeshi migrant
workers went abroad for work.
While presenting the key note
presentation, Head of Brac’s Migration
Programme Hassan Imam
said the percentage of unskilled labour
export is still very high: “50%
of the overseas employment from
1976-2015 were unskilled. Even last
year 43% of the overseas employment
were of unskilled labour.”
The BMET DG said they understand
the importance of skills development
and this is why it was
placed in the last national budget
this year: “In this regard, we have
started a short course at BMET to
help develop the skills of migrant
workers in 48 different trades and
we also have 70 training centres
for skills development. We are also
constructing 40 training centres
with 50 more training centres in
the pipeline.”
“We have taken these kinds
of initiatives to train our migrant
workers so that the chances of
them being exploited when they
reach their destination countries
will be zero,” he also said.
During the consultation with
civil society members and migrants
workers, some of them raised concerns
over the high migration cost
from Bangladesh and the existence
of middlemen during the process.
Bangladesh Association of International
Recruiting Agencies
(BAIRA)’s Secretary General Ruhul
Amin answered: “As most migrant
workers feel more comfortable going
to a middleman than going a
recruiting agency we should work
with the middlemen and make them
aware of safe migration processes.”
Ruhul also said some countries
have agreed to take Bangladeshi
migrant workers at zero migration
cost like Qatar through the Qatar
Foundation is working to take
Bangladeshi male migrant workers
without any migration cost. •
President Abdul Hamid, commander-in-chief of the armed forces, receives a guard of honour at the Sixth Corps Reunion and 36th
Annual Commanders’ Conference of the Ordnance Corps of Bangladesh Army at Rajendrapur Cantonment, Gazipur yesterday ISPR
MP assaults World Bank official
• Rafiqul Islam, Feni
An official of the World Bank and
an engineer linked to a cyclone
shelter project were injured as Feni
3 constituency lawmaker Haji Rahimullah
carried out an attack on
them in Matiganj Kashmir area under
Sonagazi, Noakhali yesterday.
The injured are World Bank
representative Md Mohsin and
engineer Ghulam Rabbani. They
were admitted to Sonagazi Upazila
Health Complex.
The independent lawmaker denied
having attacked any official,
but admitted that he had stopped
work of the project since the contractor
was using substandard
products.
Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina
inaugurated the construction work
of seven cyclone centers in October
this year, funded by World Bank in
Sonagazi upazila. SSAI Joint Venture
Company got the work of a
center in Matiganj Kashmir area.
Engineer Dipankar Banik,
co-owner of SSAI, said: “MP Haji
Rahimullah demanded a huge sum
of money before starting of the construction
works. After the prime
minister inaugurated it, he pressured
us to inaugurate it again by him.
“Around 3:30pm on Saturday,
the lawmaker along with some of
his supporters swooped on us and
stopped the works as we refused to
comply with his demand.”
Haji Rahimullah, also the president
of Jeddah unit Awami League,
said: “I ordered them to stop the
construction works as SSAI was
building the cyclone center with
low quality materials.”
Sonagazi police sent a team to
the spot after learning about the
attack. Ratan Banik, manager of
SSAI, said that they were preparing
to file a case against the MP and his
men. •
TEMPERATURE FORECAST FOR TODAY
DRY WEATHER
LIKELY
SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 27
Dhaka 29 18 Chittagong 28 22 Rajshahi 29 17 Rangpur 28 16 Khulna 30 17 Barisal 29 17 Sylhet 29 17
DHAKA
TODAY
TOMORROW
SUN SETS 5:10PM
SUN RISES 6:23AM
YESTERDAY’S HIGH AND LOW
30.4ºC
13.5ºC
Bogra
Rajarhat
Source: Accuweather/UNB
PRAYER
TIMES
Cox’s Bazar 28 20
Fajr: 5:45am | Zohr: 1:15pm
Asr: 4:00pm | Magrib: 5:22pm
Esha: 7:30pm
Source: Islamic Foundation
6
SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 27, 2016
DT
Bogra farmers facing
shortage of potato seeds
• Nazmul Huda Nasim,
Bogra
Potato cultivaltion in Bogra
may be hampered this year
as the farmers in the district
are facing acute shortage of
seeds.
Local potato farmers alleged
that a syndicate manipulated
the seed markets
and created fake crisis to earn
extra profit.
Due to seed crisis potato
farmers of the district could
not cultivate potato yet, said
local sources.
According to the sources
of Agriculture Extension Department,
it requires 90,000
tonnes of potato seeds for
cultivation on 62,000 hectares
of land in the district
while Bangladesh Agricultural
Development Corporation
(BADC) will provide only
15-20 percent of the required
seeds, BRAC will provide 15-
20 percent and the rest will be
provided by other NGOs and
local farmers.
Many farmers of district
could not preserve potato
seeds and they depend on the
locally preserved seed and on
the dealers for collecting quality
seeds. Taking advantage of
it, local dealers had increased
seed prices, alleged farmers.
Faridur Rahman, deputy-assistant
agriculture officer,
said: “Potato farmers
usually booked potato seeds
before the seeding season.
Farmers did not get seeds as
all farmers of the district had
tried to buy seeds at a time.”
He also assured that BADC
would supply potato seeds on
time.
Potato farmers Sirajul Islam,
Mokhlesur Rahman,
Shoel, Shahjahan Ali and others
from different upazilas in
the district told to the Dhaka
Tribune that they prepared
their lands for potato seeding
but could not cultivate seeds
News
due to seed crisis.
Some farmers wishing anonymity
alleged that dealers
sold potato seeds to different
NGOs by taking advance money.
Now NGOs are trying to sell
the seeds with extra price thus
they manipulated the seed
market and create fake crisis.
However, Abdur Rahim,
additional deputy director
of Agriculture Extension Department
said: “Local potato
seeds grower preserved
enough potato seeds at local
cold storages. Seeds crisis
will be solved very soon.”
But he had said nothing
about local syndicates.
Bogra BADC’s deputy director
Golam Sarwar told to
the Dhaka Tribune that there
were 372 potato seed dealers
in the district. Government
had only supplied 3,100 metric
tonnes of seeds while it
had been estimated that it
would require 8000 metric
tonnes this year. •
Two killed in road accident
• Monoj Shaha, Gopalganj
A woman and her five-year-old son were
killed in a head-on collision between a truck
and a pick up van on the Dhaka-Khulna highway
in Sadar upazila of the district yesterday.
The accident took place in Chandradigholia
area of the upazila before dawn.
The bodies of Rabeya Begum, 35, and her
son Rifat were sent to the district hospital
morgue for autopsy. She is wife of Hasibur
Rahman Hasib, from Haridaspur village in
the upazila, OC Selim Reza said a pick up
van carrying the three collided head-on
with a truck because of dense fog while they
were on the way to home from Dhaka.
Rabeya and her child died instantly while the
driver fled the spot soon after the accident. •
Due to lack of academic building Sordhorkuti Government Primary School arrange PSC examination in a
makeshift exam hall. The photo was taken from Gabtali upazila in Bogra yesterday
DHAKA TRIBUNE
Schools in Brahmanbaria
realising more fees
• Tribune Desk
Many schools at Bijaynagar
upazila under Brahmanbaria
are reportedly taking extra
money from students for
filling up forms to sit for the
Senior Secondary Certificate
(SSC) examinations.
Though the Board of Intermediate
and Secondary Examinations,
Comilla has fixed
the charges at Tk 1,485 for science
examinees and Tk1385
for commerce and arts students,
the school authorities
are allegedly collecting extra
fees from the students without
giving any receipts.
The authorities of Daudpur
High School are collecting
Tk4,300 from the students
who passed the test exam and
between Tk 5,300 to 9,000
from those who failed in one
or more than one subjects.
Habibur Rahman, a guardian
of an SSC candidate, said
he paid Tk5,375 as form fees.
However, the school’s
headmaster, Moha Probhu,
declined to say anything in
this connection, reports UNB.
Delwar Hossain, headmaster
of Panchgaon Ideal High
School, said they took Tk
1,000 as coaching fees from
the students in addition to
the form fees.
Al Mamun, upazila secondary
education officer,
said necessary steps would be
taken against the institutions
who were taking extra fees
from the students. •
News 7
SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 27, 2016
Jubo League leader abducts
schoolgirl to marry
• Abdullah Al Dulal, Rajshahi
Eight held
over supplying
answers
for SUST
admission test
• Mohammed Serajul Islam,
Sylhet
Police arrested eight people from
Sylhet yesterday in connection
with supplying answers to the examinees
of the honours admission
test in Shahjalal University of Science
and Technology (SUST).
Police did not disclose their
identities yet.
The police also recovered electronic
devices from them, which
were supposed to be used for supplying
answers to questions of the
test, said Akhter Hossain, officer-incharge
of Jalalabad police station.
Three of the arrestees are the
supplier of answers, while the rest
are the admission aspirants.
Seven of the detainees were
arrested from Kaligaon Bus Stand
nearby SUST campus, while they
got down from a bus there around
6am.
Later, based on their information,
the law enforcers detained
the other one, who is a first year
student of SUST, from a hall of the
university.
For the last three days, the police
had been trying to arrest the
gang.
Earlier, police had received an
information that a group miscreants
had indulged such types of activities
for long and the gang might
indulge in such type of activities,
said the OC.
“We will disclose the details
information of the arrestees after
completing the interrogation,
said Akhter Hossain to reporters
around 6:30pm . •
A leader of Jubo League, Awami
League’s youth affiliate, in Rajshahi
has allegedly abducted a tenth-grader
schoolgirl at gun point to marry her.
“Jubo League leader Sohel Rana
along with 12 activists on six motor
cycles broke into my house at Taherpur
municipality of Bagmara upazila on
Friday evening, firing in the air, whisked
away my daughter” said the girl’s
father.
“They assaulted the family members,
including women before taking
away the girl at gunpoint,” said he.
The family members alleged that
the girl was taken to the mayor’s home
and immediately married to Rana.
Jubo League activists, who were
around the victim’s house after the
abduction, made sure that they could
not go to the police, alleged victim’s
family members.
They claimed that Taherpur Jubo
League President Asadul Islam, Chhatra
League President Korban Ali, Ward
Unit Awami League President Mizanur
Rahman and several other leaders of
the ruling party and its affiliates were
involved in the abduction.
The girl’s brother said that they
were later called to the mayor’s home.
“They threatened to kill us if we reported
the matter to the police,” he said.
The family members claimed that
they had not reported the incident
to police in view of life threats. They
alleged the local mayor was involved.
Selim Hossain, officer-in-charge of
Bagmara police station, said they had
moved to rescue the girl, but were later
informed by Taherpur Mayor Abul Kalam
Azad that she was safe and sound
at his home.
“Rana and the girl were in a relationship.
She was brought from her home
as the family rejected the marriage
proposal,” said Rahman.
When contacted, Mayor Azad said
the girl had not been married off with
Rana and problems between two
families over the issue had been solved.
Kazi (Marriage registrar) Abdul
Malek said he had not registered the
marriage as the girl was below 18. •
Bangladesh General Students’ Parishad Rajshahi unit stages a human chain demanding extension of government job age limit
to 35. The photo was taken from Zero point area in Rajshahi city
AZAHAR UDDIN
Transport workers call strike on Tuesday
• FM Mizanur Rahaman,
Chittagong
Transport workers called for a
24-hour strike yesterday to be enforced
in the all routes of greater
Chittagong on November 29 with
a nine-point demand including an
end to police harassment, alleged
BRTC corruption and constructing
of bus terminals.
The strike was called by Bangladesh
Sarak Paribahan Sramik
Federation (Bangladesh Road
Transport Workers’ Federation)
Chittagong regional chapter.
It will be enforced from 6am on
November 29, said the transport
workers’ leaders.
“The transport strike will be
enforced in all routes of greater
Chittagong including Cox’s Bazar,
Rangamati, Bandarban and Khagrachari
district to press home
our nine-point demand while the
transport workers will go on tougher
movement if the demands are
not met immediately,” said Md
Musa, president of Bangladesh Sarak
Paribahan Sramik Federation’s
Chittagong regional committee.
He made the statement at a
press conference held at Chittagong
Press Club’s Engineer Abdul
Khaled auditorium.
“Police harass transport workers
and drivers with excuses such as
document checking, vehicle overload,
over-speeding and no-parking
while the passengers of the
transports were also harassed by
cops frisking them on the both
sides of Chittagong Shah Amanat
Bridge area,” alleged Md Musa.
In his speech, transport workers’
leader said police were intentionally
implicating the name of
transport leaders in different cases
while the members of law enforcing
agency’s rampant extortion and
bribery have made their lives miserable.
The transport leader also demanded
immediate registration of
around 4,000 CNG-run new auto
rickshaws which were termed illegal
and evicted from the roads earlier.
“We also demand the cancellation
of the daily target income systems
by the transport owners and
BRTC should prioritise the practical
experience of drivers while
issuing a driving license instead of
the written test,” said Md Musa.
The other demands are-setting
up terminals for bus, trucks and
JKKNIU
admission
test recycles
old questions
• Mahadi Al Hasnat
DT
Students and aspirants were surprised
to find that the first year
admission test at Jatiya Kabi Kazi
Nazrul Islam University (JKKNIU)
for ‘A’ unit of 2016-17 academic session
held Thursday allegedly used
the same questions as the previous
year’s paper.
According to sources, 49 out
of the 50 English multiple choice
questions were exactly the same as
in the 2015-16 question paper.
Md Rashedul Islam, an applicant
from Chuadanga district told
the Dhaka Tribune: “Most of the
English Multiple Choice Questions
(MCQs) were exactly the same as
previous year’s questions.”
He claimed that the recycles
was happened due to the irresponsibility
of university authorities
and the admission test conducting
committee.
When contacted, Chairman of
the Department of English of the
university Dr Bijoy Bushon Das
said: “I was unaware of the matter,
as I am on leave due to physical
illness.”
Dismissing the complaint as
‘irrelevant” and “not abnormal”,
Chief Coordinator of ‘A’ unit examination
Dr Mahbub Hossain said:
“There is nothing to do if previous
year’s questions have appeared
in this year. The results of the test
have already been published and
notified.”
Vice Chancellor of Jatiya Kabi
Kazi Nazrul Islam Univeristy Dr
Mohit Ul Alam was unavailable
for comment, despite several
attempts to contact him via mobile
phone. •
prime movers, fixing parking spots
for auto-rickshaws, providing appointment
letters to all transport
workers and ensuring the money
of welfare trust to the workers,
cutting the higher ferry tolls, setting
Tk600 as the daily target and
cancelling the target system of
bus and human haulers in the city
while submitting the charge sheet
of transport leader Nurul Islam abduction
case immediately.
Hazi Abdus Sabur, chairman
of movement committee of Bangladesh
Sarak Paribahan Sramik
Federation, Hazi Ruhul Amin,
president of Bangladesh Sarak
Paribahan Sramik Federation’s
Chittagong Divisional Committee,
transport leader Rabiul Mowla, Ali
Ahmed and Humayun were present
at the press conference. •
DT
8
World
SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 27, 2016
SOUTH ASIA
Pakistan appoints new
army chief
Pakistan on Saturday appointed
General Qamar Javed Bajwa as its
new military chief passing over the
army’s favourite contenders for
arguably the most powerful role in
the country. Bajwa will take over
from the hugely popular General
Raheel Sharif, who won the hearts
of millions with his bruising campaign
against Islamic militants. AFP
INDIA
Eight workers killed in
Haryana factory blaze
At least eight workers were burnt
to death and three others injured
in a fire that broke out at a cotton
spinning mill in north India, police
said Saturday. The workers were
trapped inside the factory complex
late Friday when a suspected
electric short circuit sparked a fire
in a stockpile of cotton in Panipat
district of Haryana state, according
to police. AFP
CHINA
6.5 quake hits China, one
dead
A powerful 6.5-magnitude quake
rocked a mountainous area of far
western China Friday night, with
one person killed when a house
collapsed in a region often plagued
with seismic activity. The tremor
struck southern Xinjiang, a vast
region bordering central Asia, at a
relatively shallow depth of 12km, the
US Geological Survey said. REUTERS
ASIA PACIFIC
Indonesia arrests militant
planning attack on
Myanmar embassy
Police in Indonesia have arrested
a suspected Islamist militant and
seized a large quantity of bomb
making material that he planned to
use in attacks on government buildings
and the Myanmar embassy in
Jakarta next month. The suspect
was identified as Rio Priatna
Wibawa, 23, who is believed to be
a member of an Indonesian group
that supports Islamic State. REUTERS
MIDDLE EAST
Iraq adopts law legalising
Shia militias
Iraq’s parliament approved a law
on Saturday that will transform
Iranian-backed Shia militia’s
Popular Mobilisation forces, that
played a role in fighting IS, into a
legal and separate military corps.
All the Shia blocks in parliament
voted for the bill in a session
boycotted by lawmakers from the
Sunni minority who object to the
existence of armed forces outside
the army and police. REUTERS
Castro, a revolutionary CIA
couldn’t kill in ‘638 attempts’
• Tribune International Desk
Cuban revolutionary leader Fidel
Castro died yesterday.
In February of 1959 Fidel Castro
became the Prime Minister of Cuba.
Since then, according to the man
who was charged with protecting
him for most of his regime, he’s
survived over 600 assassination
attempts. Fabian Escalante, the former
head of the Cuban Secret Service,
claims that the assassination
endeavors break down like this: the
Eisenhower administration tried to
kill Castro 38 times; Kennedy, 42;
Johnson, 72; Nixon, 184; Carter, 64;
Reagan, 197; Bush Sr, 16; Clinton,
21. There are only so many different
ways you can ambush someone
with a sharpshooter, so some of the
ways the CIA plotted to kill Castro
were pretty wild. Here are just a few
of the unorthodox methods considered
to oust the Beard.
Femme fatale
Marita Lorenz, one of many women
Castro was involved with had
allegedly accepted a deal from
the CIA in which she would feed
him capsules filled with poison.
