e_Paper, Wednesday, July 05, 2017

SECOND EDITION 

WEDNESDAY, JULY 5, 2017 | Ashar 21, 1424, Shawwal 10, 1438 | Regd No DA 6238, Vol 5, No 58 | www.dhakatribune.com | 24 pages | Price: Tk10 

The crisis that could 

have been avoided › 2 

SYED ZAKIR HOSSAIN 

Farhad Mazhar’s kidnapping 

wrapped in mystery › 3 

Only 6 inspectors for 5,000 

boilers in Bangladesh › 5 

Qatar crisis 

deadline 

extended by 2 

days as nation 

responds › 3 

Sri Lanka ends 

decades-long 

occupation of 

Tamil port › 7

2 

WEDNESDAY, JULY 5, 2017 

DT 

News 

RICE PRICE HIKE 

The crisis that could have been avoided 

• Abu Siddique 

SPECIAL 

Rice price shows no letup in local markets 

• Rafikul Islam 

CURRENT AFFAIRS 

The upward trend of rice price continues 

in the local markets with no indication 

to slide. 

The price of the staple food is expected 

to fall as soon as the Vietnamese 

rice arrives, Food Minister Qamrul 

Islam said while taking to the Dhaka 

Tribune recently. 

“A 2,50,000-tonne of rice from Vietnam 

would arrive within July 10-12. 

However, TV reports show that rice 

price has gone down by about Tk2 to 

According to the Ministry of Agriculture, Bangladesh lost around two million tonnes of paddy during the boro season in April- 

May – the highest yielding season of paddy in a year – due to the flash flood in Haor basin and a blast disease epidemic in 

different regions 


Bangladesh is seeing a record hike 

in rice prices this year, even after 

the harvest season, as the government 

reserve of rice has hit a record 

low in at least a decade. 

Rice traders and farmers say the 

government’s persistent stance 

against increasing its reserve by 

importing rice, keeping the import 

duty at 28% to restrict import by 

private traders, damage to boro 

paddy due to a recent flash flood in 

Haor areas, and a lack of monitoring 

over the private sector are the 

major reasons behind the crisis. 

According to the Ministry of 

Food, the current retail price of 

coarse rice is Tk48 – which is Tk18 

higher than what the price was this 

time last year. 

Furthermore, on June 21, the government 

rice reserve stood at 173,000 

tonnes – a whopping 445,000 tonnes 

less than the 618,000-tonne reserve 

on the same day last year. 

This situation did not arise overnight, 

but has been happening over 

the last six months, said market insiders, 

who blamed the government 

for overlooking the rapidly depleting 

government stock and not initiating 

the import of rice sooner. 

“The government is too late. It 

should have approached the international 

market for importing rice 

much sooner than it did when it 

noticed the depleting reserve,” said 

Quazi Shahabuddin, agricultural 

economist and former director 

general of Bangladesh Institute of 

Development Studies (BIDS). 

However, on Wednesday, Prime 

Minister Sheikh Minister said at 

parliament that the country was 

currently not facing a crisis of its 

staple food. 

She said as of June 28, the government 

reserve stood at 188,000 

tonnes of rice, whereas the government-approved 

rice mills had 

around 5.4 million tonnes in stock 

and the retail-wholesale markets 

had a further 5 million tonnes. 

Where did the paddy go? 

According to the Ministry of Agriculture, 

Bangladesh lost around 

two million tonnes of paddy during 

the boro season in April-May – the 

highest yielding season of paddy 

in a year – due to the flash flood in 

Haor basin and a blast disease epidemic 

in different regions. 

Ministry data shows the boro 

yield last year was 19 million tonnes. 

Taking that into account, right now 

the country should have roughly 

around 17 million tonnes of paddy. 

Like every year, the government 

has been procuring boro rice and 

paddy for its own reserve since 

May 2, with the target of procuring 

800,000 tonnes of rice and 700,000 

tonnes of paddy by August 1, mostly 

to run its social safety net programme 

and emergency disaster 

relief. 

But as of now, the government 

has managed to procure only 49,159 

tonnes of rice – a measly amount 

compared to last year’s procurement 

of around 1 million tonnes. 

Owners of rice mills, from whom 

the government is procuring the 

rice this year, claim that there is not 

enough paddy in the local market, 

which is why they are unable to 

supply the rice to the government. 

“This year, we do not have 

enough stock to run our business 

for long,” said Nirod Boron Saha, 

president of Naogaon Rice Wholesalers’ 

Association. 

Asked where all the paddy has 

gone just two months after harvest, 

Nirod said: “Some unscrupulous 

traders and farmers may have 

hoarded the paddy as the price was 

good during the harvest period.” 

Tk3 in the local market.” 

But visiting different kitchen markets 

across the capital, it was observed 

that rice price did not come down, rather 

the price of some varieties of rice 

increased. 

A kilogramme of coarse rice was 

being sold at between Tk47 and Tk54 

while fine rice Tk56 and Tk62, and 

Chinigura, a variety of rice, Tk95 and 

Tk100 at different groceries in the capital 

yesterday. 

Before Eid, the price of coarse rice 

was ranging between Tk46 and Tk52 

while fine rice from Tk55 to Tk60 and 

Chinigura rice from Tk90 to Tk95 a kilogramme 

in the markets. 

According to the state-run Trading 

Corporation of Bangladesh (TCB) which 

tracks the prices of daily necessities, 

the prices of coarse rice and fine ones 

have shot up to 2% from 1%. 

Abu Quasem, a wholesaler at Karwanbazar 

in the capital, said the price 

of rice won’t decrease till the imported 

rice arrives. 

“Probably, we can get the rice in the 

market within one and a half months.” 

“We can do nothing if the prices go 

up at source. We buy the rice at higher 

price from storehouses and sell it to retailers 

keeping a little profit.” 

Millers irked by govt procurement 

rate 

Another reason why the rice mill 

owners have backtracked from 

supplying rice to the government 

reserve is the procurement rate set 

by the government, said Nirod. 

For this boro season, the government 

has fixed the procurement 

price as Tk24 per kg of paddy 

and Tk34 per kg of rice. 

These rates contradict with the 

“paddy-to-rice conversion” method 

and will cause losses to the millers, 

he added. 

“A maund (around 37.32kg) of 

rice is produced from around a 

maund and a half of paddy. If the 

price of paddy is Tk24 per kg, naturally 

the price of rice will be Tk36,” 

he explained. “If the government 

rates are to be followed, millers will 

have to count a Tk2 loss per kg of 

rice that they supply to the government 

reserve.” 

Tanjimul Alam, an employee of a private 

firm, said: “We have to buy rice despite 

its soaring price since we cannot 

but eat rice. However, we are looking to 

the government decision after the rice 

from Vietnam comes.” 

Earlier, Finance Minister AMA Muhith 

said the import of rice would cool 

prices in the local market. He said the 

Vietnamese rice would reach Chittagong 

and Mongla ports shortly. 

The Ministry of Food website yesterday 

showed that rice reserves stood 

at 1.50 lakh metric tonnes. The private 

sector imported 133.02 thousand 

tonnes of rice in between July 01, 2016 

Because of these “ridiculous” 

rates, the government would not 

get rice from the millers this season, 

Nirod told the Dhaka Tribune. 

Import is the solution 

To overcome the current situation, 

the government has already initiated 

import of rice from different 

countries, including Vietnam and 

India. 

An agreement to this end has 

been signed with Vietnam, while 

the authorities concerned are looking 

into the Indian market. 

In addition, the government has 

cut down the import duty on rice to 

10% from 28% so the private sector 

can immediately start importing rice. 

However, this year rice price is 

higher in the international market 

as well. 

A tonne of rice is priced at 

around $410-450 in India, Vietnam, 

Pakistan and Thailand, which 

means the price of imported rice in 

the local market would be around 

Tk36-42 per kg, according to the 

Ministry of Food. 

Market insiders believe the upward 

trend of rice price will continue, 

or at least the current situation 

will remain as it is, if the government 

fails to control the market by 

importing enough amount of rice. 

Agricultural economist Quazi 

Shahabuddin said importing rice 

is the only option for the government 

to tackle the situation at the 

moment. 

He advised the government to 

reduce the import duty down to 

zero so private sector importers 

could make some profit, seeing as 

rice prices are high in the global 

market as well. 

Nirod Boron Saha agreed. “The 

government should also increase 

the number of beneficiaries in and 

the amount of rice allotted to its 

social safety net programme to reduce 

the demand in the local market,” 

he added. • 

and June 30, 2017, but the government 

import was at zero. 

Earlier from July 1, 2015 to June 30, 

2016, the government imported 1.28 

thousand tonnes of rice while private 

sector 255.96 thousand tonnes. 

Naogaon Rice Mills Association 

president Nirab Baron Shaha said buyers 

don’t come here to buy rice. They go 

to India to import. 

The mills are yet to open after Eid 

vacation. Perhaps, it would open within 

one week, he said, adding that, “We 

used to sell medium-size rice at over 

Tk2,000 while fine rice at Tk2,500 per 

50 Kg.” •

News 

WEDNESDAY, 

3 

JULY 5, 2017 

DT 

Farhad Mazhar’s kidnapping 

wrapped in mystery 

Farhad tells court that he might have been kidnapped to embarrass the govt 

• Arifur Rahman Rabbi, 

Afrose Jahan Chaity and 

Md Sanaul Islam Tipu 


The reported abduction of noted 

litterateur and columnist Farhad 

Mazhar, who went missing in the 

wee hours on Monday from his 

Dhaka residence, remains cloaked 

in mystery as it is still unclear who 

abducted him and why. 

He was rescued in Jessore’s 

Nawapara area later in the day, 

sparking speculations over his 

mysterious disappearance. 

Later, Farhad was brought to 

Dhaka yesterday around 9am and 

then taken to the Detective Branch 

office on Minto Road from Adabor 

police station for questioning. 

Addressing a press briefing at 

the Dhaka Metropolitan Police Media 

Centre, Detective Branch’s Joint 

Commissioner Abdul Baten said the 

general dairy his wife Farida Akhter 

had filed with the police station 

turned into an abduction case. 

“After a primary interrogation, 

the police took Farhad to a court 

for recording his statement, based 

on which law enforcement agencies 

will further investigate the 

case,” Baten said. 

According to court sources, Farhad 

Mazhar in his statement to the 

court said he had been kidnapped 

when he had gone out to get medicines 

in the early hours. He said 

the abductors had bought him a 

Dhaka-bound bus ticket of Hanif 

Paribahan from Khulna and asked 

him to come straight to Dhaka. 

Farhad further said he did not 

think he had been abducted for 

money. It was him who offered the 

ransom money to the kidnappers. 

He said he might have been kidnapped 

to embarrass the government. 

Meanwhile, the court of Metropolitan 

Magistrate Md Ahsan Habib 

allowed Farhad to return home following 

his appeal. 

Asked what the police gleaned 

from him during the interrogation, 

Joint Commissioner Baten 

said: “Farhad said the kidnappers 

dragged him inside a microbus in the 

morning and drove off. We are investigating 

how he was able to phone 

his wife under such duress. We are 

only sharing what we have gathered 

until now by questioning him. We 

will provide detailed information 

once we have all the evidence.” 

Talking to the press, Farhad’s 

daughter Chaumtoli Huq said: “My 

father looks very ill and exhausted. 

I have never seen him like this. We 

are worried about his health.” His 

wife Farida, too, expressed concerns 

about deteriorating physical 

conditions of Farhad, who is now 

undergoing treatment at Birdem 

Hospital. 

What happened and how 

Farhad had worked the whole 

night before he went missing in the 

morning. He went out to buy some 

medicines. When he reached the 

middle of Shyamoli and Adabar, 

some men picked him in a microbus 

and blindfolded him. 

According to the case statement, 

Farhad phoned his wife Farida on 

Monday at 5:30am and said in fear 

that some people were taking him 

away to kill. He then disconnected 

the call. 

“I could not understand whoever 

kidnapped him. Policemen started an 

investigation right after I had made a 

call to Adabar police,” said Farida. 

He made four phone calls to 

Farida after his abduction, informing 

her that the kidnappers demanded 

Tk35 lakh as ransom for 

his release, Farida mentioned in 

the case statement. 

A police source said: “Kidnappers 

took Farhad to Khulna via 

Gabtoli, Manikganj, Doulatdia Ghat, 

Faridpur, and Jessore. They kept 

him blindfolded during the whole 

journey from Dhaka to Khulna. 

“The kidnappers set him free 

between 7pm and 7:30pm on Monday 

in Khulna and gave him a ticket 

to go back to Dhaka.” 

A team of Rapid Action Battalion 

rescued Farhad Mazhar from 

a Dhaka-bound bus of Hanif Paribahan 

in Nawapara area of Jessore 

when he was coming back to Dhaka, 

the source added. • 

‘Where did the 

carryall come 

from?’ 

• Nashirul Islam 


Police are claiming to have found a 

carryall with Farhad Mazhar after 

rescuing him, which contained his 

clothes and phone charger, which 

arouse some controversies. 

However, his wife Farida Akhter 

and his daughter Samtali Huq have 

confirmed that when Farhad got 

out of his house at dawn, he did not 

have the bag with him. 

When asked, his wife Farida 

said: “I do not know if he took a bag 

with him. He carries a bag with him 

often, which contains his books 

and medicine. But the bag he came 

back with was not the one he usually 

carries. So where did this bag 

come from?” 

She added: “He suffers from 

blood pressure, and gets sick if he 

does not take medicines. He has 

been looking very ill ever since he 

came back. I have never seen him 

like this.” 

Farhad Mazhar’s daughter 

Samtali said: “Everyone has seen 

the footage of his departure from 

his house at dawn. There was no 

bag with him then. How does he 

have a bag now?” 

Rapid Action Battalion rescued 

Farhad Mazhar from Nawapara on 

Monday night after his disappearance 

on Monday morning. Afterwards, 

the DIG of Khulna range, 

Didar Ahmed told Bangla Tribune: 

“When we rescued him he was 

healthy. He had a bag with him, 

which had extra clothes, a mobile 

phone, a phone charger and some 

money.” 

Later, he was brought to Dhaka 

from Jessore under the care of 

Assistant Commissioner of police 

Hafiz al Faruq. • 

Qatar crisis deadline extended by 2 days as nation responds 

• Tribune Desk 

WORLD 

Arab nations isolating Qatar extended 

a deadline Monday for the 

energy rich country to respond 

to their demands by another 48 

hours, allowing its top diplomat 

to carry a handwritten response to 

Kuwait’s ruler in an effort to end 

the diplomatic crisis. 

Whether another two days will 

be enough to end the crisis, however, 

may be a stretch. 

The crisis began June 5, as the 

countries cut off diplomatic ties to 

Qatar over their allegations that the 

world’s top producer of liquefied 

natural gas uses its wealth to fund 

extremist groups and has overly 

warm ties to Iran. Qatar long has 

Family members escort Farhad Mazhar out of a Dhaka court yesterday after the 

court hears his statement about his abduction the day before 

MAHMUD HOSSAIN OPU 

Kuwait’s ruler Sheikh Sabah Al Sabah, center right, looks at a letter from Qatar’s ruler given to him by Qatari Foreign Minister 

Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani, center left on Monday, July 3, 2017 

AP 

denied funding terrorists, while 

it maintains communication with 

Iran as the two countries share a 

massive offshore natural gas field. 

