e_Paper 30-11-2016

SECOND EDITION 

WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 30, 2016 | Agrahayan 16, 1423, Safar 29, 1438 | Regd No DA 6238, Vol 4, No 213 | www.dhakatribune.com | 32 pages | Price: Tk10 

Police yet to find motive behind 

Nasirnagar attacks on Hindus › 2 

EDITORIAL: Free up our streets 

and footpaths › 20 

Democrats are having buyer’s remorse › 21 

Fakhruddin Ahmed dissects US presidential election calculations 

Mushfiq lashes out at 

singer Asif › 24 

Study finds 64% sex workers 

underaged › 4 Digital Khichuri Challenge final round today › 5

2 

WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 30, 2016 

DT 

News 

ONE MONTH INTO NASIRNAGAR COMMUNAL VIOLENCE 

Police yet to find motive behind attacks 

• Kamrul Hasan with Ujjal 

Chakraborty, Brahmanbaria 

It has been a month since the attacks 

on the Hindu community in 

Nasirnagar upazila of Brahmanbaria 

district, but police have yet to 

learn the exact motive behind the 

post of the controversial image on 

Facebook that incited the violent 

attacks. 

Three investigation reports have 

been submitted to the authorities 

concerned, none of which has been 

able to identify who instigated 

the attacks or why. However, they 

maintain that religious sensitivity 

coupled with instigation by local 

leaders caused the attacks. 

A mob attacked Hindu-dominated 

localities in Nasirnagar on 

October 30, injuring more than 

100 people and damaging at least 

17 temples and Kali Puja pavilions 

and over 50 houses over the 

Facebook post. Six more houses of 

Hindus were set afire in the upazila 

a few days later, followed by an 

attack on the house of Nasirnagar 

Upazila Parishad Vice-Chairman 

Anjan Deb and an attack on a Hindu 

fisherman’s house. 

Speaking to the Dhaka Tribune, 

Nasirnagar police station OC Abu 

Zafar said they had yet to dig out information 

that could shed light on 

the events that led to the attacks. 

Asked if organisers of the rally to 

protest the post – from where mobs 

went and started the attacks – had 

been interrogated or arrested, he 

said police had not interrogated 

them yet, but they were in touch 

with them. 

When asked why they had not 

been arrested, the OC said they had 

arrested the primary suspects and 

were busy with other tasks in the 

case as well as raising awareness 

against communal violence in the 

area, before avoiding speaking on 

Public hype over 

the Facebook post, 

which was fuelled 

by aggressive 

comments by local 

leaders, led to the 

violent attacks on 

Hindus 

the issue any further. 

However, Inspector General of 

Police AKM Shahidul Hoque said 

the orgsnisers have to face the 

charges for the attacks as they arranged 

the rally in the first place. 

One of the reports, submitted 

by a probe committee from Chittagong 

police range to the Police 

Headquarters on November 14, 

estimated that around 20 people 

directly or indirectly instigated the 

attacks. 

“The findings show that a number 

of people took advantage of the 

factional conflict within the district 

and the upazila-level units of a political 

party and stoked communal 

hatred,” said Mohammad Sakhawat 

Hossain, additional deputy 

inspector general of police in Chittagong 

range. 

Additional Superintendent of 

Police Iqbal Hossain said public 

hype over the Facebook post, 

which was fuelled more by aggressive 

comments by local leaders, led 

to the situation. 

He further said organisers of 

protest held the gathering by taking 

only verbal permission from 

then upazila nirbahi officer Chowdhury 

Moazzem Hossain, which is 

mentioned in another probe report 

submitted by Brahmanbaria district 

police on November 24. 

Abdur Rahim, headmaster of 

Ashutosh Pilot High School and 

brother of Awami League’s grassroots 

leader and Union Parishad 

Chairman Abul Hashem, acquired 

the permission, sources said. 

Asked about police’s passive 

role on the day, Iqbal said he 

would not call it negligence, but 

a mistake. 

“I would not say that police’s 

failure to stop the attacks from 

happening was a result of their 

negligence. They could not properly 

assess the situation and act accordingly, 

or else the losses could 

have been minimised,” he told the 

Dhaka Tribune yesterday evening. 

Around 100 policemen, some 60 

from the police lines, were present 

at the protest venue. 

The third report was submitted 

by a probe committee of the district 

administration on November 14. 

When contacted, Brahmanbaria 

Deputy Commissioner Rezwanur 

Rahman declined to comment on 

the findings as it was being assessed 

by the authorities concerned. 

But sources in the deputy commissioner’s 

office said the report 

found no evidence of negligence 

on part of both police and the administration. 

Police’s announcement of a 

Tk1 lakh reward for information 

over the attacks did not get any response 

either, said Nasirnagar OC. 

At least eight cases have been 

filed over the attacks so far, and 

101 suspects have been arrested, 

including Rasraj Das, whose Facebook 

profile was used to post the 

image, Jahangir, whose cyber cafe 

was used to upload the photo, and 

Billah Miah, a truck driver who 

hired two of the trucks to carry 

some of the protesters to Nasirnagar 

for the rally on October 30. 

Meanwhile, several affected Hindu 

families told the Dhaka Tribune 

that the compensation they received 

from the deputy commissioner’s office 

was inadequate compared to 

the losses they had suffered. 

The deputy commissioner’s office 

provided Tk5,000 to each of 

51 affected families and Tk10,000 

to each of the affected temples, 

and gave them 114 bundles of tin 

sheets. • 

‘Rasraj’s phone not used for posting controversial photo’ 

• Kamrul Hasan with Ujjal 

Chakraborty in Brahmanbaria 

The controversial image that triggered 

a wave of communal attacks 

on Nasirnagar Hindus in October 

was not uploaded from Rasraj 

Das’ mobile phone, police said 

yesterday. 

“The Forensic Department of 

Police Bureau of Investigation 

confirmed it,” Brahmanbaria Additional 

Superintendent of Police Md 

Iqbal Hossain said. 

Investigators cleared Rasraj of 

the charge after finding no evidence 

that he had uploaded the 

image from his mobile phone. 

Rasraj, a fisherman, was arrested 

for allegedly posting the photo 

Miscreants attacked Hindu temples and desecrated idols at Nasirnagar, Brahmanbaria on October 30 over a Facebook post 

from an apparently hacked account. The photo was taken on November 1 

MAHMUD HOSSAIN OPU 

on Facebook. He was later released 

on bail. 

A mob attacked Hindu-dominated 

localities in Brahmanbaria’s 

Nasirnagar on October 30, injuring 

more than 100 people and damaging 

at least 17 temples and over 50 

houses over the Facebook post. Two 

days later, six more Hindu houses 

were set alight in the upazila. 

The ruling Awami League had 

suspended three of its grassroots 

leaders for their involvement in the 

incidents. 

Fisheries Minister Sayedul Haque 

on November 5 said Rasraj could not 

have uploaded the Facebook post as 

it was unlikely that he could operate 

the social media site by himself. 

ASP Iqbal, quoting locals, said 

Rasraj was out fishing in the marsh 

when the image was uploaded. 

Rasraj had apologised before 

the attack, saying his account was 

hacked. 

Cyber cafe owner held 

Detectives on Monday arrested 

a cyber cafe owner on charges of 

conspiring to instigate the recent 

communal attacks on Hindus in 

Brahmanbaria’s Nasirnagar. 

Jahangir, owner of Al-Amin Cyber 

Point and Studio in Haripur area 

of the upazila, was arrested from 

Naukaghat area in the district town 

around 12:30am, said Brahmanbaria 

Additional SP Md Ekbal Hossain. 

Later in the afternoon, a Brahmanbaria 

court granted four-day 

remand for Jahnagir, officer-incharge 

of Brahbanbaria Detective 

Branch Mafiz Uddin Bhuiyan told 

the Dhaka Tribune. 

Brahmanbaria court Inspector 

Mahbubur Rahman told the Dhaka 

Tribune that Additional Chief 

Judicial Magistrate Shafiqul Islam 

granted the remand. 

Mahbubur also said 95 persons 

including Jahangir have been arrested 

so far in this connection. 

Police suspect that the controversial 

morphed image, which 

sparked the October 30 violence, 

was uploaded from the cyber cafe 

using the Facebook ID of local 

fisherman Rasraj Das, and that the 

computer used for the offence was 

removed to hide the evidence. Police 

are trying to recover the PC. 

Mafiz said a desktop computer 

owned by Jahangir and being used 

in a different business outlet after 

the incident was seized as evidence. 

The computer will be sent to the 

Criminal Investigation Department 

for forensic analysis, he added. 

Two truckers, who gave confessional 

statements to the court, said 

Jahangir was among the people 

who rented their vehicles to bring 

in the attackers. 

Meanwhile, police are consulting 

with experts to determine 

whether any form of state-of-theart 

technology was used to upload 

the controversial image by not 

directly hacking Rasraj Das’ Facebook 

account, Mafiz said. •

News 3 


DT 

BB HEIST 

RCBC refuses 

to compensate 

Bangladesh 

• Reuters 

The Rizal Commercial Banking 

Corp RCBC in the Philippines 

said it is not liable to compensate 

Bangladesh for the bank 

heist money deposited in its 

accounts and instead blamed 

the central bank in Dhaka for 

being “negligent” yesterday. 

Unknown cyber criminals 

tried to steal nearly $1bn from 

the Bangladesh Bank in February, 

one of the biggest bank 

frauds ever. 

They succeeded in transferring 

some $81m via an account 

at the New York Federal 

Reserve to four accounts in 

fake names at a branch of Rizal 

Commercial Banking Corp 

(RCBC) in Manila. Most of the 

money was laundered through 

casinos in Manila and remains 

missing. 

RCBC external counsel 

Thea Daep urged Bangladesh 

Bank to be transparent and 

produce the results of its own 

investigation to shed light on 

who was behind the heist, saying 

it was the least Bangladesh 

Bank could do. 

“RCBC is not the proximate 

cause of the theft. They have 

no case against us. BB (Bangladesh 

Bank) was the one who 

was negligent,” Daep said in 

a statement, adding the local 

lender will not pay Bangladesh 

Bank anything. 

Bangladesh Ambassador 

John Gomes was quoted in a 

newspaper as saying his government 

would seek compensation 

from RCBC. Gomes did 

not respond to request for 

comments. 

Daep said RCBC received the 

funds after they went through 

three layers of highly protected 

financial institutions. 

“Numerous reports quoting 

high Bangladeshi officials 

and the initial findings of BB’s 

own investigation indicated 

that the heist got help from BB 

insiders. Shortly after, BB decided 

to abort its investigation 

which raises a lot of questions, 

to say the least,” Daep said. 

Subhankar Saha, spokesman 

for Bangladesh Bank, told 

Reuters in Dhaka “halt payment” 

instructions were sent 

to RCBC both by Bangladesh 

Bank and the Federal Reserve 

Bank of New York but that 

RCBC did not comply. 

“The payment in cash was 

also abnormal,” he said. “…The 

mechanism of transfer of money 

was also not transparent. So 

all these are questionable.” 

Only about $15m has been 

recovered and returned to 

Bangladesh, with a further 

$2.7m frozen. 

A Bangladesh delegation is 

in Manila to meet with Philippine 

authorities and speed 

up the recovery of the rest of 

money. RCBC has been fined 

a record one billion Philippine 

pesos ($20 million) by the Philippine 

central bank, about one 

fifth of its net profit last year, 

for its failures to prevent the 

Bangladesh Bank money from 

being transferred through accounts 

at the bank. 

An anti-money laundering 

body last week filed charges 

against five officials of RCBC 

in connection with the heist. 

Meanwhile, a scheduled 

meeting between the President 

of Philippines Rodrigo 

Duterte and high ranking officials 

from Bangladesh has 

been cancelled, reports Inquirer.net, 

quoting a Filipino 

official. 

Presidential spokesperson 

Ernesto Abella yesterday said 

the meeting was cancelled 

due to “pressing matters that 

demand the president’s immediate 

attention.” 

The five-member delegation, 

led by Law Minister Anisul 

Huq, are currently visiting 

the archipelago to meet officials 

of the Philippines government 

to discuss the legal 

details concerning the retrieval 

of the reserve that was stolen 

from Bangladesh Bank in 

February. 

The delegation includes 

Bangladesh Bank Governor 

Fazle Kabir, Attorney General 

Mahbubey Alam, Financial 

Institutions Division Secretary 

Eunusur Rahman, and the 

president of standing committee 

on Finance Ministry, Dr Md 

Abdur Razzak. 

The central bank has already 

recovered $15.25m from 

the Philippines’ anti-money 

laundering council and $20m 

from Sri Lanka, nine months 

after computer hackers stole 

$81m from the central bank’s 

account. • 

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina places a wreath at the memorial in Heroes’ Square, Budapest yesterday 

FOCUS BANGLA

4 


DT 

News 

Importing motorbikes above 150CC objected 

• Abu Siddique 

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The government has refused to 

entertain importers’ demand for 

importing motorbikes over 150CC 

due to objection from the police 

department. 

According to the Police Headquarters, 

riders’ reluctance to wear 

helmets, increase in the use of motorbikes 

in terrorism and the possibility 

of more road accidents are 

the major reasons for refusing to 

permit two-wheelers above 150CC. 

On May 15, Bangladesh Motorcycle 

Assemblers and Manufacturers 

Association (BMAMA) President 

Motiur Rahman sent an application 

to the Commerce Ministry to get 

permission to import motorbikes up 

to 165CC and spare parts for them. 

The application to raise the 

government’s existing motorbike 

import policy from 150CC to 165CC 

was made to widen the country’s 

shrinking motorbike market and 

address the user demands, the association 

explained. 

The letter also pointed out that 

the government has been losing a 

Dhaka Tribune 

significant amount of revenue due 

to this import bar. 

According to the National Board 

of Revenue, motorbike import decreased 

from 249,464 in 2009 to 

186,808 in 2012. 

Sources from importers said import 

figures for the last three years 

have fallen below 150,000. 

Consequently, when Commerce 

Ministry Deputy Secretary Nirod 

Chandra Mondol sent a letter to the 

Home Ministry for views on the importers’ 

demand, the Home Ministry 

asked the police department to 

HC: Bear expenses of maiming victim 

• Ashif Islam Shaon 

The High Court yesterday ordered 

the government to bear treatment expenses 

of a father Shahanur Biswash 

of Jhenaidah, who was beat up by his 

daughter’s stalkers that led to maiming 

of his two legs. 

The High Court bench of Justice 

Quazi Reza-Ul Hoque and Justice Mohammad 

Ullah in its order also asked 

to provide sufficient security to the 

family of the victim. 

The health secretary and DG of Directorate 

General of Health Services 

will comply with the order. 

The court also ordered to the Inspector 

General of Police and Superintendent 

of Jhenaidah police to provide 

security to the family of the victim 

The court also fixed January 4, 2017 

as the next hearing day on this issue. 

On November 22, in a suo-moto order, 

the court had asked police to land 

in jail the alleged stalkers within 72 

hours who beat Shahanur up as he protested 

harassment against his daughter 

in Noldanga village in Kaliganj upazila. 

The court asked police to file a report 

before complying with the order on 

November 27. On November 27, as the 

state counsel sought time, the date was 

then fixed to November 29. 

SP Mizanur Rahman placed the report 

before the court yesterday which 

said that three of 16 accused in a case 

filed in connection with the incident 

had been arrested before the High 

Court order, while 13 surrendered before 

a lower court later. 

One of the accused secured bail 

from the lower court. 

The suo-moto rule was issued after 

a news article drew the court’s notice 

that said in the incident, taken placed 

on October 16, the father was beaten up 

indiscriminately and his both legs had 

to be amputated because of his injuries. 

After the incident, police had allegedly 

denied lodging any case against the 

accused which compelled Shahanur’s 

family to file two cases with a local court. 

Md Kamal, general secretary of 

Kastobhanga union unit Jubo League 

– youth wing of ruling Awami League, 

has been made the prime accused, according 

to the case statements. 

Kamal is also a union parishad 

member, who allegedly runs a gang 

called Kamal Bahini to maintain supremacy 

in the locality. Vicitm Shahanur’s 

daughter has stopped going to 

school fearing more attacks. • 

express its views in this regard. 

And finally on September 21, the 

Police Headquarters sent its objection 

to raising the limit to 165CC stating 

that importing higher configuration 

motorcycles will create problems. 

Quoting the Import Policy Order, 

the Police Headquarters said 

importing motorbikes above 155CC 

and those older than three years 

are prohibited in Bangladesh. 

Additional DIG AKM Hafiz Akter 

said: “The police have been using 

150CC motorbikes for operational 

purposes and so the common people 

should not use motorcycles of 

higher configuration as this might 

deteriorate the law enforcement 

situation. 

“Permitting higher configuration 

motorbikes will cause more 

accidents in Bangladesh as our riders, 

unlike in other countries, are 

often reluctant to use helmets.” 

According to the BMAMA, the 

country’s motorcycle market is 

dominated by imported vehicles 

up to 86% while the remaining 14% 

comes from local producers Walton 

and Runner. • 

Sex Workers’ Network member Kotha expresses her opinion about sex 

workers’ rights, economic and psychological effect of brothel eviction 

in a discussion meeting held at CIRDAP in Dhaka yesterday RAJIB DHAR 

Study finds 64% sex 

workers under 18 

• Afrose Jahan Chaity 

Total 64% of sex workers in 

Bangladesh are minor while 

90% sex workers started ‘sex 

businesses’ as a child sex 

worker. 

Dhaka University’s Sociology 

Professor ASM Amanullah 

disclosed the information at a 

round-table at Centre on Integrated 

Rural Development for 

Asia and the Pacific (CIRDAP) 

yesterday. 

In his research paper titled 

‘Sex Workers Rights are Human 

Rights: Psychosocial and Economic 

Cost of Brothel Eviction 

in Bangladesh,’ the professor 

said surprisingly 7% sex workers 

are under 10 years of age. 

He said: “57% girls started 

selling sex at the age of 10-16 

and about 60% sex workers 

are underage girls.” 

To compete the study 

Amanullah took 180 face-toface 

interviews of evicted sex 

workers, 3 focus group discussion 

involving about 40 

participants, 12 key in-depth 

interviews, 5 life stories, and 

1 consultation meeting with 

other stakeholders in Fultala, 

Madaripur and Tangail. 

In his speech he said: “Most 

of the sex workers in Bangladesh 

are young. About two million 

men buy sex from both male and 

female sex workers while above 

20 years of age is only 8% and 16- 

20 years of age is 26%. 

“15-20 thousands children 

work in the street as floating 

sex workers who joined this 

profession at their early age,” 

he added. 

Blaming politics as the 

major cause for brothel eviction 

he said: “Major reason 

of brothel eviction was 53% 

local political pressure for 

grabbing land, where about 

60% respondents stated that 

the eviction activities were 

conducted by the local political 

leaders followed by 10% 

community leader and 7% religious 

fanatics.” 

In her discussion Secretary 

of Nari Mukti Songothon 

Hashi said, “Sex workers do 

not like to integrate themselves 

with the mainstream 

society. They prefer their selling 

sex rather than working in 

a factory or NGO” 

In his speech, State Minister 

for Social Welfare Ministry 

Nuruzzaman Ahmed ensured 

that he will bring this issue to 

the parliament. •

First ever Buet-Robo Carnival 

began yesterday 

• Nure Alam Durjoy 

News 5 


Digital Khichuri Challenge final round today 

• Mahadi Al Hasnat 

Participants discuss their ideas between themselves on the second day of the Digital Khichuri Challege 

The final round of Digital Khichuri 

Challenge, a three-day-long new 

media and digital competition, will 

begin today. 

The challenge invites young 

Bangladeshis to brainstorm and 

develop new solutions and produce 

new digital platforms using 

the existing technologies. 

The final round will have the 

participating teams pitch their initiatives 

to a judging panel, a live 

audience and online audience 

streamed live and the winning 

team will be announced after an 

online vote today. 

Up to $5,000 will be awarded to 

the best idea. Facebook, UNDP and 

Affinis Labs will work closely with 

the winning team for six months 

to support the realisation of prototype 

it creates during the competition. 

Digital Khichuri has brought 

together 25 young Bangladeshis 

ranging from social entrepreneurs, 

programmers and grassroots leaders, 

designers, storytellers and 

students to develop platforms in 

which to promote the diversity, 

peace and tolerance in Bangladesh. 

A first of its kind in South 

Asia, the three-day competition 

is co-sponsored by Facebook and 

the United Nations Development 

Programme (UNDP), with support 

from Google and organised by Affinis 

Labs and Al Jazeera’s social 

media network. 