Though she managed to smuggle
the capsules in his bedroom in her
jar of cold cream, but failed to feed
him. According to Lorenz, Castro
somehow figured out her plan and
offered her his gun. “I can’t do it,
Fidel,” she told him.
Poisoned wet-suit
In 1975, the Senate Intelligence
Committee claimed it had “concrete
evidence” of a plan to offer Castro a
wetsuit lined with spores and bacteria
that would give him a skin disease.
The plan supposedly involved
American lawyer James B Donovan,
who would present Castro with the
FIDEL CASTRO
1926
Born August 13
in Biran, Cuba
Dies
aged 90
Nov. 25
2016
Start of
normalisation
of relations
between USA and Cuba
2015
US President
Barack Obama
visits Cuba, 2016
1945
Studies law
at University
of Havana
Officially steps
down as
president
2008
suit when he went to negotiate the
release of the Bay of Pigs prisoners.
A 1975, AP report said the plan was
abandoned, “Because Donovan
gave Castro a different diving suit
on his own initiative.”
Ballpoint hypodermic syringe
A pen with a hypodermic needle
so fine that Castro wouldn’t notice
when someone bumped into
him with the pen and injected him
The life he lived
• Tribune International Desk
Name: Fidel Alejandro Castro Ruz.
Titles: Former president of Council
of State and Council of Ministers,
first secretary of Communist Party
of Cuba, commander in chief of Cuba’s
Revolutionary Armed Forces.
Before resigning Feb. 19, 2008, he
was the world’s longest-ruling head
of government, and leader of one of
world’s last five communist states.
Had been off public stage for year
and half after provisionally ceding
power to his brother Raul following
emergency intestinal surgery.
1950
1952
Fulgencio Batista
seizes power after
coup d’etat
1953
Imprisoned after failed
attack on a barracks 1955
Receives amnesty
Exile in Mexico,
meets Ernesto "Che"
Guevara
82 men under 1956
Castro’s command
land in Cuba,
begin armed
struggle
Wins revolution
Becomes prime 1959
minister, begins
agrarian reform
Transfers
power to
brother
Raul due for
health reasons
2006
1998
Bay of Pigs:
defeats anti-
Castro invasion
Missile crisis
between USSR
and USA
Becomes
President
Collapse of USSR,
start of "Special
Period" in Cuba 1976
Pope John Paul
II visits
Education: Attended Roman
Catholic schools and University of
Havana, where he earned law and
social science degrees.
Before the revolution: Launched
his revolutionary fight with July 26,
1953, attack on military barracks in
eastern city of Santiago. Was arrested,
later freed under amnesty. Traveled
to Mexico to form a rebel army,
and returned to Cuba with followers
aboard small yacht. Most were
killed or captured, but Castro and
a small group escaped into eastern
mountain strongholds. Took power
when dictator Fulgencio Batista
HAVANA
Bay of
Pigs
Caribbean Sea
1990
ATLANTIC OCEAN
CUBA
Santiago
1962
Guantanamo
(USA)
1961
100 km
with an extremely potent poison.
This plan, however, never got materialised.
fled New Year’s Day 1959.
After the revolution: Emerged
as head of new government and
quickly gained nearly absolute
power. All American businesses
eventually expropriated and
Cuba was declared socialist state
in April 1961, on eve of disastrous
U.S.-backed Bay of Pigs invasion
by Cuban exiles. United States cut
all trade with Cuba as island allied
with Soviet Union, leading to October
1962 missile crisis that brought
world to brink of nuclear war. For
three decades, Cuba was Soviet
ally and remained alienated from
Exploding cigar
Cigar was one thing which remained
closer to Castro than anybody
else. CIA reportedly had
planned to pack a Cigar with explosives
to take Fidel’s head off.
In 1967, the Saturday Evening Post
reported that a New York City police
officer had been propositioned
with the idea and hoped to carry it
out during Castro’s United Nations
visit in September 1960.
Contaminated cigar
Another method involving Cigar
was involved in February 1961 when
CIA went as far as to recruit a double
agent who would slip Castro a
cigar filled with botulin, a toxin that
would kill the leader in short order.
The double agent was allegedly given
the cigars in February of 1961,
but he apparently got cold feet.
Exploding conch shell
Castro was fond of scuba diving
and knowing it, CIA planned
to plant an explosive device in a
conch shell at his favourite spot.
They plotted to make the shell
brightly colored and unusual looking
so it would be sure to attract
Castro’s attention, drawing him
close enough to kill him when the
bomb inside went off.
Bacterial handkerchief
The CIA had once reportedly
though of this idea to cover Fidel
in harmful bacteria and toxins.
They considered giving him a
germ-covered hankie that would
make him very ill.
Poisoned milkshake
According to Escalante, the closest
the CIA ever came to killing Castro
was a deadly dessert drink in 1963.
The attempt went awry when the
pill stuck to the freezer where
the waiter-assassin at the Havana
Hilton was supposed to retrieve
it. When he tried to remove it, the
capsule ripped open. •
Sources: THE GUARDIAN, MIRROR, INDIA
TIMES
United States after communism
collapsed in eastern Europe. The
two countries began to move toward
full diplomatic relations after
a surprise announcement by President
Barack Obama and Raul Castro
on Dec. 17, 2014.
Family: Married Mirta Diaz-Balart
in 1948; son, Fidel Felix Castro Diaz-Balart,
born in 1949; divorced
in 1955. Although Castro never
confirmed remarrying, reportedly
wed former schoolteacher Dalia
Soto del Valle and had five sons. •
Source: AP
World
Fidel Castro and the 11 POTUS
• AFP, Havana, Cuba
From Dwight Eisenhower, who
broke US diplomatic relations
with Cuba, to Barack Obama, who
decided to normalise them, 11 US
presidents faced off with Cuban
revolutionary leader Fidel Castro,
who died late Friday.
Dwight Eisenhower (Republican,
1953-1961): Provided arms to dictator
Fulgencio Batista, who was
battling Castro’s rebels. Prepared
the invasion of the Bay of Pigs
and broke off diplomatic ties with
Cuba in January 1961.
John F Kennedy (Democrat, 1961-
1963): Gave the green light for the
invasion of the Bay of Pigs in April
1961. Put in place the US embargo
against Cuba in February 1962
before the Cuban missile crisis
erupted that October. Was working
to promote a rapprochement
when he was assassinated in November
1963.
Lyndon Johnson (Democrat,
1963-1969): Reinforced the embargo
and tried to prevent the
sale of Cuban nickel to Soviet bloc
countries. Approved CIA plots to
assassinate Castro and supported
anti-Castro guerrilla groups.
Richard Nixon (Republican, 1969-
1974): Boosted anti-Castro activity,
including the arrests of Cuban
fishermen. Also worked against
sale of Cuban nickel to Soviet satellite
states.
Gerald Ford (Republican, 1974-
1977): In office as attacks against
Cuban missions abroad multiplied
and an attack on a Cuban airliner
left 73 dead. Authorised the first
trip of US businessmen to Cuba
and eased the embargo.
Jimmy Carter (Democrat, 1977-
1981): Further eased the embargo.
Opened a US interests section in
Havana and allowed a Cuban interests
section to open in Washington.
Allowed Cuban exiles to travel
home. Signed maritime boundary
treaty. In office during Mariel boatlift
of Cuban emigrants to United
States. Visited Cuba as an ex-president
in 2002 and again in 2011.
Ronald Reagan (Republican, 1981-
1989): Relations take a turn for
the worse, and easing of embargo
rolled back. Creation of the Cuban-American
National Foundation,
the main exile organization,
and the anti-Castro stations Radio
and TV Marti. First immigration
deal signed in 1984.
George H W Bush (Republican,
1989-1993): Reinforced embargo
with the Torricelli Act, as the Soviet
bloc crumbled. US subsidiaries
in third countries banned from
dealing with Cuba.
Bill Clinton (Democrat, 1993-
2001): Put into force Torricelli Act
and approved Helms-Burton Act,
which again tightened embargo.
In 1994, 36,000 Cubans fled for the
US in makeshift boats and rafts. A
new immigration agreement was
signed and Clinton backed anti-Castro
activists.
A LOOK AT FIDEL CASTRO THROUGH PICTURES
George W Bush (Republican,
2001-2009): Increased financial
aid to anti-Castro groups and
strengthened embargo again.
Limited travel to Cuba by exiles,
and the money they could remit
to relatives at home. Approved
food trade with restrictions. Raul
Castro officially took helm during
his tenure.
Barack Obama (Democrat,
2009-present): Lifted restrictions on
trips by exiles and amount of money
they could send home. Opened a
“dialogue” on immigration and said
lifting of embargo must be preceded
by democratic opening and respect
for human rights.
In December 2014, Obama and
Raul Castro announced simultaneously
that the nations would normalize
relations. The two countries
Cuba reopened embassies in each
other’s capitals in July 2015.
Obama made a historic visit to
Cuba in March 2016, the first by a
serving US president since 1928. •
Sources: AFP, Reuters
9
SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 27, 2016
DT
USA
Obama offers
condolences over Castro’s
death
President Barack Obama says the
United States is extending “a hand
of friendship to the Cuban people”
at the time of Fidel Castro’s death.
Obama says in a statement that
“history will record and judge the
enormous impact of this singular
figure on the people and world
around him.” AP
THE AMERICAS
LaAm march to condemn
violence against women
Mass marches to condemn horrific
violence against women swept Latin
America on Friday, after a series
of brutal murders stoked outrage
over a long-smoldering problem in
the region. Tens of thousands of
demonstrators took to the streets in
Buenos Aires, the latest in a series
of massive protests organised by
a burgeoning movement against
domestic violence. AFP
UK
Scotland sets out legal
case to have a say on
Brexit trigger
The Scottish government on Friday
published legal arguments it will
use to try to persuade Britain’s highest
court that the devolved Scottish
parliament must give its approval
before Prime Minister Theresa May
can trigger the Brexit process. A
High Court ruled earlier this month
that the government must seek the
approval of the British parliament
before starting the legal process of
leaving the EU. REUTERS
EUROPE
Merkel: EU and Turkey
must stick to migration
deal
The EU and Turkey must honour
their commitments to each other,
German Chancellor Angela Merkel
said on Friday, in a bid to cool a
row threatening a key migration
deal. She spoke a day after members
of the European Parliament
passed a non-binding resolution to
freeze talks on Turkey joining the
bloc, as a protest against Ankara’s
crackdown on dissent after a failed
coup in July. REUTERS
AFRICA
Dozens feared dead in
Mogadishu car bomb
A car bomb exploded near a busy
market in Somalia’s capital Mogadishu
on Saturday killing at least
eight people. Medical sources suggested
nearly 30 people had been
killed, but this was not confirmed
by authorities. No group has yet
claimed responsibility for the
attack, but immediate suspicion
fell on the al-Qaeda linked Islamist
al-Shabaab group. REUTERS
10
SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 27, 2016
DT
World
FLORIDA
(U.S.)
Cuba
Miami
Straits
Mariel of Florida
Havana Santa
Clara
Camaguey
Facts about Fidel
The following are some facts about former
Cuban leader Fidel Castro.
Ü Fidel Castro led Cuba for five decades
and was the world’s third longest-serving
head of state, after Britain’s
Queen Elizabeth and the King of
Thailand. He temporarily ceded power
to his brother Raul in July 2006 after
undergoing intestinal surgery. The
handover of power became official in
2008.
Ü In his last years, Castro occasionally
appeared in public and in videos and
pictures usually meeting with guests.
He wrote hundreds of columns for the
official media. Stooped and walking
with difficulty, Castro was seen in public
twice in 2012 and twice in 2013. He
was seen in public on January 8, 2014,
at the opening of a cultural centre,
though photos of visiting dignitaries at
the Castro home appeared after that.
Ü Castro holds the record for the longest
speech ever delivered to the United
Nations: 4 hours and 29 minutes,
on September 26, 1960, according
to the UN website. One of his longest
speeches on record lasted 7 hours and
30 minutes on February 24, 1998, after
the national assembly re-elected
Sources: AP
him to a five-year term as president.
Ü Castro claimed he survived 634 attempts
or plots to assassinate him,
mainly masterminded by the Central
Intelligence Agency and US-based
exile organisations. They may have
included poison pills, a toxic cigar,
exploding mollusks, and a chemically
tainted diving suit. Another alleged
plan involved giving him powder that
would make his beard fall out and so
undermine his popularity.
Ü Despite the plots, a US-backed exile
invasion at the Bay of Pigs and
five decades of economic sanctions,
Castro outlasted nine US presidents,
from Dwight Eisenhower to Bill Clinton,
stepping down while George W
Bush was in office.
Ü Castro used to chomp on Cuban cigars
but gave them up in 1985. Years later
he summed up the harm of smoking
tobacco by saying: “The best thing
you can do with this box of cigars is
give them to your enemy.”
Ü Time Magazine in 2012 named Castro
as one of the 100 most influential personalities
of all time. •
Source: REUTERS
Aug 13, 1926:
Fidel Alejandro
Castro Ruz born
to wealthy sugar
planter and maid
1945-50: Becomes
involved in revolutionary
politics while studying law
at University of Havana
1952: Candidate for Congress,
but election is cancelled after coup
led by General Fulgencio Batista
1953: Castro leads unsuccessful
revolt in July 26 attack on Moncada
Barracks in Santiago de Cuba.
Castro and younger brother Raúl
taken prisoner – released two years
later as part of general amnesty
1955: Relocates to Mexico to
reorganize 26th of July Movement
into disciplined guerrilla force
Dec 2, 1956: Castro and 80 rebels
land in Cuba from yacht Granma,
but are ambushed. 12 survivors
– including Raúl and Ernesto
“Che” Guevara – take to
Sierra Maestra mountains
to wage guerrilla war
1959: Castro leads
9,000-strong guerrilla
army into Havana,
forcing
Batista
to flee
Source: British Encyclopaedia
Pinar
del Río
CARIBBEAN
SEA
1960-61: Forges close
alliance with Soviet Union,
led by Nikita Khrushchev.
U.S. breaks off
diplomatic relations
and imposes
commercial
embargo after
Castro nationalizes
all U.S. interests
1961: U.S. sponsors
abortive invasion by
1,300 CIA-trained
Cuban exiles at
Bay of Pigs –
misjudging
support
in Cuba
for Castro
Bay of Pigs
1962: Presence of
Soviet missiles in
Cuba brings world to
brink of nuclear war.
Cuban Missile Crisis
only resolved when Soviets
remove weapons after President
John F. Kennedy secretly agrees to
withdraw U.S. missiles from Turkey
1975-1989: Castro
sends troops to support
Communist
forces in
Angola,
Ethiopia
and Yemen
1976: Communist Party of Cuba
approves new socialist constitution –
Castro elected president
Pictures: Alberto Korda, Getty Images, Associated Press
CUBA
100km
62 miles
Sierra
Maestra
Guantanamo
Bay (U.S.)
Santiago
de Cuba
1980: Mariel Boatlift – Castro
allows exodus of 125,000 Cubans
to U.S. via port of Mariel
1991: Collapse of Soviet Union
leads to crippling financial hardship.
To boost economy, Castro allows
some economic liberalization and
free-market activities while
retaining tight political control
1998: Castro welcomes
Pope John Paul II
in first visit by
pontiff to Cuba
2002: Castro
blasts U.S. for
detaining prisoners
in “concentration
camp” at Guantanamo Bay
2003: Black Spring crackdown on
dissidents draws international outcry
2008: Ill health
forces Castro
to stand down
as president
at age of 81.
Power handed to
brother Raúl, 76
2015: The U.S. and Cuba restore
diplomatic ties after 54 years, paving
way for visit
by President
Barack Obama
Nov 25, 2016:
Commander
of the Cuban
revolution,
Fidel Castro
Ruz, dies at age
of 90
© GRAPHIC NEWS
His top quotes
• Tribune International Desk
Cuba’s Fidel Castro, who seized power in Cuba in a
1959 revolution and transformed the country into
a communist state while ruling for five decades has
died, Cuban television said on Saturday. He was 90.
Here are some of his more memorable quotes
about himself and communism in Cuba:
Ü “Condemn me. It is of no importance. History
will absolve me.” – Castro in 1953, when the
young lawyer was defending himself at trial for
his near-suicidal assault on the Moncada military
barracks in Santiago de Cuba.
Ü “I began the revolution with 82 men. If I had to
do it again, I would do it with 10 or 15 and absolute
faith. It does not matter how small you are
if you have faith and a plan of action.” – Castro in
1959.
Ü “Millions of Cubans shed their tears today together
with the loved ones of the victims of the
abominable crime. And when an energetic and
forceful people cry, injustice trembles.” - October
15, 1976, addressing more than 1 million mourners
in Havana the week after the terrorist bombing
of Cuban airliner killed 73 people.
Ü “Cuba is not opposed to finding a solution to its
historical differences with the United States, but
no one should expect Cuba to change its position
or yield in its principles. Cuba is and will continue
to be socialist. Cuba is and will continue to be a
friend of the Soviet Union and of all the socialist
states.” - Dec. 20, 1980, to Congress of Communist
Party of Cuba.
Ü “I reached the conclusion long ago that the one
last sacrifice I must make for (Cuban) public
health is to stop smoking. I haven’t really missed
it that much.” – Castro in December 1985 upon
announcing he had stopped smoking cigars.
Ü “Just imagine what would happen in the world if
the socialist community were to disappear ... if
this were possible and I don’t believe it is possible.”
– Castro in 1989.
Ü “There’s nothing strange about it. I wish I had as
many opportunities to welcome personalities as
important as this one.” – Castro in 1994, explaining
the reception, usually reserved for heads of
state, given to Hugo Chavez upon his arrival in
Havana a few months after he was released from
prison for leading a failed 1992 coup. Five years
later, Chavez was elected president of Venezuela
and became Castro’s closest ally.
Ü “I realised that my true destiny would be the war
that I was going to have with the United States.”
– Castro’s opening quote in “Looking for Fidel,”
Stone’s second documentary on the Cuban leader
from 2004.