UAE foreign minister Sheikh Abdullah 

bin Zayed al-Nahayan said 

on Tuesday that Arab countries 

were still awaiting a response to 

their demands via mediator Kuwait. 

Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Bahrain 

and Egypt are pressing Qatar to shut 

its al-Jazeera news TV station and 

scale back relations with Iran, Saudi 

Arabia’s arch-rival in the Gulf region, 

part of 13 demands they want 

Doha to fulfill to end the crisis. 

Qatar has said it delivered a response 

to mediator Kuwait, which 

will be discussed by the four 

countries at a meeting in Cairo on 

Wednesday after their deadline for 

Doha to accept the demands expires 

late on Tuesday. 

Officials from the UAE and Saudi 

Arabia have suggested that further 

sanctions, including the possibility 

of kicking out Qatar from 

the six-member Gulf Cooperation 

Council, could be imposed if Doha 

failed to heed the demands. 

Meanwhile, US President Donald 

Trump spoke with Qatar’s Emir 

Sheikh Tamim, as well as Saudi King 

Salman and Mohammed bin Zayed, 

the crown prince of Abu Dhabi. 

What comes next remains in 

question. If Qatar doesn’t agree to 

the demands, the nations could 

push forward with financial sanctions 

or pushing the country out 

of the Gulf Cooperation Council, a 

regional body that serves as a counterbalance 

to Iran. •

4 


DT 

News 

At least 30 thousand people stranded and snapping road connections. Besides, the rise of water level in the river of Sangu creates a bar 

to plying of tourists boat 

DHAKA TRIBUNE 

Flood situation worsens in 

Bandarban, Moulvibazar 


NATION 

The heavy shower over the past two 

days has flooded the low-lying areas of 

Lama, Ali kadam and Naikhongchhari 

upazilas of Bandarban and some parts 

of Moulvibazar district. 

Sources said the rise in Matamuhuri 

River water flooded the areas, leaving 

at least 30 thousand people stranded 

and snapping road connections. Besides, 

the rise of water level in the river 

of Sangu creates a bar to plying of 

tourists boat. 

The flood-affected people are taking 

shelter on the hospital and school premises 

in the area with the apprehension of 

landslide, according to upazila administration 

sources. 

Lama Upazila Chairman Thoainu 

Aung Chowdhury said all upazila chairmen 

have been asked to take the food 

victims to nearby shelter. 

According to transport owners in the 

district, if the flood situation persists, it 

will inundate more new areas. 

Lama Upazila Nirbahi Officer Khin 

Won Nu urged all to inform local mayor, 

commissioner, chairmen, newsmen 

and administration concerned of any 

unwanted situation in the wake of flood. 

Our Moulvibazar correspondent adds: 

flood situation in the district remains unchanged, 

with around three lakh people 

marooned by water while water-borne 

diseases are on the rise. 

According to sources in Kulaura 

Upazila Government Hospital in the 

district, children and the elderly are 

the most victims of diarrhoea and viral 

diseases. A total of 18 medical teams 

are working to treat the ailing people. 

Our Sunamganj correspondent said 

the Surma River water is flowing over 

the danger level. The intermittent 

heavy rain over the past few days, plus 

the water flow down the hill contribute 

to the rise of water level. 

According to the weather forecast 

center of Water Development Board, 

water level might increase in the next 

24 hours. • 

DU confers honorary 

degree to IAEA chief 

Yukiya Amano 

• DU Correspondent 

METROPOLITAN 

A special convocation ceremony 

was held at Dhaka 

University yesterday where 

the university Chancellor and 

Bangladesh President Abdul 

Hamid conferred the honorary 

Doctor of Laws degree to 

Yukiya Amano, director general 

of International Atomic 

Energy Agency (IAEA). 

The special ceremony was 

held yesterday afternoon at 

Sir Nabab Nawab Ali Chowdhury 

Senate Bhaban in the 

university. Deans of all DU 

faculties, department heads, 

senate members, teachers, 

and vice-chancellors of other 

universities were present at 

the ceremony. 

Addressing the ceremony, 

President Hamid said he believed 

that a bridge had been 

formed between the university 

and the IAEA through th 

convocation. 

“As the chancellor of the 

University of Dhaka, I am 

In Europe, Trump gets 

second chance to 

make first impression 


WORLD 

US President Donald Trump 

will learn this week whether 

he gets a second chance to 

make a first impression as he 

returns to Europe and has his 

first encounter with Russian 

President Vladimir Putin. 

Trump’s first visit to the 

continent in May stirred anxieties 

among European allies 

when he declined to endorse 

Nato’s common defence treaty 

explicitly and scolded world 

leaders for not spending more 

on their armed forces. This 

time, Trump will use stops in 

Poland and Germany to try to 

pull off the tricky balancing act 

of improving ties with Moscow 

at a time of particularly fraught 

relations while also presenting 

the US as a check against Russian 

aggression. 

Trump is leaving Washington 

for Europe on Wednesday. 

In what may be the mostwatched 

event of the four-day 

very happy to confer Doctor 

of Laws on you,” he said. 

Since its inception in 1957, 

the IAEA has been playing a 

pivotal role in the nuclear field 

and seeking to promote safe, 

secure and peaceful use of nuclear 

technologies and prevent 

the proliferation of nuclear 

weapons, the president noted. 

In his speech, Yukiya said 

the IAEA was trying to help 

developing countries with the 

utilisation of nuclear technologies 

for the benefit of common 

people. 

“Bangladesh is committed 

to the peaceful application of 

nuclear techniques to ensure 

food security, healthcare and 

power generation for the betterment 

of the country, and 

[the] IAEA will cooperate in 

those sectors.” 

Welcoming the IAEA chief, 

DU Vice-Chancellor AAMS 

Arefin Siddique said nonproliferation 

of nuclear weapons 

was urgent in today’s world as 

it was not possible to keep the 

technologies of nuclear weapons 

under wraps forever. • 

trip, the president will meet 

Putin on the sidelines of an 

international summit meeting 

in Hamburg, Germany. 

Every aspect of the meeting 

between the two unpredictable 

leaders is sure to be 

closely scrutinised as investigations 

press on into alleged 

Moscow meddling in the 2016 

election and potential Trump 

campaign collusion. 

The Trump-Putin encounter 

will be one of at least nine 

meetings the US president will 

have with foreign leaders while 

in Hamburg for a G20 summit 

of developed and developing 

nations, beginning Friday. 

Trump’s overseas trip will 

be his first since he announced 

that he was withdrawing the 

US from the landmark Paris 

climate agreement, to the 

regret of a number of world 

leaders who had lobbied 

Trump to remain in the 2015 

pact. The White House said 

Trump and Merkel discussed 

the climate issues in their conversation 

Monday. •

News 5 


Only 6 inspectors for 5,000 boilers in Bangladesh 

• Ibrahim Hossain Ovi 


After another industrial accident 

related to a boiler explosion in Gazipur 

yesterday that killed 11 people, 

the Dhaka Tribune has found that 

there are only six available inspectors 

to monitor over 5,000 boilers 

in the country. 

The blast yesterday morning occurred 

at Multifabs Ltd, a four-storey 

apparel factory in Kashimpur’s 

Nayapara area, while maintenance 

work was being done. 

The explosion at the boiler, located 

in a tin-roofed shed, partially 

damaged the nearby factory building. 

There are currently, 10 inspectors 

under the Office of the Chief 

Inspector of Boilers to inspect the 

boilers of all industrial capacity 

with only six inspectors on regular 

inspection duty. 

Neither the chief inspector nor 

the three deputy chief inspectors 

go on regular field visits. 

According to the Office of the 

Chief Inspector of Boilers, in the 

fiscal year 2015-16, the government 

inspected and permitted the 

operations of 5,035 boilers. It also 

approved the licence of operation 

to 578 imported boilers and locally 

made 263 boilers. 

On September 10, 2016, at least 

24 people were killed and more 

than 50 injured when a boiler at a 

packaging factory, Tampaco Foils 

Ltd, exploded in Tongi. 

“Since there is severe shortage 

Boiler blast kills 13 workers in Gazipur factory 

• Adil Sakhawat and Raihanul 

Islam Akand, Gazipur 


At least 13 people have been killed 

and over 50 others injured in a boiler 

explosion in a Gazipur factory, 

and the survivors blame lack of 

safety measures for the accident. 

The explosion took place in the 

four-storey apparel factory of Multifabs 

Ltd early yesterday. The victims 

include all the boiler operators 

of the factory, said Assistant Director 

Akhtaruzzaman of Fire Service 

and Civil Defence in Gazipur. 

Gazipur firefighters suspended 

their rescue operation in the factory 

last night as there was no more 

claims of missing persons. 

Nine of the victims were identified 

as of last night. They are: Assistant 

Engineer Mujibur Rahman, 50, 

Fireman Amin Hossain, 40, Boiler 

Operator Mahbubur Rahman, 25, 

Boiler In-Charge Abdus Salam, 32, 

and workers Biplob Chandra Shil, 

36, Gias Uddin Soial, 30, Ershad, 

Monsur and Solaiman. 

Gazipur district administration 

has handed six bodies over to their 

families so far and given each family 

Tk20,000 to cover funeral costs. 

The injured survivors are now 

undergoing treatment at different 

hospitals in Gazipur as well as in 

Dhaka Medical College Hospital. 

Shariful Islam, a cleaner and 

fireman in the factory who sustained 

injuries in his head and left 

hand, said: “Before the explosion, 

the safety bulb gave a signal and we 

heard some strange noise coming 

from the boiler. As we ran out, the 

authorities and the boiler operator 

said it was nothing. Shortly after 

that, there was a blast. Next thing 

of inspectors each inspector has 

to check 50 to 80 boilers a month 

within 20 working days. This time 

limitation creates an impossible 

amount of pressure on the inspectors 

and does not allow them to do 

their job properly,” said an inspector 

seeking anonymity. 

President of Bangladesh Export 

Oriented Garments Washing Industries 

Owners Association Gazi 

Ahmad Hasan said: “As per existing 

rules and regulations a boiler is 

supposed to be inspected every six 

months but because there are not 

enough inspectors in the department, 

the inspections do not happen 

regularly. 

“Sometimes the factory owners 

have to directly contact the 

inspectors for getting their boilers 

inspected.” 

Government officials admit 

there is a shortage of employees in 

the department and said they have 

to work on a priority basis with 

boiler inspections. 

“We have to inspect boilers on 

a priority basis, meaning the older 

ones get checked first and the 

newer ones end up on the waiting 

list,” said engineer Md Sharfat Ali, 

inspector of boilers. 

Currently, there are three boiler 

inspection offices in Dhaka, Chittagong 

and Rajshahi with just eight 

inspectors out of a total 30 staff 

members. 

I know, I was in a hospital.” 

The district administration 

promptly formed an eight-member 

probe committee led by Gazipur Executive 

Magistrate Rehanul Islam. 

Speaking to reporters after the 

visit, the committee members said 

they primarily found that the exploded 

boiler had expired on June 

24 and had not been replaced. 

“However, we are not yet sure 

whether the explosion happened 

due to the boiler’s expiration,” one 

of the members added. 

Gazipur Fire Service and Civil 

Defence has formed another 

three-member committee to investigate 

the incident. 

When contacted Multifabs Ltd 

Chairman and Managing Director 

Mahiuddin Faruqui said: “We will 

definitely compensate and provide 

jobs for the family members of 

those who died or were injured.”• 

In December last year, the Industries 

Ministry sent a proposal to 

the Public Administration Ministry 

to increase the number of staff employed 

there and upgrade the office 

of the chief inspector of boilers to 

cope with the rapid expansion of 

industries. 

The ministry also proposed a 

staff increase of 235 people and setting 

up five more offices in Gazipur, 

Narayanganj, Mymensingh, Khulna 

and Rangpur. 

“I think, there is a lack of cooperation 

between the Department 

of Inspection for Factories and Establishments 

and the Office of the 

Chief Inspector of Boilers. The lack 

of monitoring by the government is 

Firefighters look for dead bodies and survivors in the rubble of what was a four-storey apparel factory in Gazipur before a 

boiler exploded early on Tuesday 

MEHEDI HASAN 

Call for expanding Accord 

inspection to boilers 



DT 

also a problem in this case. 

“As a result, workers in factories 

become victims of industrial accidents. 

To fix this rise in number 

of deaths from industrial accidents 

the government needs to significantly 

increase the number of inspectors. 

“Otherwise, the death toll will 

keep rising from these accidents,” 

said Sirajul Islam Rony, president 

of the Bangladesh National Garment 

Workers Employees League. 

However, factory insiders admit 

that a lack of proper maintenance, 

unskilled machine operators and 

lack of enforcing and implementing 

laws are also responsible for 

industrial accidents like boiler explosions. 

President of Bangladesh Export 

Oriented Garments Washing Industries 

Owners Association Gazi 

Ahmad Hasan said: “Accidents can 

happen from a lack of maintenance 

and unskilled machine operators. If 

a boiler is well maintained, then the 

likelihood of accidents will be less. 

“Using older boilers is obviously 

more risky because they do not 

have the safety mechanisms like 

the newer ones that have several 

safety measures.” 

Chief Safety Inspector engineer 

Mohammad Abdul Mannan said 

the explosion at Multifabs Ltd was 

most likely caused by someone ill 

equipped to handle the machine. 

He said the boiler which had 

an automatic electric system was 

run manually and that caused the 

pressure to rise to the point of explosion. 

• 

International labour rights groups 

have called for including boiler inspection 

at Bangladesh RMG units 

by the Accord on Fire and Building 

Safety in Bangladesh. 

Referring to the Multifabs Ltd 

factory boiler blast in Gazipur, 

a statement issued yesterday by 

these organisations says: “The 

boiler explosion shows the danger 

of poorly maintained and uninspected 

boilers in the garment industry 

in Bangladesh.” 

The statement was issued by 

the Witness Signatories of the Accord 

on Fire and Building Safety 

in Bangladesh, Clean Clothes Campaign, 

International Labor Rights 

Forum, Worker Rights Consortium 

and Maquila Solidarity Network. 

They called for immediate expansion 

of the Accord safety standard 

and its inspection programme. 

They also called for addressing 

other safety hazards – defects in 

factory generators, gas lines and 

freight elevators – that have caused 

accidents, injury and death in garment 

factories. 

