SECOND EDITION

MONDAY, MARCH 21, 2016 | Chaitra 7, 1422, Jamadius Sani 11, 1437 | Regd No DA 6238, Vol 3, No 335 | www.dhakatribune.com | 32 pages | Price: Tk10

Sport Page-282nd Round

VPN

VPN

Networkpartners

Networkpartners

SWIFTNet

SIPN

FIN Bridge

FIN

Link Level Encryption (LLE)

SWIFTNet PKI

IPSec

Link Level Encryption (LLE)

SWIFTNet PKI

IPSec

SLSSLS

BKE/MAC/PAC

HOW THE SWIFT SECURITY SYSTEM WORKS

An indicativediagram ofSWIFT system

Before any transaction can take place, the two banks create an agreement. This agreement, called the Relationship Management Application (RMA), de�nes the code and procedure for their unique messaging.l Users enter the SWIFT system through an assigned computer connected to the SWIFT system via the Internet.l After accessing SWIFTNet Link (SNL), the functions of SWIFT begin. The SNL has three consecutive gateways, where three authorised personnel at the bank play three key roles – Creator, Veri�er and Authoriser.l If the codes and other messaging procedures match with the scheduled procedure, the message is forwarded to VPN.l From there it is forwarded to a router through which it enters SWIFTNet’s IP Secure Network (SIPN). It is then sent to the receiver portion of the partner network.l Then the message is veri�ed at every stage of the receiver’s network and sent to a VPN. If the message matches with the scheduled system, it is sent to the SNL of the receiver and if the assigned computer of the receiver body activated SNL activities, it is printed automatically.

The system veri�ed Link level encryption (LLE) in SNL, SWIFTNet PKI and IP Security works on both sides of the network.If it does not match the previous encryption it stops the order and returns it to the sender.

source: swift.com

Old wine in new bottles, or just sour grapes?

n Mohammad Al-Masum Molla

What exactly were the fruits of the BNP’s sixth national council?

With party chairperson Khaleda Zia and her son Tarique Rahman re-elected uncontested to their respective posts, the result of the council appears to be old wine in new bottles.

It is true that the party has sug-gested radical changes to the polit-ical system if elected to power for

the fourth time. But that is a big if. In her inaugural address to the

council, Khaleda unveiled Vision 2030 whose centrepiece is the in-troduction of a bicameral legisla-ture “to increase checks and bal-ances in government.”

The obvious catch is that the BNP’s big new idea would require a constitutional amendment. That would require that the par-ty achieve an absolute majority in parliament – a long-shot for a par-ty that has not sat in the house for over two years.

Son Tarique also addressed the

council in a recorded video mes-sage, but the details cannot be re-ported because there is a ban on writing about his statements.

Khaleda described the current political arrangement as an autoc-racy in the garb of a parliamentary democracy, meant as a criticism of the prime minister’s disciplined cabinet.

Her lament of the rise of the ex-ecutive branch rings hollow in the face of the fact that the BNP council has just vested Khaleda and Tarique with absolute power to run the party.

PAGE 2 COLUMN 1

Wounded Tigers looking to bounce backn Mazhar Uddin from Bangalore

The emotions will be di� erent than any other game when the Tigers face Australia in a vital Super 10 match

of the ongoing 2016 World Twen-ty20 at M Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bangalore today.

Following the suspensions of Bangladesh cricketers Taskin Ahmed and Arafat Sunny that have rocked the cricket-mad nation, the men in red and green will now aim to bounce back and answer the critics.

In the absence of the bowling duo, the Tigers think tank will have all-rounder Shuvagata Hom and spinner Saqlain Sajib as replace-ments.

However, the task will be any-thing but easy as Taskin has been in

PAGE 2 COLUMN 1

n Kamrul Hasan andAsif Showkat Kallol

Bangladesh police’s Criminal In-vestigation Department yesterday said that they would work jointly with the Federal Bureau of Inves-tigation of the USA to solve the much-talked digital heist of $101 million from Bangladesh Bank.

After holding an hour-long meeting with the FBI representa-tives at the CID Headquarters, Ad-ditional Deputy Inspector General Shah Alam yesterday afternoon said that they would take assis-tance from the FBI to solve the case in an organised manner.

He said that they wanted to iden-tify the computer from where the command had been made and � nd the � nal bene� ciaries of the laun-dered money.

The o� cial said that the FBI wanted to identify the hackers’ group with the help of its IT foren-sic experts so that the criminals could not commit such crimes again. “The CID wants to solve the case so that we can bring the mon-ey back and put the criminals be-hind the bar.”

An investigation source said that they were preparing to visit Sri Lanka and the Philippines to iden-tify the � nal bene� ciaries. “If the criminals can be arrested, it will be easier for the investigators to identify the Bangladeshi criminals involved in the scam.”

Another source said that since the suspected criminals worked from several countries, they had already contacted with Interpol.

In early February, some $101m of the Bangladesh Bank funds kept with the Federal Reserve Bank of New York was withdrawn illegally allegedly by hackers who had bro-ken into the SWIFT system of the central bank.

The laundered money was moved via transfer requests, with about $81m ending up in four bank accounts in the Philippines. The other $20m went to an account in Sri Lanka. Another $850 million was supposed to be transferred to a personal bank account in the Philippines, but was blocked by the authorities.

Bangladesh Bank Joint Director (accounts and budgeting depart-ment) Jubair Bin Huda � led the case against unidenti� ed people with Motijheel police on March 15. It was � led under section 4 of the Money Laundering Prevention Act 2012 (amended 2015), section 54 of the Information Technology Act 2006 and section 379 of the Code of Criminal Procedure.

A 20-member special team un-der the CID is investigating the sensational case. The team started their work on March 16 and visited

PAGE 2 COLUMN 1

CID: FBI to � nd BB heist hackers

If Bangladesh Bank can be hacked today, no one can assure that other banks will not be hacked

NEWS ANALYSIS

News2DTMONDAY, MARCH 21, 2016

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1

CID: FBI to � nd BB heist hackersthe Bangladesh Bank Headquarters. They spoke to senior o� cials of sev-eral departments and also seized some computers, printers and server for the seek of investigation.

The Anti-Money Laundering Council (AMLC) of the Philippines is also investigating the case.

Voluntary group enacting SWIFT guidelinesA voluntary organisation named SWIFT User Group of Bangladesh has started enacting a guideline for the banks using the Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Tel-ecommunication (SWIFT) system to accomplish their international trans-actions more e� ectively.

The organisation has 56 members – 48 local banks and eight interna-tional banks – operating in the coun-try. The group holds a meeting every month to identify the problems they were facing while using the SWIFT system and possible ways to make the system more convenient.

In their March 10 meeting, they formed a � ve-member team led by its Joint Secretary Abul Kalam Azad of ICB Islamic Bank to formulate a guideline.

Azad told the Dhaka Tribune that they were enacting the guideline for the betterment of the SWIFT users in the country. “If Bangladesh Bank

can be hacked today, no one can assure that other banks will not be hacked. Every possible problem will be counted and we will try our best to � nd and solve all the problems regarding the SWIFT system,” he added.

The � ve-member team will sub-mit the draft guidelines to the pres-ident of the executive body of the group, Anis M Khan, also managing director of MTB Bank. After the sub-mission, the group would discuss the report and hand it over to the Bangladesh Bank authorities.

AMLC’s first reportPhilippines’ � nancial intelligence unit AMLC in its � rst information report sent to Bangladesh Bank con-� rmed that the money had been transferred through four bank ac-counts on February 5.

The report, obtained by the Dha-ka Tribune, was mailed by AMLC Executive Director Julia Bacay Abad to the Bangladesh Bank Financial Intelligence Unit (BFIU) on February 12 in response to the central bank’s request.

The report mailed to Badrul Haque Khan, a general manager of Accounts and Budgeting Depart-ment, says: “Since last night after we talked, our o� ce has been in close coordination with Rizal Commercial

Banking Cooperation (RCBC) and we have been monitoring pertinent re-ports on the subject transmissions.

“We have also checked our data-base to con� rm the transmissions and verify if the same were properly reported to the AMLC.”

She con� rmed that the trans-missions occurred, i.e., funds amounting to more or less $1 mil-lion were remitted to the four bank accounts maintained with RCBC on February 5.

Reports would show that upon receipt of the remitted funds, the same were withdrawn on the next working day, on February 9.

February 6, Monday, was a na-tional holiday in the Philippines in celebration of the Chinese New Year.

It would appear that the funds were further transferred to other accounts (di� erent bene� ciaries) in other banks. The AMLC Secre-tariat is already in coordination with those other banks.

“We were informed that the out-standing balance remaining with RCBC accounts [under the name of the four individuals] is more or less $60,000 [the exact amount is to be con� rmed]. We have directed RCBC to put this amount on hold.

“At the moment, we are trying to identify the other accounts to which the money was subsequent-

ly transferred, possibly in other banks, including bank abroad. We have also directed RCBC to submit to us customer identi� cation doc-uments pertaining to the subject accounts, including the CCTV foot-age of the RCBC branch where the withdrawal were made,” the AMLC report adds.

The above � ndings were sent to Bangladesh Bank that sought assis-tance from the AMLC on recovery of the money heist.

In the mail with the subject “SWIFT Network compromise,” Bangladesh Bank wrote: “On Feb-ruary 4, 2016 in total 35 unauthor-ised transactions of payment in-structions took place to the Federal Reserve Bank of New York involv-ing $951 million bene� cial of these payment transactions were indi-viduals and SWIFT message code MT103 were used for the purpose.

“Above payment transactions were transacted at the early hours on the February 5, 2016 between 12:45 am to 4:30am. SWIFT Server log showed that the unauthorised operation started from 8:36pm on February 4, 2016. It may be mentioned that SWIFT operation was o� cially closed for the day at 7:30pm on February 4, 2016 which was also substantiated by CCTV footage at the SWIFT Room and at

the � oor camera.“On February 6, 2016, SWIFT

Room operation started after the holiday on Friday [February 5] as part of standard operation routine. Among the message queue there was a speci� c message [no AC/BAN-GL/020416] from FRB, NY regarding 12 payment instructions alerting by the language ‘the payments contain individuals as the bene� ciaries and have varying details.’

“FRB, NY asked for the ‘o� cial purpose of these transactions and identity of the bene� ciaries … their connection to o� cial business and the underlying purpose of the pay-ment.’ Another speci� c message [AC/BANGL/020516] referred to four pay-ment instructions where FRB, NY asked for the details of bene� ciaries.

“Finally, through the messages bearing no AC/BANGL/020516-2 & 3 the FRB, NY con� rmed about their inability to ‘process payments’ re-garding the 30 payment instruc-tions ‘until they receive informa-tion’. These messages were issued by FRB, NY on February 5, 2016 their time which were received by us on February 6, 2016.

“In essence, the FRB, NY stopped payment of 30 payment transactions but allowed transmis-sion of rest of the � ve payment in-structions involving $101 million.” l

Old wine in new bottles, or just sour grapes?Indeed, there was hardly any sign of checks and balances within her party at its council on Saturday.

Party leaders at the council gave Khaleda full authority to form a committee as she sees � t. Previous-ly, one of the main functions of the council was to select the committee.

She has been given the power to reorganise any scrapped commit-tee, subject to approval by the next council.

Moreover, although the new party charter has a one member, one post rule, Khaleda can now by-pass this provision to give anyone more than one post.

It is not unfair to say that the BNP is itself becoming increasingly autocratic, with Khaleda fast being elevated to autocrat-in-chief.

So perhaps it is not a case of old wine in new bottles after all, but a case of old wine turning to vinegar.

It is against this backdrop that the call for a bicameral legislature

must be seen.The party proposes to establish

an upper house of parliament con-sisting of representatives of var-ious communities, marginalised groups, professionals and intellec-tuals. Whatever that means.

There was no indication in her address about how the members of the proposed upper chamber would be chosen or who they would be representing.

Presumably the upper house will have the power of veto over the representatives of geographic constituencies in the lower house.

This would mean that narrowly de� ned interest groups perhaps representing a fraction of the fran-chise would be able to overrule the will of the elected representatives of the people.

But all of this is pure specula-tion, since the BNP chief neglected to elaborate on the composition, eligibility and selection of mem-

bers of her proposed upper house. Crucially, it is not all clear how the

proposed system would in fact curb the powers of the executive branch.

Bangladesh’s prime ministers have traditionally exercised strong executive power, leading from the front and requiring strict discipline from the cabinet and the parlia-mentary party.