Ü “Here is a conclusion I’ve come to after many
years: among all the errors we may have committed,
the greatest of them all was that we
believed that someone ... actually knew how to
build socialism. ... Whenever they said. ‘That’s
the formula,’ we thought they knew. Just as if
someone is a physician.” Castro in 2005.
Ü “The new generation is being called upon to
rectify and change without hesitation all that
should be rectified and changed ... Persisting
in revolutionary principles is, in my judgment,
the principal legacy we can leave them,” April
18, 2011 opinion piece written during key Communist
Party Congress on the need to hand
off to young leaders. At the Congress, Castro
stepped down as head of the party. But despite
talk of rejuvenation, he was replaced by his
79-year-old brother, with two grey-haired veterans
of the revolution selected as Raul’s chief
deputies.
Ü “I’ll be 90 years old soon,” Castro said at an April
2016 communist party congress where he made
his most extensive public appearance in years.
“Soon I’ll be like all the others. The time will come
for all of us, but the ideas of the Cuban Communists
will remain as proof that on this planet, if
one works with fervor and dignity, they can produce
the material and cultural goods that human
beings need and that need to be fought for without
ever giving up.” •
Sources: REUTERS, AP
World
11
SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 27, 2016
DT
Green Party presidential candidate Jill Stein speaks at a campaign rally
in Chicago, Illinois, US on September 8
REUTERS
Wisconsin agrees to
statewide recount
in presidential race
• Reuters, Washington, DC
Wisconsin’s election board
agreed on Friday to conduct a
statewide recount of votes cast
in the presidential race, as requested
by a Green Party candidate
seeking similar reviews
in two other states where Donald
Trump scored narrow wins.
The recount process, including
an examination by
hand of the nearly 3 million
ballots tabulated in Wisconsin,
is expected to begin late next
week after Green Party candidate
Jill Stein’s campaign has
paid the required fee, the Elections
Commission said.
The state faces a December
13 federal deadline to complete
the recount, which may
require canvassers in Wisconsin’s
72 counties to work evenings
and weekends to finish
the job in time, according to
the commission.
The recount fee has yet to
be determined, the agency
said in a statement on its website.
Stein said in a Facebook
message on Friday that the
sum was expected to run to
about $1.1m.
She said she has raised
at least $5m from donors
since launching her drive
on Wednesday for recounts
in Wisconsin, Michigan and
Pennsylvania - three battleground
states where Republican
Trump edged out Democratic
nominee Hillary Clinton
by relatively thin margins.
Stein has said her goal is to
raise $7m to cover all fees and
legal costs.
Her effort may have given
a ray of hope to dispirited
Clinton supporters, but the
chance of overturning the
overall result of the November
8 election is considered very
slim, even if all three states go
along with the recount.
The Green Party candidate,
who garnered little more than
1% of the nationwide popular
vote herself, said on Friday that
she was seeking to verify the integrity
of the US voting system,
not to undo Trump’s victory.
While there was no evidence
of tampering or voting errors in
the election, only a thorough
review of results from the three
states at issue will reassure
Americans, Stein said.
Experts urged extra scrutiny
of the three states, Stein said,
because their voting systems
were seen as vulnerable. They
also cited “unexplained high
numbers of undervotes,” the
close finish between the two
nominees and “discrepancies
between pre-election polling
and the official result,” she said.
The Wisconsin board said
Stein was joined in her petition
by another third-party
candidate, Rocky Roque De La
Fuente.
Although Trump won narrowly
in Wisconsin, Michigan
and Pennsylvania, the margins
make it highly unlikely
any recounts would end up
giving Clinton a win in all
three states, which would be
needed for the overall election
result to change. Trump beat
Clinton in Pennsylvania by
70,010 votes, in Michigan by
10,704 votes and in Wisconsin
by 27,257 votes.
The presidential race is decided
by the Electoral College,
based on a tally of wins from
the state-by-state contests,
rather than by the popular national
vote. The Electoral College
results are expected to be
finalized on December 19.
Trump surpassed the 270
electoral votes needed to win,
although Clinton will have
won the national popular vote
by more than 2m ballots once
final tallies are in. •
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12
Business
SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 27, 2016
CAPITAL MARKET SNAPSHOT: PAST WEEK
DSE Broad Index 4,791.3 2.0% ▲ Index 1,133.3 0.9% ▲ 30 Index 1,769.5 0.6% ▲ Turnover in Mn Tk 39,771.6 28.7% ▲ Turnover in Mn Vol 1,260.7 43.5% ▲
CSE All Share Index 14,724.3 1.8% ▲ 30 Index 13,204.5 1.4% ▲ Selected Index 8,962.3 1.8 ▲ Turnover in Mn Tk 2,114.4 10.1% ▲ Turnover in Mn Vol 91.4 33.2% ▲
China keen to join Bangladesh
blue economy
• Tribune Business Report
The Chinese government has expressed
its interest for the development
of the blue economy of
Bangladesh.
The Chinese Ambassador to
Bangladesh, Ma Mingqiang, disclosed
his government desire while
addressing a discussion on “Reimagining
Bangladesh China Relations”
held in the city yesterday.
Addressing the event, the diplomat
said: “Blue economy has huge
potential in future and China is interested
to join the efforts to flourish
this economy.”
Referring to the recent visit of
Chinese President Xi Jinping, the
ambassador said: “It was a landmark
visit for Bangladesh as China is committed
to making large investment
in infrastructure of this country.”
“China is becoming more valuable
to Bangladesh as huge investment
is coming here from China in
Bangladesh and future relations
between the two countries depend
on Bangladesh.”
Saber Hossain Chowdhury,
chairman of Bangladesh China
Foundation for Future, presided
over the discussion while Zunaid
Chinese Ambassador to Bangladesh Ma Mingqiang
Ahmed Palak, state minister for
Information and Communication
Technology, attended the programme
as the chief guest.
Palak called upon the Chinese
government to make fresh investment
in new project of ICT sector.
He also urged the Chinese Embassy
and Bangladesh China Foundation
for sharing experiences and knowledge
in building digital university of
multimedia and innovation.
Stocks soar for 4th straight week
• Tribune Business Desk
Stocks gained steadily in the past
week to notch a fourth week of
gains, with a rally in financial and
telecom shares.
The week was marked by the
two very vital events for the market
– firstly, the key DSEX index broke
a strong resistance at 4,720-level
on its way to the year’s highest, and
secondly, it witnessed the highest
daily turnover in five years.
During the week that ended
on Thursday, the Dhaka Stock Exchange
(DSE) benchmark index
DSEX gained over 90 points or
1% to finish the week at 4,791—its
highest level since October 7 last
year when it was 4,800.
However, the blue-chip DS30
index saw small gains of 11 points
or 0.7% to 1,769 and the DSE Shariah
Index DSES rose marginally 10
points or about 1% to 1,133.
The Chittagong Stock Exchange
(CSE) Selective Categories Index,
CSCX, surged 156 points or 1.8%
‘Trading was mostly
concentrated on
three sectors—
engineering, bank and
textile—that made up
42% of the week’s
average turnover’
to 8,962. The fourth session of the
week came to spotlight because of
the five-year high turnover on the
DSE to nearly Tk15,000 crore boosted
by the private sector power generation
company KPCL block-transaction
of Tk828 crore, accounting for
21% of the week’s average turnover.
The week’s average turnover
increased notably by 30% to Tk795
crore compared to the previous
week.
Trading was mostly concentrated
on three sectors—engineering,
bank and textile—that made up 42%
of the week’s average turnover.
The week’s large cap sectors
showed strong positive performances
throughout the week, led
by banks 3.5%, telecommunications
1.4%, financial institutions
1.3% and power 1%.
Food & allied and engineering
sectors posted marginal gain while
pharmaceuticals remained flat in
the week.
The week’s market breadth was
also largely positive as out of 328
issues traded, 227 closed higher,
88 lower and 13 remained
unchanged
on the DSE.
AB Bank was
the week’s top
turnover leader
with shares valued
Tk84 crore changed
hands, followed
by Beximco
Limited, Doreen
Power, Square
Pharmaceuticals
and Bangladesh
Building Systems. •
INTERNET
In his address, Saber Hossain
said: “China is the largest trade
partner of Bangladesh and young
people can play an important role
in building relationship between
two countries.” •
Top negotiator:
UK citizens
could pay to
retain EU perks
• AFP, London
Britons wanting to retain benefits
of European Union membership
after the country leaves could pay
Brussels for individual citizenship,
European Parliament’s lead Brexit
negotiator Guy Verhofstadt told
The Times yesterday .
“Many say ‘we don’t want to
cut our links’,” the former Belgian
prime minister told The Times.
“I like the idea that people who
are European citizens and saying
they want to keep it have the possibility
of doing so. As a principle I
like it.”
Prime Minister Theresa May has
vowed to trigger Article 50 of the
Lisbon Treaty by March, setting the
ball rolling on two-years of negotiations
to set the terms of the divorce.
Trade and immigration are set
to be the key issues, with European
leaders saying they will not compromise
on open borders within
the bloc.
Brexit-supporting MP Andrew
Bridgen accused Verhofstadt of
trying to sow division in Britain.
“It’s an attempt to create two
classes of UK citizen and to subvert
the referendum vote,” he told the
Times. •
Business 13
India’s Modi defends cash ban
after criticism
• AFP, New York
Indian Prime Minister Narendra
Modi hit back Friday at the mounting
criticism of his decision to
withdraw all high-denomination
bank notes from circulation, describing
the move as “for the larger
social good”.
The November 8 move to ban
the 500 and 1,000 rupees ($7.30,
$14.60) notes - some 85% of all
bills in circulation - as legal tender
has sparked turmoil in the vast
cash-reliant nation.
Long queues have formed outside
banks across the country as
people try to get rid of their old
notes, and the government has
repeatedly changed rules surrounding
the exchange process in
CEO: Siemens
is well placed to
adapt business
in US
• Reuters
German trains-to-turbines group
Siemens is well placed to do business
in the United States, regardless
of whether President-elect
Donald Trump backs fossil-fuels at
the expense of renewable energy,
its CEO told a newspaper.
“The good thing is that we can offer
everything. Steam power plants
that are powered by coal, state-ofthe-art
gas-fired power plants, wind
energy, we can build solar parks and
the necessary link to the power grid,”
Joe Kaeser told Frankfurter Allgemeine
Zeitung (FAZ) in an interview.
Siemens employs 50,000 people
and makes $22 billion in revenues
in the United States, its single biggest
market, accounting for a quarter
of its total sales.
“It should pay off that Siemens
has built up local production and
engineering in the United States a
long time ago.”
Global renewable stocks fell following
Trump’s election victory,
fuelling concerns about the longterm
prospects of the industry in
the United States.
Siemens earlier this month said
it planned a public listing of its
$15 billion healthcare business, its
most profitable, and Kaeser told
FAZ that there was not much work
left to do to make the unit ready for
a stock exchange flotation.
“We have a lot of practice,”
Kaeser said, pointing to lighting
group Osram, which was spun off
by Siemens in 2013 and in which it
still holds a 17 percent stake. •
response to pressure from various
groups and mounting chaos.
“The decision isn’t being criticised
much (by the common
man),” Modi said in a speech Friday,
in which he praised citizens as
“soldiers in this fight against corruption
and black (unaccounted)
money”.
“Some things have to be done
above politics for the larger social
good,” he added.
Critics of the move have included
former prime minister Manmohan
Singh - whose economic reforms are
credited with rescuing India from
the brink of bankruptcy in the early
1990s - who said that the decision
could shave two percentage points
from the country’s GDP.
Ratings agency Fitch has also said
Charu Ceramic Ind. Ltd. of Bangladesh – a sister concern of Great Wall Ceramic Ind. Ltd. – signs an MoU with Siam Sanitary Ware
Co. Ltd., the largest sanitary ware manufacturer of Thailand, to produce world famous COTTO brand products in Bangladesh
DT
SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 27, 2016
Merkel: G20
must tackle
global steel glut
• Reuters
The G20 group of leading economies
must find a solution to excess
capacity in the global steel industry,
German Chancellor Angela
Merkel said yesterday, adding that
overproduction in some countries
was causing job losses elsewhere.
Merkel said Germany, which
takes over the G20 presidency next
month, would push for a collective
solution for the worldwide glut
that has dampened steel prices for
years and raised tensions between
China and other major producers.
European and US leaders have
pressed China to accelerate capacity
cuts, blaming its big exports for
slumping prices and accusing it
of dumping cheap steel in foreign
markets.
“For example, at the G20 summit
in China, we discussed in a
very open manner overproduction
in the steel sector, which is resulting
in people in the steel industry
losing their jobs,” Merkel said in
her weekly podcast.
“We must solve this problem together,
so that we don’t have a situation
where one country wreaks
damage on other countries,” Merkel
added. China has vowed to cut capacity
by 45 million tonnes this
year, though it said in August it was
behind on that target.
Last month, the European Union
set provisional import duties
on two types of steel entering the
bloc from China to counter what it
said were unfairly low prices. The
measure was criticised by Beijing,
which accused the bloc of engaging
in protectionism.
Some 5,000 jobs have been axed
in the British steel industry in the
past year as it struggles to compete
with cheap Chinese imports and
high energy costs.
G20 leaders pledged at a summit
in China in September to work
together to address excess steel capacity
that has punished the global
industry with low prices for years. •
Huawei opens five post-sale service centres
• Tribune Business Desk
Leading global technology and
smartphone giant Huawei has recently
opened five service centres
located in Sylhet, Gazipur, Dhaka,
Bogra and Khulna.
With the opening of service
centres, Huawei has taken another
step towards extending its postsales
services to its customers
across Bangladesh.
Two service centres were inaugurated
in Khulna and Bogra on
November 16 while another two in
it would revise down India growth
forecasts for the fourth quarter of
2016 after the shock move.
Others have slammed the government
for its “shoddy implementation”
of the scheme.
But Modi hit out at his rivals,
saying those criticising his decision
were doing so because they
were “sad that they didn’t get any
notice, a chance to prepare for the
decision”.
“It is such a great step. A big,
big decision. And, for those who
dream of a great future for the
country, let’s come together to remove
the problems being faced by
the common man,” he added.
In weeks since the decision, people
nationwide have complained of
a cash-crunch, with rural farming
Gazipur and Sylhet on November
22.
One service center was opened
on November 23 in the capital’s
Paltan.
Ingmar Wang, director, Device
Business, Huawei Technologies
(Bangladesh) Ltd, was present at
the inauguration ceremony in the
capital.
About the inauguration of the
new service centres, Ingmar Wang
said: “We are happy to announce
our new service centres in new locations.”
areas, where local banks and post
offices have been slow to receive
new notes, the hardest hit.
Modi also urged Indians to
switch to non-cash methods of
spending.
“Every person has a right to
spend his or her money. No one can
take anyone’s money. Now people
can also spend through mobile
technology,” he said, mentioning
that the country had around a billion
mobile handsets and 60 percent
of its population was under 35
years.
Modi’s move is an attempt to
encourage more people into formal
banking, which will also increase
taxable income in a country where
only around 3 percent of Indians
pay any income tax. •
Huawei has quickly won the
trust of Bangladeshi people with
its high-quality smartphones and
after sale services.
These service centres will help
cater to the need of growing number
of customers owning Huawei
devices.
“We will open more service centres
across the country very soon to
keep our commitment to the Bangladeshi
market.”
The newly-opened service centres
are located at Baitul View Tower
at Old Paltan in Dhaka; Bhawal
Point Shopping Complex in Gazipur;
RB Complex, East Zindabazar
in Sylhet; KDA Avenue, Sheikhpara
Tetultala in Khulna, and AL-Amin
Complex in Bogra.
With the launch of these new
service centers, Huawei now has
six service centres and 52 collection
points across the country.
To serve its customer more
effectively, Huawei has also
opened a hotline – 09610 777 777
– for its customers. The hotline is
open Monday to Friday from 9am
to 6pm. •
14
SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 27, 2016
DT
Business
Runaway dollar sends shiver
through world markets
• Reuters
The US dollar’s renewed surge and
signs that it will build on current 14-
year highs are leaving a trail of destruction
through world currency
markets and forcing policymakers to
rethink mechanisms to deal with the
fallout.
Currencies from the Indian rupee
to the offshore version of the Chinese
yuan have hit record lows to the
greenback this week, and if history is a
guide, another year or two of pain lies
ahead for them.
Judging from the US Federal Reserve’s
trade-weighted index, past
dollar strength episodes have tended
to last about seven years. So the current
rally, dating from mid-2011 and
averaging 4% annually, can be expected
to run until 2018.
This month’s move - not yet captured
by the Fed’s monthly and weekly
data - has been driven by expectations
that Donald Trump’s election spells
tax cuts, infrastructure spending
and an amnesty for corporate dollars
parked overseas that will fuel inflation
and bring capital flooding into the
United States.
That in turn could induce the Federal
Reserve into more and faster interest
rate rises that will support the
dollar as the currency of choice globally
for investors seeking better than
zero returns for their money.
Analysts at Deutsche Bank, long the
most extreme dollar “bull” of the major
banks that dominate the $5tn a day
currency market, spoke this week of a
“perfect storm” for the dollar. Strategists
at Goldman Sachs dubbed the U S
election a “reset” for the currency.
The list of dollar victims is growing
and economists and policymakers
are starting to wonder whether the
dollar’s surge could derail the very recovery
in demand and inflation that
would drive it higher. Emerging markets
are vulnerable. •
Saudi wants OPEC
to solve own
problems before
meeting non-OPEC
• Reuters
Top OPEC oil exporter Saudi
Arabia has told the producer
group it will not attend talks
on Monday with non-OPEC
producers to discuss limiting
supply, OPEC sources said, as
it wants to focus on having
consensus within the organisation
first.
The Nov 28 meeting in Vienna
was planned to discuss
the contribution that producers
outside OPEC will make
to a proposed supply-limiting
agreement. OPEC oil ministers
meet on Wednesday in an effort
to finalise their deal.