The statement says the 

organisations are in the process of 

confirming which brands sourced 

from Multifabs and have already 

identified at least one brand that 

is a member of the Alliance for 

Bangladesh Worker Safety, which 

also does not cover the safety of 

boilers. • 

TEMPERATURE FORECAST FOR TODAY 

LIGHT TO MODERATE 

RAIN LIKELY 

WEDNESDAY, JULY 5 

Dhaka 33 26 Chittagong 32 27 Rajshahi 33 26 Rangpur 31 25 Khulna 32 26 Barisal 33 27 Sylhet 31 25 

DHAKA 

TODAY 

TOMORROW 

SUN SETS 6:50PM 

SUN RISES 5:16AM 

YESTERDAY’S HIGH AND LOW 

34.2ºC 

23.5ºC 

Jessore 

Rangamati 

Source: Accuweather/UNB 

PRAYER 

TIMES 

Cox’s Bazar 30 26 

Fajr: 4:45am | Zohr: 1:15pm 

Asr: 5:15pm | Magrib: 7:00pm 

Esha: 8:45pm 

Source: Islamic Foundation

6 


DT 

News 

Khaleda Zia is likely to visit the UK this month 

• Manik Miazee 


BNP Chairperson Khaleda Zia is 

likely to visit the UK sometime this 

month for a medical check-up, according 

to party insiders. 

“She is planning to go to London, 

but the exact date of her trip 

has not been finalised,” said a senior 

party leader on Tuesday, seeking 

anonymity. 

Khaleda last travelled to London 

in 2015 for two months for medical 

check-up. She was supposed to follow 

up with a visit a year later, but 

it was postponed. 

A BNP leader said Khaleda was 

unable to attend to her medical 

needs because of the state the party 

was in. 

“She was supposed to go to London 

in 2016, but she was very busy 

with the party at the time.” 

Another BNP leader said Khaleda 

wants to speak to BNP leaders 

in London, including her son and 

BNP Senior Vice-Chairman Tarique 

Rahman who has been living the 

UK since 2008. 

The BNP leader said: “This is an 

important visit given the political 

climate in which the BNP is forced 

to operate now.” 

He hoped the party chairperson 

would have fruitful discussions 

about the course of the 

party’s direction and their 

plans for the upcoming general 

election. 

However, when contacted, a 

BNP standing committee member 

said he was not aware of her plans 

to go abroad. • 

Ershad: JaPa not a 

domestic opposition 

• Manik Miazee 

POLITICS 

Jatiya Party (JaPa) chief HM 

Ershad on Tuesday remarked 

that JaPa is not a domestic 

opposition but a front row 

party in the political arena. 

He made the comments 

during a party meeting at a 

Gulshan restaurant in Dhaka. 

Ershad said: “The last 

three years, we have supported 

the government in all sectors 

and for that reason people 

were thinking that we are 

a domestic opposition. 

“Now, we have parted our 

ways with the government 

and formed Moha Oikkya 

Jote. People of the country 

DHAKA TRIBUNE 

have started to rethink about 

us again. 

“I can now confidently say 

that we (JaPa) are not a domestic 

opposition.” 

During the meeting, the 

former autocrat also remarked 

that the Jatiya Party 

has a high chance of winning 

the next election and come to 

power. “We are preparing for 

that and counting down the 

days,” he said. 

“Without the participation 

of our party, the country will 

not hold any elections,” he 

added. 

Ershad, in reply to questions 

from reporters, said 

flash floods in Sylhet and the 

recent Rangamati landslide 

were curses from Allah. • 

SC extends stay on 

mobile court by two 

more weeks 


COURTS 

The Supreme Court has extended 

by two weeks its previous 

order that stayed a High 

Court verdict declaring illegal 

and unconstitutional the operation 

of mobile courts by 

executive magistrates. 

A seven-member bench of 

the Appellate Division, headed 

by Chief Justice Surendra 

Kumar Sinha, passed the order 

on Tuesday, following the 

three separate leave-to-appeal 

petitions filed challenging 

the verdict. 

On May 11, the High Court 

declared illegal and unconstitutional 

the operation of 

mobile courts conducted by 

executive magistrates. 

On May 14, the government 

filed the three provisional 

leave-to-appeal petitions with 

the SC seeking a stay on the 

High Court verdict. 

The government sought extension 

of its earlier stay order 

for four weeks, reports UNB. 

Later, on May 21, the Supreme 

Court adjourned the 

verdict of the High Court till 

Jul 2. •

News 

WEDNESDAY, 

7 

JULY 5, 2017 

DT 

JAHANGIRNAGAR VANDALISM CASE 

Court orders police to file 

probe report on Aug 7 

• Md Sanaul Islam Tipu 

COURTS 

A Dhaka court has ordered police 

to finish investigation and submit 

a report in a case filed against Jahangirnagar 

University students 

accusing them of vandalising the 

vice-chancellor’s residence and 

harassing teachers. 

Senior Judicial Magistrate Md 

Shahinur Rahman issued the order 

on Tuesday in presence of all 54 accused 

students. 

The Jahangirnagar authorities 

filed the case on May 27. 

A day before that, two Jahangirnagar 

students were killed in a 

road accident. Their aggrieved 

classmates and fellow students 

blocked the Dhaka-Aricha Highway 

the next day demanding damages 

for the victims’ families and safer 

roads. 

Police fired rubber bullets, used 

tear gas and charged batons as they 

drove the demonstrating students 

off the road. 

A number of students, university 

security officials and journalists 

were injured. 

The agitated students later 

went to the VC’s residence and 

vandalised it. Several teachers 

were allegedly assaulted by the 

students at that time. 

Hours later, the VC in an emergency 

syndicate meeting decided 

to file case against at least 50 students 

and shut the university indefinitely. 

The Ashulia police detained 

42 students from in front of the 

VC’s residence that night and later 

showed them as defendants in the 

case filed by Jahangirnagar authorities. 

A day later, Ashulia police 

sought court’s permission keep 

the 42 detainees behind bars until 

the investigation was finished 

but the court granted the accused 

bail. • 

Kishoreganj Economic Zone gets 

pre-qualification licence 

• Rafikul Islam 

BUSINESS 

Bangladesh Economic Zone Authority 

(BEZA) yesterday issued 

a pre-qualification licence to the 

Kishoreganj Economic Zone (KEZ), 

a concern of Nitol Niloy Group, at a 

hotel in Dhaka. 

The KEZ is expected to be ready 

in December this year, and create 

employment opportunities for 

around 15,000 people within the 

first five years, Nitol Niloy Group 

and KEZ Chairman Abdul Matlub 

Ahmed said in the licence-awarding 

ceremony. 

Abdul said: “Around 125 medium 

factories will be set up in 91.63 

acres of land in Pakundia upazila of 

Kishoreganj district by December 

as part of the government’s aim of 

creating 100 Economic Zones (EZs) 

by 2030 across the country.” 

KEZ have already been provided 

with electricity and gas lines. Some 

local and foreign organisations 

have expressed their interests regarding 

investment in the EZ, he 

added. 

BEZA was formed under Economic 

Zones Act 2010 to set up 100 

EZs by 2030 to attract more local 

and foreign investment and to create 

employment opportunities for 

more than 10 million people of the 

country. 

M Abul Kalam Azad, principal 

coordinator of SDG affairs at Prime 

Minister’s Office, was present at 

the ceremony as chief guest. Nitol 

Niloy Group and KEZ Chairman 

Abdul Matlub Ahmed attended the 

ceremony as special guest. 

BEZA Executive Chairman 

Paban Chowdhury presided over 

the event. • 

International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Director General Yukiya Amano 

speaks with Foreign Minister AH Mahmood Ali during a meeting in Dhaka PID 

IAEA to continue 

backing Rooppur 

nuclear project 

• Syed Zainul Abedin 

POWER 

The head of the world’s atomic 

energy watchdog restated his support 

for the Rooppur nuclear power 

plant project and commended 

Bangladesh for its peaceful use of 

nuclear energy on Tuesday. 

International Atomic Energy 

Agency (IAEA) Director General Yukiya 

Amano gave his backing to the 

project after touring the Rooppur 

site on July 3 and meeting yesterday 

with Foreign Minister AH Mahmood 

Ali in Dhaka, a press release said. 

Yukiya – who concludes his second 

visit to the country today - also 

praised the safety measures taken 

by the authorities at the plant. 

“The efforts made by Bangladesh 

are a testament to its sincerity 

and commitment towards nuclear 

safety,” he said. 

He also praised Prime Minister 

Sheikh Hasina for garnering widespread 

public acceptance of the 

project, and for her “strong political 

commitment towards nuclear 

disarmament and peaceful use of 

nuclear energy”. 

He assured the foreign minister 

that the agency would consider Bangladesh 

a “priority country and continue 

to provide them with necessary 

technical and advisory support” in 

the implementation of the Rooppur 

power project. However, he advised 

that the nuclear regularity authority 

in Bangladesh be strengthened. 

AH Mahmood told the IAEA 

chief that in line with Bangladesh’s 

strict adherence to international 

standards on nuclear energy, the 

government has recently accepted 

the Amendment to the Convention 

on Physical Protection of Nuclear 

Materials (CPPNM). 

The minister handed a copy of 

the Instrument of Acceptance to 

Yukiya, and assured him of Bangladesh’s 

“steady economic development 

and growing demand for 

energy and power.” 

Yukiya pledged to send regular 

inspection teams to the Rooppur 

plant, in response to a request from 

the minister. • 

Sri Lanka ends decades-long occupation of Tamil port 

• AFP, Colombo 

WORLD 

54 acres in Myliddy, Jaffna including its fishing harbour, released by Sri Lankan 

Army after occupying it for 27 years, 187 families expected to return TWITTER 

Sri Lanka’s military said Tuesday 

it has ended its occupation of a 

major fishing harbour after 27 

years and allowed Tamil civilians 

in the former war zone to take 

back their land. 

Security forces withdrew from 

the Mayliddy harbour in the Jaffna 

peninsula on Monday, bowing 

to the long-standing demands 

of fishermen and their families 

from the minority Tamil 

community who have been living 

in camps for displaced people 

since June 1990. 

“Accordingly, 187 families... 

are able to return to their original 

lands and resume their fishing 

livelihood after an absence of 

nearly 30 years,” the army said in 

a statement. 

Sri Lanka’s 37-year-long Tamil 

separatist war ended in 2009, 

but government forces still 

maintain a large presence in the 

former conflict zones and keep 

a close watch on the local Tamil 

population. 

The military, which is dominated 

by the island’s Sinhalese 

majority, also runs hotels, transport 

services and other enterprises 

in competition with local Tamil 

businesses. 

The UN has been pressing Colombo 

to step up reconciliation 

efforts and reduce the military’s 

presence in former war zones, including 

the Jaffna peninsula, the 

heartland of minority Tamils. 

Tamil rebels fighting for a separate 

homeland for the ethnic 

minority were defeated in a final 

military push after decades of 

conflict. 

Sri Lanka faced international 

censure during the regime of former 

president Mahinda Rajapakse, 

who refused to investigate 

allegations that up to 40,000 minority 

Tamil civilians perished in 

the final stages of the war. 

His successor, Maithripala 

Sirisena, came to power after 

promising reconciliation and accountability 

for war-time atrocities, 

but rights groups say progress 

on both fronts has been 

slow. •

8 


DT 

News 

NSC sales in 11 months 240% higher 

than Fiscal Year 2017 target 

• Shariful Islam 

ECONOMY 

The sale of National Savings 

Certificates (NSC) in the first 11 

months of just-concluded Fiscal 

Year 2016-17 crossed the target by 

around 240%. 

According to the latest data 

of National Savings Department 

(NSD) revealed yesterday, from 

July to May of the outgoing fiscal 

year the government had sold 

savings certificates amounting to 

Tk46,967 crore while the target 

set for the fiscal year was Tk19,610 

crore. 

In May of FY’17, the sale of 

savings certificates amounted to 

Tk4,869, a Tk1,264 crore increase, 

compared to the same period a year 

ago that sold the savings instruments 

worth Tk3,605 crore. 

In the month of May alone, the 

government sold NSC of Tk4,86 

crore while the sales in the month 

of June are expected to be doubled, 

NSD officials apprehended. 

In June, a large number of people 

lined in front of the central 

bank, other commercial banks, 

Post Office and NSD centre to buy 

savings certificates after Finance 

Minister AMA Muhith hinted at decreasing 

the interest rate from the 

current fiscal year. 

Talking to the Dhaka Tribune, 

economists have expressed concern 

over the increased sales of 

NSC. They slammed the government 

for depending on NSC sale 

rather than borrowing from other 

banks. 

Former chief economist of 

Bangladesh Bank Biru Paksha Paul 

told the Dhaka Tribune, “If you 

look at the bank loan interest rate, 

it is almost half the amount of the 

savings certificates.” 

Now the government can take 

short term loan from banks at 

2.86% interest rate and long-term 

loan at less than 7% interest rate, 

but it is paying between 11.04% 

and 11.76% interest rate on the sale 

of savings certificates. 

The government financing to 

the NSC sales is the most expensive 

financing in the Indian sub-continent, 

he said. 

“I have already said several 

times that it is the most expensive 

financing and self-destructive 

strategy. The interest liability restricted 

the development budget 

as well as affected the banking sector.” 

The principal reason behind 

the excess liquidity in the banking 

sector is the higher interest rate on 

NSC, according to Paul. 

He suggested the government 

decrease the interest rate and borrow 

from the banks to cover the 

budget deficit. 

Asked about exceeding the total 

fiscal year target by 240% in 11 

months, he said the government 

always sets an unrealistic target. 

“In June of FY’17, the sales 

would cross Tk50,000 crore while 

the government set only Tk19,610 

crore.” 

If the government does not decrease 

the interest rate on savings 

certificates, the sale would hit 

Tk60,000 crore in the current fiscal 

year, added the economist. 

Decision on NSC interest rate after 

15 July 

The government generally depends 

on NSC sale to meet the 

budget deficit, but it has now become 

a burden for the government 

as people have been more interested 

in buying the NSCs for an uncertainty 

in the share market and 

lower interest rate on bank deposit. 

During FY’11, the government 

could not reach the sales target, 

but after the crash in stock market 

in 2012, the government increased 

the NSC interest rate in line with 

the bank deposit rate. 

After that the bank deposit interest 

rate came down, but the 

government only decreased the 

interest rate once in 2015. “On May 

23 in 2015, the government decreased 

the interest rate in different 

schemes.” 

According to the latest decision, 

the interest rate on family 

savings certificate is fixed at 

11.52% which was 13.4% previously. 

Pensioner savings certificate 

rate was fixed at 11.76% instead of 

previous 13.19%. 

Consequently, the postal savings 

certificate rate was fixed at 

11.28%, which was 13.24%, while 

five-year savings certificate rate 

was fixed at 11.28% in lieu of 13.19% 

and the three-months scheme of 

savings certificate rate was fixed 

at 11.04%, which was 12.59% previously. 

Meanwhile, the government has 

planned to decrease the savings 

certificate interest again. 

AMA Muhith in his budget 

speech declared that the interest 

rates of NSC would be decreased 

from this month. Earlier, he also 

hinted the same in a meeting with 

The postal savings certificate rate was fixed at 11.28%, which was 

13.24%, while five-year savings certificate rate was fixed at 11.28% in lieu 

of 13.19% and the three-months scheme of savings certificate rate was 

fixed at 11.04%, which was 12.59% previously 

leaders of Dhaka Chambers of 

Commerce and Industry (DCCI) on 

May 21. 

According to the Finance Ministry 

sources, the decision of lowering 

the NSC interest rate as well 

as the modified sales regulations 

would be taken after July 15. 

