e_Paper, Monday, May 8, 2017

SECOND EDITION
MONDAY, MAY 8, 2017 | Boishakh 25, 1424, Shaban 11, 1438 | Regd No DA 6238, Vol 5, No 4 | www.dhakatribune.com | 24 pages plus 8-page World supplement | Price: Tk10
Ershad
announces
58-party
alliance › 3
Birthday rape
case plaintiffs
threatened to
withdraw
case › 3
Bobby Hajjaj:
We cannot just
say politics is
dirty › 5
Mobile app developers stifled by lack
of support, skilled workforce › 2
MAHMUD HOSSAIN OPU
French election:
Why it is so
important › 8
DT
World Tribune
3
WHY EUROPEAN
POPULISM WILL SURVIVE
A LE PEN DEFEAT
GULBUDDIN HEKMATYAR:
6 THE BUTCHER OF KABUL
AS US AND CHINA FIND COMMON
GROUND ON N KOREA, IS RUSSIA
7 THE WILD CARD?
Emmanuel Macron elected
French president › 2
Export earnings fall short
of target › 10
WORLD SUPPLEMENT
Why european
populism will survive
a Le Pen defeat › 3
As US and China find
common ground on
N Korea, is Russia the
wild card? › 7

2
MONDAY, MAY 8, 2017
DT
News
Mobile app developers stifled by lack
of support, skilled workforce
• Ibrahim Hossain Ovi and
Shariful Islam
BANGLADESH MOBILE APPS INDUSTRY
Global mobile app market $58 billion
Bangladesh earned $105 million from
mobile app development in FY2015-16
1,000 software firms registered with BASIS
200 companies develop mobile apps
Bangladesh earned $700 million from
ICT export in 2016
Country sets target to earn $5 billion
from ICT exports by 2021
10,000 people to be trained on app
development by 2018
Mobile internet users in
Bangladesh 63.12 million
Around 20 million smart phone users
Despite the government vision of
a “Digital Bangladesh” and the rise
of internet-based businesses having
opened up new avenues for the
ICT sector, the emerging business
of mobile app development is still
facing a number of hurdles to tapping
the huge opportunities on offer
in global and domestic markets.
Some of the challenges in the
Information and Communication
Technology (ICT) sector being
faced by mobile app development
companies include a lack of technical
and policy support as well
as shortages of investment and
skilled workforce.
“There are huge opportunities
for expansion in the mobile app
market as the government and private
agencies have opted to digitise
services through apps, but these
apps are yet to be developed,”
Imran Sadik Chowdhury, project
manager of Sheba Technologies
Ltd, told the Dhaka Tribune.
Some of the areas for expansion
opened up to app developers
due to digitisation are government
offices, newspapers, online news
portals, e-commerce entrepreneurs,
banks, insurance, and mobile
phone operators as well as other
service providers.
Sheba Technologies Ltd has
received an extremely positive response
to its WowBox app, which
has been downloaded by over six
million people on Google Playstore,
Imran added.
“If the entrepreneurs can meet
the demand with a supply of quality
apps, it would lead Bangladesh’s
IT industry to a new height,” he
said.
Regarding the issues that were
impeding mobile app developers
from fulfilling this potential, Preneur
Lab Chief Executive Officer
Arif Nizami said: “As app developers
have to use the internet for
hours on end, they have to pay
high prices for bandwidth. Furthermore,
slow internet speeds
also make life for developers difficult.”
Preneur Lab won the United Nation’s
World Summit Award (WSA)
in 2016 for developing the Dhaka
Public Toilet app, which aids users
in finding public toilets within the
city.
Another app developer, Youth
Opportunities, has won the best
National Mobile Application Award
for its contribution to education
and empowerment of young people.
Nizami added that a lack of testing
labs for mobile apps was also
hampering mobile app developers,
while quality education for the ICT
sector was required to produce an
“innovative and talented” workforce.
Furthermore, SM Ashraf Abir,
chief executive officer of Multimedia
Content and Communications
(MCC) Ltd, said that Bangladesh’s
lack of registration with Google
created further barriers.
MCC Ltd is one of the leading
app developers in Bangladesh,
having created numerous free apps
for social and educational purposes
including Bangladesh Police Station,
Let’s Eat - Find Restaurants,
Roopkotha, and Bangla Dictionary.
“Most Bangladeshi app developers
create apps for Android and
iOS phones. In developing these
apps, the developers often have to
buy components from outside the
country, which they have to pay for
through a merchant account with
Google,” Abir told the Dhaka Tribune.
However, these merchant accounts
cannot be opened without
country registration with Google,
PHOTO: MAHMUD HOSSAIN OPU
he added.
However, State Minister for ICT
Zunaid Ahmed Palak recently assured
that the ICT business people
will be able to open merchant
account with Google Inc as he got
assurance from the world’s leading
technology firm at a meeting in the
US.
Regarding possible solutions to
some of these issues, Venture Capital
and Private Equity Association
of Bangladesh Chairman Shameem
Ahsan told the Dhaka Tribune:
“The University Grants Commission,
in cooperation with universities,
has to design a new curriculum
based on the ICT industry’s
needs to train a skilled workforce.”
The chairman added that the
syllabus needs to be constantly updated
in order to keep up with new
innovations as the ICT industry
grows at an extremely rapid rate.
Shameem also said venture capital
would be a great way to address
investment shortages, with some
impact on the ICT sector already
visible.
On April 9, Zunaid Ahmed Palak
at a programme said: “We will train
10,000 people to develop mobile
apps by 2018. Six to seven venture
capital companies are currently
working on mobile app development.
We will formulate a policy in
this regard soon.”
He added that the government
has already created a road map for
ICT development.
“We are now raising funds and
meeting with banks every day.
Some policies of Bangladesh Bank
are changing and improving for betterment
of the IT industry as well as
the mobile app development sector,”
the state minister said.
According to sources in the ICT
sector, app development can play
a key role in achieving the Bangladesh
government’s target of earning
$5 billion through the export
of ICT products by 2021, but strong
policy support and financing was
necessary.
In the upcoming budget, stakeholders
demanded VAT-free internet
services, cash incentives
against export, block allocations
for app developers under the Digital
Bangladesh scheme and cuts in
corporate tax.
According to a comScore report,
the global market size for mobile
apps stood at $58 billion in 2016,
and is projected to reach $77 billion
this year. The report also said that
there were more than 2.2 million
mobile apps available on Google
Playstore.
According to data from the
Bangladesh Association of Software
and Information Services
(BASIS), Bangladesh earned $700
million from the ICT sector last
year, $105 million of which came
from mobile apps. •
Europe breathes sigh of relief as centrist Macron wins French presidency
• AFP
Pro-European centrist Emmanuel Macron
won France’s landmark presidential
election, first estimates showed last
night, heading off a fierce challenge from
the far-right in a pivotal vote for the future
of the divided country and Europe.
The victory caps an extraordinary
rise for the 39-year-old former investment
banker, who will become the
country’s youngest-ever leader.
He has promised to heal a fractured
and demoralised country after a
vicious campaign that has exposed
deep economic and social divisions, as
well as tensions around identity and
immigration.
Initial estimates showed Macron
winning between 65.5% and 66.1% of
ballots ahead of Le Pen on between
33.9% and 34.5%.
Unknown three years ago, Macron is
now poised to become one of Europe’s
most powerful leaders, bringing with
him a hugely ambitious agenda of political
and economic reform for France
and the European Union.
The result will resonate worldwide
and particularly in Brussels and Berlin
where leaders will breathe a sigh of
relief that Le Pen’s anti-EU, anti-globalisation
programme has been defeated.
After Britain’s vote last year to
leave the EU and Donald Trump’s
victory in the US, the French election
had been widely watched as a test
of how high a tide of right-wing
nationalism would rise.
Le Pen, 48, had portrayed the ballot
as a contest between Macron and the
“globalists” - in favour of open trade,
immigration and shared sovereignty
- and her “patriotic” vision of strong
borders and national identities.
Outgoing President Francois
Hollande, who plucked Macron from
obscurity to name him minister in 2014,
said voting “is always an important,
significant act, heavy with consequences”
as he cast his vote.
Macron will now face huge challenges
as he attempts to enact his domestic
agenda of cutting state spending,
easing labour laws, boosting education
in deprived areas and extending new
protections to the self-employed.
The philosophy and literature lover
is inexperienced, has no political party
and must try to fashion a working
parliamentary majority after legislative
elections next month.
His En Marche movement - “neither
of the left, nor right” - has vowed to
field candidates in all 577 constituencies,
with half of them women and half
of them newcomers to politics.
Many analysts are sceptical about
his ability to win a majority with En
Marche candidates alone, meaning
he would have to form a coalition of
lawmakers committed to his agenda -
something new under France’s current
constitution.
Furthermore, his economic agenda,
particularly plans to weaken labour
regulations to fight stubbornly high
unemployment, are likely to face fierce
resistance from trade unions and his
leftist opponents. •

News 3
MONDAY, MAY 8, 2017
DT
Ershad announces
58-party alliance
• Manik Miazee
Jatiya Party (JaPa) has announced
a new alliance, entitled United National
Alliance (UNA), with 57 other
political parties.
Party Chairperson HM Ershad
made the announcement at the National
Press Club in Dhaka yesterday
morning.
The UNA comprises JaPa, Bangladesh
Islamic Front, the Islamic
Moha Jote and the Bangladesh Jatiya
Jote. The Islamic Moha Jote is
made up of 34 Islamic groups and
the Bangladesh Jatiya Jote is made
up of 22 groups.
However, only JaPa and Bangladesh
Islamic Front, among the parties
of the alliance, are registered
with the Election Commission.
At the press conference, the deposed
military dictator expressed
hope that this new alliance would
serve as an alternative to the Awami
League-led 14-party and the
BNP-led 20-party alliances.
“We have come together because
we hold the same political
ideology, Islamic values, sense of
nationality and respect for all religious
communities in the country.
We will not allow any parties or
groups to join who stand against
independent Bangladesh,” said Ershad.
He then appointed JaPa’s Secretary
General ABM Ruhul Amin
Howlader as the spokesperson for
the UNA.
JaPa Chairman Ershad, Islamic
Front Chairman MA Mannan,
Jatiya Islamic Jote Chairman Abu
Naser Owahed and BNR Chairman
Shekandhar Ali signed the declaration
papers for the new alliance. •
ACC asks DNC to submit revised
list of drug smugglers
• Tarek Mahmud
Having failed to proceed against
drug smugglers with a flawed list
submitted by the Department of
Narcotics Control (DNC), the Anti-Corruption
Commission (ACC)
has asked it to submit a revised list
of the country’s top drug peddlers
within a month.
“Actions will be taken against
the DNC officials concerned if they
fail to submit the list within the
stipulated time,” ACC Chairman
Iqbal Mahmood warned yesterday.
He was addressing a seminar
styled “Aggression of hazardous
drugs and our responsibilities,”
organised jointly by the DNC and
Security Service Division under the
Home Ministry at the Bangladesh
Institute of Administration and
Management auditorium in Dhaka
yesterday.
He asked for an updated list as
the smugglers’ details mentioned
in the previous list did not properly
correspond with their real address.
When contacted, a DNC source
said seeking anonymity: “A few
months ago, we submitted a list of
4,000 smugglers to the ACC, which
later prepared a shortlist containing
365 names and launched
an investigation against 17
smugglers.”
Alleging that the DNC has been
in disarray, Mahmood said: “I gave
them a one-month ultimatum to
fix errors and update the list; or
else they will have to face actions.
“Information on one or two persons
may be wrong. But, how can
everyone’s address be wrong?”
Putting emphasis on collaborative
efforts to prevent drug
smuggling, Mahmood suggested
introducing dope tests for vehicle
drivers and students seeking
admission to educational institutions
so the drug abuse could be
trimmed down.
Asked about the objections
raised by the ACC chief, DNC Director
General Salauddin Mahmud
said: “I was not in charge of the department
when the ACC asked for
the list. I am, however, taking the
matter seriously and will hopefully
be able to provide an updated list
within the time.”
Underscoring the need for a
specific law for rehabilitation centres,
Security Service Division
Secretary Farid Uddin Ahmed
Chowdhury said: “There should
be coordination between the rehabilitation
centres and Health
Division. •
Tk100 more for the transgendered
• Asif Showkat Kallol and
Adil Sakhawat
The government is set to increase
the number of beneficiaries from
and the monthly allowances for
transgender people under its social
safety net programmes (SSNPs) in
the next fiscal year.
The decision to raise the existing
Tk600 ceiling by another Tk
100 came in an inter-ministerial
meeting on April 30.
Finance Minister AMA Muhith,
who chaired the meeting, gave the
go-ahead to facilitate the marginlised
group in 64 districts.
State Minister for Women and
Children Affairs Meher Afroz
Chumki and Social Welfare Secretary
Md Zillar Hossain, among others,
attended the meeting.
According the decision, the
current existing allocation of Tk9
crore will see a Tk2.35 crore hike to
Tk 11.35 cr .
In the ongoing fiscal year, the
Social Welfare Ministry until March
Sajeeb Wazed Joy, prime minister’s Adviser on ICT, speaks at a workshop on use of social networking media by members of
parliament at Awami League President Sheikh Hasina’s Dhanmondi office yesterday
FOCUS BANGLA
has spent Tk6.75 crore for elderly
transgender people.
Until the government expanded
its allowance disbursement across
the country in the 2015-16 fiscal
year, the magrinalised community
was entitled to the money in just 21
districts.
In the meeting, the concerned
ministries and departments discussed
various positive initiatives
taken over the years to address discrimination
the community usually
faces. •
Birthday rape case
plaintiffs threatened
to withdraw case
• Arifur Rahman Rabbi
The plaintiffs of the birthday party rape
case of March 28 say they are afraid for
their safety because their alleged rapists
have repeatedly threatened them
over the phone to withdraw the case.
Speaking to the Dhaka Tribune, one
of the plaintiffs said yesterday: “My
family is now very afraid. This constant
harassment from Shafaat and the media
frenzy has caused them to change
their minds about the case – they do
not support my seeking justice anymore.”
On Saturday, a case was filed with
Banani police against Shafaat Ahmed,
26, Nayeem Ashraf, 30, Sadman Sakif,
24, and Billal, 26, for allegedly raping
two young women on March 28, at
Raintree Hotel in Banani after a birthday
party.
According to the case file, Shafaat,
the son of Dildar Ahmed, one of the
owners of Apan Jewellers, and his friend
Nayeem allegedly raped the two university
students while Shafaat’s bodyguard
held the girls at gunpoint and Shafaat’s
driver Billal, 26, videotaped the incident.
It has been more than 48 hours
since the rape case had been filed
against the four, but police have yet to
arrest anyone.
“They were initially hesitant to
even take the case,” said one of the
plaintiffs who had tried to file a case
on Thursday. At the time, police refused
to accept the case as two of the
accused were from highly influential
families and had only written down her
statements as a complaint.
Speaking to the Dhaka Tribune,
Shafaat’s father Dildar Ahmed claimed
that his son was a victim of a conspiracy.
“This is all his ex-wife’s doing. She is
making these girls do this to blackmail
him,” Dildar claimed, adding that if the
case could not be proved against his
son, he would file a defamation case.
When the Dhaka Tribune asked
Banani police station Inspector (Investigation)
Abul Matin why no one had
been arrested yet, he said: “We are trying
to arrest them. We have even sent
a letter to immigration police so that
they cannot leave the country.”
When questioned about the allegations
that police had not made arrests
because they had accepted bribes,
Abul said: “According to our rules and
regulations, we are not allowed to
speak to the media.”
He promptly hung up the phone.
On Sunday, the girls were taken
to Dhaka Medical College Hospital
(DMCH) for rape tests, which included
DNA profiling, radiology and microbiology.
The primary results will be available
in 15-20 days, said DMCH Forensic
Medicine Department Head Dr Sohel
Mahmud. •

