e_Paper, Wednesday, May 3, 2017

SECOND EDITION 

WEDNESDAY, MAY 3, 2017 | Boishakh 20, 1424, Shaban 6, 1438 | Regd No DA 6238, Vol 4, No 364 | www.dhakatribune.com | 24 pages | Price: Tk10 

‘Section 57 will 

be dropped 

from ICT act’ › 3 

CTTC: ABT 

collecting info 

on targeted 

bloggers › 5 

Tensions high 

in Kashmir 

over alleged 

mutilation 

of Indian 

soldiers › 8 

WORLD PRESS FREEDOM DAY 

The sound of silence › 2 

Hamas softens 

stance on 

Israel, drops 

Muslim 

Brotherhood 

link › 9 

Complaints at info 

commission on 

the rise › 3 

How free has press 

been in Bangladesh 

recently? › 3 

SYED ZAKIR HOSSAIN 

BB fears 

pressure on 

forex reserves 

to rise further 

› 10

2 

WEDNESDAY, MAY 3, 2017 

DT 

News 

WORLD PRESS FREEDOM DAY 

The sound of silence 

Journalists face restrictive access to government buildings 

• Bilkis Irani 

Over the past few years, several 

government and constitutional 

bodies have become increasingly 

hostile to journalists using tactics 

such as cutting off access to their 

buildings, circulating internal 

memos about severe punishment 

for employees who speak to journalists 

unsupervised. 

The offices of Election Commission 

Secretariat (EC), Chittagong 

City Corporation(CCC), Anti-Corruption 

Commission (ACC), Bangladesh 

Bank (BB) and Dhaka Medical 

College Hospital (DMCH) have 

been found to severely restrict access 

to journalists recently citing 

security reasons. 

According to a Ain O Salish Kendra 

(ASK) report, 117 journalists 

were assaulted last year by members 

of law enforcement agencies, political 

henchmen, officials of both government 

and private organisations. 

Although the Fourth Estate plays 

a crucial role in upholding the accountability 

of the elected offices 

and has a responsibility to the public 

to inform them of work, the good 

and bad, journalists are increasingly 

viewed with suspicion and harassed 

when they try to do their jobs. 

This right to freedom of thought 

and expression is enshrined in the 

Constitution in Article 39 that also 

guarantees the freedom of press 

and is aided by laws such as the 

Right to Information Act 2009 that 

allows citizens to demand information 

from public institutions. 

“Every citizen has a right to information 

from the Authority and 

the Authority shall on demand 

from a citizen be bound to provide 

information,” the Right to Information 

Act 2009 clearly states. 

It also imposes financial penalties 

under Section 6 (b) of up to Tk5,000 

for officials who do not cooperate 

with the information seeker. 

In 2015, Chittagong City Corporation 

circulated an internal memo 

that was approved by the mayor 

saying: “Employees talking to the 

media unsupervised will be subject 

to strict actions taken against 

them.” The memo also stated that 

it was against the CCC’s rules and 

regulations to speak to members of 

the media although it is obligated 

to do so under the Right to Information 

Act. 

EC officials must understand that transparency 

is a good thing, we understand not everything 

can be disclosed for the sake of national 

security, we are not asking them of such things 

The tactics used to prevent press 

freedom 

The Election Commission on April 

11 cut off journalists’ access to the 

building except for a media briefing 

room. 

The commission cites “security 

reasons” for this blockade with restricted 

or no access to the EC Secretariat. 

But press freedom is subtly attacked 

by these institutions such 

as on April 17, a scuffle broke out 

in front of the EC office when journalists 

were barred by the guards 

at the gate and the situation escalated 

to a physical confrontation 

between the two groups. 

Office Assistant Md Masud physically 

assaulted reporters and Chief 

Election Commissioner KM Nurul 

Huda, four commissioners and EC 

Secretary Mohammad Abdullah 

were all present at their offices in 

the building but no action was taken 

against the office assistant after 

the incident. 

“This is an attack on journalism,” 

opined columnist Sayad Abul 

Maksud, adding: “Journalists provide 

information to people and 

preventing them means interfering 

with people’s right to information, 

which is illegal.” 

BIGSTOCK 

In response to the situation, 

Secretary to the EC Mohammad 

Abdullah told the Dhaka Tribune: 

“Journalists are only allowed to 

enter my office and the public relation 

officer’s office.” 

“EC officials must understand 

that transparency is a good thing, 

we understand not everything can 

be disclosed for the sake of national 

security, we are not asking them of 

such things,” said Md Sazzad Hussain, 

vice-chairman of Reporters 

Forum for Election and Democracy. 

When asked about the increasing 

difficulty journalists face trying 

to enter the EC building, Information 

Commissioner Golam Rahman 

told the Dhaka Tribune: “If the EC 

needs security, then they are well 

within their rights to curb access. It 

is however illegal for them to withhold 

access to information.” 

Investigative journalist of Samakal, 

Shahadat Hossain Poros said 

press freedom is severely limited 

as journalists are usually unable to 

speak to officials to verify a story 

and hence the story looses its importance. 

He said: “Collecting daily news 

is sometimes a hassle as there is a 

‘permission and invitation’ system 

that exists that prevents the availability 

of information or the collection 

of data for public interest. 

“Some things that are of public 

interest go unreported because of 

this and people are deliberately deprived 

of information and news.” 

Executive Director of Transparency 

International Bangladesh 

(TIB) Dr Iftekharuzzaman said it is 

easy to hide corruption if there is 

no journalists around. 

“There is a common practice to 

shoot the messenger, that is to say 

journalists who expose corruption 

get prosecuted instead of the officials 

guilty of the corruption. This 

system has to change as corrupt 

individuals are the enemy of institutions. 

“It is a constitutional responsibility 

of these government bodies 

to create a working environment 

for journalists. The situation at 

the EC is unacceptable where they 

have used ‘security measure’ to 

ban the media from the building.” 

After the infamous Bangladesh 

Bank cyber heist last year, the new 

Governor of the bank, Fazle Kabir, 

restricted access to journalists 

within the building. 

Similarly, this practice has been 

going on at the Anti-Corruption 

Commission since 2012 when they 

imposed an unofficial ban on journalists 

entering the building on 

June 28. In 2013, they restricted 

journalists from entering the building 

before 3pm. 

Information Minister Hasanul 

Haque Inu gave a measured response 

to the questions posed by 

the Dhaka Tribune, saying: “Institutions 

have a right to secure their 

premises. They should however 

have a spokesperson who can give 

journalists the information. If they 

are denied that information, then 

they can complain to the information 

commissioner and appropriate 

actions will be taken.” 

In 2013, when a patient was assaulted 

by a DMCH doctor, interns 

at the hospital assaulted journalists 

when they tried to report the news. 

Journalists eventually got banned 

by the hospital authorities from 

entering the hospital building. 

The Dhaka Tribune reached out 

to both the ACC and Bangladesh 

Bank for comments but they did 

not respond. •

News 3 


Complaints at info commission on the rise 

• Nawaz Farhin 

Ever since the Right to Information 

(RTI) Act was enacted, the Information 

Commission has been seeing 

a significant rise of complaints by 

those who are not being responded 

by the government organisations 

when contacted for information 

under the act. 

It appears that the concerned 

government agencies, departments 

or offices are not helping 

the complainants benefit from the 

much-talked-about RTI Act. 

Merely 104 complaints were 

filed with the commission in 2010, 

a year after the act was enacted, 

while the figure jumped to 540 last 

year. 

In the first six-year span till 31 

December 2016, the commission 

recorded as many as 1,778 cases 

with 1,085 of them dissolved over 

the period. 

104 out of 202 complaints were 

settled in 2012, whereas 207 complaints 

were lodged the next year, 

of which 90 were resolved. 

In 2014, the number of complaints 

stood at 294 when 124 of 

How free has press been in Bangladesh recently? 

• Tarek Mahmud 

For journalists in Bangladesh, the recent 

years have been difficult and, in some 

cases, life-threatening. However, 2016 

was worse for the freedom of press in 

the country than the previous years, 

despite being less eventful in terms of 

deaths or severe injuries. 

According to the 2017 Press Freedom 

Index, published by Paris-based 

international organisation Reporters 

without Borders, Bangladesh is ranked 

at No 146 among 180 countries around 

the world – two ranks down from 2016’s 

No 144 and the same rank as 2015. 

According to an Amnesty International 

report published on April 28, in 

late 2016 and early 2017, many bloggers 

and freelance writers in Bangladesh 

have received death threats several 

times, but they are either reluctant 

to approach police for protection or 

say they have been refused assistance 

when they have done so. 

Below is a list of major incidents of 

harassment, assault, police cases and a 

murder of journalists around the country 

last year: 

• On May 1, 2017, online news portal 

Natun Somoy Executive Editor 

Ahmed Razu was arrested in a defamation 

case filed by the Walton 

Group. Razu is a formal employee 

of Walton-owned newspaper Rising 

BD. He is currently in jail. 

• On April 8, 2017, Daily Observer 

Sylhet Correspondent Sardar Abbas 

and Dainik Sakaler Khobor Correspondent 

Syed Nabiul Alam Dipu 

them got disposed off. The complaints 

kept continuing an upward 

trend in 2015 with 336 allegations, 

were assaulted by Bangladesh Chhatra 

League members when they protested 

sexual harassment. 

• On March 13, 2017, police in plainclothes 

picked up Daily Telegram 

Editor Binoy Krishna Mallik from his 

home in Jessore for holding a press 

conference to allegedly expose police 

corruption. Police initially denied 

having arrested him, but later released 

him in face of protest. 

• On March 7, 2017, Rabiul Islam, reporter 

of Barisal-based newspaper 

Somoyer Barta, was arrested for reporting 

the suicide of a sub-inspector’s 

wife. The sub-inspector, Nurul 

Amin, filed the case with a local 

court. Rabiul is currently out on bail. 

• On February 3, 2017, Shahbagh 

police assaulted Daily Ittefaq photojournalist 

Jibon Ahmed in front 

of Amar Ekushey Book Fair’s Suharawardy 

Udyan gate over parking dispute. 

• On February 2, 2017, Daily Samakal 

upazila correspondent Abdul Hakim 

Shimul was fatally shot by Sirajganj’s 

Shahjadpur municipality Mayor Halimul 

Haque Miru during a clash between 

two factions of local Awami 

League unit. he died the next day. 

• On January 26, 2017, ATN News 

Reporter Kazi Ehsan Bin Didar and 

Cameraperson Abdul Alim were assaulted 

by Shahbagh police as they 

recorded videos of police detaining 

people from an Anti-Rampal procession. 

The same day, police assaulted 

Dhaka Tribune journalist Morshed 

Jahan Mithun in Mirpur. 

• On December 23, 2016, Ekushey 

BIGSTOCK 

resulting to the resolution to 67 

complaints. 

Meanwhile, out of 540, some 

Television’s Savar Correspondent 

Nazmul Huda was detained by police 

for “fomenting unrest” during a 

protest by RMG factory employees. 

Nazmul, also local correspondent of 

the Bangladesh Pratidin, was later 

made accused in five other cases, including 

one for stealing trousers. He 

is currently out on bail. 

• On December 7, 2016, four journalists 

were physically assaulted by 

members of Oikkoboddho Sonaton 

Samaj Bangladesh when they 

protested vandalism at Chittagong 

Press Club. The same day, three 

correspondents were assaulted by 

Chhatra League members in Chittagong 

University. 

• On November 14, 2016, Daily Samakal 

and Channel 24’s Habiganj Correspondent 

Shoyeb Chowdhury was 

arrested under the ICT Act. He was 

released after 2.5 months in prison. 

• On October, 12, 2016, a sports reporter 

and a cameraperson of GTV 

were assaulted in Chittagong by a 

group of youths led by the son of a 

high police official. 

• Istishon blog founder and prominent 

writer Nur Nobi Dulal left the country 

with his family for Europe in 2016 

after receiving several death threats 

from militants. Shortly after he left, 

the government blocked Istishon 

blog in Bangladesh on September 

26. 

• On September 1, 2016, Online education 

portal Dainikshiksha.com 

Editor Siddiqur Rahman was arrested 

under Section 57 of the ICT Act 

for publishing a news on corruption 

involving Prof Fahima Khatun, former 

director general of higher and 

secondary education. He is currently 

out on bail. 

• On August 8, 2016, RAB arrested online 

news portal Banglamail24.com 

acting editor Shahadat Ullah Khan, 

Executive Editor Maksudul Haider 

Chowdhury and Assistant Editor 

Pantho Polash on charge of running 

a false report on Sajeeb Wazed Joy, 

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s ICT 

adviser and son. They are currently 

out on bail. 

• On July 21, 2016, Prothom Alo photojournalist 

Anis Mahmud and four 

others were assaulted by jail guards 

at Sylhet Central Jail while on duty. 

• On June 25, 2016, a reporter was harassed 

by Chhatra League members 

on Chittagong University campus. 

• On April 10, 2016, a group of local 

goons attacked two journalists of 

Deepto TV in Chittagong’s Bahaddarhat 

area. 

• On February 2, 2016, a photojournalist 

of the Daily Prothom Alo was 

beaten by Chhatra League men in 

Chittagong while on duty. 

• Journalists Shafik Rehman, Shaukat 

Mahmood and Mahmudur Rahman 

were arrested between 2015 and 

2016. Several charges were brought 

against them. The trio claimed that 

they were arrested because they 

were involved with the BNP. All 

three are currently out on bail. • 

Our correspondents in Chittagong, 

Sylhet, Barisal, Rajshahi and Khulna 

have contributed to this story. 

DT 

120 complaints were settled 

thought 2016. 

The figures clearly depict that 

the number of complaints kept 

soaring in course of time. 

Chief Information Commissioner 

Professor Dr MD Golam Rahman 

termed the increase of the complaints 

a positive sign on growing 

awareness amongst the people 

about the act. 

“Citizens now more aware about 

their fundamental rights than ever 

before. They are also concerned 

well about their right to information, 

which is an inseparable part 

of their rights,” he observed. 

Mohammad Masum Miya, a 

journalist based in Dhaka, said: 

“This year I needed to have some 

information relating to the banking 

sector. Accordingly, I contacted to 

the commission seeking its help in 

this regard and succeeded 22 days 

after my appeal.” 

There has also been criticism 

over the commission’s role in supporting 

the complaints at their very 

first attempt to resolve their issues. 

Syeda Rizwana Hasan, chief 

executive of Bangladesh Environmentalist 

Lawyers Association 

(Bela) said she has been seeking 

information from different government 

offices, but in vain in most of 

the cases. 

“Since 2009 when the act was 

passed, I approached to many government 

offices for information, 

causing me to remain unsuccessful 

in most of the times,” she added. 

Sharing her experience of being 

deprived of the figure of fatalities 

at ship-breaking yards by the respective 

ministry, the environmentalist 

alleged that the commission 

too did not cooperate her in this 

regard despite objecting. 

The RTI Act passed in the House 

on March 29, 2009 is considered a 

milestone in the legal history of 

Bangladesh. This is the first act 

after independence of Bangladesh 

that ensures people’s right to obtain 

information from the government 

officials and other organisations. 

This act covers all bodies 

owned, controlled or substantially 

financed either directly or indirectly 

by the government and NGOs 

and the principal bodies substantially 

funded by the government. • 

‘Section 57 will 

be dropped 

from ICT act’ 

• Tribune Desk 

Minister of Law, Justice and Parliamentary 

Affairs Anisul Huq said 

the Section 57 of the ICT act will be 

scrapped. 