“The Digital Khichuri Challenge 

is a special, unique event 

that celebrates Bangladesh’s rich, 

celebrated tradition of storytelling 

and history of coexistence and pluralism. 

Specifically, carefully selected 

teams will imagine and create 

new digital stories and online 

campaigns that can promote the 

strength of Bangladesh’s diversity 

and promote peace. The event will 

bring the nation’s brightest talents 

BRS ROBO Carnival 2016 began 

yesterday evening at Bangladesh 

University of Engineering and 

Technology (Buet). 

Buet Robotics Society has organised 

its first ever ‘BRS ROBO 

CARNIVAL’ fro November 29 to 

December 1. 

The three-day long programme 

has brought together four hundred 

young talented individuals 

from across the country. 

The programme includes competitions, 

seminars and an olympiad 

throughout the festival with 

participants from over 15 universities 

including KUET, CUET, 

RUET, IUT, SUST, DUET, AUS. 

The competitions will include 

an industrial automation challenge, 

a rescue mission and a traffic 

chase. 

BRS is pursuing practical application 

of robotics to emphasise 

the creation of a new horizon of 

possibilities. 

In the inaugural ceremony 

at Buet Auditorium, Prof 

Shaikh Anowarul Fattah of 

the Department of Electrical 

and Electronic Engineering 

said efforts like this will help 

disseminate knowledge. 

He said: “This platform will 

allow young talents to showcase 

their ideas and interact with likeminded 

individuals.” 

The chief guest at the event, 

Daily Star Editor Mahfuz Anam 

said: “I don’t know about robotics, 

but I understand how important 

it is.” 

“As a society, we need to become 

more efficient. We are talkers 

rather than doers. But, you 

sitting in front of me, are doers,” 

he further said. 

BRS President Irfan Hasib said: 

“Innovation is vital to our growing 

economy. Around the globe, 

Bangladeshi researchers are making 

breakthroughs across a range 

of disciplines like renewable energy, 

material science, medical 

technologies, etc. But their work 

is appropriated by foreign companies 

who sell us the technologies 

at a high price.” 

“We need to get out of this 

vicious cycle. The drive is simple 

– innovation; through which 

industry gets new products and 

technologies, universities get 

funding and the country gets talent 

– it’s a perfect recipe for sustainable 

economic growth that 

benefits all,” he added. • 

together for a three-day festival of 

thought turned into a call for action. 

Young Bangladeshis will write 

the script for a peaceful future 

where all ways of being are celebrated,” 

said Affinis Labs’ Creative 

Director Wajhab Ali. 

On the inaugural day, a free 

workshop was organised for young 

contestants and others where representatives 

from Facebook, Google, 

Twitter, Al Jazeera and UNDP 

Bangladesh presented the best 

practices and strategies used in social 

and new media and how they 

can be used in implementing new 

solutions. 

Yesterday saw the competitors 

brainstorming and developing 

concepts and working with startup 

and technology mentors, building 

prototypes, iterating and refining 

prototypes at the venue. 

Shah Imtiaz Hossain, a former 

North South University student, 

said that his team was working to 

create a mobile app for a blood donation 

database. 

Writ on Rohingyas dropped 

• Ashiful Islam Shaon 

A High Court bench yesterday 

dropped a writ petition, filed for its 

directives to allow Mayanmar rohingyas 

to cross the border and enter 

Bangladesh, from the cause list. 

A Supreme Court lawyer Abu 

Yahia Dulal filed the petition on 

Monday praying to open the border 

temporarily to let the Rohingyas 

enter so that they can take shelter 

DT 

RAJIB DHAR 

“The mobile app would include 

the database of blood donors across 

the country and help anyone who 

needs blood during an emergency,” 

he said. 

Shahed Amanullah, the 

co-founder and director of Affinis 

Labs, said: “This is the first of its 

kind in South Asia, we have further 

plans to encourage rural Bangladeshi 

youths and engage them with 

such initiative in the future so that 

they can properly utilise inherent 

merit and creativity.” • 

on humanitarian ground. 

He also prayed to issue a rule 

upon the government to know as 

to why barring the Rohingyas from 

entering Bangladesh will not be declared 

inhuman and illegal. 

It also sought an interim order 

over the issue till the hearing. The 

Home Secretary, Inspector General 

of Police, DG of BGB and DG of 

Coast Guard have been made respondents 

to the writ petition. • 

TEMPERATURE FORECAST FOR TODAY 

DRY WEATHER 

LIKELY 

WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 30 

Dhaka 29 18 Chittagong 29 21 Rajshahi 30 20 Rangpur 28 17 Khulna 30 17 Barisal 29 17 Sylhet 29 15 

DHAKA 

TODAY 

TOMORROW 

SUN SETS 5:11PM 

SUN RISES 6:24AM 

YESTERDAY’S HIGH AND LOW 

30.1ºC 

14.5ºC 

Jessore 

Srimangal 

Source: Accuweather/UNB 

PRAYER 

TIMES 

Cox’s Bazar 29 21 

Fajr: 5:45am | Zohr: 1:15pm 

Asr: 4:00pm | Magrib: 5:22pm 

Esha: 7:30pm 

Source: Islamic Foundation

6 


DT 

News 

Transport strike hits 

Bandarban 

• Basu Das, Bandarban and 

Anwar Hossain, Chittagong 

Transport workers in Bandarban a 

24-hour strike in the district to press 

home several demands including 

ending alleged police harassment and 

constructing bus terminals. 

Locals and tourists have been severely 

affected by the strike as no passenger 

bus left the district since yesterday 

morning. 

Transport owners said they were 

supporting a call for strike by Bangladesh 

Sarak Paribahan Sramik Federation’s 

Chittagong chapter. 

Purbani Owner’s Association General 

Secretray Shubroto Das Jhontu 

said they were observing the strike in 

Bandarban as per instructions given 

by the Chittagong workers’ federation. 

Locals said intra-district traffic was 

uninterrupted. 

Bus-Jeep Owners Association General 

Secretary Nurul Alam said they 

were operating on the local route in 

the district. 

Transport strike in Chittagong postponed 

till Dec 4 

Transport workers have postponed 

their strike till December 4 in all the 

routes of greater Chittagong. 

The decision came after the strikers 

held a meeting with Masud-ul-Hasan, 

additional commissioner (Traffic) of 

Chittagong Metropolitan Police on 

Tuesday noon. 

Confirming the postponement, Ruhul 

Amin, president of Sarak Paribahan 

Sramik Federation’s Chittagong 

divisional committee, told the Dhaka 

Tribune that they decided to postpone 

their strike upon the assurance of a 

high official of the CMP. 

Chittagong regional chapter of 

Bangladesh Sarak Paribahan Sramik 

Federation (Bangladesh Road Transport 

Workers’ Federation) enforced 

the strike for 24 hours in Chittagong, 

Cox’s Bazar, Rangamati, Khagrachari 

and Bandarban districts to push for 

their nine-point demand including 

putting an end to alleged police harassment 

and constructing bus terminals. 

The other demands are setting up 

terminals for bus, trucks and 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. 

“A meeting has been scheduled to 

be held on December 4 to discuss the 

demands. Chittagong City Corporation 

mayor, Chittagong Metropolitan 

Police commissioner and Chittagong 

Development Authority chairman will 

attend the meeting,” added the leader 

of the strikers. 

While visiting different intersections 

of the city, it was seen that motorised 

vehicles including CNG-run 

auto-rickshaws, public buses, trucks, 

human haulers stayed off the roads. 

Rickshaws and private cars were seen 

to dominate the city streets. 

Finding no other way, people were 

forced to walk to their respective destinations. 

Patients heading for hospitals 

and clinics, students, office-goers 

and apparel workers faced immense 

suffering due to the strike. 

The commuters alleged that the 

rickshaw pullers were charging exorbitant 

fare from them taking advantage 

of the strike. • 

Badrul Alam, former leader of the Bangladesh Chhatra League, was 

produced before a Sylhet court yesterday. The trial of Badrul began on 

charges of attempting to murder college student Khadiza Akhter Nargis 

DHAKA TRIBUNE 

Army man kills wife 

in Rangpur 

• Liakat Ali Badal, 

Rangpur 

An army personnel allegedly 

killed his wife over family 

feud in Bururhat area, Rangpur 

district town yesterday 

morning. 

Quoting locals, police said 

Selimuzzaman, who was a soldier 

at Kholahati cantonment, 

Parbotipur, Dinajpur, got 

locked in an altercation with 

his wife Mitali Begum over 

family feud on Monday night. 

Maksuda Begum, sister of 

the victim, said Selim beat up 

Mitali with a stick, leaving her 

critically injured on Tuesday 

morning over the issue. 

At one stage, Mitali took 

shelter in a bathroom in a bid 

to save herself. 

Selim then entered into 

the bathroom and hit Mitali’s 

head with the tube-well, making 

her senseless. 

Later, he hanged her with 

the ceiling and told neighbours 

that she tried to commit 

suicide. 

Locals rescued her and 

sent to Rangpur CMH Hospital 

where doctors declared her 

dead. 

Afterward, Selim sent the 

body to Rangpur Medical College 

and Hospital where the 

doctors declared her dead 

also. 

Locals and family members 

of Mitali demanded exemplary 

punishment of Selim. 

On the other hand, Rafiqul 

Islam Bappi, a trader in Alamnagar 

area in the town, beat 

up his wife Sufia Begum leaving 

her to death. 

Jahidul Islam, officer-incharge 

of Kotwali police station, 

said Selim and Rafiqul 

were arrested for their wives. • 

Sust student put 

on 10-day remand 

over militancy 

• Mohammed Serajul 

Islam, Sylhet 

A court in Sylhet yesterday 

placed a student of Shahjalal 

University of Science and 

Technology (SUST), who was 

arrested from Sylhet city on 

Monday for his suspected 

link to militancy, to 10-day remand. 

The accused is – Abdullah 

Jubair Mukta, 21, a second 

year student of Civil & Environmental 

Engineering and 

department of SUSt and son of 

SM Nurul Alam, a resident of 

Kalikapur village under Baraigram 

upazila, Natore. 

Chief Metropolitan Magistrate 

of Sylhet Saifuzzaman 

Hero passed the order while 

SI of Sylhet Katwali police 

station produced him before 

the court and sought 10-day 

remand. 

Earlier, police arrested 

Mukta on Monday night while 

he was distributing leaflets of 

Hizb ut Tahrir in Munshipara 

area in the city along with 

leaflets, two cell phones and 

pen drives. 

Later, Anjon Chowdhury, 

sub-inspector of Katwali police 

station filed a case under 

Anti Terrorism (Amendment) 

Act, 2013. •

BNP seeks army deployment 

All polling centres highly risky in Narayanganj 

• Manik Miazee and Tanveer 

Hossain, Narayanganj 

The BNP requested Election Commission 

(EC) to deploy army during 

Narayanganj City Corporation 

(NCC) polls at least one week before 

the election. 

A delegation team of BNP led by 

BNP Senior Joint Secretary General 

Ruhul Kabir Rizvi submitted a letter 

to the EC on Tuesday, seeking 

the army deployment. 

Rizvi said: “For a free and a fair 

election, we have requested the EC 

to deploy Army force prior to the 

NCC Election.” 

On the other hand, returning 

officer of NCC polls Nuruzzaman 

Talukder has identified all the 174 

polling centres in Narayanganj 

as highly risky. But the returning 

officer said there was no need of 

army deployment. 

“Election atmosphere in 

Narayanganj is quite good. But all 

polling centres in NCC are highly 

risky,” returning officer of NCC 

polls Nuruzzaman Talukder said in 

a press briefing. 

He identified polling centres as 

risk-prone on the basis of their infrastructural 

conditions, communication 

facilities and geographical 

locations. 

He also claimed that there was 

no need to deploy army during the 

upcoming polls, though he identified 

all centres as highly risky. 

To conduct a fair election the 

returning officer urged the candidates 

to obey electoral code and 

conducts. He said: “All candidates 

should obey election rules.” 

Describing him as impartial 

Nuruzzaman said: “A total of 

10,000 people would work under 

News 7 


me in NCC polls.” 

In his speech he said: “We will 

ensure level-playing field for all 

candidates.” 

Earlier, EC declared eight nomination 

papers valid including Awami 

League-backed mayoral candidate 

Selina Hayat Ivy and BNP’s 

Advocate Shakhawat Hossain 

Khan, while the EC scrapped one 

for mayoral race on Sunday. 

The other valid nomination papers 

are – Workers Party’s Advocate 

Mahbubur Rahman Ismail, Islami 

Andolon’s Mufti Masum Billah, JSD’s 

Moslemuddin, LDP’s Kamal Prodhan, 

Kallyan Party’s Rashed Ferdous and 

Islami Oikya Jote’s Ezharul Islam. 

The commission scrapped the 

nomination paper of independent 

aspirant Sultan Mahmud as he 

lacked three signatures out of prerequisite 

300. 

The deadline for nomination 

submission for the polls was Thursday 

while the deadline to withdraw 

candidacy is on December 4. The 

polls will be held on December 22. • 

People in Chittagong are seen going to the destination by rickshaw-van yesterday as the transport workers call strike on the 

roads and highways protesting harassment by police. The picture was taken in Amanat Setu area 

AZAHAR UDDIN 

Ivy urges voters not 

to be intimidated 

• Tanveer Hossain, 

Narayanganj 

The Awami League-backed mayoral 

candidate Selina Hayat Ivy 

on Tuesday urged voters not to be 

intimidated over the situtation of 

election atmosphere. 

The popular leader of Narayanganj 

said this after visiting 

Narayanganj Shaheed Minar in the 

afternoon. 

She said: “I tried to help people 

of the city irrespective of their political 

affiliations. When, anyone 

came to me, I listened them carefully 

and tried to solve their problems.” 

Later, she sat a meeting with 

women, who are residents of Diyara 

area. 

On November 18, Ivy received 

nomination from Awami League 

as a mayoral candidate for the upcoming 

city polls. 

The decision was taken at a 

meeting of local government nomination 

board held at Gono Bhaban, 

residence of Prime Minister Sheikh 

DT 

Hasina after she wrote a letter to 

the premier seeking nomination 

from the ruling party’s chief on November 

17. 

Narayanganj City Corporation 

will go to polls on December 22, 

Chief Election Commissioner Kazi 

Rakibuddin Ahmad made the announcement 

of polls schedule at 

the media centre of the Election 

Commission Secretariat on Monday. 

As per the schedule, the deadline 

for the submission of nomination 

papers was November 24, 

while the date for the scrutiny of 

the nomination papers on November 

26-27 and the last date for the 

withdrawal of candidature is December 

4. 

The election symbol will be allocated 

among the contestants on 

December 5. 

The maiden election to NCC was 

held on October 30, 2011. Dr Selina 

Hayat Ivy was elected country’s 

first female city mayor defeating 

Awami League-backed candidate 

Shamim Osman. • 

Nasir: Chittagong City Corporation will be mega city soon 

• Anwar Hussain, Chittagong 

Obaidul: Government 

to fully implement 

CHT peace accord 

• Jasim Majumder, Khagrachhari 

Chittagong City Corporation (CCC) 

Mayor AJM Nasir Uddin said they 

were undertaking some development 

projects in a bid to turn Chittagong 

into a mega city. 

“Some development projects of 

the corporation with an outlay of 

Tk10 billions were waiting to get 

approval from Executive Committee 

of the National Economic Council. 

Besides, development projects 

amounting to Tk15 billions, construction 

of Nagar Bhaban, canal 

excavation from Bahadderhat to 

Chaktai under 1995 Master Plan 

and DPP for excavating two more 

canals are being prepared,” said the 

mayor, adding that he, immediately 

after assuming office, undertook 

all necessary steps to ensure transparency 

and accountancy of the 

corporation activities. 

The CCC mayor made the remark 

while addressing a seminar 

titled ‘Road Construction and 

Quality Control’. 

“The corporation still does not 

have any legal manpower organogram. 

We have overhauled the 

corporation despite all obstacles, 

including fund crunch and manpower 

shortage ones. We are also 

taking elaborate programmes to 

turn Chittagong into a smart city 

in collaboration with the ICT Division 

of the government,” said the 

mayor. 

The mayor in his speech also 

sought cooperation from the 

townspeople to turn Chittagong 

into a clean and green city. 

The Engineering Department of 

Road Transport and Bridges Minister 

Obaidul Quader on Tuesday 

said the government was determined 

to implement peace accord 

to establish harmony in Chittagong 

Hill Tracts. 

The minister made the statement 

while addressing a rally in 

Ramgorh upazila bus terminal 

area, Khagrachhari in the morning. 

Terming land dispute as a major 

problem in the CHT, the minister 

also said CHT land dispute resolution 

commission had already started 

its work and it would resolve the 

land disputes within shortest possible 

time. 

He also said government had taken 

various programmes to uplift living 

standard and life of hills’ people. 

“My ministry has already completed 

work of 16 bridges while 34 

bridges work was under construction,” 

he said, adding that Jaliya Para-Sindukchhari-Mohalchhari 

road 

construction would start very soon. 

He also advised Awami League 

and its front organisation leaders 

to resolve internal feud and work 

unitedly aiming to make Sheikh 

Hasina’s dream a success. 

Khagrachhari district Awami 

League President Kujendra Lal Tripura, 

its General Secretary Md Jahedul 

Alam and Rangamati district 

Awami League President Dipankar 

Talukder, among others, spoke on 

the occasion. • 

the CCC organised the seminar at 

Engineers Institute in the city yesterday. 

The CCC Superintend Engineer 

Rafiqul Islam Manik gave a welcome 

address while Executive Engineer 

Jhulan Kumar Das moderated 

the seminar. 

The former chief engineers of 

the corporation were also given a 

reception at the seminar. •

DT 

8 

World 


SOUTH ASIA 

Pakistan’s outgoing army 

chief warns India 

Pakistan’s outgoing military chief 

warned India Tuesday it would 

be dangerous to mistake his 

country’s “restraint” over recent 

tensions in disputed Kashmir. 

General Raheel Sharif spoke at a 

colourful ceremony welcoming 

the incoming chief General Qamar 

Javed Bajwa at a stadium at army 

headquarters in the garrison city 

of Rawalpindi, adjacent to the 

capital Islamabad. AFP 

INDIA 

Muslim women enter 

Indian shrine after legal 

battle 

Dozens of women entered the inner 

sanctum of a historic mosque 

in India on Tuesday after winning 

a bitter legal battle for a ban on female 

worshippers to be lifted. The 

Haji Ali Dargah trust agreed last 

month to lift the ban on women 

entering the landmark mausoleum 

off the coast of Mumbai after 

a group of women campaigners 

launched a legal case. AFP 

CHINA 

Beijing quiet on Taiwan 

drills in South China Sea 

Taiwan held rescue drills on Tuesday 

off the coast of its sole outpost 

in the Spratly Islands of the South 

China Sea, but the biggest claimant 

in the disputed area kept uncharacteristically 

quiet. China and 

self-governed Taiwan seldom see 

eye to eye, but in responding to Taipei’s 

latest assertion of sovereignty 

over Itu Aba, Beijing has avoided 

the harsh language. REUTERS 

ASIA PACIFIC 

South Korean president 

willing to resign 

South Korea’s scandal-hit President 

Park Geun-Hye said Tuesday 

she was willing to stand down early 

and would let parliament decide 

on her fate. “I will leave the issue 

of my departure, including the 

possible reduction of my term in 

office, to a decision by the National 

Assembly”, she said in a speech 

carried live on television. AFP 

MIDDLE EAST 

Abbas re-elected Fatah 

party leader 

Palestinian president Mahmud 

Abbas’s Fatah re-elected him party 

head Tuesday as the movement 

opened its first congress since 

2009 with talk mounting of 

who will eventually succeed the 

81-year-old. Abbas was re-elected 

by consensus, party spokesman 

Mahmud Abu al-Hija said, and was 

due to address the congress. AFP 

FACTBOX 

Sport teams involved in fatal 

plane crashes 

Members of Brazilian football team 

Chapecoense were among 81 people on 

board a chartered aircraft that crashed 

late Monday in Medellin, Colombia, officials 

said. But they said five survived, including 

three players. 

A list of other sports teams involved 

in fatal plane crashes: 

November 8, 1948: Czechoslovak 

national team, five members including 

IIHF Hall of Famer, Ladislav Trojak, in the 

English Channel. 

May 4, 1949: Italian soccer club 

Turin. The four-time league champions 

lost 22 members, including 18 players, 

in Turin, Italy. 

January 7, 1950: Moscow VVS ice 

hockey team, 11 players, near Sverdlovsk. 

February 6, 1958: English soccer 

champion Manchester United, eight 

members, in Munich. 