Khaleda would know this well, having held the o� ce thrice since military autocrat HM Ershad (who is now the incumbent prime minister’s special envoy) was deposed in 1990.

She became prime minister after the country reverted to parliamen-tary democracy in 1991 through a constitutional amendment that did away with the presidential form of government favoured by military strongmen.

But the presidential � avour was never entirely lost from the coun-try’s political system. As noted earlier, prime ministers here have

frequently been known to operate as cabinet autocrats.

Yet this is the � rst time since 1991, that Khaleda has publicly aired worries about autocratic airs.

Khaleda’s 71 minute speech was an entertaining listen but o� ered few answers to even basic ques-tions about how the proposed sys-tem would operate and what bene-� ts it would bring.

She also suggested restoring the referendum system. Observers point out that referendums, unless judiciously applied, can easily be abused and undermine routine, sen-sible and civil parliamentary debate.

Now, calling for a bicameral leg-islature is not a good sign. Even a standard two-house system would increase the cost of government and increase the complexity of the legislative process.

But Khaleda’s proposed upper house of special constituency rep-resentatives would be downright

bad – taking legislative power out of the hands of people’s represent-atives and giving veto power to non-representative constituencies, however they are de� ned.

Bangladesh has 350 lawmak-ers. Why not work on empowering them and on democratising the political parties that � eld them at election time?

In the fractious and divisive pol-itics of Bangladesh, two houses of parliament is sure to mean double the trouble in politics.

After so many years away out-side of the formal political process, it is good to see the BNP thinking about democratic theory and show-ing an interest in parliament again.

But until the BNP (and every other party, for that matter) em-braces democracy within, dream-ing up ill-conceived schemes to curb autocratic tendencies in the executive branch just comes across as sour grapes. l

Wounded Tigers looking to bounce backscintillating form of late, especial-ly in the � rst round of the � agship event. Sunny has also been among the wickets recently so his non-ap-pearance will surely weaken the spin-bowling department.

Amid all the doom and gloom though, the Bangladesh team man-agement received some good news

in the shape of Musta� zur Rahman, who has been missing from action ever since incurring a side-strain injury in the Asia Cup T20 earlier this month. The pace sensation sat out the entire � rst round along with the Super 10 opener against Pakistan at Eden Gardens in Kolk-ata last Wednesday.

It was learned that Musta� zur has a high chance of being included in the playing XI today, irrespective of whether he is fully match-� t or not.

The batting department, mean-while, needs to � re, especially open-ing batsman Soumya Sarkar who has been unable to provide a good start in the global showpiece tournament.

His opening partner Tamim Iqbal though has no such worries, thanks to his brilliant displays in the recently concluded quali� ers.

Senior batsmen like Shakib al Hasan, Mush� qur Rahim and Mahmudullah will have to take up the responsibility and ensure Bangla-desh score big in order to make things

easy for the bowlers, provided the Ti-gers take � rst guard.

The Aussies will also eye a come-back after su� ering a heartbreaking eight-run defeat against Trans-Tas-man rivals New Zealand in their Su-per 10 opener. They have won all of their three matches against the Tigers in the shortest format of the game. l

News 3D

TMONDAY, MARCH 21, 2016

SHELA RIVER CARGO VESSEL CAPSIZE

Salvage e� orts yet to startn Our Correspondent,

Bagerhat

A day after a coal-laden cargo ves-sel sank in the Sundarban’s Shela River, authorities are yet to start any salvage operation.

A team of divers from Bangla-desh Navy, however, identi� ed the location of the sunken vessel.

No progress has so far been made in salvaging the vessel which is lying under 30-40 feet of depth, said divisional forest o� cer of Sun-darbans east zone, Saidul Islam.

On Saturday, Jessore-bound MV Sea Horse 1 from Chittagong –

with 1,235 tonnes of coal – sank in the Shela River at Harintana. All 14 crew members of the vessel, owned by Shamata Trading Agen-cy, managed to swim ashore after the incident.

The Department of Forest yes-terday formed a four-member com-mittee, headed by Assistant Con-servator of Forest Kamal Ahmed, to � nd out the possible reasons behind the vessel capsize.

The committee has been asked to submit a report on environmen-tal damage assessment in next three days, Saidul said.

He added that the Forest Depart-

ment has imposed a ban on plying vessels through Sharankhola-Bho-la and Mongla-Pashur river points after 11am yesterday, and asked all vessel owners to leave the area be-fore sunset.

“We have visited the area where the cargo-laden coaster vessel cap-sized. A red � ag has been erect-ed at the site to prevent furtheraccidents.”

Saidul added that the Forest De-partment is planning to � le a case on this regard as well.

Md Shah Alam Miah, o� cer-in-charge of Sharankhola police, said no forest o� cial had come

to the station as of 8pm yester-day. However, the master of the sunken vessel, Md Sirajul Islam Mollah, has � led a general diarywith the station.

On December 9, 2014, a tank-er carrying around 358,000 litres of furnace oil sank in the river, causing a prolonged negative im-pact on the coastal ecology ofthe Sundarbans.

The Forest Department also called for a ban on vessel move-ment on the river after coal-laden vessel MV Zia Raj capsized on the con� uence of Shela and Pashur riv-ers on October 27 last year. l

Supreme Court criticises Qamrul, Mozammeln Ashif Islam Shaon

The Supreme Court yesterday se-riously criticised Food Minister Qamrul Islam and Liberation War A� airs Minister AKM Mozammel Huq for their “arrogant” comments about Chief Justice Surendra Ku-mar Sinha and the apex court.

A seven-member bench of the Appellate Division headed by the chief justice accepted the explana-tion tendered by the liberation war a� airs minister in connection with the contempt of court rule issued on March 8 but rejected the one submitted by Qamrul.

The court � xed March 27 for fur-

ther hearing of the rules and asked the ministers to appear before it on that day too.

The two ministers appeared be-fore the apex court at 9am to explain their remarks made regarding the hearing of an appeal of war crimes convict Mir Quasem Ali at a discus-sion in the capital on March 5 – only three days before the pronounce-ment of the verdict in the case.

The chief justice said that the court would not hesitate to give any order considering how power-ful the ministers are. “The law will take its own course against anyone.

“This court is a wing of the con-stitution, not the government …

Judiciary and government should have mutual respect. You not only undermined the chief justice but also dishonoured the entire judici-ary by the statements.”

The court said that the two min-isters made arrogant comments about the chief justice and the judi-ciary. “The explanation by the food minister has been rejected as he said that he made the comment out of emotion as a freedom � ghter.”

Justice SK Sinha also said that a riot would have taken place had he withdrawn himself from the case and the trial proceedings of the war crimes cases hampered. The chief justice could be managed at a cost

of Tk1,000 crore, but not the four other judges.

The chief justice asked Qam-rul’s lawyer Abdul Baset Majumder whether the minister had violated his oath by confessing to his guilt.

After the ministers made the re-marks on March 5, the chief justice said that he had communicated with the law minister through the high commission o� ce while stay-ing in Nepal to ask the ministers to apologise unconditionally by hold-ing a press conference.

He also requested the law minis-ter to raise the issue in the cabinet meeting.

As law minister raised the is-

sue during the cabinet meeting, the prime minister scolded the ministers. But it was not enough as the ministers did not apologise through a press conference.

A nine-member bench of the apex court issued the contempt of court rule on March 8 before upholding the death sentence of the war crim-inal and the ministers were asked to appear before it on March 15.

On March 14, the food minister tendered unconditional apology to the court for his remarks. He had also � led a time to appear before the court as he was out of the country on a government trip. The court then � xed yesterday for the hearing. l

Seven human tra� ckers placed on 2-day remandn Md Sanaul Islam Tipu

A Dhaka court yesterday placed sev-en human tra� ckers on a two-day remand in a case � led with Moti-jheel police station in the capital.

Dhaka Metropolitan Magistrate Pranab Kumar issued the order after Motijheel Sub-Inspector Md Shahid Ullah, who is also the in-vestigation o� cer of the case, pro-duced the tra� ckers before the court with a seven-day remand pe-tition for interrogation.

Meanwhile, the defence coun-sels submitted bail petitions before the court, but the court rejected the pleas after hearing the case.

The remanded tra� ckers are Abdul Qaiyum, 44, Khokon Ah-mad Asgar, 30, Jahangir Alam, 30, Nasir Uddin, 40, Faruqul Islam, 31, Rubel Hawladar, 29, and BadalHawladar, 35.

The criminals were arrested by Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) in di� erent drives around the capital on Saturday.

Later, RAB 3 Nayek Subedar Sheikh Shariful Islam � led a case in this regard with Motijheel police station against the criminals. l

Poet Goon named for Swadhinata Padakn Tribune Report

The government has nominated noted poet Nirmalendu Goon for Swadhinata Padak (Independ-ence Award) 2016 in recognition of his contribution to the � eldof literature.

Besides, 13 other distinguished persons and an organisation were also named for the award in recog-nition of their outstanding contri-butions in respective � elds. l

Residents of the slums that have been built around the train tracks in the capital’s Karwan Bazar are living at constant risk. Even more at risk are the children who carelessly play right on the train tracks. This reckless living often results in fatal accidents in the area. The photo was taken recently SYED ZAKIR HOSSAIN

MONDAY, MARCH 21, 2016News4DT

Prime Minister addressing the inauguration ceremony of the newly built Institute of Architects, Bangladesh building in the capital’s Agargaon area yesterday BSS

Adabor SI sent to jailn Md Sanaul Islam Tipu

A Dhaka court yesterday sent Ratan Kumar Hawlader, a sus-pended sub-inspector of Adabor police station, to jail after reject-ing his bail petition in a case � led for sexually harassing a female student of ASA University.

Dhaka’s Fourth Women and Children Repression Prevention Tribunal Judge Saleh Uddin Ahmed passed the order after the accused surrendered be-fore the court and sought bail through his counsel.

The same court issued an arrest warrant against Ratan on February 16 after taking into cognisance the judicial probe report in the case.

Defence counsel Saydur Rahman Manik in the petition said that as the victim and the accused had reached a compro-mise, the accused might get bail.

During the hearing, the victim was present before the court. She also mentioned that she had no objection if the accused got bail.

Special public prosecutor Md Forkan Miah mentioned that the accused could not get bail since the case was non-com-poundable and a judicial in-quiry found the allegations against the accused true.

However, the accused was

found innocent in a police in-vestigation conducted by Te-jgaon division Additional Depu-ty Commissioner Ansiur Rashid and Assistant Commissioner Ha� z Al Faruq.

The judicial probe report said that the accused and two other members of Adabor police stopped her rickshaw around 3pm on January 31 when the plainti� was on her way to a bookstore on Nurjahan Road.

They con� ned her to an electronics shop in front of Ja-pan Garden City and harassed her for about 45 minutes, ac-cusing her of being a yaba ped-dler. Ratan ordered the shop owner to leave, and shutting down the shop he opened her jacket and handbag, and sexu-ally harassed her while frisking.

Later, the victim � led a case with the Dhaka’s Fourth Wom-en and Children Repression Pre-vention Tribunal. After the alle-gation was raised, the accused was suspended and attached to Rajarbagh Police Lines.

Ratan earlier claimed that he had known the girl for long and had investigated an arson case � led against her husband, who is a Jubo Dal activist in Moham-madpur. “This is just a retaliatory act of the girl as I investigated her husband’s case,” he alleged. l

PM: Bangladesh � rm to � ght racial discrimination n BSS

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has rea� rmed Bangladesh’s � rm com-mitment to combat all forms of racism, racial discrimination, xen-ophobia and related intolerance.

“Our principled and uncompro-mising stand against racial discrimi-nation is aptly manifested in our Con-stitution as well as in our entire legal and administrative framework,” she said in a message on the eve of the In-ternational Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination yesterday.

“Our Constitution prohibits dis-crimination against any citizen on grounds of race, religion, caste or creed, gender or place of birth. We promote international cooperation among and between nations irre-spective of race, religion, ethnicity, culture and civilisation.”

She said: “Our � agship resolution in the UN on ‘culture of peace and non violence,’ which receives over-whelming support from the comity of nations every year, is a testimo-ny of our commitment towards the principle of inclusion. Our adher-ence to the culture of pluralism, communal harmony, democracy, freedom, liberalism, peace and de-velopment is well-acclaimed by the

international community.” She lamented that people around

the world are still facing discrimina-tion, suppression and oppression on the grounds of their racial, re-ligious or ethnic identify. “We are dismayed that hundreds of millions of human beings continue to su� er today from racism, discrimination, xenophobia and exclusion.”

