e_Paper_Thursday_December 30, 2016

SECOND EDITION 

FRIDAY, DECEMBER 30, 2016 | Poush 16, 1423, Rabiul Awwal 29, 1438 | Regd No DA 6238, Vol 4, No 242 | www.dhakatribune.com | 32 pages plus 24-page weekend supplement | Price: Tk10 

Investigator details suspicions 

of inside help in BB heist › 2 

Bangladesh batting 

collapse hands Kiwis 

ODI series win › 24 

Bangladeshi short film awarded 

in Mumbai › 30 

Pass rates exceed 90% 

again in JSC and JDC › 3 

Suicide vests in 

Ashkona: A new 

tool for terror › 5 

Porn prohibition 

proves 

problematic › 32 

Bangla Academy to 

reconsider Shrabon 

Prokashani ban › 32

2 

FRIDAY, DECEMBER 30, 2016 

DT 

News 

Investigator details suspicions 

of inside help in BB heist 

LEAD STORY 

• Reuters 

A top investigator into the cyber 

theft of $81m from Bangladesh 

Bank is turning his attention to 

some IT technicians from the bank 

whom he suspects hooked up its 

transactions system to the public 

Internet, giving hackers access. 

In a series of interviews this 

month, Mohammad Shah Alam, 

CID deputy inspector general who 

is heading investigations, went 

into some detail about how insiders 

at the central bank may have 

helped in the execution of one of 

the world’s biggest cyber-heists 

last February. 

For instance, Alam said he was 

focusing on why a password token 

protecting the SWIFT international 

transactions network at Bangladesh 

Bank was left inserted in the 

SWIFT server for months leading 

up to the heist. It is supposed to 

be removed and locked in a secure 

vault after business hours each day. 

The failure to remove the token 

allowed hackers to enter the system 

when it was not being monitored, 

first to infect it with malware 

and then to issue fake transfer orders, 

he said. 

DIG Shah Alam said the investigation 

had instead shown that central 

bank IT technicians were most 

likely to have provided the inside 

help. Asked if he had any proof, 

Reserve cyber scam shakes up BB management 

• Jebun Nesa Alo 

The year 2016 was grim for the financial 

sector of Bangladesh – despite economic 

progress – as the country’s central 

bank was sent scrambling to shore up 

security in the wake of the largest cyber 

attack in its history. 

The Bangladesh Bank reserve heist 

was a rude awakening for the the country’s 

banking sector, with the issue 

widely discussed not only nationally but 

all over the world. 

The scam triggered major transformations 

in Bangladesh Bank’s management 

team, with a governor resigning 

and replaced almost immediately, without 

the usual lengthy selection process. 

Cyber criminals tried to steal nearly 

$1bn from Bangladesh Bank in February 

and made off with $81m, via an account 

at the New York Federal Reserve. 

The money was transferred to four accounts, 

opened under false names, at a 

Rizal Commercial Banking Corporation 

(RCBC) branch in Manila. 

he said: “There were a number of 

other things, which if the Bangladesh 

Bank people had not done, 

the hacking would not have been 

possible.” 

His comments follow months of 

assertions by Bangladesh authorities 

that central bank officials were 

guilty of nothing more than negligence 

in the heist, in which hackers 

moved money out of the bank’s account 

at the Federal Reserve Bank 

of New York and sent it to individual 

accounts in the Philippines. 

The DIG declined to name any of 

the suspects. No one has been arrested 

and he did not provide any 

further evidence to back up his assertions. 

Bangladesh Bank spokesman 

Subhankar Saha declined to comment 

on the investigation. He said 

the bank has not been told of any 

2016 

YEAR IN REVIEW 

RAJIB DHAR 

The cyber theft, however, did not 

come to light until March this year. 

Bangladesh Bank’s then governor Atiur 

Rahman was heavily criticised for his 

role in covering up the robbery, before 

resigning from his post on March 15 

over the incident. 

Hours after the resignation of Atiur 

Rahman, deputy governors Nazneen 

Sultana and Abul Kashem were removed 

on the same day, as they were 

in charge of related departments. Both 

the IT and foreign exchange departments 

were under the supervision of 

Nazneen, while Kashem presided over 

the Security Management Department, 

among others. 

In a stark change from traditional 

operating procedure, the government 

then appointed Fazle Kabir as the new 

governor the same day. A three-member 

probe team was formed to investigate 

the heist, headed by Mohammed 

Farashuddin. 

Due to security concerns raised by 

the audacious heist in the banking sector, 

all banks and financial institutions 

were asked to put more effort on the IT 

department to prevent a repeat. 

Bangladesh Bank renovated its 

internal security system after it was 

alarmingly revealed that some foreigners 

enjoyed gross oversight, often entering 

the building under false pretences 

without authorisation. 

Recovery efforts have paid partial 

dividends, with only a portion of the 

money stolen by hackers from the 

central bank’s Federal Reserve account 

having been retrieved. 

Philippine’s authorities handed over 

$15.25 million in cash to Bangladesh 

Bank following an order of the Philippine’s 

regional trial court. The rest was 

transferred to Philippine’s RCBC, from 

where $46 million found its way into 

the lightly regulated Philippines casino 

plans to detain any of its employees. 

No suspects in the Bangladesh 

central bank had been arrested, 

Alam said, because investigations 

were incomplete. They were under 

watch and their movements monitored, 

but he was awaiting “specific 

information” on any communications 

they may have had with the 

hackers or with those who received 

the funds. 

Alam said he believed the IT 

technicians connected the Bangladesh 

central bank’s SWIFT network 

to the public internet last year 

while linking the network to the 

bank’s domestic payments system, 

the Real Time Gross Settlement 

System (RTGS). SWIFT is used only 

for international transactions. 

Linking it to the internet made 

the highly secure network accessible 

from any outside computer. 

The work on linking SWIFT 

to the RTGS was supervised by 

SWIFT contractors but carried out 

by Bangladesh Bank technicians, 

Alam and a bank official said. 

It was not known who was responsible 

for leaving the token that 

was supposed to protect the SWIFT 

system inserted in the server, Alam 

added. 

At least half-a-dozen bank officials 

shared responsibility for safekeeping 

of the token, he said. 

Once in the system, the hackers 

introduced six types of malware 

which captured keystrokes and 

screenshots and also delayed detection 

of fraudulent transactions, 

according to a report by Fireye Inc’s 

Mandiant forensics division, which 

investigated the heist. Parts of the 

report were seen by Reuters for the 

first time this month. 

The malware was customised 

for Bangladesh Bank’s systems, 

Alam said, adding someone must 

have provided the hackers with 

technical details about the central 

bank’s computer network. 

They needed two types of passwords 

to carry out the transactions 

– the hardware token and additional 

credentials used by bank officials. 

These password credentials were 

either given to them by someone or 

were captured from previous transactions 

by the malware that logged 

keystrokes, Shah Alam said. 

A spokeswoman for SWIFT declined 

to comment. • 

industry and disappeared. The remaining 

$21 million has yet to be traced. 

Bangladesh Bank had been demanding 

that RCBC compensate it for the 

loss, blaming it for ignoring red flags. 

RCBC, however, has said it did nothing 

wrong. The Manila-based RCBC has repeatedly 

refused to take liability for the 

heist, instead blaming Bangladesh Bank 

for its weak security system. 

RCBC authorities are also demanding 

disclosure of the Bangladesh government’s 

investigation report on the 

cyber heist. 

Despite providing assurances that 

he would disclose the report on several 

instances, the finance minister is yet to 

do so. 

The probe committee formed by 

Bangladesh government submitted an 

interim report to the finance minister 

on April 20 and the final report was 

handed in on May 30. The investigation 

team had hinted at the involvement 

and negligence of bank insiders in its 

report. • 

Myanmar may 

send special 

envoy to discuss 

Rohingya issue 

• Tribune Desk 

Myanmar government might send 

a special envoy to Bangladesh to 

discuss the Rohingya issue. 

Myanmar Ambassador to Bangladesh 

Myo Myint Than conveyed the 

message during a meeting with Kamrul 

Ahsan, secretary for bilateral and 

consular affairs at the Foreign Affairs 

Ministry, yesterday afternoon. 

The Myanmar ambassador was 

summoned by the ministry to discuss 

his government’s ongoing 

crackdown on Rohingya minorities. 

Quoting Myo Myint, a high official 

of the ministry said Myanmar 

government was considering to 

send an envoy to discuss the issue 

that has raised security concern inside 

Bangladesh’s border. 

“But it is not clear yet when the 

envoy will be sent,” the official said. 

At the meeting, Kamrul Ahsan 

demanded early repatriation of all 

Myanmar citizens from Bangladesh, 

said a Foreign Ministry press release. 

Expressing deep concerns over 

the influx of Rohingya Muslims, 

Kamrul said around 50,000 Myanmar 

citizens had taken shelter in 

Bangladesh since October 9 this 

year. Moreover, around 300,000 

Myanmar nationals had been staying 

in Bangladesh for years. 

According to the release, the secretary 

demanded early repatriation 

of the entire Myanmar population 

staying in Bangladesh and expressed 

Bangladesh’s readiness to engage 

with Myanmar to discuss the process 

and modalities of repatriation. 

Requesting the Myanmar government 

to urgently address the “root 

cause” of the problem in the Rakhine 

state so that Rakhine Muslims 

are not regularly forced to desperately 

seek shelter across the border. 

In the meeting, Bangladesh protested 

the unprovoked attack and 

firing on Bangladeshi fishing boat 

named FV Janiva Khaleda 1 in the 

Bay of Bengal near the Saint Martin’s 

Island – within Bangladesh’s 

territorial water – by a Myanmarese 

trawler on December 27. 

Kamrul protested the attack that 

left four Bangladeshi fishermen seriously 

injured saying: “The Myanmar’s 

trawler with armed people on 

board took the Bangladeshi fishing 

boat along with all the fishermen 

including injured ones to a nearby 

patrolling Myanmar Navy vessel. 

Myanmar navy personnel seized 

the belongings of the fishermen and 

released them after four hours.” 

Bangladesh demanded appropriate 

investigation into the matter 

to bring the responsible ones to 

book, and sought assurance that 

the Myanmar’s navy would abstain 

from attacking innocent fishermen 

of Bangladesh in future. •

Pass rates exceed 90% again in JSC and JDC 

• Sadma Malik, Mohammad 

Abu Bakar Siddique 

Eductaion minister Nurul Islam 

Nahid formally announced the 

results of JSC and JDC exams and 

showcased this year’s statistics at a 

press briefing held yesterday. 

The briefing was held at the ministry’s 

conference room at noon. 

Nurul Islam Nahid said that this 

year the pass rate increased by 

.73% from the previous year, up to 

93.06% 

In addition, the number of students 

who received a GPA 5 also 

increased from the previous year, 

with 51,325 more recipients in 2016 

Of the total 28,741 educational 

institutes, all students passed in 

9,450. 

Furthermore, there was a pass 

rate of 0% in 28 institutes, which is 

down from 43 in 2015. 

19,93,316 students took part in 

the JSC exams, with a pass rate of 

92.89%, amounting to an increase 

of 0.58%. This included 2,35,059 

students who achieved GPA 5, 

which is 47,557 more than the previous 

year. 

Of the eight boards, the highest 

pass rate was in Rajshahi, at 

97.68%. 

Under the madrassa board the 

pass rate is 94.02% in 2016, as opposed 

to 92.46% in 2015. Of this 

years JDC examinees, 12,529 students 

received a GPA-5. 

Earlier, the minister handed 

over the full report to the prime 

minister along with Primary and 

Mass Education Minister Mustafizur 

Rahman Fizar, who handed in 

the PSC and ibtedayee results. 

PSC and Ibtedayee exams matched 

performance in JSC and JDC 

Mustafizur Rahman Fizar announced 

the results of the PSC and 

ibtedayee exams at a conference at 

the ministry’s secretariat at 1pm. 

Mustafizur Rahman Fizar said 

that this year a total number of 

28,30,734 students took part in the 

primary exams, of whom 12,90,295 

were boys, and 15,40,439 were girls. 

27,88,432 have passed th exams, 

with the pass rate at 98.51%. 

2,81,898 students have achieved a 

GPA5. 

Of the students, the pass rate of 

girls, 98.56%, was higher than that 

of boys, 98.44%. 

Among the education boards, 

the highest pass rate was in Barisal, 

News 3 


Students of Viqarunnisa Noon School and College in Dhaka celebrate after announcement of the Junior School Certificate 

(JSC) examinations results yesterday 

MAHMUD HOSSAIN OPU 

2500000 

2000000 

1500000 

1000000 

500000 

0 

106,0796 

Students appeared (2015) Students appeared (2016) Students passed (2015) Students passed (2016) 

92.33%92.24% 

92.42% 

Pass 2015 

121,1493 

2,272,289 

93.06%92.92% 

93.17% 

Pass 2016 

1,096,522 

1,250,437 

196,263 

2,346,959 

GPA 5 (2015) 

978,449 

84,960 

1,119,633 

1,11,303 

at 99.09%. 

all students passed in 17 upazilas 

out of 508. 

In the ibtedayee exams, 2,57,500 

students sat the exams, of whom 

1,30,873 were boys, and 1,26,627 

were girls. The pass rate was at 

Male Female Total 

2,098,082 

247,588 

GPA 5 2016 

1,018,919 

1,165,056 

1,06,345 

2,183,975 

1,41,243 

ASMAUL HOQUE MAMUN/DT INFOGRAPHIC 

95.85% with 5,948 that achieved 

GPA-5. 

209 students sat for the ibtedayee 

exams under special arrangement 

and 94.74% have passed. 

All ibtedayee students passed in 

105 upazilas across the country. • 

DT 

JSC, JDC 

results up from 

previous year 

• Shadma Malik 

Junior School Certificate (JSC) and 

Junior Dakhil Certificate (JDC) exams 

witnessed a slight rise in pass 

rate and number of GPA-5 (highest 

grade-point average) holders. 

This year, the pass rate stands at 

93.06% beating the previous year’s 

record by 0.73% which was 92.33%. 

The number of GPA-5 holders in 

JSC and JDC is 2,47,588, which last 

year was 1,96,263. Around 51,325 

more students achieved GPA-5 this 

year. 

A total of 23,46,959 students appeared 

in the JSC and JDC this year 

while 22,72,289 appeared in the 

previous year, increasing the number 

of students 74,670 more. 

9,450 schools achieved hundred 

percent pass rate which was 

8,583 in last year, and number 

of educational institutions with 

0% pass rate is 28, which was 43 

last year. 

The pass rate this year in PSC 

examinations slightly increased to 

98.52%, from last year’s 98.51%.• 

28 schools see 

zero percent 

pass rate 


Twenty-eight schools saw zero 

pass rates in this year’s JSC and JDC 

examinations, while the number 

was 43 last year. 

Of those, six institutions are 

from Dinajpur, one from Dhaka and 

one from Rajshahi boards while 

another 20 are under the Madrasa 

Education Board, according to the 

results published yesterday. 

A total of eight educational institutions 

under three general education 

boards saw a zero percent 

pass rate, while the number was 23 

last year. • 

96% children with special needs pass PSC 


Throughout the country, 4,547 

children with special needs took 

part in the Primary School Certificate 

(PSC) exams this year, of 

which 96.14% have passed. 

Of the total number of special 

needs students, 2,457 are male and 

2,090 are female. In addition, 194 

of the students achieved GPA 5, including 

98 males and 96 females. 

Of the students, 1,427 sat the 

exam in Dhaka, and 1,371 successfully 

navigated the exams – a pass 

rate of 95.84%. This included 79 

out of the 194 GPA 5 scorers. 

A total of 533 students passed 

out of 557 in Rajshahi, amounting 

to 95.51%, with 19 students 

achieving GPA 5. 

In Khulna, 575 appeared for the 

exams and 559 succeeded, a pass 

rate of 97.15%. The total number 

of GPA 5 scorers among them is 29. 

In Chittagong, 784 children 

took part, with 750 succeeding 

and 29 GPA 5 achievers . The pass 

rate is 95.47 percent. 

In Barisal, 175 students passed 

out of 178 and 12 students achieved 

GPA 5. The pass rate is 98.19%. 

In Sylhet, 562 succeeded among 

577 students, with the pass rate being 

97.27%. Eight students scored 

GPA 5. Finally, 449 appeared for 

the exams in Rangpur, with 430 

passing – a rate of 95.49%. Eighteen 

students achieved GPA 5. • 

Girls top boys in JSC and JDC 


The success rate of female students 

is higher in Junior School 

Certificate (JSC) and Junior Dakhil 

Certificate (JDC) examinations. 

Among the examinees, 92.92 percents 

of male students passed. 

However, the success rate of the 

female students is 93.17 percents. 

Among 10,96,522 male students, 

10,18,919 passed under 

eight general education boards 

and one madrasa board. A total 

of 12,50,437 female students 

appeared in both JSC and JDC 

among which 11,65,056 passed. 

Beside, the ratio of GPA-5 

achievers in Dhaka, Rajshahi, 

Jessore, Barisal, Dinajpur and 

Madrasa board is higher. In 2016, 

1,06,345 male students scored 

GPA-5 when 1,41,243 female students 

scored the same. •

4 


DT 

News 

Eviction drive at Tejgaon, AL office demolished 

• Abu Hayat Mahmud 

Dhaka North City Corporation yesterday 

demolished over 150 illegal 

makeshift establishments, including 

a semi-concrete Awami League 

office, built on the footpaths of Tejgaon 

industrial area. 

A mobile court led by DNCC executive 

magistrates Sajid Anwar and 

MM Mohiuddin Kabir Mahin carried 

out the drive. The eviction started 

from near the BTCL Telecentre in 

the area in the morning. 

During the first phase of the 

drive, Baitul Falah Jame Masjid, a 

local mosque built in collaboration 

with the Islamic Foundation Bangladesh, 

and a party office of the 

ruling Awami League had been left 

untouched. 

Challenged by journalists for 

the action, the DNCC officials then 

contacted the councillor of Ward 

24 and later ordered to demolish 

the party office. They also said Islamic 

Foundation had asked for 

time to shift the mosque. 

An elderly homeless woman 

begged time from the DNCC officials 

when they told her to shift her belongings 

within two days. Although the 

DNCC claimed to have demolished 

500 illegal establishments, locals said 

the number was not more than 100. • 

Dhaka North City Corporation (DNCC) conducts an illegal structure eviction drive in Dhaka's Tejgaon Industrial area yesterday 

Customs documents 

found in factory in Ctg 


Customs Intelligence has 

recovered confidential 

government records during 

a raid in a garments 

factory in Chittagong. 

Sixty-five secret important 

files of Customs House 

were found in the offices of 

Al-Amin Maritime International 

Apparels Fashions in 

the port city on Wednesday 

night, UNB reported. 

Moinul Khan, director 

general of Customs Intelligence 

Investigation department, 

told UNB that 

a team of Customs Intelligence 

conducted a drive 

in the garment factory in 

Noyabazar area based on 

intelligence information. 

They recovered 11 bank 

guarantee files, 48 under 

trial files and 12 revenue 

and other files from the 

office room of the factory, 

added the DG. 

Following this, the National 

Board of Revenue 

(NBR) yesterday formed 

a three-member committee 

to inquire into management 

of government 

records and documents 

kept at different customs 

stations. 

The committee is headed 

by DG Moinul Khan. The 

other members are NBR 

First Secretary (customs 

policy) M Fakhrul Alam 

and Central Intelligence 

Cell Joint Director Abu 

Obayda. 

“Such incidents are 

very dangerous for the security 

of customs stations 

and for the management 

of the records,” NBR said in 

a letter sent to all customs 

offices. 

The committee was 

formed to find out whether 

similar incidents were happening 

in other customs 

stations. 

The committee will 

examine records management 

in all customs stations, 

find out whether any 

records have been stolen or 

gone missing. It was asked 

to submit a probe report 

within 30 days. 

The commissioners and 

director generals of NBR 

would be held responsible 

if any record is missing or 

stolen resulting in revenue 

losses, the letter said. • 

MEHEDI HASAN 

IOJ and BNF 

met president 

• Manik Miazee 

A 10-member team of Islami Oikya 

Jote, led by Abdul Latif Nezami, 

chairman of IOJ, met the President 

Abdul Hamid at Bangabhaban on 

Thursday. 

During the 30-minute long meeting, 

IOJ requested the president to 

form the Election Commission with 

eight members instead of existing 

five members. A search committee 

made of qualified and neutral individuals 

was also proposed to the 

president in the meeting. 

IOJ delegates said people want 

to see a reliable and credible EC. A 

political problem should be solved 

politically, said the leaders of Islami 

Oikya Jote. 

Earlier, a team of Bangladesh 

Nationalist Forum led by Abul Kalam 

Azad, president of BNF met the 

president. 