The new interest rate and regulations 

would be executed since 

the date of passing the order. • 

Fed, BB, Swift to 

jointly work for 

recovery of $81m 

• Shariful Islam 

ECONOMY 

The Federal Reserve Bank of New 

York, Bangladesh Bank and Swift 

have vowed to work together to 

recover the entire proceeds of the 

biggest heist in the history of Bangladesh. 

On February 5, 2016, the country’s 

central bank lost $81m from 

its account held with the Federal 

Reserve in an audacious cyber 

theft carried out by as yet unidentified 

hackers. 

Representatives from the three 

parties released a joint statement 

after meeting in New York on Monday 

as part of their ongoing discussions 

about the incident. 

“The participants remain committed 

to working together to recover 

the entire proceeds of the 

crime, bring the perpetrators to 

justice in cooperation with law 

enforcement from other jurisdictions, 

and lend support to multilateral 

international efforts to 

further protect the global financial 

system from these types of 

attacks in the future,” the statement 

said. 

Finance Minister AMA Muhith 

recently told parliament that 

Bangladesh had been successful in 

recovering $34.63m of the stolen 

money. 

On Monday, the Fed, BB and 

Swift further said they had reviewed 

steps to remediate the 

event and progress towards rebuilding 

the SWIFT-related infrastructure 

in Bangladesh, “to help 

ensure that its correspondent 

banking operations function in a 

highly secure manner”. • 

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Dhaka Tribune

Indian forces kill 3 rebels in 

Kashmir, 35 civilians injured 


WORLD 

News 

9 


DT 

Government forces killed 

three rebels in a gunbattle 

in the Indian-controlled part 

of Kashmir while 35 civilians 

were injured in anti-India 

protests and clashes in solidarity 

with militants, police 

and witnesses said Tuesday. 

The 24-hour long fighting 

erupted Monday after 

soldiers and counterinsurgency 

police raided southern 

Bahmnoo village on a 

tip rebels were hiding there, 

police Inspector-General 

Muneer Ahmed Khan said. 

Witnesses said the fighting 

ended Tuesday morning 

after troops blasted and destroyed 

four homes during 

the fighting. 

Khan said soldiers were 

searching for the body of a 

fourth militant in the debris. 

At least six police and 

soldiers were injured in the 

fighting. 

The gunfight triggered intense 

clashes after hundreds 

of civilians marched near 

Kashmiri people carry the coffin of Indian policeman Tasveer 

Ahmad during his funeral procession at Srinagar, Kashmir 

AP 

the site to help the trapped 

militants escape. 

Government forces fired 

bullets, shotgun pellets and 

tear gas to stop the march 

by rock-throwing protesters 

who were chanted slogans 

such as “Go India, go back” 

and “We want freedom.” 

At least 35 civilians were 

injured, including five with 

bullet wounds. 

On Tuesday, anti-India 

protests and clashes spread 

to at least three other areas 

in volatile southern Kashmir. 

Reports said hundreds 

of men and women threw 

rocks after government 

forces fired tear gas shells 

to stop the demonstrators 

from conducting protest 

marches. 

India and Pakistan control 

part of Kashmir, but both 

claim the Himalayan territory 

in its entirety. Rebel groups 

have been fighting since 1989 

for Kashmir’s independence 

or merger with neighboring 

Pakistan. Nearly 70,000 people 

have been killed in the 

fighting and the ensuing Indian 

crackdown. •

10 


DT 

News 

Panda diplomacy: Merkel and Xi pushed 

into awkward embrace before G20 

• Reuters, Berlin 

WORLD 

When Chinese President Xi Jinping 

took the stage in Davos in January 

and painted China as a champion 

of free markets ready to fill the 

global leadership role vacated by 

the United States, German officials 

couldn’t help but chuckle. 

Their expectation was that Donald 

Trump, due to be inaugurated 

as US president days later, would 

quickly temper his protectionist 

campaign rhetoric and patch up 

ties with Western allies, leaving little 

space for Beijing. 

Six months later, as Xi arrives 

in Berlin for a highly symbolic visit 

with German Chancellor Angela 

Merkel before a Group of 20 summit 

in Hamburg, what seemed laughable 

in the thin mountain air of the Swiss 

Alps is not so absurd any more. 

Despite concerns about human 

rights in China, frustrations over 

market access and worries about 

a wave of corporate takeovers in 

Europe by state-run Chinese firms, 

Germany is being pushed into an 

awkward embrace with Beijing as 

Trump doubles down on his promise 

to put “America First”. 

For Merkel, the G20 host, Xi is an 

ally and Trump a troublesome rival 

on some of the most important issues 

on the agenda in Hamburg, 

from trade and climate change to 

economic development in Africa. 

And so, Merkel will dine with Xi 

on Tuesday and plot G20 strategy 

with him over lunch on Wednesday. 

After that, the two leaders will 

indulge in classic “panda diplomacy”, 

opening a $10 million Chinese 

compound in Berlin Zoo for Meng 

Meng and Jiao Qing, two giant pandas 

that China is lending to Germany 

as a token of friendship. 

North Korea’s ICBM capability: What now? 

WORLD 

North Korea declared Tuesday that the 

country had finally achieved its dream 

of building an intercontinental ballistic 

missile, saying it would “fundamentally 

put an end to the US nuclear war 

threat and blackmail”. 

The Hwasong-14 ICBM reached an 

altitude of about 2,802km and flew 

933km for 39 minutes before hitting 

a target area on the sea off the east 

coast, the North said. 

Pyongyang is subject to multiple 

sets of United Nations sanctions over 

its atomic and missile programmes, 

which it says it needs to protect itself 

against a possible invasion. Here are 

five key questions on the issue. 

Is this really an ICBM? 

While South Korean and US armies 

confirmed some details of Tuesday’s 

launch, they did not immediately 

describe it as an ICBM. 

The US Pacific Command called it a 

“land-based, intermediate range” missile, 

Moscow described it as “medium 

range” Russian news agencies reported. 

What difference would a North 

Korean ICBM make? 

Pyongyang has staged five atomic 

tests, including two last year, with the 

Chinese President Xi Jinping talks to German Chancellor Angela Merkel during the 

G20 Summit in Hangzhou, Zhejiang province on September 4, 2016 REUTERS 

regime stepping up efforts to produce 

a nuclear warhead small enough to fit 

into a missile. 

With the North’s threat growing significantly, 

possession of an ICBM would 

give Pyongyang key leverage to seek to 

squeeze more concessions from the US 

in potential future negotiations. 

What can the international 

community do? 

The North is already under a thick 

layer of UN and bilateral sanctions over 

its past missile and nuclear tests conducted 

in violation of UN resolutions. 

So the option for the UN to take 

further action may be limited, a point 

echoed by former US president Barack 

Obama on Monday. 

Obama, speaking in a Seoul political 

forum, said the North was “already so 

isolated” from global commerce and 

finance that it was difficult for outside 

sanctions to have a real impact. 

One potential option would be 

punishing not only the North but 

also firms dealing with the country, 

so-called “secondary sanctions” that 

could hit firms in China, the North’s top 

trading partner. 

What is the Trump factor? 

US President Donald Trump earlier 

dismissed the prospect of an ICBM 

from the North reaching the US mainland, 

tweeting “It won’t happen!” 

He took to Twitter to slam Kim Jong- 

Un over the latest missile launch. “Does 

this guy have anything better to do with 

his life?” he tweeted on Tuesday. 

Tension has been high since Trump 

took power, especially after he suggested 

possible military option against 

the North. But recently US officials 

have suggested such actions, which 

could see Seoul devastated by a Northern 

response, remain a last resort. 

Could China save the day? 

The North heavily relies on its powerful 

neighbour to buy its resources 

exports, a major source of hard currency, 

as well as other trade through the 

increasingly porous border. 

Beijing made a rare gesture of pressure 

on the North earlier this year by 

banning coal imports from the country. 

But it is unclear whether China would 

be willing to impose measures that 

could generate instability in the North. 

Beijing’s worst-case scenario is a 

collapse of the regime in Pyongyang, 

which could see an influx of refugees 

from the impoverished neighbour, and 

worse yet, US troops stationed on its 

border in a united Korea. • 

Source: AFP 

Big power tensions 

The visit, a month after Chinese 

Premier Li Keqiang travelled to 

Berlin to meet Merkel, comes at 

an extremely sensitive time for 

big-power relations. 

Trump is ratcheting up pressure 

on Beijing to restrain North Korea, 

which on Tuesday announced that 

it had successfully test-launched 

an ICBM. 

His administration is threatening 

punitive trade measures 

against China on steel, a step that 

could also hit German exporters. 

Meanwhile a US warship sailed 

near a disputed island in the South 

China Sea on Sunday, prompting 

Beijing to complain of a “serious 

political and military provocation”. 

Against that backdrop, Xi needs 

allies, and Germany is top of the list. 

Eberhard Sandschneider, a China 

expert at Berlin’s Free University, 

said Merkel’s main goal was to gather 

as many allies as possible on climate, 

trade and Africa before the G20 summit, 

describing the encounter as a 

pure “coordination meeting”. 

In an interview with the German 

magazine Wirtschaftwoche, 

Merkel expressed concern about 

the treatment of German firms in 

China and attempts by Beijing to 

play European countries off against 

each other. • 

Man beaten 

to death for 

protesting 

stalking of wife 

• Md Anwar Hossain 

Chowdhury, Chapainawabganj 

NATION 

A man was reportedly beaten to 

death by a criminal yesterday at Shibganj 

upazila in Chapainawabganj as 

he protested stalking of his wife. 

The deceased was Tariqul Islam, 

son of late Bhahdur of Shibnarayanpur 

village. 

According police sources, neighbor 

Monirul Islam used to tease the 

wife of Tariqul over cell phone. 

Recently, Tariqul warned Monirul 

not to stalk his wife and complained 

about the matter to his 

father. 

But he continued to stalk the 

woman, said locals. 

On the day, the duo got locked in 

altercation when he went to Monirul’s 

house to protest the incident. 

At one stage, Monirul hit on the 

head of Tariqul with sharp weapon 

leaving him critically injured. 

Later, he was sent to Shibganj 

Upazila Health Complex where on 

duty doctor declared him dead. 

Sub-Inspector Kamruzzaman of 

Shibganj police station said they 

had arrested Monirul. 

A case was filed in this connection, 

he said.• 

Bangladesh, Sri Lanka hold 

Foreign Office Consultations 

• Syed Zainul Abedin 

FOREIGN AFFAIRS 

Ex Jammat ameer sued for dowry 

• Abdullah Al Dulal, Rajshahi 

NATION 

A dowry case was filed yesterday 

against former ameer of Rajshahi 

city unit Jamaat Ataur Rahman by 

his second wife Rasheda Begum. 

Rasheda filed the case with Rajshahi 

Chief Metropolitan Court in 

the afternoon, said court sources. 

According to the case statement, 

Ataur married Rasheda Begum on 

The Foreign Office Consultations 

(FOC) between Bangladesh and Sri 

Lanka was held on Monday. 

Foreign Secretary Md Shahidul 

Haque and his Sri Lankan counterpart 

Esala Weerakoo discussed bilateral 

issues during the secretary 

level meeting held at state guest 

house Padma around 3pm. 

Wishing anonymity, a foreign 

ministry official told the Dhaka Tribune 

that a total of 30 issues, including 

bilateral trade and connectivity, 

were discussed in the meeting. 

Issues related to establishing relations 

between Bangladesh Standards 

and Testing Institution (BSTI) 

and Sri Lanka Standards Institution 

(SLSI), information sharing, nurse 

training, bilateral cooperation in 

RMG sector were also highlighted 

in the discussion. 

The meeting was scheduled to 

be held on May 25 but the date was 

postponed due to sudden reshuffle 

in the Sri Lankan ministry. • 

April 11, 2016 and promised her to 

disclose the matter after the political 

situation would be okay. 

But, as Rasheda, with her younger 

brothers, went to Ataur’s house 

on June 2, he did not accept her, 

rather demanded Tk5 lakh dowry. 

Ataur Rahman would accept 

Rasheda if she gave the said 

amount to him, the statement said. 

The court, however, took the case 

into account and asked Ataur to appear 

before it within September 4.•

News 11 


UP chairman sent to jail for attempted rape of schoolgirl 

DT 

• Md Tazul Islam, Gaibandha 

NATION 

Mostafizur Rahman Badal, chairman 

of Lakshmipur union council 

and head master of Longabazar 

Girls’ High School was sent to jail 

yesterday for the attempted rape of 

a 12-year-old school girl. 

According to police sources, 

Mostafizur Rahman Badal used to 

harass the girl when she went to 

the school. 

After the girl’s family members 

were informed about the matter, 

they took the girl to another school 

in the area and warned Badal not to 

disturb her. 

But Badol continued to stalk her 

when the girl returned home from 

her school. 

According to the court statement, 

on May 27, Badol entered the 

house of the girl and tried to violate 

her as the family members were 

not home. 

Hearing the girl’s screams, 

neighbours and locals rushed to 

the spot and rescued her. However, 

the Lakshmipur union chairman 

managed to flee scene on a 

motorcycle. 

Later, an aunt of the girl filed 

a case with Gaibandha police 

station. 

Public Prosecutor AKM Muhibul 

Haque said the court had sent him 

to jail after he surrendered in the 

afternoon. • 

Ericsson appoints new president 


METROPOLITAN 

Westin Dhaka Earns 2017 TripAdvisor 

Certificate of Excellence 


METROPOLITAN 

Todd Ashton has been appointed 

president of Ericsson 

in Bangladesh, Malaysia and 

Sri Lanka as of July 1, 2017 

Ashton has been with Ericsson 

for 19 years, having 

held senior leadership roles 

across both North America 

and Europe. 

He began his career in OSS 

service, software sales and 

delivery within the Ericsson 

Hewlett-Packard joint venture 

in Sweden. 

Ashton said: “Bangladesh 

has consistently registered 

growth in subscriber additions 

in the past years. Together 

with our customers, 

we will continue to focus on 

ensuring that the benefits 

of connectivity are enjoyed 

by its citizens. I’m excited to 

take on this challenge and to 

have the opportunity to lead 

such a talented team in this 

dynamic and rapidly developing 

country. We are absolutely 

committed to helping our 

customers to bring creative 

The Westin Dhaka received a 

TripAdvisor Certificate of Excellence 

yesterday. 

The certificate celebrates 

hospitality businesses that 

have earned great traveler 

reviews on TripAdvisor, one 

of the world’s largest travel 

websites, over the past year. 

Recipients include accommodations, 

restaurants and 

attractions located all over 

the world that have continually 

delivered a quality customer 

experience. 

Shakawath Hossain, 

Director of Operations and 

acting General Manager 

at The Westin Dhaka said: 

“We value TripAdvisor’s 

Certificate of Excellence 

highly as it reconfirms our 

excellence in service. Due 

to great feedback from 

our guests, we have been 

receiving this certificate 

consecutively for many 

years now. We believe this a 

true reflection of our guests 

satisfaction and it inspires 

us to provide even better 

service every day.” 

and innovative new services 

and solutions to the market.” 