The prime minister called for stronger international cooperation for elimination of racial discrimina-tion from the world. She reiterated the importance of ratifying and ful-ly implementing the international convention on the elimination of all forms of racial discrimination which is the universal foundation for e� orts to prevent, combat and eradicate racism.

“As a state party to the Interna-tional Convention on the Elimina-tion of All Forms of Racial Discrimi-nation (CERD) and an active member of the UN Human Rights Council, we support comprehensive implemen-tation of the provisions of the con-vention. We also must show political resolve and make further e� orts to implement the recommendations, the Durban Declaration and Pro-gramme of Action, for elimination of racial discrimination.” l

MONDAY, MARCH 21, 2016News 5

DT

PRAYERTIMES

Cox’s Bazar 32 26Dhaka 36 24 Chittagong 33 26 Rajshahi 39 25 Rangpur 36 20 Khulna 35 22 Barisal 36 25 Sylhet 32 18T E M P E R AT U R E F O R E C A S T F O R TO DAY

Source: Accuweather/UNB

D H A K ATODAY TOMORROW

SUN SETS 6:10PM SUN RISES 6:01AM

YESTERDAY’S HIGH AND LOW35.1ºC 19.6ºC

Rajshahi NetrokonaMONDAY, MARCH 21Source: IslamicFinder.org

Fajr: 4:43am | Zohr: 12:00amAsr: 3:32pm | Magrib: 6:13pmEsha: 7:40pm

THUNDERSHOWER WITH RAIN

A tow truck tugging at a bus, rolled over to its side after a road accident, out of the way in the capital’s Khilkhet area yesterday afternoon. The accident resulted in the death of three people DHAKA TRIBUNE

bKash agent shot dead in Badda n Tribune Report

A bKash agent has been shot and killed by unidenti� ed assailants in the capital’s Badda; the criminals also snatched away Tk1.5 lakh from the agent.

Twenty-eight-year-old Mahbub Mridha, hailing from Agailjhara upazila of Barisal, was critically in-jured when he was shot by two mug-gers around 11:45am on Sunday.

Later, locals rushed him to Kurmi-tola General Hospital where on-duty doctors declared him dead at 12:15pm, said Badda OC Abdul Jalil Mandal.

Kamruzzaman, general man-ager of Roots Distribution Compa-ny which is involved in collecting bKash money from agents, told the Dhaka Tribune that Mahbub and another man named Tuhin were headed to Badda to collect money from bKash agents.

“Suddenly two muggers hit Tu-hin from behind and he fell to the ground. Then they shot Mahbub on the neck and left the place with the bag of money,” Kamruzzaman said.

No arrest has so far been made in this connection. l

Three killed as bus hits private car in Dhaka n Kamrul Hasan

Three people including two wom-en were killed as a passenger bus rammed a private car from behind in Khilkhet � yover area in the cap-ital.

Khilkhet police station Sub-In-spector Shahidur Rahman con-� rmed the deaths to the Dhaka Tribune.

The deceased were identi� ed as Delwar Hossain, 65, his sister  An-wara Begum, 40, her daughter Lovely Khatun, 22, said the SI.

The police o� cial said a passen-ger bus of Ena Paribahan rammed the private car in the area at around 4pm yesterday leaving three pas-sengers of the car and its driver critically injured.

The bus also hit another local passenger bus named Tetulia Par-ibahan. However, no one was in-jured.

Later, the victims of the ill-fated private car were rushed to Kurmi-tola General Hospital where the duty doctors declared all three of them dead, he added.

The driver of the car was under-going treatment at the hospital. l

Muggers � nd new prey in bKash agentsn Arifur Rahman Rabbi

Moving away from their usual prac-tice of targeting unsuspecting civil-ians, muggers are now more keen about preying on mobile banking agents who carry large sums of cash on them as part of their job.

Agents of bKash and mobile account recharging services are often vulnerable targets as they have little to no protection when they move around with money. As a result, the potential pay-o� is huge for the muggers. In a single incident on February 8, muggers snatched Tk32 Lakh after holding an agent at gunpoint in Tongi.

Last month alone, at least � ve agents – either working for bKash or mobile recharging services – were shot and had their money snatched by muggers. In the most recent incident, a bKash agent lost his life in the capital's Badda

yesterday when muggers shot him and stole Tk1.5 lakh.

There is no o� cial police � gure on how many bKash agents had been victims of mugging in

recent years. But according to sources in the police force and at di� erent hospitals, the Dhaka Tribune found that a modest

estimate would be somewhere around 50 in the last year alone.

“The DMP has issued several di-rectives [to the public] on seeking help or informing the police before moving a large sum of money. But many do not seek such cooperation from the police,” said Monirul Is-lam, spokesperson and additional commissioner of Dhaka Metropol-itan Police.

The police facility of securing the physical transfer of money is available for anyone – irrespective of how much money was being moved, said DMP Deputy Com-missioner (media) Maruf Hossain Sardar.

But without much interest in seeking help from the police, inci-dents of mugging are on the rise.

At a crime conference this month, DMP Commissioner Asa-duzzaman Mia said the police has seen an increase in mugging when

most other forms of crime were on the decline in recent times.

According to the police head-quarters, at least 173 muggings were reported with the police across the country in the � rst two months of the year; in the Dhaka metropolitan area, the number was 38.

However, the real number is estimated to be much higher, as many of the victims never report the muggings to the police.

Victims allege that, in most cas-es, police cannot identify the sus-pects or recover the mugged mon-ey.

But DMP's Monirul Islam said: "It takes time to identify and arrest the muggers. Sometimes hijackers are arrested but the money is never recovered.”

Even when these criminals are arrested, they secure bail and start committing the same crimes again, Monirul told the Dhaka Tribune. l

Last month alone, at least � ve agents – either working for bKash or mobile recharging services – were shot and had their money snatched by muggers

MONDAY, MARCH 21, 2016News6DT

New GTCL o� cers’ association exec committee formedn Tribune Report

The eighth executive committee of GTCL O� cers’ Welfare Association, the sole organisation of the o� cials employed at Gas Transmission Company Limited, has been formed with HR Director Syed Md Nasir Uddin as president and Manager (Engineering) SM Amir Hossain as general secretary.

The 17-member committee was formed after a general election which took place on March 14. The committee will be operative for two years, according to a press release.

Other newly elected members of the committee include Md Riaz Uddin and Goutam Ghosh as vice-

presidents, SM Tuhin-Or-Rashid as deputy general secretary, SM Mesbahul Alam as organising secretary, AKM Moniruzzaman as � nance secretary, Shahin Mridha as publicity and publication secretary, Md Shahnewaz Mehbub as sports and culture secretary, Mohammad Fayez Ullah as o� ce secretary.

General members are Mohammad Alamgir Hossain, Mohammad Anwarul Islam, Kartik Chandra Sarkar, Farhana Zafrin, Ashrafun Nahar, Md Mosharraf Hossain and Sultan Ahmed.

GTCL, operating under Bangladesh Oil and Gas Cor-poration – which is otherwise known as Petrobangla – runs the national gas grid. l

AL’s council deferred to July 10n Abu Hayat Mahmud

The Awami League has deferred to July 10 its 20th triennial national council because of the upcoming union parishad elections.

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, also the president of the ruling party, made the decision after holding a meeting of the party’s Central Working Committee (ALCWC) at her o� cial residence Gono Bhaban on Sunday.

“We have deferred our party’s 20th triennial national council due to the upcoming Union Parishad polls. Party leaders at every level will be

busy with the polls and they will be unable to vote on March 28,” the prime minister said during the meeting.

The 19th council of Awami League was held on December 29, 2012.

Referring to BNP Chairperson Khaleda Zia’s speech at BNP’s council, Sheikh Hasina said Khaleda was conspiring to kill her.

“Khaleda Zia proposed to hold the next national polls without me. This proves that the BNP leader is conspiring with her national and international masters on how to kill me or remove me from politics,” Hasina said. l

‘Women’s presence inadequate in local government’n Shadma Malik

The number of female public rep-resentatives in local government, i.e. upazila and union parishads, is alarmingly small and must be boosted so that they can have equal presence as their male counter-parts, speakers said at a round-ta-ble discussion yesterday.

Women share responsibilities with men to form good governance, so more women should have been candidates in the upcoming union parishad (UP) elections, they said.

The discussion was organised by Brac University’s Institute of Gov-ernance and Development (BIGD) at Lakeshore Hotel in the capital.

Addressing the issue of the small number of female political leaders in the grassroots level of the government, the speakers said in the UP polls, the � rst phase of which begins tomorrow, the num-ber of female candidates is relative-ly fewer than before.

In fact, data from the Election Commission shows that female participation in di� erent elections

in the government has decreased over the years.

From 2008 to 2011, the number of female participants in UP elec-tions went down 1,000 around the country, according to the Election Commission statistics.

In this regard, BIGD along with an NGO named Shorik conducted a qualitative research in six unions under two upazilas in Rajshahi dis-trict, where they interviewed both male and female representatives between September 2015 and Feb-ruary 2016.

The study revealed women do not feel motivated to participate in the UP elections as they cannot keep the promises they make to the voters in their election areas. Women are generally passive as political actors, and economic bar-riers in their commitment, proper resource allocation and confusion in their respective responsibilities have drawn back many of them from attempting in the election.

Moreover, women prefer to participate in the reserve seats be-cause they are less expensive and

competitive. However, participa-tion in reserve seats may also put women in the sidelines when it comes to contesting elections in the general seats.

The discussion was also attend-ed by Melina Papageorgiou Trippo-lini, programme manager at Swiss Agency for Development and Co-operation, BIGD Executive Director Dr Sultan Hafez Islam and People’s Solidarity Movement Convener Zonayed Saki, among others. BIGD visiting fellow Maheen Sultan gave the key note speech. l

MONDAY, MARCH 21, 2016News 7

DT

721 unions go to polls tomorrow as campaign endsn Adil Sakhawat

Elections in 721 union parishads across the country are going to be held tomorrow as campaigns end-ed last night.

This is the � rst time union polls will be held on party lines.

The Election Commission (EC) announced schedules for elections in 752 unions in the � rst phase but land issues and voter readjust-ment led to postponement of polls in 18 unions. Also, elections in 11unions of Tangail’s Nagarpur upazila will be held on March 23,

and two unions of Teknaf upazila on March 27.

Ballot boxes have already reached the o� ces of returning of-� cers, said election o� cials.

In the � rst phase of the elec-tions, 36,456 candidates – 3,034 for chairman posts, 25,847 for member posts and 7,575 for reserved-seat women posts - will compete.

A total of 11,940,741 voters will vote in 7,087 polling stations.

Election Commissioner M Shah-newaz yesterday said: “All prepa-rations for holding the polls have been taken. Campaigns will end on

Sunday midnight. Action will be taken if any anomaly is spotted.”

He said the EC had already or-dered the law enforcement agen-cies to be on alert.

“We have been informed of some disputes over the elections. Action has been taken in some cas-es and will be taken for the remain-ing cases as well,” said Shahnewaz.

A total of 54 chairmen, 179 mem-bers and 54 reserved-seat women members have already been elect-ed uncontested.

Deputy Secretary of the EC’s election management department

Shamshul Alam said: “Polls will open at 8am on March 22. Cam-paigns will end 32 hours before the elections. Also, bringing out processions are prohibited until 48 hours have passed after elections end at 5pm.”

“General holiday will be ob-served in the unions on the day of voting. To ensure security during the polls, three platoons of BGB members and three RAB teams will be deployed in upazilas,” he said, adding: “In coastal areas, Coast Guard will be on duty instead of BGB.” l

208 violent incidents take place so far n Arifur Rahman Rabbi

Inspector General of Police (IGP) AKM Shahidul Hoque yesterday at least 208 incidents of violence had taken place in the recent days across the country over the upcoming un-ion parishad elections that left sev-en people killed and 508 injured.

The IGP made the remark at a press brie� ng held at police head-quarters in reply to a question over occurring clashes and criminal ac-tivities centring the UP polls.

The � rst phase of the Union Parishad election is scheduled to be held tomorrow.

He said: “So far around 208 in-cidents of violence have been re-ported over the election. Of them, around 102 were reported in Baris-al. At least seven people have died and 508 injured in these incidents.”

He said at least 142 cases and 55 general diaries were � led over the incidents. Ninety-� ve were de-tained in these connections.

He urged all the candidates and their supporters to restrain them-selves from getting involved into clashes during voting because that might lead to cancellation of can-didacy or � ling of case against the culprits.