4
MONDAY, MAY 8, 2017
DT
High Court verdict
imminent on Oishee’s
death sentence
• Ashif Islam Shaon
The High Court will deliver its verdict
any day now on the appeal and
death reference of Oishee Rahman
who was convicted of killing her
parents in 2013.
The High Court bench of Justice
Jahangir Hossain and Justice Md
Jahangir Hossain announced the
decision yesterday after concluding
a 13-day long hearing.
Her parents, Special Branch Inspector
Mahfuzur Rahman and his
wife Swapna Rahman were found
dead at their Malibagh home on
August 16, 2013.
A Dhaka court found Oishee
guilty of murder and sentenced
her to death on November 12, 2015.
It also awarded two years of imprisonment
to her friend Mizanur
Rahman who was found to be an
accomplice.
The trial court found Oishee
guilty of killing her parents in cold
blood and also found the murder to
be premeditated.
In December 2015, she moved
to an appeal with the High Court
praying for acquittal from the all
charges.
Her death reference also reached
the court for approval.
On March 12 the High Court
began hearing on the appeal and
death reference where it heard
Oishee’s statement on her mental
health on April 10, after her lawyer
claimed she was suffering from
mental illness at the time of the
murders. •
News
BSF opens
fire, picks up
Bangladeshi
• Moazzem Hossain,
Lalmonirhat
Members of the Indian Border
Security Force (BSF) have picked
up a Bangladeshi cattle trader
from Burirhat frontier area under
Lalmonirhat’s Kaliganj upazila.
The victim is Rasul Mia alias
Chaltu, 30.
“Chaltu along with few other
Bangladeshi cattle traders crossed
the border through Burirhat early
Sunday [yesterday],” Lalmonirhat
BGB 15 Battalion Director Lt Col Golam
Morshed told the Dhaka Tribune.
“A patrol team of Jalpaiguri’s
BSF 100 Battalion opened fire on
them around 3am. Chaltu was detained
while the others managed to
escape,” he added.
Chaltu suffered bullet injuries
and was also brutally beaten up by
the BSF members, locals sources
said. •
16% job opportunities
available online
• Tribune Desk
A total of 16% job opportunities of
Bangladesh are available on online
platform, said a report by Everjobs
Bangladesh.
The everjobs.com.bd, one of the
fastest growing online career portals
of Bangladesh, has recently released
its latest edition of Everjobs
Career Report, an in-depth analysis
of the online employment trends.
The study, which was conducted
by monitoring the traffic on the
website of Everjobs over January,
February and March 2017, unveiled
that a total of 16% job opportunities
of Bangladesh are available
on online platform. The manufacturing
industry holds the highest
position of job providers in the first
quarter of 2017.
Roles in management took the
first place in both Most Vacancies
Online category and Most In-Demand
category by job seekers. In
the first quarter of 2017, 25% of the
total amount of applications was
submitted through everjobs.com.
bd. However, engineering related
jobs were the most searched jobs
on the website.
Floris L Bos, managing director
of Everjobs Bangladesh said: “The
first quarter of 2017 was a good one
for job seekers with new job opportunities
all over Bangladesh across
various industries. While the manufacturing
industry is still leading
the market and interest for management
jobs is rapidly increasing,
continuing the trend from last year,
we are starting to identify other industries
and job categories such as
those related to Information Technology
that are playing an important
role in employment in Bangladesh.
” •

News 5
MONDAY, MAY 8, 2017
‘We cannot just say politics is dirty’
Chairman of the Nationalist Democratic Movement Bobby Hajjaj launched his political party on
April 24. He spoke to the Dhaka Tribune’s Afrose Jahan Chaity about his own life and his
political vision. The 43-year-old teacher said his decision to come back home after working abroad
and coming into politics was in hopes of being able to do something for the nation
DT
RAJIB DHAR
If we thought any of the political parties were
doing their jobs right we would not need to
launch a political party. They are not doing
anything that can win our trust, so you cannot
join them.
They even do not have any accountability
or democracy within the party. It works like
a private ownership or family corporation
where everyone does what the owner says.
Then go for a job, why politics?
Yes, I feel the two parties are failing to represent
people’s political aspirations. People do
not have any choice. If you ask anyone at random,
they will say bad people are in politics.
Parents do not want their children in politics.
How would you describe the current political
situation in the country?
Our political situation is suffocating and a
complete vacuum. We have a party running
the government and an opposition which is
also involved in that. So there is no opposition
actually, and outside that sphere politics
does not exist.
There is another big political party which
is involved in violence. So there is a political
emptiness. We came in to bring politics back
to the state and the people.
What are your thoughts on banning Jamaate-Islami,
or at a broader level all forms of
Islamist parties, from politics?
As the matter is sub-judice, we will not comment
about Jamaat-e-Islami.
What I understand is that we cannot avoid
our cultural values for the sake of politics.
Culture and religion are interconnected and
one is a big part of the other. But politics
based on religion is different, and we do not
believe in that. •
Tell us a little bit about yourself – who you
are, where you grew up, where you studied.
I grew up in Dhaka, studied in Maple Leaf
International School. After completing my O
Levels and A Levels, I went to University of
Texas at Austin in the nineties and completed
my bachelors in political science. Then I
came back to Dhaka for a while. I found more
opportunities in abroad as business consultant.
Throughout the nineties and the early
2000s I worked both locally and overseas in
finance and business development.
After working for eight to nine years, I
went to Oxford University for MBA and then
did post-grad research in strategy.
Finally I came back to Dhaka in 2009 for
my family and relationships. At this stage
point in life I was thinking about which culture
I want my children to grow up in. What
I want to do? Where do I want to stay? Answers
to all those questions are the country
I belong to. So I moved back to Bangladesh
permanently. Since then I have been engaged
as a lecturer and researcher in business strategy
at a private university. In 2012, I became
involved in politics.
What are the decisions that drove you to
become a politician?
To be honest, I did not plan to go into politics.
In Bangladesh, becoming a politician is
often a family tradition.
I became interested in politics when I was
studying political science. I was involved in
American politics as a volunteer. Because of
family ties I also worked with a lobbying firm
for a while. I also did consultancy for political
parties and campaigning. From networking
to election to political party management, I
gathered a lot of good experience. Because
of that, a political party in Bangladesh approached
me to work for them and restructure
their organogram. This is how I came
into politics as special adviser to the chairman
of Jatiya Party.
Before coming to politics I always wanted
to serve the nation. People know their needs
and I always believed that without empowering
the masses, development is not possible.
At a certain stage, I observed that politics
in Bangladesh started going downhill.
Everything seemed negative and became
dirty. It is not someone’s fault in particular,
there were many reasons. But we cannot just
say it is dirty so we want no part of it. I am
not saying I can do it, but someone needs to
try to clean all this dirty stuff. I am doing my
part. Without politics, nothing is possible.
What sort of a demographic are you trying to
attract through your party?
We came into politics for the country, for the
nation. So we are trying to attract everyone
in the country through the party.
How do you expect to fare in the next
general elections?
We believe we will get good response from
people. But, exactly how this election will
take place no one is sure. May be we will understand
a year from now.
Why did you not join one of the main two
political parties? Do you feel the two parties
are failing to represent people’s political
aspirations?
TEMPERATURE FORECAST FOR TODAY
Dhaka 38 26 Chittagong 32 27 Rajshahi 38 27 Rangpur 33 24 Khulna 38 27 Barisal 37 26 Sylhet 34 24
Cox’s Bazar 33 26
DRY WEATHER
MONDAY, MAY 8
DHAKA
TODAY
TOMORROW
SUN SETS 6:31PM
SUN RISES 5:19AM
YESTERDAY’S HIGH AND LOW
37.7ºC
19.5ºC
Satkhira
Srimangal
Source: Accuweather/UNB
PRAYER
TIMES
Fajr: 4:50am | Zohr: 1:15pm
Asr: 5:00pm | Magrib: 6:35pm
Esha: 8:30pm
Source: Islamic Foundation

6
MONDAY, MAY 8, 2017
DT
Advertisement

60-year-old
rapes mentallychallenged
woman
• Zahirul Islam Khan, Madaripur
A mentally-challenged woman has
been raped by an elderly man in
Kalkini upazila of Madaripur.
The 22-year-old victim , who is
also speech-impaired, was admitted
to Madaripur Sadar Hospital yesterday
with critical injuries.
Police have detained local Union
Parishad Member Salam Hawlader
as he helped the culprit flee.
Kalachan Hawlader, 60, of Kornopara
area of the upazila, raped
the neighbour Saturday afternoon
when she was home alone, Officerin-Charge
Emdadul Haq of Dasar
police station said. Locals came to
her rescue hearing her scream.
As the victim’s physical condition
started to deteriorate in the
night, she was taken to the hospital
around 12:20am. •
News 7
MONDAY, MAY 8, 2017
Adivasi students demand end to murders in CHT
• Tribune Desk
Students belonging to indigenous
communities demonstrated in
Khagrachhari town yesterday demanding
justice for the killings of
Romel Chakma, Sadikul Islam and
Eti Chakma.
They brought out a procession
under the banner of Socialist Students’
Front (SSF) in the afternoon,
and held a rally.
Starting from Shapla Chhattar,
the procession paraded important
streets of the town before ending at
Muktomoncho.
SSF Khagrachhari unit President
Kabir Hossain and its General
Secretary Arindam Krishna Dey,
among others, addressed the rally.
Apart from demanding fair trial
in the killings of the three youths,
the student leaders urged the government
to stop persecution across
Dinajpur boiler blast victims compensated
• Bipul Sarker Sunny, Dinajpur
The government has distributed
compensation money among the
family members of the workers who
died and got injured in the deadly
boiler blast at Jamuna Auto Rice
Mill in Dinajpur’s Raniganj area.
State Minister for Labour and
Employment Md Mujibul Haque
disbursed Tk50,000 among each of
the families of the 17 dead and four
injured workers at the district deputy
commissioner’s office yesterday.
The deceased’s families get another
Tk175,000 within May 25.
Bangladesh Sramik Kalyan
Foundation funded the entire
amount of the compensation.
Labour and Employment Secretary
Mikail Shipar and Dinajpur Deputy
Commissioner Mir Khairul Alam
the country carried out law enforcement
agencies.
Romel, general secretary of Naniarchar
upazila unit Pahari Chhatra
Parishad (PCP), was picked up
by some army personnel on April
5. He died while undergoing treatment
at Chittagong Medical College
Hospital on April 19.
The body of Sadikul Islam, a
20-year-old for-hire motorcycle
driver from Khagrachhari, was recovered
from Naniarchar area of
Rangamati on April 13, three days
after he was abducted. Bangali
groups have blamed United People’s
Democratic Front (UPDF) for
the murder.
On the other hand, the throatslit
body of Eti Chakma, 18, a second-year
student of Khagrachhari
Government College, was found at
her house in Arambagh area in the
town on February 27. •
Indigenous Santal
community people
of Gobindaganj in
Gaibandha form a
human chain in the
town yesterday
demanding their land
back and justice for
the killings of three
adivasis during an
eviction drive by the
police and RAB on
November 6 last year
DHAKA TRIBUNE
were present during the programme.
At least 28 people were injured
after the boiler exploded on April 19.
The latest death was reported
on May 1 when one injured worker
succumbed to injuries at Rangpur
Medical College Hospital.
Police, however, have failed to
arrest anyone in connection with
the case filed against three people
including the mill owner.•
Seven-murder
appeal hearing
to start soon
• Ashif Islam Shaon
DT
The appeal hearing in the muchtalked
cases of Narayanganj seven
murders is likely to start soon as
the paper books reached the High
Court from the Bangladesh Government
Press yesterday.
The documents of the two cases
will be placed before Chief Justice
Surendra Kumar Sinha next week
who may assign a bench to hear the
appeals filed by the 26 death-row
convicts, and the death references
by the state. •
Chehlum of Saleha
Shairf held
• Tribune Desk
The Chehlum
of Saleha
Shairf, wife
of late Prof Dr
Ahmed Sharif,
a free thinker,
educationist
and former chairman of Bangla department
at Dhaka University, was
held yesterday evening at Shimanto
Square auditorium in Dhanmondi.
Among others, Dr Sirajul Islam
Chowdhury, Dr Abul Kashem Fazlul
Haque, Dr Ahmed Kabir, Dr
Mansur Musa, Hasan Fakri, relatives,
friends and admirers of the
deceased attended the programme.
Saleha Sharif died of cardiac arrest
at the city’s United Hospital on
March 29 at the age of 87. •