August 14, 1958: Egyptian fencing 

team, six members, in the Atlantic 

Ocean. 

October 10, 1960: Cal Poly-San 

Luis Obispo football team, 16 members, 

in Toledo, Ohio. 

February 16, 1961: US figure skating 

team, 18 members and 10 coaches 

and officials, in Belgium. 

April 3, 1961: Green Cross, eight 

members of the first-division Chilean 

soccer team plus two members of 

the coaching staff, in the Las Lastimas 

Mountains. 

April 28, 1968: Lamar Tech track 

team, five members and the coach, in 

Beaumont, Texas. 

September 26, 1969: Bolivian soccer 

team “The Strongest,” coach Eustaquio 

Ortuno, 16 players and two staff 

members, near Viloco, Bolivia. 

October 2, 1970: Wichita State 

football team, 14 players, in Colorado. 

November 14, 1970: Marshall University 

football team, 36 players, in 

Huntington, West Virginia 

October 13, 1972: Uruguayan rugby 

club, among the 29 casualties, in the 

Andes, Chile. 

December 13, 1977: University of 

Evansville men’s basketball coach Bobby 

Watson and 14 players, in Evansville, 

Indiana 

March 14, 1980: US amateur boxing 

team, 14 members, in Warsaw, Poland. 

November 25, 1985: Iowa State 

women’s cross country team, coach 

Ron Renko, assistant coach Pat Moynihan, 

and team members Julie Rose, 

Susan Baxter and Sheryl Maahs, in Des 

Moines, Iowa. 

December 8, 1987: Peruvian 

first-division soccer team Alianza Lima, 

coach Marcos Calderon and 16 players, 

in Lima, Peru. 

April 28, 1993: Zambia’s national 

soccer team, 18 players and five team 

officials, in Libreville, Gabon. 

January 27, 2001: Oklahoma State 

basketball players Dan Lawson and 

Nate Fleming, and six team staffers and 

broadcasters, in Byers, Colorado. 

September 7, 2011: Russian hockey 

team Lokomotiv, 27 players, two 

coaches and seven club officials, in 

Tunoshna, Russia. • 

Record coral kill-off on Great Barrier Reef 

• AFP, Sydney 

A mass bleaching event on the 

Great Barrier Reef this year killed 

more corals than ever before, scientists 

said Tuesday, sounding the 

alarm over the delicate ecosystem. 

The 2,300km long reef – the 

world’s biggest – suffered its most 

severe bleaching in recorded history, 

due to warming sea temperatures 

during March and April, 

with the northern third bearing 

the brunt. 

Follow-up underwater surveys, 

backing earlier aerial studies, have 

revealed a 700km stretch of reefs 

in the less-accessible north lost 

two-thirds of shallow-water corals 

in the past eight to nine months. 

“Most of the losses in 2016 

have occurred in the northern, 

most-pristine part of the Great 

Barrier Reef,” said Terry Hughes, 

head of the Centre of Excellence 

for Coral Reef Studies at James 

Cook University. 

“This region escaped with minor 

damage in two earlier bleaching 

events in 1998 and 2002, but 

this time around it has been badly 

affected.” 

Fossil fuels 

Bleaching occurs when abnormal 

environmental conditions, such as 

warmer sea temperatures, cause 

corals to expel tiny photosynthetic 

algae, draining them of their colour. 

Algae are vital to the coral, 

which uses the organic products of 

photosynthesis to help it grow. 

The loss of algae makes the host 

BLEACHING ON THE GREAT BARRIER REEF 

Corals are dying, succumbing to disease and predators in mass bleachings 

How corals thrive 

Corals rely on photosynthetic algae to grow 

1 

2 

Great Barrier 

Reef Marine Park 

Coral polyps are 

translucent 

They receive colour from algae 

such as dinoflagellates that 

Cooktown 

Length: 2,300 km 

Area: 344,400 sq km 

live on them in a symbiotic 

relationship 

Cairns 

Townsville 

Rockhampton 

QUEENSLAND 

AUSTRALIA 

Coral 

Sea 

100 km 

vulnerable to disease and means it 

will eventually die. 

However, coral can recover if 

the water temperature drops and 

the algae are able to recolonise 

them. 

Environmentalists blame the 

burning of fossil fuels for global 

warming and repeated calls Tuesday 

for Australia to abandon coal 

mining to help prevent further 

bleaching disasters. 

“This is the devastating price 

we are paying for the Australian 

government propping up the coal 

industry,” said Greenpeace Australia 

reef campaigner Shani Tager. 

“A credible plan to protect the 

Corals are made up 

of colonies of polyps, 

lifeforms related to 

anemones and jellyfish 

Source : Australian government/Greatbarrierreef.org/WWF/NOAA/NationalGeographic/Oceana.org/teachoceanscience.net 

reef must address climate change 

and start with a ban on new coal 

mines.” 

Canberra insists it is doing more 

than ever to safeguard the reef, 

which is also under pressure from 

farming run-off, development and 

the coral-eating crown-of-thorns 

starfish, committing more than 

Aus$2.0bn (US$1.50bn) over the 

next decade. 

4 

3 

Algae use nitrogen, 

phosphorus and other 

metabolic waste from 

coral to generate 

energy from the sun 

via photosynthesis 

Oxygen and other organic 

products of photosynthesis 

help coral to grow 

When corals bleach 

Source: AP 

Under environmental stress, 

such as a change in temperature, 

corals will expel algae 

Loss of algae causes coral 

bleaching, making them 

vulnerable to disease 

Bleached coral will eventually 

die if they don’t regain algae 

Vibrant colour 

Scientists estimate the northern 

region, which teems with marine 

life, will take at least 10-15 years 

to regain lost corals, but are concerned 

that a fourth major bleaching 

event may occur before that, 

hampering the recovery. 

The reef studies centre warned 

earlier this year that if greenhouse 

gas levels keep rising, similar 

events would be the new normal, 

occurring every two years by the 

mid-2030s. 

Given reefs need so long to recover 

from severe bleaching, it 

said “we are likely to lose large 

parts of the Great Barrier Reef in 

just a couple of decades”. 

That study noted climate change 

had added 1.0°C of warming to 

ocean temperatures off the Queensland 

coast in March, when corals 

were first seen turning white. •

World 

UK government distances itself 

from Brexit strategy memo 

• AFP, London 

Divided French left plays down presidential feud 

• AFP, Paris 

With the French right settled on 

its candidate for next year’s presidential 

election, the left was 

trying to tamp down speculation 

Monday over whether President 

Francois Hollande or his prime 

minister would be its standard-bearer. 

Prime Minister Manuel Valls 

caused a minor sensation at the 

weekend by saying he could be a 

candidate for the Socialist presidential 

nomination, even if Hollande 

decided to seek re-election. 

His remarks injected further 

uncertainty into the line-up, five 

months before an election tipped by 

pollsters to end in a duel between 

Francois Fillon, a conservative, and 

far-right leader Marine Le Pen. 

Former prime minister Fillon has 

emerged as the one to beat after his 

resounding victory in the run-off of 

a right-wing primary on Sunday. 

The enthusiasm for the Catholic 

traditionalist has accentuated 

the unpopularity of the ruling Socialists, 

who have yet to pick their 

champion. 

As Hollande prepares to announce 

whether he will seek a 

second term, Valls denied rumours 

he was planning to resign 

to launch a rival bid. 

“At a time when France is facing 

a terror threat there can be no 

The British government on Monday 

distanced itself from a memo 

outlining plans for Brexit spotted 

as a lawmaker left Downing 

Street, which included the aim to 

“have cake and eat it”. 

“What’s the model? Have cake 

and eat it,” read the hand-written 

paper held by an aide accompanying 

Mark Field, a London MP for 

the ruling Conservative Party. 

The notes were caught by a 

photographer as Field left the Department 

for Exiting the European 

Union – an office set up in the 

wake of Britain’s shock June 23 

vote to leave the bloc. 

The Brexit department would 

not detail the purpose of Field’s 

visit to Downing Street or who he 

had been meeting. 

“These individual notes do not 

belong to a government official or 

a special adviser. They do not reflect 

the government’s position in 

relation to Brexit negotiations,” a 

government spokesperson said. 

The memo suggests Britain 

will fail to keep access to the European 

single market and will 

seek to keep the negotiations to 

two years, rejecting the idea of a 

lengthier transitional deal aimed 

at lessening the sudden impact of 

leaving the EU. 

“Keep the two years. Won’t 

provide more detail. We think it’s 

unlikely we’ll be offered single 

market,” the notes read. 

More than five months after the 

referendum, Prime Minister Theresa 

May has refused to outline 

the government’s Brexit strategy. 

The government’s promise to 

keep its playing cards close to its 

chest ahead of starting formal divorce 

proceedings with Brussels 

– which May has promised to do 

before the end of March – has also 

fuelled interest in any snippets 

of information out of Downing 

Street. 

‘Very French negotiating team’ 

The notes photographed on Monday 

and published in British media 

go into brief detail on negotiating 

by sector, suggesting a deal on 

manufacturing will be “relatively 

straightforward”. 

political confrontation over a primary 

between the president of the 

Republic and the prime minister,” 

his office quoted him as telling 

Hollande over a two-hour lunch 

on Monday. 

“I’m the head of government. I 

have a sense of duty to the state,” 

he insisted. 

A Harris Interactive poll 

showed Valls faring no better than 

the deeply unpopular Hollande if 

he ran in his stead, with both men 

languishing on 9 percent in the 

first round of the election in April. 

The poll published Sunday 

showed Fillon leading Le Pen with 

26% to her 24% in the first round 

This November 11, 2015 file photo shows French President Francois Hollande, 

left, and Prime Minister Manuel Valls 

AFP 

British Prime Minister Theresa May reacts during a press conference at 10 

Downing Street in central London on November 28 

AFP 

of voting and going on to crush 

her in the run-off in May. 

“One shuttle is taking off, another 

is self-destructing. Never 

have the left and right seemed so 

far apart as on this Sunday, November 

27, 2016,” a columnist in 

Les Echos business daily wrote. 

‘Globalisation candidate’ 

Fillon, a self-professed Thatcherite, 

surged from behind in the 

last days of the primary on a 

promise to slash public spending, 

combat radical Islam and uphold 

traditional French values. 

On Sunday, he promised to be 

the candidate of “all those who 

Paris is just one of many European 

cities hoping to attract business 

away from the City of London 

financial hub, by promising 

access to the EU single market and 

free movement of workers. 

The memo also mentions a 

“very French negotiating team”, 

in an apparent nod to the European 

Commission’s top Brexit negotiator, 

Michel Barnier, a former 

French minister. 

“Canada Plus” is scrawled on 

the notepad, likely referring to the 

recent trade deal struck between 

Ottawa and Brussels, while the 

comment “no Norway” suggests 

London should not seek membership 

of the tariff-free European Economic 

Area as part of its EU exit. • 

in their hearts are proud to be 

French.” 

His nomination appeared to rattle 

Le Pen’s anti-EU, anti-immigrant 

National Front, which also campaigns 

heavily on national identity. 

Le Pen on Sunday tore into 

Fillon’s liberal economic programme, 

which includes cutting 

half a million public sector jobs. 

“No candidate has ever gone so 

far in bowing to the ultra-liberal 

demands of the European Union,” 

she said. 

FN vice president Florian 

Philippot followed up Monday by 

branding Fillon the candidate of 

“rampant globalisation”. 

Le Pen is hoping to emulate 

Donald Trump’s victory in the US 

presidential vote by wooing traditional 

leftist voters disillusioned 

with high unemployment and factory 

closures. 

Valls on Sunday said he wanted 

to “dispel the notion that defeat is 

inevitable” for the Socialists. 

Hinting he could challenge 

Hollande, he told the Journal du 

Dimanche paper: “I will take my 

decision with good conscience.” 

Valls first broke ranks with Hollande 

last month after the publication 

of an explosive tell-all book in 

which the president took swipes 

at judges, the national football 

team and even his own government’s 

policies. • 

9 


DT 

USA 

No evidence has emerged 

about voting fraud 

There has been no evidence of 

widespread election fraud in the 

presidential contest, the White 

House said on Monday in reaction 

to President-elect Donald Trump’s 

tweet over the weekend alleging 

millions of illegal votes and fraud 

in three states. Spokesman Josh 

Earnest, speaking to reporters at a 

daily briefing, deferred comments 

on Trump’s specific tweets to the 

president-elect’s team. REUTERS 

THE AMERICAS 

Brazilian opposition demands 

Temer impeachment 

A Brazilian opposition party on 

Monday filed a petition for the 

impeachment of President Michel 

Temer, underlining the growing difficulties 

facing the centre-right leader 

as he tries to introduce austerity 

reforms. The impeachment demand 

filed by the PSOL, a small leftist 

party. The party argues that Temer 

committed crimes by allegedly 

interfering in a business dispute to 

aid a friend in his cabinet. AFP 

UK 

UK backs EU patent court 

UK pleased and surprised some 

of its EU partners on Monday by 

pledging to ratify a new, unified 

patent system for the bloc even 

though London is about to leave 

the EU. Slovak Economy Minister 

Peter Ziga, who chaired a meeting 

of EU counterparts in Brussels, 

told reporters he was “very 

pleased” that UK had committed 

to be ready to ratify the international 

agreement in the first half of 

next year. REUTERS 

EUROPE 

Dutch parliament approves 

partial ban on burqa 

Dutch lawmakers have approved a 

partial ban on wearing face-covering 

Islamic veils in public places, 

including schools, hospitals and 

on public transport. The ban does 

not apply to wearing the burqa on 

the street, but only “in specific 

situations where it is essential for 

people to be seen” or for security 

reasons. The motion was approved 

by a majority of 132 out of the 150- 

seat house. AFP 

AFRICA 

Sudan seizes copies of 4 

newspapers amid protests 

Sudanese security agents seized all 

copies of four independent newspapers 

on Tuesday after they reported 

on a three-day strike called by the 

opposition over fuel subsidy cuts, 

staff said. Members of Security Service 

confiscated copies of al-Tayar, 

al-Jadida, al-Ayyam and al-Youm 

al-Tali newspapers overnight without 

giving a reason. REUTERS

10 


DT 

World 

Muslims fear backlash after Ohio attack 

• Tribune International Desk 

Investigators are looking into 

whether a car-and-knife attack at 

Ohio State University that injured 

11 people was an act of terror by a 

student who had once criticised the 

media for its portrayal of Muslims, 

reports the Associated Press. 

The attacker, identified as Abdul 

Razak Ali Artan, plowed his car into 

a group of pedestrians on campus 

shortly before 10am Monday and 

then got out and began stabbing 

people with a butcher knife before 

he was shot to death by a campus 

police officer, authorities said. 

A motive was not immediately 

known, but police said they were 

investigating whether it was a terrorist 

attack. 

Artan was born in Somalia and 

was a legal permanent US resident, 

according to a US official who was not 

authorised to discuss the case and 

spoke on condition of anonymity. 

University Police chief Craig 

Abdul Razak Artan 

REUTERS 

Stone said Artan deliberately drove 

his small gray Honda over a curb outside 

an engineering classroom building 

and then began knifing people. 

Officer Alan Horujko, 28, who was 

nearby because of a gas leak, arrived 

on scene and shot the driver in less 

than a minute, Stone said. Angshuman 

Kapil, a graduate student, was 

outside Watts Hall when the car barrelled 

onto the sidewalk. 

“It just hit everybody who was 

in front,” he said. “After that, everybody 

was shouting, ‘Run! Run! 

Run!’” 

Eleven victims, mostly students, 

were taken to three Columbus hospitals. 

Most had been hurt by the 

car, and two had been stabbed, officials 

said. One had a fractured skull. 

Four remained hospitalised Tuesday 

morning, the hospitals said. 

Several prayer vigils were held 

Monday night to support the victims 

and the community. 

Classes at OSU were cancelled after 

the attack but were scheduled to 

resume Tuesday. 

Students said they were nervous 

about returning and planned to 

take precautions such as not walking 

alone. 

“It’s kind of nerve-wracking going 

back to class right after it,” said 

Kaitlin Conner, 18, of Cleveland, 

who said she had a midterm exam 

to take Tuesday. 

US Representative Adam Schiff 

of California, the top Democrat on 

the House Intelligence Committee, 

said the act bore the hallmarks of an 

attack carried out by someone who 

Law enforcement officials are seen outside of a parking garage on the campus of Ohio State University as they respond to an 

active attack in Columbus, Ohio on November 28 

AFP 

may have been self-radicalised. 

‘I was kind of scared’ 

Ohio State’s University's student 

newspaper, The Lantern, ran an 

interview in August with a student 

named Abdul Razak Artan, who 

identified himself as a Muslim and 

a third-year logistics management 

student who had just transferred 

from Columbus State in the fall. 

He said he was looking for a 

place to pray openly and worried 

about how he would be received. 

“I was kind of scared with 

everything going on in the media. 

I’m a Muslim, it’s not what media 

portrays me to be,” he told the 

newspaper. “If people look at me, a 

Muslim praying, I don’t know what 

they’re going to think, what’s going 

to happen. But I don’t blame them. 

It’s the media that put that picture 

in their heads.” 

In recent months, federal law 

enforcement officials have raised 

concerns about online extremist 

propaganda that encourages knife 

and car attacks, which are easier to 

pull off than bombings. 

The Islamic State group has 

urged sympathisers online to carry 

out lone-wolf attacks in their home 

countries with whatever weapons 

are available to them. 

Artan was not known to the FBI 

before Monday’s attack, according 

to a law enforcement official who 

was not authorized to discuss an 

ongoing investigation and spoke on 

condition of anonymity. 

Dozens of FBI agents began 

searching Artan’s apartment Monday 

night. 

Neighbours said he was always 

polite and attended daily prayer 

services at a mosque on the city’s 

west side. 

Leaders of Muslim organisations 

and mosques in the Columbus area 

condemned the attacks while cautioning 

people against jumping to 

conclusions or blaming a religion or 

an ethnicity. 

Surveillance photos showed Artan 

in the car by himself just before 

the attack, but investigators are 

looking into whether anyone else 

was involved, the campus police 

chief said. • 

Trump nominates Obamacare 

critic as health secretary 

• AFP, Washington, DC 

US President-elect Donald 

Trump on Tuesday nominated 

a fierce Obamacare critic 

as health secretary, indicating 

he plans to fulfil a campaign 

promise to tear up the divisive 

healthcare reform law. 

Tom Price, a congressman 

from Georgia and former orthopaedic 

surgeon, “is exceptionally 

qualified to shepherd 

our commitment to repeal 

and replace Obamacare and 

bring affordable and accessible 

healthcare to every American,” 

Trump said in a statement 

announcing his pick for 

head of the Department of 

Health and Human Services. 

President Barack Obama’s 

signature healthcare reform, 

formally known as the Affordable 

Care Act, has provided 

health coverage to 20 million 

Americans and pushed 

the level of uninsured to a 

Tom Price 

REUTERS 

historic low of less than 10%. 

But Obamacare also 

caused health insurance 

prices to spike among other 

groups, and lead to declining 

coverage among many plans. 

However, President-elect 

Trump has said he hoped 

to preserve two of the most 

popular features: allowing 

children to stay on their parents’ 

plans until age 26, and 

preventing insurance companies 

from denying coverage 

to people with pre-existing 

conditions. 

“There is much work to 

be done to ensure we have a 

healthcare system that works 

for patients, families, and doctors; 

that leads the world in the 

cure and prevention of illness; 

and that is based on sensible 

rules to protect the well-being 

of the country while embracing 

its innovative spirit,” Price 

said in a statement. 

His nomination was swiftly 

criticised by Democrats, 

with incoming Senate Minority 

Leader Charles Schumer 

calling it “akin to asking the 

fox to guard the hen house.” 

“Congressman Price has 

proven to be far out of the 

mainstream of what Americans 

want when it comes to 

Medicare, the Affordable Care 

Act, and Planned Parenthood,” 

he said in a statement. •

World 

11 


Seven Indian soldiers killed in attack on army base 

DT 

• AFP, Srinagar, India 

Seven Indian soldiers were killed 

after militants disguised as policemen 

stormed a major army 

base near the frontier with Pakistan 

Tuesday, as tensions between 

the two neighbours ran 

high after weeks of cross-border 

firing. 

Four suspected militants were 

also killed in the stand-off with security 

forces inside the command 

centre in northern Jammu and 

Kashmir state that lasted most of 

the day. 

It was the most audacious attack 

on an Indian military base 

since September, when 19 soldiers 

were killed in an assault that India 

blamed on Pakistan-based militants. 

The army in a statement said 

four of its soldiers were killed in the 

initial assault after heavily armed 

militants wearing police uniforms 

stormed the base early Tuesday 

firing small arms and hurling grenades. 