“There is an official letter
from (Saudi Arabia) saying (it
is) not attending the meeting
because the ministers
should agree to the cut and
then present the agreement
to non-OPEC countries,” an
OPEC source said. “This will
be more effective.”
The Organization of the Petroleum
Exporting Countries
is trying to cement a preliminary
September agreement in
Algeria that would reduce its
production to between 32.5
million and 33 million barrels
per day, its first supply curb
since 2008.
OPEC aims to remove a supply
glut and prop up oil prices,
which at below $48 a barrel
are less than half their level of
mid-2014. Oil prices extended
an earlier decline on Friday after
news of the Saudi no-show.
The organisation also
wants non-OPEC producers
such as Russia to curb output.
Russian Energy Minister Alexander
Novak on Thursday
said OPEC had proposed that
non-OPEC cut oil production
by 500,000 bpd.
Monday’s talks will be converted
into another OPEC-only
meeting, OPEC sources
said, to try to resolve the
group’s internal differences
before the ministerial gathering
on Wednesday.
A similar OPEC and non-
OPEC meeting in October resulted
in no specific pledges
from outside producers to cut
output, with attendees citing
the lack of an internal OPEC
agreement.
Saudi Arabia had asked
that this earlier meeting be
called off, but was convinced
by other members to attend
in order not to embarrass the
group, a source said.
No consensus yet
Despite extensive diplomacy,
the OPEC side of the deal still
faces setbacks from Iraq’s call
for it to be exempt and from
Iran, which wants to increase
supply because its output has
been hit by sanctions.
A meeting of OPEC experts
this week made some progress
in how to implement the cut,
but Iran and Iraq raised conditions
for participating, according
to sources.
“We have to solve our problems
as OPEC first. We have
not achieved an agreement
within OPEC,” a Gulf source
familiar with Saudi oil thinking
said on Friday.
“Before we meet with non-
OPEC and ask them to participate
in any action, we have
to have an agreement that is
credible with clear numbers
and a system that the market
believes.”
OPEC last persuaded non-
OPEC nations to make joint
cuts at the start of the millennium.
Nonetheless, OPEC believes
rival producers need to
help in the current effort.
Its Economic Commission
Board, comprised of the national
representatives of the 14
member countries who report
to their respective oil ministers,
concluded a two-day
meeting at the group’s Vienna
headquarters on Thursday.
“We concluded that non-
OPEC should participate in the
cut as OPEC alone can’t get balance
back to the market,” said
a source familiar with the matter,
who declined to be identified
as the talks were private.
Ahead of next Wednesday’s
OPEC meeting, ministers are
still trying to find agreement.
Algerian Energy Minister
Nouredine Bouterfa said he
would visit Tehran on Saturday
and meet his Iraqi counterpart
in Vienna on Monday
for more talks.
“We have held lengthy discussions
with our counterparts
about practical questions and
we remain optimistic that the
Vienna meeting will consolidate
the historic agreement obtained
in Algiers,” Bouterfa told state
news agency APS, referring
to the talks in September that
yielded a preliminary deal. •
Advertisement 15
DT
SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 27, 2016
German Interior Minister de Maiziere and German Finance Minister
Schaeuble attend cabinet meeting in Berlin
REUTERS
Schaeuble to push G20
for structural reforms
to prevent crisis
• Reuters
Germany will push for reforms
to make the world’s biggest
economies more competitive
and protect against future
crises when it takes the helm
of the G20, Finance Minister
Wolfgang Schaeuble said on
Friday, dimming hopes of fiscal
stimulus to boost growth.
“We will forcefully insist on
structural reforms to improve
our resilience against developments
that have the potential
to lead into crisis,” Schaeuble
told the Bundestag, the lower
house of parliament.
“There is no lack of debt in
this world, there is no lack of
central bank liquidity in this
world, but there definitively
is a lack of competitiveness
in this world because many
countries have missed out on
many reforms.”
Germany, which has rejected
calls by the European Commission
for more fiscal stimulus to
help boost euro zone growth,
takes over the G20 presidency
- grouping leading developed
and developing economies - at
the start of December.
Schaeuble said this week
that the European Union’s
executive should not direct
its call for fiscal stimulus at
Germany as Europe’s biggest
economy has increased investment
more than the euro zone
average in the last decade. •
‘Mini-dollar’ tag set to aid sterling in 2017
• Reuters
While others rushed to bet on a weaker
pound this summer, hedge fund Harmonic
Capital Partners’ algorithms
moved in the opposite direction and
three months later gave the firm one
of its best trading results of the year.
Despite sterling’s post-Brexit
plunge, Harmonic backed the Britis h
currency as a “mini-dollar” against the
yen and the euro, and profited from
the surge in the US currency around
Donald Trump’s presidential election
victory on Nov 8.
The strategy is drawing attention as
banks and asset managers launch their
end-of-year pitches to clients for 2017.
Some investors and currency strategists
say the pound’s close historical
links to the dollar, through trade
and investment - and the tendency
to move with it - favour sterling, going
into a year when dollar strength is
back on the cards.
They argue that, while the huge uncertainties
attached to the launch of
talks on leaving the European Union
will continue to weigh heavily on the
pound, the UK economy remains better
placed to generate growth than its
European or Japanese peers.
“You could say that it took a setback
following the Brexit vote,” says
Alastair Smith, a partner in the $1.8bn
hedge fund. •
CORPORATE NEWS
Mercantile Bank Limited has recently held an interactive meeting with
its mid-level officers, said a press release. The bank’s managing director,
Kazi Masihur Rahman was present at the meeting as chief guest
Jhalokathi branch of Islami Bank Bangladesh Limited has recently
organised a meeting to exchange views with members of Rural
Development Scheme, said a press release. Chairperson of the bank’s
executive committee, Prof Syed Ahsanul Alam was present at the
meeting as chief guest
16
SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 27, 2016
DT
Feature
The future of the digital age
The story of Azim Hossain, Head of Digital at PRAN-RFL, his journey and how the digital sector is
about to change like never before.
Childhood and education
Well, I am actually from Jhalokahi,
a district under Barisal Division. I
was, however, born and raised in a
beautiful urban area called Bhola,
the largest island of Bangladesh.
I can still remember the first day
of school, 15th Jan 1991. It was a
government primary school and
I was always accompanied by
elder brothers and sisters. In those
days, parents only went to school
for major occasions, like results,
annual sports day or any other
important issue. Like most other
school going kids of the time, I
wanted to be Macgyver or Captain
Planet. Back then, life was full of
dreams.
Background and hardships
My childhood was excellent but as
I was from a typical middle class
family, we had to wait a lot before
getting what we desired. So, the
basic thing I was taught was to
be patient and put in all efforts
to attain something lucrative. It
is my rule of thumb and I follow
it whenever I want to achieve
anything.
I could go on, but the point
is that life is a balancing act. We
must adapt ourselves to the to be
on top of any situation.
What captured your interest in
this sector?
I must say, I did not deliberately
approach the digital arena. I
started my career at a software
firm. I was one of the youngest
lads to join that firm with a
marketing degree. My role in that
company was to sell digital or .com
property, readymade software/
solutions, customised software or
even ad space on websites. Worked
there for more than two years and
the experience was great.
After that I joined PRAN RFL
Group in the Brand management
department- my dream jobon
20th Jan 2011. There I was
the second private university
graduate to have gotten that
opportunity. My reporting boss
was a nightmare for me; he was
very rude, straightforward and a
perfectionist. But the best part of
him was his knowledge on brand
management, analysing data and
dominating the sales force. He
was the best at what he did and I
adapted to his style. My portfolio
included chips, fried ethnic
snacks, chanachur, nuts and fried
dal, etc.
The history of brand
penetration on digital media in
Bangladesh does not go too far. It
started towards the end of 2008,
in a very small scale mostly by the
telecommunication companies
followed by FMCGs in 2011. In
2012, we opened a Facebook page
for one of the chips brands named
‘Tom Tom Cracker’. That was the
2nd Facebook page of PRAN RFL
Group. 1st one was Mr. Mango.
Opening that Facebook page
was like an eye opener for me. We
could even get feedback where
our products have zero/less
availability. That was the starting
point of my journey into the digital
arena. After that I experimented
with various digital media services
which paid off.
What makes you so comfortable in
such a dynamic work line?
Digital media is always evolving
and it is said that every six months
it just changes its skin. You have
to work sensible and confidently.
So to work competently one
must always put themselves in
a learning mood. I believe we
need to learn even while we are
sleeping. As a developing country,
we lack the resources to do basic
research at times so we need to
always be on our toes. Therefore,
a professional approach will help
you cope up with the changes
and work in such a dynamic
environment.
Life is a balancing act. We must adapt
ourselves to the to be on top of any situation
Describe your role as the head of
digital media of PRAN RFL Group.
The beauty of PRAN RFL Group
is, it dares to challenge any one,
whether it is an international
FMCG or local. The core driving
brief of this company is to do your
job today better than yesterday,
set personal examples. This
message is conveyed to every
single member of this group. All
our stakeholders are following this
as well.
When I was shifted from brand
management to lead the digital
media team I was assigned only
one member by the management.
As this media is new and I had
some training and some practical
experiences while managing my
brands in digital arena, I started
looking for people who have the
mentality to live in the digital
arena. From then the team is now
a 19 members gang. We manage
almost 75 social media pages and
30 YouTube channels in more than
15 different countries.
PRAN RFL Group is exporting
its products to more than 130
countries and there are some
countries where digital media is
the only media that can be used
to communicate with the target
audience efficiently. So, working in
digital media of PRAN RFL Group
feels like whole world is your
workplace.
Where have you worked before
you joined PRAN RFL? How do
you manage so many brands in so
many countries?
Well, currently we are hiring
agencies on a retainer basis and we
just manage them. In Bangladesh
we are working with 15 different
agencies and 15 more agencies
working for us to manager our
export penetration till now. We
have an agency for Gulf, India,
Nepal, Africa and even Palestine
to manage our brands over there.
This is for social media, mainly
Facebook. But for other digital
media tools, our team directly
manages.
Where do you think the digital
sector in Bangladesh is headed?
Well this is a very simple question
to answer. I believe sooner or
later digital will be the only
media to communicate with the
TG for managing brands with
a very customised message.
The community will be more
dependent on this media for
accomplishing their daily
activities. The whole world
is converting to digital and
Bangladesh should not be an
exception. How we adopt and
adjust ourselves with this change
will set how we benefit from it.
Which trends do corporations/
business need to keep an eye out
for?
For any business, I feel that data
is king and digital media can give
you access to accommodate lots
of data at minimum effort. Now
the business should consider
implementing this media into
their business process to get
desired results. It should not be
confined to only communicating
with the community but also
for proper business automation,
data mining and converting data
into information. It will be the
key differential factor to keep
their position well ahead of
competitors.
What motivates you to push
yourself further?
I love to share knowledge with
others. So, I occasionally appear
as a guest lecturer in different
universities and IBA is one of
my favourite places to share my
latest thoughts. To know the
latest changes in this media, I love
attending training sessions at least
once a month. Finally, I want to
leave behind a better world, at
least my surrounding world. So,
whenever I get the chance to do
anything to for my society, I love
to participate there.
What is your suggestion for digital
marketing start ups?
Look, the word ‘start up’ sounds
very cool and glamorous. But most
of the startups cannot be sustained
in the long run. So, I want to
redefine the term as ‘sustainable
start up’. I feel this generation
is very talented at multitasking.
To do well as a digital marketing
agency, a few basic qualities that
the team should have are patience,
passion, being open to learn
new things, value and respect
for others opinion and finally, an
ability to listen. An online business
would need at least three years to
reach its breakeven point and to
remain patient till then is the only
formula to do well.
In a single sentence, what do you
personally wish to achieve or look
forward to in this sector?
This is very overwhelming to
say the least, but I want to be
someone who adds value to
my organisation, peers, and to
everyone around me and finally, I
wish to work for the government
to contribute to policy making,
because I believe the government
should create a pathway to follow.
Although the government has
already initiated lots of activities
which helped this sector to
grow, I believe sky is the limit;
certain things just need to be
synchronised to get the optimum
benefit.•
The art of winning
Feature
Five cardinal rules to follow if you want to make it big
• Features Desk
Let’s get one thing straight. While
first jobs and internships are
meant to be a learning experience/
networking exercise, if you want
to get ahead and build a career for
yourself, you have to think like
a winner. Easier said than done?
These five rules should get you
very far – at work, and in life.
Don’t outshine thy master
Never try to prove to the world
that you are better than your
supervisor. Even if you are more
talented and knowledgeable than
they are, stay humble and don’t
show off or worse, embarrass
them in public. Remember, they
can make or break your career.
Thou shalt aspire to
become the perfect
diplomat
Remember Varys from Game of
Thrones? Yes, the cute round
man with a cunning mind and a
mouth that only speaks only what
the listener wishes to listen. Start
taking lessons from Varys, because
he is really what you should
aspire to be; the perfect diplomat.
Refrain from voicing judgements
that are unprofessional, resist
the temptation to indulge in
petty office gossip and most
importantly, if a co-worker shares
anything private with you about
others, keep it to yourself and
don’t play Chinese whispers. Be
careful about the toes you step on
today, for they may be connected
to the behinds you’ll have to kiss
tomorrow. Be nice to everyone,
even if you don’t need to.
Let thine actions do the
talking
All the flattery and donkey-kissing
in the world will not come of any
use if it is not backed up by some
solid, quality work. Unless you
are trying your hand in politics,
your words will not be enough
to impress your boss. Ultimately,
your superior is only looking for
tangible results, which means,
those assignments aren’t going to
do themselves. Anything else...
well, there won’t be anything else
if you can’t show results.
Own up to thy mistakes
Concede gracefully: people make
mistakes, and some mistakes
can cost a lot to an organisation.
Making mistakes won’t make
your boss love you more, but
claiming responsibilities for the
consequences of your action
makes you stand out as an
individual; it shows integrity and
maturity, virtues that are very
much in demand. Furthermore,
owning up to your mistakes is not
a sign of weakness, but you can
use the opportunity to disarm
everyone with politeness and
grace.
Devise thine plans wisely
The ability to be well organised in
planning and thinking up multiple
backup options will always help
you cruise through any crisis.
Bosses like efficient people on
their team and those who are
experts in crisis management.
Have backup plans to backup
plans, and pay attention to details.
That way, you’re always winning.•
17
SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 27, 2016
DT
Illustration: Bigstock
Two years of social awareness through street art
The second segment was a Street
Art Rickshaw tour, conducted by
Naima Alam, for external guests.
Then the anniversary celebration
was held at ULAB, Campus B,
Multipurpose Room. Speakers at
the event were well-wishers of
the project like Zunaed Rabbani,
and Celebrated Cartoonist Syed
Rasad Imam Tanmoy. Head of the
ULAB Media Studies & Journalism
Department, Mr. Jude Wiliiam
Genilo was present as a guest. The
entire event was sponsored by
Jahangir Alam, Supreme Holdings
Ltd. The event was organised
by ULAB’s very own apprentice
program “PR 4 U” and “Kri
Events”. •
“The VoicelessBangladeshi,”
Street Art project of the Principles
of Public Relations course
of University of Liberal Arts
Bangladesh, celebrated their 2nd
birthday on Friday, November 25,
2016. For two years, Naima Alam,
the initiator of this project, has
been teaching social campaign to
the students of ULAB by getting
them to draw these messages
on more than 70 walls around
Dhaka city. This Friday, the project
completed 10 more of these art
works, along with a Rickshaw race
and an Anniversary celebration.
The program started on
November 24, with a Workshop by
Morshed Mishu (Assistant Editor
at UNMAD), titled “Transforming
Streets Through Art”. After the
workshop, 80 students came on
Friday and finished their artwork
with the help of friends from other
universities and two members of
Cartoon People, Syed Nafis and
Mohammad Ayan. Two of the art
works were sponsored by Plan
International Bangladesh, as part
of the 16 days of activation of
Prevention of Violence Against
W omen.
18
SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 27, 2016
DT
Feature
GObd goes all in with logistics platform ‘Go! FETCH’
• SD Asia Desk
Adnan, an ambitious entrepreneur,
has set up a Facebook store in
order to sell mobile handsets and
headphones – but he doesn’t have
the capital resources to put in
place his own delivery system.
Shaila, not wanting to get yelled
at by her boss, has rushed through
Dhaka’s awful traffic to get to her
office on time– but, she missed out
on her critical morning coffee.
Hridoy, the e-commerce
manager for his company’s
retail operation, has tried time
and time again to find an ideal
logistics partner – but his partners
are inexperienced and lack the
technology needed to do business
at the speed and volume that the
Bangladeshi consumer demands.
GObd’s Logistics Platform
GO! Fetch can solve all of three’s
problems. GObd’s GO! Fetch
(FETCH) platform has been solving
these types of problems over
the past year. GObd, founded in
2014, is an organisation made up
of individuals who passionately
believe that technology and data
are the keys to creating efficiencies
in logistics for Bangladesh.
Beginning of GO FETCH:
Inspired by the lack of real,
data-driven logistics providers
in Bangladesh and his own poor
experience ordering online,
GObd’s Co-Founder and CTO
Swagata Prateek has led the
building of FETCH as a robust
operational service driven by
technology. All the various
technology pieces have been
built from the ground up and
designed to meet customer’s
requirements. “We specifically
incorporated active tracking and
custom-designed algorithms to
create a highly efficient service,”
said Prateek. In many cases,
FETCH business partners require
small tweaks to their management
dashboards. “Given that we
manage our own technical team
and manage every technical piece
ourselves, we are able to provide a
significant level of customization
for our business clients,” said
Tareq Aziz, Software Engineer at
GObd.
“With the large expansion of
both traditional E-commerce
and Facebook commerce in
Bangladesh, logistics has become
a huge challenge for our partners.
We work to ensure a high-quality
customer experience, every
time and consider ourselves
an extension of our partner’s
business,” said Farhan Rahman,
Co-Founder, and COO of GObd.
“For anyone who is building their
e-commerce presence and requires
an experienced, reliable logistics
platform, FETCH is the answer.”