He said to make law and situa-tion normal, around 180,000 law enforcers would provide three-phase security during the Union Parisahd election. The security would be provided from a day ahead of the election till the fol-lowing day of the polls.

Of the total number of law en-forcers, 40,000 police personnel, 9,000 RAB men and 9,000 BGB personnel would be deployed across the country.

The IGP also said: “I am strictly in-structing police personnel not to har-ass anybody by � ling false cases.” l

Low income people of Rajshahi, to reach their home from Dhaka, usually travel in vehicle used for domestic fowl risking their lives. The picture was taken yesterday from Baneshawr area of Puthia DHAKA TRIBUNE

1 dies in Pabna pre-election clashn Our Correspondent, Pabna

A man died from bullet injuries yesterday after he was shot during a clash between the supporters of two Awami League candidates in the elections to Dhalarchar union parishad in Pabna’s Bera upazila.

Gaher Mondol, 30, son of Pa-shan Mondol of the union’s Khay-erbagan village, was shot at Mirpur village on Saturday night. He was a supporter of Awami League rebel candidate Nasir Uddin.

Md Siddiqur Rahman, addition-al superintendent of police (special branch) in Pabna, said another 10 people were injured in the clash.

Locals said Nasir and Awami League-backed candidate Korban Ali Sarder had recently been in con-� ict ahead of the elections.

On Saturday night, supporters of Nasir and Korban had an alter-cation when they campaigned at Mirpur village and the verbal disa-greement led to a clash.

Both parties � red shots at each other, and Gaher sustained injuries when bullets were exchanged. He died on the scene.

The injured were � rst admitted to Bera Upazila Health Complex before they were taken to Pabna General Hospital as their condition deteriorated.

Zakir Hossain, assistant super-intendent of police (Bera circle), said why the clash broke out could not be known immediately. Panic gripped the area after the incident as locals feared further unrest.

Bogra correspondent adds: The election o� ce and a shop of a BNP chairman candidate were vandal-ised at Jorgachha Bazar in Bhela-bari union of Bogra’s Sariakandi on Saturday night.

Lutful Haider Rumi claimed that the supporters of Awami League chairman contestant Rubel Uddin were responsible for the vandalism.

Witnesses said President of Awami League’s Sariakandi upazi-la unit Shahadara Mannan cam-paigned for Rubel at Bhelabari on Saturday evening.

They said Rubel’s supporters vandalised the election o� ce and a shop of Rumi around 10:30pm, af-ter Mannan left. Another two near-by shops were also vandalised.

The upazila nirbahi o� cer, Md Moniruzzaman, said the attackers � ed when police arrived on the scene.

Meanwhile, Chaluabari’s BNP-backd chairman candidate Mo-sta� zur Rahman and independent candidate Shawkat Ali said the henchmen of Awami League-backed candidate Tazul Islam Bad-shah, who is also the incumbent chairman, had intimidated them, disrupting their campaigns. But Tazul denied the allegation. l

Supporters of chairman candidates passing busy time for fair polln Our Correspondent,

Kishoreganj

Supporters of chairman candidates in 11 union councils under Sadar upazila are passing busy moments for free and fair elections held on March 22.

Local sources said campaign for the upcoming elections was at an eleventh hour yesterday and the supporters of the candidates re-mained alert so that the vote of any candidate could not be purchased.

When visited it was found the peo-ple of Mohinanda, Bolai, Korshakrial, Binnati and Maria union councils guard at several points in groups against any kind of anomalies.

Mahfuz Mian of area in Maria said: “We, seven friends along with many other villagers guard at night with torchlight and bamboo sticks so that nobody can purchase votes of general voters.”

Mahfuz alleged that in spite of

heavy alertness, some candidates purchase the votes.

They also sent money to the vot-ers through bKash account, said he.

A section of voters of Sadar upazi-la alleged that the current chairman and some rebel candidates were bar-rier for free-fair elections.

Independent candidates are campaigning in nine union coun-cils out of 12. On the other hand, 12 rebel-candidates who are de-prived of their party, campaign for elections. Of them, seven are from Awami League and 5 from Bangla-desh Nationalist Party.

The current chairmen Abdur Razzak in Latifabd, Sh� qul Islam in Binnati,Saluddin Ahmed in Maria, Tofzzal Hossain in Boulai, Mo� zud-din in Maikhapon, Md Kamaluddin in Korshakorial, Shamsulhuda in Joshodal, Abdul Karim in Chowud-dashato and Md Nurul Huda in Mo-hinanda union councils contest to win the elections from their party.

On the other hand, Mohammad Nurul Huda, a rebel candidate of Awami League and current chair-man of Mohinanda union, Sha� qul Isalm from Binnati union and Abdul Karim, a BNP rebel candidate and current chairman of Chowuddasha-to union and Saluddin Ahmed in Maria union contest in the elections.

In Mohinanda union, a total of four candidates contest from Awa-mi League including the current chairman. Five in Rashidabad, � ve in Danapatuli, six in Binnati, four in Maria, seven in Boulai, three in Maizkhapon, seven in Latifabad, four in Jashodal, seven in Korsha-korial, � ve in Chowuddashato con-test hard to win the elections.

A total of 58 got nominations contest for the post of chairman, 439 in members and 133 in woman re-served seat posts. Election Commis-sioner Md Ashraful said the prepa-ration for free and fair elections had already been completed. l

News8DTMONDAY, MARCH 21, 2016

28 indicted in Banshkhali arms recovery casen FM Mizanur Rahaman,

Chittagong

The Rapid Action Battalion yester-day submitted a charge sheet be-fore a Chittagong court implicating 28 activists of newly-formed mili-tant out� t Shaheed Hamja Brigade, (SHM) including Barrister Shakila Farzana and two other lawyers.

“Assistant Superintendent of Police of RAB 7 Ruhul Amin also the Investigation O� cer of the case submitted the charge sheet against them before the court of Senior Judicial Magistrate,” said Chief Commanding O� cer of RAB 7 Lieutenant Commander Mifta Uddin Ahmed.

“Implicating 28 persons, in-

cluding Supreme Court’s Barrister Shakila Farzana and two other law-yers— Advocate Md Hasanuzzaman Liton and Dhaka Judge Court’s Ad-vocate Mahfuz Chowdhury Bapon, the RAB submitted the charge sheet under the Anti-Terrorism Act,” he said.

It is the second charge sheet against the SHB by the RAB while

another charge sheet against 11 persons of SHB was also submit-ted before a court in Chittagong on Wednesday.

Acting on a tip o� , members of the elite force busted a hideout of Hamja Brigade from Lotmoni Pahar, Banshkhali upazila, Chit-tagong on February 22, last year.

Five persons were arrested dur-

ing the drive. Later, three AK-22 ri-� es, seven pistols, a revolver, eight machetes, some pairs of army com-bat shoes and boots, a large num-ber of bullets, some wally-talky sets and some track-suits were seized from their possessions. Lat-er, RAB found link of three lawyers and a RMG business man with the SHB during investigation. l

Violence, rigging mark municipal pollsFour BNP-backed mayoral candidates boycott electionsn Tribune Report

Union parishad polls at 10 munic-ipalities were held yesterday amid boycotting election by BNP can-didates, vote rigging and series of clashes.

The municipalities are Hara-gach of Rangpur, Brahmanbarhia Sadar, Jhalakathi Sadar, Kabirhat in Noakhali, Nangalkot in Comilla, Faridpur’s Bhanga, Cox’s Bazar’s Chakaria and Maheshkhali, Feni’s Shonagazi and Jhenidah’s Kaliganj.

Four BNP-backed candidates boycott polls The poll was held at Brahmanbar-ia Sadar municipalty amid taking over poling centres, snatching of ballot boxes, series of clashes, ex-plosion of bombs and boycott of elections by BNP-nominated can-didate.

Local sources said as soon as the election started, a gang of goons took the control of Puniaut Gov-ernment Primary School centre ex-ploding hand-made bombs. They also looted ballot boxes resulting suspension of voting.

During a visit to Brahmanbaria Women’s Government College, this correspondent found a festival of vote rigging.

Supporters of Chhatra League district unit Joint Secretary Md Mo-min Mia took the control of the cen-tre and started casting fake votes.

Later, BNP-supported mayoral candidate Ha� zur Rahman Molla Kochi boycotted the election alleg-ing that supporters of AL-backed candidates cast fake votes after forc-ing his agents out of polling centres.

The BNP-backed mayoral aspir-ant announced the election boycott at a press brie� ng around 12:20pm.

Apart from this, BNP-backed four ward coucillors boycotted election. The councillor candidates are Ajit Ku-mar Das, Ahsan Ullah Hasan, Kong-kor Ghosh and Moinul Islam Tutul.

Meanwhile, Bangladesh Nation-alist Party backed mayoral candi-date at Sonagazi municipality in Feni has boycotted the election.

Jamaluddin Sentu, the candi-date came up with the declamation yesterday morning while he was brie� ng the journalists at his house under College road of the munici-pality.

He alleged that the activists of Awami League took over the cen-tres and cast votes for boat symbol.

On the other hand, Awami League candidate advocate Ra� qul Islam Khokon denied the allega-tion of Jamaluddin.

Returning O� cer Mozammel Hossain said the election was held in a peaceful atmosphere.

The election started around 8am am and ended around 4pm yesterday.

However, Ra� qul was declared the mayor of the municipality in the afternoon.

In Comilla, BNP-supported mayoral contender Jahangir Alam Majumder withdrew himself from the polls race in Nangalkot munic-ipality, as men of the ruling par-ty-backed candidates prevented his supporters from casting votes and occupied some polling centres forc-ing their agents out of the booths.

Jahangir Alam Majumder an-nounced his polls boycott citing vote fraud at a press brie� ng at a local BNP o� ce at noon.

In Jhalakati, BNP mayoral can-didate Anadi Das withdrew himself from electoral race alleging vote rigging and taking over polling cen-tres by the ruling party men.

He made the announcement at a press conference held at BNP party o� ce around 5pm.

Apart from this, series of clashes took place between the supporters of Awami League mayoral candi-date Liakat Ali Talukdar and rebel candidate Afzal Hossain. No polling

agents from BNP and rebel candi-dates were found during the voting.

However, Additional Superinten-dent of Police Md Abdul Rakib told the Dhaka Tribune that election was held in a peaceful atmosphere.

In Moheshkhali, at least 10 peo-ple were injured during clashes be-tween local people and police.

O� cer-in-Charge of Mahesh-khali police station said the clash had erupted when supporters of a mayoral candidate went to capture polling station and supporters of another candidate resisted them.

To avoid untoward incident po-lice, BGB, RAB personnel were de-ployed.

Bhanga municipality polls Voters of Bhanga municipality cast their votes to elect one mayor, 33 Councillors and 10 female council-lors in reserve posts.

Five candidates vied for the post of mayor. But according to observ-ers there will be contest between Abu Reza Md Faez, also outgoing mayor, who is the o� cial candidate of Awami League with boat symbol and backed by AL presidium mem-ber Kazi Zafrullah while the other is an independent candidate Abu Zafar Munshi, backed by the MP of the area Mujibur Rahman Chowdhury Nixon.

Though BNP and Islami Ando-lon have � elded their candidates but could not create any bite in the poll race. There is also another in-dependent candidate in the race.

There are 24,662 voters in Bhanga municipal area. Of them 12,340 are male while 12,322 are female. There are 15 vote centers with 81 booths in 9 wards.

Voting suspended in two polling stations in NoakhaliPolls in two polling centers, out of nine, were suspended in Kabirhat Upazila of Noakhali.

The suspended polling centers are Indrapur Government Primary School and Alipur Engineer’s Insti-tute Government Primary School.

Md Monir Hossain, Senior Dis-trict Election O� cer and also the returning o� cer of Kabirhat Mu-nicipality election con� rmed the incident.

A mobile court awarded six months jail to two persons for snatching ballot papers and casting false votes at Alipur Engineer Insti-tute Government Primary School center at 2 pm.

They were Zahirul Islam, 20, and Rubel, 22. Senior Judicial Mag-istrate Mash� qul Haque passed the order. l

In Brahmanbaria Sadar, the supporters of the ruling AL-backed candidate casting fake votesAt Daudpur polling centre in Langolkot of Comilla, a voter is forced to leave the centre

n Rad Sharar Bin Kamal

To begin with, it would be important to mention that Venturas Ltd cocooned only last year. The e-learning

startup in Bangladesh may still be a child in terms of age, but one which is ticking all the right boxes with their operations in the education sector. They have already launched an app revolutionising the way students of SSC and HSC levels can revise for their exams, and to make things even better, it’s free. If you haven’t heard of it, ironically, it’s called “Jano Ki?”