Three army men were killed in a 

rescue operation after the militants 

took 16 people hostage inside two 

buildings used by the families of 

the army officers. 

Two women and children were 

among the hostages, the army said. 

Three bodies of the attackers 

have been recovered and operation 

to sanitise the complex continues, 

the statement said. •

DT 

12 

Business 


CAPITAL MARKET SNAPSHOT: TUESDAY 

DSE Broad Index 4,793.3 -0.1% ▼ Index 1,135.5 -0.0% ▼ 30 Index 1,768.1 -0.1% ▼ Turnover in Mn Tk 8,080.7 8.0% ▲ Turnover in Mn Vol 296.5 8.8% ▲ 

CSE All Share Index 14,775.9 0.0% ▲ 30 Index 13,201.6 -0.2% ▼ Selected Index 8,987.5 0.0% ▲ Turnover in Mn Tk 460.5 11.1% ▲ Turnover in Mn Vol 21.5 14.2% ▲ 

Taxpayers in rush to submit 

returns as deadline today 

• Tribune Desk 

As today is the last day for income 

tax return submission, taxpayers 

are rushing to tax offices in large 

numbers at the eleventh hour. 

Failure to submit income tax 

return by today will result in a 2% 

penalty on the payable tax for each 

month it was delayed, officials said. 

They said the Nov 30 deadline 

will not be extended as it was already 

deferred for two months 

from Sept 30. 

However, the taxpayers may 

seek an extension for submission of 

the returns subject to valid reasons. 

According to the Income Tax 

Act, taxpayers having annual income 

above Tk2.50 lakh have to 

pay income tax. 

Meanwhile, Income Tax Week, 

that began on November 24, to provide 

income tax related facility to 

taxpayers, will also end today. 

JS body wants copy of 

$81m heist probe report 

• Mohammad Abu Bakar 

Siddique 

Parliamentary Committee on Public 

Undertakings requested the 

probe committee on Bangladesh 

Bank heist to submit a copy of its 

investigation report. 

Chairman of the committee Col 

Shawkat Ali (retd) told the Dhaka 

Tribune that they had sought a 

copy of the report which has been 

The NBR offices across the country 

will remain open from 9:00am 

to 8:00pm today to provide services 

to taxpayers including the submission 

of income tax return, registration 

with e-TIN, providing user 

ID and password for online return 

submission to taxpayers etc. 

submitted to finance minister. 

Former Bangladesh Bank Governer 

Dr Farashuddin headed the 

probe committee that was formed 

by the government after the $81m 

cyber heist from Bangladesh 

Bank’s US account early this year 

was reported in the media. 

“That was a big incident. We 

think we also should have a copy 

of the probe report as only finance 

minister has it,” said Shawkat Ali. • 

Income Tax Day today 

The NBR is going to observe Income 

Tax Day today across the 

country. All the Income Tax Zones 

and circle offices will observe the 

day with different activities. 

President Abdul Hamid and 

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina yesterday 

issued separate messages 

wishing a successful National Income 

Tax Day 2016. 

In their separate messages they 

greeted the taxpayers, income tax 

officials and employees and all 

concerned. 

In his message, president Abdul 

Hamid appreciated different 

initiatives taken up by the revenue 

authorities to boost the revenue 

collection of the country. 

He called upon the taxpayers and 

stakeholders, along with the government, 

to have a positive attitude 

in order to make the government 

exchequer powerful and integrated. 

In a separate message, Prime Minister 

Sheikh Hasina said the innovative 

approaches to create revenue 

friendly culture in the country adopted 

by the National Board of Revenue 

has reached all levels of the country 

from national to the rural levels. 

Holding income tax fairs in Dhaka 

and elsewhere in the country 

was creating awareness among the 

people, she said. 

NBR will hold a rally to be attended 

by Finance Minister AMA 

Muhith, State Minister for Finance 

M A Mannan, and NBR Chairman 

Md Nojibur Rahman. • 

Leather products 

export to reach 

$6bn by 2021 

• Tribune Business Desk 

Export of leather products including 

shoes would be $6 billion by 

2021 if 16.5% cash incentive is given. 

The parliamentary standing 

committee on the Ministry of Commerce 

was yesterday apprised of 

the export target at its 18th meeting 

held at Jatiya Sangsad Bhaban 

with committee Chairman M Tajul 

Islam in the chair. 

The parliamentary watchdog 

suggested the authorities concerned 

to give additional cash incentive to 

the leather products and shoes industries 

for making the country’s 

image brighter, reports BSS. 

It also reviewed implementation 

progress regarding the decisions 

taken at the 17th meeting and 

discussed further on leather products 

and shoes industries which 

are now the second highest foreign 

currency earning sector after RMG, 

said a press release. 

Committee members – Commerce 

Minister Tofail Ahmed, 

Enamul Huq, Waresat Hossain Belal, 

M Sanwar Hossain, M Manzurul 

Islam Liton and Laila Arzuman 

Banu were present at the meeting. 

The committee also urged different 

organisations under the 

ministry to become selective with 

the consultation of the parliamentary 

committee in participating 

international fair for maintaining 

quality. 

Senior commerce Secretary Hedayetullah 

Al Mamoon and other 

officials attended the meeting. • 

Export fair begins today 

• FM Mizanur Rahaman, 

Chittagong 

A month-long Bangladesh International 

Trade and Export Fair-2016 

kicks off today on Halishahar Abahani 

ground in the port city Chittagong. 

Chittagong Metropolitan Chamber 

of Commerce & Industry (CMC- 

CI) is organising the fair which is 

scheduled to be inaugurated by 

Commerce Minister Tofail Ahmed. 

Expatriates’ Welfare and Overseas 

Employment Minister Nurul 

Islam BSc, State Minister for Land 

Saifuzzaman Chowdhury Jabed 

and Chittagong City Corporation 

(CCC)’s Mayor AJM Nasir Uddin 

will be also present at the inaugural 

ceremony of the fair. 

“The fair is being ogranised to let 

the people know about the export 

products manufactured by our local 

industries and factories,” said CMC- 

CI President Khalilur Rahman while 

addressing a press briefing held 

CMCCI office in city’s Agrabad area. 

The press conference was attended 

by CMCCI’s Vice-President 

Aihussain Akberali, Vice-President 

AM Mahabub Chowdhury and its 

Director Sultana Shirin Akter. 

The trade fair will remain open 

for the visitors from 10:00am to 

10:00pm, said the organisers. • 

Asfaw Dingamo Kame, newly appointed Ethiopian ambassador to New Delhi and additionally to Bangladesh, makes a courtesy 

call with the leaders of Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association at the BGMEA office yesterday 

UCB opens branch 

in Joydebpur 

• Tribune Business Desk 

United Commercial Bank Limited 

has opened a branch at Joydebpur in 

Gazipur. Zahid Ahsan Russel MP formally 

inaugurated the bank’s 165th 

branch as the chief guest yesterday. 

UCB Executive Committee 

Chairman Showkat Aziz Russell 

and Acting Mayor of Gazipur City 

Corporation Asadur Rahman Kiron 

were also present as special guests, 

said a press release. •

Chinese JV firm may get work 

of Munshiganj power plant 

• Asif Showkat Kallol 

Power Division will place a 

proposal at the cabinet committee 

on economic affairs 

today to award the work of 

setting up 350 megawatt coalfired 

thermal power plant at 

Gazaria in Munshiganj to a 

Chinese joint-venture firm, 

said official sources. 

The project will be implemented 

at $433m under a 

government-to-government 

(G2G) deal by the Power China 

and Hubei Hongyuan Power 

Engineering Company Ltd 

joint-venture company. 

Power Division’s Rural 

Power Company Ltd is going 

to place the proposal. 

A Power Division official 

said a non-binding memorandum 

of understanding was 

signed between the Chinese 

JV firm and the RPCL on October 

14. 

The project of land acquisition 

and development for 

the power plant has already 

been approved at the Executive 

Committee on National 

Economic Council (Ecnec) 

meeting in June, he said. 

The power plant is the part 

of government efforts to meet 

the growing demand of power 

in the country. It will supply 

power to Dhaka, Naraynganj 

and Gazaria of Munshiganj. 

The project will be financed 

by the Export Credit 

Agency (ECA) of China. The 

ECA is a quasi-government 

institution that acts as an intermediary 

between national 

Business 13 

governments and exporters 

to issue export financing. 

The government plans 

to set up the coal-based 

power projects to generate 

20,000MW of electricity by 

2030. The Power Division has 

already set a 2,730MW electricity 

target for the RPCL by 

the year 2030. 

The RPCL is the first Independent 

Power Producer (IPP) 

of Bangladesh. It has started a 

new dimension in power generation 

in the private sector 

with 100% local mobilisation 

of equity investment. 

The company has four 

power plants in Raozan of 

Chittagong, Kadda of Gazipur, 

Gazipur and Mymensingh 

with a total capacity of 

437MW. • 

Stocks see higher transaction 

• BSS 

Stocks showed a mixed 

performance yesterday 

with major indices finishing 

flat despite the increase 

in daily transactions, 

which rose at the market and 

prevented price indices from 

sharp decline. 

The daily transaction at 

the two markets rose considerably. 

The trade value at 

Dhaka Stock Exchange (DSE) 

increased to Tk808.06 crore 

from Monday’s Tk748.08 crore 

when the trade volume was up 

to 29.64 crore from 27.25 crore 

shares of the last session. 

At Chittagong Stock Exchange 

(CSE), the trade value 

increased to Tk46.05 crore 

and the volume to 2.15 crore 

shares over the previous session’s 

Tk41.45 crore and 1.88 

crore shares respectively. 

The broader DSEX index at 

DSE lost 4.34 points to close the 

day at 4793.31 when the bluechip 

DS30 and Shariah DSES 

fell marginally down to 1768.06 

and 1135.47 respectively. 

CSE closed the fourth day 

of the week with upward 

trend with its major CASPI 

2.51 points up at 14,775.89. 

At DSE 149 issues gained 

when 125 incurred loss and 

50 remained unchanged out 

of the traded 324 securities. 

Similarly, 128 issues ended 

higher at CSE against 102 losing 

and 25 static issues. 

The day’s major gainers 

were Generation Next, Federal 

Insurance, Safko Spinning, 

Regent Textile and National 

Tubes. The most losing securities 

included Midas Finance, 

Dragon Sweater, EBL 

NRB Mutual Fund, RN Spinning 

and CMC Kamal. 

Quasem Drycell topped 

the turnover list followed by 

RSRM Steel, BBS, Beximco 

Limited, National Tubes and 

Doreen Power. • 

China puts brakes on overseas 

spending spree 

• AFP, Beijing 

Beijing is tightening screening 

on Chinese companies’ 

overseas investments, according 

to the government 

and reports, after a record-setting 

shopping spree 

raised concerns of capital 

flight and reckless spending. 

Authorities will “combine 

facilitating foreign investment 

with guarding against 

investment risks” by scrutinising 

proposed deals, said 

a statement posted on the 

website of the National Development 

and Reform Commission, 

the top economic 

planner, without giving details. 

New restrictions will ban 

most deals over $10bn and 

curb investments of more 

than $1bn in sectors unrelated 

to a company’s core business, 

Bloomberg News reported, 

citing people with knowledge 

of the matter. 

State-owned companies 

will be barred from spending 

more than $1 billion on overseas 

property and the rules 

will last until September 2017, 

it added. 

Chinese firms have been 

on a multi-billion-dollar 

spending spree this year, 

culminating in state-owned 

ChemChina’s $43bn bid for 

Swiss seed giant Syngenta. 

Property-to-entertainment 

conglomerate Wanda 

Group bought Hollywood 

studio Legendary for $3.5bn, 

appliance giant Midea took 

over leading German robotics 

firm Kuka for $5bn, and 

insurer-turned-hotelier Anbang 

paid $6.5bn for 16 luxury 

properties from hedge 

fund Blackstone. 

The tightening comes after 

authorities long urged private 

and state-owned enterprises 

to “go abroad” to buy foreign 

brands, technologies and resources 

in search of better 

returns and technological 

know-how. 

But increasing capital outflows 

from China have raised 

concerns with the yuan currency 

weakening against the 

dollar, hitting a nearly eightyear 

low this month. • 

DT 

WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 30, 2016

14 


DT 

Business 

Opec to sign deal to cut oil output that may boost prices 

• Reuters 

For the first time since 2008, Opec 

is set to strike a deal to cut oil output 

that may boost prices. It may 

also give itself a bloody nose in Asia, 

where big buyers are ramping up 

supplies from elsewhere and say 

they don’t want to pay more for fuel. 

The Organization of Petroleum 

Exporting Countries (Opec) meets 

on Wednesday to hammer out a 

deal to prop up prices that have 

halved since 2014. As they gather, 

tanker shipments to Asia from non- 

OPEC sources like Alaska, Azerbaijan, 

and the North Sea are growing, 

according to shipping data in 

Thomson Reuters Eikon. 

Buyers in Asia, which alone 

uses a third of the world’s oil supply, 

have watched with concern 

as Opec suppliers - their biggest - 

openly discuss propping up prices. 

With non-OPEC supplies readily 

available, they say they’ll consider 

exploring new sources if the cartel’s 

price is no longer right. 

“For us, the current price levels 

look to be appropriate for both 

sides (buyers and producers),” said 

Eiichiro Kitahara, Executive Officer 

at major Japanese refinery Tonen- 

General Sekiyu. 

“Our company aims to avoid 

depending highly on certain suppliers, 

and we may seek new (supply) 

opportunities,” Kitahara said, 

though like other executives he 

cautioned against expectations 

of any sudden change in supply 

trends among buyers. 

Major importers in Japan, China 

and South Korea have long-standing 

relationships with OPEC suppliers, 

with just its Middle East members 

providing two-thirds of Asia’s 

oil needs. 

Those ties could loosen, with 

refiners in countries like Japan - 

which gets around 90% of its oil 

from Middle East OPEC-members 

- keen to diversify sources to cut 

reliance on any single supplier. 

In China, now challenging the 

United States as the world’s biggest 

oil importer, efforts to reduce dependence 

on Middle East supplies 

have already seen OPEC kingpin 

Saudi Arabia lose its no 1 supplier 

rank to its rival Russia. Eikon data 

shows Middle East producers’ 

share of China’s supply market fell 

from 50% in January to 46% in November. 

Oil markets remained jittery 

ahead of the OPEC meeting. 

But refiners across Asia remain 

alive to the prospects of shifting 

market dynamics and how they 

could make other suppliers more 

attractive, even as OPEC seeks a 

price rise to boost the economies 

of countries that rely heavily on 

crude exports. •

Business 15 

DT 


Digital payment 

firms cash in on 

India’s money 

mess, but can it 

last? 

• Reuters 

Digital payment providers in India 

have mobilised hundreds of 

extra workers to enrol small merchants 

and offered their services 

for free, betting that severe cash 

shortages will prove to be the opportunity 

of a lifetime. 

Signing people up, however, 

may be the easy part. 

Getting shops and customers 

to change their reliance on cash 

permanently will involve convincing 

people like Mohammad 

Javed, a 36-year-old meat shop 

owner in New Delhi. 

Working out of a bustling market 

in the capital, he is surrounded 

by banks and ATM machines, 

but says he does not know how 

to use a credit card machine, let 

alone a mobile wallet. 

He says business has dropped 

since Prime Minister Narendra 

Modi’s shock move on Nov. 8 to 

ditch higher value banknotes, but 

Javed does not believe mobile 

app providers offer a solution to 

his problem - or to his customers. 

“We don’t have knowledge or 

resources to open a mobile wallet 

or card-swipe machine, and 

our customers who pay 100-200 

rupees ($1.46-$2.92) are not interested 

either,” he said. 

Javed’s reluctance is a reality 

check for the likes of Paytm and 

smaller rival MobiKwik, which 

have gone into promotional overdrive 

since Modi’s announcement. 

The prime minister, whose 

government supports digital payments, 

brought in demonetisation 

to crack down on the shadow economy 

and improve tax collection. 

“Why should India not make a 

beginning in creating a ‘less-cash 

society?’,” he said on Sunday, 

“Once we embark on our journey 

to create a ‘less-cash society’, the 

goal of ‘cashless society’ will not 

remain very far.” 

The companies say results 

have been promising so far. 

Paytm, backed by Chinese Internet 

giant Alibaba Group Holding 

Ltd, has added 700 sales representatives 

since Nov 8, taking 

its number of agents to 5,000. 

The company, which has 

4,500 full-time employees, plans 

to double the number of agents 

to more than 10,000, as it aggressively 

expands its network. 

It says it has nearly doubled 

the number of small merchants 

signed up to its services to 1.5 

million in the last few weeks and 

added eight million clients to 

the 150 million it had before the 

banknote ban. •

16 DhakaTribune 


Advertisement

18 


DT 

Feature 

Classical queens 

Photos: Bengal Foundation 

Power women at the classical music fest 

• Tasneem Chow 

The biggest music festival 

in Bangladesh staged 

its grand finale to a 

full house at the Army 

Stadium on Tuesday morning. 

Regardless of it being the early 

hours of a chilly dawn, thousands 

of people turned up to hear 

the heart-rending tunes from 

legendary flutist Hariprasad 

Chaurasia, bringing to a close 

five days of mesmerising music 

from some of the biggest names 

in Indian classical music. This 

year, the Bengal Classical 

Music Festival featured their 

usual heavyweights, including 

Hariprasad Chaurasia, Ajoy 

Chakrabarty and Shivkumar 

Sharma, as well as first-time 

appearances by classical maestros 

like Girija Devi. 

The BCMF 2016 also featured 

young and immensely talented 

stars of the classical world, like 

Purbayan Chatterjee and sisters 

Ranjani-Gayatri, who in this 

writer’s humble opinion stole the 

show on day four of the fest. In 

the wake of our classical music 

hangover, we take a look at a 

few of the many power women 

of the classical world featured 

at the fest, and the ceilings they 

shattered to get there. 

Going public in a liberated 

land 

87 year old Girija Devi was one 

of the headliners of this year’s 

festival and set the bar to a 

towering level on the very first 

day of performances with her 

honeyed voice, weaving in and 

out of khayals and thumris with 

incredible skill and control. 

While we sat there enthralled by 

her splendid performances in 

November 2016, it was even more 

incredible to imagine the road 

she travelled to get here. Back 

in 1934, when Devi first started 

to learn singing at the age of 

five, she had already been made 

aware that no ‘lady’ should ever 

perform publicly. However, she 

went against the wishes of her 

mother and grandmother and 

made her public debut in 1949 

on All India Radio Allahabad. 

Although she agreed later to not 

perform privately for others, the 

‘Queen of Thumri’ gave her first 

public concert in 1951, and paved 

the way for many other female 

musicians of her time to break 

that barrier. 

Accidentally in love with 

the classics 

Dr Prabha Atre, while a lesser 

known contemporary of Girija 

Devi, was equally astounding 

at the festival with her lark-like 

voice that almost reminded one 

of a gurgling, mountain spring. 

Dr Atre is not only a singer but 

a composer worth her weight 

who has invented new Raags 

such as Apurva Kalyan, Darbari 

Kauns etc. On top of that, she is 

a scholar of classical music and 

has formal training in the Kathak 

dance style as well. If all of this 

wasn’t achievement enough, 

as well as the fact that she 

established herself at a time when 

there were many more barriers 

to what sort of career a woman 

could pursue – Dr Atre also didn’t 

actually belong to a classically 

trained family like many young 

protégées. In fact, she stumbled 

across classical music quite by 

accident – when she was eight, a 

friend suggested her mother take 

music lessons to keep in good 

health, and these lessons inspired 

her to eventually build her life 

around music. 

Dancing her 60s away 

One of the lesser-known 

performances of the festival, 

but quite possibly one of the 

most electrifying, was the dance 

performance by Madhavi Mudgal, 

the virtuoso of the Odissi dance 

style. The 65 year old teamed up 

with her niece Arushi Mudgal and 

in this writer’s humble opinion, 

completely eclipsed her younger 

partner with her energy and pure 

class and style. The subtleties of 

the Odissi style were apparent 

not only in each of Madhavi 

Mudgal’s movements but in 

her expressions as well – her 

performance was hypnotic, it was 

almost like being drawn in by a 

siren from Homer’s Odyssey. Her 

introduction to each piece was 

as beautiful as her performances, 

and Mudgal, who is known 

worldwide for her contributions 

to the art of choreography, proved 

that age is only a number – an 

important lesson to many dancers 

who even now feel the need to 

give up their art after turning a 

‘respectable’ age. •

| launch | 

Biz Info 

Book titled ‘Universities of Bangladesh’ 

by UGC launched 

| celebration | 

19 


Centre for Language Studies 

(CLS) celebrates world Peace 

and Harmony at ULAB 

DT 

Launching ceremony of 

Universities of Bangladesh, a 

book published by University 

Grants Commission of 

Bangladesh, was held in a local 

hotel on November 28. 