“Todd’s experience in 

driving innovation and developing 

new capabilities in both 

mature and developing markets 

will allow us to further 

build long-term partnerships 

with Ericsson customers in 

Bangladesh, Malaysia and Sri 

Lanka. These partnerships 

will be key to accelerating 

growth and transformation in 

these markets,” said Head of 

Ericsson Market Area South 

East Asia, Oceania and India, 

Nunzio Mirtillo. • 

“TripAdvisor is excited to 

announce the recipients of 

the 2017 Certificate of Excellence, 

which celebrates hospitality 

businesses that have 

consistently received strong 

praise and ratings from travelers,” 

said Vice President of 

Industry Marketing, TripAdvisor 

Heather Leisman, “This 

recognition allows us to publicly 

honour businesses that 

are actively engaging with 

customers and using feedback 

to help travelers identify 

and confidently book the 

right property at the right 

price.” • 

Five lucky fans won a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to travel to China with Shakib Al Hasan, one the 

nation’s most prominent cricket players, on June 29-July 4, 2017, organised by Huawei Consumer Business 

Group. The contestants were selected in a contest titled ‘Who Doesn’t Want to go to China with Shakib’. 

Participants were required to take a quiz and shoot selfies at Huawei outlets nationwide 

COURTESY

DT 

12 

Editorial 


TODAY 

1.5 to stay alive 

The world is already warmer by a 

degree, and a further dramatic rise in 

global temperature will be catastrophic 

for the Earth 

PAGE 13 

BIGSTOCK 

Where can the 

Rohingya go? 

The government needs to urge UNHCR, 

the UN Refugee Agency, to help in 

resettling the Rohingya refugees to third 

countries 

PAGE 14 

Get to the bottom of 

Farhad Mazhar abduction 

There are questions that still need to be 

answered. 

Columnist and writer Farhad Mazhar went 

missing from near his home in Dhaka, and 

was later found by RAB in Jessore, but when it comes 

to the full story, we are still in the dark. 

It is shocking that such a prominent personality 

could be abducted in this fashion, and so details 

of what happened in those 18 hours need to be 

uncovered and revealed to the public. 

There is no need to jump to any conclusion as to 

who might be behind this or what their motive might 

be. 

But there needs to be a thorough investigation to 

get to the bottom of this disturbing incident. 

Law enforcement did a good job in finding Mazhar. 

Next they must focus on finding the facts. 

There is no need to 

jump to any conclusion 

as to who might be 

behind this or what 

their motive might be 

How to stop 

Kim Jong-un 

The mayhem that would result from any 

US military invasion to find and destroy 

Pyongyang’s bombs would envelop 

most of the Korean peninsula 

Be heard 

Write to Dhaka Tribune 

FR Tower, 8/C Panthapath, 

Shukrabad, Dhaka-1207 

Send us your Op-Ed articles: 

opinion.trib@gmail.com 

www.dhakatribune.com 

Join our Facebook community: 

https://www.facebook.com/ 

DhakaTribune. 

The views expressed in opinion 

articles are those of the authors 

alone and they are not the 

official view of Dhaka Tribune 

or its publisher. 

PAGE 15 

A healthy remittance flow 

can take us forward 

Remittance numbers have not been good 

this year. 

The downward trend has partly been 

attributed to the fall in oil prices in the 

global market, and it should be a cause for concern 

if Bangladeshis in the Middle East have found 

themselves jobless or with reduced incomes 

because of it. 

However, it has also been suggested that official 

remittance numbers have been low because of the 

rise in the use of illegal channels, such as “digital 

hundi,” which are basically mobile financial 

services. 

It is important to get the real remittance 

numbers to get the true picture, and help hardworking 

Bangladeshis abroad to send their money 

in a legal way that is quick and simple. 

It is important to 

help hard-working 

Bangladeshis abroad 

send their money in a 

legal way

Opinion 13 

DT 


1.5 to stay alive 

The 1.5C limit is our only way to survival 

• Shaila Mahmud 

People in Somalia face 

famine conditions, 

triggered by prolonged 

drought. About 30 million 

people in East African countries 

are on the brink of undergoing 

alarming level of food insecurity. 

Researchers observe the 

increase in salinity intrusion in 

Bangladesh by about 26%, leading 

to scarcity of fresh drinking 

water and adversely affecting the 

livelihoods of people living in the 

coastal regions. 

Scientists see the greening 

of Antarctica’s pristine white 

landscape, fostered by higher 

temperature and warming by half 

a degree per decade. 

The Svalbard Global Seed Vault 

-- a “fail-safe” repository buried 

deep in an Arctic mountain side 

to protect the Earth’s food supply 

during an apocalypse -- flooded 

last month due to melting of ice. 

Fishing villages along 

Honduras’ Caribbean coast see 

how rising of the sea level devours 

their inhabitable land. 

All these may sound like bits 

and pieces from a dystopian 

novel, but these are simply the 

consequences of climate change 

that the world is experiencing 

now. 

The world is already warmer by 

Island States (AOSIS) showed 

their reservations regarding this 

long-set global temperature limit 

in 2008. 

In an AOSIS commissioned 

study by the scientists at the 

Potsdam Institute for Climate 

Impact Research on the impacts of 

2C rise put forward the need for a 

safer limit for the survival of the 

island states. 

In 2009 in Copenhagen, the 

small island states and African 

nations with Tuvalu in lead 

called for including the 1.5C limit 

in global climate negotiations. 

Finally, the Copenhagen Accord 

enshrined 2C as the central goal 

for global climate politics, with a 

provision for revisiting 1.5 degrees 

in 2015. 

In 2011, former executive 

secretary of the United Nations 

Framework Convention for 

Climate Change (UNFCCC) 

Christina Figures acknowledged: 

“Two degrees is not enough -- we 

should be thinking of 1.5 degrees. 

If we are not headed to 1.5 degrees 

we are in big trouble.” 

The recognition gave the 1.5 

limit the support to go those extra 

miles to set a global goal to “stay 

alive.” 

Finally, in 2015, at the 21st 

session of the Conference of 

Parties (COP), the 1.5 limit was 

adopted as the safer limit to 

The world is already warmer by a degree, and a 

further dramatic rise in global temperature will 

be catastrophic for the Earth 

Things are heating up 

BIGSTOCK 

a degree, and a further dramatic 

rise in global temperature will 

be catastrophic for the Earth’s 

eco-system as well as for socioeconomic 

conditions. 

The safe limit 

In December 2015 at Paris, 

representatives from 196 nations 

adopted the ambitious Paris 

Agreement to keep temperature 

“well below 2C above preindustrial 

levels and pursuing 

efforts to limit the temperature 

rise to 1.5C.” 

It raises the question: How did 

the number 1.5C make its way to 

the historic climate pact? 

Two degrees was considered 

to be the safer limit for as long as 

12 years till the Alliance of Small 

determine the very existence of 

vulnerable nations in the world 

map. 

Although this half a degree 

difference may seem negligible 

in figure, but have greater 

significance in the long run. 

A study published in Earth 

System Dynamics analysed the 

climate models used in IPCC’s 

Fifth Assessment Report, where 

they considered 11 different 

indicators including extreme 

weather events, water availability, 

crop yields, coral reef degradation, 

and sea-level rise to forecast 

impacts at 1.5 degrees and 2 

degrees of warming. 

The study suggests “significant 

differences” in all the impacts 

including inundation (due to 

sea-level rise and glacier melting), 

scarcity of fresh water, issue 

of food security, unbearable 

heat waves in summer, and 

unpredictable precipitation rate. 

Is it possible to achieve this highly 

ambitious goal? 

In the run up to Paris, all the 

parties to the convention were 

called for submitting their national 

pledges to reduce global warming. 

UN Environment suggest that 

the current national pledges 

or the Nationally Determined 

Contributions (NDCs) will reduce 

the 2030 emissions from around 

64.7 Gt to 53-53.9 Gt with a gap in 

emissions reduction of 12-14 Gt to 

be on track for a 2C limit. 

While in theory, the success 

to pursue the ambitious goal 

of 1.5 limit by 2100 is yet to be 

confirmed, the US’s withdrawal 

from the Paris Agreement has 

weakened the hope among many. 

It has endangered about 1 

billion people to the Climate 

Vulnerable Forum (CVF), states 

Ethiopia, the Chair of CVF in a 

statement released on June 9. 

Although this looks like a huge 

setback to the efforts to curb 

global warming, however climate 

experts around the world opine 

otherwise. 

Donald Trump’s climate 

change denial has been a major 

impediment in this regard. 

“If the US stays in it (the 

Paris Agreement), the rest of 

the world would have to face 

negative consequence of having 

to fight them on every little issue 

in the negotiations, as they will 

inevitably try to hold back all our 

actions,” says Dr Saleemul Huq, 

Director, International Centre for 

Climate Change and Development. 

In addition to this, Carbon Brief 

in a report last month predicted 

that there were only four more 

years to go before we fully burn 

down the 1.5 carbon budget. 

As we are already a degree 

above the pre-industrial level, a 

collective and more ambitious 

approach towards achieving the 

goals are to be made. • 

Shaila Mahmud is a Climate Tracker 

Fellow for 1.5C Survive and Thrive 

Campaign.

14 


DT 

Opinion 

Where can the Rohingya go? 

Resettlement is the only way to solve the Rohingya crisis 

cooperation and coordination 

between states and UNHCR are 

required. 

Bangladesh’s burden 

However, not all countries equally 

welcome refugees or show a 

willingness to embrace them. 

In Europe, Germany has 

received the most asylum 

applications so far -- more than 

315,000 by the end of October 

2015. In contrast, the UK, by 2020, 

has pledged to take in 20,000 

refugees who are currently living 

in camps in Syria, Turkey, and 

Jordan. 

As successful 

third-country 

resettlements 

are apparent, 

the Bangladeshi 

government needs 

to urge UNHCR, the 

UN Refugee Agency, 

to help in resettling 

the Rohingya 

refugees to third 

countries 

An obvious solution to a never-ending problem 

REUTERS 

• Md Shidur Rahman 

Bangladesh, being a 

country of a large 

population, a higher 

unemployment rate, small 

land area, and emerging economy, 

is struggling to accommodate 

the continuous Rohingya refugee 

influx. 

The UN estimates that, 

since October last year, around 

74,000 new Rohingya escaped to 

Bangladesh due to the murder and 

persecution at Northern Rakhine 

State in Myanmar. Furthermore, 

the Bangladesh authorities 

estimate that around half a 

million unregistered and 30,000 

registered refugees are staying in 

Bangladesh. 

In spite of neither being 

a party to the 1951 UNHCR 

Refugee Convention nor to the 

1967 protocol, Bangladesh has 

been hosting this considerable 

number of Rohingya refugee 

population since the 1970s. This 

response from Bangladesh shows 

generosity towards the vulnerable 

and oppressed Rohingya; yet 

the Bangladeshi authorities are 

often seen to forcefully return the 

Rohingya. 

However, it seems too difficult 

for Bangladesh to shoulder the 

responsibility for this extra 

number of refugees and asylumseekers. 

This is an additional 

pressure on her economy, 

population and land. Hence, 

attempting for third-country 

resettlement could be an effective 

solution for Bangladesh to 

overcome the Rohingya crisis. 

It’s been done before 

Resettlement has become a vital 

tool for international protection 

and a durable solution for some of 

the most vulnerable people in the 

world. 

In October 1956, thousands of 

Hungarian refugees (180,000) fled 

to its neighbouring country Austria 

when the uprising in Hungry was 

suppressed by the Soviet Union. 

Another successful refugee 

resettlement program helped more 

than 100,000 Bhutanese refugees 

find homes in third countries. 

In the early 1990s, King Jigme 

Singye Wangchuk forced hundreds 

of thousands of Bhutanese (of 

Nepalese origin) to leave their 

homeland. 

The vast majority moved to 

eastern Nepal. In spite of not 

being party to the UN Refugee 

Convention, Nepal hosted these 

refugees from Bhutan. In terms of 

repatriation of these refugees, 15 

rounds of bilateral talks had taken 

place between the governments of 

Bhutan and Nepal, but no refugees 

were repatriated. 

The Syrian refugee resettlement 

program is a recent example of a 

successful third-country refugee 

resettlement. Since the conflict 

started in 2011, millions of Syrians 

have been internally displaced. 

The neighbouring countries 

generously have hosted the Syrian 

refugees, and many refugee camps 

are established with the help of 

UNHCR. However, some of these 

countries complain purely because 

of the pressure it puts on them. 

In order to relocate the 

Syrian refugees from these host 

countries, and Syria itself, the 

Syria Core Group (SCG) was 

formed in 2013. The SCG aimed 

to obtain sustainable multi-year 

pledges from the resettlement 

states. Over 224,000 spaces, 

so far, have been pledged for 

resettlement and other pathways. 

The above three examples of 

resettlement show that the thirdcountry 

resettlement refers to the 

internationalisation of refugee 

resettlement in which enhanced 

As successful third-country 

resettlements are apparent, the 

Bangladeshi government needs 

to urge UNHCR, the UN Refugee 

Agency, to help in resettling 

the Rohingya refugees to third 

countries. 

The UNHCR plays a catalytic 

role in bringing resettlement states 

together. The government also 

needs to involve the IOM, civil 

society groups, NGOs, and private 

sponsors of resettlement countries 

so that the resettlement is seen in 

the limelight. 

The government’s third-country 

resettlement initiative will lessen 

the hardship of Rohingya refugees 

in Bangladesh, and Bangladesh 

itself also will get a relief from the 

extra burden to some extent. • 

Md Shidur Rahman is a doctorate 

researcher at School of Social Sciences, 

Education and Social Work, Queen’s 

University Belfast, UK.

Opinion 15 

How to stop Kim Jong-un 

The world needs to look for more realistic solutions to the North Korea situation 

DT 


• Bennett Ramberg 

Donald Trump and 

his South Korean 

counterpart Moon Jae-in 

must face North Korea’s 

nuclear reality: Pyongyang’s bomb 

is here to stay. 

When the two presidents hold 

their first summit on Friday, they 

need to drop quixotic efforts to 

stop Kim Jong-un from building a 

nuclear arsenal and instead focus 

on preventing its use. 

Trump must accept the 

evidence that sanctions and 

military shows of force do not 

move the North. Moon must 

accept that a “sunshine” policy of 

economic and political outreach 

will not coax Pyongyang from 

its nuclear tether as long as Kim 

Jong-un equates the arsenal with 

survival. 

Washington also should take 

military action off the table unless 

the crisis is so acute that no other 

option remains. 

North Korea has advanced 

its nuclear program too far 

and concealed too much to 

allow Israeli-style air strikes 

like those that eliminated 

the Iraqi and Syrian nuclear 

reactors in 1981 and 2007. 

The mayhem that would result 

from any US military invasion 

to find and destroy Pyongyang’s 

bombs would envelop most of the 

Korean peninsula and could leave, 

in its wake, hundreds of thousands 

of dead South Koreans. 

Fortunately, the history of 

the nuclear age suggests an 

alternative: Containment. 