The law minister said at an 

award ceremony yesterday that a 

new digital security law was in the 

works. 

He said: “The new Digital Security 

Act will clarify what section 57 

is supposed to represent. It will for 

once and for all prove that our government 

has no intentions to clamp 

down on freedom of speech.” 

“The law ministry is working 

on vetting the new Digital Security 

Act draft. We will collaborate with 

several state ministers to work on 

a revised draft to introduce it as a 

bill.” 

The minister was speaking at 

Bazlur Rahman Bhaiya Memorial 

Award Ceremony on the 65th anniversary 

of “Khelaghor” – a children’s 

organisation – at Bangladesh 

Shilpokola Academy. 

Section 57 of the Information 

and Communication Technology 

Act stipulates that any post, image, 

or video on an electronic format 

that “causes to deteriorate law and 

order, prejudice the image of the 

state or person or hurt religious 

beliefs” are non-bailable offences. 

The punishment is minimum 

seven years in prison to maximum 

14 years. The fines can go up to Tk1 

crore.•

4 


DT 

News 

Power supply resumes after 5 hours in 4 divisions 

• Aminur Rahman Rasel 

Power supply in Barisal, Khulna, 

Rajshahi and Rangpur was restored 

yesterday after five hours suspension 

due to a grid failure on Monday 

night. 

The power supply disruption 

occurred as the national grids of 

Ghorashal-Ishwardi and Ashuganj-Sirajganj 

electricity transmission 

lines were damaged. 

Power Grid Company of Bangladesh 

(PGCB) formed a four-member 

probe committee led by its 

Chief Engineer Kamrul Hassan to 

look into the matter. The committee 

was asked to submit the report 

within five days. 

Seeking anonymity, an official 

of PGCB told the Dhaka Tribune 

that the Ashuganj-Sirajganj transmission 

line tower was damaged in 

Meghna River in Bhairab on Monday 

night which caused overload in 

Ghorashal-Ishwardi line. 

The Ghorashal-Ishwardi line 

tripped at 11:20am yesterday as 

it was overloaded and 22 power 

plants of around 2000MW shut 

down automatically, said the official. 

He also said that a total of 212MV 

electricity was being transmitted 

through Ghorashal-Ishwardi 

line though its capacity is 170MV 

because of the damage in Ashuganj-Sirajganj 

line. 

The western region of Bangladesh 

gets power supply from these 

two 230kV each transmission lines. 

The power was interrupted in country’s 

western, northern and southern regions 

as the Ghorashal-Ishwardi and Ashuganj- 

Sirajganj transmission lines were damaged 

Later, the power supply was resumed 

when the transmission line 

was restored. 

A PGCB source said the Ashuganj-Sirajganj 

230kV line is still 

closed and it may cause load-shedding 

in different areas. 

Masum-Al-Beruni, managing 

director of PGCB, said: “The power 

was interrupted in country’s western, 

northern and southern regions 

as the transmission lines were 

damaged but the power supply is 

normal in most of the areas now.” 

Zakiul Islam, managing director 

of North West Zone Power Distribution 

Company Limited, said: “Power 

supply of Rajshahi and Rangpur 

divisions became normal from 

2pm, Tuesday.” 

Md Shafique Uddin, managing 

director of West Zone Power 

Distribution Company Limited, 

said: “Power was interrupted in 21 

districts of south-western region. 

Tension grew up among people as 

it happened without notice. But 

the power supply became normal 

after a few hours.” • 

British Council and 

HSBC organised 

‘Play, Learn, Act’ 


British Council and HSBC yesterday 

inaugurated its project “Play, 

Learn, Act” for the second year at 

Dhaka University campus office of 

British Council. 

The project has been initiated to 

enhance literacy and communication 

skills of students from grade 

one to grade five. 

Shaheen Ara Begum, district 

primary education officer of Dhaka, 

Robin Rickard, deputy regional 

director of South Asia British 

Council, Barbara Wickham, director 

of British Council Bangladesh, 

and Francois de Maricourt, CEO of 

HSBC Bangladesh were present at 

the programme. •

CTTC: ABT collecting info 

on targeted bloggers 

• Tarek Mahmud 

The banned militant outfit 

Ansarullah Bangla Team is 

regrouping outside Dhaka 

with a plan to again target 

bloggers in the country. 

The ABT Information 

Technology wing is trying to 

hack into the social media 

accounts of the bloggers and 

forward their details to the 

ABT military wing. 

The Counter-Terrorism and 

Transnational Crime Unit under 

the Dhaka Metropolitan 

Police learned this information 

after arresting the ABT IT wing 

Chief Md Ashfaq-Ur-Rahman 

Ayon alias Arif alias Anik on 

Monday night. 

CTTC also learned that a 

special team was undergoing 

training to execute this plan. 

Ashfaq, who was closely 

supervised by the discharged 

fugitive army official ABT 

Military wing Head Major 

Syed Ziaul Haque, or Zia, was 

gathering the bloggers’ details 

on his laptop. 

CTTC Chief and Additional 

Commissioner Monirul Islam 

disclosed thee findings to journalists 

at a press briefing held 

over the arrest at DMP media 

centre yesterday morning. 

He said: “Ashfaq was 

nabbed from Bhatara area of 

Dhaka on Monday night following 

a tip-off.” Later, a case 

was lodged against him with 

Bhatara police station under 

the Anti-Terrorism Act. 

He was produced before a 

Dhaka court seeking 10-day 

remand, though the court 

granted him five-day remand, 

court sources said. 

Studying Computer Science 

at Shahjalal University 

of Science and Technology, 

Ashfaq joined ABT a year 

and half ago. He was arrested 

when he went to meet someone, 

the CTTC chief said. 

ABT aims to regroup, 

while silently collecting 

members and training them, 

he said. 

“We seized several electronic 

devices from Ashfaq’s 

possession while trying to 

unmask the current leaders 

of the outfit’s three wings – 

Dawa, military and media,” 

he added. 

In the interrogation, Ashfaq 

admitted to collecting 

names, addresses and movement 

of bloggers, by hacking 

into their social media accounts, 

Monirul said. 

He also admitted to meeting 

Major Zia several months 

back, he added. 

Based on his statements, 

police suspect Major Zia is in 

Bangladesh, though CTTC has 

been unable to gather recent 

information about Major Zia. 

Ashfaq underwent arms 

training from Major Zia in 

2015 at Pallabi and Uttara, 

when appointed as the Media 

wing chief. 

Ashfaq also translated foreign 

articles, instigating militancy, 

into Bangla and supplied 

them to ABT members 

as well as uploading them 

onto the “Dawa Illallah” 

website run under the supervision 

of Major Zia. 

Major Zia failed to orchestrate 

a coup in 2011 and has 

been on the run, with a Tk20 

lakh bounty announced to 

nab him. • 

Inu questions UGC decision 


Information Minister 

Hasanul Haq Inu yesterday 

said that taking decisions 

without consulting stakeholders 

are in no way acceptable 

and it is also difficult to 

implement. 

He made the remark on 

University Grants Commission’s 

(UGC) recent decision 

of implementing semester 

system in all the universities 

of the country rather trimester 

method in a view-exchange 

meeting organised 

by Association of Private 

Universities of Bangladesh 

(APUB) on April 30 in Samson 

H Chowdhury auditorium of 

Dhaka Club. 

The minister said: “Imposing 

directives is no solution 

and it does not result 

in better outcomes either. 

The authorities should have 

thought to what extent the 

directives are implementable 

before they had imposed 

them.” 

In the meeting, Sir Fazle 

Hasan Abed, founder and 

trustee board chairman of 

Brac University, said: “The 

primary objectives of trimester 

system at the undergraduate 

level are to make it easier 

for students to fulfill their 

academic requirements and 

finish their degrees in time. 

The trimester system is very 

conducive for those who 

are unable to spend much 

time in studies as they find 

it financially challenging. 

Also, the system fits the international 

higher education 

standards very well. 

He also said that in the 

semester system students 

are required to take more 

credits. In four years, they 

have to complete 130-150 

credits, each consisting of 

three hours, while there is 

less credit pressure in the 

trimester method. On the 

other hand, students in the 

dual semester cannot make 

use of time in a productive 

way. 

Among others, Hasanul 

Haq Inu, MP, trustee board 

chairman of Rabindra 

Maitree University; Shirajul 

Islam Mollah, MP, trustee 

board chairman of People’s 

University; Benajir Ahmed, 

trustee board chairman of 

North South University and 

also general secretary of the 

APUB; Dr Kazi Anis Ahmed, 

vice-chairman of University 

of Liberal Arts Bangladesh; 

Dr Farashuddin, trustee 

board chairman of East 

West University and former 

governor of Bangladesh 

Bank; Rokeya Afzal Rahman, 

former advisor to a caretaker 

government; Sarwar Jahan, 

founder and chairman of 

Southern University; Abul 

Kahir Chowdhury, chairman 

of Eastern University; Dr 

Rezaul Alam, chairman 

of Northern University in 

Khulna; were present at the 

programme. • 

News 5 


Southeast Bank Limited inaugurates its 129th branch at Majumdar Market in Feni on April 30 

DT 

TEMPERATURE FORECAST FOR TODAY 

Dhaka 36 26 Chittagong 32 26 Rajshahi 37 25 Rangpur 32 23 Khulna 37 24 Barisal 36 25 Sylhet 33 22 

Cox’s Bazar 32 25 

RAINFALL LIKELY 

WEDNESDAY, MAY 3 

DHAKA 

TODAY 

TOMORROW 

SUN SETS 6:28PM 

SUN RISES 5:22AM 

YESTERDAY’S HIGH AND LOW 

35.4ºC 

20.0ºC 

Rangamati 

Chuadanga 

Source: Accuweather/UNB 

PRAYER 

TIMES 

Fajr: 4:55am | Zohr: 1:15pm 

Asr: 5:00pm | Magrib: 6:34pm 

Esha: 8:30pm 

Source: Islamic Foundation

6 


DT 

News 

Mystery as RAB 

source found dead 

• Md Tauhid-Uz-Zaman, 

Jessore 

A 30-year-old man, said to 

an informant of Rapid Action 

Battalion, has been found shot 

dead in Jessore’s Manirampur 

upazila. 

The deceased is Ataur Rahman, 

a contractor, who was 

the son of one Abul Kashem 

hailing from the upazila’s Bagdanga 

village. 

Ataur was also an accused 

in a murder case filed over 

the death of Morwar Hossain 

in 2015, police said, adding, 

they detained a man named 

Shahidul Islam over the latest 

incident of death. 

Manirampur police station’s 

Officer-in-Charge 

Mokarram Hossain said that 

Shahidul informed them 

about the murder around 

11pm on Monday. 

“We recovered the body 

from near a rice mill an hour 

later and then detained Shahidul 

for interrogation,” the 

OC said. 

Referring to the detainee, 

he added that Ataur and Shahidul 

went to visit local Union 

Parishad Chairman Chandra 

Shekhar Roy at his home in the 

evening. 

Some unidentified miscreants 

on two motorbikes 

attacked the duo when they 

were returning home around 

10:30pm, opening fire on 

Ataur’s face and throat, the 

police officer continued quoting 

Shahidul. 

Ataur Rahman 

The body bearing multiple 

bullet wounds was sent to the 

morgue of Jessore General 

Hospital yesterday morning 

for an autopsy. 

OC Mokarram, however, 

suspects that previous rivalry 

over the murder case might 

have led to Ataur’s death. 

Meanwhile, the deceased’s 

wife Shahnaj Parvin Rumi 

said the chairman had phoned 

Ataur and asked to meet him. 

Accordingly, Ataur along 

with Shahidul went to the 

chairman’s home in Kultia 

area, she added. 

When contacted, UP chairman 

denied calling Ataur over 

phone. 

“Rather, he [Ataur] wanted 

to meet me to discuss some 

issues relating to the locality,” 

he said. 

Ataur had left his village 

home and started living in a 

rented house in Jessore town 

after being sued in the case. He 

finally returned home along 

with his family recently. •

Journalists in Sirajganj form a human chain in front of press club in the town yesterday protesting the murder of Abdul Hakim 

Shimul, a correspondent of daily Samakal 

DHAKA TRIBUNE 

Fish worth Tk5cr washed 

away in Habiganj flash flood 

• Noor Uddin, Habiganj 

Fishes worth around Tk- 

5crore have floated away in a 

flash flood triggered by heavy 

rain and onrush of hilly waters 

from across the border in 

Habiganj, leaving farm owners 

in the lurch. 

Zubeda-Gani Agro Fishery 

in Bajukar Haor of the 

district’s Baniachong upazila 

was the worst affected among 

the farms. 

Its owner Zahangir Hossain, 

who had been in South Korea 

for years, said he had invested 

Tk3 crore in fish farming in the 

100-acre fishery and claimed 

to have lost fishes worth about 

Tk1 crore in the flood. 

The affected farmers 

sought assistance from the 

government and demanded 

that it take measures to provide 

them with interest-free 

loans so they can revive. 

Fisheries Officer in Habiganj 

said: “The fishes floated away 

as ponds and haors overflew 

their banks due to the rain. 

“The district fisheries office 

will take necessary steps after 

an investigation. And, we are 

sending a report to the higher 

authorities in Dhaka.” • 

BCL leader goes missing 

• Anisur Rahman Swapan, 

Barisal 

A leader of Bangladesh Chhatra 

League’s Barisal district 

unit has reportedly been missing 

for the last three weeks. 

Jony Jomaddar, religious 

affairs secretary of district 

unit BCL, went missing any 

time after 11am on April 9. He 

was on the way to his mother’s 

residence in KCC Balur 

Math area under Ward No. 

10 of the district town from 

his own residence in Coastal 

Borofkol area under the same 

ward, according to relatives. 

Jony’s wife Laboni Akhter 

filed a general diary (GD) with 

Kotwali police station in this 

connection on April 30. 

He used to run a fast food 

and coffee shop in Coastal 

Borofkal area. 

Sub-Inspector Somiron 

Mondol, who is the investigation 

officer (IO) of the GD, said 

they had launched an investigation 

into the matter. • 

News 7 


DT 

Indigenous student leader 

picked up by army 

men lands in jail 


The Panchhari upazila unit President 

Jewel Chakma of Pahari Chhatra 

Parishad (PCP) was sent to jail 

on Monday. 

The development took place as 

Khagrachhari’s Assistant Judicial 

Magistrate Rokeya Begum denied 

his bail plea in the afternoon after 

the army and the police jointly filed 

a case against him earlier in the 

day, said court sources. 

Panchhari police station Officerin-Charge 

Abdul Jabbar on Sunday 

confirmed the Dhaka Tribune that 

some army personnel picked up Jewel 

the night before and later conducted 

drives in different areas with him. 

Sources at the police station said 

that Jewel had been handed over to 

them around 6:15pm on Sunday. 

Before the latest case, Jewel had 

been sued twice with the police 

station over extortion charges, in 

which he is already on bail. 

Jewel was detained from the 

house of one of his relatives in 

Panchhari upazila in possession of 

some receipt books to raise fund for 

the organisation and some letters 

drafted to send to some individuals, 

said PCP’s Khagrachhari district unit 

Office Secretary Samar Chakma. 