Finance Minister Abul Maal 

Abdul Muhith, MP, launched 

the book as the chief guest. 

UGC Chairman Professor Abdul 

Mannan chaired the launching 

ceremony. Nurul Islam Nahid, 

MP, Minister for Education, 

Bangladesh, Dr Abdulla Nazeer, 

State Minister for Education, 

Maldives, Professor Dr Baray 

Seddiqi, Deputy Minister, 

Ministry of Higher Education, 

Afghanistan, Dr Kavita A 

Sharma, President, South Asian 

University, New Delhi, Professor 

Dr Parashar Prasad Koirala, 

Chairperson, Governing Board, 

South Asian University, and 

Chairman, UGC, Nepal, Professor 

Dr Mohammad Yousuf Ali 

Mollah, Member, UGC, Professor 

Dr Dil Afroza Begum, Member, 

UGC, among others were present 

on the ceremony. 

The chief guest, in his speech 

appreciated the University 

Grants Commission of 

Bangladesh, for publishing the 

book for projecting the overall 

scenario of higher education of 

Bangladesh. 

The Education Minister 

observed that teachers, students, 

and researchers will find the 

book useful in their education 

and research. The book will 

also be helpful for the policy 

makers in making decision 

for the development of higher 

education. 

UGC Chairman, in his 

Presidential speech said that the 

hand book will also be useful for 

foreign students, who would like 

to come to Bangladesh for higher 

education. He added that such 

type of book is published by UGC 

for the second time, since its 

establishment in 1973. 

Professor Emeritus Dr 

Rafiqul Islam, Dr Mohammad 

Farashuddin, Professor Dr ATM 

Zahurul Huq, Ex-Chairman, 

UGC, Professor Nazrul Islam, 

Ex-Chairman, UGC, Professor 

Dr Md Akhtar Hossain, Member, 

UGC, Professor Dr M Shah Nowaz 

Ali, Member, UGC, Professor Md 

Saiful Islam, Vice-Chancellor, 

Bangladesh University of 

Engineering and Technology, 

Professor Dr Mizanur Rahman, 

Vice-Chancellor, Jagannath 

University including foreign 

dignitaries were present on the 

occasion. They highly lauded the 

initiative of UGC for publishing 

such type of book of higher 

education. • 

Centre for Language Studies 

(CLS) celebrated world Peace 

and Harmony, by organising the 

musical event “Harmonies of 

Peace” recently, in University 

of Liberal Arts Bangladesh’s 

auditorium. The performers 

transformed the evening’s serene 

ambience into a memorable 

one, through their mesmerising 

performances. Aktari Mamtaz, 

Secretary, Ministry of Cultural 

Affairs, was present as the chief 

guest. Her dignified demeanour, 

her knowledge and experience 

that she shared in her speech, 

held the attention of the audience 

throughout her presence on stage. 

“I am certainly happy to see 

that CLS is not only focusing on 

teaching different languages, but 

also about culture and heritage. 

And music is, indeed, the 

universal language to learn about 

the world,” she said in her speech. 

The Vice Chancellor, Professor 

Imran Rahman, was also present 

and delivered an inspiring speech; 

ATM Sajedul Huq, the director of 

CLS, commenced the event with 

his welcome speech. 

In this multilingual musical 

program, the two dance 

performances highlighted the 

major problems facing society 

today, and the choir performed 

six songs in Nepali, French, 

English and Bangla, promising 

a beautiful future through the 

harmonies they created. In the 

packed auditorium, the audience 

watched the whole show 

with rapt attention. Dr. Brian 

Shoesmith, Dean, Academic 

Development, ULAB, Professor 

Akhtar Ahmed, Registrar 

and Head of Administration, 

ULAB, Professor Milan Kumar 

Bhattacharjee, Treasurer, ULAB, 

other faculty members and 

students were present in this 

event. • 

| festival | 

CS Fest 2016 held at AIUB 

American International University 

Bangladesh (AIUB), completed 

a three-day long ‘AIUB CS Fest 

2016,’ on November 22-24, at FST 

Building. The event was arranged 

by the AIUB Computer Club under 

the guidance of the Department of 

Computer Science, AIUB. 

On the last day of the CS Fest 

2016, a prize giving ceremony 

was held at AIUB Auditorium 

on November 24, at 2:30 pm, 

where the Vice Chancellor Dr 

Carmen Z Lamagna, handed over 

the crest and certificates to the 

winners. On this occasion, Prof Dr 

Tafazzal Hossain (Vice President, 

Academics and Dean, FSIT), Prof 

Dr A B M Siddique Hossain (Dean, 

Faculty of Engineering), Prof Dr 

Tazul Islam (Dean, Faculty of Arts 

and Social Sciences), Prof M A 

Quaiyum (Registrar), Mashiour 

Rahman (Director of Faculty 

of Science and Information 

Technology), Director of Student 

Affairs (OSA) Manzur H Khan, 

and other faculty members of 

Computer Science department 

were accompanied with the Vice 

Chancellor. The event ended with 

a cultural program organised by 

AIUB Computer Club (ACC). 

More than 800 participants 

from different faculties of AIUB, 

along with different schools 

and colleges participated in 

this CS Fest 2016. Participants 

competed in various categories 

like, App Concept Presentation; 

App Showcasing – Mobile/ Web/ 

Desktop, Poster contest; Idea 

Prototyping (HCI), Programming 

contest – Intra AIUB; Programming 

contest – ACM, and Networking 

contest; Interdepartmental 

Mathematics competition; ICT 

Quiz, College / school project 

showcasing. The faculty members 

from different departments, 

official personals, students of 

AIUB, distinguish guest, members 

and representatives from 

respective organisations were 

appreciated for this good initiative 

and arrangement. 

For the success of this event, 

AIUB Computer Club is grateful to 

the organisations who sponsored, 

like Therap (BD) Limited and 

Dynamic Solution Innovators 

(Dsi), also the media partners Kaler 

Kantho, HIFI Public and Radio 

Shadhin 92.4 FM.•

DT 

20 

Editorial 


TODAY 

Democrats are 

having buyer’s 

remorse 

Unlike Clinton, Sanders was a message 

machine. He promised universal health 

care, tuition-free college education, 

higher minimum wage 

PAGE 21 

Leave our 

differences aside 

If it isn’t a Hindu village tormented by 

fear, day after day, then it’s a syndicate 

of powerful criminals, backed by the 

state machinery, killing the Santals 

PAGE 22 

Free up our streets and 

footpaths 

MEHEDI HASAN 

Humanity is 

knocking at the door 

The international community has 

long been ignoring this crisis, save 

for labelling the Rohingyas ‘the most 

persecuted community in the world’ 

PAGE 23 

Be heard 

Write to Dhaka Tribune 

FR Tower, 8/C Panthapath, 

Shukrabad, Dhaka-1207 

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opinion.dt@dhakatribune.com 

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DhakaTribune. 

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. 

How can Dhaka as a city improve when the very people whose duty 

it is to keep the city habitable bend the law to fill their pockets? 

Despite being a priority for both the mayors, Dhaka’s streets 

continue to fall victim to the encroachment of hawkers and street 

vendors. 

This causes major problems in movement, for both pedestrians and 

vehicles, and makes it very difficult for ordinary citizens to obey the traffic 

rules. 

Why does this problem persist? 

The thugs from the ruling party’s student and youth wings, in addition to 

the Bangladeshi Shramik League, are contributing to these illegal shops on 

the streets. 

Even more alarming is the fact that local police officers are also involved. 

The fact that political leaders and police officers have enough power to 

supersede the mayors’ intentions is not merely troublesome, but a veritable 

disgrace to the nation and its values. 

The government must recognise these elements and eliminate them. 

They cannot be allowed to hold power over these streets, streets which need 

to be free and safe for travel, streets which rightfully belong to the citizens 

of this country. They cannot continue to profit off of the misery of Dhaka’s 

citizens. 

But that is not enough. 

These hawkers are dependent on the livelihoods which these makeshift 

shops provide, and their trade and skills must be allowed to take root 

elsewhere so that they too might flourish in their pursuits. 

Alternative locations and opportunities must be provided so that hawkers 

in general are not sacrificed at the expense of making our city a better place 

to live. 

Corruption is at the root of this problem and it is high time the 

government did something to tear it out. 

Alternative locations 

and opportunities must 

be provided so that 

hawkers in general are not 

sacrificed at the expense 

of making our city a better 

place to live

Opinion 21 

DT 


Democrats are having buyer’s remorse 

Hillary Clinton was obviously the wrong candidate to go up against Trump 

LETTER 

FROM 

AMERICA 

• Fakhruddin Ahmed 

Currently, Hillary Clinton 

leads Donald Trump 

by 2 million popular 

votes (Clinton: 64.2m; 

48.1%; Trump: 62.2m, 46.6%). 

But, processed through the 

undemocratic Electoral College, 

Trump remains president-elect. 

National polls were not wrong. 

Clinton invested heavily in 

the Latino community. Trump 

had promised to deport 11 million 

illegal immigrants, build a wall 

along the US-Mexico border, and 

called Mexicans “rapists, drug 

dealers, and criminals.” Yet, fewer 

Latinos voted for Clinton than for 

Obama in 2012. 

Attempting to curry favours 

with African-Americans, Clinton 

hugged Obama literally and his 

policies figuratively, making her 

campaign a third term for Obama. 

But, the blacks remembered Bill 

Clinton’s 1994 anti-black crime 

bill, and a recent comment that 

“Obamacare is the craziest thing 

in the world.” Fewer blacks voted 

Clinton supporters are filled with regret, sorrow, anger 

REUTERS 

Unlike Clinton, Sanders was a message 

machine. He promised universal health 

care, tuition-free college education, higher 

minimum wage, and railed against income 

inequality 

The Real Clear Politics average of 

polls had Clinton leading by 3.3% 

on election eve. Clinton won the 

actual popular vote by 1.5%. The 

prognosticators erred in predicting 

state victors because of fewer state 

polls. 

The election was a tale of two 

demographics: Hillary was all 

about the minorities. Trump was 

all about the whites. The whites 

won. 

How many blunders did Clinton 

commit? Let me count the ways. 

Clinton had prepared for a 

policy-based campaign against 

a conventional Republican 

candidate like former Florida 

governor Jeb Bush. When the 

no-policy candidate Trump won 

the nomination, Clinton made 

Trump’s character the issue. She 

never articulated an optimistic 

vision for America. 

Clinton portrayed Trump as 

an unstable and thin-skinned 

sociopath who could be provoked 

by an unflattering tweet, and 

therefore was “temperamentally 

unfit” for the presidency. Trump 

supporters disagreed. 

Trump’s misogyny was another 

cornerstone of Clinton’s strategy. 

Surely, women would be repulsed 

by Trump’s boorish behaviour, 

and out of sheer disgust even 

Republican women would vote 

for Clinton. In the election, 53% of 

white women voted for Trump to 

Clinton’s 43%. 

for Clinton than for Obama in 

2008 and 2012. And 83% of those 

wanting a change, voted for 

Trump. 

Before Hillary ran for the senate 

in 2000, she toured and spoke in 

every county in New York state, 

listening to voters’ concerns. After 

resigning as the secretary of state, 

she only gave paid speeches to 

Wall Street tycoons. Anyone who 

has been in love knows that to 

win a girl, she has to be courted. 

Hillary never courted white 

America. 

Campaigning, especially in 

rural America, was an anathema 

to Clinton. Instead, she relied on 

powerful surrogates: President 

Obama and Michelle Obama, 

Vice President Biden, President 

Bill Clinton, Bernie Sanders, 

Vice President Al Gore, Senator 

Elizabeth Warren. 

Trump was the lone ranger 

protecting America from the evil 

“Clinton machine” in the rural 

nooks and crannies. 

Artists and celebrities like 

Stevie Wonder, Bruce Springsteen, 

Bon Jovi, James Taylor, Beyonce, 

Lady Gaga, Jay Z, and LeBron 

James warmed up the crowds at 

Clinton rallies. Trump had only 

Ted Nugent. All major newspapers, 

including some that had never 

endorsed a Democrat, endorsed 

Clinton. 

Trump’s was a retail campaign. 

Hillary’s wholesale approach 

through media bombardment 

had little impact. Trump 

communicated with his followers 

via Twitter; Hillary maintained 

cyber silence. 

Muslims constitute 1% of 

America. Yet, Clinton used Khizr 

Khan, the father of a fallen US 

soldier, extensively. Mr Khan 

made an impassioned anti- 

Trump speech at the Democratic 

convention in July. Instead of 

disappearing, Khan campaigned 

with Clinton and aired mawkish 

TV ads. 

The nephew of my youngest 

sister’s husband, Spc SH Ahmed 

of Michigan, assigned to 101st 

Airborne Division, was killed 

in combat in Afghanistan on 

November 14, 2010, on his third 

deployment. 

The Ahmeds did not publicise 

or politicise their tragedy in 

Bangladesh or America. They 

simply grieved and prayed like 

any bereaved family. Every time 

Americans saw Mr Khan, they 

had flashbacks of San Bernardino, 

Orlando, and New York/New 

Jersey. Mr Khan is the face of the 

“angry Muslim” in America. 

Hillary was poorly served by 

her inner circle, which did not 

prevent her from installing those 

seven servers at home, her fatal 

flaw. While Trump’s campaign 

manager Kellyanne Conway was 

omnipresent on TV, John Podesta, 

Hillary’s campaign chief, was 

invisible. 

He only made news when his 

email account was hacked, and 

unsavoury details of how Sanders’ 

campaign was undermined oozed 

out. 

Bill and Hillary Clinton had 

persuaded Huma Abedin to marry 

the pervert Anthony Weiner, who 

hammered in the final nail in 

Hillary’s coffin. 

By meeting Attorney General 

Loretta Lynch on the tarmac 

of an airport while Hillary was 

under investigation by the Justice 

Department for those seven 

servers, Bill Clinton forced Lynch 

to recuse herself, and hand over 

the decision on prosecuting Hillary 

to the FBI director. 

After Obama’s election in 2008, 

Senate minority leader Mitch 

McConnell famously declared 

that his top priority was to make 

Obama a one-term president. The 

net result of Obama’s attempt 

at a bipartisan health care bill 

was that he lost valuable time. 

He eventually realised that the 

Republicans were not interested 

in handing him a major legislative 

victory, and were attempting to 

run out the clock until the 2010 

mid-term election. 

When Senator Kennedy died 

in 2009, the Democrats lost their 

filibuster-proof majority (60 

senators), and had to enact the 

imperfect health care bill that the 

senate had passed. 

With that experience, it was 

astonishing that President Obama 

would appoint the Republican 

James Comey as the FBI director 

in 2013. Mr Comey’s bogus letter 

to Congress that new emails on 

Weiner’s laptop could be relevant 

to the Clinton investigation (they 

were not) swayed the election in 

Trump’s favour. 

Democrats are having buyer’s 

remorse. Every poll had shown 

that Bernie Sanders would crush 

Trump in a head-to-head contest. 

Sanders was the only candidate 

to outdraw Trump in campaign 

rallies. Yet, the Democratic Party 

did everything in its power to 

demonise the “socialist” Sanders, 

and deny him the nomination. 

Unlike Clinton, Sanders was a 

message machine. He promised 

universal health care, tuitionfree 

college education, higher 

minimum wage, and railed against 

income inequality -- all of which 

resonated perfectly with the 

millennials. Income equality was 

Bernie’s burning issue. 

Sanders, who is Jewish, was 

the only candidate to decline 

the powerful lobby American 

Israeli Public Affairs Committee’s 

(AIPAC) invitation to address its 

conference. His Middle East Policy 

was even-handed; he demanded 

the dismantlement of Israeli 

settlements. He was pro-Muslim 

American, visited several mosques 

with the first Muslim American 

Congressman Keith Ellison 

(Minnesota), who endorsed him. 

In an Iowa campaign rally on 

January 23, 2016, Trump boasted: 

“I could stand in the middle of 

5th Avenue and shoot somebody 

and I wouldn’t lose voters. OK?” 

That turned out to be prophetic. 

Defying conventional wisdom, 

Trump demonstrated that it is 

possible to win elections with 

predominantly white votes (61%). 

He won nearly all workingclass 

white votes. The religious 

groups like the Evangelicals 

and the Mormons were not 

outraged by Trump; they voted 

overwhelmingly for him. 

Last week, I attended 

a Thanksgiving Interfaith 

gathering of Christians, Jews, and 

Muslims at a local church. As the 

gathering was coming to terms 

with Trump’s election, the allpervading 

mood was reminiscent 

of a funeral. It was as though the 

whole congregation was praying 

Matthew 27:46, immortalised in 

the hit “Blessed” by Simon and 

Garfunkel: “O Lord, why have you 

forsaken me?” 

This is the America that gives 

one hope. This is the America 

Donald Trump does not know. • 

Fakhruddin Ahmed is a Rhodes Scholar.

22 


DT 

Opinion 

Leave our differences aside 

Humanity comes first 

The atrocities of Nasirnagar cannot be allowed to repeat 

If it isn’t a Hindu village tormented by fear, day after day, then it’s a 

syndicate of powerful criminals, backed by the state machinery, 

killing the Santals in Gobindaganj 

• Nur E Emroz Alam Tonoy 

In Bangladesh, a day hardly 

goes by without some news of 

injustice. 

If it isn’t little Puja 

screaming of unbearable pain, 

then it’s Tonu’s family crying out 

for justice. If it isn’t a Hindu village 

tormented by fear, day after day, 

then it’s a syndicate of powerful 

criminals, backed by the state 

machinery, killing the Santals in 

Gobindaganj. 

What happened to the country 

where once love, compassion, and 

humanity genuinely mattered, 

where Hindus and Muslims fought 

side by side, sacrificing their lives 

by the thousands? 

Is this the time to say “rest in 

peace, humanity” in Bangladesh? 

Soon after the attack on Hindu 

communities in Nasirnagar, just 

out of curiosity, I went on Google 

and searched for “Minority + 

Bangladesh.” 

An array of reports, or may I say 

endless tales of sufferings of 

people -- the people who were 

assaulted, people who were 

living with loss, people who have 

been desperately seeking justice, 

appeared on the screen. 

And contrary to the preconceived 

picture of a glorious 

Bangladesh we paint in our 

national anthem, those were real 

stories of real people. 

It takes decades, or perhaps 

hundreds of years of skilful hard 

work to create a society as vibrant 

and colourful as Nasirnagar, and 

all of a sudden, in the name of 

religion, a few hours of evil deeds 

destroy it all -- the bondage of 

fellowship, culture, and not to 

mention human spirit. 

Such action is anathema 

to the very logic religious 

authorities often aggressively 

present whenever they struggle 

to confront rationality, which is 

that religious adherence includes 

community, charity, and comfort 

in times of difficulty. 

I can successfully argue that 

those products can be acquired 

from elsewhere, more importantly, 

in ways that actually allow human 

beings to wield greater strength 

without propagation of hoax, but, 

being a humanist, religion-bashing 

is not on my agenda, especially 

at a time when Bangladesh 

desperately seeks love and unity. 

While accepting that 

Bangladeshi society often has 

an unhealthy attachment with 

religion, it was surely never to be 

the case that religious identity 

should come before humanity. 

This has been the reason for many 

an atrocity. 

Apparently, partly due to the 

rise of the extreme ideologies 

and partly because of political 

misdeeds, this is the point 

Bangladeshi society is missing 

today: Islam or Hinduism like all 

other religions are just ideas, but 

those who follow them are human 

beings, our fellow countrymen. 

Things like literature are not 

flesh and blood -- they cannot be 

hurt or insulted. But humans, on 

the other hand, are living beings. 

They bleed and feel. Humans have 

rights and that are to be respected. 

Not so long ago, this human 

perspective actually had a place in 

MAHMUD HOSSAIN OPU 

Bangladesh, which seemingly now 

is almost lost. 

Although, every now and then, 

we hear words and promises on 

the pretence of caring, as they 

sound socially more acceptable, 

but in practice, no tangible action 

ever follows the speeches. 

It is actually, to be honest, quite 

interesting to see that religious 

conservativeness accompanied by 

extreme fundamentalism is on the 

rise in Bangladesh at a time when 

religious beliefs are in decline all 

over the democratic world. 

But that surely does not mean 

hope is lost. The vast majority of 

the devotees in our country are 

also reasonable human beings, 

and they really care about the 

country, and mostly about human 

civilisation and its future. 