The Android application was launched in February this year, with an immediate response from students, parents and teachers alike. However, the fame was not simply built from the app itself. The “Jano Ki?” team reached across numerous renowned educational institutions in Dhaka, including Notre Dame College, Viqarunnissa Noon School and College, Cambrian College, Gulshan Commerce College, Jahangirnagar University School and College and others. In total, 50 schools in Dhaka city were connected to, tallying over 7000 SSC/HSC students.

Over 5000 downloads were made in the � rst 30 days of launch. Moreover, math and chemistry courses were recently added as well for students studying in science. The platform was also ranked in the App Annie “Top 100 educational Android apps” board in Bangladesh.

These are big numbers from a little company, which has an

interesting story behind it’s inception. The founder and chief executive o� cer of Venturas Ltd, Yoriko Ueda, elaborated on her journey to Bangladesh from Japan and why she chose this sector.

How did Venturas Ltd � rst form in Bangladesh? First of all, I (Yoriko) was looking for a new opportunity to contribute to Bangladesh through business after I spent a year in the country in 2014. Eventually, I met the chief executive o� cer of Reapra Pte Ltd, who was thankfully looking for investment opportunities in the education sector of Bangladesh. He needed somebody who could take the responsibility, and our objectives matched. We agreed that I would start Venturas Ltd in Bangladesh.

Why the education sector?I personally believe that education is one of the vital factors in order to establish a good nation. Especially in the context of a developing economy, education could be a lifeline for the people to transform for a better future.

From last June, I began carrying out a market research on the education sector in Bangladesh, and discovered numerous problems in the � eld. For instance, there is a large pool of students in general, which resulted in an unbelievable number of students in the average classroom. For all those students, only a single teacher remains responsible. This is an impossible task, regardless of the teachers’ ability to deliver.

In addition, students are going to coaching centers and spending a large amount of money to catch up

to school textbooks and prepare for examinations. I also found that people who have the ability to spend morehave better access to (and more expensive) teachers. Hence, an equal platform for education is missing.

On the other hand, considering the recent development of global education, there are many ways to support these kinds of problems. When technology is adopted, the prospects and positive results are truly stunning.

Matching Japanese standards and services, I started planning the idea to revolutionise the education sector in Bangladesh, and that’s why I went ahead with this particular sector.

How exactly does Venturas Ltd plan to approch the students of Bangladesh?We’re trying to remove the burden for the students when the time comes to decide on their career and work life. For us, this means providing quality education at an a� ordable price.

Moreover, we are trying to provide a completely new learning experience for Bangladeshi students. We wish for them to have fun when they study, become more creative and be motivated to take up new challenges in their lives.

What’s special about the “Jano Ki?” app?Firstly, studying is made to be fun. The app is designed like mobile games with attractive colours background music, all to enable students to learn and remember better. Users are to simply � ip � ash cards with questions on

them up or down, depending on memory. After � ipping them all, they can easily measure how many cards, words, idioms etc they have learned and how much they still have to memorise.

Students can study anywhere, at anytime. Learning does not only happen inside the four walls of the classroom, it can happen anywhere. Whether you’re home, out with friends or even stuck in tra� c, the app shall always be with you.

Internet is not required. After

downloading the exercises you need, you can study courses while o� ine.

And yes, it covers the SSC and HSC curriculums. “Jano Ki?” helps students prepare for objective and creative questions. You can get 19 subjects in total within the app, including 112 courses which will cover all the subjects of science, arts and business studies, both for SSC and HSC levels.

If your exams are dawning, hurry! Download the app, and conquer your exams. l

Education 9D

T

MONDAY, MARCH 21, 2016

‘Jano Ki?’ app makes education simpler than ever

We are trying to provide a completely new learning experience for Bangladeshi students. We wish for them to have fun when they study, become more creative and be motivated to take up new challenges in their lives

- Yoriko UedaFounder and chief executive o� cer of Venturas Ltd

10DT

MONDAY, MARCH 21, 2016Health

Herbs, spice and everything nice7 cancer-� ghting culinary spices and herbs

GingerGinger has long been used in folk medicine to treat everything from cold to constipation. Ginger can be used fresh, in powdered form (ginger spice) or candied. Although the � avour between fresh and grounded ginger is signi� cantly di� erent, they can be substituted for one another in many recipes. In general, you can replace 1/8 teaspoon of ground ginger with 1 tablespoon of fresh grated ginger, and vice versa.

Consuming ginger and ginger products, in addition to taking any anti-nausea medications as prescribed, may provide some comfort for a queasy stomach during cancer treatment.

RosemaryRosemary is a hearty, woody Mediterranean herb that has needle like leaves and is a good source of antioxidants. Because of its origin, rosemary is commonly used in Mediterranean cooking and you’ll often see it included as a primary ingredient in Italian seasoning. You can use it to add � avour to soups, tomato-based sauces, bread, and high-protein foods like poultry, beef, and lamb.

Rosemary may help with detoxi� cation; taste changes; indigestion, � atulence, and other digestive problems; and loss of appetite. Try drinking up to three cups of rosemary leaf tea on a daily basis to help cure these problems.

TurmericTurmeric is a herb in the ginger family; it’s one of the ingredients that make many curries yellow and gives it its distinctive � avour. Curcumin appears to be the active compound in turmeric. This compound demonstrates antioxidant and anti-in� ammatory properties, potentially protecting

against cancer development. Turmeric extract supplements are currently being studied to see if they have a role in preventing and treating some cancers, including colon, prostate, breast, and skin cancers. Although results appear promising, they have largely been observed in laboratory and animal studies, so it’s unclear whether these results will ultimately translate to humans.

Chili peppersChilli peppers contain capsaicin, a compound that can relieve pain. When capsaicin is applied topically to the skin, it releases a chemical called substance P. Upon continued use, the amount of substance P eventually produced in that area decreases, reducing pain in the area.

However, this doesn’t mean you should go rubbing chilli peppers where you have pain. Chilli peppers need to be handled very carefully because they can cause burns if they come in contact with the skin. Therefore, if you have pain and want to harness the power of chilli peppers, ask your oncologist or physician about prescribing a capsaicin cream. It has shown pretty good results with regard to treating neuropathic pain (sharp, shocking pain that follows the path of a nerve) after surgery for cancer.

Another bene� t of chilli peppers is that they may help with indigestion. Seems counter intuitive, right? But some studies have shown that ingesting small amounts of cayenne may reduce indigestion.

GarlicGarlic belongs to the Allium class of bulb-shaped plants, which also includes chives, leeks,

onions, shallots, and scallions. Garlic is high in sulphur and is also a good source of arginine, oligosaccharides, � avonoids, and selenium, all of which may be bene� cial to health. Garlic’s active compound, called allicin, gives it its characteristic odour and is produced when garlic bulbs are chopped, crushed, or otherwise damaged.

Several studies suggest that increased garlic intake reduces

the risk of cancers of the stomach, colon, esophagus, pancreas, and breasts. It appears that garlic may protect against cancer through numerous mechanisms, including inhibiting bacterial infections and the formation of cancer-causing substances, promoting DNA repair, and inducing cell death. Garlic supports detoxi� cation and may also support the immune system and help reduce blood pressure.

PeppermintPeppermint is a natural hybrid cross between water mint and spearmint. It has been used for thousands of years as a digestive aid to relieve gas, indigestion, cramps, and diarrhoea. It may also help with symptoms of irritable bowel syndrome and food poisoning. Peppermint appears to calm the muscles of the stomach and improve the � ow of bile, enabling food to pass through the stomach more quickly.

If your cancer or treatment is causing an upset stomach, try drinking a cup of peppermint tea. Many commercial varieties are available in the market, or you can make your own by boiling dried peppermint leaves in water or adding fresh leaves to boiled water

and letting them steep for a few minutes until the tea reaches the desired strength.

Peppermint can also soothe a sore throat. For this reason, it is also sometimes used to relieve the painful mouth sores that can occur from chemotherapy and radiation, or is a key ingredient in treatments for this condition.

ChamomileChamomile is thought to have medicinal bene� ts and has been used throughout history to treat a variety of conditions. Chamomile may help with sleeping issues; if you have problem sleeping, try drinking a strong chamomile tea shortly before bedtime.

Chamomile mouthwash has also been studied for preventing and treating mouth sores from chemotherapy and radiation therapy. Although the results are mixed, there is no harm in giving it a try, provided your oncologist agress too. If given the green light, simply make the tea, let it cool, and rinse and gargle as often as desired.

Chamomile tea may be another way to manage digestive problems, including stomach cramps. Chamomile appears to help relax muscle contractions, particularly the smooth muscles of the intestines. l

Source: http://www.dummies.com/how-to/content/7-

cancer� ghting-culinary-spices-and-herbs.html

Reprinted with the permission of Dhaka Foodies.

Another bene� t of chilli peppers is that they may help with indigestion. Seems counter intuitive, right? But some studies have shown that ingesting small amounts of cayenne may reduce indigestion

INSIDE

It is welcome to see dialogue among education experts and o� cials about the quality of madrasa education in Bangladesh.

A recent seminar at BRAC University reported that many people are mostly ignorant about madrasas even though they are attended by a large proportion of

children enrolled at primary and secondary levels, and national e� orts to modernise and integrate madrasa education with the state sector have been making signi� cant progress.

Oversight of government-supported Alia madrasas attended by over 2.2 million students has helped ensure many more madrasa students have the opportunity to learn Bangla, English, mathematics, and other mainstream subjects, in addition to religious studies. It has also paved the way for more female teachers and many more girl students.

This has been recognised by World Bank studies indicating madrasas played an important part in helping Bangladesh accomplish the UN Millennium Development Goal on achieving parity between boys and girls in school enrolment and that “modernised religious education is associated with attitudes that are conducive to democracy.”

However, a large number of children still attend privately-supported Qawmi madrasas where education is more often characterised by narrow curricula and attitudes, and whose graduates lack widely-recognised certi� cates and prospects.

The best way for the government to help such students is to increase funding for meal programs and stipends for poorer pupils at government schools, so more parents will choose to send their children to them. Madrasa enrolment, both Alia and Qawmi, tends to be highest in areas where access to social welfare and government and NGO schools is most limited.

It is important to both learn lessons from successful programs that are helping to integrate madrasa education with the mainstream, and to improve the quality and functioning of mainstream government schools to help ensure all children have equal access to education and opportunity.

Increase funding to both improve government schools and help mainstream madrassa curriculum to give all children equal opportunity

The bank job

Sundarbans in grave dangerThe site of the oil spill was the centre of the world’s reservation of the endangered Irrawaddy dolphin species. Now that place has become a place of fear

PAGE 13

PAGE 12

PAGE 14

Five reasons why Putin’s withdrawal is a stunning successThe Russian intervention, as it stands, judged at this moment in time, is an unambiguous success, and the withdrawal, the ultimate crowning of that success

Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, in today’s world, won’t need colt revolvers and handkerchiefs to cover their faces

Don’t marginalise madrasa students

11D

TEditorialMONDAY, MARCH 21, 2016

Be heardWrite to Dhaka Tribune

FR Tower, 8/C Panthapath, Shukrabad, Dhaka-1207

Send us your Op-Ed articles:opinion.dt@dhakatribune.com

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The views expressed in Opinion articles are those of the authors

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Tribune or its publisher.

BIGSTOCK

n Towheed Feroze

Ok, just to warn you in advance, this is a rather informal look at the culture of stealing from

banks. It’s certainly unfortunate that Bangladesh had to be the victim of such a heist, but maybe this was necessary to wake us up from some kind of a slumber. Such an act would have happened today or tomorrow, the relief is that the amount could have been far more, mind-bogglingly more.

Interestingly, the incident of stealing from the Bangladesh Bank reserve comes at the heel of the credit card fraud which also gave us a rude jolt. Unfortunately, most people who use ATMs do not follow a few basic safety rules like hiding the pressing of the PIN number or tearing away the receipt post withdrawal.

Some argue that the receipt with very sparse information is hardly any sort of a giveaway to criminals, but I say: Why leave any trace at all? We are no longer living in a time when four men in black sunglasses, seated in a tinted car, are keeping an eye on the banks to � nd a target or to choose a time to go in.

On Dhaka streets, hijacking people just out of a bank has not disappeared fully, but it will soon become outdated because getting away from most spots will be a challenge due to tra� c jams, too many people, and a variety of other active hurdles.