Challenges at the
beginning:
Getting here was not that easy
for FETCH. It started piloting
their logistics service with the
support of friends and family. “We
approached friends and family
who had various businesses
and told them to take a chance
with us – we made it work”, said
Farhan. In order to pilot their
consumer-facing model, Farhan
proposed using a simple number
and chat line on Whatsapp. “We
decided that the easiest way to get
people to use our service was to
remove any hassle – many people
in Bangladesh are already using
Whatsapp and this proved to be
an easy way for us to gauge the
market’, added Farhan.
FETCH web app:
With the consumer model proven
out, the GObd team has been
working on a customer facing
front-end that will allow users
to order anything, on-demand.
FETCH web app – which includes
ordering options from restaurants,
grocery stores, electronics
stores, flower shops and much
more. They are keeping their
official launch date under wraps
at the moment, but you can
sign up to follow their progress
at fetch.gobd.co. The FETCH
platform now includes multiple
large enterprise customers and
currently offers varied services
(for consumers, on-demand — and
for businesses) including food,
time critical documents, gifts,
flowers, electronics, grocery,
laundry, e-commerce products
and much more. They offer a
better, differentiated service
with ETA & Delivery times which
helps improve the quality of
service offered to consumers and
businesses. “Our goal is to provide
anything and everything, ondemand
for consumers — and in
support of our business partners,”
stated Qasim Rana, Co-Founder
and CEO of GObd. “We work
across the spectrum with some of
the largest e-commerce players in
Bangladesh – to the small corner
store on your street – and our
single most important focus is
customer experience. Logistics
is a tough business and requires
efficient spending in order to
achieve scale. We are going to use
the resources we have, channel
our spending and really center our
business at the core. Other players
are still trying to figure out who
they are, or, they have burned
money after money with little
growth to show for it,” said Qasim.
FETCH and competitors:
FETCH is not the only player
in the market. There are other
organizations in both the B2B and
B2C space including E-Courier,
Pathao, FoodPanda, HungryNaki,
GoGoBangla and others. “We think
the market has been primed for
the services FETCH provides to
businesses and consumers. I think
there is room in the market for
different levels of players and we
plan to be on top. What makes us
different is our focus on customer
experience and a consistent drive
to complement smart operations
with sensible technology. The
short answer is that consumers
in Bangladesh deserve better
services, and we are here to
provide just that.”
It is certainly good for local
consumers who now have option
to choose from multiple delivery
services. While the business
requires large investment to truly
offer a great customer experience,
we believe that the battle will
be fought not on who has best
resources but how well these
teams deliver on their promises
to customers. The marriage of
technology and conventional
logistic business is extremely
challenging as order fulfilment
process happens through multiple
levels.
The trick will be the most
efficient use of capital to
achieve scale which is difficult
to implement in an inefficient
market like Bangladesh. In the
Indian market multiple delivery
companies have shut down
operations in past one year. These
companies played the valuation
game and took VC money. Along
with money came pressure from
these investors to turn profits or
to show user acquisition too fast.
However logistics firms operate
on wafer-thin margins and end up
losing money on every delivery,
according to industry experts.
Hopefully, our logistics startups
will learn from the mistakes made
by their peer group from other
markets and add real value to our
local businesses. The last mile
delivery solution in Bangladesh
is definitely going through some
interesting times without a clear
winner at sight, but only time will
tell if we are to have one, soon! •
Article published under
special arrangement with
SDAsia.com
Advertisement 15
DT
SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 27, 2016
German Interior Minister de Maiziere and German Finance Minister
Schaeuble attend cabinet meeting in Berlin
REUTERS
Schaeuble to push G20
for structural reforms
to prevent crisis
• Reuters
Germany will push for reforms
to make the world’s biggest
economies more competitive
and protect against future
crises when it takes the helm
of the G20, Finance Minister
Wolfgang Schaeuble said on
Friday, dimming hopes of fiscal
stimulus to boost growth.
“We will forcefully insist on
structural reforms to improve
our resilience against developments
that have the potential
to lead into crisis,” Schaeuble
told the Bundestag, the lower
house of parliament.
“There is no lack of debt in
this world, there is no lack of
central bank liquidity in this
world, but there definitively
is a lack of competitiveness
in this world because many
countries have missed out on
many reforms.”
Germany, which has rejected
calls by the European Commission
for more fiscal stimulus to
help boost euro zone growth,
takes over the G20 presidency
- grouping leading developed
and developing economies - at
the start of December.
Schaeuble said this week
that the European Union’s
executive should not direct
its call for fiscal stimulus at
Germany as Europe’s biggest
economy has increased investment
more than the euro zone
average in the last decade. •
‘Mini-dollar’ tag set to aid sterling in 2017
• Reuters
While others rushed to bet on a weaker
pound this summer, hedge fund Harmonic
Capital Partners’ algorithms
moved in the opposite direction and
three months later gave the firm one
of its best trading results of the year.
Despite sterling’s post-Brexit
plunge, Harmonic backed the Britis h
currency as a “mini-dollar” against the
yen and the euro, and profited from
the surge in the US currency around
Donald Trump’s presidential election
victory on Nov 8.
The strategy is drawing attention as
banks and asset managers launch their
end-of-year pitches to clients for 2017.
Some investors and currency strategists
say the pound’s close historical
links to the dollar, through trade
and investment - and the tendency
to move with it - favour sterling, going
into a year when dollar strength is
back on the cards.
They argue that, while the huge uncertainties
attached to the launch of
talks on leaving the European Union
will continue to weigh heavily on the
pound, the UK economy remains better
placed to generate growth than its
European or Japanese peers.
“You could say that it took a setback
following the Brexit vote,” says
Alastair Smith, a partner in the $1.8bn
hedge fund. •
CORPORATE NEWS
Mercantile Bank Limited has recently held an interactive meeting with
its mid-level officers, said a press release. The bank’s managing director,
Kazi Masihur Rahman was present at the meeting as chief guest
Jhalokathi branch of Islami Bank Bangladesh Limited has recently
organised a meeting to exchange views with members of Rural
Development Scheme, said a press release. Chairperson of the bank’s
executive committee, Prof Syed Ahsanul Alam was present at the
meeting as chief guest
DT
20
Editorial
SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 27, 2016
TODAY
No direction home
The Rohingya are at the door, and
Bangladesh has a choice to make. After
all, it is our moral choices that define
who we are
PAGE 21
Combating
climate change
The Global Carbon Budget 2016
launched during COP22 has noted that
all countries need to take the matter of
going carbon negative very seriously
PAGE 22
Dying by
the numbers
Why exactly do people send their
children, especially girls, to work
in unsafe environments despite the
possibility of fatal accidents and deaths
at the workplace? Don’t they love them?
PAGE 23
Be heard
Write to Dhaka Tribune
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The views expressed in opinion
articles are those of the authors
alone and they are not the
official view of Dhaka Tribune
or its publisher.
End the toxic culture of victim
blaming
There is a sickness within our society.
The numbers are horrifying, and on the rise. More women have fallen victim
to murder, rape, acid attacks, and other forms of assault this year than they have
in past years.
But that is not the whole story. Experts say the numbers, high as they are, do not give
the whole picture -- as much as two thirds of women do not report these crimes to the
police, and so they go unnoticed, unpunished.
And therein lies the sickness. Because of our twisted and retrograde attitudes towards
women’s autonomy and victimhood, as a society we consistently fail to support women
who come forward to report abuse.
Such women are often blamed for crimes committed against them, furthering their
victimisation, and deterring them from reporting future crimes.
Society also constantly downplays the gravity of things like violence and sexual
assault. It is often seen as a matter that is best swept under the rug.
Directly and indirectly, these behaviours not only protect abusers, they embolden
them.
It is high time we treat this malaise. A large part of the solution is to have a system in
place where women feel comfortable coming forward to talk to law enforcement officers.
This entails having all-women police stations, more female police officers everywhere,
and better training for police.
Domestic violence must be treated as a crime, not a private affair.
Ultimately though, our entire mind-set must change. Quite often, it is members of the
victim’s own family who try to silence the issue, and discourage her from reporting abuse.
Finally, we need to be having more constructive conversations about stalking and
abuse.
Pretending they do not exist, and pretending they are no big deal, are what perpetuate
the problem.
BIGSTOCK
Domestic violence must
be treated as a crime, not
a private affair
No direction home
Opinion 21
Genocide is taking place under the watchful eye of a democratically elected government
DT
SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 27, 2016
HARD TARGET
own turf.
But enough is enough. NLD
can’t fix this problem. It is time
for the world to get tough on
Myanmar, and not take genocide
for an answer.
• Abak Hussain
Did the world really think
Myanmar would change?
In spite of the much
anticipated elections last
year which saw Suu Kyi’s party
come to power, Myanmar remains,
in effect, a military regime that
continues to rape, kill, and burn
down the homes of the nation’s
own Rohingya people.
What is going on is nothing if
not genocide, and it is happening
right under the watchful eye of
Myanmar’s beacon of peace, Nobel
laureate Aung San Suu Kyi.
As the world waits for Suu Kyi
to say something, do something,
she remains silent. In fact,
she won’t even use the word
“Rohingya.” Whether Suu Kyi is
unwilling or unable to make a
stand, it is clear that her moral
high ground has long been
compromised.
The Nobel peace prize itself
has always been a bit misleading
though. Barack Obama had won
the prize for achieving nothing
more than a very inspiring
presidential campaign, a
decision that gained the Nobel
committee some flak. But Obama’s
unworthiness was nothing
compared to Suu Kyi’s complicity
in the worst humanitarian crisis of
our time.
Military rules
While Suu Kyi’s National League
for Democracy (NLD) is, in theory,
the ruling party of Myanmar, the
military retains a chokehold on the
nation, controlling a number of
things, from national security, to
police, to the justice system. The
NLD seems powerless to stop the
military from committing human
rights violations.
This does not let Suu Kyi off
the hook. She has lacked the
backbone to take a stand, possibly
in fear of political repercussions.
After a very long time, she is in
a position of some actual power,
and she would rather not risk it by
angering the military.
Of course, Suu Kyi herself
will never acknowledge this. She
maintains a delicate balancing act
of telling the world community
that the NLD needs a bit of “space”
to address the complicated issues
of the country, thereby dancing
around the issue of the crimes
against humanity going on in her
The good neighbour
Recently, Dhaka summoned
the Myanmar ambassador to
talk about putting an end to the
atrocities, but all that seems to
have taken place is an exchange
of hot air. Dhaka “conveyed” its
message to Yangon.
Tell that to the people about to
be killed.
Bangladesh may well be
the only safe haven for many
Rohingya feeling persecution.
However, we have had a
complicated relationship to the
Rohingya issue for quite some
time. On the one hand, many
Bangladeshis feel a natural sense
of fraternity towards our darkskinned,
Muslim neighbours from
across the border. Nonetheless,
the long-standing refugee crisis at
the Bangladesh-Myanmar border
The Rohingya are
at the door, and
Bangladesh has a
choice to make. After
all, it is our moral
choices that define
who we are
is one of immense logistical
complexity, and one that most of
our top public officials don’t have a
clue about how to solve.
But right now, those are details.
What matters is that these
refugees are fleeing death. They
are coming to us because they
have nowhere else to turn.
Never mind the fact that the
plight of the Rohingya is not our
fault, that it is all Myanmar’s
doing. Let’s not hope to work out
fully the logistics of how such a
large refugee population will be
contained in Bangladesh, and what
the ramifications are, right away.
The Rohingya are at the door,
and Bangladesh has a choice to
make. After all, it is our moral
choices that define who we are.
If Bangladesh looks deep within
itself, if we are being honest with
ourselves, the answer is obvious:
We must open up our borders.
Let’s not forget our own history.
When Bangladesh was faced with
genocide, India welcomed us, and
A people without a nation
took in some 10 million refugees.
It is time for us to pay it forward. It
won’t be easy, and it will strain our
already overburdened resources.
But the right thing to do is the
right thing to do.
A global humanitarian problem
Ultimately, the Rohingya crisis is
the whole world’s problem, and
turning a blind eye to it makes us
look bad as a species.
Why are the world’s powerful
nations not coming forward? The
United States and Australia have
embraced refugees before -- why
are they not coming to the aid of
the Rohingya now?
The world needs to take a
hard stance against Myanmar’s
still-military government and its
genocidal activities, and place
economic sanctions if needed.
A good start is to stop
pretending as though Myanmar is
now a functional democracy, and
that Suu Kyi will eventually do the
right thing. If the world fails to act
now, one day it will have to look
back and wonder: How could we
have idly stood by and let a whole
population get wiped out?
Rakhine referendum?
A couple of years ago, an op-ed
piece by Zeeshan Khan published
in this very newspaper suggested
that Rakhine state, 42% of which
borders Bangladesh, be allowed
to hold a referendum. After all,
Myanmar does not acknowledge
Rohingyas as rightful citizens, and
kills them as though it is routine
government business.
The why not let the Rohingya
people decide if they want to
secede from Myanmar? This
would involve the districts of
Sittwe and Muangdaw joining
Bangladesh, and becoming part of
the Chittagong division.
At the time of publication,
the op-ed seemed like just a
theoretical exercise, but protests
soon broke out in Myanmar.
Buddhist monks took to the
streets.
Yangon summoned the
Bangladeshi ambassador to ask
if this was Bangladesh’s official
position. The ambassador, who I
doubt was a Dhaka Tribune reader,
must have been a bit flummoxed
about the whole thing.
The Myanmar government’s
reaction was very telling.
The country was, and still is,
unfamiliar with the concept of
a free press that raises human
rights concerns independent of the
actions of the government.
It is not surprising, then, that
no one in Myanmar, not even
the great Aung San Suu Kyi,
is denouncing the shameful
treatment of the Rohingya that is
taking place right now.
But the rest of us cannot stay
silent. •
Abak Hussain is Editor, Editorial and Op-Ed,
Dhaka Tribune.
REUTERS
22
SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 27, 2016
DT
Opinion
Combating climate change
COP22 was all about fighting a truly global threat
a total of four years to be effective.
Such an attempt, it is believed, will
also lead to a severe diplomatic
backlash -- more serious than what
transpired after former President
George W Bush took the initiative
against the Kyoto Protocol.
Ban Ki-moon, the departing
UN secretary general has
however tried to allay the fears
by optimistically remarking that
some of what Trump expressed
in his electoral campaign was
probably popular rhetoric and
needed to be taken as such.
in vulnerable nations.
This will require creation of an
agreed road map regarding the
$100 billion climate finance fund
and common steps pertaining to
the acceptance of projects.
Transparency in this regard
would be essential to create
accountability.
For developing countries like
Bangladesh, already suffering from
the after-effects of climate change,
the financial assistance needs to be
more in the form of grants rather
than loans.
The Global Carbon Budget 2016 launched
during COP22 has noted that all countries need
to take the matter of going carbon negative
very seriously
Collective action is key
BIGSTOCK
P O S T
BREAKFAST
• Muhammad Zamir
The recently concluded
COP22 session in
Marrakech, Morocco
was an example of
international awareness of a
problem faced by humanity across
borders and the need to urgently
address issues associated with
the global warming process -- not
only to reduce carbon emissions,
but also adoption of measures that
relate to mitigation of the evolving
dynamics.
Meetings held on the sidelines
of the conference also revealed
some interesting aspects.
While 2016 is heading towards
being the hottest year on record,
global carbon dioxide emissions
from burning fossil fuels appear
to have stayed almost flat for the
third year in a row. Scientists
are terming this as a “clear and
unpredicted break” and a turning
point in the world’s efforts to curb
climate change.
Climatologists have suggested
that fall in the use of coal in China,
by far, the world’s largest carbon
emitter, was probably the main
reason for this slowdown.
This appears to conform to the
theory that global carbon pollution
usually slows when there is a
downturn in the global economy
and that in turn reduces the use of
fossil fuels in factories and power
plants.
This has, however, been
challenged by Professor Le
Quere, who has pointed out
that the world economy has not
really slowed down, but has
been growing by as much as
3%. Consequently, according to
him, this reduction can only be
described as unprecedented.
Discussions during COP22 have
revealed that the future will not be
as easy as many are thinking.
Pilita Clark has mentioned
that there has been a slight glow
of optimism but the scenario
remains dark in most parts of the
developed and developing world.
Records have indicated that US
emissions fell by 2.6% in 2015 as
coal use slumped.
It is being projected that this
trend will continue this year.
However, emissions rose by
a sharp 5% in India and also
increased by 1.4% in the European
Union (after a period of decline).
Carbon pollution in China, which
accounts for more than a quarter
of global emissions, continued to
grow at more than 5% till 2014 as it
had done for the previous 10 years.
This emission trend, however,
changed slightly in 2015 with a fall
by 0.7%. It is now expected that
fresh Chinese measures might lead
to another fall of around 0.5% this
year.
Scientists have commented that
atmospheric CO2 levels surged to
400 parts per million in 2015, the
highest seen in at least the last
800,000 years.
Some during COP22
also remarked that carbon
concentrations are expected to
climb to new records in 2016
on the back of a strong El Nino
weather system that produced
unusual hot and dry conditions in
many parts of the world (including
Bangladesh), sapping the ability
of trees and other vegetation to
absorb carbon dioxide.
One recent international
development has also cast a
shadow on the evolving paradigm
of tackling the after-effects of
growing carbon emissions.
This revolves around the
victory of Republican Donald
Trump in the US presidential
election. His views on this issue,
many feel, might complicate
matters.
One may recall, in this regard,
Trump’s comment that global
warming is a “hoax.”
He has also threatened to
“cancel” the global pact by having
US withdraw from the Paris
Agreement, stop financial support
for the measures initiated in this
regard by the United Nations,
and divert such funding towards
improving infrastructure within
the US.
He believes that such a
step would help him create
employment that he has promised
as part of his election effort. He
has also reiterated his intention
to revive the struggling US coal
industry.