All we need is a common 

understanding. This era of 

darkness needs an immediate end. 

The sooner the better. 

One’s right to religion is a 

well-established human right 

which deserves to be protected, 

but it needs to be practiced in 

accordance with the principles of 

humanity, that is, one group must 

not abuse the rights of the others. 

It is high time for Bangladesh 

to rise above the petty issue of 

communal differences. • 

Nur E Emroz Alam Tonoy is a blogger 

and an online activist.

Opinion 

23 


DT 

Humanity is knocking at the door 

Can’t we show the Rohingya some compassion? 

How can we turn them away? 

• Tariq Al Banna 

Two Border Guard 

Bangladesh (BGB) 

personnel are seen 

standing erect facing 

the Naf River, with AK-47 rifles 

or SMGs or God-knows-what in 

their hands, ready to protect the 

country’s border and sovereignty, 

to prevent any unwanted “illegal 

intruders.” 

The described picture, 

published as a full-page photo 

on the front page of a national 

daily on Tuesday, could have 

been a source of pride for any 

Bangladeshi citizen if only he or 

she were not aware of at whom 

the trained paramilitary personnel 

were pointing their guns. 

They are combat-ready to 

face hundreds of unarmed barehanded 

humans who are mostly 

women and children fleeing 

their motherland to get rid of 

the systematic premeditated 

persecution of a “stateless” ethnic 

community, the Rohingyas of 

Myanmar. 

Turning them back 

Thailand, Malaysia, and Indonesia 

have repeatedly rejected and 

towed back to sea thousands of 

The international community has long been ignoring this crisis, save for 

labelling the Rohingyas ‘the most persecuted community in the world’ 

malnourished illegal Bangladeshi 

and Rohingya migrants who 

had been stranded for months 

on boats, suffering from acute 

shortage of food and water. 

As a classic example of farce, 

Thailand supplied them with 

food and water on “humanitarian 

grounds,” dropping relief packages 

from helicopters on to the sea 

which were supposed to be 

collected, while swimming, by a 

group of people who reportedly 

were “in a greatly weakened state, 

killing each other over dwindling 

food supplies and starving to death 

and being thrown overboard.” 

For almost a week, the 

migrants’ boats travelled from 

shore to shore seeking refuge, 

until Philippines came forward in 

the crisis, saving thousands from 

the risk of starvation on boats 

labelled “floating coffins” by the 

United Nations. 

Do the BGB men who are, 

inhumanely and mercilessly, 

pushing back hundreds of women 

and children to the jaws of death 

really come from the same 

nation to whom helping hands 

of humanity and mercy were 

stretched? 

We know history repeats 

itself. But is it really true that the 

greatest lesson of history is that 

we do not learn from history? 

Opening the door to a 

persecuted community or nation is 

an internationally and universally 

practiced norm. Turkey is 

presently hosting 2.5 to 2.7 million 

Syrian refugees. In October 2011, 

the country declared an open door 

policy towards refugees fleeing 

Syria and extended to them a legal 

framework known as “temporary 

protection.” 

There are about 1.5 million 

Syrian refugees in Lebanon whose 

REUTERS 

own population is only just over 

four million. Jordan, Germany, 

Greece, and Saudi Arabia are also 

hosting large numbers of refugees. 

India has been hosting Tibetan 

refugees for the last 50 years. 

The Democratic Republic 

of Congo -- increasing its own 

chances for a civil war -- is hosting 

670,000 refugees from Rwanda, 

Burundi, and the Sudan. There 

are dozens of examples of host 

country ignoring the potential 

danger of allowing the influx of 

refugees for the sake of humanity. 

We must remember that 

refugees are people fleeing conflict 

or persecution. And we must not 

forget or ignore the fact that they 

are protected under international 

law, and must not be expelled or 

returned to situations where their 

life and freedom are at risk. 

Imagine being forced to flee 

your country in order to escape to 

safety. 

If you are lucky, you will get 

time to pack a bag. If not, you 

simply drop everything and run 

for life, just like these miserable 

Rohingyas, like Bangalis during 

Operation Searchlight. 

Imagine BSF pushing back at 

gunpoint hundreds and thousands 

of Bangali refugees fleeing the 

then East Pakistan on the fateful 

day of March 27, 1971. 

It is a matter of disgrace for a 

nation of about 10 million, whose 

people once took refuge in its 

neighbouring country in the face 

of extermination, to push back 

a community that is facing the 

same situation. Worse, because 

during the Liberation War, our 

neighbouring country not only 

provided shelter to us, but also 

gave all-out support. 

Despite the strict ban on media 

in the Rakhine state of Myanmar 

where the atrocity is taking place, 

from the reports coming out 

quoting traumatised eyewitnesses 

who somehow or the other 

succeeded fleeing the massacre 

crossing the Naf, it is already 

clear as daylight that a systematic 

extermination of an entire 

community is being carried out. 

Village after village is being 

burned down, where billowing 

smoke can be seen even from 

different points in Teknaf. Every 

day, dozens of people are burned 

alive. 

As a nation that enjoyed the 

support of the whole international 

community during its days of 

agony, as a nation that once 

experienced cruel extermination 

of its own people in the millions, 

this is shameful for Bangladesh as 

well as an act of betrayal towards 

humanity, compassion, and 

sympathy that once was bestowed 

upon it in a similar situation. 

The international community 

has long been ignoring this crisis, 

save for labelling the Rohingyas 

“the most persecuted community 

in the world.” Bangladesh, 

however, is in the position to do 

something for these God-forsaken 

people. But the government 

is coming up with excuses, 

as if humanity needs further 

justification. 

The only hope for survival for 

the Rohingya lies in the very hands 

that are pointing guns at them, 

standing erect across the western 

bank of the Naf. Is there nobody to 

show those rifle-bearing combatready 

Bangladeshis the absurdity 

of the scene? • 

Tariq Al Banna is an Assistant News 

Editor at Dhaka Tribune.

DT 

24 

Sport 


TOP STORIES 

Tamim’s Chittagong 

on verge of playoffs 

Tamim Iqbal continued his 

brilliant run with the bat as 

Chittagong Vikings registered their 

fifth consecutive win when they 

beat Khulna Titans comfortably 

by five wickets in the BPL T20’s 

fourth edition yesterday. PAGE 25 

Plane carrying 

Brazil’s team crashes 

A chartered plane carrying 

top-tier Brazilian football team 

Chapecoense to the biggest 

game in its history crashed in the 

Colombian mountains, killing 75 

people on board, authorities said 

yesterday. PAGE 26 

Records galore in 

National Swimming 

Nazma Khatun and Romana 

Akter continued their supremacy 

in the third and final day of 

the 28th National Swimming 

Championship that concluded 

in Mirpur’s Swimming Complex 


India outplay 

England to lead 2-0 

Ravindra Jadeja’s sparkling 

allround performance floored 

England and handed India an 

unbeatable 2-0 lead after they 

cantered home to a comprehensive 

eight-wicket win in the third Test 


TODAY’S MATCHES 

Rangpur Riders v Dhaka Dynamites, 1pm 

Comilla Victorians v Rajshahi Kings, 5:45pm 

Both games will be held at SBNS, Mirpur 

SCORECARD 

BARISAL BULLS R B 

Munaweera b Shahadat 7 9 

Malan c Liton b Saifuddin 9 10 

Mendis b Nabil 28 24 

Mushfiq c Mashrafe b Nabil 29 23 

Shahriar lbw b Rashid 11 13 

Nadif b Nabil 0 2 

Enamul not out 20 15 

Raees run out (Samuels) 4 6 

Taijul st Liton b Rashid 14 13 

Haider not out 16 6 

Extras (lb 1, w 2, nb 1) 4 

Total (8 wickets; 20 overs) 142 

Fall Of Wickets 

1-8 (Munaweera), 2-42 (Malan), 3-64 

(Mendis), 4-85 (Shahriar), 5-86 (Nadif), 

6-87 (Mushfiq), 7-92 (Raees), 8-117 (Taijul) 

Bowling 

Mashrafe 4-0-17-0, Shahadat 3-0-22-1, 

Shanto 1-0-17-0, Rashid 4-0-21-2, Saifuddin 

4-0-47-1, Nabil 4-0-17-3 

COMILLA VICTORIANS R B 

Kayes c Rabbi b Malan 46 35 

Shehzad c Mushfiq b Raees 61 56 

Samuels not out 27 18 

Latif not out 7 5 

Extras (lb 3, w 1) 4 



1-93 (Kayes), 2-120 (Shehzad) 

Bowling 

Taijul 4-0-27-0, Raees 4-0-38-1, Haider 

4-0-30-0, Rabbi 1-0-11-0, Mendis 1-0-11-0, 

Enamul 2-0-11-0, Munaweera 1-0-6-0, 

Malan 2-0-8-1 

The Victorians won by eight wickets 

MoM: Nabil Samad (CV) 

Mushfiq lashes out at singer Asif 

• Mazhar Uddin 

Barisal Bulls and Bangladesh Test 

skipper Mushfiqur Rahim has 

lashed out at the franchise’s brand 

ambassador, singer Asif Akbar, 

who alleged that the Barisal players 

are involved in match-fixing 

in the ongoing Bangladesh Premier 

League Twenty20’s fourth 

edition. 

Asif on Monday posted a status 

on his facebook profile claiming 

that he is convinced that a few of 

the foreign and local Barisal players 

are involved in fixing matches. 

However, he also wrote that he 

has no evidence. 

“The (Barisal) batsmen become 

handicapped every time 

the 17th, 18th, 19th and 20th overs 

come around while the bowlers 

turn into Tigers. T20 cricket is the 

other name for gambling. Some 

Barisal Bulls’ Mushfiqur Rahim is disconsolate following his dismissal against 

Comilla Victorians during their BPL 4 match in Mirpur yesterday MD MANIK 

of the local and foreign cricketers 

of our team are involved in 

match-fixing. I don’t have any 

proof. But if the BCB (Bangladesh 

Cricket Board) and ACSU (anti-corruption 

and security unit) 

look into the matter deeply, they 

will surely get hold of it,” Asif said 

on social media. 

When queried to give his reaction 

to Asif’s allegations in the 

post-match press conference 

yesterday following their clash 

against Comilla Victorians, Mushfiq 

minced no words. 

“It is just disgusting and 

shameful. I don’t know how he 

could say something like this, 

considering his status. I am not 

sure whether he was in his senses 

or not while writing it,” Mushfiq 

told the media. 

The wicketkeeper-batsman 

added, “I will surely ask him as to 

who the local and foreign players 

are. He said he is sure but there is 

no proof. What kind of a language 

is it?” Mushfiq enquired angrily. 

He continued, “Apart from a 

madman, this cannot be written 

by a human being. He could be 

upset with our performance. The 

people of Barisal are upset because 

of the way we are playing. 

But this is not the manner. We 

play cricket and earn our bread 

and butter. I don’t know if anyone 

can betray their profession.” 

When Dhaka Tribune contacted 

Asif, he declined to comment. 

However, he said he maintains 

good relations with the Barisal 

captain. 

“I have a very good relationship 

with him (Mushfiq). Perhaps 

he was upset because of the defeat. 

That is why probably he reacted 

in this manner,” said Asif.• 

Comilla finally 

return to 

winning ways 

• Ali Shahriyar Bappa 

Defending champions Comilla Victorians 

finally produced a dominant 

performance on the field as 

they clinched their second win of 

the tournament defeating Barisal 

Bulls by eight wickets in their 

Bangladesh Premier League Twenty20 

2016-17 season match in Mirpur’s 

Sher-e Bangla National Cricket 

Stadium yesterday. 

The victory though did not 

change their fortunes as the holders 

are still mired at the bottom of 

the points table with four points. 

On the other hand, Barisal, who 

have six points, tasted their sixth 

consecutive loss and their chances 

of qualifying for the playoffs look 

very slim now. 

Chasing Barisal’s 142/8, Comilla 

opening batsmen Imrul Kayes and 

Ahmed Shehzad formed a commanding 

93-run partnership. Kayes 

scored 46 off 35 deliveries with half 

a dozen fours and a six while Shehzad 

made 61 off 56 deliveries with 

five boundaries. 

Despite the openers’ departures, 

Marlon Samuels was unbeaten 

on 27 off 18 balls while Khalid 

Latif was undefeated on a five-ball 

seven as Comilla reached their destination 

with an over to spare. 

Earlier, Barisal captain Mushfiqur 

Rahim won the toss and elected 

to bat first. 

Their two foreign recruits Dilshan 

Munaweera and Dawid Malan 

opened the batting for Barisal. 

However, they made a poor start as 

Comilla struck in the second over 

through paceman Shahadat Hossain, 

who cleaned up Munaweera (seven). 

Malan was the next batsman to 

be dismissed in the seventh over 

after scoring nine. Jeevan Mendis 

(28) and skipper Mushfiq (29) 

scored some runs in the middle order 

but both of them failed to score 

big and got out after being settled 

at the crease. 

Shahriar Nafees came in to bat at 

No 5 but he too departed after scoring 

11, much to the disappointment 

of Barisal. The left-hander was in 

good form in the first phase of the 

tournament, making handy contributions 

which in turn helped Barisal 

to win a few matches. But ever 

since he lost his form, Barisal have 

struggled and now find themselves 

second from bottom. 

Abu Haider (16 not out) smashed 

two sixes in the latter stages of the 

innings to guide his side past the 

140-run mark. Comilla spinner 

Nabil Samad bagged three wickets 

conceding 17 runs while leg-spinner 

Rashid Khan picked up two 

giving away 21 runs.•

POINTS TABLE 

TEAMS M W L PTS 

Dhaka 9 6 3 12 

Chittagong 10 6 4 12 

Khulna 10 6 4 12 

Rajshahi 9 5 4 10 

Rangpur 9 5 4 10 

Barisal 10 3 7 6 

Comilla 9 2 7 4 

SCORECARD 

KHULNA TITANS R B 

Wessels c Gayle b Imran 20 16 

Taibur b Nabi 1 2 

Kapali b Saqlain 3 6 

Shuvagata c Malik b Subashish 2 5 

Mahmudullah c Zakir b Taskin 42 39 

Ariful run out (Imran) 18 20 

Pooran c Malik b Taskin 18 17 

Cooper c Anamul b Imran 15 14 

Mosharraf not out 1 2 

Junaid not out 0 0 

Extras (b 1, lb 5, w 4, nb 1) 11 



1-3 (Taibur), 2-11 (Kapali), 3-14 (Shuvagata), 

4-38 (Wessels), 5-82 (Ariful), 6-95 

(Mahmudullah), 7-127 (Cooper), 8-130 

(Pooran) 

Bowling 

Nabi 4-0-26-1, Subashish 4-0-32-1, Saqlain 

4-0-23-1, Imran 4-0-16-2, Taskin 4-0-28-2 

CHITTAGONG VIKINGS R B 

Tamim not out 66 59 

Gayle c Junaid b Shuvagata 19 11 

Anamul run out (Shuvagata) 3 5 

Malik run out (Mahmudullah) 1 3 

Zakir st Pooran b Mosharraf 3 9 

Jahurul c Mahmudullah b Cooper 22 18 

Nabi not out 17 8 

Extras (lb 1, w 2, nb 1) 4 

Total (5 wickets; 18.4 overs) 135 

Bowling 

Mahmudullah 3-0-24-0, Junaid 3-0-31-0, 

Shuvagata 1-0-7-1, Shafiul 4-0-29-0, Cooper 

4-1-18-1, Mosharraf 3.4-0-25-1 

The Vikings won by five wickets 

MoM: Tamim Iqbal (CV) 

Shahzad suspended for two 

matches, Sabbir fined 

• Tribune Report 

Rangpur Riders’ Afghanistan cricketer 

Mohammad Shahzad has 

been suspended for two matches 

and fined 30 percent of his match 

fee after he poked Rajshahi Kings’ 

Sabbir Rahman with the bat during 

their Bangladesh Premier League 

2016-17 season match in Mirpur last 

Monday. 

Sabbir was also fined 30 percent 

while Barisal’s Al Amin Hossain 

was fined 50 percent of their BPL 

contracts after being found guilt 

of serious off-the-field disciplinary 

breaches by the BPL’s governing 

council. 

Sabbir was categorised under 

the “Grade A+” (Tk40 lakhs) cricketers 

while Al Amin was bracketed 

under the “A” (Tk25 lakhs) category. 

The players were also reminded 

of their responsibility as national 

cricketers and have been warned 

that any repeat of similar acts of indiscretion 

in the future will result 

in harsher penalty. 

Sabbir was found guilty of 

breaching the Bangladesh Cricket 

Board’s code of conduct after he 

got engaged in a verbal clash with 

Shahzad. Sabbir was fined 15 percent 

of his match fee while 

Rangpur’s stand-in captain 

Liam Dawson of England was also 

fined 30 percent of his match fee 

for showing dissent at an umpiring 

decision. 

Shahzad was found to have violated 

article 2.1.1 of the BCB’s code 

of conduct for Players and Player 

Support Personnel, which relates 

to “conduct that is contrary to the 

spirit of the game”. The player 

was fined 30 percent of his match 

fee and suspended for an ensuing 

Sport 25 

Chittagong Vikings’ Tamim Iqbal goes big during their BPL 4 match against Khulna Titans in Mirpur yesterday 

match of the tournament. In addition 

to the sanction imposed for 

his breach of article 2.2.1, four demerit 

points have been added to 

Shahzad’s disciplinary record. 

Pursuant to article 7.5 of the 

code, as Shahzad has reached four 

demerit points in the tournament, 

they have been converted into 

suspension points. Four demerit 

points equate to a ban from two 

matches. As per article 7.7 of the 

code, the suspensions shall run 

concurrently, not cumulatively, 

and as such, he is now banned from 

Rangpur’s next two BPL 4 matches. 

Meanwhile, Barisal Bulls’ 

West Indies all-rounder Rayad Emrit 

has been warned for showing 

dissent at an umpire’s decision 

during their match against Chittagong 

Vikings at Zahur Ahmed 

Chowdhury Stadium in the port 

city on November 22. • 

DT 


Women thrash Nepal 


MD MANIK 

Tamim’s Chittagong on verge of playoffs 

• Mazhar Uddin 

Tamim Iqbal continued his brilliant 

run with the bat as Chittagong Vikings 

registered their fifth consecutive 

win when they beat Khulna 

Titans comfortably by five wickets 

in the Bangladesh Premier League 

Twenty20’s fourth edition at Shere-Bangla 

National Stadium yesterday. 

The dashing left-hander struck 

his fourth fifty of the tournament, 

remaining unbeaten on 66 as the 

in-form Chittagong chased down 

their target with eight balls to spare 

after Khulna once again posted a 

modest total of 131/8. 

Following a poor start to the 

competition, Chittagong have 

scripted a brilliant turnaround 

and are now second in the points 

table with six wins from 10 matches 

while Khulna, whose wins and 

number of matches played are the 

same as the port city outfit, will 

have to regroup yet again if they 

are to progress to the playoffs. 

Chasing 132, Chittagong were 

in a spot of bother after losing 

Chris Gayle for 19. Anamul Haque 

(three), Shoaib Malik (one) and Zakir 

Hossain (three) fared little better 

as Chittagong were struggling 

on 64/4 inside 11 overs. 

But Tamim held the ship from 

the other end and kept the scoreboard 

ticking along just nicely. He 

paired up with Jahurul Islam (22) 

and added 37 runs for the fifth 

wicket. Jahurul however, departed 

soon after. 

Tamim though soon reached his 

fifty and was unbeaten on 66 off 

59 balls with eight fours and a six 

while Mohammad Nabi remained 

not out on 17 to seal a convincing 

win at the end. • 

PLAYS OF THE DAY 

Comilla Victorians v Barisal Bulls 

Shahadat’s eventful return 

Right-arm paceman Shahadat Hossain 

Rajib made a comeback to the cricket 

field, featuring for holders Comilla for 

the very first time in the ongoing fourth 

edition. Shahadat would no doubt have 

been a relived man after making his 

return as he was in the headlines for all 

the wrong reasons recently. However, 

a Dhaka court acquitted him and his 

wife in a case filed over the torture of 

their 11-year old domestic help. And his 

return yesterday was was quite eventful 

to say the least. In his first delivery, he 

was whacked over long-off by Barisal’s 

Dilshan Munaweera. Two balls later, 

Shahadat got his revenge as Munaweera 

was cleaned up by the fast bowler, courtesy 

a slower ball. Shahadat eventually 

finished with bowling figures of 1/22 

from his three overs. 