In a way, this is the upside of having such a congested city! The trick of course is to go virtual -- the Internet connects the world, most banking is done via computers, and even personal transactions are now performed from the desk. I won’t be surprised if another scam soon comes our way involving the hacking of individual bank accounts which are maintained via online banking.

Obviously, the criminals will now have to be more tech savvy, educated just like the protagonists of the heist � lms which we love to watch. Mission Impossible-style tech onslaughts are no longer out of reach.

Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, in today’s world, won’t need colt revolvers and handkerchiefs to cover their faces. They will need a hacker, someone who may be a bespectacled, unwashed T-shirt-wearing youth spending too much time playing computer games and drinking soda. Yes, a sort of 21st century

“reservoir dog.”Well, can’t say I haven’t known

an old-fashioned bank robber. Yes, not joking, here’s the story: There was maid at my grandmother’s place in the early 80s and her elder sister was married to a baby-taxi driver, who was soft spoken but clearly not happy being a three-wheel driver. Sometime in the 80s, he got involved with a group of men intent on looting a bank and his task was to drive the getaway car.

The deed was done, the men shared the money, and � ed di� er-ent ways. Our driver kept a part of the money with his sister-in-law, our maid, reportedly some-where near our house. Just like a Hollywood plot, this guy was also having an a� air with the maid.

Anyway, the wife, the other sister, sensed that these two were planning to skedaddle and informed the law, messing up the forbidden Garden of Eden. Ki! Tui amar bonre niya palabi? (what! You plan to elope with my sister?) He is still behind bars, at the last phase of his incarceration. Both the

sisters are waiting -- he must have been some lover!

I hear that in some Western tourist locations, credit card frauds set up ostensibly honourable businesses, selling a variety of items, though their main objective is to operate for over a year and gather credit card information by manipulating credit card punching machines entrusted to them. Once their credibility is established, these institutions, often under the announcement of moving into some other trade, close down their shops, taking with them a world of con� dential � nancial information.

Then, after a hiatus of let’s say six months, they get cracking. An

unsuspecting person who had used his/her card during a holiday some two years ago won’t even suspect from where the details were actually “phished.” The predecessor to credit card fraud is the “cheque jaliati,” or false cheques, that became a major concern in the 80s and 90s. At that time, for bank robbers wanting to use fake cheques, hand-writing specialists to copy signatures were essential.

This means more than one person -- of course, even today, no Internet-based fraud can be performed by lone wolves. Reportedly, in the Bangladesh Bank case, there were insiders

who colluded. The names have not been disclosed as we � nd that an IT specialist, who is said to possess revealing information, has gone missing.

Meanwhile, links in the Philippines are being probed, with an avalanche of preposterous conspiracy theories emerging now.

Mixing all these together we have a mouth-watering script for a � lm. Anyway, perhaps it’s a wise idea to go back to cheque-writing and going to the bank to have it cashed. Just don’t do it on a “dog day afternoon.” l

Towheed Feroze is a journalist currently working in the development sector.

Opinion12DT

MONDAY, MARCH 21, 2016

An Internet connection is the only tool you need to rob a bank these days BIGSTOCK

Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, in today’s world, won’t need colt revolvers and handkerchiefs to cover their faces. They will need a hacker, someone who may be a bespectacled, unwashed T-shirt-wearing youth spending too much time playing computer games and drinking soda. Yes, a sort of 21st century ‘reservoir dog’

Bank robberies have come a long way since the days of masked men with revolvers

The bank job

Long Form 13D

TMONDAY, MARCH 21, 2016

n Kallol Mustafa

Since the oil spill disaster in the Sundarbans on the night of December 9, 2014, many ebbs and � ows of

the tide have come and gone. The thick and poisonous spilled oil reaches wherever the water reaches during the high tide, via the Sela river (where the disaster originated), Passur and Baleshwari rivers, and the innumerable canals.

The sunken oil tanker Southern Star-7, moored at the Chadpai Range river port since its recovery from the depth of the Sela river, has been surrounded by oil containment rubber booms. Had this been done as soon as the accident occurred, the spread of the oil spill over such a vast area of the Sundarbans could perhaps have been avoided. Furthermore, the clean-up of the oil would have been much easier.

But instead, the polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon-rich heavy fuel oil (HFO), also known as furnace oil, has spread all over the Sundarbans via the waterways, reaching far into the forest through hundreds of canals.

It had been estimated that about 80 to 100 square kilometres of waterways and coastal

vegetation has been a� ected by the oil pollution, but there are no estimates available at this moment of how much of the interior of the forest has also been a� ected by the pollution.

The layer of oil slick currently � oating on the river is relative-ly thin, although sunlight and oxygen cannot penetrate even this thin layer and reach the water be-neath. This is pushing all aquatic life-forms, including aquatic vege-tation and � sh, to their demise.

When the oil enters the still waters of the canals, it is forming thick and impenetrable tar-like deposits, rising and lowering with the high and low-tides. Even when the water goes down along the

banks during the low-tide, the oil deposit is sticking to the slope of the mud-banks, and oily junk is gathering at the roots of the trees covering their breathing roots, trunks, and leaves.

It looks as if someone had taken a paint-brush dipped in black paint and coloured all the trees. In the words of the forest expert Razzak: “As if a venomous black snake had tightened its coil around the trees of the Sundarbans.” According to another forest expert, Baowali, some of the watering holes used by the tigers, deer, and other animals have also been polluted by oil reaching them during the high tide.The carcinogenic polyaromatic

hydro-carbon in the furnace oil is highly damaging to the liver and skin. Apart from this, the layer of oil prevents sunlight and oxygen from entering the water. It will not be possible for life to exist in places where the oil is stagnating.

The breather roots covered by oil will be of little use to the trees for the purposes of breathing.Crabs, mudskippers, and other invertebrates which make the oil-covered mud their home, are now in danger. Except for one or two dead crabs, no other life forms have been observed in the oil-soaked mud during low tide.

This is the season when many varieties of � sh lay their eggs in the Sundarbans -- the high and

low tide-� ooded sloping banks of the canals is where many � sh as well as shrimps lay their eggs and spawn. Also, it won’t be possible for keora and bain trees to bud during the time, as these tiny plants cannot survive in the poisonous oil-� lled muddy earth.

Those young plants, whose roots are embedded in oil, will perish within a couple of weeks to a month. However, it’ll take longer for the e� ect of the oil on fully-grown trees to become manifest. The big trees’ leaves may turn yellow or may even start falling o� , and eventually they may even start dying in a few years.

The oil pollution lowers the immune power of the mangrove trees, and as a result, the incidence of the saline water causing top-dying decease that has been in� icting the sundari trees may increase.

The site of the oil spill was the centre of the world’s reservation of the endangered Irrawaddy dolphin species. Now that place has become a place of fear -- not only for the dolphins but also for all other land and aquatic creatures.

Since the oil spill, dolphin, crocodile, � sh, � shing birds, or any other animal have not been spotted in the area. They have either perished or have moved elsewhere.

They had taken shelter in this area because it was the most suitable place to support them, but now that they’ve been forced to relocate, it’s not certain how long they will survive.

And the state of the human population that live o� the forest is like that of the mangrove trees; they can’t just uproot themselves and relocate elsewhere. Especially those whose livelihoods depend on � shing and crab-hunting, have been hit the most. Since the whole thing started, it has not been possible to use � shing nets or ropes.

The oil destroys � shing nets, as well as the crab enclosures and traps. When, in 2011, ships started plying through the Sundarbans, the pollution caused the number of � shes in the river to drop. Now, with the oil spill, not a single � sh can be caught any more. l

This article was translated by Tibra Ali. The concluding part of this long form will be published tomorrow.

Kallol Mustafa is an environmental activist and an engineer. This article originally appeared on AlaloDulal.org.

Is darkness closing in on the the Sundarbans � ora and fauna? BIGSTOCK

The site of the oil spill was the centre of the world’s reservation of the endangered Irrawaddy dolphin species. Now that place has become a place of fear -- not only for the dolphins but also for all other land and aquatic creatures. Since the oil spill, dolphin, crocodile, � sh, � shing birds, or any other animal have not been spotted in the area. They have either perished or have moved elsewhere

How did the 2014 oil spill a� ect the Sundarbans? This is the � rst of a two-part long form, and the � fth article in a series about the Rampal power plant

Sundarbans in grave danger

n Azeem Ibrahim

President Putin has already started withdrawing some forces from Syria. As it stands, we don’t know the

extent of the withdrawal, or the timetable. As we have learned, he likes to keep everyone guessing. It has given him the upper hand in the past, and it continues to do so. But what is clear is that as he is leaving Syria, he is holding most of the cards. Consider the following � ve points:

There is no longer any doubt about who controls the fate of SyriaDuring the summer last year, it was obvious that nobody was in control of the unfolding mess in Syria. But the Assad government, Russia’s long-term client, was teetering on the edge of collapse. His army had been depleted and many senior o� cers defected.

Putin’s decisive intervention to help Assad has turned things around remarkably quickly. The brutal, uncompromising tactics, combined with the fact that the

presence of Russian boots on the grounds scared o� Western support for the “moderate opposition,” has led to a dramatic reversal of fortunes. Russian intervention is undoubtedly the most signi� cant event in the con� ict since the initial rise of ISIS.

On the other hand, when he intervened to stop the regime collapsing, Putin found he had been given a raw deal.

The situation was worse than anyone had thought. He quickly realised that he needed to be quick about it, or he would be caught in a quagmire. This explains the zeal -- “shock and awe,” if you will -- of the Russian intervention.

The other thing is that Assad began to get overcon� dent from victories with Russian and Shia militia support, and diplomatically in� exible even with his allies. For

these two reasons, it is likely that Putin is rather at the end of his patience with Assad.

The withdrawal signals, mainly to Assad, that what Russia giveth, Russia can taketh away. This should slap some discipline back into Assad, and make him more yielding to Russian diplomatic sensibilities.

Putin’s political standing at home has gone up considerablyThe Russian economy su� ers under mismanagement, low global commodity prices, and Western sanctions over Ukraine. The sanctions are clearly a case of “the West trying to keep the Russian Bear down.” Low commodity prices can be explained by reference to some conspiracy theory that Obama convinced the Saudis to � ood the market with oil

speci� cally to hurt Russia.And the fact that it is

inexcusable for Russia, a highly educated, highly scienti� cally-innovative country, to still be a petro-economy vulnerable to the price shocks of the global market 25 years after the collapse of the Soviet Union can be glossed over.

What matters is that Putin has declared victory in the Syrian theatre. As Donald Trump would put it, “Russia is winning. Vladimir Putin is a winner.” It seems that to many Russians that is enough.

Putin has achieved his main strategic objectives in SyriaHis main objective was to stop the Assad regime from collapsing. This has been achieved. The regime had been a Russian ally for over half a century, and Putin has sent the strongest signal to other

similar regimes around the world that Russia will put their money where their mouth is, with boots on the ground to help their allies in trouble.

This is in sharp contrast to the US’s attitude to the Arab Spring, where it was more than happy to see long-term allies such as Egypt’s Mubarak be swept away from power by a popular uprising.

The other important Russian objective was to fully secure the Latakia port for Russia’s east Mediterranean operations.

Just as securing the port of Sevastopol was one of the main reasons for Putin to annex Crimea, maritime access is something that the Russians care very deeply about in their security calculations.

Projecting power from SyriaDespite the formal withdrawal, Russia still controls considerable airspace, with numerous S400 anti-aircraft batteries. Russia also intends to follow the American model of regional power projection and convert the Khmeimim airbase into a permanent Russian outpost/base. If this will work anything like American bases, it will be a guarantee that any local or regional challenges to Russia’s preferred status quo is very unlikely to get very far o� the ground.

Burying the ghosts of Afghanistan and ChechnyaJust like the US had a Vietnam trauma, so did Russia have an Afghan one. By declaring victory and bringing home troops to huge jubilation with minimum casualties (o� cial � gure is three dead), he can � nally claim to have overcome this deep-seated fear in the Russian psyche, and reasserted Russia’s rightful place as a global superpower.

We in the West may not buy it, but it seems Russians are more than happy to get with any increase of prestige and national self-con� dence Putin can give them.

All in all, the Russian intervention, as it stands judged at this moment in time, is an unambiguous success, and the withdrawal, the ultimate crowning of that success.

We may not like it for its brutality and the humanitarian excesses such as the systematic targeting of civilian and medical targets (a war crime), but I can’t imagine Putin will lose any sleep over that tonight. l

Azeem Ibrahim is a Research Professor at the Strategic Studies Institute, US Army War College and an International Security Lecturer at the University of Chicago. This article was previously published in Al Arabiya.