Climate activists have, however,
hinted that any withdrawal by the
US from the ramifications of the
Paris Agreement would have to be
dealt with according to Article 28
of the agreement, and would take
He has also hoped that Trump,
after taking over the reins of
power, “will understand the
seriousness and urgency of
addressing climate change.”
One can only hope that Trump
does. As a businessman, he will
also probably appreciate the
potential of the US industry
benefitting from various aspects of
renewable energy.
In the meantime, the Global
Carbon Budget 2016 launched
during COP22 has noted that all
countries need to take the matter
of going carbon negative very
seriously.
It has also been underlined that
there should be greater emphasis
on afforestation and reforestation,
carbon capture, and storage.
Carbon capture and storage to
produce bio energy has, however,
been questioned by many as
it would require vast areas of
empty land and that might not be
possible in countries with small
territory.
A comment made by the UNEP
executive director also needs to
be noted. He has remarked that
we must not forget the growing
number of climate refugees
hit by hunger, poverty, illness,
and conflict and that these
affected people do not have legal
protection under the UN 1951
Geneva Convention.
They, as has been mentioned,
are a constant reminder of our
failure to deliver.
The United Nations also needs
to arrange urgent availability of
requisite funding for tackling the
negative effects of climate change
Bangladesh has continued
to take measures with regard
to climate change with great
commitment. It may be recalled
that we handed over on September
21 the “Instrument of Ratification”
of the Paris Agreement to the UN
secretary general. Some 109 out
of 197 UN member states have, so
far, ratified the Paris Agreement. It
came into force on November 4.
Bangladesh, on its own
initiative, has also created a
Climate Change Trust Fund worth
$400m from its own financial
resources.
Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina,
in the high level segment of
COP22, correctly reiterated some
important points.
They included the need
for collective action to tackle
problems associated with
adaptation, mitigation, the
resolution of the crisis being
created through migration of
climate change affected people,
the need to ensure safe drinking
water and sanitation through
effective water governance, the
creation of a new global fund to
support research, innovation, and
sharing advances in technology
required to solve serious aftereffects
of climate change in the
areas of agriculture and water
management. This, she pointed
out would help not only to meet
SDG goals but facilitate disaster
management. •
Muhammad Zamir, a former
Ambassador, is an analyst specialised in
foreign affairs, right to information, and
good governance.
Opinion
23
SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 27, 2016
DT
Dying by the numbers
Who will stand up for the voiceless?
Smiling in spite of it all
DHAKA TRIBUNE
of the oh-so-respectful “civil
society” are neutral in their
judgments and stances? Didn’t
you get the memo? They make
claims such as: “Yes, it is true that
the poor people are suffering, but
they’re not completely blameless
for their own misfortunes.”
And thus the balance is
maintained. All is well in the
world. Om.
So the victims should not
expect the “progressive” folk to
be of any help, which is actually
a good thing in a way. It teaches
the poor to think for themselves --
“give a man a fish” and all that.
But, how can these people,
who are constantly looking down
the deep yawning chasm that is
poverty, manage that time to think
over critical issues like the wellbeing
of their own kids, issues
that even the greatest economists
in the world have been unable to
solve?
Pardon my logic, but working 10
to 12 hours a day leaves little-to-no
time for pensive brooding over any
issue, more so if you’re chasing
that job with another.
Oh, don’t be mistaken, I am
lamenting for them. In one sense,
we can spin this into a positive
thing.
You must have noticed that
it’s the poor who are mostly
responsible for the rapid increase
in population in our country.
So maybe we should all view
these unfortunate deaths as part of
a wider culling.
For every five girls that die in
a factory fire, our Shonar Bangla
gets to breathe a little easier.
I recall the comment of Winston
Churchill, who said, during the
• Monswita Bulbuli
“I
had not thought death
had undone so many.”
This line from
TS Eliot’s The Waste
Land has been buzzing in my
head, while watching the long
rows of dead people -- both
physically and spiritually dead.
Though Eliot principally talked
about the spiritual emptiness of
modern man, nowadays it can be
interpreted literally also.
What a waste of young lives
all over the world. Wherever I
turn, I get no respite from news of
unnatural deaths.
It seems that the world is on a
killing spree, claiming the lives of
young people every which way,
especially of children and girls
from the underprivileged classes.
They are dying in the most
brutal ways, with fire being
involved in one way or the other.
In most countries, bombing
them seems to be quite popular.
In Bangladesh, rape, death, and
workplace fires are commonplace.
Why exactly do people send
their children, especially girls,
to work in unsafe environments
despite the possibility of fatal
accidents and deaths at the
workplace? Don’t they love them?
Even girls as young as 10 are
sent to completely unknown
households as servants, I mean,
“domestic help.” We are a civilised
nation after all, and slavery does
not exist in societies as “modern”
as ours.
Why are we kidding ourselves?
Calling these girls “slaves” is going
too far.
They are not slaves, they’re
punching bags who exist solely
to be beaten up and humiliated
at the hands of their masters to
Why exactly do people send their children, especially girls, to work in
unsafe environments despite the possibility of fatal accidents and deaths
at the workplace? Don’t they love them?
the point where they want to kill
themselves.
In factories, the scenario is,
surprisingly, better. The girls who
lose their lives to fire after fire do
not have to die alone.
At least, they have someone
next to them as they die in
agonising pain.
It’s not as ridiculous as it
sounds -- have you forgotten the
fire incident in Tazreen Garments,
or the more recent fire at an
Ashulia gas lighter factory?
The so-called “civilised” and
“enlightened” people who
research, survey, analyse the
global politics that go behind such
suffering and then hold seminars
and/or workshops over these
issues are only in it to flaunt how
scholarly they are.
These fools don’t care if these
poor girls live or die, but, then
again, who does?
Not their own damn parents,
that’s for sure.
Don’t you know that members
Bengal famine in 1943: “I hate
Indians. They are a beastly people
with a beastly religion. The famine
was their own fault for breeding
like rabbits.”
When the Delhi government
sent a telegram to Churchill
painting a picture of the situation
and the number of people who had
died, his only response was: “Then
why hasn’t Gandhi died yet?” •
Monswita Bulbuli is a Sub-Editor at the
Dhaka Tribune.
DT
24
Sport
SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 27, 2016
TOP STORIES
‘I’m Chris Gayle, the
six-machine’
Chris Gayle, perhaps the biggest
hitter in world cricket, has recently
arrived in Bangladesh to take part
in the ongoing Bangladesh Premier
League Twenty20’s fourth edition.
The West Indian left-hander will
play for Chittagong Vikings. PAGE 25
Comilla condemned
to seventh defeat
Dhaka Dynamites returned to
winning ways when they beat
defending champions Comilla
Victorians by 32 runs in their
Bangladesh Premier League
2016-17 season match in Mirpur
yesterday. PAGE 26
Bairstow helps
England rally
Yorkshireman Jonny Bairstow’s
composed 89 helped England
survive some poor top order shotmaking
and reach 268 for eight
at the close on the first day of the
third Test against India in Mohali
yesterday. PAGE 27
Aussies take control
in day-night Test
Australia took firm control of
the day-night third Test when
they reduced South Africa to 194
for six at the close on day three,
only 70 runs ahead of their hosts.
The hosts are desperate for a
consolation victory to avoid a first
3-0 sweep on home soil. PAGE 28
Rajshahi Kings captain Darren Sammy plays a shot during their BPL 4 match against Khulna Titans at Sher-e-Bangla
National Stadium in Mirpur yesterday
MD MANIK
POINTS TABLE
TEAMS M W L PTS
Khulna 9 6 3 12
Dhaka 8 5 3 10
Rangpur 7 5 2 10
Chittagong 8 4 4 8
Rajshahi 8 4 4 8
Barisal 8 3 5 6
Comilla 8 1 7 2
Sammy inspires Rajshahi again
• Tribune Report
Khulna Titans lost their way at the
end after some brilliant death over
bowling by Rajshahi Kings as the
latter clinched a nine-run win in
the Bangladesh Premier League’s
fourth edition at Sher-e-Bangla
National Stadium yesterday.
Khulna ended their chase on
145/6 after 20 overs after Rajshahi
posted a fighting total of 154/8
in their 20 overs, courtesy some
humongous hitting by skipper
Darren Sammy, who smashed a
quick-fire unbeaten 71-run knock.
Chasing the target, Khulna’s
top-order once again struggled
to provide a good start where
Hasanuzzaman was dismissed after
scoring one while Shuvagata
Hom departed adding just two.
But their English opener Riki Wessels
and skipper Mahmudullah
held the ship, adding 47 runs for
the third wicket.
Wessels however, was dismissed
scoring the highest 36
off 32 balls with four boundaries
and once again, all eyes were on
Mahmudullah, who was joined by
Nicholas Pooran.
And it looked Khulna would
easily reach the target when
Pooran (28) blasted two consecutive
sixes off Mehedi Hasan
Miraz. But once Mahmdullah was
dismissed, it was game over for
Khulna. Mahmudullah eventually
departed after scoring a run-aball
33 with three fours and a six
as Rajshahi took the momentum
away towards them, managing to
restrict the Khulna batters from
going big.
Earlier, Rajshahi struggled upfront
after electing to bat when
Mominul Haque (12), Junaid Siddique
(21), Sabbir Rahman (16)
and Samit Patel (16) all departed
cheaply. At one point, it looked
SCORECARD
RAJSHAHI KINGS R B
Mominul c & b Mahmudullah 12 12
Siddique c Pooran b Shafiul 21 18
Sabbir lbw b Mosharraf 16 18
Patel c & b Cooper 16 23
Umar lbw b Cooper 9 6
Sammy not out 71 34
Miraz run out (Ariful) 1 1
Farhad c Cooper b Shafiul 3 5
Abul run out (sub Naeem Jr) 3 3
Extras (lb 1, w 1) 2
Total (8 wickets; 20 overs) 154
Fall Of Wickets
1-26 (Mominul), 2-34 (Siddique), 3-55
(Sabbir), 4-66 (Umar), 5-87 (Patel), 6-88
(Miraz), 7-116 (Farhad), 8-154 (Abul)
Bowling
Shuvagata 1-0-5-0, Mahmudullah 2-0-7-1,
Junaid 4-0-25-0, Cooper 4-0-31-2, Shafiul
4-0-53-2, Mosharraf 4-0-25-1, Taibur
1-0-7-0
KHULNA TITANS R B
Wessels b Sammy 36 32
Hasanuzzaman run out (Sabbir) 1 3
Shuvagata c Siddique b Nazmul 2 5
Mahmudullah b Abul 33 33
Pooran c Sammy b Miraz 28 12
Ariful not out 25 21
Cooper c Umar b Sami 14 12
Taibur not out 2 2
Extras (lb 4) 4
Total (6 wickets; 20 overs) 145
Fall Of Wickets
1-8 (Hasanuzzaman), 2-15 (Shuvagata),
3-62 (Wessels), 4-101 (Pooran), 5-107
(Mahmudullah), 6-129 (Cooper)
Bowling
Nazmul 4-0-17-1, Sami 4-0-32-1, Patel
3-0-18-0, Abul 4-0-25-1, Sammy 1-0-8-1,
Miraz 2-0-27-1,
Farhad 2-0-14-0
The Kings won by nine runs
MoM: Darren Sammy (RK)
like the batting side would post a
below-par total.
But it was skipper Sammy once
again who came to the rescue
as the hard-hitting right-hander
struck five huge sixes and four
fours during his unbeaten knock.•
TODAY’S MATCHES
Barisal Bulls v Dhaka Dynamites, 1pm
Rangpur Riders v Chittagong Vikings, 5:45pm
Both games will be held at SBNS, Mirpur
Sport 25
DT
SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 27, 2016
PLAYS OF THE DAY
Dhaka v Comilla
The two Lankan legends
In the international circuit, we have
seen many times the Sri Lankan
legends Kumar Sangakkara and Mahela
Jayawardene batting together
and scoring thousands of runs during
the course of their career. These
two have now retired from the international
arena. Since their retirement,
the cricket world has missed
the batting duo a great deal. But
yesterday, the fans got to see them
batting together as they yet again
showed some of their class.
Shahid’s injury scare
Dhaka paceman Mohammad Shahid
is in good form in the ongoing
BPL T20. He is the second-highest
wicket-taker of the tournament
with 15 wickets. He bowled superbly
in his first spell, conceding six
runs and picking up the wicket of
the in-form Nazmul Hossain Shanto.
However, the pacer was injured
while stopping a boundary during
the latter stages of the innings.
Khulna v Rajshahi
Sammy’s hurricane knock
After a quiet start to BPL 4, Rajshahi
skipper Darren Sammy has come
out of the shell with the bat. Following
a blistering match-winning
18-ball 44-run knock against Rangpur
Riders in the previous game,
the 31-year old once again led from
the front against Khulna in a crucial
encounter. The hard-hitting batsman
struck another hurricane 34-
ball 71-run innings, featuring five
sixes and four boundaries, helping
Rajshahi post a total of 154/8.
Miraz’s grand comeback
Young off-spinner Mehedi Hasan
Miraz faced a tough time against
Khulna’s Nicholas Pooran. The
left-hander struck two huge sixes
off Miraz in consecutive deliveries
in the 14th over, coming in to chase
the target of 155 runs. Pooran first
smashed a brilliant slog-sweep
over deep mid-wicket region and
followed it up by another straight
six, keeping the spectators on their
feet. But the newest Tigers sensation
came back strong in the very
next delivery as Pooran tried to repeat
his shot once again only to be
caught at deep mid-wicket by skipper
Sammy to conclude a brilliant
fight between the two cricketers. •
–ALI SHAHRIYAR BAPPA
& MAZHAR UDDIN
(R-L) Chittagong Vikings captain Tamim Iqbal, Chris Gayle, Taskin Ahmed and Mohammad Nabi watch BPL 4 action in Mirpur yesterday
‘I’m Chris Gayle, the six-machine’
• Ali Shahriyar Bappa
Chris Gayle, perhaps the biggest
hitter in world cricket, has recently
arrived in Bangladesh to take part
in the ongoing Bangladesh Premier
League Twenty20’s fourth edition.
The West Indian left-hander will
play for Chittagong Vikings.
Gayle shared his thoughts with
the media upon his arrival, saying
he is very excited to participate
in BPL 4 and hoped that his side
would continue their winning run.
“I am looking forward to
represent Chittagong Vikings.
They are in fourth position when
I checked last time. They gained
some momentum after losing
a couple of games. It is good to
join a team in some momentum.
Hopefully I can get a winning start
when I return to the BPL,” said
Gayle after Chittagong’s training
session at the BCB academy ground
yesterday.
“I have been keeping an eye on
the team, watching them on television.
I have been following the
guys. I am accustomed to joining
new teams. I can share my experiences
with the new players. I can
learn from them as well,” he said.
Cricket fans will no doubt be
looking forward to enjoying the
Tamim Iqbal-Gayle opening wicket
partnership and the Windies
southpaw also expressed his desire
to open the innings alongside the
Chittgaong hot-shot.
“There is a good chance to open
the innings with Tamim. I am relay
looking forward to it. He is in good
form. I hope our understanding
will go well at the middle and we
will enjoy our batting,” said Gayle.
“Tamim understands the conditions
very well as it is his home
ground. I think I will take some
time and follow him a bit as he
knows better how to play in these
type of conditions. He is an experienced
player. Hopefully I will adapt
soon and give an explosive start for
the team,” he said.
So far in the BPL, Gayle has
featured in 10 matches. In those
games, he has scored 541 runs with
three centuries. The hard-hitter
smashed 50 sixes in those matches
and jokingly said he will try to hit
55 in his next four innings.
“I have hit 50 sixes in 10 innings?
I will see if I can hit 55 in
four innings. It is what I am known
for, the six-machine. I try to entertain
as much as possible. Hopefully
it will be a good wicket [today] so
looking forward to it. I will just enjoy
it, even though you might feel a
little nervous coming back into the
game,” he said.
“I am sure the fans will be excited
and it will be noisy, which is
good. I tend to feed off the crowd’s
energy. It gives me a bit of motivation
to get better.
“My objective is not to worry
about the stats but try to entertain
the people as much as possible.
[Today] is a chance for them to get
glued to the TV, not only locally,
but overseas as well. Chris Gayle is
back, and hopefully I will get off to
MD MANIK
a good start.”
Gayle has played 272 T20 matches
for 16 different teams around the
world. He has scored 9668 runs and
is 332 shy of joining the 10,000-run
club. When asked about the milestone,
the left-hander replied with
his casual funny behaviour.
“You should have told me earlier.
I would have come at the start
of the tournament. It will be nice
to be the first person to get 10,000
runs. I want the team to qualify so
that I get a chance in the playoffs,
and not just get knocked out after
these four games. The finals are
what is most important,” said the
Jamaican cricketer.
“I haven’t played cricket for
four-five months since the CPL
(Caribbean Premier League). So it
is good to be back in the game. I
did watch a few of the games back
home in Jamaica. I followed their
scores for sure and from time to
time, looked at the other teams
to try and see what’s going on in
Bangladesh,” he concluded. •
DT
26
SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 27, 2016
Sport
WHAT THEY SAID
Dhaka’s Shakib al Hasan
My main target this season is to
reach the final and if possible become
the champion. Apart from
that, I have no individual goals
this season. As there is no car this
time around, what’s the benefit of
becoming the man of the series?
(laughs). At times, there are some
targets. But at this point of time,
it doesn’t matter. I think it’s important
to contribute for the team
and win the trophy. We still have
a good chance of reaching the final
and winning the title. We will
try to win this time. If you ask me
about my personal goal, I would
say apart from winning the trophy,
I have no targets. Obviously if you
notice, both the highest run-getter
and the wicket-taker are the local
cricketers, which is a very good
sign. That’s the reason why this
tournament has been competitive.
And apart from the locals, the foreign
players are also contributing.
Comilla’s Nabil Samad
It’s always difficult to chase 170. If
we had scored some runs initially
in the first six overs then we would
have done something better.