Chittagong Vikings v Khulna Titans 

Mahmudullah’s lone battle 

continues 

Skipper Mahmudullah has been a 

saviour for Khulna in the ongoing 

BPL 4. Formerly the vice-captain of 

Bangladesh, the Mymensingh cricketer 

has led from the front, rescuing his 

side on many an occasion. He is 

the third highest run-getter of the 

tournament, alongside Rangpur Riders’ 

Mohammad Mithun, with 279 runs in 

10 games. Mahmudullah has also been 

instrumental with his off-spin, bagging 

nine wickets. His last over heroics with 

the leather guided Khulna to victory not 

once but twice. And against Chittagong, 

he once again stood strong after Khulna 

were struggling on 38/4. He scored 

the highest 42 off 39 balls with four 

boundaries and a six to help his side 

post a modest total of 131/8.• 

–ALI SHAHRIYAR BAPPA & 

MAZHAR UDDIN 

Bangladesh clinched their second 

win in the 2016 Women’s Twenty20 

Asia Cup when they beat Nepal 

convincingly by 92 runs at Asian 

Institute of Technology Ground, 

Bangkok in Thailand yesterday. 

Nepal were bundled out for 41 

runs in 17.3 overs chasing Bangladesh’s 

competitive 133/4. 

Batting first, Bangladesh opening 

batters Sanjida Islam and Nigar 

Sultana made a strong start, posting 

71 runs. Sanjida scored 35 off 

40 balls with five boundaries while 

Nigar made 39 off 41 balls. 

Skipper Rumana Ahmed played 

a cameo of 17 not out from nine 

balls at the end alongside Fahima 

Khatun, who remained unbeaten 

on eight. 

Nepal’s Sangita Rai picked up 

two wickets for 31 runs. 

In reply, Nepal lost wickets at 

regular intervals and were eventually 

all out for a low score. Only 

opener Sita Rana Magar (15) managed 

to reach double figures. 

Fahima bowled brilliantly for 

Bangladesh, taking four wickets 

in her quota of four overs, giving 

away eight runs while Nahida 

Akhter bagged two conceding as 

many runs in her 3.3 overs. 

Fahima was adjudged player of 

the match for her brilliant performance 

with the leather. 

BRIEF SCORE 

NEPAL 41 in 17.3 overs (Magar 15, 

Fahima 4/8, Nahida 2/2) lost to 

BANGLADESH 133/4 (Nigar 39, Sanjida 

35, Sangita 2/31) by 92 runs 

Bangladesh will take on Pakistan 

in their next game today at 

the same venue. The women in 

red and green are now second in 

the six-team points table with four 

points from three matches. Only 

the top two teams will progress to 

the final. •

DT 

26 


Sport 

Cup dream 

turns to 

nightmare 

• Reuters, Sao Paulo 

For a few glorious days, tiny Brazilian 

soccer team Chapecoense was 

the side of the moment, the latest 

in a string of sporting surprises in 

2016. 

Like Leicester City winning 

the Premier League for the first 

time or the Chicago Cubs finally 

taking baseball’s World Series after 

a 108-year wait, Chapecoense 

bucked the odds and delighted the 

romantics. 

The team’s passage to the final 

of the Copa Sudamericana, South 

America’s equivalent of the Europa 

League, was a fairy tale to rival any 

of them. 

“This wasn’t just a group where 

everyone respected each other, it 

was a family,” Plinio David de Nes 

Filho, a club director, told Globo TV 

yesterday morning, just hours after 

the accident wiped out almost the 

entire squad. 

The end came suddenly when a 

charter flight taking Chapecoense 

to today’s Cup Final crashed into 

a forested mountainside near Medellin. 

But the rise of a team known 

as the Western Big Green had taken 

decades. 

Founded in 1973 in the small agricultural 

city of Chapeco in western 

Santa Catarina state in southern 

Brazil, Chapecoense won its 

first state title four years later. 

The team established itself in a 

competitive league without making 

waves outside the rugged region 

they called home and it was 

not until the new millennium that 

their fortunes changed. 

Money troubles almost forced 

them to the wall but a group of 

local businessmen rescued them 

from financial collapse and set 

them on the road to the top. • 

Italy’s Torino Grande: 1949 

A plane carrying famed Italian 

football club “Torino Grande” 

crashed on its way back from Portugal 

on May 4, 1949, killing all 31 

passengers and crew. A reported 

million people poured into the 

streets of Turin to bid farewell to 

their heroes. Torino Grande were 

named Italian champions for the 

fifth time in a row. The crash had 

a devastating impact on the Italian 

national squad as Torino players 

were its pillars. 

United’s Busby Babes: 1958 

The two-time defending English 

champions had just reached the 

European Cup semi-finals with a 

win in Belgrade, but their plane 

went down in a snowstorm on February 

6, 1958 after a refuelling stop 

in Munich. 

Eight of the “Busby Babes” - 

Rescue workers carry a body away from the wreckage of a chartered airplane that crashed in La Union, a mountainous area 

outside Medellin, Colombia yesterday 

AP 

Plane carrying Brazil’s team 

crashes in Colombia, 75 dead 

• Reuters, La Union 

A chartered plane carrying top-tier 

Brazilian soccer team Chapecoense 

to the biggest game in its history 

crashed in the Colombian mountains, 

killing 75 people on board, 

SIX TEAMS WIPED OUT BY PLANE CRASHES 

named after manager Matt Busby 

- died, including star Duncan Edwards, 

along with three members 

of the staff. A total of 23 people 

perished. Busby himself received 

the last rites twice but remarkably 

recovered and 10 years later led a 

new squad of “Babes” to European 

Cup glory. 

US figure skating team: 1961 

The entire 18-member team died 

when their plane crashed in Belgium 

on February 15, 1961, on their 

way to compete at the World Championships 

in the former Czechoslovakia. 

Three members of a skating 

family were among the victims: 

US ladies champion Laurence Owens, 

16, her sister Maribel, 20, and 

their mother and coach Maribel 

Vinson-Owen, an Olympic bronze 

medallist. 

authorities said yesterday. 

Dozens of bodies were laid out 

and covered with sheets around 

the wreckage of the BAe 146 aircraft, 

which was lying in mud near 

La Union, a small town outside Medellin. 

In this November 2, 2016 file photo, players of Brazil’s Chapecoense team pose 

before a Copa Sudamericana match in Buenos Aires, Argentina 

AP 

Uruguayan rugby team: 1972 

The Andes plane crash became an 

extraordinary story of survival. 

Forty members of Uruguay’s Old 

Christians rugby club were flying 

with relatives to Chile when their 

plane went down in the remote 

mountains on October 13, 1972. 

Eighteen people died immediately 

and another 11 succumbed later 

- many due to an avalanche that 

swept over the wreckage. Two 

survivors made a 10-day trek to a 

Chilean village to summon help 

and 16 were rescued more than two 

months after the disaster. They 

had resorted to cannibalism to stay 

alive. 

Peru’s oldest football team: 1987 

A Peruvian navy plane carrying 43 

people, including players and staff 

from Alianza Lima, the country’s 

oldest football team, plunged into 

The plane went down about 

10:15 p.m. on Monday night with 

72 passengers and a crew of nine. It 

was unclear what caused the crash, 

although local media said the plane 

had reported an electrical fault 

shortly before it disappeared off radar 

screens. 

A Reuters photographer said the 

plane split in two, destroying the 

tail end. Rain hampered the dozens 

of rescuers as they combed the 

muddy and forested area. 

Chapecoense, from Brazil’s top 

league, had been flying to face 

Atletico Nacional of Medellin on 

Wednesday in the first leg of the 

Copa Sudamericana final, South 

America’s equivalent of the Europa 

League. On Tuesday, Atletico Nacional 

offered the championship to 

Chapecoense.clared three days of 

mourning. • 

the ocean off Lima on December 8, 

1987. 

The airliner was returning to 

the capital from the jungle city of 

Pucallpa when the pilot reported 

problems with the landing gear. He 

survived and was recovered after 

floating for hours in choppy seas. 

Russian ice hockey team: 2011 

The first-division Russian ice hockey 

team Lokomotiv Yaroslavl were 

wiped out - including Swedish 

star Stefan Liv - after their plane 

crashed just after taking off for a 

match in Minsk on September 7, 

2011. Forty-four people died in all. 

One player survived the crash but 

died several days later, and only 

the flight engineer survived. An 

investigation found that one pilot 

had hit the brakes by accident, 

while the other had taken banned 

medication.• 

REACTIONS 

“This is a very, very sad day for football. 

At this difficult time our thoughts are 

with the victims, their families and 

friends. FIFA would like to extend its 

most heartfelt condolences to the 

fans of Chapecoense, the football 

community and media organisations 

concerned in Brazil.” 

- FIFA president Gianni Infantino 

“Pray for my teammates please.” 

- Chapecoense striker Alejandro 

Martinuccio, who missed the trip due 

to injury 

“Terrible news that puts the sport in 

mourning, my solidarity with the whole 

football family #Chapecoense.” 

- Colombian cyclist Nairo Quintana, 

winner of the Giro d’Italia and Vuelta 

a Espana 

“My deepest condolences to all 

the families, friends and fans of 

#Chapecoense” 

- Argentina and Barcelona striker 

Lionel Messi 

“My prayers and my solidarity for 

the survivors, families and friends of 

Chapecoense in this sad time.” 

- Colombian striker Radamel Falcao 

“We are deeply shaken by the accident 

concerning the club of our old player 

Cleber Santana. Our condolences to the 

families. Rest in Peace.” 

- Atletico Madrid, whose former 

player Cleber Santana was club 

captain at Chapecoense 

#ForcaChapecoense - The thoughts 

of everyone at Manchester United are 

with @ChapecoenseReal and all those 

affected by the tragedy in Colombia.” 

- Manchester United, who lost eight 

players in February 1958 as their 

plane crashed on take off from 

Munich airport 

“Real Madrid C.F. expresses its 

sorrow at the tragic air crash involving 

the Brazilian club Chapecoense and 

extends its condolences to relatives 

and friends of the victims. At the same 

time, wishing an early recovery for the 

survivors.” 

- Real Madrid football club 

“Our thoughts are with Chapecoense 

and everyone effected by this tragedy 

and their families. We are speechless.” 

- Sergio Ramos, Real Madrid captain 

“All our support and solidarity is with 

the victims and the families affected 

by the @ChapecoenseReal tragedy in 

Colombia.” 

- FC Barcelona 

“The thoughts of AS Roma are 

addressed to Chapecoense and all those 

affected by the tragedy in Colombia. 

#ForcaChapecoense”. 

- AS Roma football club 

“FC Porto is with Chapecoense and their 

families at this difficult moment.” 

- FC Porto football club

Sport 27 

DT 


Records galore in National Swimming 


Nazma Khatun and Romana Akter 

continued their supremacy in the 

third and final day of the 28th National 

Swimming Championship 

that concluded in Mirpur’s Swimming 

Complex yesterday with the 

former bagging the most number 

of gold medals and the latter setting 

the highest number of national 

records. 

Nazma also bettered her previous 

best to set a new national record 

in the women’s 50metre freestyle 

event. The Bangladesh Navy 

swimmer clocked 29.11s, improving 

on her previous record of 29.82s. 

Sonia Akter Tumpa took home the 

silver medal, clocking 29.69s, while 

Doli Akter finished third. Nazma, 

who grabbed six golds including 

four national records to top the individual 

medal list, also set another 

national record in the women’s 

800m freestyle. 

Romana finished 

top in the women’s 

200m breaststroke 

event with a new 

national record of 

2.51s 

Romana, who set a number 

of national records and also claimed 

the second most gold medals 

as an individual participant, finished 

top in the women’s 200m 

breaststroke event with a new national 

record of 2.51s. 

The Bangladesh Army swimmer 

also won gold in the 200m butterfly 

event to bag a total of five golds 

and one silver medal, including 

five new national records in the 

tournament. 

Naima Akter of Bangladesh 

Army registered a new national 

record in the women’s 50m backstroke 

event, clocking 33.74s. She 

won three golds, two silvers and 

one bronze, including three records. 

Mahfizur Rahman Sagor 

clinched gold in the men’s 50m 

freestyle event, setting a new national 

record. The Bangladesh 

Navy swimmer took 23.98s to 

touch the finishing line, beating 

second-placed Asif Reza and 

Masud Rana. Sagor broke his own 

previous record, 24.02s, which he 

set two years ago. 

In the men’s individual medal 

list, Bangladesh Army swimmer 

Jewel Ahmed topped the chart 

with four golds and one bronze 

while Sagor won three golds and 

one silver, including two national 

records. Mahmudun Nobi Nahid 

won three golds. 

Overall, Bangladesh Navy continued 

their domination in the 

country’s swimming arena as they 

finished top of the table with a total 

of 50 medals, including 24 golds, 16 

silvers and 10 bronzes while Bangladesh 

Army placed second with 

14 golds, 19 silvers and 14 bronzes. 

BKSP finished third with two golds, 

five silvers and 10 bronzes. • 

Rosberg defends 

Hamilton tactics 

• AFP, Kuala Lumpur 

Newly-crowned Formula One 

world champion Nico Rosberg 

yesterday downplayed Mercedes 

teammate and archrival Lewis 

Hamilton’s tactics to foil his chances 

at the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, 

saying the issue doesn’t warrant 

much discussion. 

“I can fully understand the 

team’s side of course because we 

have been working towards those 

guidelines for three years now. At 

the same time I can also understand 

Lewis because you know, 

we’re drivers, we’re fighters until 

the last metre,” the German said 

at a press conference held in Kuala 

Lumpur. “It was about the world 

championships (no less).”• 

Inside ‘cut-throat 

world’ of game’s 

minnows 

• AFP, Hong Kong 

Elite cricket is a tough game 

but spare a thought for the 

sport’s minnows, who have 

to contend with makeshift 

facilities, scant funding and 

the chronic threat of financial 

ruin. 

At a small ground in the 

heart of bustling Hong Kong, 

the soothing sight of an afternoon’s 

play belies the very real 

risks facing cricket’s associate, 

or second-tier, nations. 

Hong Kong have risen as 

high as 10th in the world in 

Twenty20 cricket and in 2014 

they beat hosts Bangladesh in 

front of a stunned Chittagong 

Stadium at the World T20. 

Yet just a couple of untimely 

defeats could cost them 

hundreds of thousands of dollars 

in International Cricket 

Council funding, setting them 

back years. 

Tim Cutler, Cricket Hong 

Kong’s 34-year-old CEO from 

Australia, is painfully aware 

that a run of poor form by the 

national team could mean the 

end of his job. 

“It’s such a cut-throat 

world, associate cricket,” Cutler 

said, as Hong Kong played 

Papua New Guinea earlier this 

month. “There’s huge pressure 

on games of cricket.” 

Hong Kong play in the tier 

below the Test nations, but 

relegation to the next division 

could cost $750,000 in 

funding, plus other support 

for tours and training, Cutler 

said. • 

DAY’S WATCH 

CRICKET 

SONY SIX 

Bangladesh Premier League 

1:00PM 

Rangpur Riders v Dhaka Dynamites 

5:45PM 

Comilla Victorians v Rajshahi Kings 

FOOTBALL 

TEN 1 

12:00AM 

French Ligue 1 

De Guingamp v Nice Cote 

2:00AM 

PSG v Angers 

TEN 2 

11:20PM 

French Ligue 1 2016/17 

Saint- Etienne v Olympic Marseille 

2:00AM 

EFL Cup 2016/17 

Man United v West Ham United 

TEN 3 

2:30PM 

FFA Cup 2016 : Final 

Melbourne City FC v Sydney FC 

1:45AM 

EFL Cup 2016/17 

Arsenal v Southampton 

STAR SPORTS 1 

7:30PM 

Indian Super League 

North East v Delhi

28 


DT 

Sport 

3RD TEST, DAY 4 

ENGLAND 1ST INNINGS 283 

INDIA 1ST INNINGS 417 

ENGLAND 2ND INNINGS R B 

Cook b Ashwin 12 49 

Root c Rahane b Jadeja 78 179 

Moeen c J Yadav b Ashwin 5 20 

Bairstow c Patel b J Yadav 15 34 

Stokes lbw b Ashwin 5 19 

Batty lbw b Jadeja 0 7 

Buttler c Jadeja b J Yadav 18 18 

Hameed not out 59 156 

Woakes c Patel b Shami 30 47 

Rashid c Yadav b Shami 0 2 

Anderson run out (Jadeja) 5 11 

Extras (b 8, lb 1) 9 

Total (all out; 90.2 overs) 236 


1-27 (Cook), 2-39 (Ali), 3-70 (Bairstow), 

4-78 (Stokes), 5-78 (Batty), 6-107 (Buttler), 

7-152 (Root), 8-195 (Woakes), 9-195 

(Rashid), 10-236 (Anderson) 

Bowling 

Shami 14-3-37-2, Yadav 8-3-26-0, Ashwin 

26.2-4-81-3, Jadeja 30-12-62-2, J Yadav 

12-2-21-2 

INDIA 2ND INNINGS R B 

Vijay c Root b Woakes 0 8 

Patel not out 67 54 

Pujara c Root b Rashid 25 50 

Kohli not out 6 11 

Extras (b 4, lb 1, nb 1) 6 

Total (2 wickets; 20.2 overs) 104 

Fall of wickets 

1-7 (Vijay, 1.5 ov), 2-88 (Pujara, 17.2 ov) 

Bowling 

Anderson 3-2-8-0, Woakes 2-0-16-1, 

Rashid 5-0-28-1, Stokes 4-0-16-0, Moeen 

3-0-13-0, Batty 3.2-0-18-0 

India won by eight wickets 

MoM: Ravindra Jadeja (India) 

Indian Test cricket team captain Virat 

Kohli celebrates beating England on 

the fourth day of their third Test match 

in Mohali, India yesterday 

AP 

NZ win after final-session Pakistan collapse 

• AFP, Hamilton 

New Zealand took nine wickets in 

a dramatic final session of the second 

Test against Pakistan to win by 

130 runs in Hamilton yesterday and 

sweep the series 2-0. 

It was New Zealand’s first series 

win over Pakistan since 1985 and a 

relieved captain Kane Williamson 

called it one of the most remarkable 

Test finishes he had ever played 

in. 

Pakistan were faced with an imposing 

369-run target but set themselves 

up for a run-a-ball slog when 

they reached tea on the final day at 

158 for 1. 

At that stage Williamson began 

to question whether he had declared 

New Zealand’s second innings 

too early at 313 for 5. 

Pakistan captain Azhar Ali said 

they tried to pull out of the chase 

and play for a draw when Sarfraz 

Ahmed was run out to make it 199 

for 4 but they could not hold on. 

The match edged towards a 

cliff-hanger finish before Tim 

Southee removed Pakistan’s leading 

run scorer Sami Aslam for 91. 

That started the collapse which 

saw eight wickets fall for 49 in 20 

overs with Neil Wagner taking the 

final three for no runs in just six 

deliveries. 

New Zealand’s series win means 

Pakistan fall from second to fourth 

in the world rankings while New 

Zealand move up to sixth. Pakistan 

were left to ponder whether they 

left their charge too late. 

Azhar Ali (58 off 161 deliveries) 

India outplay 

England to lead 

series 2-0 

• AFP, Mohali 

Ravindra Jadeja’s sparkling allround 

performance floored 

England and handed India an 

unbeatable 2-0 lead after they cantered 

home to a comprehensive 

eight-wicket win in the third Test 

yesterday. 

Top-ranked India surpassed the 

103-run target in the final session 

of the fourth day at Mohali with recalled 

opener Parthiv Patel (67 not 

out) hitting the winning runs. 

Left-handed Jadeja scored a career-best 

90 in India’s 417-run first 

innings total before finishing with 

a match haul of four wickets to be 

named man-of-the-match. 

India’s road to victory was 

smooth despite Chris Woakes striking 

early to send back opener Murali 

Vijay for nought. 

Patel and Cheteshwar Pujara 

(25) then put on an 81-run partnership 

to enable the hosts register 

their second straight win of the 

five-match series. 

The first Test in Rajkot ended 

in a draw before India won the 

Visakhapatnam game by 246 runs. 

Patel, returning to the Test side 

after an eight-year gap, struck 11 

fours and a six off 54 balls on way 

to his fifth Test half-century. 

Skipper Virat Kohli, who was at 

the other end when stumps were 

drawn, hugged Patel to celebrate 

and Aslam (91 off 238) laid the platform 

with a record Pakistan fourth 

innings opening stand of 131 but it 

lasted 60 overs before Azhar was 

dismissed. The arrival of Babar 

Azam was a signal to lift the pace 

but the pitch was still offering support 

to the bowlers on the fifth day.• 

Man of the match Tim Southee is hugged by Neil Wagner as he leads New Zealand off the field during the fifth and final day of 

their second Test against Pakistan in Hamilton yesterday 

INTERNET 

his team’s well-earned victory. 