The detention came amid continuing 

protests over the death of 

Romel Chakma, PCP’s Naniarchar 

unit general secretary in Rangamati, 

on April 19. 

Romel, an HSC examinee, was 

also picked up by the army personnel 

of Naniarchar camp on April 5 

reportedly for interrogation in two 

arson cases on suspicion. 

He was handed over to the police 

the next morning and later admitted 

to Chittagong Medical College 

Hospital. •

DT 

8 

World 


SOUTH ASIA 

Illegal kidney trade racket 

uncovered in Pakistan 

Pakistani investigators have uncovered 

an illegal kidney donation 

racket and arrested six people, 

including two doctors, after 

raiding a house where unauthorised 

surgeries were reportedly 

underway, a senior official said 

Monday. Authorities say the gang 

was involved in selling kidneys to 

international clients, particularly 

from wealthy Gulf nations. AFP 

INDIA 

Opposition plans to 

tap Shiv Sena, Akali for 

presidential election 

The Congress and other opposition 

parties have almost given up on the 

faction-ridden AIADMK but will 

try to rope in the BJP’s disgruntled 

allies Shiv Sena and Shiromani 

Akali Dal. “The support from Sena 

and Akalis will depend on the who 

our candidate is,” CPI(M) general 

secretary Sitaram Yechury said. HT 

CHINA 

China demands US halt 

missile shield in S Korea 

China called Tuesday for the 

immediate suspension of a controversial 

missile defence system 

hours after Washington confirmed 

the shield was now operational 

in South Korea. “We oppose the 

deployment of the THAAD system 

in South Korea and urge relevant 

sides to immediately stop the 

deployment,” foreign ministry 

spokesman Geng Shuang said. AFP 

ASIA PACIFIC 

Thai king takes control of 

five palace agencies 

Thailand’s new king was granted 

control over five state agencies that 

oversee royal affairs and security 

on Tuesday, the latest move by an 

increasingly assertive monarch to 

consolidate power. The law detailing 

the transfers was not made public 

until it was published late Monday 

in the Royal Gazette, meaning junta-appointed 

lawmakers had voted 

on the bill in private. AFP 

MIDDLE EAST 

IS attack kills 32 at Syria 

refugee camp 

IS militants staged a surprise 

attack early Tuesday in northeastern 

Syria, killing at least 32 people, 

many of them civilians who had 

fled fighting in areas of Syria 

and Iraq held by the extremist 

group. The attack took place after 

militants sneaked into the village 

of Rajm Sleibi, a front line that 

separates the Kurdish-controlled 

Hassakeh province and IS-held 

areas further south. AP 

Tensions high in Kashmir over alleged 

mutilation of Indian soldiers 


The Indian Army on Tuesday described 

the killing and mutilation 

of two of its soldiers as “dastardly 

and inhuman” and told the Pakistan 

Army that the incident merited 

an “unequivocal” response. 

The Indian side’s view was conveyed 

by director general of military 

operations Lt Gen AK Bhatt during 

a hotline conversation with his Pakistan 

counterpart. Bhatt’s message 

came a day after a Pakistani border 

action team sneaked 200 metres 

into Indian territory along the Line 

of Control and attacked a 10-member 

patrol party of Border Security 

Force troopers and army soldiers. 

Such a “dastardly and inhuman 

act is beyond any norms of civility 

and merits unequivocal condemnation 

and response”, Bhatt was 

quoted as saying in an Indian Army 

Suu Kyi rejects UN Rohingya probe 

• AFP, Brussels 

Merkel meets with Putin on rare Russia visit 

• AFP, Sochi 

German Chancellor Angela Merkel 

held talks Tuesday with President 

Vladimir Putin on Ukraine and 

Syria in a signal of renewed dialogue 

despite profound rifts on 

her first visit to Russia since 2015. 

Aung San Suu Kyi on Tuesday rejected 

a decision by the UN’s rights 

council to investigate allegations of 

crimes by Myanmar’s security forces 

against minority Rohingya Muslims. 

The UN body agreed in March 

to dispatch a fact-finding mission 

to the Southeast Asian country 

over claims of murder, rape and 

torture in Rakhine state. 

“We do not agree with it,” Suu 

Kyi, Myanmar’s de facto leader, 

told a press conference with EU 

diplomatic chief Federica Mogherini 

during a visit to Brussels, when 

asked about the probe. 

“We have disassociated ourselves 

from the resolution because 

we do not think that the resolution 

is in keeping with what is actually 

happening on the ground.” 

Suu Kyi said that the country 

would be “happy to accept” recommendations 

that were “in keeping 

with the real needs of the region. 

“But those recommendations 

which will divide further the two 

communities in Rakhine we will 

not accept, because it will not help 

to resolve the problems that are 

arising all the time.” 

Suu Kyi has seen her international 

star as a rights defender 

wane over failing to speak out 

about the treatment of the Rohingya 

or to condemn the crackdown. 

Russian President Vladimir Putin, right, and German Chancellor Angela Merkel 

shake hands prior to their talks in Sochi, Russia on May 2 

REUTERS 

Indian Army pays their respects during a ceremony for two soldiers killed on the 

Line of Control in Krishna Ghati in Poonch on May 2 

AFP 

“We cannot but use this visit 

to discuss bilateral relations and 

the most problematic points, by 

which I mean Ukraine and Syria 

and maybe some other regions,” 

Putin told Merkel at the start of 

the meeting in the Black Sea resort 

city of Sochi. 

Aung San Suu Kyi 

REUTERS 

Rights groups say hundreds 

of Rohingyas were killed in a 

months-long army crackdown 

following deadly attacks on Myanmar 

border police posts. • 

The Russian and German leaders 

have scaled back links as Moscow’s 

ties with the EU plunged to 

a post-Cold War low over the crisis 

in Ukraine. 

Berlin has said Tuesday’s meeting 

would “above all” focus on the 

upcoming G20 summit in Hamburg 

in July and no breakthroughs 

were expected on major disagreements, 

although Putin earlier 

called for ties “to fully normalise.” 

Merkel has strongly backed EU 

sanctions on Russia for seizing 

Crimea from Ukraine in 2014 and 

supporting the pro-Kremlin separatist 

insurgency in the east of the 

country. 

Moscow has responded with an 

embargo on agricultural products 

from the West. A European-brokered 

peace plan to end the conflict 

has hit a dead end. • 

statement. 

The Pakistani BAT beheaded 

head constable Prem Sagar of the 

BSF’s 200th Battalion and naib subedar 

Paramjeet Singh of 22 Sikh Regiment, 

causing widespread anger. 

The Pakistani DGMO denied 

the mutilation of the bodies of Indian 

soldiers, and said there were 

no ceasefire violations and that 

troops had not crossed the LoC. 

The Indian Army’s statement 

echoed the views of the BSF. The 

cross-LoC attack was well planned 

and carried out by the BAT that 

had army regulars and terrorists, 

said Kamal Nayan Choubey, additional 

director general BSF’s Western 

Command. 

The attack came a day after 

Pakistan Army chief Gen Qamar 

Javed Bajwa visited areas along 

the LoC opposite Krishna Ghati 

sector. • 

France’s Le 

Pen accused 

of plagiarising 

rival’s speech 


Marine Le Pen’s campaign team is 

attempting to shake off ridicule over 

her alleged plagiarism of a speech by 

Francois Fillon. 

The Front National politician referred 

to “waiting lists for the Alliance 

Francaise (language school) in Shanghai, 

Tokyo, or Mexico, for the French 

secondary school in Rabat or Rome”. 

The passage, one of three highlighted 

by French media, was identical 

to one in a speech made by Fillon 

in Puy-en-Velay on 15 April. 

Le Pen mentioned France’s 

“three maritime borders” with the 

English Channel, North Sea and the 

Atlantic, as did Fillon. 

She continuing: “Then there is the 

Rhine frontier, the most open, also the 

most promising, a Germanic world we 

will yet co-operate with in so many 

ways, as long as we regain the relationship 

of allies and not of subjects.” 

Fillon had said: “Then there is 

the Rhine frontier, the most open, 

the most dangerous, also the most 

promising, a Germanic world we 

have been so often in conflict with 

and with which we will yet co-operate 

in so many ways.” 

The deputy leader of the party 

said, “completely owned up” to the 

similarities with Fillon’s speech amid 

widespread mockery on social media. 

Her campaign manager also played 

down plagiarism accusations, painting 

her speech as a form of tribute to 

Fillon that “was appreciated, including 

by all of Fillon’s supporters”. •

World 

Hamas softens stance on Israel, drops 

Muslim Brotherhood link 

The Palestinian Islamist group Hamas 

on Monday dropped its longstanding 

call for Israel’s destruction, 

but said it still rejected the 

country’s right to exist and backs 

“armed struggle” against it. 

In a policy document presented 

in Doha by its leader Khaled 

Meshaal, Hamas also said it would 

end its association with the Muslim 

Brotherhood, a move apparently 

aimed at improving ties with Gulf 

Arab states and Egypt, which view 

the Brotherhood as a terrorist group. 

But it says its struggle is not 

against Jews because of their religion 

but against Israel as an occupier. 

The six-page Document of General 

Principles and Policies unveiled 

Monday by Hamas, accepts a Palestinian 

state within the 1967 borders 

while refusing to recognise Israel. 

Here are some key points of the 

UN: 1.4m children acutely 

malnourished in Somalia 

• AFP, Geneva 

Somalia, hit by drought and on 

the verge of famine, will count 

1.4 million acutely malnourished 

children by the end of the year, up 

50% from late 2016, the UN said 

Tuesday. 

The United Nations children’s 

agency warned that 275,000 of 

those children were expected to 

be so severely malnourished that 

they could easily die. 

Severe acute malnutrition is the 

most extreme and visible form of 

undernutrition, with victims often 

appearing skeletal and frail, and in 

urgent need of treatment to survive. 

Such children “are nine times 

more likely to die of cholera, or 

diarrhoea or measles,” Unicef 

spokeswoman Marixie Mercado 

told reporters in Geneva. 

“The combination of malnutrition 

and disease, plus displacement 

is deadly for children,” she 

‘Turkey’s EU dream is 

over’ 

• Reuters, Ankara 

Turkey under President Tayyip Erdogan has turned its 

back on joining the EU, at least for now, the bloc’s top 

official dealing with Ankara said, offering economic cooperation 

instead if both sides can restore friendly ties. 

After years of stalemate on Turkey’s bid to join the 

world’s biggest trading bloc, EU governments say the 

process is dead, citing Erdogan’s crackdown on dissidents, 

his ‘Nazi’ jibes at Germany and a referendum 

giving him sweeping new powers that a rights group 

says lack checks and balances. 

“Everybody’s clear that, currently at least, Turkey 

is moving away from a European perspective,” 

EU Commissioner Johannes Hahn, who oversees EU 

membership bids, said. • 

Supporters of Hamas protests against Palestinian Authority president Mahmud 

Abbas in the southern Gaza Strip town of Rafah on May 2 

AFP 

said, pointing out that a severely 

malnourished and dehydrated 

child can die in a matter of hours 

from diarrhoea or cholera. 

The World Health Organisation 

warned last month that the 

drought was fuelling an outbreak 

of cholera and acute diarrhoea in 

Somalia that has already killed 

hundreds of people. 

The warning comes as Somalia 

faces the threat of its third famine 

in 25 years of civil war and anarchy. 

At least 260,000 people died in 

the 2011 famine in Somalia – half 

of them children under the age of 

five, according to the WFP. 

Mercado pointed out that during 

that famine, “the major killer of children 

were diarrhoea and measles.” 

The dire drought and food 

situation has forced more than 

615,000 people to flee their homes 

since last November, in a country 

where 1.1m people are already internally 

displaced. • 

document: 

Ü “There shall be no recognition of 

the legitimacy of the Zionist entity.” 

Ü “Without compromising its 

rejection of the Zionist entity, 

Hamas considers the establishment 

of a fully sovereign and 

independent Palestinian state.” 

Ü “Hamas rejects the persecution of 

any human being on nationalist, 

religious or sectarian grounds”. 

Ü “Hamas does not wage a struggle 

against the Jews because 

they are Jewish but wages a 

struggle against the Zionists 

who occupy Palestine. 

Ü “The right of the Palestinian 

refugees and the displaced to 

return to their homes from 

which they were banished or 

were banned from returning to 

whether in the lands occupied 

in 1948 or in 1967.” • 

Mummies rot as Yemen 

war vexes even the dead 

• Reuters, Sanna 

Famine and disease haunt the living, but 

not even the dead are spared the calamities 

of Yemen’s two-year-old civil war. 

Ancient mummies are withering 

away in a major museum for lack of 

electricity and preservative chemicals 

from abroad, a sign that the conflict is 

harming not only the country’s present 

and future but also its rich past. 

The dozen spindly corpses, curled 

into the fetal position or swaddled in 

baskets, belong to a lost pagan civilization 

around 2 1/2 millennia ago, long 

before the advent of Islam. 

Lying beneath glass panes within 

the archaeology department in the 

capital Sanaa’s main university, the 

mummies might have spent their 

eternal slumber blissfully unaware of 

the otherworldly warplanes pounding 

their homeland. 

A Saudi-led military coalition has 

carried out thousands of air strikes in a 

bid to dislodge Yemen’s armed Houthi 

movement from the capital. The conflict 

has killed at least 10,000 people 

and unleashed a humanitarian crisis. 

But a timeless enemy, abetted 

by the disorder of war, threatens the 

mummies’ repose. 

“The mummies have started to 

decay and are infected with bacteria. 

This is because we don’t have 

electricity and the machines that are 

supposed to maintain them,” said Abdelrahman 

al-Gar, head of the university’s 

anitiquities department. 

“We need some chemicals to sanitise 

the mummies every six months, 

and they aren’t available due to the 

political situation.” 

Antiquities experts are appealing 

to the university and the culture ministry 

for funding and equipment to 

better fend off the microbes eating 

into the mummies’ flesh. • 

9 


USA 

US issues travel alert for 

Europe 

The US State Department issued a 

travel alert for Europe on Monday, 

saying US citizens should be aware 

of a continued threat of terrorist 

attacks throughout the continent. 

In the alert, the State Department 

cited recent incidents in France, 

Russia, Sweden and the UK and said 

Islamic State and al-Qaeda “have 

the ability to plan and execute terrorist 

attacks in Europe.” REUTERS 

THE AMERICAS 

Eight dead in Colombia 

military plane crash 

Eight people died Monday when 

a military aircraft crashed into a 

hill in central Colombia, President 

Juan Manuel Santos said. 