DT
8
World
MONDAY, MAY 8, 2017
SOUTH ASIA
Pakistan: Indian troops in
Kashmir wound 4
Pakistan’s army says Indian troops
in the disputed Kashmir region
shot and wounded at least four Pakistani
villagers. A military statement
said the troops committed a
ceasefire violation when they fired
without provocation late Saturday
from near the UN-monitored military
control line near the border
between the two countries. AP
INDIA
India, Russia to ink deal on
5th gen fighter design
After years of delay, India and
Russia are likely to soon ink a “milestone”
pact to finalise the detailed
design for the fifth-generation
fighter aircraft and move ahead with
the multi-billion dollar co-development
project. Government sources
said almost all the ground work has
been completed to finalise the deal
for design of the jet. TOI
CHINA
China asks Taiwan to
release Chinese fishermen
China has asked Taiwan to release
the Chinese fishermen detained on
Saturday as soon as possible and
investigate the incident. Taiwanese
coast guard officers wounded two
Chinese fishermen with rubber
bullets and arrested another five
over trespassing into Taiwanese
waters near the Penghu archipelago,
the latest incident to take place
at a time of heightened tensions
between Beijing and Taipei. EFE
ASIA PACIFIC
Philippine blast probe
focuses on Shia imam
Philippine police believe a Shia
Muslim cleric was the likely target
of explosions that killed two
people in Manila, an official said
Sunday, rejecting IS claims of involvement.
Six others were injured
when two explosions rocked the
office of the imam, Nasser Abinal,
in the capital’s busy Quiapo district
on Saturday. Oscar Albayalde,
head of police forces in the capital,
said the bomb was apparently
intended for Abinal. AFP
MIDDLE EAST
Leading Syria opposition
body elects new head
The National Coalition, a leading
Syrian opposition body, elected
prominent dissident Riad Seif
as its new head on Saturday, the
body’s media office said. Seventy-year-old
Seif, who hails from
Damascus, won 58 votes from the
Istanbul-based National Coalition’s
102 members, beating out the
younger Khaled Khoja. AFP
French election: Why it is so important
• Tribune Desk
After a bitter presidential campaign,
a vicious second-round debate and
a hacking attack against one candidate,
voting is underway on Sunday
in mainland France in the final
round of the national elections.
Voters face two starkly different
choices for president: the independent
centrist Emmanuel Macron and
the far-right Marine Le Pen.
Turnout in the French presidential
run-off election was 65.30% at
1500 GMT on Sunday, lower than
both the first round and the 2012
vote, data from the interior ministry
showed.
Why is it important?
France is the eurozone’s second-biggest
economy as well as
a global military and diplomatic
heavyweight, with veto power as a
permanent member of the UN Security
Council.
Crucially, France is a founding
member of the EU. If Le Pen is elected
and is able to lead France out
of the euro currency zone or even
the bloc itself, some fear that could
bring about the downfall of the EU.
A victory by Macron would be
another setback for far-right populists
in Europe, bringing sighs of
relief in Berlin and Brussels.
President’s powers
Directly elected, the French president
looms large over the political
82 freed Chibok girls arrive in Abuja
• AFP, Abuja
Eighty-two of the more than 200
schoolgirls kidnapped by Boko
Haram in northeast Nigeria in
2014 arrived in Abuja on Sunday
to meet President Muhammadu
Buhari after a prisoner swap deal
secured their release.
Presidency spokesman Femi
Adesina said the schoolgirls from
Chibok, in Borno state, were met
at the capital’s airport by Buhari’s
chief of staff Abba Kyari.
Military and civilian militia
sources in the town of Banki, on
the border with Cameroon, said
the girls had left for Borno state
capital Maiduguri on board six military
helicopters on Sunday.
The International Committee of
the Red Cross (ICRC), which said it
“facilitated the safe return” of the
girls as a “neutral intermediary”,
tweeted photographs of a line of
girls boarding a military helicopter.
A meeting with Buhari, who
was swept to power in 2015 on a
promise to defeat Boko Haram,
landscape of the Fifth Republic.
He or she can serve a maximum
of two five-year terms and has the
final word on all foreign policy.
The president has the power to
appoint and replace the prime minister
and presides over the cabinet.
He or she can propose laws and, with
the prime minister, can force them
through parliament unless there is a
Merkel in northern Germany state election test
• Reuters, Kiel
Germans in the far northern state of
Schleswig-Holstein voted in force
on Sunday in the first of two regional
polls the Social Democrats must win if
they are to pose a serious challenge to
Chancellor Angela Merkel in September’s
national election.
The Social Democratic Party (SPD)
enjoyed a revival in the opinion polls
early this year after nominating former
European Parliament president Martin
Schulz in January as its candidate to
THE POWERS OF THE FRENCH PRESIDENT
The presidential office today looms large over the political landscape of the Fifth Republic
General powers
The Executive
Directly elected
Appoints prime minister If his party
Head of armed forces
controls parliament, the president is
de facto head of the executive
Has power to order use
Can replace prime minister
of nuclear weapons
Presides over the cabinet
Maximum of two
5-year terms
The Judiciary
Last word on all
foreign policy
Assumes full executive
control if the nation
is under “serious
and immediate threat”
Can propose referenda
without approval from
parliament
Impeachment requires
two-thirds votes in both
houses of parliament
run against Merkel.
But the “Schulz effect” failed to
deliver in Saarland, where his party
flopped in a March state poll. In Schleswig-Holstein,
the SPD is defending
an incumbent state premier, Torsten
Albig, for the first time since Schulz’s
nomination as party leader.
Jobs and wind farm plans are
among the regional issues in Schleswig-Holstein,
a region of 2.3 million
voters that juts north of Hamburg and
borders Denmark.
The state election commissioner in
Immune from prosecution
Has power to pardon
convicted criminals
Parliament
May dissolve parliament
(once per year)
Proposes laws
With the prime minister, can
force through laws unless
parliament votes no confidence
Schleswig-Holstein estimated that by
0900 GMT, 21.55% of eligible voters had
cast their vote, up from 17.7% at the same
stage in the last regional vote in 2012.
The SPD’s chances of toppling
Merkel will be boosted further if they
can hold onto power next Sunday in
North Rhine-Westphalia (NRW). Polls
suggest a power-sharing “grand coalition”
between the SPD and the conservatives
could be the sole governing option
in Schleswig-Holstein – a scenario
that could also arise again at the federal
level after the September election. •
At a military base in Borno State shows some of the 82 rescued Chibok girls
heading towards a Nigerian Army helicopter on May 7, 2017
AFP
was scheduled for 1500 GMT, officials
in Abuja said.
The presidency announced late on
Saturday that months of talks with
the jihadists had “yielded results”
some six months after 21 other
Chibok girls were freed with the
help of international mediators. •
successful no-confidence vote.
The French leader has the power
to propose a referendum without
needing approval from parliament.
As head of the armed forces,
he or she has the power to order
the use of nuclear weapons.
Why is the margin of victory
important?
Macron has led consistently and
widely in the polls, with about 60%
of the vote projected to go his way,
compared with 40% for Le Pen.
Even if Le Pen loses, that figure
would represent unprecedented
support for the National Front,
which has made steady gains in local
and national elections.
If Macron does better than expected,
it could be a sign that the
“Republican Front” still holds and
that many in the French electorate
still firmly reject the far right. In
either case, the bigger the margin
of victory, the stronger the mandate
for the winner. It will also
give the victor’s party a lift in the
legislative elections scheduled for
June. •
UK super-rich
got richer
despite Brexit
• AFP, London
Britain’s super-rich “kept calm
and carried on making billions”
despite worries about Brexit, according
to The Sunday Times
newspaper’s Rich List for 2017,
with more billionaires living in the
country than ever before.
In the past 12 months, the total
wealth of Britain’s richest 1,000
individuals and families surged
14% to £658bn, the paper said.
It said that there are now more
UK-based billionaires than ever before,
at 134. Industrialist brothers
Sri and Gopi Hinduja topped the list
with a combined wealth of £16.2bn,
up £3.2bn over the previous year.
Among the 58 newcomers – a
minimum of £110m is now required
to make the list compared
to just £15m in 1997 – are famous
names including chart topper
Adele. The singer is now worth
£125m, making her the sixth richest
person under 30.
Football player Zlatan Ibrahimovic
and “Fifty Shades of Grey”
author EL James also made the cut
for the first time.
Other well-known names include
Paul McCartney (£780m),
Elton John (£290m), Lewis Hamilton
(£131m), and David and Victoria
Beckham who have a combined
wealth of £300m. •

World
Pakistan army: 50 Afghan soldiers killed,
100 injured in retaliatory fire
• AFP, Quetta
Pakistan’s military on Sunday said
it had killed more than 50 Afghan
soldiers in a clash on a major border
crossing two days earlier, a
claim quickly rejected by Kabul.
The skirmish took place Friday
at the Chaman border that divides
Pakistan’s southwest Balochistan
province and Afghanistan’s southern
Kandahar, as Pakistani officials
were carrying out a census count.
At least eight civilians were
killed, according to previously
stated tolls by officials, seven on
the Pakistani side, and one on the
Afghan side.
Afghanistan had blamed Pakistani
census enumerators accompanied
by soldiers for straying
across the border, a charge denied
by Islamabad.
On Sunday, Pakistani forces elevated
their rhetoric by saying Afghan
forces had suffered dramatic
losses.
“We are not pleased to tell you
that five Afghan check posts were
completely destroyed, more than
50 of their soldiers were killed and
above 100 were wounded,” Major
General Nadim Ahmad, head of
Gunfight between Indian police,
insurgents kills 5 in Kashmir
• Tribune Desk
Rebels attacked a police squad
in the Indian portion of Kashmir,
triggering a gunbattle that left
three civilians, one officer and an
assailant dead, police said Sunday,
reports the Associated Press.
The unit came under fire Saturday
night as it reached a road
accident site on a key highway
connecting Kashmir Valley with
the rest of India, said senior police
officer SP Pani.
He said the dead civilians were
road construction officials of a private
company.
One civilian and one police
officer also were injured in the
shootout, he said.
the paramilitary Frontier Corps
told reporters.
“We are not happy for their
losses but we were forced to retaliate,”
he said, adding two Pakistani
soldiers were killed and nine
wounded in the incident.
Kabul quickly denied the claim.
“A very false claims by a Pakistani
Frontier Corp that as many
as 50 Afghan soldier lost their lives
in Pak retaliation; totally rejected,”
tweeted Sediq Sediqqi, a government
spokesman.
The border has remained closed
since Friday, with senior Pakistan
army general Amir Riaz telling reporters
it would remain so “until Afghanistan
changes its behaviour”.
The so-called “Durand Line”,
a 2,400-km frontier drawn by the
British in 1896 and disputed by Kabul,
has witnessed increased tension
since Pakistan began trenching
along it last year.
The border is not the only area
of dispute between the neighbours:
Afghanistan has long accused
Pakistan of sponsoring the
Afghan Taliban, though Islamabad
says it provides the militants with
safe haven as a “lever” to bring
them to peace talks. •
Bill to declare Israel a Jewish state back on national agenda
• Reuters, Jerusalem
Israel’s cabinet breathed new life on
Sunday into efforts to anchor in law the
country’s status as a Jewish state, legislation
Palestinians have described as an
obstacle to peace.
A ministerial committee approved a
revised version of a bill first proposed
in 2011 that declares the “State of Israel
is the national home of the Jewish
people”, its author, Avi Dichter of Prime
Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s rightwing
Likud party, wrote on Facebook.
The legislation still has to go through
further drafting by the Justice Ministry
and pass several votes in parliament in
what could be a lengthy process.
Afghan Border Police keep watch during an ongoing battle between Pakistani
and Afghan Border forces near the Durand line on May 5, 2017
AFP
Police believe two insurgents
escaped under the cover of darkness
after the officers swiftly retaliated
in Malpora, a village 65km
south of Srinagar, the main city in
the Indian-held Kashmir.
On Sunday, thousands of people
participated in the burial of the
militant who came from a village
in the Indian portion of Kashmir.
They chanted “Go India, Go Back,”
‘’We Want Freedom” amid a gun
salute by militants who joined the
procession.
India accuses Pakistan of arming
and training the rebels, a charge Islamabad
denies. India and Pakistan
have fought two wars for control of
Kashmir, which is divided between
them by a cease-fire line. •
But the cabinet-level step – two weeks
before a visit by US President Donald
Trump – could help Netanyahu shore up
relations with far-right members of his
government and underpin his campaign
to press Palestinians to recognise Israel as
the “nation-state” of the Jewish people.
Such acknowledgement has been
a key Netanyahu demand for reviving
Israeli-Palestinian peace talks that collapsed
in 2014 and which Trump has
pledged to pursue.
Palestinians say accepting Netanyahu’s
call could deny Palestinian refugees
of past wars any right of return. Palestinian
President Mahmoud Abbas has characterised
such “nation-state” legislation
as putting “obstacles in the way of peace”.
Iranian supreme leader criticises
Rouhani over education plan
• Reuters, Dubai
Iran’s supreme leader on Sunday
criticised the government of President
Hassan Rouhani for promoting
a “Western-influenced” United
Nations education plan which his
hardline allies have said contradicts
Islamic principles.
Ayatollah Ali Khamenei’s remarks
came ahead of May 19 polls,
in which the president is seeking
re-election.
“In this country, the basis is
Islam and the Koran. This is not
a place where the faulty, corrupt
and destructive Western lifestyle
will be allowed to spread its influence,”
Khamenei told a gathering
of educators, according to his
In meetings in Israel, Trump will discuss
how he plans to broker peace between
Israelis and Palestinians, a goal
website.
“It makes no sense to accept
such a document in the Islamic
Republic,” Khamenei said, referring
to the Education 2030 plan
proposed by the United Nations
Educational, Scientific and Cultural
Organisation (Unesco).
Khamenei did not give details
of his opposition to the Unesco
plan, but hardline commentators
in Iran have said its promotion of
gender equality in education contravened
Islam.
“How can a so-called international
body which is under the influence
of the great powers allow itself
to assign duties for countries with
different histories, cultures and civilisations?”,
said Khamenei. •
People hold high an Israeli flag to show their support for the ’Tel Aviv on Seine’
event in Paris on August 13, 2015
REUTERS
that has evaded many previous administrations.
He is also scheduled to meet
Abbas during the trip. •
9
MONDAY, MAY 8, 2017
USA
Obama to receive
Kennedy Foundation
award
Former US President Barack
Obama is expected in Boston
on Sunday to receive the John
F Kennedy Foundation’s annual
“Profile in Courage Award,”
honouring his accomplishments
during his two terms in office
in the face of intense political
opposition. “President Kennedy
called on a new generation of
Americans to give their talents to
the service of the country,” said
Caroline Kennedy, John F Kennedy’s
daughter. REUTERS
THE AMERICAS
Colombia govt, ELN
insurgents to resume
peace talks
Colombia’s government and the
country’s last active rebel force, the
ELN, will resume peace talks in just
over a week, the lead state negotiator
confirmed Saturday. “Ecuador
has generously hosted the peace
talks between the Colombian government
and the ELN, which will
resume on May 16,” Juan Camilo
Restrepo said on Twitter. AFP
UK
Poll: Conservatives
maintain strong lead
UK Prime Minister Theresa May’s
Conservative Party has an 18%
point lead over the main opposition
Labour Party, implying a
majority of at least 132 seats in a
June 8 national election, according
to an ICM poll for the Sun on
Sunday. The Conservatives were at
46%, down one percentage point,
against Labour on an unchanged
28%, the paper said. REUTERS
EUROPE
50,000 evacuated
in Germany over
unexploded WWII bombs
German police on Sunday evacuated
50,000 people from the
northern city of Hanover in one
of the country’s largest post-war
operations to defuse World War II
era bombs. Residents in a densely
populated part of the city were ordered
to leave their homes for the
operation, planned since mid-April,
to remove several recently discovered
unexploded bombs. AFP
AFRICA
21 killed as truck hits
minibus in Guinea
DT
At least 21 people, mostly women,
were killed in a head-on crash between
a truck and a minibus packed
with passengers in Guinea, police
said on Sunday. The deadly crash
took place on Saturday just north of
the capital Conakry, with the minibus
crushed by a truck which was
carrying sand, authorities said. AFP