It was the steely lower-order 

resistance from the Indian batsmen 

and a combined effort by their 

bowlers that set up victory for the 

Kohli-led side. 

Jadeja’s knock surpassed his 

previous-best of 68 he made 

against the same opposition at 

Lord’s in 2014. 

Ashwin, who claimed three 

wickets in England’s second essay, 

also hit 72 with three other Indian 

batsmen making half-centuries. 

The Indian lower-order contributed 

213 runs to the total score after 

the hosts were reduced to 204-6 

following a fightback by the England 

bowlers on the second day. 

“I think we got in a bit of a bother 

on the second day but the belief 

inside the dressing room was tremendous,” 

said Ashwin. 

“We always backed the lower 

order to get a lot of runs. We tell 

ourselves that we are capable of 

making 125-150 runs. And I think 

we put up a stellar show.” 

After securing a crucial 134-run 

first innings lead, India bowled out 

England for 236 despite defiant 

half-centuries from Joe Root (78) 

and Haseeb Hameed (59 not out). 

Teenage Hameed, who impressed 

on debut with a 82-run 

knock in the drawn first Test in 

Rajkot, registered his second Test 

fifty in only his third game. • 

2ND TEST, DAY 5 

NEW ZEALAND 1ST INNINGS 217 

PAKISTAN 1ST INNINGS 216 

NEW ZEALAND 2ND INNINGS 313/5D 

PAKISTAN 2ND INNINGS R B 

Aslam c Williamson b Southee 91 238 

Azhar b Santner 58 161 

Babar b Santner 16 25 

Sarfraz run out (de Grandhomme) 19 21 

Younis lbw b Southee 11 44 

Shafiq c Nicholls b Henry 0 10 

Rizwan not out 13 33 

Sohail c Nicholls b Grandhomme 8 15 

Amir c Watling b Wagner 0 2 

Riaz c Watling b Wagner 0 2 

Imran c Latham b Wagner 0 3 

Extras (b 4, lb 3, w 6, nb 1) 14 

Total (all out; 92.1 overs) 230 


1-131 (Azhar), 2-159 (Babar), 3-181 (Aslam), 

4-199 (Sarfraz), 5-204 (Shafiq), 6-218 

(Younis), 7-229 (Sohail), 8-230 (Amir), 

9-230 (Riaz), 10-230 (Imran) 

Bowling 

Southee 24-6-60-2, Henry 19-5-38-1, 

Wagner 20.1-4-57-3, Santner 16-2-49-2, 

de Grandhomme 12-5-17-1, Williamson 

1-0-2-0 

New Zealand won by 138 runs 

MoM: Tim Southee (NZ)

Downtime 

29 


DT 

CROSSWORD 

CODE-CRACKER 

ACROSS 

1 Couple (4) 

4 Yield (4) 

8 Spirit (3) 

9 Declare (4) 

10 Wading bird (4) 

11 Venomous ill will (5) 

12 Cult (4) 

14 Term of respect (3) 

15 Digit (3) 

17 Facial twitch (3) 

19 Dark-colored viscid 

product (3) 

21 Poem of heroism (4) 

23 Bitterly pungent (5) 

26 Very extensive (4) 

27 Suffering (4) 

28 Female swan (3) 

29 Superior English 

college (4) 

30 Look after (4) 

DOWN 

1 Bad situation (6) 

2 Part of the eye (4) 

3 Tricks (5) 

4 Headwear (3) 

5 Expel by legal 

process (5) 

6 Morse element (3) 

7 Female sheep (3) 

11 Thong (5) 

13 Quoted (5) 

16 Jubilant (6) 

18 Object of curiosity (5) 

20 Fastener (5) 

22 Walking-stick (4) 

23 Monkey (3) 

24 Domestic animal (3) 

25 Tavern (3) 

How to solve: Each number in our 

CODE-CRACKER grid represents a 

different letter of the alphabet. For 

example, today 20 represents P so fill P 

every time the figure 20 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 


DT 

Showtime 

Munier Chowdhury and 

Mohammad Zakaria 

awards conferred 

• Showtime Desk 

Theatre presents the Munier 

Chowdhury Award and 

Mohammad Zakaria Memorial 

Award. This year, the leading 

Bangladeshi theatre troupe 

honoured Keramot Mowla, a 

powerful actor who has a 60-year 

long, illustrious career in stage, 

TV, and cinema, with the Munier 

Chowdhury Award, and Abhijit 

Sengupta, an acclaimed stage 

director and theatre organiser 

from Chittagong, with the 

Mohammad Zakaria Memorial 

Award. 

Marking the 81st death 

anniversary of Munier Chowdhury, 

the awards were conferred to the 

recipients at the Experimental 

Theatre Hall of Bangladesh 

Shilpakala Academy, on Sunday. 

Dr Golam Murshid handed over 

the awards to the recipients, while 

Shah A Sarwar, the managing 

director of IFIC Bank Limited, 

handed over the pay cheques. 

Presided by Ferdousi Majumder, 

the president of Theatre, the 

ceremony began with a welcome 

speech delivered by Ramendu 

Majumder, the director of Theatre. 

Sponsored by IFIC Bank 

Limited, the award covers prize 

money worth Tk50,000 for the 

Munier Chowdhury Award, and 

Tk25,000 for the Mohammad 

Zakaria Memorial Award. The 

Munier Chowdhury Award in 

1989, and the Muhammad Zakaria 

Memorial Award in 1997, were 

initiated by Theatre. 

In the second session of the 

ceremony, Bangshodhar, a play by 

Munier Chowdhury, was staged by 

the students of the Abdullah-al- 

Mamun Theatre School. Shekanul 

Islam Shahi directed the play. • 

Bollywood’s next voices 


Currently, Bollywood is witnessing 

a whole lot of fresh voices entering 

its music empire, possessing 

various traits of Bollywood 

legends. Here is a list of singers 

who could rule the Bollywood 

music empire with their powerful 

voices, in the near future. 

every chart-topper playlist. She 

has over 4.5 million views on her 

YouTube channel, with 40000 

subscribers, and over half a 

million followers on Facebook. 

Sukriti and Prakriti Kakar 

duo Tanishk-Vayu, made his 

Bollywood debut with song 

“Banno” from Tanu Weds Manu 

Returns, which was a blockbuster 

hit, and followed it up with 

equally successful numbers like 

“Bolna” from Kapoor & Sons, 

“Allah Hu Allah” and “Rabba” 

from the movie Sarbjit and “Fake 

Ishq” from Housefull. 

Siddharth Mahadevan 

Siddharth Mahadevan reminds all 

rock lovers, of the voice of young 

KK. Siddharth is known for his 

songs “Zinda” and the title track 

of Bhaag Milkha Bhaag. He has 

also lent his voice for “Malang” 

from the movie Dhoom 3, and 

“Teen Gawah” from the film 

Mirzya. Siddharth, the son of one 

of Bollywood’s leading musical 

minds, Shankar Mahadevan, 

takes you by surprise with his 

soulful voice. 

Jonita Gandhi 

Indo-Canadian singer, Jonita 

Gandhi was first noticed, when 

her cover versions of Hindi film 

songs gained popularity on social 

media. She made her Bollywood 

playback debut with the title 

track of Chennai Express, and 

followed it up with tracks in 

Highway and R…Rajkummar. 

She has also sang songs like “Sau 

Tarah Ke” from Dishoom, which 

was a hit, the title track of PINK, 

and now, “The Break Up song” 

from Ae Dil Hai Mushkil is on 

When twin sisters Sukriti and 

Prakriti Kakar are on stage, they 

create magic with their voices. 

Prakriti began her career with 

popular songs like “Katra Katra” 

from Alone, “Tu itni khoobsurat 

hai” from Barkhaa, and “Bheegh 

Loon” from Khamoshiyan, 

among others. Sukriti, on the 

other hand, shot to fame with 

her crooning in the title song of 

Boss, “Rustom Vahi” from the 

movie Rustom, and the latest 

party anthem, “Kar Gayi Chull” 

from Kapoor & Sons, which has 

become a huge hit, and has 

crossed 100 million views and 

counting. 

Amit Mishra 

Amit made his Bollywood debut 

with film Atithi Tum Kab Jaoge, 

in which he sang “Dohe” and 

“Sukhaharta.” He rose to fame 

with Varun Dhawan’s “Manma 

Emotion Jaage” from the movie 

Dilwale. After that, he sang yet 

another highly energetic number 

“Sau Tarah Ke” from the movie 

Dishoom, which became quite 

popular too! 

Tanishk Bagchi 

Tanishk Bagchi, of the composer 

Palak Muchhal 

Palak Muchhal has sung popular 

numbers in Prem Ratan Dhan 

Payo and Aashiqui 2, and songs 

like “Teri Meri Kahaani” and 

“Jumme Ki Raat” and many 

more. “Kaun Tujhe” from MS 

Dhoni: The Untold Story is the 

latest addition to her list of 

hits. Her song “Dekha Hazaron 

Dafa” in Rustom and “Hummein 

Tummein Jo Tha” from Raaz 

Reboot have earned her a lot of 

praise from not just fans, but also 

prominent people in the industry. 

Jasleen Royal 

Jasleen made her Bollywood 

debut with the song “Preet” 

from the movie Khoobsurat, and 

established herself with back to 

back numbers, including “Badla 

Badla” from the movie Badlapur 

and “Kho Gaye Hum Kahan” and 

“Nachde Ne Saare” from Baar 

Baar Dekho. And, her recent 

song, “Raatein” in Shivaay was 

one of the major highlights of the 

film, which gained tremendous 

appreciation. • 

Naomi Watts on divorce: 

‘Change is always scary’ 


Naomi Watts has finally opened 

up about her recent separation 

from actor Liev Schreiber as the 

Mulholland Drive actress says 

that she feels that she is “in a 

good place” in her life following 

her divorce. However, she also 

added that, “change is always 

scary.” 

Two months ago, the actor 

duo, parents of sons Alexander, 

9, and Samuel, 7, announced 

their separation. The couple has 

been together for 11 years. 

Watts told The Daily 

Telegraph Australia in an 

interview, published Saturday 

in what marks as her first 

comments about the split since 

the couple’s announcement, “I 

feel I’m in a good place in my 

life and I want to make sure my 

kids are healthy, my kids are 

happy and things are going to go 

well. Those are my hopes for me 

and for all of us.” 

“I feel, whether you’re 

famous or not, transitions are 

scary for anybody,” the 48-yearold 

actress added. “I feel like 

change is always scary, but 

that’s only because transition for 

anyone is new and you wonder 

how things are going to go.” 

Schreiber, 49, who acted 

alongside Watts in The Painted 

Veil in 2006 is yet to comment 

on their split.•

Showtime 

31 


DT 

Bengal Classical Music Festival ends 

with Chaurasia’s flute rendition 


The fifth night of the Bengal 

Classical Music Festival 2016, 

opened with a mesmeric vocal 

rendition by the students 

of the Music Department of 

Dhaka University. The students 

performed Raga Bhupali. Swarop 

Hossain and Zakir Hossain 

accompanied them on tabla. 

Then, the students of the 

Bengal Parampara Sangeetalay 

performed Raga Charukeshi on 

sitar. Prashanta Bhowmik and 

Supantho Majumdar were on 

tabla. 

At the closing ceremony, Sir 

Fazle Hasan Abed, KCMG, Founder 

& Chairperson of BRAC, was 

present as the Chief Guest, while 

Professor Emeritus Anisuzzaman 

presided over the session. Annisul 

Huq, the Mayor of Dhaka North 

City Corporation, and Mohammad 

Sayeed Khokon, the Mayor of 

Dhaka South City Corporation, 

were the special guests. Anjan 

Chowdhury, Managing Director of 

Square Group was also among the 

special guests. 

Sir Fazle Hasan Abed 

remembered versatile author 

Syed Shamsul Haq, to whom this 

festival has been dedicated to. He 

said, “Classical music is embedded 

in us. Artistes like Ustad Ali 

Akbar, Ustad Allauddin Khan, and 

Pandit Ravi Shankar had roots in 

this country. The continuity of 

this festival will encourage the 

emergence of more world class 

artistes in this field.” 

Professor Emeritus 

Anisuzzaman greeted everyone, 

and expressed his gratitude 

towards the artistes. He said, “The 

practice of classical music was 

fading in our country. However, 

this festival has rejuvenated 

interests in the genre.” 

Anjan Chowdhury, Managing 

Director of Square Group Ltd, 

expressed his pride at being 

involved with the festival and 

said, “Hopefully, we will present 

grander festivals in the future.” 

Mohammad Sayeed Khokon, 

the Mayor of Dhaka South City 

Corporation, requested Abul 

Khair to take responsibility for all 

the twelve music schools in Old 

Dhaka. He assured cooperation 

from the City Corporation, to 

develop cultural institutes in that 

part of Dhaka. 

Annisul Huq, the Mayor of 

Dhaka North City Corporation, 

expressed his gratitude towards the 

organizers of this event. He urged 

the producers to pay the dues of 

the singers of the country. “Artistes 

can shape people’s mentalities, 

therefore, we should always pay 

our due respect to them.” 

Abul Khair, Chairman of Bengal 

Foundation, requested a minute of 

silence in memory of the recently 

deceased poet, Syed Shamsul 

Huq, and the people who had 

given their lives during the recent 

militant attacks. 

In his speech, Khair pleaded 

with the Prime Minister, for the 

construction of at least three 

thousand cinema halls around the 

country. He also requested the 

construction of sports and cultural 

facilities in remote areas of the 

country. He said, “We would like 

to develop a large cultural institute 

in the country.” 

After his speech, Khair also 

declared a three day Sufi Festival 

in January, at the Bangabandhu 

National Stadium, in response of 

Mohammad Sayeed Khokon’s urge 

to organise something similar to 

Bengal Classical Music Festival in 

the other parts of the city. 

The next performance of the 

night was an ethereal santoor 

rendition by legendary Pandit Shiv 

Kumar Sharma, who performed 

Raga Jog. 

Following that, Kumar 

Mardur came on stage with his 

Khayal performance. At first, he 

performed Raga Puriya Kalyan. 

After that, he rendered bhajan on 

Raga Kirwani. Ajinkya Joshi was 

on tabla with him. 

Pandit Kushal Das came up 

next, with a Sitar rendition 

of Raga Kaushi Kanada. 

Pandit Shubhankar Banerjee 

accompanied him on tabla. 

Arati Ankalikar’s vocal 

Photo Courtesy: Bengal Foundation 

rendition, which included a 

Khayal on Raga Jog Kauns, and a 

Thumri, “sajanwa kaise mein aau 

torey paas” on Misra Khamaj, left 

the audience mesmerised. Rohit 

Majumdar was on tabla with the 

singer. 

Pandit Hariprasad Chaurasia 

rendered spectacular flute 

compositions in Raga Probhati 

and Raga Jait. Pandit Subhankar 

Banerjee accompanied him on 

tabla, and Debopriyo Ranadive 

and Bibek Sonar supported him on 

flute. Pandit Bhabani Shankar was 

on pakhawaj and Abhijit Kundu 

was on tanpura. 

Organised by Bengal 

Foundation, Square Group 

presented the Indian Classical 

music festival as the title sponsor, 

while BRAC Bank supported the 

event as the main sponsor. • 

WHAT TO WATCH 

Kingsman: The Secret Service 

Star Movies, 3:22pm 

The film is based on an acclaimed 

comic book The Secret Service by 

Mark Millar and Dave Gibbons. 

This films tells a story of a man 

named Gary Unwin, a street kid 

living in South London. When 

an agent from spy organization 

recognizes potential in the youth 

and hires him as a trainee for a 

secret service mission, they have 

to stop a global threat to change 

the climate problem, but via 

worldwide killing spree. 

Cast: Colin Firth, Samuel L 

Jackson, Mark Strong, Michael 

Caine 

Monsters, Inc. 

Zee Studio, 5:30pm 

Monstropolis is a city of monsters 

and it revolves around Monsters, 

Inc., a power company. Sulley is a 

loveable blue behemoth-like giant 

monster and his friend is Mike, a 

short, green monster with one big 

eye. When two-year-old Boo, a 

human baby, enters Monstropolis 

by mistake, it is up to Sulley and 

Mike to keep her safe and send 

her back to the world of humans. 

Voice: John Goodman, Billy 

Crystal, Mary Gibbs, Steve 

Buscemi, James Coburn 

Black Mass 

HBO, 9:30pm 

While his brother Bill remains 

a powerful leader in the 

Massachusetts Senate, Irish 

hoodlum James “Whitey” Bulger 

continues to pursue a life of crime 

in 1970s Boston. Approached 

by FBI agent John Connolly, the 

lawman convinces Whitey to help 

the agency fight the Italian mob. 

As their unholy alliance spirals 

out of control, Bulger increases 

his power and evades capture 

to become one of the most 

dangerous gangsters in US history. 

Cast: Johnny Depp, Benedict 

Cumberbatch, Joel Edgerton, 

Dakota Johnson •

32 


DT 

LEATHER PRODUCTS EXPORT 

TO REACH $6BN BY 2021 PAGE 12 

Back Page 

PLANE CARRYING BRAZIL’S TEAM CRASHES 

IN COLOMBIA, 75 DEAD PAGE 26 

Uber may be granted provisional approval 

• Shohel Mamun 

While the BRTA acknowledges that 

the public has shown interest in 

Uber, it sticks to its stand that the 

e-hailing ride-sharing/car pool service 

cannot use private vehicles for 

its operation until the the existing 

Motor Vehicle Law is amended. 

The Bangladesh Road Transport 

Authority has asked Uber to 

submit a proposal of its business 

plan, which is subject to review, 

and then Uber will be allowed to 

use only commercial vehicles for 

its service. 

“They will have to submit a proposal 

and if we find that agreeable, 

then Uber can run in Dhaka,” BRTA 

Chairman Nazrul Islam said yesterday 

after a meeting with Uber. 

“The proposal must detail their 

business model and service system 

within four weeks.” 

If Uber uses private vehicles until 

the amendment of the Motor Vehicle 

Law, legal action will be taken 

against them, he said. 

The BRTA has currently classified 

Uber as illegal and that status 

will continue to 2017. 

Uber’s business model, however, 

depends on ride sharing offered 

and used by both private and commercial 

vehicles. Since it operates 

as a middleman, it does not own 

any vehicles but offer a platform to 

those who do. 

Uber’s representative Utsav 

Agarwal declined to answer questions 

after the meeting, redirecting 

all journalists to their official 

e-mail for questions. 

The BRTA chairman expressed 

hope that Uber would be a good 

service in Dhaka. 

“After the proposal submission 

we will see if the service is helpful 

for commuters and then begin 

the process of amending the law as 

soon as possible,” he said. 

Nazrul Islam told the Dhaka Tribune 

that they are honouring public 

interest in Uber which is why they 

are willing to modify the existing 

law to accommodate their service. 

He, however, warned that Bangladesh’s 

laws must be respected: 

“We are positive about Uber but 

they need to follow the law.”• 

Hindu temples 

vandalised in 

Goalanda 

• Tanvir Mahmud, Rajbari 

Panic of communal violence has gripped the Hindu community 

at Charkachorondo village in Goalanda upazila of Rajbari, as 

miscreants attacked five Hindu temples and vandalised 11 idols 

of Hindu gods and goddesses early yesterday. 

The miscreants launched the attack sometime at night on 

temples owned by Shamor Sheel, Palon Karmakar, Montu Kumar 

Sheel, Partho Baran Das and Ratan Karmakar, said the victims. 

The attackers demolished the idols of Hindu god Shiva and 

goddess Kali, they added. 

Nirmal Kumur Chakrabarty, president of Bangladesh Hindu 

Budhhist and Christian Unity Council’s Goalanda chapter, 

termed the attack a shameful incident. 

“The attack on the temples is not communal. It is a conspiracy. 

Here, Hindus and Muslims live together maintaining communal 

harmony,” Nirmal said. 

He demanded a proper investigation into the incident and exemplary 

punishment of the attackers. 

Rajbari Superintendent of Police Salma Begum, Additional 

Police Super Tariqul Islam, Assistant Police Super (circle) Asaduzzaman 

Asad, Officer-in-Charge of Goalanda Ghat police station 

Mirza Abul Kalam Azad and Chairman of Goalanda Chhoto 

Bhakla Union Parishad Md Amzad Hossain visited the spot on 

Tuesday morning. 

The UP chairman said this type of incident had never happened 

in this locality before. 

SP Salma said the real culprits would be brought to book after 

a proper investigation into the incident as soon as possible. • 

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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