Multiple choice equations 

One is deterrence. When tensions 

rose between nuclear powers 

like the US and the Soviet Union 

or India and Pakistan, the risk of 

nuclear armageddon proved to be 

an overwhelming impediment to 

pushing the button. 

The lesson for the Korean 

peninsula is that the US 

should return to South Korea the 

nuclear weapons Washington 

withdrew in 1991, but if that’s 

implausible politically, declare a 

firm policy -- backed by dedicated 

offshore nuclear forces -- that 

the US will eliminate the North if 

it uses nukes or makes a serious 

nuclear threat. 

The second is adopting 

Cold War-era confidencebuilding 

measures 

to further reduce the risk of war. 

The measures could take 

the form of adding the US to 

a resurrected North-South 

hotline -- permitting instant 

The face of nuclear terror 

communication between the 

Koreas and Washington. 

The US and North Korean 

liaison offices in Washington 

and Pyongyang would be even 

better. Verifiable reductions of 

troops and heavy weapons on both 

sides of the border would reduce 

concerns about surprise attack, 

as would reductions of large US- 

South Korean military exercises 

and North Korea military displays. 

The list can go in many 

directions. 

The US could begin the 

exploratory process of tapping 

Pyongyang’s interest through 

China or other third parties. 

The third is crisis management: 

It is hard to determine whether 

a North Korea with the bomb 

will be more or less prone to 

initiate incidents like the sinking 

of a South Korean navy ship to 

embarrass or intimidate Seoul. 

In the event a spark sets off 

serious tensions, it will be critical 

to stop escalation. 

Unlike the Cuban missile and 

1969 Sino-Soviet cases, when 

surprise-forced the adversaries to 

scramble for a plan, a crisis on the 

Korean peninsula should not be 

unexpected. 

No doubt Washington and 

Seoul have military plans in place 

to respond. But judging from 

past nuclear crises, the United 

States may be less prepared 

diplomatically. 

The mayhem that would result from any US military invasion to find 

and destroy Pyongyang’s bombs would envelop most of the Korean 

peninsula and could leave, in its wake, hundreds of thousands of dead 

South Koreans 

Here, again, Washington can draw 

lessons from the past. 

Cold War redux 

If a crisis appears to be moving 

out of control, Washington 

must have a mediator ready to 

go. The value of US mediation in 

the Indo-Pakistan crises proved 

invaluable. When it comes to 

Kim Jong-Un, Washington should 

consult with Beijing about 

preparations for China to serve as 

an intermediary if necessary. 

Second, Trump and Moon could 

use private parties as conduits to 

float possible solutions. During the 

Cuban missile crisis, the Soviets 

used a US businessman visiting 

Moscow and an ABC network 

correspondent in Washington as 

back channels. President Kennedy 

turned to his brother Robert to 

press Soviet Ambassador Anatoly 

Dobrynin. 

In the case of Pyongyang, 

the US could enlist former US 

officials experienced in Track II 

diplomacy or even unofficially 

“allow” someone like a former 

president -- as Bill Clinton did 

with Jimmy Carter during the 1994 

Yongbyon nuclear reactor crisis 

-- to reach out to their own North 

Korean contacts. 

Third, send a very senior official 

to the capital of the opponent to 

seek resolution. 

That’s what the Kremlin did in 

1969 when it sent Premier Alexei 

Kosygin to Beijing in a last-ditch 

attempt to head off a possible 

Sino-Soviet confrontation. It 

worked. 

The belief we can make a 

nuclear North Korea go away is a 

mirage. The time for planning to 

live with it is upon us. Let’s get on 

with the task. • 

Bennett Ramberg served as a policy 

analyst in the Bureau of Politico- 

Military Affairs in the George HW Bush 

administration. He is the author of three 

books on international politics. This 

article previously appeared on Reuters. 

REUTERS

16 


DT 

Downtime 

CROSSWORD 

ACROSS 

1 Legerdemain (5) 

4 Satellite (4) 

7 Top card (3) 

8 Pale (3) 

9 Echo sounder (5) 

12 Fruit (4) 

13 Vibrations (7) 

15 Frozen formation (3) 

16 Tree (3) 

18 Donkey (3) 

19 Opener (3) 

21 With a side glance (7) 

24 Fishhook (4) 

26 Treat with contempt (5) 

27 Bird (3) 

28 Was ahead (3) 

29 Vast sum (4) 

30 Scottish garments (5) 

DOWN 

1 Sail support (4) 

2 Fruit of the oak (6) 

3 Unit of inheritance (4) 

4 Atlas contents (4) 

5 United (3) 

6 Direction (5) 

10 Friend (Fr) (3) 

11 Sways to and fro (5) 

14 Emits fumes (5) 

17 Unrevealed fact (6) 

18 Collector’s book (5) 

20 Sharp bark (3) 

21 Be adjacent to (4) 

22 Of no effect (4) 

23 Extremities (4) 

25 Moved quickly (3) 

CODE-CRACKER 

How to solve: Each number in our 

CODE-CRACKER grid represents a 

different letter of the alphabet. For 

example, today 18 represents Q so fill Q 

every time the figure 18 appears. 

You have two letters in the control 

grid to start you off. Enter them in the 

appropriate squares in the main grid, then 

use your knowledge of words to work out 

which letters go in the missing squares. 

Some letters of the alphabet may not be 

used. 

As you get the letters, fill in the other 

squares with the same number in the 

main grid, and the control grid. Check 

off the list of alphabetical letters as you 

identify them. 

ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ 

CALVIN AND HOBBES 

SUDOKU 

How to solve: Fill in the blank spaces with the 

numbers 1 – 9. Every row, column and 3 x 3 box must 

contain all nine digits with no number repeating. 

PEANUTS 

YESTERDAY’S SOLUTIONS 

CODE-CRACKER 

CROSSWORD 

DILBERT 

SUDOKU

Feature 

17 


DT 

6 tips for a 

post-Eid diet 

Back to reality 

• Noshin Tasnuba 

After an entire month of eating heavy meals for both 

iftar and seheri, nibbling on snacks all night and trying 

out every new restaurant offers every now and then, it 

is finally time to get back in shape. 

Eid-ul-Fitr has surely been a joyous event in every 

household but the damage the scrumptious food 

has imposed on our waistline and other body parts 

is quite noticeable by now. So, it is finally time to say 

goodbye to the unhealthy eating habits and gladly 

welcome a more healthy routine to shed 

the unnecessary weight you have gained 

throughout the festive season. Here are 

some tips to get you started. 

Make 1water your new best friend 

One important habit that you need to 

establish from day one is drinking the 

right amount of water. Drinking at least 

64-ounces of water on a daily basis will 

help your body flush out toxins and 

eliminate waste. Try not to gulp down a 

huge amount of water right after having a 

meal. Instead, try drinking a glass of water 

20-30 minutes before eating to help you 

eliminate that bloating feeling and stop 

you from over eating. 

2 

Stock up on veggies 

After eating a lot of greasy food for a 

whole month it is important that you 

detox your body and allow the toxins 

to leave your body. Try eating 5-10 

servings of fruits and vegetables 

every day, adding in a variety 

of produce to ensure that you 

get the maximum amount of 

vitamins and minerals. 

3Don’t rush into your old 

workout plan 

If you haven’t been working 

out during Ramadan, it may 

be better for you to take it easy 

on the workout plan in the 

first few days and slowly get 

back to the usual routine after 

a week or so. This will help 

your body avoid the sudden 

unnecessary load and assist in 

building a sustainable regime. 

4 5 6 

Portion control 

Even though Eid has ended, the dawats at our 

relatives’ houses and hangout sessions with our 

friends seem to be never ending. Instead of ditching 

these gatherings, to save your waistline, try limiting 

the portion of food you are eating. Eat a moderate 

amount of rice and meat and try filling half of your 

plate with vegetable curry, stews and salad. 

Switch to healthy cooking methods 

Try new methods of cooking the same meals 

that you cook on a daily basis. Try steaming or 

poaching your fish instead of frying it. Ditch 

your everyday chicken curry and try preparing a 

grilled chicken dish. This will help you minimise 

the amount of oil you use in cooking and assist in 

making your food less greasy. 

Be consistent 

Don’t change your routine every 

now and then. Learn to control 

your cravings and limit the 

amount of carbohydrate that 

you intake on a daily basis. Draw 

up a schedule and stick to it for 

quicker results.

DT 

18 

Sports 


Australia A train 

despite tour 

boycott threat 

• AFP, Brisbane 

Players turned up for training Tuesday 

ahead of the Australia A tour of 

South Africa, despite the threat to 

boycott the trip because of a bitter 

pay dispute. 

After months of negotiations 

the players and Cricket Australia 

have failed to reach agreement on 

a new pay deal, leaving 230 players 

unemployed since the end of June 

when their contracts expired late 

on Friday. 

I’m expecting that 

we will see a positive 

resolution in the not 

too distant future 

and we will get back 

to focusing on the 

cricket 

The Australian Cricketers’ Association 

executive Alistair Nicholson 

said a “significant breakthrough” 

in the stand-off was needed by 

Friday for the South Africa tour to 

proceed. 

Nevertheless, players were sticking 

to their schedule and reported 

for training with coach Jason Gillespie 

in Brisbane for the tour which is 

due to start next week. 

“As a coach, I’ll help the 

players prepare as well as we can,” 

Australia A coach Gillespie told 

reporters. 

“We have to have the attitude as 

if we are going to be travelling.” 

The pay row also threatens to 

derail upcoming Australia tours 

to Bangladesh and India as well as 

this year’s prestige home Ashes series 

against England. 

CA’s national talent manager 

Greg Chappell told reporters that 

he remained optimistic that a swift 

solution could be found. 

“I’m expecting that we will see 

a positive resolution in the not too 

distant future and we will get back 

to focusing on the cricket,” he said 

yesterday. 

CA and the players’ union hit an 

impasse after the board attempted 

to scrap a 20-year-old arrangement 

of giving cricketers a fixed share 

of revenues, in favour of dividing 

surpluses among elite players and 

offering a pay rise. 

Former Australian captain Michael 

Clarke urged the parties to 

extend the existing deal for 12 

months to allow for more negotiations. 

“Just keep the same MoU (Memorandum 

of Understanding) for the 

next 12 months to allow negotiations 

to, let’s say the word continue, 

but sort negotiations out,” he 

said in Sydney. 

“The players want to play, they 

want to play for their country, 

there’s no doubt about it.” • Australia ‘A’ member Glenn Maxwell takes part in a training session in Brisbane yesterday AFP 

‘Australia fast bowling not a threat’ 

• Tribune Report 

The opposition’s fast bowling won’t 

be a big threat for the Bangladesh 

batsman in their home Test series 

against Australia this August, Tigers 

top-order batter Imrul Kayes 

told the media. 

With that said, the Bangladesh 

batsmen did struggle against reverse 

swing from the England pacers 

last year at home. 

And despite the Aussies set to 

miss their star left-arm fast bowler 

Mitchell Starc, the likes of Josh Hazlewood, 

Pat Cummins and James 

Pattinson more than have the ability 

to cause damage in any condition. 

However, Imrul said, “Every 

international side have a good fast 

bowling unit, same goes for Australia. 

Nobody though is worried 

about how the opponent’s bowling 

attack is going to perform. I think 

Bangladesh team now play and 

tackle fast bowling well,” said Imrul 

at the national academy in Mirpur 

yesterday. 

The 30-year old left-hander informed 

that the Test match win 

against England at home last year 

has boosted their confidence and 

will stand them in good stead 

against the Aussies. 

“We thought it would be very 

difficult before playing against 

England as they are one of the top 

teams in world cricket. But when 

we started playing, gradually we 

realised what the situation was and 

where it was heading. I think we 

don’t need to think which team is 

strong or weak. Rather we should 

focus on how we can execute our 

plans in the middle. This will be 

important,” he said. 

Bangladesh have lost all four 

Tests against Australia with three of 

them ending in innings defeat. Australia 

are scheduled to reach Dhaka 

on August 18 for the two-Test series. 

The visiting side will kick off the 

tour with a two-day warm-up game 

in Fatullah on August 22 before 

locking horns with the host in the 

first Test in Mirpur Sher-e-Bangla 

National Stadium from August 27. 

The second Test will be played 

in Chittagong from September 4. 

Following the Australia series, 

the Tigers will leave for South Africa 

for two Tests, three ODIs and 

two T20Is. •

Sports 19 

DT 


Russia’s Daniil Medvedev in action during his first round match against Switzerland’s Stan Wawrinka in the Wimbledon Championship in London on Monday 

Wawrinka stunned by debutant Medvedev 

Muguruza, Kerber and Nadal march on 

• AFP, London 

Stanislas Wawrinka’s Wimbledon 

hopes were shredded in the first 

round on Monday as the fifth seed, 

hobbled by a niggling knee injury, 

came up against one of tennis’s 

new generation of heavy hitters in 

the shape of Russian Daniil Medvedev. 

World No 3 Wawrinka was the 

opening day’s biggest casualty, losing 

to debutant Medvedev. 

Swiss fifth seed and French 

Open runner-up Wawrinka was 

knocked out by Medvedev, 6-4, 

3-6, 6-4, 6-1. 

World No 49 Medvedev, making 

his Wimbledon debut, handed 

33-year-old Wawrinka a sixth first 

round loss at the All England Club, 

although his efforts were hampered 

by a left knee injury which 

required an ice pack at the changeovers. 

“I wasn’t feeling the way I wanted 

to feel. But I played against a 

great player who was confident,” 

said Wawrinka whose pain was 

eased slightly when girlfriend Donna 

Vekic won her opening match. 

Medvedev, 21, kissed the Centre 

Court grass to celebrate his victory, 

his first at any Slam. 

“A year ago I was ranked 250. 

If someone told me in one year I 

would win on Centre Court I would 

tell you you are joking,” said the 

Russian. 

The Russian, making only his 

third grand slam appearance, was 

full of energy as he hauled his giant 

frame around the court. 

In contrast, Wawrinka had 

struggled to find any sort of rhythm 

and was clearly bothered by the 

niggling knee problem he said had 

been dogging him since the end of 

last year. 

Having never got past the quarter-finals 

at the All England Club, 

Wimbledon is Wawrinka’s least 

successful grand slam and his 

hopes of ever completing his collection 

of majors look forlorn unless 

he can master the slick lawns. 

The Swiss had looked unruffled 

as he held his opening two service 

games, dropping just two points, 

but it was not long before Medvedev 

found his range and started to 

put Wawrinka under pressure. 

The Russian broke to love in the 

fifth game of the first set, and crafted 

two more break points in the 

seventh as the 32-year-old Wawrinka 

reeled under a barrage of heavy 

hitting. 

The Swiss briefly sparked into 

life at the start of the second, levelling 

the match after breaking for 

a 2-0 lead and then breaking for a 

second time in the eighth game after 

Medvedev had clawed his way 

back on serve. 

They went toe-to-toe in the 

third set before Wawrinka sent a 

forehand wide in the 10th game to 

give the Russian a set point, which 

he gobbled up to edge back in front. 