DT
10
Business
MONDAY, MAY 8, 2017
CAPITAL MARKET SNAPSHOT: SUNDAY
DSE Broad Index 5,533.4 -0.1% ▼ Index 1,278.0 0.2% ▲ 30 Index 2,033.4 -0.0% ▼ Turnover in Mn Tk 7,377.3 -2.8% ▼ Turnover in Mn Vol 245.3 -1.4% ▼
CSE All Share Index 17,149.0 -0.2% ▼ 30 Index 15,086.0 -0.3% ▼ Selected Index 10,397.8 -0.2% ▼ Turnover in Mn Tk 504.2 -15.5% ▼ Turnover in Mn Vol 18.5 -13.5% ▼
Bank directors’
tenure likely to
be raised
• Asif Showkat Kallol
The government is going to amend
the Bank Company Act increasing
the tenure of directors of private
commercial banks to nine years divided
in three terms.
Besides, the private bank board
can also have four members from
an owner family as directors as per
the amendment proposal.
Financial Institutions Division
will place a proposal on the matter at
the Cabinet Committee meeting presided
over by Prime Minister Sheikh
Hasina today. The people concerned
think it is good for banking sector as
there is no law regarding appointment
of directors in private banks.
Last year Finance Minister AMA
Muhith hinted that the tenure of
directors at private commercial
banks might be extended up to
nine years from existing six years.
According to amendment of the
provision 15 (10) Bank Company Act
2017, four family members of owner
family will be directors instead
of existing two directors whatever
written in the company law.
The directors of a private bank
now hold the post two terms and
each term is three years. Now it
will be nine years in three terms
and each tenure will be three years.
Former Bangladesh Bank Governor
Salahuddin Ahmed said it is
bad law for banking sector as owner
family will have more controls
over the banks.
According to the previous law
approved in 2013, the banks must
take approval from the central bank
for the appointment of the directors.
BAB official said the law regarding
the six-year tenure of a director
may be applicable to the directors
coming from outside, like independent
directors, appointed directors
or ex-officious directors.
The sponsor-directors will be
deprived of their right to wealth
or property if the law is applied for
them as well, the association said. ~
Since the sponsors have invested
their money to make up
the paid-up capital of the bank, it
would not be judicious to deprive
them of their position and wealth
simultaneously, BAB said.
The BAB also proposed amendments
to the definition of family
in the law. Under the act, family
means spouse, parents, siblings,
children and any person dependent
on the sponsor director.
But the BAB says if the person
is elderly and fully independent
or has separate business, he/she
should not be counted as family. •
The $28 billion clothing industry contributes about 82% to the overall export earnings of the country
Export earnings fall short of target
• Ibrahim Hossain Ovi
Despite having a double-digit export
target, Bangladesh’s export
earnings have risen by nearly 4%
in July-April period of the current
fiscal year.
In attaining the government target
of $50 billion export by 2021,
Bangladesh has to register a double-digit
growth while RMG sector
over 12% growth in export earnings.
Export-oriented sector people
opined that overall export earnings
have shown a single-digit growth
due to slower growth in export
earnings of apparel sector.
The $28 billion clothing industry
contributes about 82% to the overall
export earnings of the country.
According to the Export Promotion
Bureau (EPB) provisional data,
in July-April of Fiscal Year 2016-17,
Bangladesh earned $28.72 billion,
which is 3.92% higher compared to
$27.63 billion a year ago.
The figure is 4.25% less than
that of the target of $29.99 billion
set for the period.
RMG sector, the lifeline of the
country’s export earnings, has
fetched $23.13 billion, which is
2.21% higher compared to $22.64
billion a year ago.
On the other hand, export earnings
in April rose by 3.49% to $2.77
billion, which was $2.68 billion a
year ago.
DHAKA TRIBUNE
“The current export growth of
RMG sector is lower than expected.
It is because of price fall of the
products” BGMEA Vice-President
Mohammed Nasir told the Dhaka
Tribune.
“While appreciation of Bangladeshi
Taka against US dollar added
salt to the wounds, our competitors
in the global markets surpass
us due to their government incentives
as well as policy support.”
BGMEA leader urged the government
to introduce special exchange
rate for the export-oriented
sector and cut tax at source as well
as reduce corporate tax for the sector
people to remain competitive in
the global markets. •

Business 11
MONDAY, MAY 8, 2017
DT
Draft of One-stop Service Act goes
to Cabinet today
• Shariful Islam
The draft of One-stop Service (OSS)
Act 2017 is scheduled to go to Cabinet
for approval today to help investors
get services and clearance
from different government offices.
The government has taken the
initiatives to enact the law in order
to provide all services related to
investment in the country under a
single window.
According to the new act,
around 16 government service providing
organisations will provide
services to the investors.
Once the new act gets approval
and passed in the parliament, investors
will receive entire services
from one point and they don’t have
to go every organisation in person.
The 16 organisations include
Home Ministry, Power Division,
National Board of Revenue, Bangladesh
Bank, Office of the Registrar of
Joint Stock Companies and Firms,
Gas Connection offices concerned,
Department of Public Works, Department
of Environment, Export
Promotion Bureau, WASA, BTRC,
Office of the Chief Controller of Imports
& Export, Bangladesh Export
Processing Zones Authority, product-related
association and local
government offices.
After the formulation of law, investors
will get entire services like
project clearance, work permit,
visa recommendation, import and
export permits, building plan approval,
wiring and plumbing plan
approval, NOC for foreign loan,
local sale and purchase services,
utility connection approval, TIN
registration, VAT registration, fire
clearance and boiler registration,
said sources at Bangladesh Economic
Zones Authority (BEZA) and
Bangladesh Investment Development
Authority (BIDA).
Officials at BEZA and BIDA said
investors from both home and
abroad have long been demanding
one stop service in order to make
the investment process easier.
They said potential foreign investors
often shift their investemnt
to other countries due to complications
here in Bangladesh.
Kazi M Aminul Islam, executive
chairman of BIDA, told the Dhaka
Tribune “One-stop Service act will
help remove all difficulties facing
investors before starting their businesses
after the final approval.”
It will facilitate formation of an
authority that will ensure quick
services to the investors from a single
office, added Aminul.
Terming the act international
standard, he said the law has been
made following Singapore and
New Zealand, and the service will
be better than the two countries.
According to the new law, investors
need not have to go to the
offices concerned in person, rather
they can apply for investment from
any corner of the world.
The initiative to enact a law to
attract foreign investments was
taken by the Bangladesh Economic
Zones Authority (BEZA) first at its
second board meeting on February
28, 2015.
On July 27, 2016, the fourth BEZA
board meeting decided to enact the
law for creating a smooth investment
atmosphere in the country.
BEZA proposed to enact the law
only for economic zones namely
‘Bangladesh Economic Zones (One
Stop Service) Act-2016.
The government, however, decided
to formulate the law for other
investment related organisations. •
US-Bangla
Airlines starts
flight on Dhaka-
Bangkok route
• Ishtiaq Husain
US-Bangla Airlines has started its
Dhaka-Bangkok-Dhaka flight from
Wednesday with an attractive fare.
The promotional fare is
Tk20,000 including all taxes and
surcharges. The Bangkok flights
will operate on Mondays, Wednesdays,
Fridays and Saturdays.
Meanwhile, for the first time in
the country, the US-Bangla Airlines
has introduced a help desk for Bangladeshi
expatriates at the country’s
airport. The expatriates would get
One-Stop Service, which would be
available not only in the country’s
airports but also in foreign airports.
There are eight business class
and 156 economy class seats in the
Boeing 737-800 aircraft. Within
a very short time, US-Bangla Airlines
will start flight to Guangzhou,
Doha and Paru. •
Former Biman Bangladesh Airlines pilot Captain Sayed Mahbub Helal receives the IFALPA Lifetime
Achievement Award at a function held in Motreal, Canada recently
COURTESY
Biman pilot gets life-time award
• Tribune Business Desk
Captain Sayed Mahbub Helal, a pilot of Biman
Bangladesh Airlines, has been honoured
with the lifetime achievement award from
the International Federation of Air Line Pilots’
Associations (IFALPA), Biman said in a
press release yesterday.
For the first time in the history of aviation,
an Asian pilot achieved the highest award,
which is a pride for Bangladesh and the national
flag carrier.
In every five years, the jury selects only
one pilot for this award from within the entire
world’s airline pilot community.
The award was presented to Captain
Sayed Mahbub Helal on May 6, 2017 in Montreal,
Canada, the home of ICAO and IFALPA,
at a gala dinner held at Hotel Bona venture
in Montreal.
The award was given to Helal for his
outstanding contribution towards the
improvement of the airline pilot community.
Capt Helal retired in 2014 from Biman
Bangladesh Airlines as commander of DC-
10 aircraft. Currently, he is involved in
various philanthropic and social outreach
programmes.
The award was handed over on the sidelines
of 722nd Annual conference of the
World Pilots’ Forum hosted by the International
Federation of Airline Pilots’ Association
(IFALPA) in presence of 550 delegates
including officials from International Civil
Aviation Organisation (ICAO), Federal Aviation
Administration (FAA) and other industrial
partners and stakeholders of the aviation
world. •

DT
12
Editorial
MONDAY, MAY 8, 2017
TODAY
The right kind of
journalism
How can the press be gagged for writing
the truth in the age of the internet?
PAGE 13
When social
pressure kills
For the two young persons who
committed suicide, the pressure to
deliver must have been enormous
PAGE 14
SYED ZAKIR HOSSAIN
A way out of the traffic
What the new VAT
law means for us
The new VAT law aims to initiate the
modernisation and digitisation of the tax
system in Bangladesh
PAGE 15
Be heard
Write to Dhaka Tribune
FR Tower, 8/C Panthapath,
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The views expressed in opinion
articles are those of the authors
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official view of Dhaka Tribune
or its publisher.
The new draft of the Road Traffic Act 2017 is definitely a step
in the right direction in many ways -- it introduces harsher
punishments for reckless driving, requires drivers to be
educated to a certain degree, and seeks to improve the overall
service provided by our public transport.
Which is why two ministers’ opposition to the draft comes as a
disheartening reminder of our still-broken political system.
Though the draft is far from perfect, criticism of harsher
punishments for reckless driving and educational requirements
smacks of bias and personal agenda.
With traffic fatalities a near daily occurrence, and public transport
which has been long overdue for a complete overhaul in the capital
city, Bangladesh has been in desperate need for stricter, more efficient
laws in place to regulate the traffic.
The question needs to be asked: If these drivers haven’t even
passed the eighth grade, how are they passing the written driving test?
And with the level of impunity afforded on the road, stricter and
harsher punishments will go a long way in ensuring that drivers are
kept in line.
Implementation, however, will be key.
But it is a sad day indeed when such a good initiative taken by the
government is being delayed and acted against.
We cannot let actual progress towards a more regulated traffic
system be halted. Impeding such progress is not only detrimental to
vehicular movement, but to the development of the nation as a whole.
To realise its dreams of middle-income status, Bangladesh needs to
put as much focus on improving traffic conditions as possible.
We cannot let the path towards a sustainable traffic system be held
back any longer.
To realise its dreams of
middle-income status,
Bangladesh needs
to put as much focus
on improving traffic
conditions as possible