The crash occurred to the west of 

Bogota, between the towns of Facatativa 

and Zipacon, the governor 

for the region, Jorge Emilio Rey, 

said on his Twitter account. AFP 

UK 

May: EU united in getting 

deal that works for them 

UK Prime Minister Theresa May 

warned British voters on Tuesday 

that the 27 other EU countries 

were determined to win a divorce 

deal that “works for them”, using 

criticism that she had “illusions” 

over the talks to bolster her election 

campaign. May said the only way to 

secure a good deal for Britain was 

for the country to unite behind her 

in the snap election she has called 

for next month. REUTERS 

EUROPE 

Denmark bans six hate 

preachers 

DT 

Denmark on Tuesday published 

a blacklist of six foreign preachers 

accused of spreading hatred, 

including five Muslims and an 

American Evangelical pastor, 

banning them for at least two 

years. The blacklist “sends a clear 

signal that travelling fanatical 

religious preachers who try to 

undermine our democracy and 

fundamental values of freedom 

and human rights are not welcome 

in Denmark,” the immigration 

and integration ministry said in a 

statement. AFP 

AFRICA 

Armed attacks on ships in 

West African waters rise 

Armed attacks on ships in West 

African waters nearly doubled in 

2016, with pirates increasingly focused 

on kidnapping their crew for 

ransom off Nigeria’s coast, a report 

said on Tuesday. A recent spate of 

attacks off Somalia, meanwhile, 

may also indicate a resurgence of 

piracy in East Africa as a result of 

less vigilance, the Oceans Beyond 

Piracy project said. REUTERS

DT 

10 

Business 


CAPITAL MARKET SNAPSHOT: TUESDAY 

DSE Broad Index 5,521.4 0.8% ▼ Index 1,274.6 0.8% ▼ 30 Index 2,032.4 0.8% ▼ Turnover in Mn Tk 7,742.8 25.9% ▼ Turnover in Mn Vol 241.2 24.4% ▼ 

CSE All Share Index 17,107.0 0.7% ▼ 30 Index 15,109.4 0.2% ▼ Selected Index 10,373.7 0.7% ▼ Turnover in Mn Tk 461.4 24.3% ▼ Turnover in Mn Vol 16.3 15.1% ▼ 

BB fears pressure on forex 

reserves to rise further 

• Asif Showkat Kallol 

Bangladesh Bank fears that pressure 

on the country’s foreign exchange 

reserves will increase if the 

government approves overseas equity 

investment by the local firms. 

Bank and Financial Institutions 

Division said it is not clear whether 

the local firms may return home 

their equity investment. 

The central bank feared the 

pressure on foreign exchange reserves 

as Akij Group, Nitol Niloy 

Group and Ha-Meem Group are 

now interested to invest overseas. 

Local firms’ investment proposals 

in aboard will go to the Cabinet 

Committee on Economic Affairs as 

the Bank and Financial Institutions 

Division did not take decision for 

its own in this matter. 

Bank and Financial Institutions 

Division has forwarded the Bangladesh 

Bank proposals to the cabinet 

committee. 

Bank Division’s proposal will be 

placed at a meeting of the Cabinet 

Committee on Economic Affairs 

next week as Finance Minister 

AMA Muhith is going to Japan this 

week to attend the annual meeting 

of the Asian Development Bank. 

Akij Group has proposed to invest 

$20m in Malaysia, Ha-Meem 

Group $10m in Haiti and Nitol Niloy 

$7m in Gambia. 

Ha-Meem intends to invest in 

the island nation’s garment sector 

to prop up its shipments to the US, 

while Akij Group wants to buy a Malaysian 

company that produce fire 

board and hardboard. Nitol Niloy 

plans to in Gambia’s banking sector. 

The proposal said the local investors 

are not interested to invest in 

the country and thus the additional 

liquidity stands at Tk2,77,956.29 

crore in the banking sector. 

But the Bangladesh needs invest 

32% of GDP locally to achieve targeted 

economic growth. 

In the proposal, Bangladesh 

Bank said Bangladeshis firms are 

capable and has capacity to invest 

on foreign lands. 

As funds are being spent to import 

fuel oil and capital machinery 

along with consumer products, the 

growth foreign exchange reserves 

becomes slow. 

Deficit in the balance of payment 

stood at $ 790m at the end of 

December 2016. Foreign exchange 

reserves now stood at around 

$33bn -- enough to honour at least 

7-8 months’ import bills. 

Bangladesh Bank hopes that 

there will be new frontier of export 

earning if Bangladeshi businessmen 

invest overseas. 

There is a possibility that the 

three firms will return home some 

foreign earning. 

Usually, Bangladesh Bank has 

examined four matters including ensuring 

foreign exchange funds will be 

used in the specific foreign projects 

and get back foreign exchange funds. 

The country will financially 

benefit from the local firms’ foreign 

investment. 

Besides, the government will form 

a $10bn sovereign funds from the 

Bangladesh Bank foreign exchange 

reserves which also put a pressure on 

foreign exchange reserves. 

Dr AB Mirza Azizul Islam, former 

finance adviser to Caretaker 

Government, told Dhaka Tribune 

that Bangladesh Bank has shifted 

its responsibility to the cabinet 

committee for approval of the 

firms’ investment plans in aboard. 

He criticised Bangladesh Bank to 

forward the proposal to government 

and avoid making decision although 

there is a committee concerned to 

handle such types of matters. • 

Govt to update 

labour law 

• Tribune Business Desk 

State Minister for Labour Mujibul 

Haque Chunnu yesterday 

said the government will bring 

amendments to the labour law to 

make it updated and efficient, reports 

BSS. 

“We have to ensure quick justice 

for people through labour courts. 

We are increasing the number of 

courts and have already taken a 

decision to establish labour courts 

in Sylhet and Rangpur,” he told a 

seminar in the city. 

Former judge of the Appellate 

Division Justice Nizamul Haque 

presided over the seminar on the 

role of ADR (alternative dispute 

resolution) in quick disposal of cases 

in labour courts at National Press 

Club VIP Lounge. 

The seminar was, among others, 

addressed by the Department 

of Inspection for Factories and 

Establishments Director General 

Shamsuzzaman Bhuiyan and Department 

of Labour Director Abu 

Hena Mostafa Kamal. • 

During the third quarter, the highest number of investment proposals came to the 

service sector of the country 

DHAKA TRIBUNE 

BIDA receives 45% 

less investment 

proposals in Q3 

• Shariful Islam 

Investment proposals by companies 

registered with Bangladesh Investment 

Development Authority 

(BIDA) has fallen by 45.88% during 

January to March month of the current 

fiscal year 2016-17. 

According to the latest BIDA 

data released yesterday, during 

the period, a total of 510 industrial 

units were registered with BIDA for 

investment. 

The highest number 

of proposals came 

for the service 

industrial sector 

which was 31.15% of 

the total proposed 

amount during the 

month of January to 

March 

In the three months, 510 industrial 

units submitted proposals for 

investing a total of Tk37,217 crore 

and 4.3m while 487 industrial units 

proposed for investing Tk68,767 

crore and 6.1m during October to 

December period, said BIDA data. 

The data also showed local investment 

proposals rose by 28.80% 

during third quarter while BIDA received 

proposals for investing a total 

of Tk29,680.16 crore from local 

entrepreneurs for investing in 469 

industrial units. 

The proposed amount by local 

investors was Tk23,044.13 crore for 

444 industrial units during second 

quarter. 

During the third quarter, BIDA 

also received proposals of a total of 

Tk7537.27 crore from foreign investors 

for investing in 20 fully foreign 

owned industrial units and 21 joint 

venture units with local entrepreneurs. 

According to BIDA, the highest 

number of proposals came for the 

service industrial sector which 

was 31.15% of the total proposed 

amount during the month of January 

to March. 

The chemical industries came 

next with 17.58% followed by textile 

with 10.51%, food and allied 

12.52%, Engineering 4.76% and 

others 23.48% during the Q3. 

In another development of the 

day, the first meeting for formulating 

a policy for Bangladeshi entrepreneurs’ 

investment abroad was 

held at BIDA Board Room, said a 

BIDA press release. 

BIDA Executive Member Ajit Kumar 

Paul presided over the meeting 

while Bangladesh Bank General 

Manager ANM Abul Kashem, first 

secretary (Tax) of National Board 

of Revenue (NBR) Iqbal Bahar and 

Foreign Ministry’s Economic Affairs 

Director Md Rashedujjaman 

were, among others, present at the 

programme. 

Paul said they are thinking positively 

about Bangladeshi investors’ 

investment in abroad. 

“If we find that making investment 

abroad will bring higher returns, 

we will suggest allowing 

overseas investment,” he said. 

Paul said they will soon start 

scrutiny of the policies followed by 

other countries in this case. •

Radisson to bring Dhaka’s 

traditional foods 

• Shadman Shoumik Anik 

Have you ever wanted to travel 

back in time to the era of 

Mughals and be invited to one 

of their lavish parties with 

exquisite dinner laid out before 

you on the table? That 

is exactly what Spice & Rice 

is bringing for its guests in 

Dhaka. The exotic restaurant 

is re-loading and it surely has 

many surprises in stock! 

As you enter the gates, which 

itself is an original antique door, 

you will be greeted by a huge 

copper plate engraved with ornaments 

dating back form over 

a hundred years. 

A beautiful display of lights 

playing with shadows appear 

in an intimately decorated 

room whose every wall showcases 

art and heritage. One 

would be mesmerized at the 

spectacles of the past that is 

evident everywhere. All these 

were not achieved very easily. 

As a matter of fact, the 

General Manager Christoph 

Voegeli along with Executive 

Chef Jed Archdeacon and Chef 

James Rozario (Chef de Cuisine 

of S&R) had traveled to 

various parts of the old city 

to source these beautiful remnants 

of the past. 

“We want to introduce 

Dhaka bona fide to our guests 

in terms of smells, sight and 

flavor which lead us on an adventure 

to various parts of the 

city, from Old Dhaka to DCC,” 

said Christoph Voegeli. • 

Business 11 


BB: ADs can 

repatriate inward 

remittances against 

small value service 


Authorized Dealers (ADs) can now repatriate 

inward remittances against 

small value service exports in non-physical 

form including Information and 

Communication Technology (ICT) related 

services through Online Payment 

Gateway Service Providers (OPGSPs). 

“To widen the scope for repatriation 

of ICT related payments, it has been decided 

that ADs may provide facilities to 

credit inward remittances received in 

international card number or account 

against the services provided by individual 

developers or freelancers,” according 

to a circular issued by Bangladesh 

Bank yesterday, reports BSS. 

In this context, ADs shall issue to 

individual developers or freelancers international 

cards (termed as ‘Freelancer 

Card’) having duel currency units with 

features of being prepaid from abroad, 

the circular added. • 

France firm Schlumberg to 

drill in Shahbazpur gas field 

• Asif Showkat Kallol 

The France-based world largest oilfield 

company, Schlumberg, is going 

to provide wireline logging service to 

the Shahbazpur gas field-2 in Bhola. 

According to the 

proposal, the total cost 

for wireline logging 

will be Tk74.35 lakh 

Energy and Mineral Resources proposal 

for awarding the task to the 

company to develop the Shahbazpur 

gas field will be placed at the cabinet 

committee on public purchase for approval. 

Schlumberg limited and local firm 

SEACO lnc will provide that service to 

find out gas at Shahbazpur. 

DT 

According to the proposal, the total 

cost for wireline logging will be 

Tk74.35 lakh. 

Schlumberg SEACO Inc will provide 

explosive and logging services 

within a short time as those materials 

are in the hands of the company. 

Schlumberger Limited is the world 

largest oilfield service provider company 

employing approximately 100,000 

people in more than 85 countries. 

Schlumberger has four principal 

executive offices located in Paris, 

Houston, London, and the Hague. 

Earlier, Gazprom International completed 

the construction and testing 

of the Shahbazpur-3 well located at 

the field of the same name on Bhola 

Island in the Padma River delta in 

southern Bangladesh. 

Shahbazpur-3 is the penultimate 

well built by Gazprom International 

under two drilling contracts signed in 

2012 with BAPEX, BGFCL and SGFL, 

subsidiaries of Bangladesh’s state oil 

and gas corporation Petrobangla. • 

Huawei signs deal with 

Magnito for digital 

assets management 


Huawei Technologies (Bangladesh) 

Ltd and Magnito Digital 

signed an agreement recently. 

Under the agreement, Magnito 

Digital has been appointed as 

the digital agency of Huawei 

Technologies (Bangladesh) 

Ltd and will manage the digital 

assets of Huawei Mobile Bangladesh, 

said a press release. 

Huawei is one of the leading 

Smartphone manufacturers in 

the world, with a good footprint 

in Bangladesh. Magnito 

Digital is one of the leading 

digital agencies of the country. 

Mashrur Hassan Mim, Head 

of Marketing, Huawei Device 

Business Department, Md Monjurul 

Kabir, Assistant Marketing 

Manager, Suman Saha, PR Manager 

were present from Huawei 

Bangladesh, whilst from Magnito 

Digital, Riyad Husain, CEO, 

Khawar Saud Ahmed, COO, Arif 

R ahman, Account Director and 

Kaushik De, Creative Director, 

were present, among others, at 

the signing ceremony held in 

Gulshan, Dhaka. •

DT 

12 

Editorial 


TODAY 

A work in progress 

May Day is observed globally. With that in 

mind, we should take this opportunity to 

improve 

PAGE 13 

The old 

neighbourhood is 

gone 

FOCUS BANGLA 

Urbanisation has resulted in the psychosis 

of our neighbours 

PAGE 14 

Flood preparedness is key 

Mood swing 

diplomacy 

This is not mainstream diplomacy. It is 

lamestream diplomacy 

PAGE 15 

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. 

The PM’s visit to flood-hit areas has given a 

much-needed boost to the morale of the 

affected people of the area, but the challenge 

is far from over. 

Over 850,000 families have been affected by the 

recent flash floods in Bangladesh, which have swept 

over vast swathes of the country’s northeast. 

With each day, Boro farmers are struggling to make 

ends meet, and it should be the government’s topmost 

priority to invest more in and do more to tackle 

the consequences of flash floods. 

There is no way to overstate the importance of 

investment in flood prevention methods, that can 

range from embankments, protection of wetlands, 

flood defense, and more. We need to seek long-term 

solutions to relieve farmers and locals from this 

annual wave of disaster. 

It is indeed heartening to see that the prime 

minister had taken the time to visit haor residents, 

express empathy, and solidarity. 

However, much more needs to be done to solve the 

problems at hand -- from tackling the shortage of food 

at a national scale, starvation, and lost livelihoods. 

Last month’s floods have been some of the most 

unexpected in recent history, and that is why they 

have caused so much damage. 

Much of the losses could be contained if only the 

authorities did their jobs right -- if the right measures 

were taken to ensure that relief reached the haor 

residents, without any exception, and without delay. 

It is no secret that Bangladesh is a flood-prone 

country, and, knowing that, we need to be much 

better prepared than we have been so far. 

There is no way 

to overstate the 

importance of 

investment in flood 

prevention methods

A work in progress 

Opinion 13 

We seldom talk about the pressing issue of maternity rights for workers 

DT 


• Miti Sanjana 

Lima, a 25-year-old, works 

at a large garment factory 

in Dhaka. 

She is married to a man 

who hails from her locality. Both 

of them toil away for long hours 

in the same workplace. They are 

surviving on what little they make 

and gladly accept things the way 

they are. 

A little while later Lima realises 

that an incredible miracle is 

taking place inside of her. She 

is pregnant. Both husband and 

wife are thrilled, even though the 

pregnancy is a surprise one and 

hasn’t been planned for. 

They start spending wisely to 

save money for the baby. However, 

Lima’s mind is abuzz with other 

things: Is she going to be replaced 

if the employers come to know she 

is pregnant? How will they survive 

with only one person winning the 

bread and a baby on the way? 

Pregnant and unemployed 

A few days later she informs her 

supervisor about her pregnancy. 