There was to be no way back 

for Wawrinka, who was then completely 

outgunned as Medvedev 

raced clear in the fourth set, breaking 

twice to go 5-1 ahead. 

He fired down his 10th ace to 

bring up match point and wrapped 

up the victory when Wawrinka 

sent a forehand long, with the Centre 

Court rising as one to acclaim 

his efforts. 

“It was just something special. I 

don’t know how to explain it,” said 

Medvedev who next faces 124thranked 

Belgian Ruben Bemelmans. 

Meanwhile, world No 2 and twotime 

champion Nadal secured his 

850th career victory with a 6-1, 6-3, 

6-2 demolition of Australia’s John 

Millman. 

Fresh from winning his 10th 

French Open title, Nadal goes on to 

face Donald Young for a place in the 

last 32. 

“I haven’t had many matches 

on grass for the last few years, but 

I had some positive feelings,” said 

Nadal, who missed last year’s tournament 

with a wrist injury. 

In the women’s event, Venezuela-born 

Spaniard Garbine Muguruza 

romped into the second round 

after beating Russia’s Ekaterina 

Alexandrova 6-2, 6-4 while Germany’s 

Angelique Kerber followed 

suit, defeating Irina Falconi of the 

US 6-4, 6-4. • 

ITINERARY 

July 5 





July 13-15 

1st one-day 

2nd one-day 

3rd one-day 

4th one-day 

5th one-day 

3-dayer 

REUTERS 

BCB HP Unit play 

first one-dayer in 

Australia today 

• Tribune Report 

The BCB’s High Performance Unit 

will play the first of their five 

one-dayers against Northern Territory 

today in Darwin. The visiting 

side in their first day in Darwin on 

Monday remained at the team hotel 

to recover from jet lag. 

HP squad 

Anamul Haque, Saifuddin, Liton 

Das (C), Tanbir Hayder, Mehedi 

Hasan, Imtiaz Hossain, Abu Haider, 

Abu Jayed, Nazmul Hossain (VC), 

Ebadat Hossain, Tasamul Haque, 

Abul Hasan, Irfan Sukkur, Yasir Ali, 

Nihaduzzaman and Jubair Hossain 

All the matches will be played 

in Darwin

20 


DT 

European Transfer 

Ounas agrees Napoli move 

Bordeaux’s attacking midfielder Adam Ounas has agreed 

a move to Serie A side Napoli after successfully completing 

a medical, the Ligue 1 club confirmed on Monday. The 

deal for the 20-year-old Franco-Algerian player is reported 

to be worth in the region of 10m euros ($11.3m), plus a 

bonus of two million euros. Ounas joined Bordeaux in 2013, signing his first professional 

contract with the western outfit in December 2015. 

Lejeune signs for Newcastle 

French defender Florian Lejeune has signed a five-year 

deal to join Newcastle United, the Premier League club 

said yesterday. The 26-year-old central defender from 

La Liga club Eibar is Magpies manager Rafael Benitez’s 

second summer signing, for a reported 8.7m pounds 

(9.9m euros). Earlier in the summer Benitez signed 

Chelsea winger Christian Atsu, who helped Newcastle win promotion back to the 

Premier League during a loan spell last season. Lejeune moves to Newcastle after 

a long a spell in Spain that started with Villarreal in 2011. 

Michael Keane joins Everton 

Everton have signed promising Burnley defender Michael 

Keane on a five-year deal which could reach a club 

record £30m (35m euros, $34m), the Premier League 

club announced on Monday. The 24-year-old, who came 

through Manchester United’s youth system, has played 

twice for England and becomes the club’s fifth summer 

signing after Jordan Pickford, Davy Klaassen, Henry Onyekuru and Sandro 

Ramirez. “We’ve signed Michael Keane on a five-year deal for a fee which could 

rise to a club-record £30m,” Everton said on Twitter. 

Iborra agrees to join Leicester 

Sevilla are set to lose captain Vicente Iborra to Leicester 

City after the Spanish side announced yesterday they 

had agreed to sell the midfielder to the former Premier 

League champions for a reported 14m euros ($15.8m). 

Iborra, 29, has spent the last four years with Sevilla since 

joining from Levante in 2013, scoring 30 goals in 172 

games and winning three successive Europa League titles and qualifying the team 

for the Champions League in the last two campaigns. 

Gustavo joins Marseille 

Brazilian midfielder Luiz Gustavo yesterday signed a 

four-year deal for a reported eight million euros to join 

French side Marseille from Bundesliga outfit Werder 

Bremen. “Experience, versatility and strength of character 

are his main strengths,” Marseille said in a statement, 

adding that Gustavo brought a “solid reputation as an 

aggressive and skilled link man.” Gustavo, 29, capped 41 times for Brazil, won the 

Champions League with Bayern Munich before his move to Werder in 2013. 

Ginter joins M’gladbach 

International defender Matthias Ginter, fresh from 

helping Germany win the Confederations Cup, has 

quit Borussia Dortmund to join Borussia Moenchengladbach. 

“Matthias Ginter came to us and expressed 

his desire to leave due to the competition for places in 

defence. We decided to grant him that wish,” Dortmund 

sporting director Michael Zorc said on the club’s website. It appears the 23-yearold 

requested the move to be sure of playing enough first team football next season 

to boost his chances of a place in the German squad for the 2018 World Cup. 

Milan sign Calhanoglu 

AC Milan’s busy recruitment drive saw them add Turkish 

international playmaker Hakan Calhanoglu to their roster 

on Monday on a four-year deal from German outfit 

Bayer Leverkusen. Calhanoglu has not played since 

picking up a six month ban in February over his illicit 

2011 move to Leverkusen at the expense of Turkish outfit 

Trabzonspor, who took the case to Fifa. But the 23-year-old with 26 caps for 

Turkey passed a medical and signed with Milan on Monday. 

AFP, REUTERS 

Sports 

City confident of 

signing Sanchez 

• Guardian 

Manchester City are increasingly 

confident of signing Alexis Sánchez 

for a potential fee in the region of 

£50m, despite Arsenal’s reluctance 

to sell, because of the forward’s desire 

to play under Pep Guardiola. 

Although Arsène Wenger is 

minded against allowing his finest 

player to leave, he is aware of 

Sánchez’s desire to join City. If the 

Arsenal manager does not sanction 

a sale this summer he faces losing 

Sánchez in 12 months on a free. 

Sánchez is out of contract then 

and has refused to sign a new deal. 

The 28-year old has been offered 

around £250,000 a week by the 

north London club but could earn 

closer to £300,000 at City. 

Sánchez was signed by Guardiola 

for Barcelona from Udinese in 

the summer of 2011 and was managed 

by him until the Catalan left 

at the close of the following season. 

If Sánchez does force a way out, 

Arsenal’s preference is not to sell him 

to a domestic rival. The club would 

rather he move to Paris Saint-Germain 

or Bayern Munich, who both 

remain interested in the player. 

Arsenal are trying to strengthen 

their forward line regardless 

and have had a 

£31m offer for Monaco’s 

Thomas Lemar turned 

down. 

With Arsenal determined 

to hold on to 

Sánchez, City are prepared 

to play the long game. 

City retain an interest 

in Monaco’s Kylian Mbappé, 

although if Sánchez 

does sign it makes the 

purchase of the 

18-year-old, who 

could cost upwards 

of £100m, 

a remote proposition. 

• 

Neymar: I thought I was inside a 

video game at Barca 

• Agencies 

Neymar has said the thought he 

was inside a video game when he 

first arrived in the Barcelona dressing 

room in 2013, reports Teamtalk. 

Neymar, 25, signed for Barca 

from Santos for £75m, but he has 

admitted he was “ashamed” to 

speak to the likes of Lionel Messi as 

soon as he arrived. 

The Brazil forward is now on 

a similar level to Messi and after 

signing a new five-year contract 

worth around €16m a year, with a 

buyout clause fixed at €200m for 

the first year of the deal, €222m for 

the second and the €250m for the 

remaining three years, he finally 

feels at home. 

But in an interview with Brazilian 

television show Caldeirao do 

Huck, he explained how nervous 

and “intimidated” he was when he 

arrived as a 21-year-old. 

“I came into the dressing room, 

looked to one side and there was 

Messi, I looked the other and there 

was Xavi [Hernandez], [Andres] Iniesta, 

[Gerard] Pique, Dani Alves…I 

thought I was inside a video game,” 

said Neymar. 

“One day I was playing with 

them on the console and the 

next I was there alongside them. 

The first month was the most 

complicated. I was ashamed 

to speak to Messi, [he and the 

others] were idols for me. I was 

the new arrival and the youngest 

more or less.” •

Sports 

21 


DT 

Pakistan 

appoint Sarfraz 

Test captain 

• AFP, Islamabad 

Pakistan yesterday rewarded Sarfraz 

Ahmed with the country’s 

Test captaincy, a fortnight after he 

led the national team to an elusive 

Champions Trophy title in England. 

Underdog Pakistan trounced 

India by a record 180-run margin 

in the final in London on June 18 

to lift the Champions Trophy, to 

the shock and ecstasy of the cricket-mad 

country. 

Pakistan Cricket Board chairman 

Shaharyar Khan named Sarfraz 

Test captain at a ceremony 

honouring the winning team hosted 

by Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif 

in Islamabad yesterday. 

“I take this opportunity to announce 

Ahmed as our Test captain 

in addition to one-day and Twenty20 

captain,” Khan said. 

The 30-year-old will lead Pakistan 

in the three-match Test series 

against Sri Lanka, likely to be held 

on the neutral venue of the United 

Arab Emirates in October. 

Ahmed has already led Pakistan 

in nine one-day internationals 

since last year, winning seven and 

losing two. He has also led in eight 

Twenty20s, winning seven and losing 

just one. The Test captaincy has 

been vacant since Misbah-ul-Haq 

retired after winning a three-match 

Test series 2-1 in the West Indies in 

May this year. • 

DAY’S WATCH 

CRICKET 

TEN 3 

11:30AM 

Zimbabwe Tour Of Sri Lanka 

3rd ODI 

STAR SPORTS 1 

3:00PM 

ICC Women’s World Cup 

Sri Lanka v India 

TENNIS 

STAR SPORTS SELECT 1 

6:00PM 

Wimbledon Championships 2017 

Interim South Africa captain Dean Elgar (C) walks on to the pitch with two colleagues during the nets session at Lord's yesterday 

Testosterone a ‘significant’ boost 

for women athletes 

• AFP, Paris 

Vettel escapes further punishment over Baku road rage 

• AFP, Paris 

Women runners born with high 

testosterone levels enjoy a “significant 

advantage”, said a study yesterday 

that could reignite debate on 

the future participation of athletes 

whose gender was questioned. 

The study comes three weeks 

before the International Association 

of Athletics Federations must 

present expert evidence on “the 

actual degree” of advantage women 

could gain. 

Hyperandrogenism is a condition 

that causes high natural levels 

of the male hormone, testosterone, 

in women. 

Without proof, IAAF regulations 

excluding women with hyperandrogenism 

from competition are 

set to lapse. Track stars such as 

South Africa’s Caster Semenya and 

India’s Dutee Chand both endured 

banishment for failing so-called 

“gender tests”. 

The new study, published in the 

British Journal of Sports Medicine, 

was funded by the IAAF and the 

World Anti-Doping Agency. 

One of the authors, Stephane 

Bermon, is an IAAF consultant and 

a member of its working group on 

hyperandrogenic athletes. 

The other, Pierre-Yves Garnier, 

is director of the IAAF’s health 

and science department. He returned 

to work in January after a 

three-month suspension in a probe 

linked to Russian athletics doping. 

Their research relied on blood 

data from male and female athletes 

who competed in the World Championships 

in 2011 and 2013 - more 

than 2,100 samples in all. 

It found that women with high 

natural testosterone levels performed 

better in the 400m sprint, 

400m hurdles, and 800m middle-distance 

events than women 

with low levels. They also outperformed 

them at pole-vaulting and 

hammer throw. 

Depending on the event, performance 

improved by between 1.8 and 

4.5 %, the paper said. This link “should 

be taken into account when the eligibility 

of women with hyperandrogenism 

to compete in the female category 

of competition is discussed.” • 

Ferrari driver Sebastian Vettel’s 

collision with Mercedes’ Lewis 

Hamilton during the Azerbaijan 

Grand Prix was deliberate but he 

will face no further sanction, Formula 

One’s governing body the FIA 

ruled on Monday. 

Germany’s Vettel had driven his 

Ferrari into the back of Hamilton’s 

Mercedes on lap 19 of the tempestuous 

race in Baku last month 

bumping the Briton on the wheel at 

high speed. 

The FIA held a meeting with 

Vettel and his Ferrari team principal 

Maurizio Arrivabene at its 

headquarters in Paris on Monday. 

As the four-time world champion 

admitted full responsibility 

for the incident and offered a full 

apology the FIA decided no further 

sanction would be necessary. 

“Top level sport is an intense 

environment in which tempers can 

flare,” FIA president Jean Todt said. 

“However, it is the role of top 

sportsmen to deal with the pressure 

calmly.” 

Vettel incurred a 10-second penalty 

and three points on his licence, 

increasing his total to nine. 

He will have to stay out of trouble 

in Austria or face a possible 

one-race ban for reaching 12 penalty 

points inside a 12-month period. 

“Sebastian Vettel extended his 

sincere apologies to the FIA and 

the wider motor sport family,” the 

FIA statement continued. 

“He additionally committed to 

devote personal time over the next 

12 months to educational activities 

across a variety of FIA championships 

and events, including in the 

FIA Formula 2 Championship, the 

FIA Formula 3 European Championship, 

at an FIA Formula 4 Championship 

to be defined and at the 

FIA stewards’ seminar.” • 

Waqar in 

hot water 

• Agencies 

AP 

Former Pakistan cricket team head 

coach Waqar Younis was forced 

to clarify his opinion which he 

had shared with the International 

Cricket Council, suggesting a reduction 

in the number of overs per 

side for women’s matches in World 

Cup tournaments, reports Hindustan 

Times. 

A few days ago, Waqar tweeted 

to the ICC that the matches in the 

Women’s World Cup should be of 

30-overs-per-side, reducing 20 

overs from each competing side. 

While Waqar did not elaborate 

further on his proposal, his tweet 

proved to be enough to attract ire 

from others on social media. 

The former Pakistan skipper 

was criticised on social media. •

22 


DT 

John Wick: 

Chapter 2 review 

Showtime 

CMV becomes first verified deshi 

music label on Facebook 

• Showtime Desk 

The Bangladeshi music 

production and distribution 

organisation CMV Music’s official 

Facebook page became verified 

yesterday. 

With nearly three hundred 

thousand followers, the Facebook 

page of the music label has 

become the first Bangladeshi 

music label to have a verified 

page. 

“We have achieved this 

because of our pure Bangla songs, 

pleasant and modest music 

videos and the support from our 

audience and the media. It is 

certainly a matter of celebration. 

Our efforts to progress pure music 

has been strengthened because of 

this,” the owner of CMV Music SK 

Shahed Ali said. 