The team placed a five-point proposal. 

Abul proposed to involve a 

retired Inspector General of Police 

(IGP) in the Election Commission. 

“BNF always expects neutral and 

strong EC for fair polls,” he said. 

President Abdul Hamid took the 

initiative to meet the registered 

political parties of the country as a 

part of the new Election Commission 

formation process. The existing 

commission would expire in 

February. •

News 5 


DT 

Suicide vests in 

Ashkona: A new 

tool for terror 

• Kamrul Hasan 

The SWAT team who 

she had approached 

would have been 

harmed substantially 

had she not fallen on 

her face during the 

explosion 

Investigators have said that the 

grenades they found from the raid 

in a terrorist den in city’s Ashkona 

area earlier this week were all 

handmade, as were the suicide 

vests. 

Militants at this New JMB den 

were using the same sort of materials 

and techniques used by JMB for 

making the bombs, but they were 

connecting several bombs together 

in suicide vests to make them 

deadlier. 

Dhaka Metropolitan Police’s 

(DMP) Counter Terrorism and 

Transnational (CTTC) Unit recovered 

and defused 19 grenades from 

that den, 10 of them tied inside two 

suicide vests and two unexploded 

grenades from the body of the female 

militant Shakira. 

A CTTC bomb disposal unit official 

told the Dhaka Tribune that the 

grenades recovered from the den 

were similar to the ones found in 

Mirpur last year. The bombs were 

made using old JMB techniques using 

local materials. 

However, unlike the old group, 

New JMB bomb makers put the 

grenades in vests. 

The three vests found in 

Ashkona, one on the body of 

Shakira, who blew herself up 

during the police raid, were crudely 

sewn by hand. 

On the other hand, the two 

found in Mirpur last year were 

manufactured belts with shoulder 

straps, the official said. 

The official said militants were 

using four to six individual bombs 

to make a single vest. 

The grenades manufactured 

by JMB usually contained pins to 

release the pressure, but the grenades 

on the Ashokona vests were 

connected through wires so that 

the bombs could be exploded at the 

same time. 

To generate required power 

within the vest, the militants had 

increased the number of batteries 

in the grenades. 

The grenades were powerful 

enough to seriously injure anyone 

standing within a 10 metre radius 

of the explosion, the official said, 

adding that the splintered could 

easily cause death if they hit the 

upper body. 

Another CTTC official present 

during the operation said the 

female suicide bomber Shakira 

had worn a vest that contained 

four grenades and two of them 

exploded. 

The SWAT team who she had approached 

would have been harmed 

substantially had she not fallen on 

her face during the explosion, the 

official said. 

The official said from the investigation 

it appeared that Tanvir 

Qadri’s son Afif Qadri and Shakira, 

who both died in the raid, were 

prepared for suicide attacks. 

A police bomb disposal expert 

told the Dhaka Tribune that the 

strength of the vests were four to 

six times more then individual grenades. 

They would be deadliest if 

exploded in open places. 

Meanwhile, after completion of 

the first day of seven day remand, 

CTTC has gotten very little information 

from the two arrested female 

militants. 

CTTC chief Monirul Islam said 

among the two, Moinul Islam alias 

Musa’s wife Trisha Moni appeared 

to be repenting for her involvement 

with militancy and was willing to 

talk, but Major Zahidul Islam’s wife 

Jebunnahar Islam alias Shila still 

seemed to be ambivalent whether 

to cooperate with the law or not. • 

Stalls are being set up for International Trade Fair 2017. The photo was taken yesterday from the mela premises in Dhaka’s 

Sher-E-Bangla Nagar area 

MEHEDI HASAN 

Nobel laureates and global leaders 

urge UN action on Rohingya issue 


Twenty-three global figures, including 

13 Nobel laureates, politicians and 

business leaders, have urged the UN 

Security Council to end the Rohingya 

crisis in Myanmar. 

In an open letter to the council 

president and the member states, the 

signatories described the situation in 

Rakhine state of Myanmar as a human 

tragedy amounting to ethnic cleansing 

and crimes against humanity. 

Among the Nobel laureates are 

SIGNATORIES 

Professor Muhammad Yunus 

2006 Nobel Peace Laureate 

Máiread Maguire 


Archbishop Desmond Tutu 


Jody Williams 


Tawakkol Karman 


Malala Yousafzai 


Elizabeth Blackburn 

2009 Nobel Laureate in Medicine 

Arianna Huffington 

Founder and Editor, Huffington Post 

Paul Polman 

Business Leader 

Richard Curtis 

SDG Advocate, Film Director 

Jochen Zeitz 

Business Leader and Philanthropist 

Romano Prodi 

Former Italian Prime Minister 

Nobel peace laureates Prof Muhammad 

Yunus, Malala Yousafzai, Archbishop 

Desmond Tutu and Shirin Ebadi. 

Hundreds of Rohingya Muslims have 

been trying to illegally enter Bangladesh 

after Myanmar troops launched a crackdown 

in the Rakhine state in response 

to attacks on three border posts on October 

9 that killed nine police officers. 

Bangladesh has stepped up security 

along its border with Myanmar to prevent 

influx of Rohingyas fleeing the violence 

in Rakhine which has killed at least 86 

people and displaced 30,000 others. 

José Ramos-Horta 


Betty Williams 


Oscar Arias 


Shirin Ebadi 


Leymah Gbowee 


Sir Richard J. Roberts 

1993 Nobel Laureate in Medicine 

Emma Bonino 

Former Italian Foreign minister 

Sir Richard Branson 

Business Leader and Philanthropist 

Mo Ibrahim 

Entrepreneur and Philanthropist 

Alaa Murabit 

Voice of Libyan Women 

Kerry Kennedy 

Human Rights Activist 

The letter quoted Amnesty International 

interviews with Rohingya refugees 

who described the scenes of horror that 

had taken place in their villages. 

It said that even if Myanmar 

authority’s suspicion that the October 

9 attacks were carried out by Rohingya 

groups were true, the military’s response 

was grossly disproportionate. 

“It would be one thing to round up 

suspects, interrogate them and put them 

on trial. It is quite another to unleash 

helicopter gunships on thousands of 

ordinary civilians and to rape women and 

throw babies into a fire,” the letter said. 

It berated Myanmar’s democratic 

leader Aung San Suu Kyi, also a Nobel 

Peace Laureate, for her inaction in this 

matter. 

“Despite repeated appeals to Daw 

Aung San Suu Kyi we are frustrated 

that she has not taken any initiative to 

ensure full and equal citizenship rights 

of the Rohingyas. Daw Suu Kyi is the 

leader and is the one with the primary 

responsibility to lead, and lead with 

courage, humanity and compassion,” 

the letter said. 

“Access for journalists and human 

rights monitors should also be permitted, 

and an independent, international 

inquiry to establish the truth about the 

current situation should be established,” 

they said. 

They urged the UN Security Council 

to put the Rohingya crisis on its agenda 

as a matter of urgency, and to call upon 

the UN secretary general to visit Myanmar 

in the coming weeks as a priority. 

They also called on the international 

community to speak out much more 

strongly on this crisis. • 

TEMPERATURE FORECAST FOR TODAY 

Dhaka 28 15 Chittagong 27 19 Rajshahi 26 15 Rangpur 26 14 Khulna 27 14 Barisal 28 15 Sylhet 28 14 

Cox’s Bazar 28 19 

MODERATE FOG 

FRIDAY, DECEMBER 30 

DHAKA 

TODAY 

TOMORROW 

SUN SETS 5:21PM 

SUN RISES 6:40AM 

YESTERDAY’S HIGH AND LOW 

29.2ºC 10ºC 

Teknaf 

Tetulia 

Source: Accuweather/BMD 

PRAYER 

TIMES 

Fajr: 6:05am | Jumma: 1:15pm 

Asr: 4:15pm | Magrib: 5:30pm 

Esha: 7:30pm 

Source: Islamic Foundation

6 


DT 

News 

Basiron tops school in PSC results 


Wearing a white saree sixty five-yearold 

Basiron came to her school yesterday 

morning to know about her 

PSC results with great anxiety. 

Accompanied by hundreds of 

people, including teachers and students, 

she came to her school around 

11am to know her results. She became 

very happy after knowing her 

results, as she topped her school in 

the Primary School Certificate examination 

results with GPA 3 grade. 

She said: “I did not realise that 

pass has so much fun. I am understanding 

the light of education.” 

She later posed with other candidates 

and also showed V-sign 

while taking photographs. 

She also expressed her determination 

that she would continue her 

education till her death. 

Six candidates took part in the 

PSC examination from Hogolbaria 

Purbopara Primary School this year. 

The name of Basiron Nesa, wife of 

Rohil Uddin, a resident of Hoglabaria 

came to the spotlight when she sat for 

the PSC examinations in November. 

Selina Khatun MP was also present 

during the announcement of 

the results. She said: “It is proved 

again that if there is a will, there 

is a way. She has put a lesson for 

us that age does not be a factor to 

achieve anything. I am wishing her 

all the best.” 

Upazila Nirbahi Officer of Gangni 

Arifuz Zaman and Chairman of 

Motmura union parishad also came 

to her school to greet her. 

The villagers said they saw the 

sexagenarian woman went to Hogolbaria 

Purbo Para Government 

Primary School in the village with 

books accompanied by two other 

fifth grade girls. 

Basiron is the mother of one son 

and two daughters. She stays with 

her son Mahiruddin. Her grandchildren 

are studying at colleges 

and schools. She fell in love with 

studying when she saw her grandchildren 

studied. She was admitted 

to the school in 2011. • 

Basiron Nesa is seen celebrating her Victory after the announcement of her PSC results 

27,089 secure A + in Dinajpur 

• Bipul Sarker Sunny, 

Dinajpur 

Total 2,01,525 out of 2,21,243 

examinees, from 141 educational 

institutes have successfully 

passed the Junior School 

Certificate (JSC) examinations 

this year under Dinajpur 

Education Board. 

A total of 27,089 students 

secured GPA-5, the highest 

grade point average. The 

pass rate of JSC examinations 

in Dinajpur board is 

92.99 %. 

Tofazzur Rahman, exam 

controller of Dinajpur Education 

Board, yesterday 

said: “The GPA 5 holder rate 

of female students is higher 

than for boys. Total 14, 554 

female students secured GPA 

5 where 12,535 boys got the 

highest point.” 

He said: “Female students’ 

pass rate is 93.41 while males’ 

pass rate is 92.54 %.” 

Earlier, 26 examinees were 

expelled from exam halls for 

cheating. 

Students of Rangpur district 

have done the best in the 

board. In the district, the pass 

rate is 96.42 %. Among others 

the pass rate for Gaibandha is 

DHAKA TRIBUNE 

95.60 %, Thakurgaon 93.79 %, 

Kurigram 93.31 %, Panchagarh 

93.09 %, Nilphamari 92.66 %, 

Lalmonirhat 91.25 % and Dinajpur 

is 88.46 %. 

Some 7,550 students secured 

GPA 5 in Rangpur district, 

where 4,539 students in 

Dinajpur, 4,196 in Gaibandha, 

, 2,849 in Nilphamari, 2,649 

in Kurigram, 2,176 in Thakurgaon, 

1,455 in Panchagarh, 

and 1,675 students in 

Lalmonirhat district have secured 

GPA 5. 

Last year, 16 intuitions had 

seen zero percent pass rate in 

the board. • 

Man burnt to death by in-laws 

• Liakat Ali Badal, 

Rangpur 

A man succumbed to his burn 

injuries at Rangpur Medical 

College Hospital yesterday 

after his wife and mother-inlaw 

allegedly set him on fire 

following a dispute regarding 

the wife’s extra marital 

affairs. 

Deceased Rony Mohanto, 

son of Lakhhan Chandra in 

Shahapara area of Badarganj 

upazila, tied knot to Ashtami 

Rani, daughter of Dipak Mohanto 

at adjacent Hajipara 

village, one year ago, said locals 

and relatives of Rony. 

After several months, 

Ashtami developed a relation 

with her former private 

tutor and most of the time, 

remained engaged in conversation 

with him through 

Facebook Messenger. 

Rony and Ashtami locked 

into an altercation over the 

issue very often. 

Few days ago, Ashtami 

went to her parents’ house 

following a dispute with her 

husband. 

On Wednesday night, Rony 

went to his in-laws house, 

as his wife called him over 

phone in the evening to take 

her back. 

When he reached there, an 

altercation ensued between 

Rony and his in-laws family 

members, including his wife 

and mother-in-law Arati Rani. 

At one stage of the quarrel, 

Ashtami and her family members 

tied Rony’s hands and 

legs and set him on fire after 

pouring petrol on his body, 

alleged the family members 

of Rony. 

Locals rushed him to the 

hospital in critical condition. 

Dr Abdul Hamid Polash, 

assistant professor of RMCH, 

said though 27% of his body 

received burn injuries, he 

died as his respiratory tract 

was burned. 

Babul Chandra, elder 

brother of the deceased, said 

he submitted a written complaint 

to Badarganj police station 

in this connection. 

However, Akhtaruzzaman 

Prodhan, officer-in-charge 

of the police station, told the 

Dhaka Tribune that he had 

not received any written complaint 

yet. •

News 7 


Pass rate and GPA 5 rise in Chittagong 

• FM Mizanur Rahaman, 

Chittagong 

DT 

Breaking last five years’ record, 

eighth graders under Chittagong 

Board have done excellent job in 

Junior School Certificate (JSC) examination 

with increased pass rate 

and GPA 5. 

This year, a total of 90.75% students 

passed under the Chittagong 

Education Board while a total of 

14,135 students secured GPA 5. 

The previous year’s pass rate was 

85.48% while the GPA 5 holders 

were 12,268, said sources at the education 

board. 

A total number of 181,654 students 

had registered for the JSC examination 

this year while 179,095 

students took part in the examination. 

Of them, 162,524 students 

successfully came out in the examination. 

Examination Controller of Chittagong 

Education Board Mahbub 

Alam officially announced the results 

at board office around 10am. 

Expressing happiness, he said 

both the pass rate and GPA 5 holders 

increased this year, breaking 

previous five years’ record from 

2013 to 2016 under the board. 

“The overall results under the 

board have improved and we are 

satisfied with the results,” he said, 

adding that this year, a total 14,135 

eighth graders secured their GPA 5 

which are higher than the previous 

years. 

The pass rate at the metropolitan 

area is 94.18% while the pass rate 

except the metropolitan are under 

Chittagong district is 88.92%, said 

the examination controller. 

Of the 14,135 GPA 5 holders, 

7,820 are female while 6,315 are 

Girls secure more GPA 5 in 

JSC examinations under 

Rajshahi Board 

• Abdullah Al Dulal, Rajshahi 

(Top) Students at Dr Khastagir 

Government Girls’ School in Chittagong 

city, who have achieved GPA-5 this 

year in Junior School Certificate 

examinations, rejoice after their 

result published yesterday. (Bottom) 

Students at Govt PN Girls’ High School 

in Rajshahi city rejoice after their 

result of Junior School Certificate 

examinations declared yesterday 

Girls have earned higher grades 

than boys in Junior Certificate (JSC) 

examinations under Rajshahi Education 

Board this year. 

The board authority announced 

the results at a press conference at 

its conference hall yesterday noon 

with Acting Chairman Dr Anwarul 

Haque Pramanik in the chair. 

A total of 97.68% students passed 

the examinations under the board 

this year which was 97.47% last year. 

A total of 2,26,892 students appeared 

in the examinations. Of 

them 2,21,617 students came out 

successful. 40,471 students including 

21,876 girls secured GPA-5 this 

year under the board. 

According to the result sheet, 

the rate of success of girls in all aspects 

that is pass-percentage and 

GPA 5 rate is higher than boys. 

Controller of Examinations Prof 

Tarun Kumar Sarker told the pres 

conference that 2,26,892 students 

including 1,15,086 girls appeared 

in the examinations at 211 centers 

from 2,891 schools in eight districts 

under the board this year. 

Dr Anwarul Pramanik, secretary 

of Rajshahi Education Board, 

Inspector Debeshish Ranjan Roy, 

Senior System Analysist Engineer 

Shafiqul Islam among others were 

present on the occasion. 

Rajshahi division also achieved 

top position among the seven divisions 

in terms of pass rate as 99 per 

cent examinees under the division 

have become successful in the Primary 

School Certificate (PSC) examinations 

this year. • 

male. Of the overall pass rate, boys 

lagged behind the girls with 91.14% 

pass rate. 

A total number of 192 schools 

passed 100% at the JSC examination 

in this year, said the board 

sources. 

97.52% pass in PSC at Ctg board 

Meanwhile, this year the pass 

rate of fifth grader terminal 

examination is 91.52% where a 

152,783 students successfully came 

out. A total of 156,676 students 

took part in this year under PSC 

examination. 

Apart from that, in Ebtedayee 

terminal examination, the pass 

rate in Chittagong is 90.86%, said 

Chittagong District Primary Education 

office. • 

GPA 5 achievers in JSC exams 

increase under Sylhet Board 

• Md Serajul Islam, Sylhet 

Number of GPA-5 achievers in Junior 

School Certificate (JSC) examinations 

under Sylhet Education 

Board has increased compared to 

last year’s result. 

The number of GPA-5 achievers 

this year is 10,255 in four districts 

under the board. Of them 4,457 

are boys and 5,798 are girls. 

Last year a total of 4,956 students 

got GPA-5. 

A total of 130,703 students sat 

for the exams. Of them, 122,034 

passed. The pass rate is 93.37 percent. 

Of the districts, the pass rate is 

94.81 percent for Sylhet, 92.75 for 

Habiganj, 91.21 for Moulvibazar 

and 93.08 for Sunamganj district. 

Though the pass rate is 0.22 percent 

less than last year, number of 

AZAHAR UDDIN 

GPA-5 is two times higher this year. Of 

1,004 schools, 100 percent students 

passed at 288 schools. No students 

fails in any school. Md Shamshul Islam, 

controller of Sylhet Education 

Board declared the result in a press 

briefing yesterday morning. 

The result of Primary School 

RABIN CHOWDHURY 

Certificate (PSC) was published in 

Sylhet yesterday showing 96.79 

percent pass in Sylhet division. 

A total of 217,545 out of 237, 270 

came out successful in the PSC examinations 

in Sylhet division this 

year. Among the pass 7941 students 

got GPA-5. •

DT 

8 

World 


SOUTH ASIA 

China to hold first military 

drills with Nepal 

China will hold its first military 

drills with Nepal next year, China’s 

Defence Ministry said on Thursday, 

in a move that could unnerve 

neighbouring India. China is 

vying to increase its influence in 

landlocked Nepal, which serves 

as a natural buffer between China 

and India, challenging India’s 

long-held position as the dominant 

outside power. REUTERS 

INDIA 

AIADMK picks new chief 

after death of Jayalalithaa 

The party of Jayalalithaa Jayaram, 

All India Anna Dravida Munnetra 

Kazhagam (AIADMK), picked 

one of the former leader’s closest 

aides to succeed her on Thursday, 

ending weeks of speculation. On 

Thursday, the AIADMK announced 

on Twitter that it had elected 

her close friend, VK Sasikala, a 

59-year-old former video cassette 

seller, as its new chief. AFP 

CHINA 

China warns US against 

stopover for Taiwan’s Tsai 

Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen 

will pass through the United States 

when she visits Latin America next 

month, the Taiwan Foreign Ministry 

said on Thursday, angering 

China which urged the US to block 

any such stopover. China is deeply 

suspicious of Tsai, who it thinks 

wants to push for the formal independence 

of Taiwan. REUTERS 

ASIA PACIFIC 

7 killed in drug-related 

feud in Philippines 

Philippine police say gunmen have 

shot dead seven people including 

three teens and a pregnant 

woman in what they suspect is a 

feud involving illegal drugs. Chief 

Superintendent Roberto Fajardo 

said Thursday one of four suspects 

in the Caloocan city shooting has 

been arrested, pinpointed by a 

survivor of the attack. AP 

MIDDLE EAST 

Oman joins Saudi ‘antiterror’ 

coalition 

Oman, which generally stays 

neutral in the face of regional disputes, 

has joined a Saudi-led military 

coalition aimed at “fighting 

terrorism,” official media in Riyadh 

said Thursday. The Gulf sultanate, 

which maintains good ties with 

rival powerhouses Iran and Saudi 

Arabia, becomes the 41st nation in 

the alliance announced last year 

by the Saudi defence minister, 

Deputy Crown Prince Mohammed 

bin Salman. AFP 

US set to move against Russia over 

vote meddling 

• AFP, Washington, DC 

President Barack Obama’s administration 

is poised to announce 

a series of retaliatory measures 

against Russia over its cyber-meddling 

in the US election, reports 

said Wednesday. 