To her utter dismay, her supervisor 

starts scolding her. He belittles her 

working capabilities whenever she 

is fatigued. He verbally abuses her 

and even threatens to fire her from 

her job. 

She did not expect this reaction. 

It wasn’t so long ago that there 

were no adequate laws to protect 

the rights of pregnant women in 

the workplace. An employer could 

There’s a lot of negativity surrounding pregnant workers 

BIGSTOCK 

May Day is observed globally. With that in mind, we should take this 

opportunity to improve, realising that the lines between workers’ 

rights and human rights tend to get blurry 

terminate a pregnant woman if he 

didn’t want her at work. There was 

no guarantee of a job if a woman 

wanted to return to work after 

delivering the baby. Working-class 

folk such as Lima cannot afford 

day-care centres, despite the fact 

that our RMG sector has emerged 

as the highest export earner of the 

country. 

Female RMG workers have 

contributed significantly to the 

rapid growth of this industry, and 

we hear so much about how the 

industry is contributing to female 

empowerment across the entire 

country. These women are not 

only supporting their families but 

also ensuring female participation 

in the workforce, reducing gender 

inequality and poverty in the 

process. 

And, yet, cases like Lima’s are 

still the norm. 

The law of the land 

The Bangladesh Labour Act, 

2006 (BLA2006) is supposed to 

allow working women maternity 

benefits. The law even contains 

provisions which make way for 

rights and benefits to which 

a pregnant worker is entitled. 

Section-45 of BLA2006 states 

that an employer cannot 

intentionally employ a woman in 

his establishment during the eight 

weeks immediately following the 

day of her delivery. 

Moreover, a woman 

worker shall not work in any 

establishment during the eight 

weeks immediately following the 

day of her delivery. 

The female workers shall not be 

involved in any work of arduous 

nature during 10 weeks prior to 

and after the delivery provided 

that it is brought to the attention 

of the employer. 

Women workers are entitled 

to the payment of maternity 

benefit for the period of eight 

weeks preceding and immediately 

following the day of delivery. 

The government has introduced 

Bangladesh Labour Rules 2015 

through a gazette which made 

certain amendments in maternity 

law. 

Rule 37 states that no one 

can make any remark so that a 

pregnant woman feels harassed 

mentally and physically; she will 

not be engaged in any risky work; 

she will have the right to use the 

lift; and, after delivery, there 

should be proper facilities made to 

support the baby’s nourishment. 

However, rule 38 has narrowed 

down some scopes of S.46(2) of 

BLA2006. 

An obvious issue 

Some 85% of Bangladesh’s RMG 

workforce are women. In rural 

areas, extreme poverty forces 

many of them to leave the village 

in search of work in the city. Our 

economy largely relies on these 

female workers who make up the 

majority of the workforce. 

Unfortunately, the most basic 

structure of our social system and 

practices are showing very little 

signs of development. For these 

working women, it is not a viable 

option to leave the job. 

International Worker’s Day, or 

May Day, is observed globally on 

May 1.The day is celebrated in our 

country almost religiously. With 

that in mind, we should take this 

opportunity to improve, realising 

that, in a country that relies so 

heavily on working women, the 

lines between workers’ rights and 

human rights tend to get blurry. It 

is the mother’s womb that protects 

every child from day one after all. 

The proper implementation 

of maternity laws and ethical 

practice in every organisation can 

ensure a woman’s participation 

in the workforce to its utmost, 

which would in turn contribute 

to our economic growth. It’s such 

an obvious problem for us to be 

focusing one, yet we seldom do. 

Here’s hoping the nation wises 

up. • 

Miti Sanjana is an Advocate, Supreme 

Court of Bangladesh and an activist.

14 


DT 

Opinion 

The old neighbourhood is gone 

What is the true cost of urbanisation? 

Do kids still play with other kids from the area? 

DHAKA TRIBUNE 

• Rabiul Islam 

My father, being 

a government 

employee, had to 

move frequently from 

town to town. Once, he found 

himself settled in one specific 

area, where he then bought a piece 

of land. 

The man who sold the land 

also sold all his parental property 

in a rush. Our neighbours, along 

with my father, also bought lands 

from him. None of them cared that 

over hundreds of kids in that town 

used to play in those lands. They 

cleared the little bit of shrubbery 

and vegetation, cut down all the 

trees, filled the cultivable lands 

with sand. Literally stripping the 

area. 

What happened to all those 

kids? No one ever asked. When 

there were trees, fields, ponds, the 

kids used to run around and play. 

The pond helped us learn how 

to swim and catch fish. We knew 

each other, and each other’s 

families. We used to quarrel with 

each other to the point when our 

families had to get involved in the 

matter. But there was life in that 

neighbourhood. 

Hardly any Ramadan went by 

without sharing iftar with our 

neighbours. It is saddening that I 

am writing this in the past tense 

now. It was considered indecent 

to return those iftar plates empty. 

So, we used to return them with 

more food in our own plates. And, 

therefore, the transaction never 

ended. 

These exchanges happened 

every time any family in the 

neighbourhood cooked something 

they recently harvested, or 

something they thought was good 

enough to share. I mean, if you 

could smell it in the air, you would 

know that something is coming to 

your house. 

Be it khichuri, polao, or payesh, 

you wouldn’t miss it if it was being 

cooked on the hearth of your 

neighbours. 

Some of us kids would often invite 

ourselves to our neighbours’ 

house and stayed there waiting 

for some aunt to say: Don’t leave 

without eating.” It always sounded 

like a privilege. 

The age of reason 

Then the age of reason came 

and our aunts started comparing 

whose kid was in which position 

in the classroom. They started 

sending their kids off to nicer 

schools in cities, started living as 

disparately as possible. 

To get more detached from each 

other, they particularly focused 

on the height of their walls. The 

kids who were left could no 

Urbanisation has resulted in the psychosis of our neighbours. The 

dwellers no longer feel it necessary to communicate. They do not 

even know the names of the people living next door 

longer climb a tree to see what’s 

happening on their neighbour’s 

house, because there were none. 

They did not feel motivated 

to meet other kids as there were 

no simple roads leading to each 

others’ houses anymore. 

Remember the land seller? He 

didn’t keep any roads in his map 

nor the people who bought them 

from him. And so the kids stopped 

playing because there were no 

fields to play on. 

Urban pyschosis 

Urbanisation has resulted in the 

psychosis of our neighbours. The 

dwellers no longer feel it necessary 

to communicate. They do not even 

know the names of the people 

living next door. 

We have made ourselves so 

smart and sophisticated today that 

we don’t bother going to funerals. 

The bond between unknown 

families has broken, the new micro 

families with their micro hearts 

can barely feed themselves. 

Does our next generation 

deserve this neighbourhood? 

Should we crowd their lives with 

plastic toys, electronic gadgets, 

schools, and artificial reality? 

When was the last time 

you shared a meal with your 

neighbour? The last time you 

asked how they were doing? Or 

have you already figured that they 

are bad influences? • 

Rabiul Islam is a freelance contributor.

Mood swing diplomacy 

Trump’s foreign policy goes every which way 

Opinion 15 

DT 


• John Lloyd 

Donald Trump doesn’t 

practice traditional 

diplomacy. As in 

domestic policy, but with 

a thicker fog of ignorance, Trump 

treats each issue of foreign policy 

or engagement as a separate event, 

and reacts to it according to his 

mood. 

This behaviour is unlikely to 

change. If it does not and Trump’s 

presidency continues, the world, 

including the important parts of 

it he governs, will become more 

dangerous. The considerable good 

that Americans do abroad will 

shrink. 

And the rule-based systems 

which the United States seeks 

to police will decay and be 

replaced with more regional and 

national confrontations and more 

failed states. 

The double switch 

Trump’s shifting moods have 

produced several notable flipflops. 

Most prominent has been 

that on Russia, in part because he 

praised President Vladimir Putin 

again and again from mid-2013 to 

February this year. 

That stopped after the Syrian 

government’s chemical weapons 

attack in early April, at which point 

Trump promised retaliation and 

switched from admiration to 

distrust of Russia, Syria’s main 

ally. 

It was a double switch -- on 

Russia, but also on intervention. 

Trump ordered a missile strike on 

the base from which the Syrian 

planes staged their attack. He 

had vowed not to intervene in 

foreign quarrels, and had appeared 

indifferent about Assad remaining 

in power. 

After criticising China for 

manipulating its currency and 

destroying US industry with cheap 

imports for much of his campaign, 

Trump changed his tone after 

an apparently friendly weekend 

with Chinese President Xi Jinping 

at Trump’s Florida resort. 

He had grumbled before 

meeting Xi that relations between 

the two countries had to be 

radically adjusted. 

After the meeting, and after 

receiving some encouragement 

for his view that China would 

put pressure on a North Korea 

threatening nuclear war, Trump 

shifted once more, asking 

rhetorically why he would be rude 

to China on currency manipulation 

when it was assisting him on North 

Korea. 

For some in the foreign policy 

The flip-flopping president 

establishment, hostility toward 

Russia and cautious overtures to 

China was a return to the natural 

order of things, underpinned by 

the president’s discovery that 

NATO was not obsolete after all. 

There’s something in that view: 

Russia was never going to remain 

a favoured nation of America for 

long, and as early as his January 

meeting with British Prime 

Minister Theresa May, Trump had 

appeared to agree when she told 

journalists that he was “100%” 

behind NATO. But to say he’s 

become a “normal” foreign policy 

president is a stretch. 

The basis of mainstream US 

diplomacy has historically been a 

warm attitude toward traditional 

close allies, cool-to-aggressive 

toward opponents, and sometimes 

critical of authoritarian states with 

which business can or must be 

done. 

These postures are full of moral 

gulches and vast hypocrisies 

-- many were exposed in 

Wikipedia’s publication of US State 

Department cables -- but everyone 

knows how the game is played. 

Baseless accusations 

Trump isn’t like that. He makes 

no secret of his dislike of some 

close allies and appears to admire, 

rather than tolerate, authoritarian 

leaders. 

In their first White House 

meeting, Trump pressed German 

Chancellor Angela Merkel, the US’s 

most important European ally, to 

meet NATO’s military spending 

target, and in an awkward quip 

repeated his claim that he had 

been wiretapped by the Obama 

administration. 

He abruptly terminated his call 

with Australian Prime Minister 

Malcolm Turnbull after Turnbull 

asked Trump to honour the Obama 

era commitment to take over 

1,000 migrants from an Australian 

detention camp. 

Trump received Canadian 

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau 

more politely, but a few weeks 

later blamed Canada for trade 

violations. 

He held Theresa May’s hand as 

they walked through the White 

House Colonnade, but soon after 

criticised her secret services for 

spying on him, with no proof 

on which to base such a colossal 

charge. 

With friends like these 

By contrast, the president 

appeared to relish the first round 

success of French presidential 

candidate Marine Le Pen, 

This is not mainstream diplomacy. It is, to 

adapt the president’s customary designation 

of the press, ‘lamestream’ diplomacy 

whose political lineage is racist, 

anti- Semitic, contemptuous of 

Muslims, and intent on isolating 

France from both the European 

Union and the global economy. 

He congratulated Turkish 

President Recep Tayyip 

Erdogan on the narrow and 

possibly manipulated victory 

in a referendum on increasing 

his power -- which will likely 

lead to the newly empowered 

Erdogan arresting and detaining 

more government officials, 

military officers, journalists, and 

academics. 

Trump treated Egyptian 

President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi, 

much more brutal with internal 

enemies than his predecessor 

Hosni Mubarak, whom he helped 

remove, like a long lost friend. 

Trump’s attitude to his 

southern neighbour, Mexico, 

has alienated the country’s 

political class. President Enrique 

Pena Nieto cancelled a visit to 

REUTERS 

Washington as Trump repeated 

his campaign promise to build a 

wall between the two countries 

and deport millions of Mexicans 

deemed to be illegal immigrants. 

This is not mainstream 

diplomacy. It is, to adapt the 

president’s customary designation 

of the press, “lamestream” 

diplomacy: Lamed by lack 

of strategy, experience, and 

often, common politeness, his 

preferences proceeding from a 

world-view which prizes displays 

of strength and is contemptuous of 

liberal allies. 

Will this change? Of course -- 

and in every which way. Flip-flops, 

switches, and change make up the 

one unchanging theme of Trump’s 

diplomacy. • 

John Lloyd co-founded the Reuters 

Institute for the Study of Journalism at 

the University of Oxford, where he is 

senior research fellow. This article first 

appeared on Reuters.

16 


DT 

Downtime 

CROSSWORD 

CODE-CRACKER 

ACROSS 

1 Stiffly neat (4) 

3 Narrates (5) 

8 Disguise (4) 

9 Outer covering (4) 

11 Form a fabric (5) 

12 Alone (4) 

14 Bishop’s territory (3) 

15 Concise (5) 

18 Farm birds (5) 

19 Hill (3) 

21 Part of a yacht (4) 

24 Gather for oneself (5) 

26 Sport (4) 

27 Wealthy (4) 

28 Metal (5) 

29 Agitate (4) 

DOWN 

1 Nosegay (4) 

2 Wading bird (4) 

4 First woman (3) 

5 Letting contract (5) 

6 Exist (4) 

7 Glossy (5) 

10 Musical sound (4) 

11 Less well (5) 

13 Vegetables (5) 

16 Ooze (4) 

17 Heavenly bodies (5) 

18 Pleasing quality (5) 

20 Leave out (4) 

22 Plunder (4) 

23 Make fast a vessel (4) 

25 Pronoun (3) 

How to solve: Each number in our 

CODE-CRACKER grid represents a 

different letter of the alphabet. For 

example, today 16 represents W so fill W 

every time the figure 16 appears. 

You have one letter 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 

MONDAY’S SOLUTIONS 

CODE-CRACKER 

CROSSWORD 

DILBERT 

SUDOKU

What’s on 

17 


DT 

EVENTS AROUND TOWN TODAY 

FOOD 

MOVIE 

EXHIBITION 

STAR CINEPLEX 

Where Bashundhara City, Dhaka 

What Movie showtime (May 3) 

FLAVORS OF BANGLADESH 

When 12:30pm 

Where The Westin Dhaka, Gulshan Avenue, Plot-01, Road 45, 

Dhaka 

What A week-long food festival featuring the authentic 

cuisine of Bangladesh. 

WORKSHOP 

Smurfs: The Lost Village (3D): 

4:10pm, 6:40pm, 1:50pm 

Dhat Teri Ki (2D): 4:20pm, 7:20pm 

PERCEPTION 

When 9am-10pm 

Where Radius Art Gallery, Gulshan 1, Dhaka 

What A solo art exhibition by Uttom Kumar Roy. 

PROXIMITY OF LINE 

When 3am-8pm 

Where Shilpangan, Dhhanmondi, Dhaka 

What A solo art exhibition by Rahul Karim Rumee. 

TALK 

C++ FIRST STEP TO CHANGE THE WORLD! 

When 5pm 

Where Rosetta Technologies, 44/7, A-B Panthapath, Karim 

Tower (8th Floor), Dhanmondi, Dhaka 

What Free workshop on programming. 

CHILD RIGHTS AND MENTAL HEALTH WORKSHOP 

When 3-5pm 

Where American Center – Dhaka, Embassy of the United 

States of America, J Block, Progoti Sharoni, Baridhara, Dhaka 

What An all girls program featuring in-depth conversations 

on child sexual abuse and the rules and regulations of or 

country to protect the child rights. 