Opinion 13
The right kind of journalism
Have reports on our lack of press freedom been greatly exaggerated?
DT
MONDAY, MAY 8, 2017
Bangladesh seems to show all the signs of a compromised press freedom
BIGSTOCK
How can the press be gagged or individually
targeted for writing the truth in the age of
the internet?
• Nadeem Qadir
I’ve been a journalist for
more than 36 years. I started
working for international
media in 1988 and continued
until my 2015 appointment in
London, with a few brief stints
in Bangladesh’s local media
interspersed throughout.
There is a grave misconception
about Bangladesh’s media, or
rather our press freedom, to the
outside world, which is largely
influenced by opposition political
groups, their followers/activists,
diplomats and NGOs.
Reports from organisations
such as Amnesty International
are mostly based on hear-say and
secondary information. Not facts.
Even their networking members
in individual countries have
problems when it comes to being
objective. They call up individual
journalists, NGO workers, and
diplomats without knowing their
backgrounds before accepting any
information. I can say this from
my own experience.
It is indeed sad that our political
groups never hesitate to malign
their own motherland in the name
of politics. They forget that it is
their country too, and, instead of
talking about what they did for the
press during their rule, they keep
on harping about their opponent.
Not because I am the
government spokesman in
London, but, ethically, I find it
hard to accept lies handed out by
organisations such as Amnesty
International or the like when the
country is the most stable it has
been in years and where there
is plenty of scope for a vibrant
media.
Facts in numbers
The number of TV channels,
radio stations, and newspapers
which received licenses under
Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s
government is unprecedented in
the country’s history.
That is a fact.
How can the press be gagged or
individually targeted for writing
the truth in the age of the internet?
I have suffered enough
censorship at the hands of
governments as well as senior
colleagues.
I blame ourselves first for
hurting press freedom by either
being censored by superiors or
because of self-censorship on
various grounds, and that too
mostly on partisan lines.
Then came 1991, the year
democracy was returned to
Bangladesh. Very soon the
journalist community was divided
from a united front against the
autocracy. I saw the gradual
emergence of self-censorship,
partisan reporting, and attempts to
change historical facts.
Revisionist history
My first experience of imposed
historical twist was about the
Father of the Nation Bangabandhu
Sheikh Mujibur Rahman.
I was never an activist of any
political party, but, of course, I
have my ideological stances and
family influence.
I wrote in my report, for the
international wire service I was
working for, that “Bangladeshis
were today remembering the
country’s founding father Sheikh
Mujibur Rahman.”
My colleague said, since
many did not accept him as
the “founding father” I should
have written “Bangladesh’s First
President only.”
He was the Father of the Nation
for the entire country from 1971
and suddenly he is not -- just
because the military ruler of
that time had wished so? What a
travesty.
Interestingly, BNP leader
Tarique Rahman now claims that
his father, the late General Ziaur
Rahman, was the first president.
We have not, as journalists,
hesitated to write against each
other to correct our mistakes.
A free country, a free press
The press has suffered immensely
due to extreme political division,
and anybody criticising the current
state from the outside must visit
Bangladesh to see first-hand the
situation as it is.
There are security and other
issues of national interest, which
need to be addressed first.
Anywhere in the world such
matters are dealt with critically.
Every country, including Britain,
has laws, which have to be
followed by the press, but in
Bangladesh it is a free-for-all.
The few incidents which occur
are mostly given the wrong colour
for one reason or the other. Which
makes issues far more complex for
outsiders to figure out.
The arrest of a scribe for
extortion is reflected in partisan
angles to hide the real crime. Very
few are maybe correct, but the
background must be investigated.
Freedom of press means writing
with responsibility and without
bias. Not exploiting that freedom
for personal gain.
Let us support all that is good
about the press in Bangladesh now
and take pride in it, rather than
just criticising it for the sake of it.
The watchdogs should be careful
before maligning the image of a
country.
We must respect the hard work
that most journalists are doing to
uphold freedom of the press by
working professionally. •
Nadeem Qadir is the Press Minister of
Bangladesh High Commission in
London.

14
MONDAY, MAY 8, 2017
DT
Opinion
When social pressure kills
Academics are important but they don’t determine outcomes later in life
SERPENT
IN EDEN
• Towheed Feroze
In Jamalpur, an SSC candidate,
after learning that she did
not pass her exams, jumped
in front of a train and killed
herself. Her aunt was also killed
when she tried to save the
distraught girl.
In Jatrabari, Dhaka, a student
committed suicide after he failed
to get the coveted Golden GPA.
The thought that came to mind
as I read the news was: Society, at
least here in Bangladesh, puts too
much pressure on young students
to perform in academia.
The result in some extreme
cases, such as the two described
above, is death. But in between,
there are countless shades of
despair.
Like the son of a person I know
who was not content with his A
grade because, in his words, A plus
eluded him.
While countless students are
happy with their results, there
are many who are made to feel
that they have failed in achieving
what was expected of them. When
the social pressure becomes too
much, young minds decide to take
extreme measures.
Who is to blame?
I personally believe that a lot of
the blame lies on the parents who,
often for their own glory, exert
unnecessary pressure on their
children.
If the young boy or girl is
titled more towards the arts or
humanities, parents force him/her
to take up science because society,
in its black and white definition
of everything, deems students of
humanities as fools.
This is not a new phenomenon
and, when I think back to my
days in school in the mid-80s, I
recall quite distinctly that, out of
pressure from families and peers,
students were forced to take up
science and a dreaded subject
called Elective Mathematics.
Pity, here in this society, two
contrasting outlooks persist: We
want to see youngsters take up
science but, when it comes to
corporate hiring, the emphasis
is on English proficiency -- and
Elective Maths is hardly taken into
consideration.
In the past, parents selfishly
and overtly used their children
to enhance their social position
Is it right to put so much weight on exams and academics alone?
and, unfortunately, they still do,
in more covert ways. Perhaps they
don’t realise that their demands,
no matter how sweetly put, often
translate into parental pressure.
In some cases, especially for
students in English-medium
institutions, I find that the
pressure is so overpowering
that youngsters are detached
from common sports and
entertainment.
Yes, it’s a competitive world but
why take away the fun of being a
teenager?
From time to time, I talk to
parents with teenage sons or
daughters and it appears that their
main concern is the academic
excellence of their child.
Whether their children can take
the pressure or not is the least
of their worries. Their rationale:
If the other kid can take it and
perform, so can you.
The death within
Some do the extreme, others die
within. Forced to take subjects
they abhor, young minds can
become resentful.
I have seen educated parents
do the same as uneducated ones --
creating pressure for better grades
and imposing their wishes on the
child.
A telling account from my time
in high school should drive the
point home: One time our class
teacher asked us what we aspired
to be when we grew up and she
added: “Do you want to be a
doctor, engineer, an architect, or a
government official?”
Framing the question in this way
made it seem like those were the
only plausible options. If we look
around carefully, this trend still
persists.
By presenting only a few known
professions before the child, we
are forcing him/her to take one
and not think about anything else.
For the two young persons who
committed suicide, the pressure to
deliver must have been enormous.
They were indoctrinated over time
to believe that unless they got
what was expected of them, their
lives were meaningless.
A drastic act like suicide can
only be considered when a person
feels utterly bereft of hope.
While the papers have
dutifully reported the news of
similar tragedies that have been
happening over the years, sadly,
there is little to no societal effort
to tackle or understand such acts
among young people.
Grades are not the end of the
world
When we were teenagers, life was
made to revolve around divisions
in SSC or HSC; who got star marks
and how many letters (80 plus
marks ensured a letter in a subject)
was the talk around us, creating
an invisible pressure, but so many
years later, we find, these matter
very little in the vast canvas of
human tribulations.
Academic results are but
one factor in professional life
-- employers look at many others
during recruitment.
When it is commonly
understood that not everyone is
academically inclined, teenagers’
lives will become a blessing. Some
will excel in academia, a few may
become star footballers, some
other kid may show aptitude
for the arts or interest towards
theatre.
Many will try to become the
top cricketer but only a few will
make it to the zenith; but for those
who will play in the mid-level and
never be a celebrated sportsman,
life need not be a failure either.
S/he did what they wanted to
do and whatever they achieved is
a success. Hence the player who
spent most of his adult life playing
for third division clubs and then
retired with a small stationary
shop in his area is certainly not a
failure. Some may never become
a celebrity, but can still lead an
ordinary happy life.
Destiny is an enigma
Not everyone will drive a BMW;
and by the way, the first boy may
MAHMUD HOSSAIN OPU
For the two young persons who committed suicide, the pressure to
deliver must have been enormous
end up being a corporate dog but
the last boy, whose name was once
synonymous with failure, and
was seen spending time on the
roads with reprobates, can, due
to a twist of fate, become a top
public figure, flag flying on the car,
police in front and back, everyone
using “Honourable” before his/her
name.
“Lekhapora kore je gari-ghora
chore she” (those who excel in
education, can afford cars and
carriages), goes a popular Bengali
proverb but if we look at the
current world, we find that those
who put education behind sports
and other passions also drive the
best cars, those who did not even
go beyond SSC, opting for a film
career not only live in luxury but
are seen endorsing top consumer
products.
I have countless such tales
of ignored rascals who have
outshone all the academically
brilliant later in life.
By the way, to my teacher’s
question I answered: “I want to be
the captain of Bangladesh Laaldol”
(Bangladesh Red team in football,
comprising the best players) at
which everyone laughed. •
Towheed Feroze is a journalist working
in the development sector.

Opinion 15
DT
MONDAY, MAY 8, 2017
What the new VAT law means for us
With the new VAT law, Digital Bangladesh doesn’t seem that distant anymore. This is the first part
of a two-part op-ed
• Mamun Rashid
The Value Added Tax
(VAT) and Supplementary
Duty Act, 2012 (new VAT
law), was planned to be
implemented last year. However,
it was put on hold amidst a lot
of uncertainty and resistance
from stakeholders and, primarily,
unpreparedness on the part of
the government and the business
community.
Over the last year, the
government has been
concentrating all its efforts on
building the IT infrastructure
for the implementation of its
envisioned online VAT project --
the backbone of the new VAT law.
For smooth implementation of
the new VAT law, the government
has also initiated various measures
to dispel any confusion within
the business community at large
through television and newspaper
advertisements, social media
updates, radio broadcasts, etc.
As a result, the government
seems confident and is determined
to implement this new VAT law
with effect from July 1.
The move has been further
confirmed by the chairman
other benefits, some of which are
discussed below.
Going online
NBR has introduced a new
dedicated website for VAT
registration, payment of VAT, and
filing of returns. Unlike current
manual system the online system
will allow a business entity to
carry on its day-to-day VAT
compliances from the convenience
of its office or home through the
VAT website.
As a result, by eliminating the
hassle of going to the VAT office,
the online system will allow
businesses to enjoy huge savings
in time and cost which could be
invested in doing business in a
more professional and compliant
manner.
The process of registration
under the new act has already
commenced. Under it, existing
VAT registered entities as well as
new business entities are required
to obtain Business Identification
Numbers (BINs) before the
implementation date.
Making advance payments
Under the current VAT law,
companies are required to deposit
The new VAT law aims to initiate the
modernisation and digitisation of
the tax system in Bangladesh
Paying tax will become much easier from now on
BIGSTOCK
of National Board of Revenue
(NBR), at the pre-budget meeting
held on April 4, 2017, where he
expressed the government’s
commitment to implement
the new VAT law with all the
amendments, modifications,
and recommendations received
from all business communities,
chambers of commerce,
professionals, and economists.
The new VAT law aims to
initiate the modernisation and
digitisation of the tax system in
Bangladesh.
The transition from a manual to
a virtual VAT administration will
assist in overcoming bureaucratic
hurdles that businesses currently
have to deal with under the
present VAT system.
Other than simplifying the
multiple VAT rates into one
standardised rate, ie 15%, the
new act has also introduced
tax in advance (before supply)
and, therefore, always required
to maintain a positive balance
in their current account register.
In contrast, under the new law,
companies will only have to make
payments once they are due, ie
before the filing of their monthly
returns by the 15th of the next
month.
This will grant a registered
entity time from 15 to 45 days to
make the payment of VAT for the
supply affected by it in a month.
This will, in turn, improve a
registered entity’s cash flow and
provide relief on the working
capital requirement.
Refund of unutilised input tax
Currently, there is no provision
on the refund of unutilised input
tax credit unless the registered
entity cancels or surrenders its
registration.
Any excess unutilised input
tax credit needs to be indefinitely
carried forward and adjusted
against the output tax in the
following tax periods.
This becomes an unnecessary
hurdle for a business entity to
liquidate its working capital
blockage.
The new VAT law has a
provision for availing of the option
of refund of excess input tax
credit upon completion of carry
forward up to six months. This
will provide great relief to the
business community and will have
a positive impact on the cash flow
of businesses.
Valuation and levy of VAT
At present, manufacturers are
required to include all their cost
and overheads in the sale price for
determination of price on which
VAT is payable, thus precipitating
challenges in fixing the price in
the competitive market. The new
VAT law allows manufacturers
to discharge VAT only on the
transaction value (sale price),
regardless of whether cost price is
higher than sale price. This change
will give a competitive edge to the
business community.
Revised return
The present VAT law does not
provide any scope for correction in
the original return by the filing of a
revised return.
However, under the new VAT
law, a registered entity is now
allowed to file a revised return
after identifying any discrepancy,
omission due to clerical error, or
any other error except forgery
either online or manually, thus
resulting in reduction of disputes
as well as penalties imposed by the
VAT Authority.
Bad debts
Where a payment from a customer
remains outstanding for over 12
months and gets written off for
non-collection, the tax paid at
the time of supply becomes a cost
with no provision in the present
VAT law to adjust the same. Under
the new VAT law, the supplier will
be allowed to make a decreasing
adjustment, which will in turn
lower the amount of tax payable
by the supplier. •
The concluding part of this op-ed
will be published tomorrow.
Mamun Rashid is the Managing Partner
at PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC)
Bangladesh. This article has been
prepared with extensive help from Pulak
Saha (Partner, Indirect Tax) and Prabir
Mitra (Manager, Indirect Tax) from PwC
India and Sanjida Mithila, Analyst from
PwC Bangladesh.