Opinion14DT

MONDAY, MARCH 21, 2016

Has Putin come out to be the winner? REUTERS

The Russian intervention, as it stands judged at this moment in time, is an unambiguous success, and the withdrawal, the ultimate crowning of that success. We may not like it for its brutality and the humanitarian excesses such as systematic targeting of civilian and medical targets (a war crime), but I can’t imagine Putin will lose any sleep over that tonight

In Syria, Russia got exactly what they wanted

Five reasons why Putin’s withdrawal is a stunning success

15D

TBusinessMONDAY, MARCH 21, 2016

Capital market snapshot: SundayDSE Broad Index 4,430.3 -0.4% ▼

Index 1,078.7 -0.2% ▼

30 Index 1,688.6 -0.3% ▼

Turnover in Mn Tk 3,406.9 -8.1% ▼

Turnover in Mn Vol 117.6 5.3% ▲

CSEAll Share Index 13,642.0 -0.4% ▼

30 Index 12,304.0 -0.2% ▼

Selected Index 8,286.0 -0.4% ▼

Turnover in Mn Tk 285.6 6.6% ▲

Turnover in Mn Vol 11.5 22.3% ▲

Trade potentials with Francophonie untapped

Trade potentials between Bangla-desh and the Francophonie coun-tries, especially France, Canada and Switzerland, still largely re-main untapped. PAGE 16

New industrial policy seeks cabinet nod today

Industrial Policy 2016 is set to be placed at the cabinet meeting to-day seeking its approval with Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina in the chair, o� cial sources said. PAGE 17

INSIDE

Japan’s apparel industry in hi-tech bid to secure futuren AFP, Tokyo

From ready-to-wear knits manu-factured instantly to customised dresses produced on inkjet print-ers, Japan’s apparel industry is turning to state-of-the-art tech-nology in a bold bid to cut labour costs and secure its future.

At manufacturing giant Shima Seiki’s factory in western Japan, garments materialise in minutes, thanks to digitally-programmed automated machines that can turn out a sample seam-free pull-over in half an hour with a push of a button.

The WholeGarment system patented by the Japanese manu-facturer and sold to knitwear com-panies like Italian luxury brand Max Mara includes a digital design system that allows users to choose patterns, colours and cuts.

Originally known for glove-making machinery, Shima Seiki took a technological leap in the 1990s in an e� ort to revive the � agging fortunes of Japanese ap-parel manufacturers.

“Everyone was going overseas to cheaper destinations for man-ufacturing and we wanted to stop that from happening,” said Kenji Iwamoto of Shima Seiki.

The WholeGarment system al-lows one worker to operate 10 ma-chines - thereby lowering labour costs - and uses limited raw mate-rial to create seam-free garments that generate no waste, since they

require no cutting or sewing.After a slow start that saw

around a dozen brands from Ja-pan and Italy sign up the � rst year, today some 800 companies -- nearly half of them Japanese -- have jumped on board, contrib-uting to Shima Seiki’s 60 percent share of the global market for knit-ting machines.

The initiative is part of a push by Japan’s knitwear industry to capitalise on its technical know-how to create garments that can-not be replicated elsewhere at a lower cost.

For young knitwear designers like Motohiro Tanji and Ken Oe, manufacturing outside of Japan isn’t an option.

“It’s easier for me to work with Japanese manufacturers,” Tanji told AFP after his show at Tokyo Fashion Week.

“My designs are complicated and demand a high level of tech-nical skill which I can � nd here,” said Tanji, who relies on Japanese factories to produce his sculptur-al, sophisticated knits.

Designer Oe’s label Coohem emerged out of a push to save his grandfather’s textile company, Yonetomi, which had been in the throes of a decline since the 1990s recession.

Oe joined the company six years ago and introduced an em-phasis on using digital tools to cre-ate intricate high-fashion tweed suits that are now stocked at lead-

ing stores, including New York-based Je� rey and Harvey Nichols in Hong Kong.

“We use about � ve yarns at a time to design original textiles... (which) other brands cannot copy,” Oe told AFP.

One of a kindThe focus on technique and

technology has already paid o� , with Japan’s knitwear sector reg-istering a 40 percent increase in exports over a 10-year period be-ginning in 2006, a rare bright spot in an otherwise dismal picture for textile and apparel exports from the country.

Recognising the need for re-invention in the apparel sector, Japanese textile company Seiren, known more for manufacturing curtains and car interiors, is now fusing fashion and digital know-how to launch a customised cloth-ing line for the masses.

The Viscotecs brand, available to customers at Tokyo’s Takashi-maya department stores since September, invites customers to try on a sample out� t in a dressing room specially � tted with a cam-era that downloads their image onto a hand-held device.

They can then choose from a dizzying array of options -- includ-ing patterns, fabrics, colours and lengths -- displayed on the tablet to create a one-of-a-kind dress.

The design data is digitally transmitted to Seiren’s factory in central Japan where the garment

is brought to life via pattern-cut-ting machines and inkjet printers before being delivered to the store in three weeks.

The process has the potential to transform the fashion industry by cutting down on unsold inven-tory, which either ends up in the bargain bin or as land� ll.

In addition, the use of inkjet printers slashes the amount of water and energy utilised in con-ventional dyeing methods by at least 80 percent, Nami Yoshida, a spokeswoman for Seiren, told AFP.

However, buying into the brand comes at a cost, with dresses priced between 65,000 to 80,000 yen ($600 to $700).

“It may take time but we are con� dent that once customers know the brand, sales will fol-low,” said Mayumi Yamakawa, a spokeswoman for Takashimaya.

For Oe, whose label derives its name from a Japanese word, “kouhen”, a reference to knitting specialists, the revival of his in-dustry is inseparable from an in-vestment in technique and tech-nology alike.

“It’s di� cult to explain in words what makes our products special... our products explain it better,” he said.

“My grandfather’s company was established 64 years ago... and all their technique and our technology is re� ected in the items we make.” l

Business16DT

MONDAY, MARCH 21, 2016

Trade potentials with Francophonie untappedn Tribune Report

Trade potentials between Bangla-desh and the Francophonie coun-tries, especially France, Canada and Switzerland, still largely re-main untapped.

Diplomats from the three ma-jor Francophonie countries and business leaders of the respective chambers have come up with the observation at a seminar titled “Trade between Bangladesh & Francophonie countries: Oppor-tunities and Way Forward” held at Hotel Le Meridian in the capital yesterday.

Stressing the need for identify-ing new areas of economic coop-eration, they said: “This year the festivities of Francophonie in the country will add an economic di-mension. However, the trade be-tween Bangladesh and Francopho-nie countries is the manifestation of the economic dimension.”

They have also pinned hope that the cooperation that has started to-day among the three Francophonie Chambers with the economic event will pave the way for more events to be organised jointly in future in the interest of Bangladesh and Francophonie countries.

On the occasion of Francopho-nie week, the seminar was jointly organised by three Francophonie Chambers-Canada Bangladesh Chamber of Commerce and Indus-tries (CanCham), France Bangla-desh Chamber of Commerce and Industry and Switzerland Bangla-desh Chamber of Commerce and Industry. Earlier, Francophonie

Week was manifested only with cultural and linguistic disposition.

The seminar was addressed, among others, by Canadian High Commissioner in Dhaka Benoît-Pierre Laramée, Ambassador of France Sophie Aubert, Ambassador of Switzerland Christian Fotsch, Chief of the Economic Department of the French Embassy Pirre Fabre while CanCham President Masud Rahman delivered his welcome speech.

CanCham President Masud Rah-man in his welcome speech said: “For today’s Economic Event, the role of the three diplomatic mis-sions is outstanding. I greatly ac-

knowledge the support of the three missions to make the Francopho-nie Economic Event happen as part of Francophonie Week.”

Two presentations on trade be-tween Bangladesh and Francopho-nie countries: Opportunities and Way Forward were presented by Switzerland Ambassador Christian Fotsch and the trade o� cial of the French embassy.

French embassy presentation stated that the bilateral exchange between France and Bangladesh stood at 2.4 billion euros in 2015, which is an increase of 30%, com-pared to 2014.

In 2015, the export from France

to Bangladesh registered a signif-icant growth of 91% while the im-port from Bangladesh increased by 25%, the report added.

Interestingly, the report also said Bangladesh remains the 4th commercial partner of France in South Asian region just after India, Pakistan and Sri Lanka.

Bangladesh still remains little known to the French exporters whereas according to international institutes, the country of 165 million inhabitants has the potential to be-come an emerging middle-income country in the next decade, said the report of the French embassy.

On the other hand, Switzerland

Ambassador Christian Fotsch in his presentation said: “The total bilat-eral trade between Bangladesh and Switzerland crossed US$510 mil-lion in 2015 while crossing half a billion mark for the � rst time.

It registered an impressive growth of 10.6% compared to 2014, however, it has more than doubled since 2010 and expected to cross USD 1 billion mark in coming years, he added.

In 2015, Swiss exports to Bang-ladesh around CHF 158 million with 20% growth over 2014 while imports in the same period stood at around CHF 352 million at 7% growth, he also noted. l

Stocks open week on back-footn Tribune Report

Stocks opened the week lower yes-terday, extending their losing streak for the second straight session.

The benchmark index DSEX dropped 16 points or 0.4% to close at 4,430. It lost 30 points in previ-ous session.

The Shariah index DSES inched about 2 points down to 1,078. The blue chip comprising index DS30 was down over 4 points to 1,688.

The Chittagong Stock Exchange Selective Category Index CSCX set-tled at 8,285, falling 37 points.

Trading activities declined fur-ther as the DSE total turnover stood at Tk340 crore, down 8% over the previous session’s value.

Food and allied sector su� ered the highest sell-o� , slumping 3.3%, extending its losing streak for the third consecutive session due to the continuing e� ect of dividend adjustment of BATBC.

Ceramics sector came second, de-clining 1.7%, driven by RAK Ceramics.

Power and Pharmaceutical sec-tors also su� ered, moving down by almost 1% and 0.5% respectively.

Telecommunication sector bucked the previous losses as it rose 1.1% led by the country’s top mobile operator Grameenphone. Cement and textile sectors closed � at.

Lanka Bangla Securities said the market volatility increased as investors were cautious at this moment following the recent bank heist in central bank and appoint-ment of new governor there.

The City Brokerage said the market witnessed continuation of sell-o� for the second consecutive session with a declined turnover as investors seemingly see no light at end of the tunnel. Upon resumption of trading in the morning, the mar-ket witnessed a sharp sell-o� and went down by 44 points within the mid-hour of the session, it added. l

CMC Kamal, Alif Unitex merger gets green signaln Kayes Sohel

The High Court has given the go-ahead for the two textile � rms – CMC Kamal Textile Mills and Alif Unitex – to merge, continuing a trend in the industry to trim down administrative costs.

Under the amalgamation deal, a total of 76,050,000 ordinary shares of Tk10 each of CMC Kamal will be issued to the shareholders of Alif Uni-tex at an exchange ratio of 8.45 shares of the transferee company for each share of the transferor company.

CMC Kamal Textiles, a listed company in which Planning Minis-ter AHM Mustafa Kamal once had a stake, said they received the High Court order on March 16 for merger of non-listed Alif Unitex with the company, according to a statement issued yesterday.

The merger will be e� ective subject to permission of regulators, particularly Bangladesh Securities

and Exchange Commission.In May 2015, the CMC Kamal de-

cided to merge with Alif Unitex, a concern of business conglomerate Alif Group.

All the properties that include the title of land, building, other movable and immovable assets, tights, patents, interests, goodwill, licences, liabilities, obligations, claims etc. of every description of Alif Unitex will be transferred to and vested in the CMC Kamal as per procedures of the scheme of amal-gamation, said the company.

Yesterday at the Dhaka Stock Ex-change, share prices of CMC Kamal rose slightly 0.5% to Tk21.8 a share.

In 2014, the planning minister sold his entire holdings of 12,10,000 shares and his two daughters sold 19,25,400 shares of the company to Alif Textiles, one of the corporate directors of CMC Kamal.

Kashmiri Kamal, a director and wife of Mustafa Kamal, also sold

her entire holdings of 36,01,300 shares to Md Azimul Islam who is the director of the CMC Kamal.

In 2010, CMC Kamal came into the discussion as its share price rose sixteen times on its face value despite su� ering losses in business.

A stock market probe commit-tee found that taking advantage of the market boom, Kamal and his family members sold shares worth around Tk20.50 crores in 2010.