CULTURAL PROGRAM 

Lion (2D): 1:40pm 

Ghost in the Shell (3D): 1pm, 

7:30pm 

Incarnate (2D): 11am, 3:15pm, 

5:15pm 

Fast & Furious 8 (3D): 1:40pm, 

4pm, 4:30pm, 6:50pm, 7:20pm 

Fast & Furious 8 (2D): 1:30pm 

The Boss Baby (3D): 2pm 

Beauty and the Beast (3D): 4:30pm, 

7:10pm 

AN ENVIRO-TALK WITH SYEDA RIZWANA HASAN 

When 4-5:30pm 

Where Seminar Room, (1st floor), Civil Engineering Building, 

BUET main campus, Dhaka 

What A talk on environmental law and it’s practical 

application in Bangladesh by the Goldman Environmental 

Prize winner Syeda Rizwana Hasan. 

UPCOMING 

ONEK KAJER POR EIKHANE THEME THAKA BHALO 

When 6-8pm 

Where Studio Green, House 96 (1st Floor), Road 13/C, Block 

E, Banani, Dhaka 

What Poetry recitation with guitar accompaniment by 

Shubhadip Chakrabarty, Shomobuddha Chattergee and 

Masud Hasan Ujjal. 

INTER UNIVERSITY ENVIRONMENT DEBATE 2017 

When 10am-7pm 

Where Dhaka University Debating Society (DUDS), 2nd Floor, 

TSC, Dhaka University, Dhaka 

What Two-day-long debating event organised by DUDS. 

DROIDCON DHAKA 2017 

When 9am-7pm 

Where Krishibid Institution of Bangladesh – KIB, Khamarbari, 

Dhaka, Bangladesh 

What A two-day-long Android developer conference as part 

of global developer conference series. 

THE ART OF PARENTING 

When 9:30am-5:30pm 

Where Bdjobs Training, BDBL Building, 19th Floor, 12 Karwan 

Bazar, Dhaka 

What A workshop on parenting organised by Insight 

Initiatives Limited.

DT 

18 

Sports 


WHAT THEY SAID 

Drago Mamic, Abahani head coach 

This is normal. We can't be leader of the group and 

move to next stage. We must fight every game and 

show people that we are improving and one day we 

will come in the same level. This is our second match 

at home so it is our obligation to give our maximum 

and try all our powerful weapon to push for a win. 

We are trying with all our best. But it is the kind of 

competition that requires much more preparation. 

We are in a group with Bengaluru who are one of the 

best Asian clubs. That’s why I was not disappointed. 

Only I will be disappointed if I see players don’t give 

their 100%. 

Alberto Roca, Bengaluru head coach 

It’s always difficult to win away. Now in football, the 

distance between the teams is not so big. We have to 

be ready for that. Our expectation in this tournament 

is very high because we reached the final last year. 

[Today] is an important game. If we win [today] we 

have the possibility to shift to the next stage. It will 

be a completely a different game than the one in 

Bangalore. 

Mamum Miah, Abahani captain 

The situation we are now in is like there is no return. At 

this moment, we have nothing to lose. We will try to 

give our best and win the game. We have to take reality 

into consideration. We have nothing much to do in AFC 

Cup. We have Federation Cup ahead and now we have 

to give more focus on that. As we will represent the 

country in AFC Cup, we have to give our best and if we 

win the game, we may win the other two. 

Bengaluru’s Sunil Chhetri controls the ball during training at Bangabandhu National Stadium yesterday MD MANIK 

Abahani targeting first points in Bengaluru clash 

• Shishir Hoque 

With the mindset of nothing to 

lose, Bangladesh champion Dhaka 

Abahani Limited will be looking 

to bounce back from their losing 

streak when they host Indian 

champion Bengaluru FC in their 

fourth match of the AFC Cup at 

Bangabandhu National Stadium today 

at 6:10pm. 

Abahani have almost no hope 

of advancing to the knockout stage 

after conceding three straight defeats 

and today's clash against the 

reigning AFC Cup runners-up will 

only be a mere formality for the Sky 

Blues. Even a draw will see the Sky 

Blues exit the tournament officially 

but it will give the Dhaka giant 

their first point in the group stage 

and a slice of confidence ahead of 

their first professional tournament 

– the Federation Cup – that kicks off 

on May 13. 

The transfer window of the 

Bangladesh Premier League closed 

on Sunday. With almost half of the 

squad’s key players leaving the club 

and replacements arriving in the 

last moment, Abahani are still in 

transition and currently struggling 

at the bottom of Group E without a 

single point. 

Bengaluru, in contrast, are 

marching confidently towards 

the knockout stage as they sit 

comfortably at the top of the 

table with nine points. While 

Abahani were sitting idle in the 

last four months, Bengaluru are 

going through busy times due to 

domestic fixtures. Since the first 

leg between the two sides on April 

18, that Bengaluru won 2-0, the 

Indian outfit played two matches 

in the Indian League, winning 7-0 

and 3-0. 

Abahani had to travel with only 

two foreign players in their last two 

matches due to visa complication 

of 37-year-old Samad Yussif but 

this time around, they will have the 

service of the veteran Ghanaian at 

the heart of the defence, along with 

Emeka Darlington and Jonathan 

David Brown upfront. 

Welshman Jonathan was kept 

out of the squad for the upcoming 

premier league season on the 

transfer deadline day to make way 

for Gambian midfielder Landing 

Darboe, who is ineligible to play in 

the AFC Cup. The Welsh forward is 

still in the club only to play in the 

AFC Cup. 

Abahani head coach Drago 

Mamic has another good news 

in the shape of midfielder Emon 

Babu, who has recovered from 

long-term injury. 

“Emon is back in midfield. We 

have three foreign players in the 

squad after two matches. Samad 

will also be here. We will be more 

competitive. Every player's fitness 

is improving. We have to be 

more clinical and not make same 

mistakes which we repeated in 

the last games. Then we can make 

positive result,” said Mamic. 

“For sure we can make some 

surprising results but we can’t have 

continuity of good results at this 

stage. This team is a new one. We 

Abahani captain Mamun Miah shakes hands with his Bengaluru counterpart at BFF 

House yesterday MD MANIK 

lost at least 10 players from last 

year and collected replacements 

just two months ago,” added the 

Croatian. 

Having only been established 

three years ago, Bengaluru, who 

already won two Indian top-flight 

titles, will be playing in Dhaka 

for the first time. The club have 

won their last six matches in all 

competitions scoring 16 goals but 

their Spanish coach Alberto Roca 

Pujol expects it to be a different 

encounter compared to the home 

leg. 

“It will not be same here. It 

would be tough here because 

Abahani are a good team and will 

try to put us in trouble. My players 

know about it and their ability. 

We are fully convinced. If we do 

things well, we can have good 

result even here,” said Alberto, 

adding that they have to play 

three matches in six days starting 

next weekend. 

Bengaluru rested some key 

players in their last league match 

against Churchill Brothers, including 

star captain Sunil Chhetri and 

defender Nishu Kumar, who scored 

against Abahani. They are likely 

to return but the visiting side will 

be without injured Serbian striker 

Marjan Jugovic. 

Alberto said, “we have enough 

depth in squad to compete.” •

92 RUNS IN FOUR BALLS INCIDENT 

Sports 

BCB slaps 10-year ban on bowler 

• Tribune Report 

Lalmatia Club bowler Sujon 

Mahmud was slammed with 10- 

year ban by the BCB for his bizarre 

protest during a second division 

game in the Dhaka League. Protesting 

the on-field umpires' allegedly 

biased officiating, Sujon gave away 

92 runs in four deliveries to create 

headlines around the cricketing 

world. 

The Lalmatia cricketer leaked 

65 wides and 15 no-balls in an over 

that eventually lasted 20 deliveries. 

Another cricketer in the same 

tier of the Dhaka League, Tasnim 

Hasan of Fear Fighters Club, was 

also slapped with a 10-year ban 

for similar act. The cricketer, also 

protesting allegedly bias umpiring 

during a game against Indira Road 

on April 10 this year, conceded 69 

runs in 1.1 overs. 

The three-member committee 

formed by the BCB to investigate 

the incidents in the Dhaka second 

division league meted out the 

punishment to the two cricketers 

yesterday. The committee imposed 

life bans on Lalmatia Club and Fear 

Fighters Club for not preventing 

the cricketers from carrying out 

such acts which have tarnished image 

of Bangladesh cricket around 

the world. 

The captains, managers and 

coaches of the two teams were 

banned for five years each while 

the umpires from the two games 

were slapped with six-month suspensions. 

BCB director, acting chairman of 

the umpires' committee and chief 

of the three-member investigation 

team, Sheikh Sohel, announced 

the punishments to the media. 

“We held hearing involving 

many people regarding the two 

matches in question and understood 

that such acts were done intentionally 

and to stain Bangladesh 

cricket. Our cricket in the past few 

years has bagged applause from all 

over the globe for on-field performance,” 

said Sohel. 

“The results in those two matches 

would not have determined the 

champion of the league and had 

no questions of relegation too. 

The bowlers did wrongdoing deliberately, 

and tarnished our image 

internationally,” the BCB director 

added. 

The BCB director claimed that 

the two cricketers could never have 

done such actions if not backed by 

their respective teams. • 

19 


DT 

The results in those 

two matches would 

not have determined 

the champion of 

the league and 

had no questions 

of relegation 

too. The bowlers 

did wrongdoing 

deliberately, and 

tarnished our image 

internationally 

Fahad unbeaten 

champion in Nat'l 

Sub-Junior Chess 


Mohammad Fahad Rahman 

emerged as the unbeaten champion 

in the opening round of the SGS 

36th National Sub-Junior (U-16) 

Chess Championship yesterday. 

It was Fahad’s fourth consecutive 

national sub-junior title, and fifth 

overall. 

The country’s youngest Fide 

Master defeated Tahsin in the seventh 

and last round of the event 

at the chess federation hall-room 

to maintain 100% winning record. 

The boy from Pirojpur earned seven 

points to clinch the title. 

Subrato Biswas of Mymensingh 

finished runners-up with six points 

while Mohammad Nayem Haque of 

Sirajganj was placed third with 5.5 

points. 

Meanwhile in the girls’ event, 

Nowshin Anjum of Narsingdi beat 

Moni in the final round to become 

unbeaten champion with 6.5 

points. Jannatul Ferdous of Dhaka 

emerged runners-up with six 

Taijul Islam is the toast of his Mohammedan teammates following his six-wicket haul in their DPL game against Rupganj at 

BKSP 3 yesterday COURTESY 

DPL, ROUND 6 

ABAHANI 161/4 in 30.2 overs (Saif 61, 

Mithun 30*) beat KALABAGAN 156 in 

45.5 overs (Tushar 36, Shuvagata 4/19) 

by six wickets 

DOLESHWAR 181/3 in 45.2 overs 

(Shahriar 78*, Marshall 62) beat PRIME 

180 in 49.5 overs (Zakir 52, Delwar 3/17) 

by seven wickets 

RUPGANJ 84 in 32.4 overs (Taijul 6/24, 

Sajedul 22) lost to MOHAMMEDAN 

135 in 39.4 overs (Asif 4/19, Sharif 2/15) 

by 51 runs 

POINTS TABLE 

Teams M W L Pts 

Gazi 5 5 0 10 

Prime 6 5 1 10 

Abahani 6 4 2 8 

Mohammedan 6 4 2 8 

Doleshwar 6 4 2 8 

Jamal 5 4 1 8 

Rupganj 6 3 3 6 

Brothers 5 2 3 4 

Khelaghar 5 1 4 2 

Kalabagan 6 1 5 2 

Victoria 5 0 5 0 

Partex 5 0 5 0 

points. • 

Taijul six-for guides Mohammedan, Abahani win 

Fide Master Fahad Rahman and 

Nowshin Anjum pose for photographs 

after winning the National Sub-Junior 

Chess Championship 

COURTESY 


Left-arm spinner Taijul Islam’s 

six-wicket haul guided Mohammedan 

Sporting Club Limited 

to victory in a low-scoring game 

against Legends of Rupganj in 

round six of the Dhaka Premier Division 

Cricket League 2016-17 season 

yesterday. 

Defending champion Abahani 

Limited got back to the winning 

ways against Kalabagan Krira 

Chakra while Prime Bank Cricket 

Club lost their first game in six attempts, 

against Prime Doleshwar 

Sporting Club. 

Mohammedan v Rupganj, BKSP 3 

Asked to bat first, Mohammedan 

were unable to register long 

partnerships and thus managed 

to put up only 135 runs on the 

board losing all of their wickets 

in 39.4 overs. Captain Raqibul 

Hasan’s 24 was the highest while 

all-rounder Asif Hasan led the 

way for Rupganj bagging four 

wickets. 

Chasing a low total, Rupganj 

batsmen lost their way as just three 

batsmen reached double figures. 

They were all out for only 84 in 

32.4 overs as Taijul single-handedly 

removed the first six Rupganj 

batsmen conceding just 24 in his 

quota of 10 overs. Captain Mosharraf 

Hossain’s 22 was the best 

for Rupganj as they fell short by 51 

runs. 

Prime v Doleshwar, Fatullah 

Doleshwar secured a seven-wicket 

victory to inflict on Prime their 

first defeat this season. Batting 

first, Prime, propelled by wicketkeeper-batsman 

Zakir Hasan's 52, 

scored 180 before being dismissed 

with a ball to spare. Seamers Farhad 

Reza and Delwar Hossain 

picked up three wickets each for 

Doleshwar. 

In reply, national discard Shahriar 

Nafees’ unbeaten 78 and middle-order 

batsman Marshall Ayub’s 

62 steered Doleshwar to the shore 

in 45.2 overs. Shahriar, in his 125- 

ball innings, struck five boundaries 

and a six while Marshall hammered 

half a dozen boundaries in his 85- 

ball knock. 

Kalabagan v Abahani, BKSP 4 

Abahani tasted their first win in 

three matches when they defeated 

Kalabagan by six wickets. The 

game was yet another low-scoring 

affair with Kalabagan invited to 

bat first. Kalabagan ended up 

scoring 156 in 45.5 overs losing 

all wickets. A 60-ball 36 by 

Kalabagan captain Tushar Imran 

was the highest of the innings. 

Shuvagata Hom made the most 

damage with the ball for Abahani, 

notching four wickets conceding 

19 in 10 overs. 

Later, inspired by Saif Hassan’s 

61 off 62, with six fours and a sixer, 

Abahani chased down the target in 

30.2 overs. Pacer Abul Hasan took 

two wickets for Kalabagan. •

20 


DT 

Sports 

EPL POINTS TABLE 

Teams P W D L GD Pts 

Chelsea 34 26 3 5 43 81 

Tottenham 34 23 8 3 49 77 

Liverpool 35 20 9 6 29 69 

Man City 34 19 9 6 28 66 

Man Utd 34 17 14 3 26 65 

Arsenal 33 18 6 9 22 60 

Everton 35 16 10 9 20 58 

West Brom 34 12 8 14 -4 44 

Southampton 33 11 8 14 -5 41 

Bournemouth 35 11 8 16 -13 41 

Leicester 34 11 7 16 -12 40 

Stoke 35 10 10 15 -13 40 

Watford 34 11 7 16 -18 40 

Burnley 35 11 6 18 -14 39 

West Ham 35 10 9 16 -15 39 

Crystal Palace 35 11 5 19 -10 38 

Hull 35 9 7 19 -31 34 

Swansea 35 9 5 21 -29 32 

Middlesbrough 35 5 13 17 -19 28 

Sunderland 34 5 6 23 -34 21 

Free-scoring Monaco face Juventus wall 

• Reuters, Paris 

Liverpool's Emre Can scores their first goal against Watford during their EPL match at Vicarage Road on Monday 

Monaco have scored plenty of goals 

this season and boast one of European 

football’s most exciting newcomers 

in Kylian Mbappe but that 

might not be enough to break down 

the defensive wall of Juventus in 

the Champions League semi-finals. 