Actually I don’t see any specific
reason as we can’t say the batsmen
are out of form. You see when we
bowl well, our batting is not upto
the mark. Same thing happens
when we bat well, our bowlers
disappoint us.•
Comilla Victorians captain Mashrafe bin Mortaza is cleaned up by Dhaka Dynamites’ Dwayne Bravo (not in picture) during
their BPL 4 match in Mirpur yesterday
MD MANIK
Holders Comilla condemned to seventh defeat
• Ali Shahriyar Bappa
Dhaka Dynamites returned to winning
ways when they beat defending
champions Comilla Victorians
by 32 runs in their Bangladesh Premier
League 2016-17 season match
in Mirpur’s Sher-e-Bangla National
Cricket Stadium yesterday.
Chasing Dhaka’s 170/4, Comilla
made a decent start to their chase.
Their opening wicket partnership
continued till the fifth over before
Nazmul Hossain Shanto (17) was
dismissed by paceman Mohammad
Shahid, who picked his 15th wicket
of the tournament.
The other opening batsman,
Pakistan recruit Khalid Latif scored
38 but after he departed in the 11th
over off the bowling of West Indies
seamer Dwayne Bravo, Comilla
lost wickets at regular intervals
and were unable to cope up with
the required run rate. The holders
eventually ended their reply on
138/8.
With a run-a-ball 22, Pakistan
batsman Ahmed Shehzad was the
second-highest scorer for Comilla.
Bravo bowled superbly, mixing
his pace effectively to take three
wickets for 32 runs.
Earlier, Dhaka captain Shakib
al Hasan won the toss and elected
to bat first. Sri Lankan great Kumar
Sangakkara opened the batting
alongside the in-form Mehedi
Maruf.
Dhaka started brightly as their
opening batsmen scored some
quick runs in the first four overs.
Maruf (22) departed in the fifth
over while charging down the track
only to be stumped by Comilla
wicket-keeper Liton Kumar Das off
Nabil Samad.
Another Lankan legend Mahela
Jayawardene, who replaced Matt
Coles in the playing XI, came in at
No 3 and formed a good partnership
of 45 runs with Sangakkara.
Comilla’s Afghanistan recruit
Rashid Khan then cleaned up Sangakkara
in the 11th over. Sangakkara
made 33 off 28 balls.
Rashid also bagged the wicket of
Jayawardene in the 13th over when
the right-hander tried to sweep
only to miss the line of the delivery
and get bowled out. Jayawardene
scored 31 from 27 deliveries.
Skipper Shakib was the top-scorer
for Dhaka with an impressive 26-
SCORECARD
DHAKA DYNAMITES R B
Maruf st Liton b Nabil 22 17
Sangakkara b Rashid 33 28
Jayawardene b Rashid 31 27
Shakib not out 41 26
Mosaddek c Liton b Tanvir 25 18
Prasanna not out 11 4
Extras (b 1, lb 2, w 4) 7
Total (4 wickets; 20 overs) 170
Fall Of Wickets
1-38 (Maruf), 2-83 (Sangakkara), 3-95
(Jayawardene), 4-141 (Mosaddek)
Bowling
Mashrafe 4-0-31-0, Shanto 1-0-10-0, Sharif
3-0-40-0, Tanvir 4-0-36-1, Nabil 3-0-16-1,
Rashid 4-0-26-2, Al Amin 1-0-8-0
COMILLA VICTORIANS R B
Shanto c Shakib b Shahid 17 19
Latif c Sanjamul b Bravo 38 33
Kayes c Sangakkara b Jayed 9 7
Shehzad c Sanjamul b Bravo 22 22
Liton c Sangakkara b Prasanna 5 6
Mashrafe b Bravo 10 8
Tanvir st Sangakkara b Nasir 14 12
Rashid st Sangakkara b Shakib 3 3
Al Amin not out 9 8
Sharif not out 2 2
Extras (lb 2, w 7) 9
Total (8 wickets; 20 overs) 138
Fall Of Wickets
1-24 (Shanto), 2-57 (Kayes), 3-72 (Latif),
4-91 (Liton), 5-106 (Shehzad), 6-106
(Mashrafe), 7-113 (Rashid), 8-134 (Tanvir)
Bowling
Jayed 4-0-20-1, Shahid 2-0-6-1, Shakib
4-0-30-1, Bravo 4-0-32-3, Prasanna 4-0-
30-1, Sanjamul 1-0-11-0, Nasir 0.4-0-4-1,
Mosaddek 0.2-0-3-0
The Dynamites won by 32 runs
MoM: Shakib al Hasan (DD)
ball 41, featuring four fours and a
six.
Rashid conceded 26 runs for his
two wickets.
Dhaka captain Shakib was adjudged
player of the match for his
all-round performance.
This is Dhaka’s fifth win out of
eight matches as they leapfrogged
Rangpur Riders into second position
in the points table
On the other hand, Comilla’s
miserable BPL 4 campaign continues
as they tasted their seventh defeat
in the same number of outings
as Dhaka. •
Bangladesh romp into AHF Cup final
• Tribune Report
Bangladesh swept into the grand
finale of the Asian Hockey Federation
Cup after thrashing Singapore
8-0 in the last-four classification
match at King’s Park
Stadium in Hong Kong yesterday.
In the process, Bangladesh
reached the final of this competition
for the third consecutive
time.
Bangladesh went ahead in the
26th minute through forward
Milon Hossain’s field goal.
Midfielder Romman Sarkar
doubled the lead just three minutes
later.
Captain Russel Mahmud Jimmy
then made it 3-0 in the 37th
minute.
Penalty-corner specialist Mamunur
Rahman Chayan scored
Bangladesh’s fourth in the 48th
minute.
The goals continued to flow as
Pushkor Khisa Mimo bagged his
side’s fifth in the 50th minute,
Krishno Kumar the sixth in the
55th minute before two quickfire
goals from another penalty-corner
specialist Ashraful Islam in
the 66th and 69th minute completed
the rout.
Bangladesh will face the winner
of the clash between Sri Lanka
and hosts Hong Kong today.
Earlier in the group stages, the
men in red and green defeated
hosts Hong Kong 4-2, beat Chinese
Taipei by the same scoreline
before thumping Macau 13-0.
Bangladesh are the reigning
Asian Hockey Federation Cup
champions having won the last
two editions in 2012 and 2008 in
Thailand and Singapore respectively.
•
India beat Bangladesh in
Women’s Asia Cup opener
• Tribune Report
India women defeated their Bangladesh
counterparts by 64 runs in the
opening match of the Asian Cricket
Council’s Women’s Twenty20 Asia
Cup at the Asian Institute of Technology
ground, Bangkok in Thailand yesterday.
Rumana Ahmed and her troop were
bundled out for 54 in 18.2 overs after
India posted 118/6 in 20 overs.
After being asked to bat first, India
made a good start riding on opening
batters Mithali Raj and Smriti Mandhana
as the pair added 70 runs. However,
Bangladesh came back well following
the departure of Mandhana (41) off the
bowling of seamer Jahanara Alam. •
BRIEF SCORE
BANGLADESH 54 in 18.2 overs (Sharmin
18, Salma 17, Poonam 3/13) lost to INDIA
118/6 (Mithali 49*, Mandhana 41, Kubra
2/12) by 64 runs
Bairstow helps Eng
rally after top order fail
• Reuters, Mohali
Jonny Bairstow’s composed 89
helped England survive some poor
top order shot-making and reach
268 for eight at the close on the first
day of the third Test against India
yesterday.
Alastair Cook won an important
toss but the tourists conceded
much of the advantage and would
have been in deeper trouble but
for India’s poor catching and Bairstow’s
dogged resistance.
The keeper-batsman featured
in 50-plus partnerships with Ben
Stokes and the recalled Jos Buttler
to revive England, who are 1-0
down in the five-match series.
Adil Rashid was batting on four
at stumps with Gareth Batty, replacing
the injured Zafar Ansari,
yet to open his account.
Wary of batting fourth on a spinning
track, Cook asked the hosts to
bowl but his top order were unable
to vindicate the decision at Punjab
Cricket Association Stadium.
Paceman Umesh Yadav drew
first blood when he got Haseeb
Hameed caught for nine at gully
with a delivery that kicked up off a
length.
Home captain Virat Kohli introduced
spin in the 13th over and
Jayant Yadav responded by dismissing
Joe Root for 15 in his second
over.
Cook, meanwhile, led a charmed
life with Ravindra Jadeja failing to
pouch an edge and Ravichandran
Ashwin spilling a sitter. Mohammed
Shami was the luckless bowler
on both occasions.
Ashwin redeemed himself with
his very first delivery, which Cook
edged to wicket-keeper Parthiv Patel.
Cook made 27 but his dismissal
came from a rash shot chasing a
wide ball.•
Sport 27
DT
SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 27, 2016
THIRD TEST, DAY 1
ENGLAND 1ST INNINGS R B
A. Cook c Patel b Ashwin 27 42
H. Hameed c Rahane b U. Yadav 9 31
J. Root lbw b J. Yadav 15 13
M. Ali c Vijay b Shami 16 45
J. Bairstow lbw b J. Yadav 89 177
B. Stokes st Patel b Jadeja 29 59
J. Buttler c Kohli b Jadeja 43 80
C. Woakes b U. Yadav 25 70
A. Rashid not out 4 24
G. Batty not out 0 0
Extras (b 8, lb 2, nb 1) 11
Total (8 wickets, 90 overs) 268
Fall of wickets
1-32 (Hameed), 2-51 (Root), 3-51 (Cook),
4-87 (Ali), 5-144 (Stokes), 6-213 (Buttler),
7-258 (Bairstow), 8-266 (Woakes)
Bowling
Shami 20-5-52-1, U. Yadav 16-4-58-2, J.
Yadav 15-5-49-2, Ashwin 18-1-43-1, Jadeja
21-3-56-2
India’s Cheteshwar Pujara successfully
appeals for the dismissal of England’s
Jonny Bairstow during their third Test
at Punjab Cricket Association Stadium,
Mohali, India yesterday
REUTERS
NZ in command against Pak
• Reuters
New Zealand’s Tim Southee
and Neil Wagner ripped the
heart out of Pakistan’s batting
lineup to leave the visitors
2ND TEST, DAY 2
PAKISTAN 76 for 5 in 29 overs
(Babar 34*, Southee 3-26, Wagner
2/15) trail NEW ZEALAND 271 in
83.4 overs (Raval 55, Watling 49*,
Sohail 4-99) by 195 runs
CRICKET
CHANNEL 9, SONY SIX
Bangladesh Premier League
1:00PM
Barisal Bulls v Dhaka Dynamites
6:30PM
Rangpur Riders v Chittagong
Vikings
STAR SPORTS 1
10:00AM
England Tour of India
3rd Test, Day 2
STAR SPORTS 2
9:30AM
South Africa Tour of Australia
3rd Test, Day 4
FOOTBALL
SONY SIX
Spanish La Liga
5:00PM
Villarreal v Alavés
9:00PM
Osasuna v Atlético Madrid
11:30PM
Celta Vigo v Granada
DAY’S WATCH
struggling on 76 for five at the
close of the second day’s play
in the second Test yesterday.
Babar Azam was on 34
at stumps at Seddon Park
in Hamilton, while Sarfraz
Ahmed was on nine with their
side still 195 runs behind New
Zealand’s first innings total of
271. The hosts New Zealand
were under pressure early
with Pakistan’s bowlers exploiting
the moist pitch and
overcast conditions.•
1:45AM
Real Sociedad v Barcelona
SONY ESPN
1:30AM
Italian Serie A
Roma v Pescara
TEN 1
12:00PM
A-League 2016/17
Melbourne City v Wellington
Phoenix
TEN 2
French Ligue 1 2016/17
6:20PM
Angers v Saint- Etienne
10:00PM
Nice v Bastiais
1:35AM
Olympic Lyon v PSG
TEN 3
1:30PM
Tri-Nation (WI, SL, Zim)
7th ODI: Sri Lanka v Zimbabwe
STAR SPORTS 1
6:50PM
Indian Super League
Delhi v Goa
DT
28
SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 27, 2016
Ronaldo’s Real
ride luck to
beat Sporting
• Reuters, Barcelona
Cristiano Ronaldo continued his
rich vein of form by scoring twice
in Real Madrid’s 2-1 home win over
struggling Sporting Gijon yesterday,
although the La Liga leaders
got a lucky break when the visitors
squandered a second-half penalty.
The prolific Portuguese put Real
ahead from the spot in the fifth
minute and dived in to head the
second in the 18th, claiming his
eighth goal in four league games to
go top of the scoring charts with 10
strikes this season.
Despite the early goals, Real
struggled to control the game on
a rainswept afternoon at the Bernabeu,
and Carlos Carmona pulled
one back for the visiting side 10
minutes before halftime.
Sporting had a golden opportunity
to level in the 78th minute after
Nacho was punished for a shove
on Victor Rodriguez but Duje Cop
sent the penalty sailing over the bar
to hand Real a somewhat fortuitous
sixth successive league victory.
Real top the standings on 33
points, seven ahead of Barcelona,
who visit Real Sociedad today. Sevilla,
third on 24 points, host Valencia
later yesterday.
Sporting went to the Bernabeu
in the relegation zone and without
a win in their last nine games but
gave Real two early frights, Cop firing
wide after a misplaced pass by
Danilo, and Carmona also failing to
hit the target inside the box. •
South African batsman Hashim Amla ducks a bouncer during the third day of their
third Test against Australia at Adelaide Oval, Adelaide yesterday
REUTERS
Sport
Aguero lifts Man City as Liverpool win
• AFP, London
Substitute Divock Origi and James
Milner struck to send Liverpool top
of the Premier League as both they
and Manchester City stole past
previous leaders Chelsea in yesterday’s
early action.
Sergio Aguero scored two scruffy
goals as City won 2-1 at Burnley and
Liverpool followed suit by downing
Sunderland 2-0 after losing Brazilian
playmaker Philippe Coutinho
to a worrying injury.
Chelsea can reclaim top spot if
they secure a seventh successive
victory when they host London
rivals Tottenham Hotspur in the
day’s late game.
Swansea City claimed an extraordinary
5-4 win over fellow strugglers
Crystal Palace, while champions
Leicester City narrowly avoided
a seventh defeat of the campaign in
a 2-2 draw with Middlesbrough.
Having seen City prevail at Turf
Moor in the early game, Liverpool
EPL
Burnley 1-2 Man City
Marney 14 Aguero 37, 60
Hull 1-1 West Brom
Dawson 72 McAuley 34
Leicester 2-2 Middlesbrough
Mahrez 34-P, Negredo 13, 71
Slimani 90+4-P
Liverpool 2-0 Sunderland
Origi 75, Milner 90+1-P
Swansea 5-4 Crystal Palace
Sigurdsson 36, Zaha 19, Tomkins 75,
Fer 66, 68,
Cork 82-og,
Llorente 90+1, 90+3 Benteke 84
Manchester City’s Argentine striker Sergio Aguero shoots to score against Burnley during their Premier League match at Turf
Moor yesterday
REUTERS
were under pressure to produce
the goods against a Sunderland
team who had won their two previous
matches.
Former Liverpool captain Steven
Gerrard was in attendance at
Anfield, two days after announcing
his retirement from football.
But he could only look on with
concern as the influential Coutinho
was stretchered off with his right
ankle in a brace after hurting himself
in a challenge by Didier Ndong.
Origi took the Brazil international’s
place and he gave Liverpool
reward for their dominance in the
75th minute with his first league
goal of the season.
Jordan Henderson picked the
Belgian forward out on the left and
3RD TEST, DAY 3
SOUTH AFRICA 1ST INNINGS
259 for 9 declared (F. du Plessis 118 not
out, S. Cook 40; J. Hazlewood 4-68)
AUSTRALIA 1ST INNINGS R B
(307-6 overnight)
U. Khawaja lbw b Philander 145 308
M. Starc c and b Rabada 53 91
J. Hazlewood not out 11 26
N. Lyon c Amla b Shamsi 13 8
J. Bird c du Plessis b Rabada 6 17
Extras (b3, lb9, w2, nb3) 17
Total (all out, 121.1 overs) 383
Bowling
Philander 29-5-100-2 (3nb), Abbott 29-11-
49-3, Rabada 25.1-4-84-3 (2w), Shamsi 29-
4-101-1, Duminy 6-0-25-0, Elgar 2-0-11-0,
Bavuma 1-0-1-0
SOUTH AFRICA 2ND INNINGS R B
S. Cook not out 81 199
D. Elgar c Smith b Starc 0 3
H. Amla c Wade B Hazlewood 45 80
J.P. Duminy b Lyon 26 70
F. du Plessis c Handscomb b Starc 12 26
T. Bavuma c Smith b Lyon 21 31
K. Abbott lbw b Lyon 0 5
Q. de Kock not out 0 3
Extras (lb6, nb3) 9
Total (6 wickets; 69 overs) 194
Bowling
Starc 19-4-71-2 (1nb), Hazlewood 16-8-22-
1, Bird 16-3-42-0 (2nb), Lyon 17-4-48-3,
Warner 1-0-5-0
he cut inside onto his right foot and
swept a shot inside the far post.
Milner completed victory from
the penalty spot in the first minute
of injury time.
Burnley took a shock 14th-minute
lead against City when Dean
Marney met Nicolas Otamendi’s
headed clearance with a thumping
25-yard volley that nestled in the
bottom-left corner.
But Aguero equalised in the 37th
minute, stabbing home after Burnley
failed to clear a corner, and the
hosts’ luck continued to desert them
as both Marney and Johann Berg
Gudmundsson went off injured.
A defensive mix-up allowed City
to net the decisive goal in the hour,
with Fernandinho’s cross striking
Australia take control
in day-night Test
• Reuters, Adelaide
Australia took firm control of the
day-night third Test yesterday
when they reduced South Africa to
194 for six at the close on day three,
only 70 runs ahead of their hosts.
Desperate for a consolation victory
to avoid a first 3-0 series sweep
on home soil, Australia’s tail boosted
their first- innings tally to 383
before the bowlers took over.
Dean Elgar and Hashim Amla
departed before tea and JP Duminy,
captain Faf du Plessis, Temba
Bavuma and Kyle Abbott followed
under the lights in the night session.