CMV Music has released 16 

audio songs by celebrity singers, 6 

music videos and two web series, 

which have been enthusiastically 

received by the audience. • 

• Touseef Adnan 

The sequel to the 2014 hit John 

Wick is out and seems to be making 

quite the statement at the box 

office. Directed by Chad Stahelski 

and written by Derek Kolstad, John 

Wick: Chapter 2 revolves around 

the former hit man John Wick 

(Keanu Reeves), who is dragged 

out of retirement once again. 

He is forced to honour the 

blood oath he once made to 

Italian mobster Santino D’Antonio 

(Riccardo Scamarcio). Attempting 

to find peace, the boogeyman had 

no other choice but doing what he 

does the best, “get things done.” 

The Continental Hotel which is a 

mystical neutral sacred ground 

where no “business” is allowed, 

the mysterious gold coins through 

which the assassins make trade, 

the betrayals, revenges and dark 

humours are still there just like in 

its prequel. 

The similarities in the two 

story lines is probably one of the 

reasons why so many people are 

disappointed with the sequel. 

In spite of that, everything 

about John Wick: Chapter 2 feels 

grander. This may sound a little 

exaggerated but the long-phased, 

choreographed action sequences 

are so brilliantly tied up with just 

the right amount of awkward 

conversations, that it never feels 

redundant or monotonous. The 

sets, the performances, the action 

sequences is even more dramatic 

and undeniably appealing. 

John Wick: Chapter 2 does 

remain committed to its “Gun- 

Fu.” The term, which was coined 

by the director of the film, refers 

to choreographed Kung-Fu that 

is intertwined with traditional 

gun-play. It seems as if the second 

edition comes close to perfecting 

the art of Gun-Fu. The fight 

scenes, while just as intense, aren’t 

as consistently loud. There are 

times where the Gun Fu moments 

are worthy of adoration in their 

execution, the time span of the 

fight scenes give the audience 

a better chance to appreciate 

the work that goes into each 

choreographed routine. 

It might not be the ideal action 

film but it has all the proper 

ingredients needed and in perfect 

quantity. In many ways, John 

Wick: Chapter 2 is more daring and 

bolder than its prequel. Old faces 

Ian McShane and Franco Nero’s 

efforts are praiseworthy. Reeve’s 

Matrix co-star Laurence Fishburne 

is incredible as crime lord, Bowney 

King who uses men masquerading 

as homeless bums and pigeon 

carriers to rule New York City. The 

movie ends in a manner that we 

can easily anticipate that there will 

be a third one. Let’s wait and see 

how badass the third chapter will 

be!• 

Names of Beyoncé and Jay-Z’s 

twins revealed 


Last month, Beyoncé and Jay-Z 

welcomed their new twins into 

the world while the rest of the 

planet’s population anxiously 

waited to welcome the two new 

members of the Carter clan. 

A week later since the birth, 

fans learned the sex of the 

babies and they rejoiced at the 

news that Beyonce had given 

birth to a healthy boy and a girl. 

Now the names of the 

babies have been unofficially 

revealed. TMZ reports that 

Beyoncé and Jay-Z have named 

their new twins Rumi and Sir, 

and just like their older sister, 

Blue Ivy, their names will be 

trademarked as well. 

The names became public 

when Beyoncé and Jay-Z’s 

company filed paperwork that 

officially listed the names 

Rumi Carter and Sir Carter as 

registered trademarks, which 

will be used for a bevy of 

different products. 

Rumi appears to have been 

chosen in reference to the 

13th-century poet and Muslim 

scholar Jalaluddin al-Rumi, and 

the name, Sir, is mentioned in 

one of his acclaimed poems: 

“Bring the pure wine of love 

and freedom. But sir, a tornado 

is coming. More wine, we’ll 

teach this storm a thing or two 

about whirling.” 

While this might not be the 

true origin of the names, the 

explanation is fitting given the 

couple’s artistic roots. 

Even though these 

information have become 

public about the infant Carter 

twins, Beyoncé and Jay-Z 

actually have not officially 

announced their new babies 

yet. •

Moushumi seeks to 

disengage herself from 

Shilpi Samiti position 


Film actress Moushumi 

was elected as an executive 

member at the recently held 

Bangladesh Cholochitro Shilpi 

Samiti election, a professional 

organisation of the film actors in 

Bangladesh. However, she did 

not take an oath for the postion 

following the election results. 

This resulted in a confusion about 

her engagement in the newly 

elected committee. 

Now, the leading actress 

has asked the president of the 

organisation to relieve herself 

from responsibilites of the 

position. On Monday, she sent a 

letter addressed to the president 

of Shilpi Samiti. 

Omar Sani, actor and husband 

of Moushumi, shared a copy 

of the letter on social media in 

which Moushumi wrote, “Due 

to certain personal difficulties, 

the compelled responsibilites of 

the position could not be served 

properly by me. And for this 

reason, I want to step down from 

the position.” 

However, Misa Sawdagar, 

Showtime 

Raghu and Rajiv back with India’s 

first start-up reality show 


Popular faces from MTV 

Roadies, Raghu Ram and Rajiv 

Laxman, are now back with 

a new reality show on MTV, 

which will serve as a platform 

for young entrepreneurs. MTV is 

introducing India’s first start-up 

reality show to mentor Indian 

startup entrepreneurs and taking 

their journey forward. The show 

president of Shilpi Samiti, denied 

receiving any such letter from 

Moushumi. In a response to the 

matter, Sawdagar questioned the 

actress’ decision to write such a 

resignation letter when she has 

not even taken an oath. 

“Moushumi did not take an 

oath as the executive member 

of the committee. On what 

grounds can she resign form the 

is titled, Dropout and is scheduled 

to air in the upcoming months. 

The show will be hosted by the 

twin brothers. 

The show is inspired by 

SharkTank, the famous American 

reality television series that was 

first premiered on August 9, 

2009, on ABC. The registration 

process for aspiring entrepreneurcontestants 

are now open, and 

they are welcome to make their 

position?” he asked. 

Followed the Shilpi Samiti 

election, Moushumi went on 

record to say that “the incident 

with Shakib Khan on the election 

night,” in which Shakib Khan 

was physically assaulted and 

forced to leave the BFDC area, 

has “terrified her and forced her 

to think about resigning from the 

position.”• 

business pitches to a panel of 

Dropout investors’ team, who 

will then judge whether or not to 

invest in the idea. 

Three business personalities 

have joined the show as panelists. 

Sandeep Aggarwal, founder, 

Shopclues & Droom, who claims 

to have dropped out from Wall 

Street and took the decision 

to drive his own ambition and 

became an e-commerce giant 

owner in India. Aggarwal’s 

networth as an individual is 

$1.5billion. 

The second panel member, 

Anisha Singh is the CEO and 

founder of MyDala.com. Anisha’s 

net worth is $150million and she 

says that she dropped out of the 

stereotypical role and benefits 

of being a housewife. The third 

and the final member on the jury 

is Alok Kejriwal, who gave up 

the opportunity to contribute to 

his family business but he too, 

opted to so otherwise. He then, 

went onto become the CEO and 

co-founder of GAMES2WIN with 

a net worth of $100million as an 

individual businessman.• 


If fans of Bigg Boss can 

remember the appearance of 

Mandana Karimi, you’ll know 

she always looked frustrated. 

Days have passed, and she is 

now facing a real life challenge 

at her own place of a more 

serious nature. 

Bigg Boss star Mandana 

Karimi last made news while 

announcing her grand marriage 

with her boyfriend, Gaurav 

Gupta on January 25 2015. Now, 

she has filed a divorce petition 

against him. 

She gave hints about 

her marriage and happy 

relationship at the Bigg 

Boss house once, but things 

did not go well after that. 

The actress has also filed a 

domestic violence case against 

her husband, and her in-laws 

claimed that Gaurav barred her 

from entering their house seven 

weeks ago. 

The actress filed the petition 

on Monday, according to 

reports. The actress has also 

filed a complaint against her 

mother-in-law for harassment 

and has made demands of 

monetary relief in the petition. 

23 


Bigg Boss star Mandana 

files for divorce 

She has talked about three 

major reasons for which she is 

asking for separation. 

The Iranian model turned 

actress claims that her inlaws 

and Gaurav forced her 

to convert her religion ahead of 

the wedding, so that they could 

have a Hindu one. Not only 

that, the actress also mentioned 

that she was forced to quit 

her acting career since it was 

“demeaning as per the family 

status in society”. 

Mandana also confirmed that 

she was barred from entering 

her matrimonial house seven 

weeks ago and all her attempts 

to reconcile with them has 

failed. The case is being 

processed at the moment. • 

DT

24 


DT 

AUSTRALIA A TRAIN DESPITE 

TOUR BOYCOTT THREAT › 18 

Back Page 

MOUSHUMI SEEKS TO DISENGAGE HERSELF 

FROM SHILPI SAMITI POSITION › 23 

Families of Holey Artisan victims 

to get €300,000 compensation 

• Asif Showkat Kallol 


The government has approved 

compensation packages worth 

€300,000, or around Tk2.79 crore, 

for the families of 20 local and foreign 

victims who died in the terror 

attack on Holey Artisan Bakery last 

year. 

This follows directives from 

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina who 

urged the authorities concerned 

to take all necessary steps to compensate 

the families, officials at the 

Ministry of Home Affairs told the 

Dhaka Tribune. 

The Finance Division issued a 

circular signed by Senior Assistant 

Secretary Md Rajibul Islam yesterday 

for the disbursement of the 

compensation packages from its 

risk management fund for the 2017- 

2018 fiscal year. 

According to the circular, each of 

the 20 families is expected to receive 

€15,000, or around Tk13.95 lakh. 

The Public Security Division of 

the Ministry of Home Affairs has 

been directed to distribute the 

compensation packages by July 30. 

Five terrorists stormed Holey 

Artisan Bakery in Gulshan, Dhaka 

on July 1, 2016, and killed 20 hostages, 

17 of whom were foreign 

nationals – nine Italian, seven Japanese 

and one Indian. 

They victims are: Faraaz Ayaaz 

Hossain, Abinta Kabir, Ishrat Akhond, 

Tarishi Jain, Adele Puglisi, 

Claudia Maria D’Antona, Simona 

Monti, Marco Tondat, Nadia Benedetti, 

Vincenzo D’Allestro, Maria 

Rivoli, Cristian Rossi, Claudio Cappelli, 

Koyo Ogasawara, Makoto 

Okamura, Yuko Sakai, Rui Shimodaira, 

Hiroshi Tanaka, Nobuhiro 

Kurosaki and Hideki Hashimoto. 

Two policemen and two employees 

of the bakery also died because 

of the attack. 

Sources said families of the 

Italian victims asked for financial 

assistance in November last year 

via the Bangladeshi ambassador in 

Italy, as they were more in need of 

financial assistance than the families 

of the other victims. 

Initially, a decision had been 

made to send assistance to the 

Italian families, but it was vetoed 

by Finance Minister AMA Muhith. 

On May 14, Muhith and Hasina exchanged 

a series of notes where he 

argued that it would be discriminatory 

to provide assistance to only 

the Italian families, and it could 

potentially embarrass Bangladesh. 

He proposed that the families of 

all victims, both local and foreign, 

be compensated, the sources added. 

In May this year, the government 

decided to provide compensation 

to the families of all 20 

hostages who was killed by the 

terrorists. Prime Minister Sheikh 

Hasina signed an order asking the 

Finance Division to arrange for a 

total of €135,000, or about Tk1.23 

crore for compensation. 

“We will provide assistance to 

the families of the citizens of different 

countries who were killed in 

the terrorist attack in Gulshan,” the 

prime minister said in the order. 

The amount was later raised to 

€300,000. 

Finance Minister Muhith also 

suggested that the money be paid 

out through the government exchequer 

as the Finance Division 

had said it would not be possible to 

pay it through the Unexpected Expenditure 

Management Fund given 

the lack of funds near the end of 

the fiscal year. • 

Nail inserted into teen boy’s genitals for chatting to girl 

• Nayan Khondoker, Jhenaidah 

CRIME 

A teenage boy who had a nail 

forcibly inserted into his penis in 

Kaliganj upazila of Jhenaidah was 

brutally attacked merely for talking 

to a girl outside her house, his 

grandfather has claimed. 

Parvez Mollah, 13, was left unconscious 

by the June 22 assault in 

Das Baisa village and was still being 

treated at the health complex 

in Kaliganj on Tuesday after undergoing 

brain surgery in Dhaka. 

His grandfather, Liton Chowdhury, 

claimed Parvez was taken to 

a deserted area by a group of men 

after he was caught chatting to the 

Five terrorists stormed Holey Artisan Bakery in Gulshan, Dhaka on July 1, 2016, and killed 20 hostages, 17 of whom were 

foreign nationals – nine Italian, seven Japanese and one Indian 


girl, who is the daughter of 42-yearold 

prime accused, Azizul Lasker. 

“They inserted a nail into 

Parvez’s penis and brutally beat 

him the whole night,” he said. 

“They did not release him, even 

after he fell unconscious being 

unable to bear the barbaric torture.” 

Liton further claimed the incident 

– which only came to light 

when Parvez was returned to 

Kaliganj on Monday - had been 

“covered up”, because the alleged 

assaulters are “influential in their 

locality”. 

The other named suspects 

include Azizul’s two brothers - 

Mazidul Lasker, 38, and Rabiul 

Lasker, 35 - and five other residents 

of Das Baisa village: Tasir 

Uddin, Abdus Salam, Md Imamul, 

Aziz Sheikh and Md Azizul. 

Another boy named Nazmul, 

who was accompanying Parvez 

during his conservation with the 

girl, was able to escape and informed 

Parvez’s mother, Parvina 

Begum. 

“When Parvina rushed in and 

asked them to release her son, 

they said they had already released 

Parvez after giving him a 

‘light beating’,” Liton said. 

Parvez was rescued from the 

area the following day after Sagor 

Biswas, a local Awami League 

leader, placed a phone call to 

Parvina, saying: “Your son has 

been lying unconscious on the 

road. Bring him back.” 

With severe injuries all over 

his body, Parvez was first rushed 

to Kaliganj upazila health complex 

and then to Jessore Medical 

College Hospital. As his physical 

condition deteriorated, Parvez 

was transferred to Dhaka Medical 

College Hospital, where his brain 

was operated on. 

Parvina filed a case with Kaliganj 

police station on the same 

day against eight named and two 

unnamed people in connection 

with the incident. 

Zafor Ahmed, a member of 

Kola Union Parishad, said: “I do 

not know who beat him up and 

why, but it seems that he was inhumanely 

assaulted.” 

Aminul Islam, officer-in-charge 

of the police station, described 

the incident as “heart-rending 

and horrific” and said they had 

already arrested three of the accused 

and were trying to arrest 

the other abusers. 

Kaliganj Upazila Nirbahi Officer 

Sadequr Rahman visited Parvez 

yesterday and had him returned 

to the health complex as his condition 

remained unstable. 

The son of Shimul Mollah of Piyapur 

village in Shalikha upazila 

of Magura works as an assistant 

to a carpenter and has been living 

in Damodarpur village in Kaliganj 

with his maternal grandfather 

since his parents separated four 

years ago. • 

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

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

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