Mbappe, 18, has scored 18 goals 

in his last 18 competitive games, 

including three in the 6-3 aggregate 

win over Borussia Dortmund in the 

last eight. 

The pacy forward provides a 

symbol for the rise of a fine counter-attacking 

team featuring other 

dangerous players such as Colombian 

marksman Radamel Falcao. 

It takes more than that, however, 

to impress Juventus, the tightest 

defence in Europe's top club 

competition with just two goals 

conceded in this campaign. 

"Even Barcelona could not score 

in two games against them so it 

will be complicated for us", Monaco's 

Poland defender Kamil Glik 

said ahead of today’s first leg in the 

principality. The Italian champion, 

who advanced to the last four with 

an aggregate 3-0 win over Barca, 

were held to a 2-2 draw at Atalanta 

in a rare defensive mix-up in Serie 

A on Friday. 

Their pedigree and record for 

REUTERS 

being impregnable when it matters, 

however, suggest Juventus 

should be regarded as the favourites. 

"Monaco have technical and 

tactical qualities as well as talented 

young players," Juventus coach 

Massimiliano Allegri said. 

"They do not have the same history 

as Juventus but that does not 

mean it will be easy for us to make 

it to the final", he added. 

While Allegri can rely on a fully-fit 

squad, his Monaco counterpart 

Leonardo Jardim, criticised for 

fielding a B-team in a 5-0 French 

Cup semi-final thrashing by Paris 

St Germain last week, has a defensive 

worry with midfield dynamo 

Tiemoue Bakayoko doubtful due to 

a broken nose. 

Monaco have shone in Europe 

and at home this season and their 

domestic title hope received a welcome 

boost when a nervous PSG 

side lost 3-1 at Nice on Sunday, 

leaving the club from the French 

Riviera three points clear at the top 

with a game in hand. 

Juventus, meanwhile, are closing 

in on a record sixth straight 

Serie A title and can turn to their 

European history for inspiration, 

having won the showcase club 

competition twice, in 1985 and 

1996. • 

Can: Best goal I 

have scored 

• AFP, Watford 

Emre Can admitted his sensational 

bicycle kick that secured Liverpool 

a crucial 1-0 win over Watford 

in their Premier League clash on 

Monday was his best ever goal. 

The 23-year-old German international 

- who took his tally to five 

for the season - produced his moment 

of magic in time added on in 

the first-half. 

Victory kept Liverpool in third 

place in the table but in terms of 

Champions League qualification it 

pushed them four points clear of 

fifth-placed Manchester United, 

who have a game in hand. 

The top four only qualify for Europe's 

premier club competition. 

"I have never scored a goal like 

that - maybe when I was younger. 

That is the best goal I've ever 

scored," Can told Sky Sports. 

"I saw the space and I ran behind 

and my first thought was that 

I wanted to head it, then I didn't 

think too much. 

"But the most important thing 

was three points after knowing 

what happened yesterday. It was a 

big game for us. 

"Everything is in our hands. If 

we win the three games we are in 

the Champions League. We are 

confident. If we perform how we 

can perform then we can do it." 

Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp 

was in awe of what he termed the 

“spectacular” goal. 

"Emre has played really well in 

the past few weeks but he could still 

play better... However I don't think 

he can ever score a better goal than 

that," Klopp told Sky Sports. • 

Napoli sight 

second after 

Callejon winner 

• AFP, Milan 

A first-half winner from Jose Callejon 

handed Napoli the points from 

a 1-0 win at Inter Milan on Sunday 

that closed the gap on Roma in second 

to a point. Maurizio Sarri's men 

travelled to the San Siro buoyed by 

Roma's earlier 3-1 derby defeat to 

Lazio that left the capital contender 

nine points adrift of Juventus. 

By the end of a San Siro sizzler 

that saw Stefano Pioli's outplayed 

hosts stage a brief, second-half 

comeback, Callejon's 43rd minute 

opener proved the difference to 

a win that put Napoli in firm contention 

for the second automatic 

Champions League qualifying 

place. Roma remain second at nine 

points behind Juventus with four 

games to play but Luciano Spalletti's 

men are now just one point 

ahead of Napoli, who remain seven 

points ahead of Lazio, in fourth. • 

Napoli’s Dries Mertens shoots at goal during their Serie A match against Inter at San Siro on Sunday 

REUTERS 

SERIE A 

Roma 1-3 Lazio 

De Rossi 45-P Keita 12, 85, Basta 50 

Bologna 4-0 Udinese 

Destro 2, 59, Taider 45+2, Danilo 68-og 

Caglari 1-0 Pescara 

Pedro 23-P 

Crotone 1-1 AC Milan 

Trotta 8 Paletta 50 

Empoli 1-3 Sassuolo 

Pucciarelli 24-P Peluso 20, 

Matri 34, Duncan 57 

Genoa 1-2 Chievo 

Pandev 43 Bastien 60, Birsa 70 

Palermo 2-0 Fiorentina 

Diamanti 32, Aleesami 90 

Inter Milan 0-1 Napoli 

Callejon 43 

POINTS TABLE 


Juventus 34 27 3 4 48 84 

Roma 34 24 3 7 44 75 

Napoli 34 22 8 4 43 74 

Lazio 34 20 7 7 24 67 

Atalanta 34 19 7 8 19 64

Sevilla upset 

by Malaga in 

Andalusian 

thriller 

• Reuters, Madrid 

Malaga stunned Sevilla with two 

late strikes in a 4-2 win on Monday 

to leave Jorge Sampaoli's side still 

at slight risk of slipping out of the 

top four in La Liga. 

Despite two goals from Franco 

Vazquez, Sevilla's defeat leaves 

them on 68 points, three behind 

third-placed Atletico Madrid, but 

now only five clear of fifth-placed 

Villarreal - and they still have to 

visit Real Madrid on May 14. 

Vazquez opened the scoring at 

La Rosaleda in the 30th minute 

after breaking through from midfield, 

before playmaker Pablo Fornals 

equalised for the hosts eight 

minutes later with a rocket from 

outside the area. 

Sandro Ramirez put Malaga 

ahead early in the second half but 

Vazquez levelled in the 57th minute 

of a fiercely contested clash 

after latching on to a loose ball in 

the box. 

Malaga moved back ahead in the 

77th when Diego Llorente planted 

a header into the top corner before 

substitute Juankar added the 

decisive fourth, snapping up the 

rebound after Sandro's late penalty 

was saved. • 

LA LIGA 

Malaga 4 -2 Sevilla 

Fornals 38, Ramirez 51, Vazquez 30, 57 

Llorente 77, Carlos 90+3 

POINTS TABLE 


Barcelona 35 25 6 4 71 81 

Real Madrid 34 25 6 3 53 81 

Atletico Madrid 35 21 8 6 4 71 

Sevilla 35 20 8 7 18 68 

Villarreal 35 18 9 8 34 63 

PSG hope dented in Nice defeat 

• Reuters, Paris 

Nice dealt Paris St Germain's Ligue 

1 title hope a huge blow by beating 

them 3-1 in a stormy match on Sunday 

which ended with the losing 

side receiving two red cards. Second-placed 

PSG, who have three 

games left, were left three points 

behind leader AS Monaco who also 

have a game in hand. Nice trail PSG 

by another three points in third. 

Mario Balotelli and Ricardo 

Pereira scored to put Nice 2-0 

ahead before Marquinhos pulled 

one back. Anastasios Donis scored 

Nice's third in the 90th minute, in 

between red cards for Thiago Motta 

and Angel di Maria. Tempers had 

flared several times before that, 

with PSG forward Edinson Cavani 

in the thick of the trouble. 

Nice went ahead in the 26th minute 

after Ricardo Pereira broke out 

of his half and charged down the 

right. He seemed to have run into a 

dead end but turned back and laid 

the ball off to Balotelli, who held 

off Marco Verratti and curled a low 

Sports 

shot under Kevin Trapp's hands 

and into the corner from 20 metres 

for his 14th goal of the season. 

Shortly afterwards, there was 

a flare-up when Paul Baysee and 

Cavani tangled in the Nice penalty 

area but the referee let the feuding 

pair off with a warning. 

Nice extended their lead three 

minutes after halftime, Pereira cutting 

inside and curling the ball past 

Trapp after Younis Belhanda had 

led a quick counter-attack. 

That was followed by more trouble, 

firstly when Cavani pushed 

Nice coach Lucien Favre out of the 

way to retrieve the ball and then 

when Balotelli angered Blaise Matuidi 

by show-boating near the corner 

flag. Marquinhos pulled a goal 

back in the 64th minute and a PSG 

equaliser looked on the cards until 

Motta was sent off for an incident 

in the Nice penalty area after the 

ball had been cleared. 

From the resulting free kick, 

Nice goalkeeper Yoan Cardinale 

sent Pereira away down the right 

and his cross was headed in by 

LIGUE 1 

Nice 3-1 Paris SG 

Balotelli 26, Pereira 48, Marquinhos 64 

Donis 90+2 

Dijon 0-0 Bordeaux 

Caen 1-5 Marseille 

Santini 9 Thauvin 2, 63, 89, 

Lopez 5, 27 

POINTS TABLE 


Monaco 34 26 5 3 66 83 

Paris SG 35 25 5 5 46 80 

Nice 35 22 11 2 30 77 

Lyon 34 18 3 13 26 57 

Bordeaux 35 15 11 9 10 56 

Donis at the far post. PSG's frustration 

boiled over when Di Maria 

recklessly scythed down Arnaud 

Souquet and was sent off. 

Florian Thauvin scored a hattrick 

to lead sixth-placed Marseille 

to a 5-1 win at relegation-threatened 

Caen while Maxime Lopez 

scored the other two for the visiting 

side. • 

21 


Bangladesh 

clinch 7th South 

Asia Karate 


DT 

Bangladesh became the champion 

in the 7th South Asia Hakukai Karate 

Championship that was held in 

Meerut, India and organised by the 

All India Karate Association. 

Bangladesh won a total of 10 

medals including eight golds, one 

silver and as many bronze in the 

two-day long event. India finished 

runners-up while Nepal became 

third out of eight countries from 

south Asia. 

Ten players from Bangladesh 

took part in the event and will return 

home today. • 

Siegemund wins 

Stuttgart title 

• AFP, Stuttgart 

Germany's Laura Siegemund was 

the shock winner of Stuttgart's 

WTA tournament on Sunday after 

her three-set win over France's 

Kristina Mladenovic in the final. 

Siegemund, ranked 49th in the 

world and a wild card entry for the 

main draw, sealed a 6-1, 2-6, 7-6 

(7/5) win over Mladenovic, who 

had beaten Maria Sharapova in the 

semi-final, ending the Russian's 

comeback from a 15-month doping 

ban. The 29-year-old converted her 

first match point after nearly two 

and a half hours to claim only her 

second WTA win after victory at 

Bastad, Sweden, last July. 

Siegemund made a strong start, 

charging into a 4-0 lead after twice 

breaking Mladenovic's serve in 

what proved to be a topsy-turvy 

first set. The Frenchwoman broke 

Siegemund in the fifth game, but 

the German returned the compliment 

breaking Mladenovic, then 

serving out to take the first set. • 

DAY’S WATCH 

FOOTBALL 

TEN 1 

10:45 PM 

UEFA Europa League 2016/17 

SF: Ajax v Lyon 

TEN 2 

11:30 PM 

UEFA Champions League 2016/17 

SF: Monaco v Juventus 

CRICKET 

TEN 1 HD 

Pakistan Tour of West Indies 2017 

9:00PM 

2nd Test, Day 4 

SONY SIX 

8:30 PM 

Indian Premier League 2017 

Kolkata v Pune 

Rafael Nadal of Spain poses with a number 10 after winning the Barcelona Open 

title for the 10th time, against Austria’s Dominic Thiem 

REUTERS 

Murray stays top, Nadal 

fifth despite record 

Barcelona triumph 

• AFP, Paris 

Andy Murray stays top of the latest 

ATP rankings released on Monday, 

which remain unchanged despite 

the success of Rafael Nadal in Barcelona 

at the weekend. 

A week after his Monte Carlo 

Masters success, the Spaniard also 

claimed a tenth title in the Catalan 

capital but remains fifth behind 

Swiss Roger Federer, who did 

not play. Budapest winner Lucas 

Pouille of France moves into a career-best 

14th position as 20-yearold 

Russian Karen Khachanov soars 

14 places to 42nd after reaching the 

Barcelona quarter-finals. 

ATP rankings 

1. Andy Murray (GBR) 11,870 pts 

2. Novak Djokovic (SRB) 8,085 

3. Stan Wawrinka (SUI) 5,695 

4. Roger Federer (SUI) 5,125 

5. Rafael Nadal (ESP) 4,735 

6. Milos Raonic (CAN) 4,165 

7. Kei Nishikori (JPN) 4,010 

8. Marin Cilic (CRO) 3,565 

9. Dominic Thiem (AUT) 3,535 

10. David Goffin (BEL) 2,975

22 


DT 

Showtime 

Met carpet 2017 

Top five looks from this year’s Met Gala star-studded carpet 

• Mahmood Hossain 

Apart from what goes on behind 

the scenes of one of the most 

exclusive events of the year in 

fashion, the Met Gala is basically 

a moving exhibition of outlandish 

and sometimes awe-inspiring 

artwork. Technically, it’s the 

opening of the Costume Institute’s 

annual show. This particular “red 

carpet” is a showcase for elite 

designers that put their one-off 

pieces on celebrities. Some looks 

come straight off the runway 

with minor alteration – a look 

that’s never been seen before. 

In addition, there are looks 

built completely from scratch, 

exaggerating the red carpet’s 

overall purpose. 

This year’s theme at the 

Metropolitan Museum of Art 

was Rei Kawakubo/Comme des 

Garçons: Art of the In-Between. In 

other words, every look had to be 

the ideal example of what it means 

to be avant-garde, while keeping 

within the tradition of each 

designer’s signature designs. • 

Cara Delevingne kept 

the sci-fi, lost in the 

stars flavour going 

after the release of 

Valerian and the City 

of a Thousand Planets. 

This silver Chanel suit, 

matching her hair, is all 

she needed to stand out 

from the rest. 

Lily-Rose Depp 

followed this year with 

yet another Chanel 

number. The fuchsia 

ball gown is embellished 

with silver camellias. 

Lily Aldridge put a 

mean definition to be 

cutting edge and sexy in 

a white, silky and slinky 

Ralph Lauren dress. 

Taking it a bit further, 

the latex Balenciaga 

boots created the 

perfect accent to the 

thigh-high slit of the 

dress. 