Opener Stephen Cook was the
one top-order batsman left standing
after hitting 81 off 199 balls and
will return to the crease on day
four with Quinton de Kock, who
had yet to score. Paceman Mitchell
Starc, who earlier completed his
seventh Test half century, removed
Elgar for a duck with the fifth ball
Aguero and going in after Ben Mee
and Stephen Ward had got in each
other’s way.
Swansea upped the pressure on
Palace manager Alan Pardew by
condemning the south London club
to a sixth straight defeat in a madcap
game that gave Bob Bradley his
first win since becoming manager.
Palace led 1-0, fell 3-1 down,
fought back to go 4-3 up, but eventually
succumbed courtesy of a
remarkable brace of injury-time
goals from Spanish striker Fernando
Llorente.
The victory took Swansea off
the foot of the table, where they
were replaced by Sunderland, and
left Palace above the bottom three
on goal difference. •
of the innings before taking the key
wicket of Du Plessis for 12 courtesy
of a brilliant catch by Peter Handscomb.
The home side celebrated with
the debutant as if they had won
the match, an indication of the importance
they placed on the wicket
of Du Plessis, who contributed an
unbeaten 118 to South Africa’s first
innings 259-9 declared.
Amla has been a less influential
figure on this tour and, having
been dropped on 13, lost his wicket
to Josh Hazlewood for the fifth
time in the series when he nicked
behind for 45.
Australia had resumed on 307-6
after enjoying their best day of batting
in the series on Friday. Usman
Khawaja’s match-changing innings
ended when he was trapped lbw
by Vernon Philander for 145 while
Starc was caught and bowled by
Kagiso Rabada for 53 to trigger the
end of the innings.•
Downtime
29
SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 27, 2016
DT
CROSSWORD
CODE-CRACKER
ACROSS
1 Remember (6)
5 Fish trap (3)
7 Fuss (3)
8 Leave (6)
11 Large desk (3)
12 Fruit (5)
14 Prescribed meals (4)
16 Bailiff (5)
18 Tree (5)
20 Parched (4)
21 Objects (5)
23 Vestment (3)
24 Worked hard (6)
27 United (3)
28 Neckwear (3)
29 Hire (6)
DOWN
1 Disencumber (3)
2 Headwear (3)
3 Made suitable (7)
4 Traditional learning (4)
5 Lower (6)
6 Tinged (6)
9 Wicked (4)
10 Sailor (coll)
13 Stopping (7)
14 Pour off gently (6)
15 Able to be eaten (6)
17 Climbing plant (4)
19 Decay (3)
22 Fish-eating diving
bird (4)
25 Meadow (3)
26 Stain (3)
How to solve: Each number in our
CODE-CRACKER grid represents a
different letter of the alphabet. For
example, today 1 represents D so fill D
every time the figure 1 appears.
You have two letters in the control
grid to start you off. 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, fill in the other
squares with the same number in the
main grid, and the control grid. Check
off the list of alphabetical letters as you
identify them.
ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ
CALVIN AND HOBBES
SUDOKU
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.
PEANUTS
YESTERDAY’S SOLUTIONS
CODE-CRACKER
CROSSWORD
DILBERT
SUDOKU
30
SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 27, 2016
DT
Showtime
Bengal Classical Music Festival 2016’s Night 2
ends with captivating performances
• Showtime Desk
The second night of Bengal
Classical Music Festival 2016
opened on November 25 at
Army Stadium, Dhaka. The
first performance of the night
was Odissi dance recitals by
Vidushi Madhavi Mudgal
and Arushi Mudgal. Vidushi
Madhavi Mudgal performed
dance numbers on Nataraj and
Ashtapodi compositions, while
Arushi Mudgal performed Ahlad,
composed on Raga Sahana. She
also performed to “Hemontey Kon
Bashonter e Baani” - a song by
Tagore. Finally, the duo performed
together on the composition
Bhairabi Pallabi. Accompanying
them were Manikuntala Bhowmick
and Khitiprakash Mohapatra
on vocal; Jitendra Kumar Swain
on pakhawaj, Yar Moho on
sitar and Srinibas Satapathy
on flute. Professor Emeritus
Dr Anisuzzaman, member of
the board of Trustee of Bengal
Foundation, handed over the
crests to both Madhavi and Arushi
and the other members of the
troupe.
U Rajesh’s recital
using mandolin, a
first of its kind in
this festival was
an absolute aural
delight
Following this was a group
performance by the students of
Bengal Parampara Sangeetalay.
The troupe included Fahmida
Naznin, Supantho Mojumdar, M
J J Bhoobaun, Pancham Sanyal,
Nusrat-E-Jahan Khushbo,
Chinmoy Bhowmik and Prashanta
Bhowmik. They performed teen
taal on the tabla. Along with
them, on harmonium was Milind
Kulkarni. These students have
been taught by Pundit Suresh
Talwalkar. Barrister Moudud
Ahmed handed over the crests
to the performers. Pundit Suresh
Talwarkar expressed his optimism
about the bright future of these
students.
The next performance was
Khayal by Priyanka Gope. She
performed Khayal in Raga
Bagesree and Thumri in Raga
Kaushikdhwani. Iftekhar Alam
Pradhan accompanied her on
table, Murad Ali Khan on sarangi
and Uday malakar on harmonium.
Abul Khair, Chairman of Bengal
Foundation handed over the crests
to the artistes.
Rahul Sharma came next to
enthrall the audience with his
soulful santoor performance. He
started with performing Alap-jorjhala
in Raga Gaoti; this followed
three compositions namely
Rupak Taal, Madhyalay and Drut
Teen Taal. Satyajit Talwalkar
accompanied him on tabla.
Shyama Rahman, a renowned
singer of Tagore’s song handed
over the crest to the performers.
The next vocal performance
was by Shoeb Rahman and his
troupe. The former is a faculty
member of the music department
of Dhaka University. They
performed Raga Darbari. Artist
Abul Barq Alvi gave away the
mementoes to the artist.
Purbayan Chatterjee’s sitar
performance was a fascinating
experience for the audience.
He performed “Alap Jor Jhala”
and “Gatt” in Raga Hem Lalit,
composed by Nikhil Banerjee.
He also performed folk tunes.
Anubrata Chatterjee was on
tabla and Mushfiqul Islam
was on tanpura during these
performances. Sir Fazle Hasan
Abed, founder of BRAC handed
over the crest to the artists.
Pundit Ulhas Kashalkar’s
Khayal was accompanied by
Pundit Suresh Talwarkar on tabla,
Milind Kurkarni on harmonium
and Abhijit Kundu and Ujjal
Kumar Malakar on tanpura. At
first, he performed Raga Basant
Bahar, which was followed by
Raga Sohni and Thumri on Raga
Khamaj and tarana on Raga
Khamaj. Asaduzzaman Noor, MP,
Honorable Minister of Cultural
Affairs handed over the crest to
him.
The second day of the
festival ended with enchanting
performances by Pundit Ronu
Majumdar and U Rajesh. Pundit
Ronu Majumdar performed Raga
Mangal Bhairav on flute, which
was received with a great round
of applause; U Rajesh’s recital
using mandolin, a first of its kind
in this festival was an absolute
aural delight. He performed
Raga Amrit Barshini. The duo
performed Raga Natbhairav and
kept the audience spellbound.
Accompanying them were S V
Ramani on mrudangam and
Abhijit Banerjee on tabla. The
crest was handed over to the
artists by Abul Khair, Chairman
of Bengal Foundation.
The third day will witness the
following performances: Sarod
by students of Bengal Parampara
Sangeetalay; Carnatic Flute by
Shashank Subramanyam; Khayal
by Dr Prabha Atre; Tabla by Pt
Anindo Chatterjee; Dhrupad by Pt
Uday Bhawalkar; Sitar by Pt Sanjoy
Bandopadhyay and Khayal by Ust
Rashid Khan.
Stalls at the festival include
both bookstalls, as well as vendor
stalls offering food and beverage.
The stalls are offering ICE Media
magazines and books published
by Bengal Publications, Daily
Star Books and Prothom Alo. The
food stalls include North End
Coffee Roasters, Lucknow, Chaap
Station, Bistro E, Paturi. Aranya,
Bengal Café, the Bengal Film
Development Forum and BRAC
Bank ATMs are also present on
the festival grounds. Journalists
Photos: Rajib Dhar
should be pleased to find access to
free WiFi.
Square Group is presenting the
Bengal Classical Music Festival
as the title sponsor. BRAC Bank
is supporting the event as the
main sponsor. Maasranga TV
is the broadcast partner, while
ICE Business Times is the media
partner. Radisson Hotel Dhaka
is the hospitality partner of
the event, and Square Hospital
is the medical partner. Blues
Communications is in-charge
of the event management. The
festival is being presented in
association with Bengal Digital,
Mango and Bengal Parampara
Sangeetalay. Perfect Harmony of
Singapore is the strategic partner.
For the last four years, the
Bengal Classical Music Festival
has been the largest classical
music event in the subcontinent
showcasing performances from
over two hundred classically
trained singers and dancers.
With the goal to popularise and
perpetuate the practice of classical
music, this festival will go on till
November 28th. The event this
year is dedicated to the memory
of versatile author and poet Syed
Shamsul Haq (1935-2016). •
Showtime
31
SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 27, 2016
DT
Colours FM 101.6 wins the FM
Radio Station of the Year award
Hollywood luminaries and
Fidel Castro
• Showtime Desk
Colours FM 101.6 recently won
the “FM Radio Station of the
Year award” at the recently
concluded Global Marketing
Excellence Award. This
prestigious award is conferred
by the World Marketing Congress
in conjunction with CMO Asia.
Colours FM won the award for
their efforts in promoting gender
equality and women’s rights. As
their mission is to promote equal
opportunity and participation
of women in socio-economic
spheres of the country, Colours
FM believes that women have
and will continue to have
tremendous impact on society.
Colours FM strives to be the
friend, philosopher and guide
to the women of Bangladesh.
The award recognised the radio
stations effort in this field where
very few radio stations are
addressing a women audience.
This global award had entries
from more than 56 countries,
making it a truly international
event.
Dr R L Bhatia, chief editor of
World CSR Day said, “this is an
exemplary effort for a brand and
business to have a convergence
of social good and business
intentions.”
“This award is recognition
of not only our efforts but also
for every women and men in
Bangladesh who are showing
the world the impact we can
create working together.” said
Colours FM CEO Nazim Farhan
Choudhury.
Top of Form •
• Showtime Desk
Fidel Castro, Cuba’s larger-than-life
former leader, passed away at the
age of 90 on Friday, according to
Cuba’s state-run television. The
news was confirmed by his brother,
the current president Raul Castro,
on Saturday. The great leader was
also a subject of fascination for
Hollywood.
Here are some experiences of
Hollywood luminaries with the
recently deceased revolutionary
leader.
Steven Spielberg, the critically
acclaimed film director accepted
an invitation in 2002 from Cuba’s
film institute to attend a Cuban film
festival featuring Spielberg’s work
which is rare sign from Cuba’s part
to actually promote anything close
to America.
Jack Nicholson visited the island
country in 1998 and was followed by
the Cuban intelligence. Nicholson
said “he [Castro] is a genius. We
spoke about everything.”
Actor Jack Lemmon was also
praised by the Castro government
at his death for being “a friend of
Cuba.”
Oliver Stone was widely criticised
for a 2003 documentary about
Castro, Comandante, that allowed
the dictator to tell his story his own
way. Stone called Castro, “very
selfless and moral. One of the
world’s wisest men.”
Kevin Costner went to Cuba in
2001 to preview his film 13 Days at a
private screening for Castro: “It was
an experience of a lifetime to sit only
a few feet away from him and watch
him relive an experience he lived as
a very young man,” he said at a press
conference at the time.
“I’m so nervous and flustered
because I can’t believe I have met
him. He said that seeing us in person
was very spiritual,” Campbell spoke
of her 1999 visit to Cuba with fellow
model Kate Moss. •
WHAT TO WATCH
Mad Max: Fury Road
HBO, 2:36 PM
A woman rebels against a
tyrannical ruler in postapocalyptic
Australia in search
for her home-land with the help
of a group of female prisoners,
a psychotic worshipper, and a
drifter named Max.
Cast: Tom Hardy, Charlize
Theron, Nicholas Hoult
Iron Man 3
Sony PIX, 8:04 PM
When Tony Stark’s world is torn
apart by a formidable terrorist
called the Mandarin, he starts
an odyssey of rebuilding and
retribution.
Cast: Robert Downey Jr, Gwyneth
Paltrow, Don Cheadle, Guy
Pearce, Rebecca Hall, Stephanie
Szostak
Ant-Man
Star Movies, 6:35 PM
Armed with a super-suit with
the astonishing ability to shrink
in scale but increase in strength,
cat burglar Scott Lang must
embrace his inner hero and help
his mentor, Dr Hank Pym, plan
and pull off a heist that will save
the world.
Cast: Paul Rudd, Michael
Douglas, Corey Stoll
Superman Returns
WB, 4:17 PM
Superman reappears after a
long absence, but is challenged
by an old foe who uses
Kryptonian technology for world
domination.
Cast: Brandon Routh, Kate
Bosworth, Kevin Spacey, James
Marsden, Parker Posey
Ghost Rider
Zee Studio, 6:45 PM
Stunt motorcyclist Johnny Blaze
gives up his soul to become a
hellblazing vigilante, to fight
against power hungry Blackheart,
the son of the devil himself.
Cast: Nicolas Cage, Eva Mendes,
Sam Elliott
32
SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 27, 2016
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CHINA KEEN TO JOIN BD
BLUE ECONOMY PAGE 12
Back Page
‘I’M CHRIS GAYLE, THE
SIX-MACHINE’ PAGE 25
HOLLYWOOD LUMINARIES
AND FIDEL CASTRO PAGE 31
Khadiza Akhter Nargis finally speaks
• Kamrul Hasan
Khadiza Akhter Nargis, the victim
of a brutal attack by a BCL leader,
finally spoke to the media yesterday
after 54 days of intensive care
at the hands of physicians.
Badrul Alam, the leader of BCL
SUST unit, severely injured Khadiza
in an attack on October 3. She
was taken to Square Hospital on October
6, where she has been receiving
medical attention ever since.
In front of a number of national
media agencies, in a press briefing
at the hospital reception, she said:
“Please, pray for me, so that I can
get well soon.”
She was then taken back to her
cabin.
In the press briefing, the Director
(Medical services) of the hospital,
Mirza Nazim Uddin said that they
had officially discharged the girl
and she would be released once
formalities had been completed.
Mirza further cited Khadiza’s
case as evidence that medical facilities
in the country were improvng.
He said: “They had ensured her
proper treatment here. All she
needs is to go under advanced rehabilitation
treatment so that she
can get back to her normal life.”
Khadiza had to undergo at least
four major operations – Decompression
Surgery, multiple flexor
tendon repair of her right hand,
Cranioplasty, and repair of tendons
of her left hand.
According to the director, while
she has regained full consciousness
and her muscles are functioning,
she requires rehabilitation
to regain motor function. Even if
Khadiza is fit to be discharged, the
doctors are going to keep her at the
hospital until the Centre for the Rehabilitation
of the Paralysed (CRP)
ensures a bed for her, he added. •
Goons threaten to
kill Shahnur Biswas
• Mahadi Al Hasnat
Shahnur Biswas did what any
father would when his daughter
faced constant sexual harassment
– he protested.
In retaliation, he was brutally
attacked on October 16
by a gang including a local UP
member of Noldanga village,
Jhenaidah that led to both his
legs being amputated.
He is now being treated at
the National Institute of Traumatology
and Orthopaedic Rehabilitation
(NITOR) in Dhaka.
His daughter Sharmin
Akhter used to attend Jessore
Women College in 2012 but
her studies abruptly ended
because of the constant sexual
harassment by stalkers.
“They used to block my
path while going to class and
repeatedly propose marriage.
They also threatened to throw
acid on my face if I rejected
their proposal and now they
have attacked and maimed my
father because he protested,”
Sharmin Akhter said.
On Wednesday, 14 of the
accused surrendered and was
sent to jail according to a High
Court’s order, but the victim’s
family are receiving threats
from the family members of
the accused.
The victim’s family claimed
that local UP member Mehbubur’s
elder son Kajal and his
accomplices have threatened
to kill them when the detainees
are released.
“Nobody is bothering you
now, but when the media attention
dies down and they
are released from jail, we will
torch your house and kill you
all,” Kajal reportedly threatened
Shahnur’s elder brother
Samiul Biswas.
Although they tried to file a
case several times, local police
are not willing to help the victim’s
family.
“Some three cases have
been filed against me at the local
police station including an
extortion case, although I have
no connection to any of this,”
Shahnur said.
Shahnur wants to return
home but fears further attacks
as the accused are very powerful
in the village. “I am not
sure when I would be able return
since the police seems to
be conspiring and raising false
charges against me by taking
bribes from the accused party.”
The Dhaka Tribune tried to
contact Kaliganj police station
OC Aminul Islam over his official
number, but could not
reach him. Sub-Inspector Imran
received the call and said
the OC was unable to talk due
to physical illness.
Dismissing the allegations
against the police, Jhinaidah
Superintendent of Police Md
Mizanur Rahman told the Dhaka
Tribune: “There is nothing
to fear at all. May be they have
been misinformed. All accused
have been arrested and sent to
jail and will be punished according
to the law.” •
Editor: Zafar Sobhan, Published and Printed by Kazi Anis Ahmed on behalf of 2A Media Limited at Dainik Shakaler Khabar Publications Limited, 153/7, Tejgaon Industrial Area, Dhaka-1208. Editorial, News & Commercial Office: FR Tower,
8/C Panthapath, Shukrabad, Dhaka 1207. Phone: 9132093-94, Advertising: 9132155, Circulation: 9132282, Fax: News-9132192, e-mail: news@dhakatribune.com, info@dhakatribune.com, Website: www.dhakatribune.com
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