Obama has all but accused Russian 

President Vladimir Putin of 

personally ordering an audacious 

cyber hack that many Democrats 

believe damaged Hillary Clinton’s 

chances in November’s closely 

fought election with Republican 

foe Donald Trump. 

The US intelligence community 

has concluded that a hack-and-release 

of Democratic Party and Clinton 

staff emails was designed to 

put Trump – a political neophyte 

who has praised Putin – into the 

Oval Office. 

The Washington Post cited officials 

as saying the steps set to be 

announced as early as this week 

include economic sanctions, diplomatic 

censure and covert action 

– likely including cyber operations. 

People tied to a Russian disinformation 

campaign that US intelligence 

officials say targeted Clinton’s 

campaign may also be named 

under the plans, according to CNN. 

Republican Senators John Mc- 

Cain and Lindsey Graham called 

for an even tougher US response to 

Russian interference in the American 

election. 

The US Congress should “increase 

the sanctions on Russia for 

this misbehaviour,” McCain told 

Fox News, pressing for a permanent 

American military presence 

in the Baltic states, as well as arming 

Ukraine with weapons. 

“You need to hit Russia in a sustained 

fashion,” Graham added, 

saying that for Obama to act now 

just before he leaves office on January 

20 would “send the wrong 

signal.” 

While suggesting that the Russian 

action did not ultimately 

change the election results, Mc- 

Cain said: “Look, if you’re able to 

change the results of an election, 

then you have undermined the 

very fundamentals of democracy.” 

US officials said a key goal of 

the future steps to be taken against 

Russia was not just to punish, but 

to deter. 

Prior to November’s election, 

the Obama administration warned 

Russia via diplomatic channels, 

according to the Post. Obama also 

spoke with Putin at a G20 summit 

in China earlier this year. 

And about a week before the 

election, Washington sent a message 

to Moscow using a special 

crisis communication channel for 

the first time, asking it to stop targeting 

state voter registration and 

election systems. 

Russia apparently complied, according 

to US officials. 

CNN cited Russian foreign 

ministry spokeswoman Maria 

Zakharova as saying that Moscow 

will respond to any “hostile steps” 

from Washington. • 

Trump, Obama disputes spill into the open 

• AFP, Palm Beach, US 

US President-elect Donald Trump 

stirred a simmering dispute with 

Barack Obama on Wednesday, accusing 

him of derailing a smooth 

transition with “inflammatory” 

remarks, before appearing to row 

back. 

Ever since the November 8 election, 

Trump and Obama have tried 

to bury political differences in favour 

of a united public front that 

would smooth the transfer of power 

on January 20. 

But the Republican president-in-waiting 

unceremoniously 

cast any cordiality aside in a morning 

Twitter tirade from his Mar-a- 

Lago estate in Florida. 

In a declaration that is unprecedented 

in its personal condemnation 

of a soon-to-be predecessor, 

the 70-year-old tweeted: “Doing 

my best to disregard the many 

inflammatory President O statements 

and roadblocks.” 

White House spokesman Eric 

Schultz said the call “was positive 

and focused on continuing a 

smooth and effective transition,” 

adding the pair planned to keep in 

touch over the coming weeks. 

US VS RUSSIA: THE POWER DYNAMICS 

The US military outguns its Russian rival in most key categories, though Russia’s 

nuclear arsenal retains its Soviet-era potency. 

Total defense 

spending 

Ground troops 

Tactical aircraft 

Long-range 

strike aircrafts 

Surface 

warfare ships 

Aircraft carriers 

Submarines 

US 

RUSSIA 

Tensions between Trump and 

the current White House have 

been growing for weeks as Obama 

has become more outspoken about 

a vitriol-filled election that saw 

Democrat Hillary Clinton suffer a 

shock defeat. 

Obama – who is still the most 

popular politician in the country – 

recently suggested that he may have 

won a third term were he not constitutionally 

barred from doing so. 

That seems to have irked the 

notoriously thin-skinned president-elect. 

$1,350,000bn 

$157bn 

$272bn 

$71bn 

$3,290bn 

$180bn 

$217bn 

$59bn 

$560bn 

$845,000bn 

$1,200bn 

$10bn 

Nuclear 

warheads 

$7,100bn $7,700bn 

Sources: Defense department, US Air Force Association, International Institute for Strategic Studies 2015 

US President Barack Obama meets with President-elect Donald Trump 

$60bn 

$1bn 

REUTERS 

Competing claims 

At the same time, the pair have 

competed to take credit for solid 

economic indicators. 

After months of talking down 

the world’s largest economy, 

Trump has tried to take credit for 

a number of economic developments 

that are roughly on trend. 

Trump claimed Sprint was creating 

5,000 US jobs “because of me.” 

White House response 

While the White House has 

seethed behind the scenes, there 

has been little public response to 

Trump’s forays into US foreign and 

domestic policy before he takes office 

in less than a month. 

But tensions reached something 

of a breaking point after the 

United States tacitly backed condemnation 

of Israeli settlement 

activity at the United Nations. 

With Washington withholding 

its veto, the UN Security Council 

passed a resolution demanding a 

halt to Israeli settlement building 

in the Palestinian territories. 

Trump followed up Wednesday’s 

early tweet with another two taking 

aim at Obama’s policy toward Israel. 

Throughout the long election 

campaign, Obama made no secret 

of his disdain for Trump, describing 

him as ill-informed and unfit 

for office. 

But since a landmark meeting 

in the Oval Office a few days after 

the election, Obama has tried flattery 

in a bid to bind Trump to the 

norms of office. 

He has praised Trump on a 

historic victory and made plain 

that millions of Republican voters 

would also be hurt if Trump overturns 

his landmark health care 

law. •

World 

Russia, Iran ties with Taliban stoke 

Afghan anxiety 

• AFP, Kabul 

Allegations over Russia and Iran’s 

deepening ties with the Taliban 

have ignited concerns of a renewed 

“Great Game” of proxy warfare in 

Afghanistan that could undermine 

US-backed troops and push the 

country deeper into turmoil. 

Moscow and Tehran insist their 

contact with insurgents is aimed at 

promoting regional security, but local 

and US officials who are already 

frustrated with Pakistan’s perceived 

double-dealing in Afghanistan have 

expressed bitter scepticism. 

Washington’s long-time nemesis 

Iran is accused of covertly aiding 

the Taliban, and Russia is back 

to what observers call Cold War 

shenanigans to derail US gains at a 

time when uncertainty reigns over 

President-elect Donald Trump’s 

Afghanistan policy. 

Russia has officially provided 

military helicopters for Afghan 

forces, but simultaneously 

propped up the Taliban with arms, 

official and insurgent sources say. 

A Taliban commander said the 

Russian support had helped the 

insurgents overrun the northern 

city of Kunduz in October for the 

second time in a year. 

Taliban representatives in recent 

months have also held several 

Ten years since Saddam Hussein executed 

• AFP, Baghdad 

Ousted Iraqi President Saddam Hussein 

was hanged inside one of his 

own regime’s former torture centres 

a decade ago on December 30, 2006. 

Following is an account of the 

demise of the man who had ruled 

Iraq ruthlessly for more than two 

decades: 

No sign of fear 

On December 30, 2006, Saddam 

was hanged at the military 

intelligence headquarters in the 

Kadhimiyah district of northern 

Baghdad. 

Officials who witnessed the predawn 

execution say Saddam, 69, 

remained defiant to the end, railing 

against his Iranian and American 

enemies and praising insurgents 

who had pushed Iraq to the 

brink of civil war. 

“I didn’t see any signs of fear,” 

then national security adviser 

Mowaffak al-Rubaie, who oversaw 

the execution, said in 2013. 

“I didn’t hear any regret from 

him, I didn’t hear any request for 

mercy from God... or request for 

pardon,” he said. 

Rubaie said he pulled the lever 

In this November 2015 file photo, Russia’s President Vladimir Putin, left, meets 

with Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei in Tehran, Iran REUTERS 

meetings with Russian officials in 

Tajikistan and Moscow, sources say. 

‘Great fear’ 

Western diplomats in Kabul have 

privately voiced alarm that Russia is 

quietly filling its embassy ranks with 

Soviet era “old-timers” well versed 

in Cold War tactics, as relations with 

Washington turn sour over the conflicts 

in Syria and Ukraine. 

And this week Kabul vented 

fury over a summit between Russia, 

China and Pakistan in Moscow 

SADDAM HUSSEIN 

April 28, 1937 

Born in Awja, 

near Tikrit, 

into a Sunni 

family 

1957 

Joins Baath 

Party 

Photo AFP 

to hang Saddam, but it did not 

work. An unidentified person then 

pulled it a second time, killing him. 

Crimes against humanity 

The former strongman was executed 

after being found guilty of 

crimes against humanity for the 

1982 killing of 148 Shias in the 

town of Dujail. The massacre followed 

an assassination attempt 

against him there. 

His rule was marked by brutal 

repression, disastrous wars and 

punishing international sanctions. 

Saddam disputed the legitimacy 

of a special Iraqi tribunal set up 

with US support to try him, and 

described his October 2005 to July 

2006 trial as “a comedy”. 

But the execution, in which 

which agreed on a “flexible approach” 

to remove certain Taliban 

figures from sanctions lists. 

Alexander Mantytskiy, Russia’s 

ambassador to Kabul, insists engagement 

with the insurgents is 

benign. Lashing out at Nato, he 

added the allegations against Russia 

were an effort to distract attention 

from the worsening conflict 

and “put the blame for their failures 

on our shoulders”. 

Some observers agree that Russian 

and Iranian concerns over 

1968 

Involved in coup 

that brings Baath 

party to power, 

becomes key 

figure 

1979 

Takes power, 

purging Baath 

party leadership 

1980-88 

Iran-Iraq 

War 

March 17/18 

1988 

Orders chemical 

weapons attack 

on Kurdish village 

of Halabja, killing 

nearly 5,000 people 

1990-91 

Invasion 

of Kuwait: 

1st Gulf 

War 

the United States said it played no 

part, was slammed by Sunni Iraqis 

and governments around the 

world – although not by Saddam’s 

arch-enemies Israel and Iran. 

The day after his execution, 

Saddam was buried in the village 

of Awja, his birthplace near Tikrit, 

160km north of Baghdad. 

Islamic State jihadists cannot be 

dismissed lightly. 

Playground for superpowers 

Afghanistan has long been used as a 

chessboard for proxy battles – from 

the 19th century “Great Game” of rivalry 

between Britain and Russia to 

the US funnelling weapons through 

Pakistan to Afghan rebels fighting 

Soviet forces in the 1980s. 

It has also served as a proxy war 

playground for nuclear-armed rivals 

India and Pakistan, which is 

also accused of playing a “double 

game” by endorsing Washington’s 

war on terrorism while providing 

sanctuary to the Taliban. 

Superpowers jockeying for supremacy 

in Afghanistan could sow 

further chaos amid the unpredictability 

of Trump’s foreign policy, 

analysts say. 

Trump has given surprisingly 

few details on how he will tackle 

America’s longest war. 

“Russia is waiting to see the 

next US move when Trump takes 

over,” said Kabul-based analyst 

Ahmad Saeedi. 

As for Iran, many in Tehran fear 

that a potentially hawkish White 

House under Trump will try to scrap 

its landmark nuclear deal with world 

powers, pushing them to retaliate by 

deepening ties with the Taliban. • 

March 20, 2003 

US-led forces 

invade Iraq: 

2nd Gulf War 

April 9 

Fall of the 

regime 

December 13 

Hussein captured 

near Tikrit 

2005-2006 

Judged by special 

Iraqi tribunal 

for genocide and 

crimes against 

humanity, 

Death sentence 

Dec 30, 2006 

Executed by hanging 

in Baghdad 

The betrayal 

It was also near Tikrit that on the 

moonless night of December 13, 

2003, the former dictator was captured 

by US forces. Washington 

had offered a $25m reward for his 

capture. 

After being overthrown by the 

US-led invasion, Saddam was on 

the run for eight months with the 

help of bodyguards from his family, 

according to local tribal leaders. 

But one betrayed him, leading 

American troops to Saddam’s hiding 

place after himself being detained. 

Far from the luxury of his presidential 

palaces, Saddam was found 

hiding on a farm down what American 

troops called a “rat-hole”, an 

underground hideout with enough 

space for a person to lie down in, 

equipped with an air vent and an 

exhaust fan. 

As he peered out from his den, 

he announced in English: “I am the 

president of Iraq and I want to negotiate,” 

US army officers said. 

“Ladies and gentlemen, we got 

him,” a smiling American diplomat 

Paul Bremer said the following 

afternoon as he announced Saddam’s 

capture. • 

9 


DT 

USA 

Trump issues fresh attack 

on United Nations 

US President-elect Donald Trump 

launched a fresh salvo of accusations 

against the UN Wednesday, saying 

the world body had not lived up to 

its potential and failed to solve global 

problems. His comments came 

as incoming UN Secretary-General 

Antonio Guterres said he wants to 

meet Trump “as soon as possible” 

and is “determined to establish a 

constructive dialogue.” AFP 

THE AMERICAS 

Lawmakers in Colombia 

pass Farc amnesty law 

Colombia’s Congress on Wednesday 

passed a law granting amnesty 

to the Marxist Revolutionary 

Armed Forces of Colombia (Farc) 

insurgents as part of the country’s 

peace deal. The measure grants 

special legal treatment, amnesty 

and pardons to members of the 

Farc accused of political and related 

crimes. The Senate passed the 

bill 69-0, after the House of Representatives 

approved it 121-0. AFP 

UK 

UK faces legal fight with 

Calais child asylum seekers 

Dozens of children who sought 

asylum in Britain after living in the 

Calais jungle camp have launched 

a legal challenge against the government’s 

handling of their claims, 

their lawyers said Thursday. They 

accuse interior minister Amber 

Rudd of breaking the government’s 

commitment to welcome 

vulnerable minors under section 

67 of the Immigration Act, known 

as the Dubs amendment. AFP 

EUROPE 

Turkey detains prominent 

journalist over tweets 

Turkish authorities on Thursday 

detained a prize-winning journalist 

over a succession of tweets and 

articles for an opposition daily, 

state media said, as alarm grows 

over press freedom in the country. 

Ahmet Sik was detained on accusations 

of making “terror propaganda” 

and denigrating the Turkish 

Republic, the judicial authorities 

and police, according to the staterun 

Anadolu news agency. AFP 

AFRICA 

Floods in southwest 

Congo kill at least 50 

Flooding this week in the Democratic 

Republic of Congo port city 

of Boma killed at least 50 people 

and left another 10,000 homeless, 

authorities told Reuters on Wednesday. 

Torrential rain on Monday 

night caused the Kalamu River to 

overflow, flooding two districts of 

the southwestern city, said Therese-Louise 

Mambu, health minister 

for Kongo Central province. REUTERS

10 


DT 

World 

John Kerry’s Middle East peace framework 

• AFP, Washington, DC 

There was little new in US Secretary 

of State John Kerry’s outline 

for measures to revive peace talks 

between Israel and the Palestinians 

presented Wednesday. 

Nothing in his speech will bind 

incoming US President-elect Donald 

Trump, and Kerry’s intervention has 

been angrily rejected by Israel. 

Here are the “six principles” Kerry 

says must underlie a renewed 

search for peace based on an Israel-Palestine 

two-state solution. 

Recognised international borders 

On November 22, 1967, after Israel’s 

victory in the Six-Day War over its Arab 

neighbours, the UN Security Council 

(UNSC) passed its Resolution 242. Israel’s 

win left it in possession of the 

Golan Heights, Gaza, Sinai, the West 

Bank and East Jerusalem, in addition 

to its original territory. Under UNSC 

242, Israel should hand back its new 

land and in 1993 the Palestinian Liberation 

Organisation agreed that 242 

could serve as a basis for talks. 

Kerry’s speech insisted that 

UNSC 242 has long been “accepted 

by both sides” and must be 

followed, albeit with “mutually 

agreed equivalent swaps.” 

‘Two states for two peoples’ 

Israel did not welcome Kerry’s 

speech, but many Israelis will welcome 

his second “core principle” for 

any deal. While the final settlement 

will see the Palestinians installed in 

their own state, they must in turn 

recognise Israel “as a Jewish state.” 

‘Realistic solution for refugees’ 

There are an estimated 5m Palestinians 

claiming descent from 

those displaced from their homes 

during the creation of Israel. Their 

long-standing demand for a “right 

of return” to homes in some cases 

now within pre-1967 Israel has long 

been a stumbling block. 

Kerry’s principles acknowledged 

that international assistance and 

some kind of compensation will be 

necessary and fair for these people. 

Jerusalem capital of two states 

Israel claims the city of Jerusalem as 

its “undivided” capital, and Trump 

plans to move the US embassy there 

in support of this idea. 

But the city holds sites holy to 

Muslims, Jews and Christians alike 

and the Arab world would erupt in 

anger if a sole Israeli claim prevailed. 

Kerry admitted that the city’s 

fate “is the most sensitive issue for 

both sides” and suggested it be the 

“internationally recognised capital 

of the two states.” 

Satisfy Israel’s security needs 

Israeli forces and residents withdrew 

from the Gaza Strip in September 

2005, but peace did not 

break out there. Gaza has since 

fallen under the sway of Hamas, an 

armed Islamist movement, and is a 

source of periodic attacks on Israel 

and a target for harsh retaliation. 

Kerry’s fifth principle stated 

that the larger West Bank must not 

become a similar threat, and that 

Israel must retain a right to intervene. 

Kerry said that a team led by US 

General John Allen had worked on 

“innovative approaches to creating 

unprecedented, multi-layered border 

security.” 

Normalised relations 

Finally, under Kerry’s vision, a final 

status settlement between Israel 

and a future Palestine would 

see an end to outstanding regional 

issues. 

“For Israel, this must also bring 

broader peace with its Arab neighbours,” 

he said. • 

FACTBOX 

Key crises in US-Israel ties 

The latest diplomatic spat between Israel 

and Washington over the United 

States abstaining in a UN Security Council 

resolution on settlements is not the 

first crisis between the two allies. 

US President Barack Obama’s frosty 

relationship with Israeli Prime Minister 

Benjamin Netanyahu hit new lows last 

week after the UN vote calling for an 

end to Israeli settlement building passed 

14-0. 

And on Wednesday, in a parting shot 

from the Obama administration before 

US President-elect Donald Trump is 

sworn in on January 20, US Secretary of 

State John Kerry warned that building 

settlements on Palestinian land threatens 

Israel’s very future as a democracy. 

1975: The Sinai crisis 

Perhaps the most significant crisis was 

in 1975, when Washington pressed Israel 

to withdraw from the Sinai Peninsula, 

which it had seized during the 1967 Six- 

Day War. 

But Israel refused to do so without 

a full peace deal with Egypt, prompting 

US president Gerald Ford to inform Israeli 

prime minister Yitzhak Rabin that 

Washington would conduct a “reassessment” 

of bilateral ties. 

Between March and August of 1975, 

US arms shipments to Israel were suspended 

– a major step given Washington’s 

position as Israel’s biggest provider 

of financial and military aid. 

1985: The Pollard affair 

Washington’s arrest in 1985 of American 

intelligence analyst Jonathan Pollard, 

who passed classified US information to 

Israel, marked a “major low” in the relationship. 

It was a regular source of tension 

for three decades until his eventual 

release in November 2015. 

Pollard was sentenced to life imprisonment, 

with the affair sparking a 

crisis in ties that only ended when Israel 

promised to end all espionage activities 

on US soil. 

1990: White House phone number 

In a shaky start to cooperation between 

George Bush’s administration 

and that of Israeli premier Yitzhak 

Shamir, the US secretary of state very 

publicly rebuked Israel over conditions 

it sought to impose on the Palestinians 

in peace talks. 

Secretary of state James Baker directed 

the following remarks to Shamir 

at a meeting with the House Foreign Affairs 

Committee: 

“I have to tell you that everybody 

over there should know that the telephone 

number is 1-202-456-1414... 

When you’re serious about peace, call 

us.” 

2015: Netanyahu Congress 

address 

Two weeks before the March 17 general 

election in Israel, Netanyahu travelled to 

Washington to give a speech to the US 

Congress at the invitation of Republican 

House of Representatives speaker John 

Boehner, bypassing diplomatic protocol 

by not running it through the White 

House. 

Incensed, Obama and dozens of 

Democrats boycotted the speech, in 

which Netanyahu railed against an 

emerging world deal with Iran over its 

nuclear programme. 

2016: UN vote on settlements 

The UN resolution that sparked the latest 

crisis, backed unanimously by the 

rest of the 15 powers on the Security 

Council, effectively declared Israel’s settlements 

in areas of east Jerusalem and 

the West Bank beyond its 1967 border to 

be illegal. 