16
MONDAY, MAY 8, 2017
DT
Downtime
CROSSWORD
ACROSS
1 Carry (4)
4 Mediterranean island
republic (5)
8 Long, angry speech (6)
9 Store (4)
11 Henhouse (5)
12 Afresh (4)
14 Girl’s name (3)
15 Manage (6)
19 Autocrat (6)
21 Corn spike (3)
22 Direction (4)
24 Ship’s small room (5)
27 Bearing (4)
29 Publication executive (6)
30 Precipitous (5)
31 Large brown seaweed
(4)
DOWN
1 Public transport (3)
2 Makes up for (6)
3 Mature (4)
4 Spoil (3)
5 Embellish (5)
6 Zodiac sign (3)
7 Bony outgrowth (6)
10 Possess (4)
13 What person (3)
14 Brings out (6)
16 Consumed (3)
17 Longing (6)
18 After due time (4)
20 Company of lions (5)
23 Frenzied (4)
25 Insect (3)
26 Pinch (3)
28 Short sleep (3)
CODE-CRACKER
How to solve: Each number in our
CODE-CRACKER grid represents a
different letter of the alphabet. For
example, today 13 represents Hso fill H
every time the figure 13 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
YESTERDAY’S SOLUTIONS
CODE-CRACKER
CROSSWORD
DILBERT
SUDOKU

What’s on
17
MONDAY, MAY 8, 2017
DT
EVENTS AROUND TOWN TODAY
MUSIC
MOVIE
CULTURAL PROGRAM
BLOCKBUSTER CINEMAS
Where Jamuna Future Park, Dhaka
What Movie showtime (May 8)
AMERICAN CENTER MUSIC BUZZ
When: 4-5pm
Where: US Embassy-Dhaka, Baridhara, Dhaka
What: a music club offered every other Monday in the
American Center library.
EDUCATION
Rings (2D): 2:50pm, 5:05pm
Tumi Robe Nirobe (2D): 1pm, 3pm,
5pm, 7pm
The Shack (2D): 12:10pm, 7:25pm
Power Rangers (2D): 11:40am,
2:15pm, 4:55pm, 7:30pm
Fast and Furious 8 (3D): 11:30am,
11:35pm, 2:15pm, 2:20pm, 5pm,
5:05pm, 7:45pm, 7:50pm
Guardians of the Galaxy Vol 2 (3D):
11:30am, 2:15pm, 5pm, 7:45pm
Swatta (2D): 1pm, 4pm, 7pm
STAR CINEPLEX
Where Bashundhara City, Dhaka
What Movie showtime (May 8)
NDUB INTRA UNIVERSITY CULTURAL COMPETITION AND
BAISHAKHI UTSHAB
When: 10am
Where: Notre Dame University Bangladesh, 2 Arambag,
Motijheel, Dhaka
What: Intra university cultural competition.
SEMINAR
MACHIAVELLI ON THE STATE AND NATION SOCIETY
When: 2:30-5pm
Where: Kazi Motahar Hossain Building, University of Dhaka,
Secretriat Road, Dhaka
What: Seminar by Dhaka University Law Faculty, as part of a
lecture series.
EXHIBITION
MBA & DBA COURSE IN LONDON - SPOT ADMISSION
When: 10am-5pm
Where: House 18, 4th Floor, Road 16 (Old 27), Dhanmondi,
Shwarma Palace, Dhaka
What: Spot admission at Total Student Care
ACTIVITY-A:
UNDERGRADUATE
BASIC GROUP
ADVISING
When: 3-4pm
Where: EducationUSA
Bangladesh, J Block,
Progoti Sharoni,
Baridhara, Dhaka
What: Free group
advising session on
basic information
about studying in
undergraduate or bachelor’s programs in the US.
Smurfs: The Lost Village (3D):
11:30am, 1:50pm
Tumi Robe Nirobe (2D): 11:10am,
1:10pm
Fast & Furious 8 (3D): 10:50am,
1:40pm, 4:10pm, 4:30pm, 7pm,
7:20pm
Fast & Furious 8 (2D): 2pm
One (2D): 4:15pm, 7:10pm
Beauty and the Beast (3D):
11:00pm, 1:30pm
Porobashini (2D): 11:20pm,
4:50pm, 7:30pm
Guardians of the Galaxy Vol 2 (3D):
10:50am, 1:40pm, 4pm, 4:30pm,
6:50pm, 7:20pm
CAN THE DIVINE PRESENCE BE FELT SO EASILY
When 3-9pm
Where Alliance Française de Dhaka, 26, Mirpur Rd, Dhaka
What A group painting exhibition featuring artists Al-Akhir
Sarker, Farzana Haque and Shah Syed Khwaja Mukaddas
Shadi Ahmed.
GOLDEN DOORS
When 3-9pm
Where Red Shift Coffee Lounge, Radius Centre, 5th Floor,
Bay’s Galleria, 57 Gulshan Avenue, Dhaka
What Solo art exhibition featuring works of Proshanta
Karmakar Budhha.

DT
18
Sports
MONDAY, MAY 8, 2017
Abahani,
Mohammedan
face off today
• Tribune Report
The season’s first clash between
arch-rivals Dhaka Abahani Limited
and Mohammedan Sporting Club
Limited takes place at the BKSP 4
ground today.
Both Mohammdean and Abahani
have won five out of seven
games so far in the Dhaka Premier
Division Cricket League. However,
the Sky Blues are second in the
points table, behind table-topper
Gazi Group Cricketers, thanks to a
better run rate.
The traditional Black and Whites
have registered four consecutive
wins after losing two of their first
three matches. The chief architect
of their comeback was captain Raqibul
Hasan.
On the other hand, Mohammad
Mithun’s Abahani have also played
some good cricket with wicketkeeper-batsman
Liton Kumar Das
and youngster Shadman Islam leading
the way with the bat recently.
No doubt the battle between the
giants will attract all the attention
in round eight.
Meanwhile, opening batsman
Robiul Islam Robi, who
smashed consecutive centuries for
Khelaghar Samaj Kalyan Samity,
will look to continue his fine form
when they take on Legends of Rupganj
at Khan Shaheb Osman Ali Stadium
in Fatullah.
In the other match of the day at
BKSP 3, Prime Doleshwar Sporting
Club will face Victoria Sporting
Club, who are yet to register their
first win this season. •
Tigers reach Ireland backed by conditional camp
• Tribune Report
The Bangladesh cricket team
reached Ireland with around four
days in hand before their first
game of the tri-nation series also
involving New Zealand. The Tigers
will face the host in the tri-series
opener at Malahide Cricket Club
Ground, Dublin on Friday.
The Bangladesh squad reached
the island in the North Atlantic
following a 10-day long conditional
camp in Sussex, England. The
tri-series is part of the Tigers’
preparation for the 2017 Champions
Trophy, starting June 1 in England.
The Bangladesh think tank
arranged the camp in Sussex so that
Bangladesh cricket team arrive in Dublin, Ireland yesterday ahead of the tri-nation series also involving New Zealand
the cricketers can get acclimatised
with the chilly conditions since its
their first tour to England in seven
years.
The Tigers squad sweated it
out in alien conditions with the
exception of ODI captain Mashrafe
bin Mortaza, all-rounder Shakib
al Hasan and left-arm pacer
Mustafizur Rahman. Mashrafe
travelled to England with the team
on April 26 only to return home four
days later due to family emergency.
Mashrafe’s wife had fallen sick and
was admitted to hospital. Having
spent sufficient time with his wife,
the veteran pacer travelled to
Ireland yesterday evening, along
with the team manager for the triseries,
Jalal Younus, who is also a
BCB director.
On the other hand, Shakib and
Mustafizur was busy participating
in the 10th edition of the IPL
T20. Their campaign however,
was not a memorable one to say
the least, given that Shakib and
Mustafizur played only a game
each for Kolkata Knight Riders and
Sunrisers Hyderabad respectively.
Both Shakib and Mustafizur
returned to Dhaka and following
a short break, travelled to Ireland
yesterday afternoon.
During their stay in England,
Bangladesh played two 50-over
practice matches - against Duke
of Norfolk XI and a second string
Sussex County Cricket Club XI. The
games were somewhat contested
in lighthearted fashion, bearing in
mind that Bangladesh fielded some
members in the opposition team.
The match against Duke of
Norfolk XI was abandoned due to
rain. Batting first, the Tigers got to
play the full 50 overs, posting 345
runs for the loss of seven wickets,
riding on an unbeaten century from
wicketkeeper-batsman Mushfiqur
Rahim. The diminutive batsman
struck 134 off 98 deliveries while
opening batter Soumya Sarkar
added 74 in 73 balls. Duke of
Norfolk XI were 95 without loss
when rain came pouring down,
paving the way for the game to be
COURTESY
cancelled.
In the second practice match,
against Sussex, Bangladesh won
by 134 runs. Taking first guard,
opener Imrul Kayes’ 78-ball 92 and
youngster Mehedi Hasan Miraz’s
unbeaten 60 enabled the tourist to
register 314/9. Top-order batsman
Sabbir Rahman chipped in with 52.
Chasing the target, Sussex
managed 184 on the board
before losing all of their
wickets. Bangladesh all-rounder
Mahmudullah, who played for
Sussex, scored 32. Bangladesh’s
Miraz picked up three wickets
while fast bowlers Subashish Roy
and Taskin Ahmed bagged two
each. •

Sports 19
DT
MONDAY, MAY 8, 2017
Volleyball Federation promises more
activities for men, women
• Shishir Hoque
Following almost eight long years,
the Bangladesh Volleyball Federation
has seriously taken initiatives
to form the national women’s team
as the two-day long trial got underway
at Dhaka Volleyball Stadium in
Paltan yesterday.
With the aim of participating and
winning a medal in the upcoming
South Asian Games, the volleyball
federation is planning to arrange
long-term residential training camp
for the national women’s team for
the first time in several years.
Bangladesh women’s team’s last
activity took place three years ago
during the Asian Senior Central
Zone Tournament in Nepal. The
team were drafted through an open
trial without any long-term camp.
Prior to that, the trial and camp
were held in 2009 ahead of the
2010 SA Games. Later however, the
team didn’t take part in the event.
Due to lack of initiatives, activities
and quality, the national
women’s volleyball side also didn’t
MARCEL BSJC MEDIA CUP FOOTBALL
Winning start for Dhaka
Tribune on opening day
• Tribune Report
Dhaka Tribune made a flying start
in the Marcel-BSJC Media Cup
Football Tournament with a convincing
4-0 victory over ATN Bangla
at M Mansur Ali National Handball
Stadium yesterday.
It was the joint highest margin of
victory among the six matches played
on the opening day of the week-long
tournament. Fazley Rabbi Moon netted
one for Dhaka Tribune and was
participate in the 2016 SA Games in
India. The federation, for the first
time, is targeting a two-year long
camp and continuous activity of
the women’s team so that they can
show their worth in south Asia.
A total of 55 female players, including
many from the last national
team, joined the open trial yesterday,
informed federation joint
secretary Mohammad Fazle Rabbi
but women’s volleyball committee
secretary Nibedita Das said the
number is around 80. The press release
on the other hand stated 85.
Nibedita informed that the participants
came from three service
teams - Bangladesh Police (seven),
BJMC and Ansar & VDP (14 each)
and different districts like Rajshahi,
Pabna, Khagrachari, Khulna, Chittagong
and Kishoreganj. Highest 15
players hail from Narayanganj.
Ifad Group has provided the federation
with a sum of Tk5,00,000
for the trial and preliminary stage
of training camp, informed Rabbi.
He also told Dhaka Tribune that
they will choose 20 players from
adjudged player of the match.
In the day’s other matches, The
Daily Star edged past Bonik Barta
1-0, Bangladesh Television defeated
Kaler Kantha 1-0, JagoNews24
outplayed Maasranga TV 3-0 while
Jamuna TV beat New Nation 4-0,
thanks to a hat-trick by Rashed.
Naya Diganta and RTV played out a
goalless draw in the last match.
A total of 24 media houses, split
into eight groups, are taking part in
the tournament. •
the trial and continue the camp for
as long as possible with a break for
Eid.
The federation is also seeking
funds from the National Sports
Council and Bangladesh Olympic
Association in order to continue
the camp for the long term.
“We didn’t have the national
women’s team. We are trying to arrange
a team. It’s really difficult to
form a women’s team, compared to
the men,’’ said Rabbi.
He added, “We have international
tournaments in India in November
and want to send the team
there in September. Our prime goal
regarding the women’s team is to
participate in the SA Games and
win a medal.”
Meanwhile, there has been no
activity of the men’s volleyball
team in the last six months since
their success in the Bangabandhu
Central Zone Tournament. Currently,
the national team members
are engaged in different service
teams where they work and train.
National captain Al Zabir is one of
Local coaches give tips during the
two-day long trial that got underway
yesterday at Dhaka Volleyball Stadium
(L) while Bangladesh volleyball team
captain Al Zabir is all smiles
SHISHIR HOQUE
them who works for Titas Gas and
plays for the club.
Zabir’s 13-year-long playing career
featured five different clubs
before he settled at Titas Club. He
has been captaining the national
team for the last two years.
Zabir said, “We played our previous
tournament in December last
year. Then there was no activity.
We don’t know what is our next
schedule. It’s sad that we have
been sitting idle. There are many
international tournaments every
year but we don’t even take part.
There might be reasons but we
players don’t know.”
In his defence, Rabbi said, “We
trained the senior team for three
years. We sent them to the World
Cup qualifiers, SA Games. Then
they became champion in the
Bangabandhu tournament. Now
we are trying to pick players from
the pipeline. We arranged training
for U-19 team and want to boost
them up. We are also preparing
U-16 and U-21 teams to build better
senior team in future.” •
Fazley Rabbi Moon of Dhaka Tribune collects the player of the match award
yesterday at M Mansur Ali National Handball Stadium
COURTESY
BCCI agree to
Champions
Trophy
participation
• Reuters, New Delhi
India confirmed their participation
in next month’s Champions Trophy
in England and Wales yesterday
after initially delaying the
announcement of their squad over
a revenue sharing disagreement
with cricket’s governing body.
The dispute intensified when
India failed to submit a squad
for the one-day international
tournament by an April 25 deadline
after its cricket board (BCCI) was
unable to stall a new income model
being adopted by the International
Cricket Council.
“The Board unanimously
authorised the acting honorary
secretary of the BCCI to continue
negotiations with the ICC in the best
interest of the BCCI while keeping
its legal options open,” the BCCI said
after a special general meeting.
“The BCCI...unanimously
decided that the Indian cricket
team will participate in the
upcoming 2017 Champions Trophy.
“The all-India senior selection
meeting will be held [today], May
8, 2017, in New Delhi to pick the
team.”
At last month’s ICC meetings,
the BCCI was outvoted 13-1 in its
bid to halt the revised deal which
considerably slashes India’s share
from global events in the 2015-23
cycle. Unimpressed by the $293m
forecast, down from the $570m it
would have received under a 2014
arrangement, the BCCI responded
by refusing to name a squad for the
June 1-18 eight-team competition.
Acting BCCI secretary Amitabh
Choudhary will now continue to
negotiate with the world governing
body to get a bigger share of ICC
revenues during the next eightyear
cycle.
“The ICC welcomes the
unanimous decision from the
BCCI special general meeting
this morning to confirm the
participation of defending
champions India in next month’s
Champions Trophy,” the ICC said in
a statement to Reuters.
“The hundreds of millions of
cricket fans around the world
just want to see good cricket and
now we can all look forward to a
superb event in England and Wales
starting on 1 June.”
The option to boycott the
event by revoking the Members
Participation Agreement between
the ICC and the BCCI had been
gaining traction within the board
prior to yesterday’s meeting
despite a number of former players
opposing any withdrawal. •