Ruth Negga continues 

to swoon Hollywood in 

a very subtle manner, 

just like the classic 

choice of Valentino, 

presented as a monastic 

silhouette. Her 

cornrows put in a splash 

of indulgent swagger as 

well. 

Rihanna in possibly the 

most avant-garde look 

of the night, borrowing 

the entire ensemble 

from the Comme des 

Garçons autumn/winter 

2016 collection. 

Jeremy Renner to play gunslinger 

Doc in biopic 

Ex-managers claim Johnny Depp 

is fed lines through earpiece 

• Showtime Desk 

Talented actor Jeremy Renner 

is now taking aim at legendary 

gunfighter John Henry “Doc” 

Holliday. PalmStar Media 

is modifying the scripts of 

the film based on two Mary 

Doria Russell novels, Doc and 

Epitaph: A Novel of the O.K. 

Corral. 

Kevin Frakes from PalmStar 

will produce the yet-to-betitled 

film alongside Renner 

and Don Handfield’s The 

Combine, who has Michael 

Keaton starrer The 

Founder to his credit. 

Considered as one 

of the icons of the old 

American West, John 

Henry “Doc” Holliday 

was born on August 

14, 1851. A dentist 

by trade, Holliday 

became an icon of 

the American West 

and was close friends 

with fellow gunslinger 

Wyatt Earp. They 

were the two most 

famous faces in 

what is regarded as 

the most legendary battle of 

the West: the gunfight at the 

O.K. Corral, which cemented 

Holliday’s status as a legend. 

The novels, which are 

taken as seminal books on 

the charismatic gunslinger, 

chronicle Holliday’s life 

from his time as a gentleman 

dentist in Reconstructionera 

Atlanta, Previous Doc 

Hollidays include Kirk 

Douglas, Val Kilmer and 

Dennis Quaid. 

“We are excited to 

re-introduce this classic 

American character to a whole 

new audience by chronicling 

Doc Holliday’s incredible 

transformation from an 

average Joe dentist to a man 

who Wyatt Earp called the 

‘nerviest, speediest, deadliest 

man with a six-gun [he] ever 

knew,’” Renner and Handfield 

said in a joint statement. 

Born in 1971, Renner is 

best known for his roles 

in The Hurt Locker (2008) 

for which he received an 

Academy Award nomination 

for Best Actor, and for 

playing Hawkeye in the Marvel 

Cinematic Universe films 

Thor (2011), Marvel’s The 

Avengers (2012), Avengers: Age 

of Ultron (2015) and Captain 

America: Civil War (2016). 

The actor also appeared in 

commercially successful films 

such as Mission: Impossible 

– Ghost Protocol (2011), The 

Bourne Legacy (2012), Hansel 

and Gretel: Witch 

Hunters (2013), American 

Hustle (2013), Mission: 

Impossible - Rogue 

Nation (2015), 

and Arrival (2016). • 


Ex-managers of three-time Oscar 

nominee Johnny Depp have claimed 

that the actor wears an earpiece on set 

and pays someone to feed him lines 

so that he does not have to memorise 

them. Apparently, the former business 

managers of the actor aren’t taking 

Depp’s recent comments about their 

dispute softly. Eventually, they even 

have intensified their claims against 

the actor in an amended complaint. 

The overwhelming and 

disappointing detail of the actor’s 

acting process came out when a new 

court filing was placed as a part of a 

bitter legal battle between the actor 

and his ex-managers. Depp sued them 

for mishandling his money while The 

Management Group (TMG) countersued 

him. 

Notably, the managers claimed that 

Depp spends hundreds of thousands of 

dollars on a sound engineer who feeds 

him lines on set. 

Their attorney, Michael Kump 

wrote: “Depp insisted that this sound 

engineer be kept on yearly retainer 

so that he no longer had to memorise 

his lines.” They also claimed that the 

actor used the method for years during 

film production as Depp happened 

to become clumsy in remembering 

dialouges. 

The attorney also added, “Depp 

listened to no one, including TMG and 

his other advisors, and he demanded 

they fund a lifestyle that was 

extravagant and extreme. Ultimately, 

Depp and/or his sister and personal 

manager, Elisa Christie Dembrowski, 

knowingly approved all of Depp’s 

expenditures.” 

They claimed that the actor spent 

surprising amounts of money buying 

14 residences, 45 luxury vehicles, 

70 collectible guitars and enough 

Hollywood memorabilia to fill a 12 

storied facility. 

In the new document, TMG 

commented that the Pirates of the 

Caribbean star may have “compulsive 

spending disorder” and needs “a 

mental examination.” •

Showtime 

23 


DT 


Versatile musician Shayan 

Chowdhury Arnob is all set to 

make his comeback with a brand 

new album. Titled Ondho Sohor, 

the album will be the eighth solo 

venture for the Vishwa Bharati 

alumni, who has been among the 

pioneers of the Bengali music 

scene of the country for the last 

decade. 

Arnob revealed the news 

on Facebook on last Monday. 

Attached with a preview video, 

Arnob 

returns with 

Ondho Sohor 

the singer posted: “Previews of 

a few songs from my new album 

Ondho Sohor. There are 17 tracks, 

(along with) two karaoke tracks 

for you to sing along to. Enjoy 

these previews (for now), more 

(are) coming.” 

The fusion rock singer and 

composer is yet to reveal the 

exact date for the release, but has 

confirmed that the album will be 

available on the Yonder Music 

App. 

The eclectic singer, who 

previously formed the band 

“Bangla” in Vishwa- Bharati 

alongside Sahana Bajpaie, Buno 

and Anusheh Anadil, released 

his first solo album Chaina 

Bhabish back in 2005. He then 

went on to work with Prayer Hall 

and collaborated with artists 

like Sahana Bajpaie, Srabonti 

Narmeen Ali, Saad, the MAK, 

Zohad, Andrew, Idris Rahman, 

Fariha Kamal and Rajib Ashraf. 

Arnob’s fusion renditions of 

Rabindrasangeet, folk songs and 

pop ballads have been widely 

appreciated by fans. • 

Vikas Khanna makes the 

global list of top 10 chefs 


Chef Vikas Khanna has spread his 

charm far and wide. He has served 

food to the Obamas, gifted his 

book to the queen and has become 

a popular judge of the cooking 

reality show MasterChef India. 

One of India’s most beloved 

chefs, Vikas Khanna has 

landed himself a position in 

the coveted Gazette Review list 

of the world’s top 10 best chefs. 

Vikas Khanna features on the 

sixth spot on the list. 

Apart from this, Vikas has also 

penned the most expensive 

cookbook in the 

world, which went 

for Rs300,000 at an 

auction recently. 

Here’s the 

full list of top 10 

chefs in the world 

according to 

Gazette Review: 

1. Gordon Ramsay 

2. Jamie Oliver 

3. Wolfgang Puck 

4. Heston 

Blumenthal 

5. Marco Pierre 

White 

6. Vikas Khanna 

7. Emeril Lagasse 

8. Alain Ducasse 

9. Paul Bocuse 

10. Anthony Bourdain • 

The Bucket List 

HBO, 5:23pm 

Edward Cole has worked very 

hard throughout his life and 

amassed wealth. He falls ill 

and gets admitted in a hospital 

where he finds out that he has 

just six months to live. He befriends 

Carter, a cancer patient 

and the two of them set out 

on a trip around the world and 

do all the things they always 

wanted to do. 

Cast: Jack Nicholson, Morgan 

Freeman, Sean Hayes, Beverly 

WHAT TO WATCH 

Todd, Rob Morrow 

Underworld 

Zee Studio, 8pm 

Vampires and Lycans are at 

constant loggerheads. Vampires 

are a secret clan while the 

shrewd Lycans are thugs who 

prowl the city’s underground. 

What happens to the war 

between the two clans when 

a beautiful Vampire warrior 

and a newly-turned Lycan fall 

in love? 

Cast: Kate Beckinsale, Scott 

Speedman, Michael Sheen 

London Has Fallen 

Movies Now, 11:55pm 

After the death of the British 

prime minister, the world’s 

most powerful leaders 

gather in London to pay their 

respects. Without warning, terrorists 

unleash a devastating 

attack that leaves the city in 

chaos and ruins. Secret Service 

agent Mike Banning springs 

into action to bring US President 

Benjamin Asher to safety. 

Cast: Gerard Butler, Aaron Eckhart, 

Morgan Freeman • 

Jimmy Kimmel opens up in 

emotional monologue 


Jimmy Kimmel and his wife, 

co-writer of Jimmy Kimmel Live, 

Molly McNearney welcomed 

their second child on April 21. 

Unfortunately, their three day old 

showed certain complications 

and therefore, underwent an 

open-heart surgery at a children’s 

hospital in Los Angles. 

On Monday’s tonight show, 

the talk show host confirmed that 

his newborn son had successfully 

undergone the life-threatening 

surgery. A tearful Kimmel 

encouraged the audience to 

donate to children’s hospitals. 

Kimmel commenced the 

opening monologue while 

struggling to hide tears, “We call 

him Billy. Six pushes and he was 

out, and he appeared (to be) a 

normal healthy baby.” 

The new parents were moved 

to the recovery room, where the 

couple’s eldest child, two-yearold 

Jane, was there to meet her 

baby brother. However, only 

three hours later, a nurse noticed 

that something was wrong with 

Billy. 

“My wife was in bed relaxing, 

(when) a very attentive nurse at 

Cedars-Sinai heard a murmur in 

his heart and noticed he was a bit 

purple, which is not common,” 

Kimmel explained. “[Nurses] 

determined he wasn’t getting 

enough oxygen in his blood, 

either in his heart or lungs … It’s 

a terrifying thing, you know my 

wife is back in the recovery room, 

she has no idea what’s going on.” 

Kimmel also talked about 

how it feels like to see your child 

dying, “If your baby is going to 

die, and it doesn’t have to, it 

should not matter how much 

money you make.” 

Kimmel revealed that he 

was glad after hearing that US 

congressmen have decided to not 

make a $6 billion cut in funding 

to the National Institute of Health 

proposed by Donald Trump. •

24 


DT 

SUU KYI REJECTS UN 

ROHINGYA PROBE › 8 

Back Page 

BCB SLAPS 10-YEAR 

BAN ON BOWLER › 19 

ARNOB RETURNS WITH 

ONDHO SOHOR › 23 

$61.63bn capital drained from 

Bangladesh in a decade 

• Ibrahim Hossain Ovi and 

Shariful Islam 

Unrecorded capital flow from 

Bangladesh stood $61.63 billion between 

2005 and 2014, riding mostly 

on misinvoicing, according to a 

report of Global Financial Integrity. 

The GFI report also revealed 

that illicit capital flight from Bangladesh 

was on a higher trend from 

2007 following political turmoil 

of the time, and it continued until 

2013 when the highest $9.66 billion 

was siphoned off. 

Of the total $61.63 billion illicit 

capital flow, $56.83 billion was 

through trade misinvoicing while 

the rest $4.8 billion could not be 

traced in the balance of payments 

data, the report added. 

The Washington-based research 

and advisory organisation unveiled 

the report, titled “Illicit Financial 

Flows (IFFs) to and from Developing 

Countries: 2005-2014”, on 

Monday. 

Commenting on the report, former 

chief economist of Bangladesh 

Bank, Biru Paksha Paul, pointed out 

that under-invoicing in export and 

over-invoicing in import are the key 

drivers behind illicit capital flight. 

If under-invoicing in export 

and over-invoicing in import can 

be controlled, around 50% illegal 

capital flight could be stopped, said 

Paul. 

He also suggested increasing 

capacity of ports and adopting scientific 

monitoring to control misinvoicing. 

Political uncertainty will have to 

be removed to prevent illicit capital 

10 

8 

6 

4 

2 

0 

ILLEGAL CAPITAL FLIGHT FROM BANGLADESH 

4.26 

3.38 

flight, observed former finance adviser 

to a caretaker government AB 

Mirza Azizul Islam. 

The government should ensure 

investment friendly atmosphere 

in the country so that people can 

make investment easily, he added. 

A businessman, preferring not 

to be named, told the Dhaka Tribune 

that people usually send money 

illegally only for their safety. 

With the change of political regimes, 

it brings trouble to politicians 

as well as businesses to some 

4.1 

6.44 

Total $61.63bn 

2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 

extent, he added. 

“Illicit capital outflow from 

Bangladesh in 2014 is a little less 

compared to 2013, but there is no 

visible sign of improvement. It may 

be that due to better monitoring 

of the National Board of Revenue, 

Bangladesh Bank and law enforcement 

agencies, illegal capital flow 

has seen a slight fall,” noted AB 

Mirza Azizul Islam. 

Bangladesh Bank Executive Director 

Subhankar Saha told the Dhaka 

Tribune: “I do not prefer to comment 

on the finding of GFI report as 

data used in the report are based on 

perception and not justified.” 

The central bank is working 

with other commercial banks and 

law enforcement agencies to prevent 

illegal capital flight, he added. 

An average of 87% of global illicit 

financial outflows over the 

2005-2014 period were due to the 

fraudulent misinvoicing of trade, 

the GFI report showed. 

GFI President Raymond Baker 

said: “The combination of illicit 

outflows and inflows, arising from 

both balance of payments data and 

direction of trade statistics, leads 

to an estimate of IFFs at 14% to 

24% of total developing country 

merchandise trade.” 

The GFI recommended a number 

of policy measures to curtail 

illicit flows that include increasing 

transparency in the global financial 

system and taking measures related 

to tax haven secrecy, anonymous 

companies, and money laundering 

techniques. • 

Bangladeshi Rashedul makes it to top 20 of MasterChef Australia 

6.13 

5.41 

5.92 

7.23 

9.66 

9.1 

Amount in $ billion 

Source: GFI 

DhakaTribune 


Bangladeshi-origin Rashedul 

Hasan has successfully earned his 

place among the top 20 finalists in 

season 9 of MasterChef Australia. 

Rashedul cooked “Saffron 

Poached Pears with Smoked Vanilla 

Ice Cream” to win over the judges 

on the first episode of the new 

season that aired on Network Ten 

on Monday. 

Entertainment portal Elachi 

Times shared a post on its Facebook 

page Monday saying that 

Rashedul is the first Bangladeshi 

to make it to MasterChef Australia. 

The initial rounds of MasterChef 

Australia consist of a large 

number of hopeful contestants 

from across Australia individually 

auditioning by presenting a dish 

before the three judges. 

The contestants must be over 

18 years of age. 

The winner is awarded a prize 

that includes chef training from 

leading professional chefs, the 

chance to have their own cookbook 

published, and AUD250,000 

in cash. 

MasterChef Australia airs five 

nights a week from Sunday to 

Thursday. 

Earlier in March, An American 

boy of Bangladeshi origin, Afnan 

Ahmad from Jonesboro, Georgia, 

made it to the top 10 of MasterChef 

Junior 2017 US Season 5. • 

Editor: Zafar Sobhan, Published and Printed by Kazi Anis Ahmed on behalf of 2A Media Limited at Dainik Shakaler Khabar Publications Limited, 153/7, Tejgaon Industrial Area, Dhaka-1208. Editorial, News & Commercial Office: FR Tower, 

8/C Panthapath, Shukrabad, Dhaka 1207. Phone: 9132093-94, Advertising: 9132155, Circulation: 9132282, Fax: News-9132192, e-mail: news@dhakatribune.com, info@dhakatribune.com, Website: www.dhakatribune.com

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