A furious Netanyahu, whose rightwing 

coalition is backed by the settler 

movement and who has insisted the 

home building is no threat to peace, accused 

Obama and Kerry of orchestrating 

the Security Council vote. • 

Source: AFP 

Benjamin Netanyahu 

subject of criminal 

investigation 

• Tribune International Desk 

Israel’s attorney general has ordered 

police to open a criminal 

investigation into two unspecified 

matters involving the prime minister, 

Benjamin Netanyahu. 

A spokeswoman for Israel’s justice 

ministry declined to respond 

to the report. Netanyahu has in 

the past denied wrongdoing in the 

purchase of submarines from Germany, 

where media have reported 

a potential conflict of interest involving 

his lawyer. 

Netanyahu and his family have 

been subject to a series of allegations 

over the past two decades. In 

1997, it was decided that there was 

not enough evidence to charge him 

over the appointment of an attorney 

general, though prosecutors 

said they had a “tangible suspicion” 

about Netanyahu’s role in the 

scandal. •

World 

11 


DT 

Boko Haram leader in new video: Group safe, not crushed 

• AFP, Kano, Nigeria 

Boko Haram’s elusive leader 

Abubakar Shekau appeared in a 

new video on Thursday to dispute 

a claim that the jihadist group had 

been routed from its Sambisa Forest 

stronghold. 

“We are safe. We have not been 

flushed out of anywhere. And tactics 

and strategies cannot reveal our 

location except if Allah wills by his 

decree,” Shekau said in the 25-minute 

video, flanked by masked 

armed fighters. 

“You should not be telling lies 

to the people,” he said, referring to 

Nigerian President Muhammadu 

Buhari who said on Christmas Eve 

that the extremist group had been 

defeated and driven away from the 

forest, its last known bastion. 

“If you indeed crushed us, how 

can you see me like this? How many 

times have you killed us in your bogus 

death?” he asked. 

It was not immediately clear 

where the new video was shot, but 

Shekau who spoke in both Hausa 

and Arabic said it was filmed on 

Christmas Day. 

Shekau last appeared in a video 

in September where he disputed a 

claim by the Nigerian military that 

he had been wounded in battle. 

He vowed to continue fighting 

on until an Islamic state was imposed 

in northern Nigeria. 

Buhari had announced that a 

months-long military campaign in 

the 1,300 square-kilometre forest 

in northeastern Borno state had led 

to the “final crushing of Boko Haram 

terrorists in their last enclave in 

Sambisa Forest”. •

DT 

12 

Business 


CAPITAL MARKET SNAPSHOT: THURSDAY 

DSE Broad Index 5,036.1 0.2% ▲ Index 1,191.9 0.2% ▲ 30 Index 1,810.9 0.1% ▲ Turnover in Mn Tk 10,705.9 14.1% ▲ Turnover in Mn Vol 433.4 12.7% ▲ 

CSE All Share Index 15,477.7 0.0% ▲ 30 Index 13,583.6 0.0% ▲ Selected Index 9,369.9 0.0% ▲ Turnover in Mn Tk 741.9 21.3% ▲ Turnover in Mn Vol 32.9 18.9% ▲ 

$167m ADB loan signed for 

befitting gas production 

• SM Najmus Sakib 

The government has signed with 

the Asian Development Bank (ADB) 

a US$167 million loan agreement 

for financing a project to improve 

infrastructure and operational efficiency 

of the country’s gas sector. 

Last month, the ADB approved 

the loan to help promote sustainable 

economic growth and reduce 

poverty in Bangladesh by improving 

production efficiency at a key 

gas field north of the capital Dhaka 

and by expanding transmission infrastructure. 

Mohammad Mejbahuddin, senior 

secretary to the Economic Relations 

Division (ERD) under the 

Ministry of Finance, and Kazuhiko 

Higuchi, country director of ADB, 

signed the agreement on their behalf 

at the ERD office in the city 

yesterday. 

Under the agreement, the 


YEAR IN REVIEW 

RMG EXPORT TREND IN 

JANUARY-NOVEMBER 

Year 

Export value 

in$ billion 

Export 

growth in% 

2012 17.84 1.75 

2013 21.22 18.98 

2014 22.25 4.85 

2015 23.93 7.55 

2016 26.09 9.03 

Source:EPB 

BB appoints observer 

to NRBC Bank 

• Jebun Nesa Alo 

Bangladesh Bank has appointed an 

observer to NRB Commercial Bank 

in the wake of conflict among the 

directors. 

Masud Biswas, general manager 

of Foreign Exchange Policy, Department 

of Bangladesh Bank, has 

been appointed as observer to the 

bank to closely monitor the director’s 

activities. 

The decision was taken following 

the investigation against 

the complaint directors filed with 

Bangladesh Bank, said a senior executive 

of the central bank. 

Following the complaint that 

directors made against each other 

about various corruption, the central 

bank conducted inquiry and 

found authenticity, he said. 

The BB official said directors 

of the bank were divided into two 

groups and both groups are involved 

into various irregularities. 

The directors’ conflict put the 

bank at risk. In this circumstances, 

the central bank appointed the observer, 

he added. 

NRBC Bank started its journey in 

2013 with the aim to facilitate remittance 

inflow from Bangladeshi 

expatriates working abroad and 

idle and less remunerative fund 

held with wealthy NRBs. 

As a newcomer, the bank performed 

worse as its non-performing 

loans were on the rise. 

The total default loans of the 

bank stood at Tk127 crore as of September 

2016 which was 4.19% of its 

total outstanding, according to the 

central bank data. • 

High-end products, cutting-edge technology to boost 

future RMG export volume 

• Ibrahim Hossain Ovi 

ADB will finance the “Natural 

Gas Infrastructure and Efficiency 

Improvement Project” at an 

interest rate of 2%. 

The six-year-long project from 

July 2016 to June 2022 has estimated 

that the total cost would be US 

$453 million, of which the Asian 

Infrastructure Investment Bank 

(AIIB) will provide $60 million and 

the government of Bangladesh US$ 

226 million. 

ADB will provide the rest of the 

amount under the agreement. 

The Energy and Mineral Resources 

Division is the sponsoring 

division and Gas Transmission 

Company Ltd and Bangladesh Gas 

Fields Company Limited are the executing 

agencies of the project. 

The project aims to improve efficiency 

in natural gas production by 

installing seven wellhead gas compressors 

at the Titas gas field and 

expand natural gas transmission 

Bangladesh’s RMG exports to the 

global market rose by over 9% to 

over $26 billion in eleven months 

of the outgoing year, thanks to the 

safety improvement and increased 

production capacity. 

The growth is, however, less 

than required to attain the $50 billion 

export target by 2021 as the 

sector needs over 12% growth to 

realise the vision. 

The sector people attributed remediation 

process – which helped 

improve safety standards – to the 

increased production capacity. 

Upon completion of remediation, 

some RMG units have received 

more orders from buyers 

who were satisfied with the safety 

progress, they argued. 

According to the data of Export 

Promotion Bureau (EPB), during January-November 

period of the outgoing 

year, Bangladesh earned $26.09 

billion, exporting clothing products, 

which is 9.03% higher compared to 

$23.93 billion a year ago. 

Knitwear products fetched 

$12.56 billion with an 8.22% rise 

compared to $11.60 billion in the 

previous year while woven products 

earned $13.53 billion, which 

pipeline capacity by constructing 

a 181-kilometre 36-inch parallel gas 

transmission pipeline from Chittagong 

through Feni to Bakhrabad. 

At the signing ceremony, ADB 

Country Director Kazuhiko Higuchi 

said: “Bangladesh economy has 

grown significantly over the last 

decade.” 

“By increasing natural gas production 

and addressing supply 

constraint and transmission bottlenecks, 

the project will help address 

growing energy needs with 

additional cleaner energy, and contribute 

to the sustained strong economic 

growth in Bangladesh.” 

The total loan to the socioeconomic 

development of ADB in 

Bangladesh is more than US$15.5 

billion. 

In December, ADB will mark 

50 years of its development 

partnership in the Asian and Pacific 

region. • 

is 9.78% higher compared to $12.32 

billion a year ago. 

“In 2016, Bangladesh has seen 

a 9% growth in RMG export earning, 

but in 2017, we expect a double 

digit growth as the production 

capacity as well as the volume of 

work orders have increased because 

of safety improvement and 

remediation completion in most 

factories,” Exporters Association of 

Bangladesh president Abdus Salam 

Murshedy told the Dhaka Tribune. 

Last year production in many 

RMG units were hampered due to 

the ongoing remediation to improve 

safety standard in workplaces 

for ensuring workers’ safety, 

Salam said. 

After the full-fledged completion 

of Corrective Action Plans 

(CAPs), the work order flow would 

increase and it would be possible to 

attain a double-digit growth, added 

the business leader. 

“In attaining the $50 billion 

export target by 2021, the current 

growth is not satisfactory as the 

sector needs an over 12% growth,” 

according to BGMEA vice-president 

Mahmud Hasan Khan Babu. 

He said in the outgoing year, the 

sector has seen less investment as 

manufacturers had to spent a lot on 

remediation and safety improvement. 

But RMG sector requires investment 

for expansion of existing 

business to increase production 

capacity for grabbing more global 

market share, he said, adding that 

gas connection is a big challenge 

for Bangladesh’s RMG. 

The country has to put emphasis 

on technology upgradation and 

high-end products as the demands 

for global apparel products have 

witnessed downtrend last year. 

As per the latest statistics of 

World Trade Organisation (WTO), 

the global clothing export market 

has contracted by around 7.8% to 

$445 billion in 2015. 

In 2014, the global apparel export 

was $483 billion while the global 

RMG export market is expected to 

reach $650 billion by 2021. 

As a newcomer, NRBC 

performed worse as 

its non-performing 

loans rose 

“In garbing more global market 

share to attain $50 billion export 

target from RMG, Bangladesh has 

to concentrate on capacity building 

and set strategies to move to 

high-end and branded fashion segments, 

BGMEA senior vice-president 

Faruque Hassan told the Dhaka 

Tribune. 

Currently, about 79% of Bangladesh 

export items are concentrated 

in five basic products – trouser, 

t-shirt, sweater, shirts and jackets 

mostly made of cotton. 

Hassan said another priority 

area is market diversification as 

Bangladesh’s apparel exports are 

mostly concentrated on EU and 

North America. 

Non-traditional market is the 

key element to enlarge the export 

volume. The contribution of 

non-traditional markets to total export 

was 2% in FY2005-06, which 

has increased to 15% in FY’16, he 

added. 

To tap the opportunity, manufacturers 

have to upgrade technology 

and modernise their factories 

while the government has to ensure 

infrastructure development, 

i.e. building industrial zone, connectivity 

to ports and improving 

their efficiency, resolving gas and 

electricity crises, added Hassan. •

Business 13 

DT 


RMG makers seek gas price hike exemption 

• Asif Showkat Kallol 

Apparel sector businessmen have 

urged the government to give them 

an exemption from the proposed 

gas price hike, according to official 

sources. 

They also requested the government 

to devaluate Taka against the 

US dollar for the sake of enhancing 

their export earning. Besides, 

they also wanted the export price 

garment items to be fixed in the 

Freight-on Board (FOB) instead of 

Ready-made garment item for valuation 

of export items to giving the 

cash incentive. 

President of Bangladesh Garment 

Manufacturers and Exporters’ Association 

(BGMEA) Siddiqur Rahman 

placed their demands at a meeting 

with Finance Minister AMA Muhith 

held at his secretariat office in 

the city. Commerce Minister Tofail 

Ahmed also attended the meeting. 

According to the meeting sources, 

the BGMEA leaders also demanded 

for the cancellation of audit 

by the Bangladesh Bank for getting 

cash incentive against their export 

volume. RMG leaders also demanded 

disbursement of Tk10 crore incentives 

for small RMG exporters. 

Finance Minister Muhith is 

learned to be disagreed with the 

BGMEA demands. Meanwhile, the 

government has allocated Tk4,500 

crore for 22 export items including 

RMG items. 

During the meeting, RMG exporters 

also informed that they 

are already providing salary of 

Tk10,000 as minimum wage to 

their garment factory workers although 

the garment factory workers 

demanded Tk16,000. 

In 2013, the government declared 

a minimum wage of Tk5,300 

per month for garment industry 

workers. Earlier, the figure was 

Tk3,000. 

Besides, the garment exporters 

also demanded the amendment of 

the provision of local cloth word replace 

with cloth of own enterprises . 

Last August, Bangladesh Energy 

Regulatory Commission (BERC) 

held an eight-day public hearing on 

gas transmission tariff and user-end 

price hike proposals submitted by 

seven state-owned gas transmission 

and distribution companies. 

The companies initially proposed 

a massive 85% price hike 

for household users: Tk1,200 per 

month for double-burner stoves 

and Tk1,100 for single-burner 

stoves. In addition, they proposed 

a 140% increase for consumers using 

meter-based burners, increasing 

the price from Tk7 to Tk16.8 

per cubic metre of gas. Besides, the 

price of a US dollar in curb market 

is differed by Tk4 per compared to 

official bank rate. • 

The currency exchange values placard of a bureau de change in Rio de 

Janeiro, Brazil 

REUTERS 

Fund managers bullish 

on emerging markets 

• Reuters 

A number of global fund 

managers say they are buying 

emerging market assets 

for 2017 after the beating the 

sector has taken since the US 

election in November, even 

though credit rating agencies 

have a less positive outlook. 

Since the election of Donald 

Trump as US president, emerging 

market stocks are down 

nearly 7%, based on the Morgan 

Stanley Capital Index, and the 

yield spread of emerging market 

bonds over benchmark US 

Treasuries is wider by 10 basis 

points, reversing some of the 

gains seen earlier in the year. 

On Nov 8, the date of the 

US election, the EMBI Global 

year-to-date total return was 

14.04%, and a week later, on 

Nov 14, it had halved to 7.6%. 

Currencies such as Mexican 

peso and the Turkish lira 

have tumbled 10% or more in 

the wake of the election. 

US President-elect Trump 

has pledged to impose protectionist 

trade policies and 

restrict immigration which 

would likely damage most 

emerging market economies. 

The Washington, DC bank 

lobbying group, the Institute 

for International Finance, reported 

this week that $23bn has 

flowed out of emerging market 

funds since Oct 4, with $18bn of 

that taking flight since Nov 9. 

“The magnitude of outflows 

has diminished significantly in 

recent weeks, but the direction 

has remained persistently negative,” 

said Scott Farnham, an 

IIF research analyst. 

Fund managers positive 

BlackRock, the world’s largest 

asset manager is expecting 

to reap solid gains from 

all emerging market asset 

classes, especially bonds, the 

firm’s chief fixed income strategist, 

Jeff Rosenberg said at 

the company’s recent global 

outlook summit. 

Other global fund managers 

also see a rebound on the 

horizon. Ricardo Adrogué, 

head of emerging markets 

debt at Baring Asset Management 

Ltd, said analysts, including 

ratings agencies, are 

confusing structural versus 

cyclical problems when evaluating 

the sector. 

“Our assessment of emerging 

markets is actually strengthening 

at the time that developed 

market institutional framework 

is weakening,” he said. 

Similarly, Michel Del 

Buono, head of portfolio strategy 

at Makena Capital Management 

LLC, who oversees 

$18bn across asset classes, 

also has a bullish outlook. •

14 


DT 

Business 

BOJ Kuroda sees steady Japan recovery next year 

• Reuters 

Bank of Japan Governor Haruhiko 

Kuroda said he expects Japan’s 

economy to enjoy a steady recovery 

throughout next year as global 

headwinds die down, according to 

the Nikkei newspaper, reinforcing 

market expectations that the central 

bank will hold off on expanding 

stimulus in the foreseeable future. 

“There are many things we 

can do if necessary” to jump-start 

growth, Kuroda said in an interview 

with Nikkei published on 

Thursday, dismissing views held 

by some analysts that the BOJ has 

run out of policy ammunition after 

more than three years of aggressive 

money printing. 

But he said brightening prospects 

for the global economy, 

rising Japanese stock prices and 

a reversal of excessive yen gains 

will allow Japan’s economy to sustain 

a steady economic recovery 

throughout next year. 

“Overall, both the global and 

Japan’s economies are moving in 

a positive and more desirable direction,” 

he added in an interview 

conducted on Tuesday. 

Regarding the expected policies 

of US President-elect Donald 

Trump, Kuroda said he did not 

expect the new administration to 

implement extreme steps such as 

trade restrictions as they would 

hurt the US economy as well as well 

as the economies of trade rivals. 

Kuroda did not respond when 

asked if he would be willing to serve 

a second term after his five-year tenure 

as BOJ governor ends in April 

2018, according to the Nikkei. •

Business 15 

DT 


Eurozone 

lending climbs 

in November 

• AFP, Frankfurt 

Lending to households and 

companies picked up in November 

in the eurozone, the 

European Central Bank yesterday, 

signalling that its efforts 

to encourage spending and investment 

are gaining traction. 

Loans to households in the 

single currency area grew by 

1.9% year-on-year, compared 

to 1.8% a month earlier, the 

bank said. Lending to firms 

accelerated by 2.2%, up from 

2.1% in October. 

IHS Markit economist 

Howard Archer described the 

figures as “a pleasing set of 

news for the ECB”. 

“The ECB will particularly 

welcome a pick-up in the 

growth rate in eurozone bank 

lending to businesses to a 

more than five-year high in 

November,” he said. 

The ECB has embarked on 

an unprecedented stimulus 

programme to drive up lending 

and inflation in the euro 

area, and the monthly loan 

growth statistics are seen as a 

key indicator of the effectiveness 

of its measures. 

Faced with a still lacklustre 

recovery and a string of financial 

and political risks on 

the horizon in 2017, ECB chief 

Mario Draghi announced earlier 

CORPORATE NEWS 

this month that the bank would 

extend a massive bond-buying 

scheme aimed at pumping cash 

into the economy. 

As part of its ultra-loose 

monetary policy, the ECB has 

also cut interest rates to record 

lows and offered cheap loans 

to banks -- on the condition 

that they lend the funds on to 

households and businesses. 

Buoyed by Thursday’s 

data, Archer said the ECB 

would be “unlikely to make 

any adjustments to monetary 

policy for some considerable 

time to come following its early-December 

move to extend 

its asset purchasing scheme”. 

Inflation in the 19-nation 

euro area hit a two-and-ahalf-year 

high in November 

at 0.6%, in another sign that 

the central bank’s efforts are 

starting to pay off. 

But the figure remains far 

short of the ECB’s target of an 

inflation rate just below 2%. 

Eurozone growth was low 

but stable in the third quarter, 

at 0.3%. The ECB expects the 

euro area economy to grow by 

1.7% this year. 

The bank also announced 

Thursday that the eurozone’s 

overall money supply, known 

as M3, increased by 4.8% in 

November, compared to October’s 

4.4%. • 

Social Islami Bank Limited has recently opened its 125th branch at 

Motijheel in Dhaka, said a press release. The bank’s chairperson, Major 

Dr Md Rezaul Haque (retired) inaugurated the branch 

Standard Bank Limited has recently opened its 110th branch at 

Madhabdi in Narsingdi, said a press release. The bank’s chairperson, 

Kazi Akram Uddin Ahmed inaugurated the branch 

Like what you’re reading? 

SUBSCRIBE TODAY 

Call: 0161-I-WANT-DT (01614926838) | Visit: dhakatribune.com/subscribe 

Dhaka Tribune

16 


DT 

Feature 

World turned upside down: 

World politics in 2016 

• Saqib Sarker 

‘What a year!’ will be a legitimate 

summary for 2016 in world politics. 

The dial on the political compass 

has tilted, and it is firmly directing 

towards the right. The reactionary 

movement across Europe and 

the US indicate that the political 

systems in the western world are 

faced with a new era where things 

must change. Important changes 

Brexit 

The Beatles may no longer be 

the thing for which Britain 

is most famous. The heavily 

conflicted issue of leaving the 

European Union came to rest by 

a referendum on June 23, where 

the British people voted the 

UK out of the EU. Resentments 

have been building among the 

working class people since the 

last Labour administration 

finally caused the public to 

blame the economic misfortune 

on the immigrant population 

and the EU, which allows for a 

free movement of the citizens 

of EU among the member states. 

The result of the referendum 

naturally angered EU member 

states and caused Prime Minister 

David Cameron to resign. The 

pound also plummeted following 

the referendum. The result of the 

Kashmir unrest 

The “heaven on earth,” as Kashmir 

is often called, has become a 

tragic political playground at the 

expense of the Kashmiri people. 

Self-determination struggles 

in Kashmir provoked Indian 

authority to clamp down on 

political movements in Kashmir 

by the natives for decades. 

Both India and Pakistan claim 

the Muslim-majority region of 

Attempted coup d’état in Turkey 

President Recep Tayyip Erdogan 

has managed to become quite 

a controversial figure since his 

election to the office in 2014. 