20
MONDAY, MAY 8, 2017
DT
Sports
Arsenal end United run, Liverpool held
• Reuters, London
Arsenal scored twice in three minutes
through a deflected Granit
Xhaka strike and Danny Welbeck’s
header to claim a deserved 2-0 win
over Manchester United yesterday
and inflict a first Premier League
defeat on the visiting side in 26
games.
The victory at the Emirates Stadium
keeps sixth-placed Arsenal’s
hopes of a top-four finish alive, but
they are six points adrift of Manchester
City, who currently occupy
the final Champions League qualifying
slot, albeit with a game in
hand.
The win also takes Arsenal within
two points of fifth-placed United,
who stay four points behind
City having played the same number
of games as their local rivals.
“Hopefully this result will give
us confidence,” said man-of-thematch
Aaron Ramsey. “I said a
couple of weeks ago we had to win
every match and unfortunately we
didn’t do that against Tottenham
Hotspur (in a 2-0 loss last weekend).
But we will see.”
For all of United manager Jose
Mourinho’s pre-match bluster
about fielding a weakened team,
his only concession to youth in
eight changes from his midweek
Europa League team was 19-yearold
defender Axel Tuanzebe, who
made his Premier League debut.
Everything else was familiar,
with United under orders to produce
the sort of bodies behind the
ball performance that makes them
so hard to beat.
However frustrating the tactics,
there is no doubting their effectiveness
and the first half finished with
Arsenal having spurned a series of
chances and the Emirates again jittery.
Twice United defenders had denied
Welbeck on the six-yard area
while darting runs from the ever
impressive Ramsey almost saw
him get on the end of pinpoint balls
from Aaron Sanchez.
United also had their chances
before the break, with Arsenal
goalkeeper Petr Cech saving from
Anthony Martial.
But after a battling first-half display,
the visiting side were undone
after the interval with Xhaka’s
25-metre shot looping up off Ander
Herrera to catch out United goalkeeper
David de Gea after 54 minutes
and then Welbeck adding a
second against his former side with
a header from Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain’s
cross.
There was no way back for
United and, for once in a troubled
season, the Arsenal fans could relax
and forget the will he-won’t
he concerns about whether manager
Arsene Wenger will renew
his contract. The win could not
have been better timed and was
Wenger’s first over Mourinho in a
league game.
For United, the only realistic
route to Champions League qualification
now lies in winning the
Europa League in which they host
Spaniards Celta Vigo at Old Trafford
in the semi-finals on Thursday
holding a 1-0 win from the first leg.
“Yes is all on the Europa league,”
said Mourinho, “but you cannot
say we did not try to win.”
Earlier, Liverpool were held to
a goalless draw at home by Southampton.
The Reds though have
only themselves to blame as James
Milner missed a penalty in the second
half. •
Real reserves thrash Granada, Barca’s MSN hit 100 mark
• AFP, Madrid
Alvaro Morata and James Rodriguez
scored twice as a muchchanged
Real Madrid moved to
within three victories of winning
La Liga with a 4-0 demolition of
Tony Adams’s already-relegated
Granada.
Earlier, Neymar, Lionel Messi
and Luis Suarez were all on target
to take their combined tally for the
RESULTS
Sporting Gijon 1-0 Las Palmas
Carmona 66
Atletico Madrid 1-0 Eibar
Saul Niguez 69
Barcelona 4-1 Villarreal
Neymar 21, Messi 45, 82-P,
Suarez 68 Bakambu 32
Granada 0-4 Real Madrid
Rodriguez 3, 11, Morata 30, 35
Arsenal’s Danny Welbeck heads in his side’s second goal during their Premier League match against Manchester United at
Emirates Stadium yesterday
REUTERS
season to 102 as Barcelona kept
pace at the top with a 4-1 win over
Villarreal. Barca remain top thanks
to their superior head-to-head record
with the two locked on 84
points, but Real have three games
remaining to Barcelona’s two.
Real coach Zinedine Zidane continued
his rotation policy of recent
weeks with nine changes from the
side that beat Atletico Madrid 3-0
in the first leg of their Champions
League semi-final on Tuesday as
hat-trick hero Cristiano Ronaldo
was left out of the squad entirely.
However, it mattered little as
Real maintained their perfect La
Liga record in nine games without
Ronaldo this season. Barely two
minutes had gone when Lucas
Vazquez got in behind the Granada
defence and squared for Rodriguez
to tap home the opener.
The Colombian then powered
EPL
Arsenal 2-0 Man Utd
Xhaka 54, Welbeck 57
Liverpool 0-0 Southampton
home a header from Fabio Coentrao’s
cross just nine minutes later.
Adams made a substitution after
just 16 minutes as Uche Agbo
replaced Aly Malle, but it couldn’t
prevent the one-way traffic.
Morata blasted home Danilo’s low
cross then bullied Martin Hongla
out of the way to fire home his 20th
goal of the season. Vazquez then hit
the bar and Casemiro somehow shot
over with the goal at his mercy as Madrid’s
dominance of the first 45 minutes
left some Granada fans in tears.
Real had mercy on the hosts
after the break, but now just need
seven points from their last three
games against Sevilla, Celta Vigo
and Malaga to seal a first La Liga
title in five years.
Barca maintained the pressure
on the European champions with
all of their front three on top form
against Villarreal.•
POINTS TABLE
Teams P W D L GD Pts
Barcelona 36 26 6 4 74 84
Real Madrid 35 26 6 3 57 84
Atletico Madrid 36 22 8 6 41 74
Sevilla 36 20 9 7 18 69
Villarreal 36 18 9 9 21 63
Barcelona’s Lionel Messi scores a goal against Villarreal during their Spanish La Liga Santander match at Camp Nou stadium, Barcelona, Spain
REUTERS

Sports
21
MONDAY, MAY 8, 2017
DT
Monaco edge
closer to Ligue
1 title with
Nancy win
• Reuters, Paris
Monaco edged closer to a first
Ligue 1 title since 2000 as a 3-0 win
at Nancy gave them a three-point
lead over defending champions
Paris St Germain on Saturday.
Tobias Badila’s own goal and
strikes by Bernardo Silva and
Thomas Lemar put the principality
side on 86 points with three games
to play, while PSG, who have two
games left, crushed Bastia 5-0. Monaco,
who have a much better goal
difference, will be virtually champions
if they beat Lille at home
next weekend. Leonardo Jardim’s
side went ahead after three minutes
when Badila deflected Valere
Germain’s cross into his own net.
Portugal midfielder Silva headed
home from Lemar’s cross to
make it 2-0 five minutes before the
break. Lemar sealed a straightforward
win four minutes from time,
after latching on a Kylian Mbappe
pass. Earlier, PSG had kept alive
their own slim title hopes.
There was a minute of applause
before kickoff to mark the 25th anniversary
of the Furiani tragedy. •
RESULTS
PSG 5-0 Bastia
Lucas Moura 32, Verratti 35,
Cavani 76, 89, Marquinhos 82
Guingamp 4-0 Dijon
Briand 4, 65, Salibur 55, 59-P
Lille 0-2 Metz
Mandjeck 36, Cohade 55
Lorient 1-1 Angers
Philippoteaux 62 Manceau 72
Nancy 0-3 Monaco
Badila 3-og, Silva 40,
Lemar 86
Toulouse 0-1 Caen
Santini 58
POINTS TABLE
Teams P W D L GD Pts
Monaco 35 27 5 3 69 86
Paris SG 36 26 5 5 51 83
Nice 35 22 11 2 30 77
Lyon 35 19 3 13 26 60
Bordeaux 36 15 12 9 10 57
DAY’S WATCH
CRICKET
SONY ESPN
8:30PM
Indian Premier League
Hyderabad v Mumbai
FOOTBALL
STAR SPORTS SELECT HD1
1:00AM
English Premier League
Chelsea v Middlesbrough
Leipzig’s Stefan Ilsanker (2R) in action with Hertha Berlin’s Vedad Ibisevic (2L) during their Bundesliga match at Olympiastadion, Berlin on Saturday
Dortmund sink Hoffenheim, Leipzig
book Champions League spot
• Reuters, BERLIN
Borussia Dortmund edged past
Hoffenheim 2-1 on Saturday to
move into third place in the Bundesliga
with two matches left and
take a big step towards securing a
spot in next season’s Champions
League group stage.
An early goal from Marco Reus
and a late one from Pierre-Emerick
Aubameyang sent Dortmund, who
are also through to the German Cup
final, up to 60 points, two ahead of
fourth-placed Hoffenheim, who
cut the deficit with a late penalty.
Timo Werner and subsitute Davie
Selke scored twice as promoted
RB Leipzig crushed Hertha Berlin
4-1 to secure a Champions League
group stage spot and a top three
finish in their sparkling first season
in the Bundesliga. Lepizig top
scorer Werner took his league goal
tally to 19 as second-placed Leipzig
move up to 66 points.
Champion Bayern Munich, who
secured the title last week, beat
bottom side Darmstadt 98 1-0 to
confirm their long-expected relegation.
With third place guaranteeing
more than 12m euros and fourth
leading to the tricky Champions
League qualifying rounds, Dortmund
looked more determined
from the start.
Reus put them ahead in the
fourth minute from what was
clearly an offside position, drilling
Newcastle celebrate winning the Championship at St James’ Park on Saturday
the ball through the legs of charging
goalkeeper Oliver Baumann.
Aubameyang could have doubled
the lead 10 minutes later when
Dortmund were awarded a penalty
for a hand ball in what was another
controversial decision.
Reus had controlled the ball
with his arm before it bounced off
the hand of a Hoffenheim player
and referee Felix Brych awarded
the spot-kick, triggering angry
complaints from the visitors.
Aubameyang stepped up but
fired his low penalty wide to keep
the visitors in the game. Reus went
close to scoring a sensational second
goal on the hour but Baumann
slapped his powerful volley wide
with a reflex save. •
REUTERS
RESULTS
Bayern Munich 1-0 Darmstadt
Bernat 18
Dortmund 2-1 Hoffenheim
Reus 4, Aubameyang 82 Kramaric 86-P
M’gladbach 1-1 Augsburg
Hahn 90+4 Finnbogason 57
Ingolstadt 1-1 Bayer Leverkusen
Kittel 73 Havertz 78
Eintracht Frankfurt 0-2 Wolfsburg
Didavi 48, Gomez 63
Hertha Berlin 1-4 RB Leipzig
Khedira 85-og Werner 12, 54, Selke 89, 90+2
POINTS TABLE
Teams P W D L GD Pts
Bayern Munich 32 23 7 2 63 76
RB Leipzig 32 20 6 6 28 66
Dortmund 32 17 9 6 31 60
Hoffenheim 32 15 13 4 25 58
Hertha Berlin 32 14 4 14 -2 46
Blackburn make unwanted
history, Newcastle win title
• AFP, London
REUTERS
Blackburn Rovers became
the first Premier League
champions to drop into the
third tier of English football
yesterday whilst Newcastle
claimed the Championship
title on a nerve-racking final
day of the regular season.
Wins for another historic
club, two-time European
champions Nottingham Forest
- 3-0 over Ipswich - and
Chinese-owned Birmingham
City, who beat Bristol City
1-0, condemned Rovers,
owned by Indian poultry
firm Venkys, to the drop.
Rafael Benitez-managed
Newcastle did what they had
to do beating Barnsley 3-0 but
it took a howler from Brighton
goalkeeper David Stockdale to
ensure they returned to the
top flight as champion. •

22
MONDAY, MAY 8, 2017
DT
Showtime
Bappa Mazumder’s
new radio show
• Showtime Desk
Much to the delight of radio listeners,
famous musician Shubhashish
Mazumder Bappa, commonly known
as Bappa Mazumder, is making a
comeback as an RJ.
Titled Baapar Bayanno Tash, the
show will be aired on ABC Radio
starting from May 9, every Tuesday
from 9 to 11pm. A deal confirming
the show was signed at ABC Radio’s
workstation on May 7 between the
two parties.
“I hope radio listeners will love
the program since we’ve planned
to deliver something new. I am
looking forward to the program’s
success,” said Bappa, who gained
popularity for his Bengali romantic
compositions and his band Dalchhut.
Singer, lyricist and composer,
Bappa Mazumder is the son of
classical maestro Ustad Barin
Mazumder and Ila Mazumder. The
musician has previously hosted
various TV shows including The One,
a musical talk show which aired on
Channel One.
On the workfront, Bappa has
collaborated with the enigmatic
new female voice of India, Sona
Mohapatra, under the supervision
of Sony DADC. The duo recently
wrapped up the recording of a song
titled “Bondhuyare” in Bangla and
“Saawariya” in Hindi at a studio in
Mumbai. •
Daisy Ridley:
‘petrified’ about
working with big actors
Raima’s grand Bollywood comeback
• Showtime Desk
There is little doubt that Raima
Sen is blessed with acting genes
from both her grandmother
Suchitra Sen and mother
Moon Moon Sen. Even though
she couldn’t make it big in
Bollywood, Raima has kept the
honour of her family name intact
in Tollywood. She has been
absent from the Hindi film circuit
for quite some time now, but
promises to make a comeback
with an array of new releases.
She has shot for atleast four
films to be released this year.
While one of them is a love story
with a twist alongside actor
Prateik Babbar, she will also be
seen in a comedy with a social
message opposite Kunal Roy
Kapur. Raima has completed
shooting a film on the attacks on
Sankat Mochan temple in 2006
where she plays the role of the
wife of a suspected terrorist.
Finally, the Bong beauty will be
seen portraying the role of a bar
owner in a crime thriller that
also stars actor Kay Kay Menon.
The last time the two worked
together was in Honeymoon
Travels (2007).
Playing such diverse roles has
been an enjoyable journey for the
actor. She said, “Playing these
extreme and different roles has
helped me bring out my inner
actor. I worked with Kay Kay
again after Honeymoon Travels
(2007). I got to know Kunal Roy
Kapur, who I had seen in Delhi
Belly (2001) but I had never
worked with him. He’s a
fantastic actor with a
great sense of humour.”
“So when I find a
director who knows his
job and is passionate
about it; for me, that’s
my support. I’m not
too great with an
average director,
but I’m very good
with a good
director. I’d say
I just got lucky
with all four
of them, even
though with
two of them, I’d
be working for the first time,” the
37-year-old added. •
• Showtime Desk
Daisy Ridley played a major role
in relaunching the Star Wars
franchise with The Force Awakens
in 2015 and has reprised her role as
Rey in the upcoming The Last Jedi.
With such valuable experiences
under her belt, one might assume
that playing governess Mary
Debenham in another major
venture would not be challenging
for the actress. However, the
25-year-old actress admitted that
she feared playing the role in
Kenneth Branagh’s period thriller,
Murder on the Orient Express.
Ridley said, “I remember
finishing my first-ever film [and
thinking], ‘Oh my God, this is
so great, how could this ever
be topped?’ And then I did my
second film, and I was like, ‘Oh
my God, this is so great, how
could this ever be topped?’
And then Murder [on the Orient
Express] was kind of my first
foray into non-spacey films. I was
petrified. And we just had the
best time. Truly the best time. It
was the most wonderful group
of people. I felt overwhelmingly
lucky to be there and to be able to
work with Ken [Kenneth Branagh]
and all the other actors. It was just
glorious.”
The English actress shares
screen with other stars including
the likes of Judi Dench, Johnny
Depp, Michelle Pfeiffer, Penelope
Cruz, Olivia Colman and Willem
Dafoe for the film which is based
on a Agatha Christie’s novel of the
same name.
When asked about her
experience with co-actors, she
replied, “..when I met Judi and
Olivia, they’re like aspirational
for me. It’s not starstruck: ‘Oh
my god, oh my god, oh my god.’
That’s what I want to be. With
Olivia, to get a few years down
the line and be even a patch on
what she is, I would be so happy.
And with Judi, it’s kind of an
extension of that. And with those
two working together, it was the
most amazing combination.”
The film is slated to be released
in November this year.•