His heavy handed treatment 

of journalists and civil protests 

earned him infamy. But despite his 

flaws and propensity for tyranny, 

Erdogan remains one of the most 

successful elected president, 

in Turkey, and some would say 

in the world, considering the 

troubled split within the country. 

The coup attempt in Turkey on 

July 15 was therefore a dangerous 

development for many reasons. 

But Erdogan in a, what is now 

famous, FaceTime video call to 

CNN Turk called upon the people 

of Turkey to take to the streets 

resisting the military takeover, 

saying, “There is no power higher 

than the power of the people. Let 

them do what they will at public 

squares and airports.” Members of 

the general public responded by 

actually coming out of their homes 

and deifying the coup. Because of 

enormous outpouring of people 

on the streets the military realised 

that it would be simply impossible 

to take over against the popular 

will of the people. This certainly is 

among the most startling political 

events in 2016. 

Whatever may happen from as a result of his election into the 

highest office of the most powerful country in the world, one 

thing is certain: Donald Trump has been hired 

have taken place in Africa, Asia, 

and the Americas as well. When 

we look at the big disruptions in 

2016 in world politics, some of the 

news are not good, while some are 

good only because they are not 

extremely bad, and all are open to 

interpretation. 

because of scarcity of jobs and 

austerity measures. Culminating 

into a frustrated anger against 

the establishment, the public 

sought refuge in the solutions 

advocated by far right groups 

like Britain First, and the UKIP. 

The anti-immigrant rhetoric 

vote also inspired other groups 

in Europe to push for an exit 

from the EU and it also inspired 

people in the US to vote for 

Trump. But the overall economic 

and political implications of this 

historic vote will undoubtedly be 

far reaching. 

PHOTO: BIGSTOCK 

Kashmir as their own. Two of the 

three wars between India and 

Pakistan have been fought over 

Kashmir. This year a new surge of 

protests ensued after the death of 

popular rebel militant commander, 

Burhan Wani on July 8. A curfew 

was imposed immediately after 

his death in the valley to stop 

the protests. People came out 

on the streets in huge numbers 

despite the curfew. Police and 

Indian paramilitary forces used 

pellet guns, tear gas shells, rubber 

bullets and assault rifles against 

unarmed protestors, killing at 

least 85 civilians. The aggressive 

police actions left 13,000 civilians 

injured. The protests and 

subsequent events created and 

escalated tensions between India 

and Pakistan and left the subcontinent 

in a grave risk of further 

militancy. 

US election 

To end the year of great political 

upsets, Donald J Trump, 

the haughty reality TV star 

and billionaire, won the US 

presidential election on the 

fateful day of November 8. From 

the beginning, his campaign was 

met with disbelief and no one was 

quite sure what to make of it. But 

he won the Republican ticket and 

ran against Hillary Clinton. The 

massive economic disparity and 

the effects of trade treaties that 

allowed for American jobs getting 

transferred offshore ignited 

immense bitterness among the 

working class population. The 

vote was the only way left for 

the people, as the famous film 

maker Michael Moore puts it, to 

give a big “(expletive) you!” to 

the system. And people did it. 

With ExxonMobil CEO Tillerson 

put as the choice for secretary 

of state, among other things, 

President-elect Trump has 

shown little animosity to the 

“system”. Political analysts are 

predicting wild things including 

impeachment. Whatever may 

happen because of his election 

into the highest office of the most 

powerful country in the world, 

one thing is certain: Donald 

Trump has been hired. •

Feature 

17 


DT 

Government’s hard-core ban on porn sites 

• Mahmood Sadi 

Midway through the 

second season of 

Silicon Valley, the 

popular HBO series 

which skilfully spoofs the Bay Area 

tech scene, the plot turns to porn. 

Inside the offices of Pied Piper, 

the fictional startup at the heart 

of the show, the team members 

thought of selling their groundbreaking 

compressing algorithm to 

a porn outfit called Intersite. Citing 

reasons, one of the members 

of the team said, “Pornography 

accounts for 37 percent of all 

Internet traffic.” 

“Thirty-eight when I’m on it,” 

says another member jokingly. 

Punchline aside, the truth 

is porn accounts for some 

astronomically large portion of all 

Internet traffic. Porn sites get more 

visitors each month than Netflix, 

Amazon and Twitter combined, 

and these generate equally 

enormous sums of money for all 

the faceless people who run its 

operations. 

So, blocking porn websites is 

much easier said than done. 

Bangladesh government, 

however, has started to venture 

out this daunting task of blocking 

porn websites from Wednesday in 

an unprecedented move. 

Porn sites get more visitors each month than Netflix, 

Amazon and Twitter combined, and these generate equally 

enormous sums of money for all the faceless people who 

run its operations 

Why this ban? 

Earlier, the Ministry of Post and 

Telecommunication (MoPT) 

of Bangladesh listed down 

names of 500 porn websites 

and sent it to the Bangladesh 

Telecommunication Regulatory 

Commission (BTRC). 

The list is forwarded by the 

Telecom regulator to internet 

service providers (ISP), as well as 

to International Internet Getaway 

(IIG) service providers who have 

started taking the actions right 

away. 

About the closure, Tarana 

Halim said that initially they 

have decided to block around 

500 websites that contain 

pornography, obscene pictures 

and video contents. In the first 

phase, they will go for blocking the 

locally hosted sites. 

About 70 to 80 percent of the 

pornography sites, operated from 

overseas, would also be blocked in 

phases, Tarana added. 

The Minister said that she is 

aware of accessing porn websites 

through virtual private network 

(VPN). 

A VPN helps someone encrypt 

traffic between his/her device 

and the VPN server. With VPN, 

that person can get access to the 

blocked websites. 

“I know it is not possible to 

completely block all websites 

because there will always be ways 

of accessing those porn sites. But 

we are trying to make it as difficult 

as possible for the users.” 

Why banning porn websites is 

difficult? 

Experts concerned in the field 

said that aside from VPN, a user 

can get access to the blocked 

porn websites through proxy 

servers. There are a lot of proxies 

on the world wide web that allow 

someone to use their Internet 

connection, thus bypassing 

most of the restrictions set 

up by the ISPs or the network 

administrators. 

Cyber expert Hasib Muammar 

Rashid said when it comes to 

the question of blocking porn 

websites, the Government is just 

wasting its time. 

He said that to block content, 

the Bangladesh Government- with 

the help of ISPs and IIGs- use a listbased 

approach. 

This means the list of websites, 

with their exact Uniform Resource 

Locator (URL), are fed into a 

system and then access to those 

sites is denied to a user. 

It can be easily bypassed if the 

blocked website decides to create 

a mirror site or if it changes the 

name, said Hasib. 

“The list-based filtering system 

can also be defeated if a website 

decides to encrypt the traffic by 

using HTTPS instead of HTTP 

because then the internet service 

providers can’t see what a user is 

accessing.” 

Is there any way? 

Hasib said that the blocks and 

content filtering can be made 

more robust with keyword-based 

filtering or by employing deep 

packet inspection of the internet 

traffic. 

“This is something China or 

countries like Saudi Arabia do, but 

it is also vastly more expensive 

and difficult to maintain.” 

Adult websites are just one 

part of the internet. There are 

other communication protocols 

that internet users follow. “For 

example, even if websites are 

banned, porn can be downloaded 

using Bit-Torrent technology. 

PHOTO: BIGSTOCK 

Similarly, peer-to-peer networks 

like eMule or Bulletin Boards can 

be used to download and share 

files, including porn files.” 

“Porn is fairly easily and widely 

available on the web and clamping 

down on it is near impossible, 

unless the Government is willing 

to spend crores every year just 

to keep an updated web content 

filtering system in place,” said 

Hasib. 

Besides, no Government 

generally bans porn sites as 

they are the biggest driver of 

e-commerce intervention, he 

added. 

“It is a good intention but the 

Government should not bite more 

than they can chew.” 

Hasib said that the US and 

China tried to fight porn and 

saw its results and then they 

only limited themselves to child 

pornography. “In the last two 

years, the United Kingdom and 

India tried very hard to block porn 

websites in their countries but 

they have failed.” •

18 


DT 

Feature 

Films on writers 

•Mahmood Sadi 

Hollywood loves making movies about writers – apparently 

there is nothing more cinematic than watching an unwashed 

nerd sit in front of a computer and think really hard for the 

next lines. For aspiring young writers, such films portraying 

the lifestyles of writers-their struggles, inspirations and 

the need to come up with beautiful narratives can act as an 

impetus. Weekend Tribune prepared a list of films, depicting 

writers. 

by Meryl Streep. The novel itself concerns the story of John 

Laroche (played by Chris Cooper), a smug plant dealer 

who was arrested in 1994 for poaching rare orchids in the 

Fakahatchee Strand State Preserve. As Kaufman struggles to 

write the script, his troubles are compounded by the presence 

of his twin brother, Donald (also played by Nicolas Cage), who 

is Charlie’s exact opposite: reckless, carefree, over-confident 

and perhaps even a bit dim. The script for Adaptation darts 

back and forth between different moments in time, either 

chronicling Kaufman’s screen writing exploits or Orlean’s 

experiences in writing her novel. Here Kaufman shows his 

mastery in destroying the line between reality and fiction. 

endless possibilities. In Wonder Boys, Michael Douglas plays 

Grady Tripp, a distracted and downtrodden professor who 

is suffering from an epic case of writer’s block. Life’s little 

surprises and academic politics aren’t helping the creative 

process either. Every writer has been there: when life seems 

to be wildly spinning away from you, the only thing you can 

control is your writing. Wonder Boys thus asks the question, 

what happens when you lose control of the writing too? A 

lot occurs in Wonder Boys, and the plot is very labyrinthine, 

although it never becomes confused and always keeps its 

cool. The characters are perfectly defined and cast. Their 

intentions and motives are clear and developed with shape 

and gradual effectiveness. Director Curtis Hanson pays 

close attention to each separate character, giving them 

dimensional qualities, intelligence and depth. It’s a complex, 

yet a feel good movie. 

Deconstructing Harry (1997) 

If one director’s name is being picked for portraying writers 

in movies, then it should be Woody Allen. In almost 

every Woody Allen film there is a writer character, but it’s 

with Deconstructing Harry, where Woody is at his best in 

portraying the eccentric lives of writers and it’s not a pretty 

sight. Arguably Woody’s best film of the 90’s, Deconstructing 

Harry is a study of a hopelessly immature and narcissistic 

novelist (played by Woody himself) who leaves a wake of 

misery and heartbreak among his friends and family as 

he loses the inspiration to write. As a result, he becomes 

‘unfocused,’ entangling himself in fact and fiction (ie, he 

interacts with his own characters). “You expect the world 

to adjust to the distortion you’ve become,” Harry’s analyst 

tells him. What follows is a series of skits that interact with 

the past and present and the real and imagined – it’s kind 

of like watching a Kurt Vonnegut story edited by Quentin 

Tarentino. 

Adaptation (2002) 

Adaptation is another masterpiece by the director Spike 

Jonze. But here the real credit goes to Charlie Kaufman, the 

screenwriter. Much like Federico Fellini’s classic 1963 film - 

8½, from which Kaufman almost certainly drew inspiration, 

Adaptation tells the story of its own creation. 

Nicolas Cage plays Charlie Kaufman, the lonely, insecure, 

and socially awkward screenwriter who is hired to adapt 

The Orchid Thief, written by Susan Orlean, who is portrayed 

Naked Lunch (1991) 

Films about writers and the creative process are not 

generally action-packed, but this unusual piece has plenty of 

incidents. The action takes place largely inside the mind of 

William Lee (William S Burroughs), whose first book Junkie: 

Confessions of an Unredeemed Drug Addict, dealt with his 

struggle against heroin addiction. The Naked Lunch, set 

in the early 1950s, could be described as telling how that 

book came to be written. Lee tries to write but suffers from 

frequent hallucinations. He imagines his typewriter is a 

giant speaking bug whose mission is to act as his “interzone” 

spy force controller. He becomes involved with another 

expatriate literary couple, Tom and Joan Frost, and imagines 

that Tom is trying to kill his wife. Then he discovers he has 

a taste for gay sex. Finally, somehow, the book gets written, 

and Hank and Martin show up just as Lee is in psychotic 

despair. They help him piece it together and head off back to 

New York, leaving Lee to “interzone” and his hallucinations. 

It takes a bit of discipline to watch this film - never has the 

creative process looked quite so destructive of the writer. Yet 

the whole thing has a lightness of touch about it. 

Wonder Boys (2000) 

Writer’s Block always has been a favourite subject of both 

the screenwriters and the directors because as a film subject 

‘writer’s block’ is complex, multi-dimensional and has 

Photos: Internet 

Barton Fink (1991) 

Another film focusing on writer’s block, this time by the 

great Coen brothers. Barton Fink is termed as the most 

audacious film about the writing process. For me the clue 

to understanding this film was the line “I will show you the 

life of the mind,” and I feel that is just what this movie is 

about. It’s about the creative process of writing. It shows 

how the mind of an artist works. Set in the Hollywood of 

1941, struggling playwright Barton Fink (John Turturro) has 

had huge success with a play he penned that he despises. 

Barton is a man who wants to write material that appeals 

to the common man. And when he receives an offer from 

a Hollywood film studio to write a script about a wrestling 

picture, he doesn’t like the idea of “selling out,” but the offer 

is too good to turn down. When he arrives in Hollywood, he 

checks into one of the most bizarre hotels. Trapped within 

the confines of his tiny room, Barton became a prisoner 

of his own imagination. He was struck by a severe case of 

writers block. There can be nothing more horrifying to a 

writer than a blank page. And that endless image of a blank 

page slowly starts to drive Barton mad. It is similar to Stanley 

Kubrick’s The Shining. The Coen brothers are known fans 

of Kubrick’s work, but I have to say, Barton Fink is a much 

better film than the one the Coens’ idol came up with.•

Biz Info 

19 


DT 

| contest | 

International photography competition by ThirdEye 

• Saqib Sarker 

Bangladesh International Salon 

2016 has just been successfully 

completed. Unfolded on December 

22 this year, the curtain was closed 

on December 25, at Drik Gallery, 

Dhanmondi, Dhaka. 

ThirdEye Photographic Society 

organised this Salon in 2016, which 

had joint patronages of PSA and 


(TPS). A total of 83 awards were 

declared and distributed among 

the participants. Sayeeda Khanam, 

advisor of ThirdEye Photographic 

Society and one of the first female 

photo journalists of Bangladesh 

was the chief guest in the opening 

ceremony. 

Syed Shakhawat Kamal, 

the newly appointed Country 

Membership Director of 

Photographic Society of America 

(PSA) presented the award 

giving ceremony on the final 

day. A truly international event, 

the completion received over 

4000 entries from than 400 plus 

entrants from across the globe. 

The judging was completed in 

two rounds, where nine judges 

participated. Out of nine judges 

two judges were from USA, one 

judges from Saudi Arabia and the 

rest of the six judges were from 

Bangladesh. 


has established the tradition of 

“national photography conference 

in Bangladesh. This was the 2nd 

time ThirdEye organised this event 

in two consecutive years. At the 

same time it has introduced the 

“Photographer of the year” award 

for the first time. 

“It was an overwhelming 

success for the first event with 

PSA and TPS patronages,” said 

Syed Shakhawat Kamal. ThirdEye 

Photographic Society has 

pledged to continue their effort 

in promoting photography in 

Bangladesh. In their effort, they 

will work closely with PSA and 

promote PSA in Bangladesh. 

When Sheihk Md Atiqul Kabir 

received the photographer of the 

year award the audience cheered 

with tumultuous applause. Kabir 

gave a moving acceptance speech 

where he related the story behind 

his capture that won him the 

award. An educator by profession, 

Sheikh Kabir manages time for 

his passion of photography in 

addition to his regular professional 

engagements. 

“It’s difficult for me to express 

how I feel right now,” a tearful 

Kabir said to the audience. “I was 

in my hotel room the day I took the 

picture. It was raining and I was 

hesitant whether I would go out 

for a shoot. But I thought to myself 

that that is why I was there. So, I 

grabbed my rain coat, covered my 

camera and got out,” he continued. 

Kabir’s photo captured a fisherman 

struggling to pull in his boat near 

the shore against the strong tide. In 

beautiful monochrome the photo 

displays a silhouetted yet clear 

image of the scene. 

The photos in the contest 

covered a wide array of subjects 

including struggles of daily life, 

rural Bangladesh, rivers, and 

wildlife among others. • 

Photos: Courtesy 

| celebration | 

New Year celebrations at Dhaka Regency 

special New Year’s Eve celebrations will kick off 

from 6pm onwards with live DJ at Club 13 to make 

the night memorable. 

Dhaka Regency is also offering a special room 

package for the night of the 31st including a wide 

spread of buffet breakfast for two persons at the 

Grandiose Restaurant. Guests can enjoy the package 

only at Tk9,999. The valued members of Dhaka 

Regency Premier Club can avail the same package at 

Tk8,888. 

The New Year’s Eve festivities are very popular 

among the people of Dhaka. Keeping this in mind, 

Dhaka Regency has planned to celebrate this night 

in an alluring, yet conventional manner. • 

Photos: Courtesy 

| meeting | 

Dhaka Regency and Resort holds 

9th Annual General Meeting 

People can celebrate New Year’s 

Eve with their family at the Dhaka 

Regency Hotel and Resort, where 

they promise this will be a night 

to remember. All the outlets of the 

hotel will have a bit for everyone 

on this night. 

The hotel’s most popular and 

largest rooftop restaurant Grill On 

The Skyline will be welcoming 

guests with their family and kids 

where they can enjoy the luxurious 

ambiance and mouth watering Live 

BBQ with music. For music lovers, 

Photo: Courtesy 

The 9th Annual General Meeting of 

Dhaka Regency Hotel and Resort 

Limited was held on Sunday, 

December 29 at the Rendezvous 

Lounge of Dhaka Regency. 

The meeting was presided over 

by Musleh Uddin Ahmed, Chairman 

of Dhaka Regency Hotel and 

Resort Limited. The meeting was 

also attended by Kabir Reza, Managing 

Director, other Board Members, 

Executive Director, Company 

Secretary, respected shareholders 

and other Senior Officials of 

the company. The shareholders 

thanked the board of directors and 

the management of the company 

for the success and notable growth 

during the year. •

DT 

20 

Editorial 


TODAY 

The long shadow 

of Ayub Khan 

Srabon protested the decision last year 

and so it has been banned from hosting 

a stall for the next two years 

PAGE 21 

Oppressors and 

exploiters, be 

careful 

While the posters are visual 

representation of the Santal, taken 

from their muddy house walls around 

the villages, the messages reflect and 

convey the historical roots of their 

struggle 

PAGE 22 

Second time’s a 

coronation 

The same Ivy registered a preciously 

rare show of strength at the ballot box 

for the ruling party -- in the form of a 

victory unsullied by accusations 

PAGE 23 

Be heard 

Write to Dhaka Tribune 

FR Tower, 8/C Panthapath, 

Shukrabad, Dhaka-1207 

Send us your Op-Ed articles: 

opinion.dt@dhakatribune.com 

www.dhakatribune.com 

Join our Facebook community: 

https://www.facebook.com/ 

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. 

These bans must end 

Bangla Academy’s decision to ban Srabon Prokashoni from the Amar 

Ekushey Boi Mela simply cannot be justified. 

The publishing house has been barred from participating in the 

annual book fair for two years only because of its vocal protest 

against the shuttering of Badwip Prokashoni’s stall at this year’s Ekushey Boi 

Mela. 

Earlier this year, Badwip Prokashoni’s stall was raided by the police in the 

Suhrawardy Udyan part of the book fair. Law enforcers justified the raid by 

claiming that the publishers had been carrying a book that was said to have 

offended a group of religious extremists. 

In a country where freedom of expression is a constitutionally protected 

fundamental right, the decision to ban Srabon Prokashoni from the book fair 

for protesting a ban that they felt was misplaced, is unacceptable. 

The rationale expressed by the authorities in placing the ban holds little 

water when we consider what an event like the Ekushey Boi Mela represents. 

Freedom of thought and expression are the cornerstones of what makes for 

a book fair -- to say that a publishing house’s peaceful protest was “upsetting 

the soundness of the fair” makes a mockery of the entire concept of a festival 

dedicated to free expression. 

Frankly, there was very little justification for the original ban on Badwip 

Prokashoni to begin with. 

To small-time publishers such as Badwip and Srabon Prokashoni, the 

Ekushey Boi Mela is a rare chance to make their mark on the industry. And 

doing so requires them to go through innumerable hurdles and layers upon 

layers of bureaucracy. 

Bans such as these are a slap in the face to anyone attempting to break into 

the publishing business and have a negative impact far beyond the publishing 

houses that are affected. 

Instead of shuttering their stall, we believe that the Bangla Academy, and 

perhaps the police, should have taken a more nuanced approach to deal with 

the issue. 

We understand that public sentiment needs to be protected, but there are 

ways to do that without compromising the sanctity of an event such as the 

Ekushey Boi Mela. 

There may be many reasons for a publisher to be banned from the Boi 

Mela, but protesting an unjustified decision is not one of them. 

Bangla Academy needs to realise this, and lift the ban as soon as possible. 


There may be many 

reasons for a publisher to 

be banned from the Boi 

Mela, but protesting an 

unjustified decision is not 

one of them

Opinion 21 

DT 


Bangla Academy, the Srabon Publishers 

ban, and the long shadow of Ayub Khan 

Is Srabon Prokashoni’s ban from the Ekushey Boi Mela a sign of our culture being compromised? 

The Ekushey Boi Mela is synonymous with Bengali culture 


• Afsan Chowdhury 

Bangla Academy, in its 

infinite wisdom, has 

banned Srabon Publishers 

from having a stall at the 

Ekushey Boi Mela this year. 

The excuse is that it disrupted 

the book fair last year by 

protesting the closure of a stall and 

the arrest of a fellow publisher. 

This publisher was accused 

of publishing books which were 

considered anti-religious in nature 

by the police, but the legal verdict 

is not there. 

Srabon protested the decision 

last year and so it has been banned 

from hosting a stall for the next 

two years. 

Not only is this decision 

insensible but, given the fact that 

court judgment on the case is not 

out, also illegal. 

Guilt has been assumed of a 

case still not decided. 

* * * * * 

Most people are not familiar with 

the name of Field Marshall Ayub 

Srabon protested the decision last year and so it has been banned from 

hosting a stall for the next two years. Not only is this decision insensible 

but, given the fact that court judgment on the case is not out, also illegal 

Khan, the man who ruled Pakistan 

from 1958 to 1969 and basically 

killed Pakistan. He did the most of 

playing politics with culture. 

Ayub tried to ban Tagore, 

arrested cultural activists of 

East Pakistan, promoted a 

military brand of civilian culture, 

promoted wealth-making and 

wealth concentration, initiated 

the Agartala conspiracy against 

Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib and 

others, and considered Bangalis 

uncivilised all in the hope of 

strengthening Pakistan. 

The result was, of course, 

the exact opposite. And East 

Pakistanis gave up on whatever 

little confidence they had in 

Pakistan and began to make their 

own plans. 

It made Bengali culture strong, 

created many resistance points, 

and basically initiated the 1969 

political movement which ended 

his rule. 

Ayub was followed by Yahya 

Khan’s rule and finally the 

elections of 1970 which ended 

Pakistan itself. 

Among other things, the biggest 

lesson from his history is that 

don’t play a cultural mastaan in a 

neighbourhood which has a long 

history of resistance to similar 

efforts. Chances are, the mastaan 

exits but the neighborhood stays 

on. 

* * * 

If certain rumours are to 

be believed, then a political 

disservice is done through this 

incident as well, and the price may 

have to be paid by the party in 

power in terms of its popularity. 

The Bangla Academy is a 

symbol of resistance, and is rooted 

in the 21 points of the United 

Front of 1954 which birthed and 

organised Bengali nationalismbased 

politics, so please respect 

the spirit of the birth of the 

institution. 

It’s not always about singing 

and dancing and chatting and 

walking around the Mela -- it’s 

about upholding the cultural 

essence of a people who have a 

long tradition of not taking it lying 

down. 

One may not have liked the 

fact that Sarabon and others had 

protested, but to accept protest as 

a valid form of cultural activism is 

important. 

Compliant culture is impotent. 

When protest dies, so does 

culture. Srabon is more in line 

with the spirit of Ekushey than any 

of the parties involved in its ban. 

* * * * * 

Protest, small or big, will happen 

and it may well grow on the issue. 

The Bangla Academy belongs to 

the people, not the government. 

Unless the ban is withdrawn, 

which has been put into effect on 

such absurd grounds and with the 

intent of punishing a dissident 

protestor, the consequences will 

have an impact on all parties 

involved. 

History shows that trying to 

kill dissidence never works, and 

Pakistan and the Soviet Union are 

two very good examples. Why try 

to be yet another? • 

Afsan Chowdhury is a journalist and 

researcher.

22 


DT 

Opinion 

Oppressors and exploiters, be careful 

The plight of the Santals is nothing if not heart-wrenching 

• Zahir Ahmed and Fiaz Sharif 

It’s winter in late November 

2016. We are accompanied by 

a local Santal young man to 

visit the Gobindaganj Santal 

villages since the massacre in early 

November. There is a sense of an 

external intervention instantly 

from the wire fence around the 

crop fields. 

Near the temporary 

accommodation given to the 

evicted villagers, are posters 

written in both Bangla and Santal 

languages. Whilst not explained, 

these posters have statements 

which convey the nature of 

dissatisfaction -- they are merely 

another form of protest. 

While the posters are a visual 

representation of the Santal, taken 

from their muddy house walls 

around the villages, the messages 

reflect and convey the historical 

roots of their struggle, focusing 

on some elements of the glorious 

historical movements led by 

heroes like Kanu and Sidhu whilst 

appealing to the government to 

give their land back. 

They read: “It is our land, we 

used to own it” … “Honorable 

administration, find our 

disappeared individuals” … 

“Stop filing cases against the 

Santals” … “It is impossible to stop 

indigenous peoples’ movement 

with a gun.” 

Some slogans are written in 

in the Santali language: “Diku 

pera janum jati Husiar Husiar” 

(the oppressors and exploiters, 

be careful); “Sidhu kanu rakapen, 

hule hul hule hul, bagda farm hasa 

lagit, Hule hul hule hul” (wake up 

the successors of Sidhu-Kanu, 

wake up the inhabitants of Bagda 

farm). 

Not surprisingly, the legacy of 

the Santals’ current protest is more 

complex than the official version 

would have us believe. 

Some Santal farmers showed 

their anger with a grimace when 

we wanted to talk more. They 

said that the whole affair is a bit 

disappointing -- they have been 

frequently asked similar questions 

by numerous journalists and 

activities. Nothing was beneficial 

to them. They argue: “All are 

with the leaders and the sugar 

mill authority. Do you have a 

solution?” 

Some villagers told us that 

they had lost household property. 

When the district administration 

sent food as relief, the protestors 

did not receive it although they 

had been hungry for three to four 

days. 

A group of individuals gave an 

Will the Santals ever get their land back? 

eloquent description of the recent 

massacre: “The political thugs 

are obsessed with death and see 

it around every corner and our 

blood drips from every plant in the 

field. The only way to live in such 

a terrifying world is to leave our 

ancestral lands.” 

Mongol Mardee is standing 

beside the wire fence, looking at 

the paddy fields with blood-thirsty 

eyes. We have walked the short 

distance here from his demolished 

house, with its makeshift 

dwelling, where we saw that many 

others have been compelled to 

lead sub-human lives as attackers 

have vandalised and set their 

homes ablaze, looted everything, 

including food grains, valuable 

things, and domestic animals. 

Mardee doesn’t like living as 

a refugee in his own ancestral 

land. He says: “Seeing the wire 

fence and giant machine which 

has harvested their green paddy, 

brings indescribable pain. We met 

some mill officials near the fields. 

We have asked them a very simple 

question: ‘Why are the officials in 

the field?’ They replied that the 

court had ordered them to harvest 

the paddy as early as possible.” 

The story highlights how, within 

the minority context, the official 

statement is motivated. Yet, 

whilst land-grabbing politics is 

evident, efforts are made to ignore 

them. The hidden political view 

is rendered apolitical via the 

anodyne language and benevolent 

efforts. Within this context, 

the apparently philanthropic 

transcripts of the players involved 

in the massacre can be understood 

as a form of governance in which 

the entitlement rights of the 

minority that cause the massacre 

are not interrogated, the status 

quo remains unquestioned, and 

neo-liberal ideologies asserted. 

On our return to Dhaka, we 

stopped again in front of the wire 

fence. Hemonto Tudu of Madarpur 

squats patiently in front of the 

fence, staring through the barbed 

wire into the paddy fields. 

It’s a new world to him -- new 

management with giant machines 

to harvest, a new place where 

police are deployed, mill workers 

turned into agricultural labourers 

with trousers and helmets, and 

security regulations strictly 

upheld. 

A placard near the entrance 

declares the area protected. 

Further on, a big power tiller is 

neatly parked next to paddy straws 

to till the land for sugar cane 

plantation. 

This is a new world to Hemonto, 

one beyond his imagination. 

He was narrating his past days 

when he used to pass this field 

across narrow muddy paths that 

led him into his Joypur home 

village with his cattle. It is because 

of this contrast that Hemonto is 

MEHEDI HASAN 

While the posters are visual representation of the Santal, taken from 

their muddy house walls around the villages, the messages reflect 

and convey the historical roots of their struggle 

here. He could not stop crying 

about the recent massacre, about 

how brutally demolished were the 

houses. 

He is now helpless, hanging 

around the wire fences with his 

matted hair and lunatic eyes. 

Before we part towards 

Gobindaganj, and Hemonto Tudu 

heads back to his temporary 

shelter, he takes our hands and 

makes a request that, wherever we 

have a chance to do something for 

them in Dhaka, we should. 

His words haunted us as we 

later sped down a tarmac road to 

Dhaka. • 

Dr Zahir Ahmed is a Professor, 

Department of Anthropology, 

Jahangirnagar University. Fiaz Sharif is 

an MPhil Researcher, Department of 

Anthropology, Jahangirnagar University.

Opinion 23 

Second time’s a coronation 

Narayanganj just showed the country how a proper election is carried out 

DT 


Have we found a true ‘people’s champion’? 


to expect the party to lay its fort 

out against a proven vote-winner 

like Ivy was unreasonable. Almost 

whimsical. 

The conditions were ripe for a 

reconciliation. And there was one, 

of sorts. Or as much as there can 

be between the two houses laying 

claim to the soul of the Awami 

League in Narayanganj. 

Ignoring its Narayanganj unit’s 

recommendations, the centre went 

with Ivy, in what was very much 

a case of the AL latching onto Ivy 

rather than the other way around. 

The result was never in doubt, of 

course. 

The BNP’s fortunes in 

Narayanganj have long been on the 

wane, and there was nothing to 

suggest they were about to arrest 

the slide. The fact that Khaleda Zia 

didn’t even bother to show up and 

lend her support to the campaign 

said a lot about the state of play. 

Osman, eager to fall in line 

with the party command after a 

reported telling-off, had taken 

it upon himself to prevent that 

occurrence, as he did once before, 

famously in 1996. But this time 

around there was also the distinct 

lack of a challenge in the air to stir 

the teapot, as it were. 

And so, a bit of national-level 

anti-incumbency, perhaps, ate into 

her winning margin, but it was 

never going to be enough. 

The BNP, instead of falling 

into the trap of looking at it as 

a debacle, should plainly state 

the hill was always too steep for 

them and not read too much into 

analysis of why they failed to 

win as many votes as -- as what 

exactly? As required to win? They 

were never going to. 

To prevent Ivy from winning 

positively wholesome election, 

right down to the post-victory 

visit by Ivy to her defeated rival’s 

residence, sweets in tow. 

Not an accusation of voter fraud 

in sight, at least not the kind we 

may understand as such. 

Rakibuddin Ahmad’s outgoing 

Election Commission needn’t fish 

for compliments, there’s nothing 

genuine about whatever has been 

on offer. 

The country can’t wait to see 

their backs. Ivy was accompanied 

by her brother, carrying on 

a tradition she has wound 

since 2003, when she was first 

elected chairman of the local 

administration in Narayanganj. 

She would be elected chairman yet 

another time, before Narayanganj 

won city corporation status. 

In a sense, she is the only 

politician the AL, as embodied by 

the figure of the prime minister, 

has bent to in the last five or six 

years, recognising in her a true 

people’s champion. 

Will that aura brush off now 

that she is to be absorbed into 

the party central? Or will the AL 

allow her to flourish and emerge 

onto the national stage, where 

she would seem to belong? Might 

she get the sense of it herself, and 

seek a parliamentary seat in future 

perhaps? 

That might test the uneasy 

compromise struck between the 

Osman household, and that of Ali 

Ahmed Chunkha in Narayanganj 

-- although nothing that a party 

leader’s stern hand shouldn’t be 

able to sort out. • 

Shayan S Khan is Executive Editor, 

Dhaka Courier, and Senior News Editor, 

UNB. 

• Shayan S Khan 

Narayanganj’s second city 

corporation elections 

caused nowhere the 

same drama, at least 

around the day of the election 

itself, as did in its first -- a 

memorable contest made all the 

more so by the final result. 

The 2011 version featured 

a thumping victory for rebel 

candidate Selina Hayat Ivy, against 

the Awami League’s establishment 

candidate Shamim Osman, back 

from being encamped in India 

during the course of the two-year 

interregnum summed up as 1/11, 

and in pursuit of an elected office. 

Having not made it for the 2008 

parliamentary cohort, the mayor’s 

seat, that too Narayanganj’s first at 

having acceded to city corporation 

status, presented a welcome 

The same Ivy, only this time in what was never a contest but much 

more of a coronation, registered a preciously rare show of strength at 

the ballot box for the ruling party -- in the form of a victory unsullied by 

accusations or indeed, evidence, of electoral malpractice 

alternative. 

But it was not to be. Ivy 

whooped him by over 100,000 

votes. 

Fast forward to 2016: The same 

Ivy, only this time in what was 

never a contest but much more 

of a coronation, or some such 

ceremony, even as her winning 

margin dropped, registered a 

preciously rare show of strength at 

the ballot box for the ruling party 

-- in the form of a victory unsullied 

by accusations or indeed, 

evidence, of electoral malpractice. 

The election was effectively 

fought on the day of the AL 

nomination, where Osman’s 

favoured candidate was snubbed 

by the party central command, and 

clearly he had been swayed by his 

most respected leader’s abiding 

wisdom. 

He was even back in parliament 

now, having snuck in as part of the 

unopposed batch in 2014. For him 

handsomely? Even that would 

have been difficult. To at least 

reduce her margin of victory 

significantly, showing enough 

of a swing away from Ivy as 

the AL candidate (compared 

to her victory in 2011 as a rebel 

candidate), to keep BNP interested 

in Narayanganj for the next round 

of parliamentary elections in 2019? 

At close to 30,000, that would 

seem to have been achieved. 

The stage was set also, for a

DT 

24 

Sport 


TOP STORIES 

A good opportunity 

lost, says Mashrafe 

Excerpts from the post-match 

press conference of Bangladesh 

captain Mashrafe bin Mortaza 

following their 67-run defeat 

against New Zealand in the second 

ODI at Saxton Oval in Nelson 

yesterday. PAGE 25 

Former world No 1 

Ivanovic retires 

Former French Open champion 

Ana Ivanovic of Serbia announced 

her retirement from tennis at 

the relatively young age of 29 on 

Wednesday because she no longer 

feels fit enough to compete at the 

highest level. PAGE 26 

Tevez agrees to join 

Shanghai Shenhua 

Carlos Tevez became the latest 

high-profile international to join 

the Chinese Super League when 

Shanghai Shenhua confirmed the 

signing of the Argentine striker 

from his boyhood club Boca 

Juniors yesterday. PAGE 27 

The good, the bad 

and the ugly 

In terms of results of the national 

team, Bangladesh football will 

be closing the chapter of one of 

its worst years. However, the 

U16 women’s success ensured 

Bangladesh had something be 

proud of in 2016. PAGE 28 

New Zealand captain Kane Williamson bowls to Bangladesh batsman Mosaddek Hossain as wicket-keeper Luke Ronchi 

looks on during their second one-day international at Saxton Oval in Nelson yesterday 

AFP 

Bangladesh batting collapse 

hands Kiwis ODI series win 

• Reuters 

Recalled batsman Neil Broom 

scored his maiden one-day century 

and took two crucial catches as 

New Zealand completed a 67-run 

victory over Bangladesh in the 

second one-day international at 

Saxton Oval in Nelson yesterday. 

The victory allowed New Zealand 

to wrap up the three-match 

series with a game to spare as captain 

Kane Williamson chipped in 

with a throw that led to a run out, 

a catch and three wickets with his 

part-time off-spin. 

Chasing 252 for victory, Bangladesh 

had been cruising at 105 

for one in the 23rd over before 

Williamson sparked a collapse 

with the run out of Sabbir Rahman 

for 38 after he had combined 

in a 75-run partnership with 

opener Imrul Kayes. 

Williamson then had all-rounder 

Shakib Al Hasan caught at backward 

point by Broom, who also 

snapped up Imrul off Tim Southee 

for 59, as the visitors slumped 

to 141-7 by the 33rd over. 

They were eventually bowled 

out for 184 in the 43rd over. 

Broom, who was recalled for 

the series six years after the last 

of his 22 previous one-day internationals, 

had propped up New 

Zealand’s below-par 251 all out 

with a composed innings. 

The 33-year-old, whose recall 

was partly necessitated by Ross 

Taylor needing time to recover 

from eye surgery, took his time 

to set a foundation and patiently 

built his innings on a wicket that 

was good for batting on when established. 

He also combined in a 51-run 

partnership with all-rounder Jimmy 

Neesham (28) and for 64 runs 

with Luke Ronchi (35), but they 

both got out when the home side 

needed them to stay with Broom 

to launch an assault in the final 

overs. 

Broom, whose previous best 

was 71 against the same opposition 

in 2010, was on 99 when 

Lockie Ferguson was the ninth 

wicket to fall in the 47th over. 

Trent Boult, however, survived 

the last ball of the over and Broom 

then pushed a single into the covers 

on the first ball of the 48th to 

bring up the milestone. 

He finished on 109 not out, 

having hit eight boundaries and 

three sixes.• 

New Zealand batsman Neil Broom 

celebrates his maiden ODI ton AFP 

BDvNZ, 2ND ODI 

NEW ZEALAND R B 

M. Guptill lbw Mashrafe 0 4 

T. Latham lbw Shakib 22 35 

K. Williamson c Shakib b Taskin 14 35 

N. Broom not out 109 107 

J. Neesham st Nurul b Mosaddek 28 31 

C. Munro b Mashrafe 3 7 

L. Ronchi c Tanveer b Taskin 35 38 

M. Santner c Mashrafe b Subashis 9 17 

T. Southee c Nurul b Shakib 3 7 

L. Ferguson c Nurul b Mashrafe 4 7 

T. Boult run out (Nurul/Taskin) 12 12 

Extras (b1, lb7, w4) 12 

Total (all out, 50 overs) 251 

Fall of wickets 

1-0 (Guptill), 2-37 (Williamson), 3-47 

(Latham), 4-98 (Neesham), 5-107 (Munro), 

6-171 (Ronchi), 7-198 (Santner), 8-214 

(Southee), 9-228 (Ferguson), 10-251 

(Boult) 

Bowling 

Mashrafe 10-1-49-3 (2w), Subashis 10-1- 

45-1 (1w), Taskin 10-1-45-2 (1w), Shakib 

10-0-45-2, Tanveer 8-0-47-0, Mosaddek 

2-0-12-1 

BANGLADESH R B 

Tamim c Latham b Southee 16 23 

Imrul c Broom b Southee 59 89 

Sabbir run out (Williamson/Ronchi) 38 49 

Mahmudullah b Ferguson 1 10 

Shakib c Broom b Williamson 7 10 

Mosaddek c Neesham b Williamson 3 8 

Tanveer st Ronchi b Williamson 2 5 

Nurul Hasan c Ronchi b Boult 24 31 

Mashrafe c Williamson b Boult 17 19 

Taskin st Ronchi b Santner 0 4 

Subashis not out 1 9 

Extras (b1, lb4, w10, nb1) 16 

Total (all out; 42.4 overs) 184 

Fall of wickets 

1-30 (Tamim Iqbal, 2-105 (Sabbir Rahman), 

3-112 (Mahmudullah), 4-128 (Shakib Al 

Hasan), 5-134 (Mosaddek Hossain), 6-136 

(Imrul Kayes), 7-141 (Tanveer), 8-162 

(Mashrafe), 9-175 (Taskin), 10-184 (Nurul) 

Bowling 

Boult 8.4-0-26-2 (3w), Southee 9-1-33-2 

(2w), Munro 2-0-12-0, Ferguson 8-0-53-1 

(2w, 1nb), Santner 8-1-20-1 (1w), Neesham 

2-0-13-0 (1w), Williamson 5-0-22-3 (1w) 

Result: New Zealand won by 67 runs

Sport 25 

Bangladesh players watch the screen as a DRS decision is made on New Zealand’s Tom Latham during their second ODI at Saxton Oval in Nelson yesterday 

‘A good opportunity lost for Bangladesh’ 

• Tribune Report 

Excerpts from the post-match 

press conference of Bangladesh 

captain Mashrafe bin Mortaza following 

their 67-run defeat against 

New Zealand in the second ODI at 

Saxton Oval in Nelson yesterday. 