Showtime
23
MONDAY, MAY 8, 2017
DT
Embracing the Other being held
at mosque premises
• Showtime Desk
Bangladeshi artist Shahidul
Alam has come up with an
unprecedented and innovative
exhibition of photographs that
is rare in the arts sphere. The
exhibition, titled “Embracing
the Other,” could stand as a tool
to combat Islamophobia, and to
clear some misconceptions about
the medium of art in Islam.
Shahidul Alam told Scroll.in,
“I specifically mentioned this, as
it is often said that photography
is haram in Islam. Apart from the
fact that millions of Muslims get
their passport photos taken for
going to Hajj, the idea is quite
bizarre when one considers that
the Quranic rules were made
way before the existence of
photography.”
The exhibition will take place
in a field, within the premises of
Bait Ur Rouf mosque on May 8
from 10am to 6pm. The mosque
is designed by Marina Tabassum,
who won the Aga Khan Award
for Architecture in 2016. The
exhibition is aimed at creating
openness and the ability to reach
out.
Dr Muhammad Ibrahim,
Professor of the Department of
• Showtime Desk
Fortnightly magazine, Anannya
has conferred the “Anannya
Shirshodosh 2016” award last
Saturday. To recognise women’s
contribution to the society, the
jury has awarded 10 women,
for their contribution in their
respective fields.
The awardees for the year
2016 includes Tasnima Aktar,
daughter of a poor farmer
in Naogaon, who had been
riding horse since she was six
and despite of the derogatory
comments and roadblocks from
her surroundings, she has started
to participate in different riding
competitions from the age of
nine. Tasnima hit the newspaper
headlines for her achievements
lately, and has become the
talk of the country overnight.
The magazine has honoured
her with the award for her
uncompromising bravery.
Selina Hayat Ivy, mayor of the
Narayanganj City Corporation
was acknowledged for her
contribution in politics and
Islamic History and Culture at
Dhaka University, photographer
Dr Shahidul Alam who is also the
Managing Director of Drik Picture
leadership, while Dr
Perween Hasan, vicechancellor
of Central
Women’s University,
has received the award
for her contribution
to the country’s
education,
Bangladesh
National Women
Football Team
forward, Sabina
Khatun has been
conferred the award
for her contribution in
sports.
For her contribution
in scientific research,
Professor Zeba Islam
Seraj from Dhaka University has
received the award, while Women
with Disabilities Development
Foundation’s executive director,
Ashrafun Nahar Misti was
recognised for her activism in
disability rights.
Moreover, Surma Zahid was
awarded in the Liberation War
research, Bashonti Murmu, a
Joypurhat-based indigenous
women-children organisation
PHOTO: SHAHIDUL ALAM
Library, and Din Islam,
the imam of the Bait
Ur Rouf Mosque will
speak at the launch.
A mosque was the
first urban element
introduced by the
Prophet Muhammad
(pbuh) to the
city of Madinah,
which functioned
as a community
development centre.
It was used as a centre
for religious activities,
for learning, the
seat of the Prophet’s
government, welfare
and charity centre,
a detention and
rehabilitation centre,
a place for medical
treatment and nursing,
and a place for leisure
activities. The Prophet
is known to have
permitted women to
sleep in the mosque,
and for non-Muslims
to pray there.
“It is this openness
and the ability to reach out to
others, that appears to be missing
today, in everyday life and in the
mosque,” says the photographer.
founder earned the award in
indigenous rights activism,
while actress Saberi Alam and a
craftsman of Magura, Nisha Rani
Malakar earned the award for
their contribution in acting and
artistry respectively.
Agriculture Minister Matia
Chowdhury handed over the
awards at the ceremony, held in
the capital’s Krishibid Institution
auditorium. Poet and lawmaker,
Rezaur Rahman, curator of
“Embracing the Other” said,
“One expects to be surprised by
Shahidul Alam. Following on
from his groundbreaking shows
on “Crossfire” and “Kalpana’s
Warriors”, this unique exhibition
turns tradition on its head by
holding a photographic exhibition
in the last place you would
expect.To use it to combat both
Islamophobia and extremism
in one go is a masterstroke by
one of the most innovative and
courageous artists of our times.”
Recipient of the Shilpakala
Award, photographer, writer,
curator and activist Shahidul
Alam has been documenting
his country’s struggle for
democracy for over 30 years.
Exhibited in MOMA, Centre
Georges Pompidou and Tate
Modern and speaker at Harvard,
Stanford, UCLA, Oxford and
Cambridge universities, Alam
is an Honourary Fellow of the
Royal Photographic Society, and
Visiting Professor at Sunderland
University. John Morris, the
former picture editor of Life
Magazine describes his book,
My Journey as a Witness, as “the
most important book ever written
by a photographer.” •
Anannya Shirshodosh 2016 conferred
PHOTO: MAHMUD HOSSAIN OPU
Kazi Rozi, along with noted
researcher Prof Rounaq Jahan,
and Anannya magazine editor and
publisher Tasmima Hossain, were
present in the ceremony among
others.
Conferred to around 240
women of the country to date,
Anannya has been recognising the
contributions of women in the
society through the award giving
ceremony since 1993. •
WHAT TO WATCH
Harry Potter and the Chamber
of Secrets
11:24 pm, HBO
Harry ignores warnings not
to return to Hogwarts, only
to find the school plagued by
a series of mysterious attacks
and a strange voice haunting
him.
Cast: Daniel Radcliffe, Rupert
Grint, Emma Watson, Richard
Harris, Kenneth Branagh
Toy Story
7:50 pm, Movies Now
A cowboy doll is profoundly
threatened and jealous when a
new spaceman figure supplants
him as top toy in a boy’s
room.
Voices: Tom Hanks, Tim Allen,
Jim Varney, Wallace Shawn,
Annie Potts
True Lies
2:30 pm, Star Movies
A fearless, globe-trotting, terrorist-battling
secret agent has
his life turned upside down
when he discovers his wife
might be having an affair with
a used car salesman.
Cast: Arnold Schwarzenegger,
Jamie Lee Curtis, Tom Arnold,
Bill Paxton, Art Malik
Shaolin Soccer
4:27 pm, WB
A young Shaolin follower
reunites with his discouraged
brothers to form a soccer team
using their martial art skills to
their advantage.
Cast: Stephen Chow, Man Tat
Ng, Wei Zhao, Yin Tse, Hui Li

24
MONDAY, MAY 8, 2017
DT
US-BANGLA LAUNCHES
DHAKA-BANGKOK FLIGHT › 11
Back Page
ABAHANI, MOHAMMEDAN
FACE OFF TODAY › 18
ANANNYA SHIRSHODOSH
2016 CONFERRED › 23
Taking the excess and feeding the hungry
• Nawaz Farhin
Life often seems unfair; the difference
between what the economically
privileged consume as
opposed to what the less fortunate
have access to is vast.
Dhaka serves as a prime example,
as huge amounts of food
goes to waste on a daily basis from
numerous parties at restaurants,
hotels and convention centres.
Meanwhile, a multitude of homeless
people search for morsels to
sustain themselves every day.
There is hardly any room for
the gap between the rich and poor
in the existing economic system
to be replaced overnight. Some
people, however, still believe the
plight that plagues the less fortunate
members of society can be improved,
if not completely changed.
This small initiative, called Project
Food Banking, was started by
a group of young people named
Procheshta Foundation working relentlessly
to feed underprivileged
people with leftover food from
events in Dhaka.
Comprised mostly of university
students, the organisation collects
and packs uneaten food from these
events to people who are unable to
afford such luxuries.
One of the five founding members
of the project, Ikram Uddin
Rabindra festival
kicks off today
• Kudrote Khoda Sobuj,
Kushtia
A three-day festival will begin at
Shilaidaha Kuthibari in Kushtia to
celebrate the 156th birth anniversary
of Rabindranath Tagore today.
Organised by the district administration,
the festival will be inaugurated
by Awami League Joint
Secretary General and Kushtia 3
lawmaker Mahbubul Alam Hanif.
The programmes include discussions
on the life and works
of the versatile Nobel Laureate,
and cultural performances by renowned
artistes.
Yesterday, a four-day fair kicked
off along the Padma River in celebration.
About 16km away from Kushtia
town, Shilaidaha Kuthibari is
associated with the Tagore family.
Rabindranath used to occasionally
stay there during his periodic inspection
of his family estate. •
Project Food Banking, an initiative by a group of young people named Procheshta Foundation, works relentlessly to feed
underprivileged people around Dhaka by collecting leftover food from different events
MAHMUD HOSSAIN OPU
Abir, told the Dhaka Tribune: “The
idea for this project came to me after
I visited a slum in Tejgaon for
a census back in 2011. The people
hardly had access to three meals
a day, let alone other basic human
PEN Bangladesh celebrates Bangla New Year
• Tribune Desk
PEN Bangladesh celebrated Bangla
New Year and welcomed its new
members at a programme at Bishwa
Sahitya Kendra auditorium on Saturday
afternoon.
PEN Bangladesh Centre President
Farida Hossain, Adviser Kazi Anis
Ahmed, Vice-President Sakib Lohani
and General Secretary Farida Begum
were present at the programme, among
other new and old members of the
organisation, reports Bangla Tribune.
PEN Bangladesh, the local chapter
of PEN International, promotes and
upholds literature and freedom of
expression in the country.
Its General Secretary Farida Begum
delivered the welcome speech and
elaborated on PEN Bangladesh’s activities
in recent years.
She also said PEN Bangladesh
would work to alleviate the threat on
bloggers and encourage people to
ensure security and safety for bloggers.
rights.”
Project Food Banking was
launched in May 2016.
Prochesta Foundation’s journey
began in February 2013 by founding
a small school at Begunbari, Tejgaon
with 11 students with a view
to spreading education among children
from slums.
The school has more than 200
regular students, while the foundation
has more than 300 volunteers.
Adviser Kazi Anis Ahmed highlighted
the scope and activities of PEN
International’s Bangladesh wing.
Founded in 1921, PEN International,
a non-political organisation, has a
global community of writers that now
spans more than 100 countries.
Welcoming the new members, Kazi
Anis said: “There are enormous opportunities
for litterateurs and writers in
the international arena.”
He highlighted the history of PEN
International. He also discussed the
current crisis of writers in Bangladesh
and assured that PEN Bangladesh
would be beside all to overcome it,
including the murder of bloggers.
“PEN International is associated
A second school has been
opened at Tejgaon Rail Gate area.
“Several corporate houses offered
to sponsor Project Food
Banking in exchange of their title
sponsorship as a part of their Corporate
Social Responsibility (CSR),
but we refused those offers as we
never wanted to see our dream getting
commercialised,” Ikram said.
However, the organisation appreciates
the citizens of Dhaka aiding
in the packing and transport of
the food.
Ikram said: “There are two ways
the food is collected. Sometimes
people contact us to collect their
leftovers, and sometimes we contact
people to preserve excess food
from events.
“We work in Dhaka, dividing
the capital into different zones.
Whenever we get a call from any
event, we contact our zone leader,”
said Atisha Rahber, co-founder of
Prochesta Foundation.
The initiative has garnered positive
results.
The organisation also introduced
a blood bank recently as a
part of their initiative to help people
gain easier access to blood during
emergencies.
Those who are interested in getting
involved with this humanitarian
enterprise to help alleviate hunger
can call 01842002023. •
with Unesco. So, it’s part of PEN’s job
to rehabilitate the writers,” he added.
“PEN went forward to help Bangladeshi
publisher Ahmedur Rashid Tutul,
who was a victim of militant attack,” Dr
Anis further said, while talking about
PEN’s activities. “PEN is a large platform
which opens the door to creativity and
promotes a violence-free society.”
In her speech, PEN Bangladesh
President Farida Hossain highlighted
the organisation’s history and past
activities. She also honoured PEN
Bangladesh’s founding president Syed
Ali Ahsan and others related to its
journey.
Vice-President Sakib Lohani said:
“Presenting our country’s literature
before the world is another important
responsibility of PEN. And that is only
possible through translation.”
Later he highlighted the activities of
Dhaka Translation Centre.
After the discussion and welcome
speech, a poetry recitation session
followed. •
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