“I think losing too many wickets. 

If you see, we had 100 runs on 

the board for the loss of one wicket. 

Then we lost nine scoring 84. 

It is very disappointing. It clearly 

Tanbir warned for breaching 

code of conduct 


Bangladesh all-rounder Tanbir 

Hayder failed to make a 

memorable debut after being 

included for the second oneday 

international against New 

Zealand at Saxton Oval in 

Nelson yesterday. The lower 

middle-order right-handed 

batsman scored only two runs 

in his maiden appearance for 

the Tigers while with the ball, 

he gave away 47 runs without 

success in eight overs. 

His frustration was doubled 

when the 25-year old received 

an official reprimand 

shows that the batting collapse was 

the reason behind the loss. I think 

the bowling was set up nicely. The 

wicket we got was better than the 

other match but again, losing wickets 

was the key. 

“I think he (Kane Williamson) 

did really well. He took some of our 

vital wickets. We knew he is an occasional 

bowler and was not in our 

plans. But the way he bowled was 

beautiful and credit goes to him. 

But I think we could have handled 

for breaching Level 1 of the 

International Cricket Council’s 

code of conduct. 

Tanbir was found to have 

breached article 2.1.4 of the 

ICC’s code of conduct for players 

and player support personnel, 

which relates to “using 

language or a gesture that is 

obscene, offensive or insulting 

during an international match”. 

In addition to the reprimand 

for his breach of article 

2.1.4, one demerit point has 

been added to Tanbir’s disciplinary 

record. 

If Tanbir reaches four or 

more demerit points within a 

him better. 

“That dismissal (run out mix up 

between Imrul Kayes and Sabbir 

Rahman) was the game-changer 

and key moment for New Zealand. 

We were going nicely in the chase 

with 100 runs for one wicket and 

then 150 runs in 27 overs. It was 

nicely set-up for us. The run out 

was crucial for us I think. 

“We were very confident of 

chasing the target, especially because 

of the wickets we had in 

24-month period, the points 

will be converted into suspension 

points and he will 

be banned. Two suspension 

points equate to a ban from one 

Test or two ODIs or two Twenty20 

internationals, whatever 

comes first for the player. 

The incident happened in 

the last ball of the 19th over 

when Tanbir, after being hit for 

a four by batsman Neil Broom, 

used obscene language which 

was heard by the umpires. 

Tanbir admitted the offence 

and accepted the sanction, as 

such, there was no need for a 

formal hearing. • 

AFP 

DT 


Mushfiq a priority for Tests 


hand. We knew in the second half it 

will be going flat and it did, the evidence 

was there. In the last match, 

there was swing in the wicket in the 

second half. So when the ball is not 

swinging, it is almost like playing at 

home (Bangladesh) conditions. But 

the collapse was our undoing. It is 

disappointing. 

“The sub-continent teams 

which come to play here look for 

the opportunity that we had [yesterday]. 

We leaked 40 to 50 runs 

Bangladesh wicketkeeper-batsman Mushfiqur 

Rahim started a rehab programme 

yesterday in a bid to recover from his left 

hamstring injury and get ready for the twomatch 

Test series, starting from January 12. 

Mushfiq, the Bangladesh Test captain, 

suffered the injury during the first ODI 

against hosts New Zealand at Hagley Oval 

in Christchurch last Monday. Mushfiq underwent 

an MRI in Nelson yesterday and 

the scan report confirmed a grade one tear. 

The injury ruled out the right-handed batsman 

not only from the ODIs but also from 

the three-match Twenty20 international 

series, beginning this Tuesday. 

“We have received the radiologist’s report 

and it shows a minor tear of the left 

hamstring,” said Bangladesh physio Dean 

Conway in a media release. 

“This is a moderate damage in nature 

Bangladesh 

tour of South 

Africa itinerary 

announced 


Bangladesh will tour South Africa 

in September-October, 2017, for 

two Tests, 3 ODIs and two Twenty20 

internationals. Cricket South 

Africa yesterday announced the 

itinerary of Bangladesh’s tour. 

The Test series naming rights 

went to Sunfoil, ODI series to Momentum 

and T20I series to KFC. 

Bangladesh tour of South Africa 

Itinerary 2017-18 

September 21-23: Three-day tour 

match v SA Invitation XI, Benoni 

September 28-October 2: First Test, 

Senwes Park, Potchefstroom 

October 6-10: Second Test, Mangaung 

Oval, Bloemfontein 

October 12: One-day tour match v SA 

Invitation XI, Bloemfontein 

October 15: First ODI, Kimberley 

October 18: Second ODI, Paarl 

October 22: Third ODI, Buffalo Park 

October 26: First KFC T20I, Mangaung 

Oval, Bloemfontein 

October 29: Second KFC T20I, Senwes 

Park, Potchefstroom. • 

in the first game but still, we had 

created our chances of winning 

the game. [Yesterday] we had a 

flat wicket and were batting as required. 

So we had never expected 

such a collapse from that point. A 

big chance slipped out from our 

hands. Winning the game would 

have made us comfortable in the 

last game of the series. I think the 

batsmen could have slowed things 

down when we were losing wickets 

but it didn’t happen.” • 

but means that it could take him around 

two weeks, starting from the day of the injury, 

to recover. However, we may ease him 

into training at some stage over the next 

few days,” Conway added. 

Conway further said Bangladesh team 

management’s priority is to get their skipper 

fit before the longer-version matches. 

“We will continue to assess and monitor 

him to see how he is responding to rehab,” 

said Conway. 

Mushfiq’s injury saw young stumper-batsman 

Nurul Hasan make his ODI debut 

in the second of the three ODIs yesterday. 

The Tigers lost the match by 67 runs 

and in the process, conceded the series 2-0 

with a game to spare. 

Nurul made a decent enough debut 

scoring 24 runs under pressure at No 8 and 

took two catches. He also affected a stumping, 

that of Jimmy Neesham, off the bowling 

of Mosaddek Hossain.•

DT 

26 


Mohammedan finish 10th 

in top-flight football 

Sport 


Local giant Mohammedan Sporting 

Club finished their Bangladesh Premier 

League 2016-17 campaign at 

a disappointing 10th position after 

they were held to a goalless draw 

by Uttar Baridhara Club at Bangabandhu 

National Stadium yesterday. 

The traditional Black and Whites 

got a golden opportunity to break 

the deadlock in the ninth minute 

but Cameroonian defender Pouemi 

Landry’s shot from a Masuj Miah 

Jony chip hit the crosspiece. 

The Motijheel outfit got another 

chance to take the lead moments 

later but Aminur Rahman Sajib 

failed to tap in from a Ismael Bangoura 

through pass. 

Baridhara also went close to taking 

the lead in the 22nd minute but 

Guinean defender Sylla Mansa’s 

header from a Khalekuzzaman Sabuj 

corner hit the crosspost. 

Mohammedan concluded their 

campaign with 20 points from 22 

matches while Baridhara finished 

second from bottom in the 12-team 

standings with 18 points from the 

same number of outings as the former. 

Meanwhile in the other game of 

the day at the same venue, Sheikh 

Russel Krira Chakra and Sheikh Jamal 

Dhanmondi Club played out a 

1-1 draw. 

Sheikh Jamal finished third with 

32 points from 22 outings while 

Sheikh Russel ended a disappointing 

eighth with 25 points from 22 

games.• 

Action from the Bangladesh Premier League game between Sheikh Russel Krira Chakra and Sheikh Jamal Dhanmondi Club at 

Bangabandhu National Stadium yesterday 

MD MANIK 

SAFF WOMEN’S CHAMPIONSHIP 2016 

Women hit Afghanistan for six 


The dominant Bangladesh women’s 

football team reached the semi-final 

of the South Asian Football Federation 

Championship after thrashing 

Afghanistan 6-0 in Siliguri’s 

Kanchanjonga Stadium yesterday. 

In Group B, India had earlier 

defeated the Afghans 5-1 and Bangladesh’s 

huge victory meant it was 

them, alongside the hosts, who 

made it to the last four. 

Captain Sabina Khatun scored 

four times for Bangladesh in the 

sixth, 15th, 40th and 44th minute. 

The women in red and green 

will now face India tomorrow to 

Double ton-up Nasir shines in run-filled NCL day three 


All-rounder Nasir Hossain provided 

the perfect answer to his critics 

after smashing his maiden firstclass 

double hundred as Rangpur 

took the first-innings lead against 

Sylhet in the third day of the ongoing 

18th Walton National Cricket 

League’s fifth round yesterday. 

Chittagong are in the driving 

seat and heading towards a huge 

target against Rajshahi while Dhaka 

will look to stretch their lead 

against Khulna. 

Dhaka Metropolis, meanwhile, 

managed a first-innings lead 

against Barisal, despite the former 

posting a modest total. 

Dhaka Metro v Barisal, BKSP 3 

Dhaka Metro took the all-important 

first-innings lead after Barisal were 

all out for 280 having resumed the 

see who finish as group champions. 

Bangladesh had also defeated 

Afghanistan 6-1 in the last edition 

of the tournament in Pakistan two 

years ago with the then young sensation 

Krishna Rani Sarkar scoring 

a hattrick and Sabina netting one. 

With that said, Afghanistan are 

not the same side they used to be 

before as they have improved in 

bits and pieces under their American 

head coach. They lost 11-0 and 

12-0 against three-time champions 

India in the last two editions. 

This is the fourth edition of the 

Saff Women’s Championship, a 

tournament in which Bangladesh 

have never reached the final. 

third and penultimate day’s play 

on 165/5. Overnight batsman Al 

Amin was the highest scorer with 

89 while Salman Hossain added 55. 

Fast bowler Abu Haider Rony 

and left-arm spinner Elias Sunny 

bagged four wickets each for the 

bowling side. Dhaka Metro will resume 

the fourth day today on 138/4 

and will look to extend their 150- 

run lead with six wickets in hand. 

Dhaka v Khulna, Fatullah 

Dhaka concluded yesterday on 

103/3 and are leading by 127 runs 

in their second innings after Khulna 

were dismissed for 342. Veteran 

batsman Tushar Imran struck yet 

another century and was eventually 

dismissed after scoring 141 off 

240 balls with 19 fours. 

However, Khulna were 24 runs 

shy after Dhaka posted 366. Pace 

bowler Dewan Sabbir picked up 

Prior to the tournament, forward 

Sabina wanted to concentrate firmly 

on their first game before eventually 

setting their sights on the last four. 

No doubt yesterday’s performance 

will satisfy her a great deal. 

This time around, Bangladesh 

women’s team are more confident 

with their prospects after the under-16 

girls’ immense success in 

the Asian Football Confederation’s 

U-16 Women’s Championship qualifiers 

in September this year. Meanwhile, 

Group A comprises Nepal, 

Bhutan, Maldives and Sri Lanka. 

Nepal thrashed Bhutan 8-0 while 

Maldives thumped Sri Lanka 5-2 in 

the opening day on Monday. • 

five wickets for the bowling side. 

Sylhet v Rangpur, Sylhet 

It was rather a one-man show in 

the tier two game where Nasir remained 

unbeaten after blasting a 

double ton. The right-hander was 

finally dismissed for 201 off 343 

balls with the help of 24 fours and 

three sixes as Rangpur took their 

first-innings lead to 126 runs. They 

posted 398 in reply to Sylhet’s 272. 

Fast bowler Abu Jayed took 

five wickets while Khaled Ahmed 

picked up four for the bowling 

side. However, Sylhet once against 

struggled with the bat in the second 

innings and will resume the 

fourth day on 43/3 with opening 

batsman Imtiaz Hossain still at the 

crease on 20. 

Chittagong v Rajshahi, Chittagong 

Chittagong are in the driving seat 

Ivanovic retires at age 29 

• Reuters, Belgrade 

Former French Open champion 

Ana Ivanovic announced her retirement 

from tennis at the age of 

29 on Wednesday because she no 

longer feels fit enough to compete 

at the highest level. 

Ivanovic became the first Serbian 

woman to win a grand slam 

tournament when she beat Russian 

Dinara Safina in the 2008 French 

Open final. 

“There is no other way to say it. I 

have decided to retire from professional 

tennis. It has been a difficult 

decision but there is so much to 

celebrate,” Belgrade-born Ivanovic 

said on Facebook. 

“I was the world number one 

and won Roland Garros in 2008, 

after Rajshahi were bundled out for 

230. Left-arm spinner Kazi Kamrul 

Islam bagged four wickets for the 

bowling side. 

In reply, Chittagong finished the 

third day on 229/3 with Yasir Ali not 

out on 78 while centurion of the 

first innings, Tasamul Haque, will 

resume the fourth day on 59. • 

I have seen the heights I never 

dreamt of achieving”. 

“I played so many memorable 

matches. But staying at those 

heights in any professional sport 

requires top physical form and it’s 

well-known that I have been hampered 

by injuries,” Ivanovic said. 

“I can only play if I perform up 

to my own high standards. I can no 

longer do that so it’s time to move 

on.”• 

18TH NCL, RD 5, 

DAY 3 

DHAKA METROPOLIS 292 & 138/4 in 

42 overs (Marshall 54, Mehrab Jr 30*) 

lead BARISAL 280 in 81.2 overs (Al 

Amin 89, Rony 4/81) by 150 runs 

DHAKA 366 & 103/3 in 32 overs (Saif 

26, Raqibul 23) lead KHULNA 342 in 

96 overs (Tushar 141, Sabbir 5/58) by 

127 runs 

CHITTAGONG 315 & 229/3 in 83 

overs (Yasir 78*, Tasamul 59*) lead 

RAJSHAHI 230 in 72.2 overs (Jahurul 

90, Kamrul 4/74) by 314 runs 

SYLHET 272 & 44/3 in 15 overs (Imtiaz 

20*, Kapali 11*) trail RANGPUR 398 in 

119 overs (Nasir 201, Jayed 5/112) by 82 

runs

Sport 27 

DT 


2ND TEST, DAY 4 

PAKISTAN FIRST INNINGS 443-9 DEC 

(A. Ali 205 not out, S. Khan 65; J. Hazlewood 

3-50, J. Bird 3-113) 

AUSTRALIA FIRST INNINGS R B 

(278-2 overnight) 

U. Khawaja c Sarfraz b Riaz 97 165 

S. Smith not out 100 168 

P. Handscomb c Sami b Sohail 54 90 

N. Maddinson b Yasir Shah 22 55 

M. Wade c Shafiq b Sohail 9 27 

M. Starc not out 7 8 

Extras (b1, lb8, nb13) 22 

Total (6 wickets, 113.5 overs) 465 

Bowling 

Amir 27-5-74-0 (1nb), Sohail 23.5-7-86-2, 

Y. Shah 34-2-150-2, Riaz 27-3-135-2 (12nb), 

Azhar 2-0-11-0 

Skipper Smith caps another big 

year with Melbourne ton 

• Reuters, Melbourne 

Australia captain Steve Smith’s love 

affair with the Melbourne Cricket 

Ground showed no sign of fading 

yesterday as he struck his third 

consecutive century in Boxing Day 

Tests to flatten Pakistan and finish 

another banner year with a bang. 

Smith’s unbeaten 100 carried 

Australia to 465 for six and a 22-run 

first innings lead after lunch on day 

four of the second Test before play 

was abandoned due to rain. 

The innings brought up his 

1,000th run in a calendar year for 

the third time in succession, a feat 

achieved by only one other Australian 

batsman, opener Matthew 

Hayden, who reached the mark in 

five consecutive years from 2001-05. 

Out of players who have batted 

at least five times at the MCG, only 

the great Don Bradman has a higher 

average, with 128.53 from his 17 innings 

versus the current captain’s 

114.60 from eight. With four centuries 

this year, Smith has now raced 

to 17 tons from a total of 90 innings 

in his career, with only Bradman 

(50 innings), Sunil Gavaskar (81) 

and Hayden (82) reaching the number 

faster.• 

Tevez agrees to join 

Shanghai Shenhua 

• Reuters 

Carlos Tevez became the latest 

high-profile international 

player to join the Chinese 

Super League when Shanghai 

Shenhua confirmed the signing 

of the Argentine striker 

from his boyhood club Boca 

Juniors yesterday. 

Although no financial details 

of the deal were released, 

media reports have suggested 

that the Chinese club paid 84 

million euros ($87.65 million) 

for Tevez, who returned to Argentina 

last year after spells in 

England and Italy. 

The hefty price tag will 

make Tevez the world’s sixth 

most expensive player, behind 

Paul Pogba, Gareth Bale, 

Cristiano Ronaldo, Gonzalo 

Higuain and Neymar, according 

to the German-based soccer 

information website transfermarkt.com. 

Tevez is also in line to become 

the sport’s highest paid 

player with the striker reportedly 

earning around $753,000 

per week on a two-year contract 

with Shanghai Shenhua. 

Boca Juniors offered Tevez 

their best wishes in a statement 

announcing his departure.• 

Bangladesh Army’s Adjutant General (AG) Major General SM Motiur 

Rahman distributes the winning trophy of the Joypurhat Girls Cadet 

College inter-house annual sports competition to Rajiya House 

yesterday 

ISPR 

DAY’S WATCH 

CRICKET 

TEN 3 

2:00PM 

Sri Lanka Tour of South Africa 

1st Test, Day 5 

STAR SPORTS 2 

5:30AM 

Pakistan Tour of Australia 

2nd Test, Day 5 

2:08 PM 

KFC T20 Big Bash League 

Brisbane Heat v Hobart Hurricanes 

STAR SPORTS SELECT HD 1 

3:00PM 

Premier League 2016/17 

Hull City v Everton

DT 

28 


Sport 

The good, the bad and the ugly 

• Shishir Hoque 

In terms of results and performances 

of the national team, Bangladesh 

football will be closing the chapter 

of one of its worst years in recent 

times. 

However, the outstanding 

achievement of the national under-16 

women’s team ensured 

Bangladesh football had something 

be proud of in the year 2016. 

In 2016, Bangladesh played 

the most number of international 

matches in their recent history and 

at the end of the year, it became 

quite clear that the footballers 

failed awfully to utilise their chances 

in the final third. As a result, 

there was a distinct lack of goals as 

Bangladesh not only lost seven out 

of eight matches in the 2018 World 

Cup qualifiers but also failed to 

make it into the AFC Cup qualifiers 

after conceding their first ever defeat 

against minnows Bhutan. 

The national men’s team’s first 

international assignment this year 

was in January in the Bangabandhu 

Gold Cup. They won their first 

match against Sri Lanka in Jessore 

and it turned out to be their only 

victory in the whole year. They 

failed to reach the final, losing 

against an amateur Bahrain U-23 

side in the last four. The Bangladesh 

U-23 team followed the senior 

side almost to a tee, finishing 

third in the South Asian Games in 

India where they, starting as holders, 

eventually delivered a performance 

that was clearly not their 

best effort. 

Bangladesh’s last group stage 

match of the 2018 Russia World 

Cup qualifiers was held in March 

where they fell to one of their most 

humbling defeats (8-0) at the hands 

of Jordan. They still had chances 

to qualify for the Asian Football 

Confederation Cup 2019 qualifiers. 

The first obstacle was a tough one 

against Tajikistan, and they duly 

lost 6-0 on aggregate in June. 

Their last opponent were Bhutan 

against whom Bangladesh 

have the finest record among all 

the other teams, winning four and 

drawing two. Bhutan showed they 

are not the same side they used to 

be against Bangladesh during the 

lacklustre 1-1 draw in the first leg. 

In the second leg too, Bangladesh 

showed no signs of improvement, 

putting up a horrible defensive display 

to concede a 3-1 defeat away to 

Bhutan in October. 

Losing to Bhutan for the first 

time in history was not the biggest 

concern but what was difficult to 

accept was their soulless performance, 

despite having an experienced 

and qualified coach in the 

shape of Belgian Tom Saintfiet. 

Bangladesh have no major Fifa/ 

Afc events at least for the next two 

years, right until the beginning of 

the qualifying round of the 2022 

Bangladesh under-16 women’s football team celebrate after finishing top in their qualifying group in the Asian Football Confederation’s U-16 Women’s Championship at 

Bangabandhu National Stadium in September this year 

MD MANIK 

World Cup and the 2023 Asian Cup 

so there is a lot of time for reflection. 

The federation’s lack of attention 

towards the players’ development 

and non-professional behaviour 

of the clubs have ensured that 

the new generation of footballers 

would be vulnerable technically, 

physically and psychologically in a 

football field. The crisis is nothing 

new and after eight long years, the 

Bangladesh Football Federation 

seemed to have realised its lackings 

towards improving the standard of 

the game in the country. 

In the second week of December, 

the BFF outlined a long-term 

plan with a four-year calendar 

filled with more domestic competitions 

and youth activities, placing 

the utmost importance on the development 

of youth football in the 

country, set to be effective from the 

first month of 2017. 

There has been an instability 

regarding the head coach’s position 

in the national men’s team 

throughout the year. The coach 

was changed as many as four times 

and currently, there has been no 

head coach in the senior men’s side 

in more than two months. The BFF 

election was held in April where 

Kazi Salahuddin was elected president 

for the third consecutive time. 

The country’s top-flight Bangladesh 

Premier League was held 

across five different venues of the 

country for the first time in history 

but still, it eventually failed to attract 

full-house crowds. This year 

marked Dhaka Abahani Limited’s 

return to dominance in domestic 

football. They were the most consistent 

performer in 2016, reaching 

the Independence Cup final, 

winning the Federation Cup and 

clinching their fifth professional 

league title at the end of December 

after a drought of three seasons. 

The year also marked the rise 

of rising powerhouse Chittagong 

Abahani and the fall of big-budget 

sides like Sheikh Jamal Dhanmondi 

Club and Sheikh Russel Krira 

Chakra. This year, Chittagong Mohammedan 

returned to second-tier 

football, along with Kawran Bazar 

and newly-formed Saif Sporting 

Club. Bangladesh football’s brightest 

month in 2016 was perhaps 

September, thanks to the spectacular 

displays by Krishna Rani Sarkar 

and Co. Followed by their brilliant 

achievement in the AFC U-14 Girls’ 

Regional Championship in the last 

two years, the clinical Bangladesh 

U-16 girls qualified for the final 

round of the AFC U-16 Women’s 

Championship, winning all five 

matches in a row, that too in some 

style. They scored 26 goals against 

favourites Iran, Kyrgyzstan, Singapore, 

Chinese Taipei and the United 

Arab Emirates. They will play 

Asia’s top teams in the form of Australia, 

Korea and Japan in the final 

round in Thailand next year. • 

Bangladesh football 

team react after 

losing against Bahrain 

under-23 side in the 

semi-final of the 2016 

Bangabandhu Gold 

Cup at Bangabandhu 

National Stadium in 

January 

MD MANIK

Downtime 

29 


DT 

CROSSWORD 

CODE-CRACKER 

ACROSS 

1 Ship of the desert (5) 

4 Small nail (4) 

7 Top airman (3) 

8 By way of (3) 

9 Lyrics (5) 

12 Prayer ending (4) 

13 Unauthorised 

absentees (7) 

15 Knight’s title (3) 

16 Electrical unit (3) 

18 Tree (3) 

19 Spirit (3) 

21 Begins again (7) 

24 Woody plant (4) 

26 Derogatory (5) 

27 Spoil (3) 

28 Fresh (3) 

29 Companion (4) 

30 Casts off (5) 

DOWN 

1 Members of a play (4) 

2 Fruit of the oak (6) 

3 Bill of fare (4) 

4 Prejudice (4) 

5 Male sheep (3) 

6 Durable cloth (5) 

10 Fuel (3) 

11 Bird (5) 

14 Long lock (5) 

17 Paid attention (6) 

18 Top room (5) 

20 Play on words (3) 

21 Quantity of paper (4) 

22 Pit (4) 

23 Works with needle 

and thread (4) 

25 Flightless bird (3) 

How to solve: Each number in our 

CODE-CRACKER grid represents a 

different letter of the alphabet. For 

example, today 11 represents W so fill W 

every time the figure 11 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



DT 

Showtime 

Bangladeshi short film 

awarded in Mumbai 

PHOTO: COURTESY 

When 

daddy 

Shakti 

does not 

approve 

• Showtime Desk 

Bangladeshi short film Kobi 

Swamir Mrityur Por Amar 

Jobanbondi, won the Special Jury 

Award at the 15th Third Eye Asian 

Film Festival which took place 

from December 15 to 22, 2016 in 

Mumbai, India. 

The award was handed over 

by renowned film director Shyam 

Bengal in a closing ceremony that 

was held yesterday at the Rabindra 

Natya Mandir. 

Also known as, The Statement 

After My Poet Husband’s Death, 

the story has been written and 

directed by Tasmiah Afrin Mou 

and produced by Rubaiyat 

Hossain. The short film had its 

world premiere held last month at 

the Festival Tous Courts in France. 

The film has also won the Tareque 

Shahriar Best Short Film Award at 

the Dhaka International Short and 

Independent Film Festival. Last 

week, the film was also screened at 

Festival Zubroffka, a reputed short 

film festival in Poland. 

The 15 th Third Eye Film 

festival was inaugurated with 

the screening of internationally 

acclaimed Bangladeshi director 

Rubaiyat Hossain’s Under 

Construction. Organised by the 

Asian Film Foundation, the festival 

this year honoured veteran filmmaker, 

Govind Nihalani with the 

prestigious Film Culture Award. • 

Carrie Fisher is one with the Force 

• Niloy Alam 

SOURCE: INTERNET 

Two days ago, I watched Star Wars 

– A New Hope Revisited, a highlyedited 

special fan edition. It could 

have been the 20th or 30th viewing, 

still soaked in every frame, every 

blaster fire, every explosion. 

Last night, a colleague said 

Carrie Fisher died. Dismissing his 

claims, citing her cardiac arrest 

a few days back, I said she was 

fine. Googled. The results were a 

staggering blow. Facebook. The 

News Feed was flooded with Carrie 

Fisher’s iconic poses from the Star 

Wars films. 

In the words of Obi-Wan 

Kenobi, played by the late Sir Alec 

Guinness: “There is no death, 

there is the Force. 

Carrie Fisher was not an actor 

who only played the character of 

Princess Leia Organa of Alderaan. 

She was Princess Leia for all 

intents and purposes. Every SW 

novel and comic base their 

depiction of Leia as that of Carrie. 

An avid reader, and a college 

dropout, Carrie Fisher was as 

much royalty in real life as she was 

in the Star Wars franchise. The 

moniker “Princess” in the films 

was initially a tongue-in-cheek 

reference to her status as a royalty 

of a planet destroyed, but her 

quiet resolve and unwavering aura 

of effervescent grace (in a white 

gown or bodysuit) earned her 

every ounce of respect. 

In her life outside the films, 

she was as humane as anyone 

could be. She was frank about her 

demons - her bipolar disorder, 

substance abuse, celebrity 

marriages – and was all the cooler 

for surviving them all. 

Carrie Fisher was more than an 

actress. She penned Postcards from 

the Edge, a semi-autobiographical 

work which she turned into a film 

to discuss her drug abuse. She 

performed Wishful Drinking on 

Broadway - a seminal showcase 

of her sharp, poignant wit – also 

available as a book. 

Carrie is not just survived by 

her daughter Billie Lourd and she 

is survived by her co-workers, 

her fans, and every 80s and 

90s adolescent whose hearts 

unanimously skipped a beat when 

she appeared in Return of the Jedi 

in a sensual-looking but highly 

uncomfortable plastic bikini. 

Carrie always wanted the 

following line in her obituary. It is 

the one service I can do her. 

“Carrie Fisher, 60, died in 

moonlight, strangled by her own 

bra.”• 


Children having a relationship 

is usually something that most 

parents disapprove of. However, 

when it comes to celebrities, 

most think that they are free 

from “common people” 

problems. As it happens, 

they are not too different 

from us. 

Word about Shraddha 

Kapoor secretly livingin 

with her Rock-On 2 

co-star and rumoured 

lover, Farhan Akhtar 

were already making 

rounds in the 

fraternity. 

All was good 

until Sunday, 

when father 

Shakti 

Kapoor 

and masi 

(aunt) 

Padmini 

Kolhapure 

paid a 

shocking visit 

to Shraddha and 

Farhan’s love nest, 

which stirred up quite 

the controversy. 

Their agenda was 

clear, they wanted 

Shraddha to quit the 

live-in relationship 

with the “almost 

divorced” and 

“father of two,” Farhan 

Akhter and move back 

to their Juhu home. We 

don’t know whether she 

put up a fight or not but 

the episode ended with 

Shakti forcibly taking 

Shraddha back home. 

This was reported by 

SpotBoye. 

Fathers will always be 

possessive of their daughter, 

even if you are a 

celebrity or not 

and Shakti 

definitely 

proved 

that. • 

SOURCES: INTERNET

Showtime 

Hollywood starlet Debbie 

Reynolds dies 


Debbie Reynolds, mother of 

Carrie Fisher, who just lost her 

daughter on Tuesday, has died 

after being rushed to the hospital 

early on Wednesday, her son 

confirmed. She was 84. 

Reynolds’ son, Todd Fisher 

said, “She’s now with Carrie and 

we’re all heartbroken.” He said 

the stress of his sister’s death 

“was too much” for Reynolds. 

“She said, ‘I want to be with 

Carrie,’” said Fisher. “And then 

she was gone.” 

Earlier, it was reported that 

Reynolds was at Fisher’s home 

in Beverly Hills on Wednesday 

morning planning her daughter’s 

funeral when she suffered a 

stroke. Several sources revealed 

that Reynolds had been 

distraught since Fisher’s health 

declined last week. 

“She held it together 

beautifully, obviously, for the last 

couple of days but she was under 

a lot of emotion and stress from 

the loss (of Fisher) and it’s pretty 

much what triggered this event,” 

Todd Fisher added. 

Reynolds’ illustrious career in 

Hollywood lasted for more than 

65 years. The Oscar-nominated 

actress starred in memorable 

films including 1952’s Singin’ in 

the Rain, 1962’s How the West Was 

Won and 1956’s Bundle of Joy. 

The outspoken Reynolds 

was well-known for playing 

offbeat mothers on-screen, 

alongside Albert Brooks in 1996’s 

Mother and on the sitcom Will 

& Grace (1999 to 2006) as Debra 

Messing’s screen mom. But the 

most famous is her true-life 

role as Carrie Fisher’s mother, 

the subject of Fisher’s semiautobiographical 

novel and 1990 

film Postcards From the Edge. 

Reynolds’ favourite role was 

playing Molly Brown in the 

musical The Unsinkable Molly 

Brown, for which she earned an 

Academy Award nomination. 

“I loved playing her. She was 

sort of like me,” said Reynolds, 

who titled her updated 2013 

autobiography, Unsinkable: A 

Memoir. 

Among Reynolds’ biggest 

contributions to the public were 

her massive movie memorabilia 

collection, which she was later 

forced to auction, and her Debbie 

Reynolds Dance Studios, which 

she opened in Los Angeles in the 

1970s. Everyone from Michael 

Jackson, Justin Timberlake and 

Britney Spears to Bette Midler, 

Madonna, Usher and Mariah 

Carey has trained 

or rehearsed at the 

studio. 

Reynolds is 

survived by 

her son, Todd 

Fisher, and her 

granddaughter, 

Carrie’s Fisher’s 

daughter, Billie 

Lourd.• 

Nadim Iqbal’s ‘Mother Tongue’ wins Hollywood 

In’t Independent Award 

31 


WHAT TO WATCH 

Mad Max: Fury Road 

HBO 7:10pm 

A woman rebels against 

a tyrannical ruler in 

postapocalyptic Australia 

in search for her home-land 

with the help of a group of 

female prisoners, a psychotic 

worshipper, and a drifter 

named Max. 

Cast: Tom Hardy, Charlize 

Theron, Nicholas Hoult, 

Hugh Keays-Byrne, Rosie 

Huntington-Whiteley, Riley 

Keough 

Godzilla (1998) 

Star Movies 11:51pm 

A giant, reptilian monster 

surfaces, leaving destruction 

in its wake. To stop the 

monster (and its babies), 

an earthworm scientist, his 

reporter ex-girlfriend, and 

other unlikely heroes team up 

to save their city. 

Cast: Matthew Broderick, 

Jean Reno, Maria Pitillo, Hank 

Azaria, Kevin Dunn 

Superman Returns 

WB 2:23pm 

DT 


Bangladeshi born Canadian 

film-maker Nadim Iqbal’s 

documentary Mother Tongue 

scooped an “Award of 

Recognition” at the Hollywood 

International Independent 

Awards. 

The 11-minute documentary 

of Nadim Iqbal was introduced in 

the film festival which garnered 

an audience more than 50 

thousand and hundreds of filmmakers 

from around the world. 

This is a story about a man 

who risked his life to save his 

culture, his heritage and his 

language—only to discover 

that the sacrifices he has made 

are neither appreciated nor 

understood by the younger 

generation. 

The documentary has been 

produced, edited and filmed by 

Nadim Iqbal himself, while it 

also casts poet Asad Chowdhury 

and his granddaughter Raidah 

Fairooz. 

Untill now, the film has 

garnered a platinum award, 

four best film awards and 24 

other accolades from screenings 

held in USA, Canada, Denmark, 

Spain Germany, Italy, Belgium, 

Rumania, Mexico and Portugal. 

The film has been selected for 

another film festival to be held in 

Arizona from January 17 to 19. • 

Superman reappears after a 

long absence, but is challenged 

by an old foe who uses 

Kryptonian technology for 

world domination. 

Cast: Brandon Routh, Kate 

Bosworth, Kevin Spacey, 

James Marsden, Parker Posey 

Knight and Day 

Movies Now 2 4:30pm 

A young woman gets mixed 

up with a disgraced spy who is 

trying to clear his name. 

Cast: Tom Cruise, Cameron 

Diaz, Peter Sarsgaard, Jordi 

Mollà, Viola Davis

32 


DT 

$167M ADB LOAN SIGNED FOR 

BEFITTING GAS PRODUCTION PAGE 12 

Back Page 

THE GOOD, THE BAD 

AND THE UGLY PAGE 28 

Porn prohibition 

proves 

problematic 

• Mahadi Al Hasnat 

What constitutes “vulgar and 

harmful pornography” remains 

undefined by the government body 

charged with making this determination, 

as the country rolls into its 

third day of internet censorship. 

Yet that is the criteria being 

used to block over 500 sites by a 

little-known taskforce whose credentials 

for supervising adult entertainment 

are unclear. 

BTRC Secretary Sarwar Alam 

yesterday told the Dhaka Tribune 

that the authorities had initially 

targeted “vulgar and harmful websites.” 

When asked what this meant, he 

said: “For example, pornographic 

content that may incite viewers to 

commit rape.” 

He conceded that all adult sites 

could not effectively be blocked. 

The Pornography Control Act 

2012 prohibits the production, 

marketing, conservation, supply, 

display, filming, purchase and sale 

of pornographic material. 

It provides for two-year to 10- 

year prison sentences and fines 

ranging from Tk1 lakh to Tk5 lakh 

for violations. 

But the law is tantalisingly silent 

about internet use. 

A technical committee that includes 

representatives from the 

Information Ministry, the National 

Telecommunication Monitoring 

Cell (NTMC), internet service 

provider organisations and representatives 

of the mobile operators 

and law enforcement agencies 

prepared the list of offending websites. 

But there were no representatives 

of NGOs, sociologists or other 

experts working in this field helping 

to shortlist the websites. 

The decision to block adult content 

has met with mixed reactions. 

Some welcomed it while others decried 

excessive interference by the 

state in private life. 

Others, including veteran journalist 

and researcher Afsan Chowdhury, 

took the opportunity to address 

a wider range of weaknesses 

in the country's internet infrastructure, 

including the apparent inability 

of the authorities to effectively 

block offending sites. 

“It seems the government is 

issuing a warning they cannot enforce. 

Hundreds of websites containing 

sexual content are still accessible 

in the country,” Afsan told 

the Dhaka Tribune. 

A random search of the over 

500 sites slated for restriction 

sent by the Bangladesh Telecommunications 

Regulatory Commission 

to internet service providers, 

found around 15% of them still 

accessible. 

These included pornstars' personal 

websites, comic strip sites, 

movie sites, gay online magazines, 

music video sites and escort service 

sites. 

The list, moreover, failed to include 

popular international sites. 

“There are thousands of porn 

sites on the internet and all of them 

cannot be blocked. We have asked 

internet service providers and other 

authorities concerned to block 

offensive websites containing pornography 

or sexual content and sent 

them a list of sites containing harmful 

and provocative content,” BTRC 

spokesperson Sarwar Alam said. 

There are around 66.86 million 

internet subscribers in Bangladesh. 

Of this, the lion's share – some 

62.968 million subscribers – access 

the internet via mobile telephone, 

according to BTRC data current as 

of September. 

One popular porn site held the 

17th slot in the Alexa ranking of 

top searched-for sites from Bangladesh. 

At least six other porn websites 

secured positions among the 

top 100 websites accessed from 

Bangladesh. 

Although there is no official data 

on how many people in Bangladesh 

visit porn sites, a survey conducted 

by Manusher Jonno Foundation 

estimated that 77% of Dhaka's 

school-goers visit porn sites on a 

regular basis. 

When asked to comment, Internet 

Service Provider Association of 

Bangladesh (ISPAB) president MA 

Hakim and Association of Mobile 

Telecom Operators of Bangladesh 

(AMTOB) general secretary Nurul 

Kabir told the Dhaka Tribune that 

the restrictions were welcome. 

They said they would comply with 

it in the interest younger internet 

users. • 

University of Dhaka authorities start building a monument named ‘Muktochinta Statue’ in memory of slain writer Avijit Roy at 

Teacher-Student Centre (TSC) area where he was murdered 


Bangla Academy to reconsider 

Shrabon Prokashani ban 

• SM Najmus Sakib 

Bangla Academy today is going to 

reconsider its decision of banning 

Shrabon Prokashani from Amar 

Ekushey book fair for the next two 

years, following tough protests 

against the move from writers and 

publishers, rights and cultural activists. 

“The decision on whether Shrabon 

Prokashani is going to take part 

in Amar Ekushey book fair for the 

next two years will be decided in 

Bangla Academy’s council meeting 

on Friday,” Academy Director 

General Prof Shamsuzzaman Khan 

yesterday told the Dhaka Tribune. 

On November 10, the academy 

made the decision banning the 

publisher from the annual book 

fair “for taking a stance against the 

Academy's action.” 

The DG said: “We have received 

a letter from Shrabon Prokashani 

requesting to reconsider the decision. 

After getting the letter, the 

authorities are going to sit for reconsidering 

the decision.” 

Shahdin Malik, a lawyer and 

rights activist, said: “If Bangla 

Academy’s rules mean punishment 

for protesting any of its decision, 

banning a publishing house from 

Ekushey book fair, then the rules 

and regulations of Bangla Academy 

are authoritarian, undemocratic 

and medieval which need to be 

changed immediately.” 

Urging the Bangla Academy to 

cancel the decision, he said: “According 

to the constitution, it is 

the right of every citizen to protest 

whatever one feels wrong.” 

Since the academy’s decision 

banning Shrabon Prokashoni was 

reported in media, a number of 

writers and activists, including 

Supreme Court lawyer Jyotirmoy 

Barua and rights activist Khushi 

Kabir, protested the decision, in 

person and through social media, 

arguing that the Academy and the 

DG had no legal authority to ban 

any book or any publication house. 

Robin Ahsan, owner of Shrabon 

Prokashani, earlier termed the DG’s 

decision “unjust and based on false 

ground.” 

Defending his decision the DG 

said the owner of Shrabon Prokashani 

took part in a protest 

which was held against a decision 

made by the academy. 

Terming the ban “an attack 

on free-thinkers,” Udichi General 

Secretary Jamshed Anwar Tapan 

at a protest programme vowed 

to continue the protest until the 

government met their demand. 

In February, Bangla Academy 

closed Ba-Dwip Prakashan's stall 

for selling a book that “hurt religious 

sentiments.” Later, law enforcers 

arrested three people, including 

the editor of the book. 

At a protest programme, publisher 

Robin said: “I had only protested 

the way Shamsuzzoha Manik, editor 

of the book, was arrested.” 

Meantime, Bangla Academy has 

decided to take punitive action 

against 20 publications on various 

charges of violating the Academy's 

code of conduct – allegations of 

hurting religious sentiments. 

They would possibly not get allotment 

for setting up stalls in the 

book fair in 2017, said an official of 

the academy on anonymity. 

Authorities of Bangla Academy, 

however, refuted to make any comment 

in this regard. 

Dr Jalal Ahmed, a director of 

Bangla Academy and the member 

secretary of Amar Ekushey book 

fair, told the Dhaka Tribune: “In 

2016’s book fair, some publishing 

houses built stalls violating authority’s 

decision. The Academy sent 

show cause notices to them, and 

as their replies did not convince 

the authority, we are going to take 

actions against them following the 

Academy’s rules and regulations.” 

He said a fair committee meeting 

in January next year would take 

further decision. • 

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

e_Paper_Thursday_December 30, 2016

You also want an ePaper? Increase the reach of your titles

Delete template?

Save as template?