The merger trend among listed � rms has started since 2006 when Beximco Group had merged its four textile units into one, and in 2008, two other units of the group merged with Beximco, the group’s � agship company.

Later, Tripti Industries amalga-mated with Olympic Industries.

In 2014, Keya Cosmetics merged with its three other associate com-panies – Keya Cotton Mills, Keya Spinning Mills and Keya Knit Com-posite. l

Diplomats from three Francophonie nations and business leaders speak at a seminar in Dhaka yesterday DHAKA TRIBUNE

Business 17D

TMONDAY, MARCH 21, 2016

Weaken the dollar - the dovish Fed’s hidden agenda?n AFP, Washington

In lowering its likely path of future interest rate increases this week, the Federal Reserve pushed down the dollar, perhaps aiming to ease strains caused by clashing mone-tary policies.

Economists and investors alike were surprised when the US central bank announced Wednesday that it only sees two rate hikes in 2016, half the number it envisioned in December, a more accommodative stance in exiting crisis-era policy.

The Fed also left its benchmark federal funds rate at a historically low 0.25-0.5%, as expected, after raising it in December for the � rst time in nine years.

The policy-setting Federal Open Market Committee “backed o� on the number of expected rate hikes this year. Why, I really don’t know,” said Joel Naro� of Naro� Economic Advisors.

“If you look at the recent data, and the members are supposed to be data-dependent, it is clear that whatever economic issues concern them, it cannot be US economic weakness.”

While spotlighting its more opti-mistic view on the US economy, the Fed also broadly cited “risks” from the global economic slowdown and � nancial market turmoil.

Several analysts and economists interpreted the language as an ef-fort by the Fed to rein in the dol-lar’s gains against other currencies. A strong dollar weighs on import prices, thus keeping US in� ation in check, and encourages volatility on

the � nancial markets.Interest rates are on an upward

bound in the United States, which attracts investors seeking higher yields and boosts the greenback.

The opposite is true in a number of other central banks, such as in the eurozone and Japan, where au-thorities are redoubling their e� orts to be more accommodative and re-vive their sluggish economies.

The stark divergence in mon-

etary policies - between negative rates on one side and the potential for hikes on the other - had under-pinned the attractiveness of the greenback all through 2015.

The dollar, which gained nearly 10% last year against a basket of currencies, has fallen about three percent since early March.

Dollar key to Fed puzzleFor the economists at Barclays Re-search, “the Fed has become in-creasingly responsive to changes in � nancial conditions” and too much of that could lead to “policy paral-ysis.”

“Although not exclusively a sto-ry about the relationship between Fed policy and the foreign exchange value of the dollar... we believe it clearly illustrates the conundrum,” they said in a client note.

Fed Chair Janet Yellen acknowl-edged the importance of the dollar in policy making at her post-FOMC meeting news conference Wednes-day.

“Movements in exchange rates... are a factor that any country needs to take into account in decid-ing what is the appropriate stance

of monetary policy,” Yellen said. But, questioned about in� uence

from the divergence in monetary policies, she insisted: “It does not mean that monetary, US monetary policy is somehow constrained in a way that makes it impossible for our monetary policy to diverge from policies abroad.”

Kit Juckes, a foreign-exchange analyst at Societe Generale, said the Fed “seems committed to driv-ing in� ation expectations higher, and in the process, is doing nothing to support the dollar.”

The Fed’s more dovish tone “stymied the policy divergence trade” of investors, noted Patrick O’Hare at Brie� ng.com.

Some even say it goes farther than that, seeing in the Fed’s more cau-tious attitude as part of a concerted strategy by the Group of 20 major economies to tamp down the dollar.

“To any conspiracy theorists it’s all become quite clear. There is a global coordinated central bank ef-fort to weaken the (dollar) in play,” said Chris Weston, chief market strat-egist at IG Markets, evoking a secret “Shanghai Accord”at the G20 meet-ing of � nance chiefs last month. l

New industrial policy seeks cabinet nod todayn Asif Showkat Kallol

Industrial Policy 2016 is set to be placed at the cabinet meeting to-day seeking its approval with Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina in the chair, o� cial sources said.

Last month the cabinet commit-tee on public purchase approved the � ve-year policy which gives special focus on a list of high-pri-ority industries and creative indus-tries. The policy formulated by the industries ministry will replace the Industrial Policy 2010.

According to the new policy, the high-priority industries are the sectors that create large-scale em-ployment through speedy expan-sion and earn substantial sums of export earning. These industries will get priority in receiving gov-ernment incentives for rapid devel-opment.

Six sectors in the high-priority category include agriculture and food processing, garment, ICT and software, pharmaceuticals, leather and leather products, and jute and jute goods.

The creative industries mean the sectors producing aesthetic and creative products by using ar-tistic and innovative thinking and techniques or modern technology.

These include architecture, art and antique, design, fashion de-sign, � lm and video, interactive laser software, software, and com-puter and media programmes, ac-cording to the new policy.

A new arrangement is underway to map out the creative industries across the country under fresh pol-icy and the government is going to provide policy and institutional support for expansion of those in-dustries.

The priority sectors and sub-sec-

tors will get timely and separate in-vestment incentives, according to the new policy.

Bangladesh Bank, National Board of Revenue, Board of Invest-ment and other related agencies will take necessary steps.

Particular investment incen-

tives, incorporate subsidies and tax and duty rebate will be proposed for the areas falling behind eco-nomically and in industrialisation.

Under the fresh policy, the sizes of industrial units will be rede� ned and a � rm with an asset value of above Tk50 crore and having 300

employees will be considered as a large industrial unit. In the current policy, the � gures are Tk30 crore and 250 employees respectively.

But if a garment unit having a sta� of more than 1,000 will fall under the big industry category, according to the new policy. l

The photo shows a woman looking at a jute product displayed at an earlier exhibition in Dhaka. Jute and jute goods is included among six high-priority sectors in the new industrial policy DHAKA TRIBUNE

A customer counts his US dollar money in a bank in Cairo, Egypt REUTERS

Business18DT

MONDAY, MARCH 21, 2016

CORPORATE NEWS

Spain’s political stalemate starts taking economic tolln AFP, Madrid

This year was supposed to be a good one for Spanish builders but the lack of a government three months after an inconclusive gen-eral election has put the brakes on economic activity.

“Everything that has to do with construction in this country is blocked,” said Carlos Luaces, direc-tor general of Spain’s association of sand and gravel producers, Anefa.

Spain has been locked in a po-litical stalemate since a general election on December 20 resulted in a parliament divided among the country’s four main parties - none of which won enough seats to gov-ern alone.

No party has so far been able to cobble together a workable coali-tion and Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy’s caretaker government has limited powers and can not ap-prove projects that involve new spending.

As a result the number of tenders for public works projects launched by the central government plunged by 69% in January compared to the same month last year, according to Seopan, an association that repre-sents Spanish builders.

“There are no more public works

tenders, the sector is paralysed,” said the director of a public works � rm in the southwestern region of Extremadura, which employs 800 people.

“This brutal stoppage will mean we will have to let people go and reduce costs,” the 42-year-old, who asked not to be identi� ed, added.

The political stalemate comes as Spain is grappling with a jobless rate of 20.9%, the highest in the European Union after Greece.

Spending on public works pro-jects typically rises before an elec-tion as politicians seek photo op-portunities on the campaign trail and then fall o� .

Rajoy stepped up the number of inaugurations of new roads and bridges at the end of last year.

“It was clear that the machine would slow down once the ribbons were cut and the photo was taken,” said Josep Ramon Fontana, a sen-ior researcher at Catalan Institute of Construction Technology (Itec).

But what was not expected was

that it would take so long to form a government after the general elec-tion, he added.

“We all expected that a central government would be formed by January 1, which would be able to tell us roughly what its policy would be in terms of infrastruc-ture,” he added.

‘Critical situation’Until a government is formed, certain projects such as a planned expansion of Spain’s high-speed railway will be delayed.

“It is not just an impasse, it is a critical situation,” said Luaces.

The political uncertainty is paralysing other areas such as the food and agriculture sector as well, said Antonio Masa, the head of the chamber of commerce of Badajoz, Extremadura’s largest city.

“Entrepreneurs are putting the brakes on their investments due to the political situation in Spain,” he said.

Businesses are waiting to see if a new government will change legis-

lation before spending money.Spain’s economy, the euro-

zone’s fourth largest, grew by 3.2% in 2015, its second year of growth as the country emerged from � ve years of on-o� recession sparked by the bursting of a property bub-ble.

But analysts predict economic growth will slow this year.

Spanish bank BBVA predicts that the political uncertainty could knock up to 0.5 percentage points o� its forecast growth rate of 2.7% for 2016.

After parliament, at the start of March, rejected a coalition govern-ment between the Socialists and new centre-right party Ciudadanos, parties have until May 2 to produce a new government acceptable to a majority of lawmakers.

If they fail, fresh elections will be held at the end of June. Polls suggest another election will not resolve the stalemate, however.

Spain’s tourist sector, which ac-counts for 14% of the nation’s eco-nomic output, is also worried.

“If there are elections after all on June 26, the sector will be hit since consumers will not want to make reservations beforehand,” said Juan Molas, chairman of Span-ish hotel federation, Cehat. l

Social Islami Bank Limited (SIBL) and Trust Islami Life Insurance Limited have recently signed an agreement on payroll banking. Additional managing director of SIBL, Ihsanul Aziz and Md Gias Uddin, CEO of Trust Islami Life Insurance signed the agreement

Managing director of Bangladesh Krishi Bank, MA Yousoof has recently handed over a cheque for Tk 1 lakh to Kohinur Akter, one of the winners of Western Union Ramadan Campaign 2015

National Bank Limited has recently received an award from Centre for NRBs for registering top ten remittance growth, said a press release. On behalf of Centre for NRBs, State Minister for Foreign A� airs, Md Shahriar Alam handed over the award to the bank’s deputy managing director, ASM Bulbul

Dilip Madhok has recently joined The Westin Dhaka as its new general manager, said a press release. He was general manager of Sheraton Dalian Xing Hai Hotel prior to joining The Westin Dhaka.

Madhok is a Starwood Hotels & Resorts professional and has served Starwood for over 15 years with his detailed market knowledge of serving critical hospitality markets such as Australia, India and China

Shariah Supervisory Committee of Standard Bank Ltd has recently held its 11th meeting. The committee’s chairperson, Kazi Akram Uddin Ahmed presided over the meeting

‘Spain is the fourth largest export destination of Bangladesh, accordingto Bangladesh Bank data’

Corporates line up to cash in on ECB fundingn AFP, Paris

The European Central Bank’s plan to buy corporate bonds to help the eurozone economy is boosting the private-sector debt market which promptly responded with a new re-cord-sized company bond.

With interest rates near or below zero and few other monetary poli-cy tools left in its arsenal, the ECB announced earlier this month that it would begin buying non-bank corporate bonds in addition to the government bonds it has been pur-chasing to stimulate the economy.

That immediately livened up the corporate debt market, with companies rushing out issues and borrowing costs falling.

Less than a week after the ECB’s announcement, and months before it is to actually buy any bonds, a new record for a euro-denominat-ed corporate bond issue was set on Wednesday when brewer Anheus-er-Busch InBev said it was seeking to raise 13.25bn euros ($14.9bn).

That easily beat the previous re-cord of just under 10 billion set by Swiss pharmaceutical group Roche in 2009. In a sign of a broader re-sponse, the volume of new corpo-rate and bank issues on Wednesday struck the highest daily level since May 2001, the Financial Times re-ported, citing information from data company Dealogic. l

Biz Info 19D

T

MONDAY, MARCH 21, 2016

| competition |

| environment | | technology |

SD ASIA brings back a bigger ‘Innovation Xtreme’

Masters of Ideation 2016

Radisson Blu shows climate concern

SD ASIA, a content and event-making platform for Bangladeshi tech startups, has brought back its � agship event, named ‘Innovation Xtreme’ for the second time this year. Grameenphone shall be the lead sponsor of the event.

The event brought over 25 local startups and 25 renowned industry experts under one roof at Radisson Blu Water Garden Hotel, Dhaka on the March 19.

Speaking at the event, Musta� zur Rahman Khan, chief executive o� cer and founder of SD Asia, said, “Through this is a single day event, we showcased the potential of existing innovators and entrepreneurs in Bangladesh. By bringing international and local investors, entrepreneurs, businesses together, the event works as a catalyst to deepen the interest of the Internet-based local economy.”

This year’s Innovation Xtreme had Microsoft as its gold partner, along with IPDC, Top of Mind, The Daily Ittefaq, Tech in Asia, and Facebook as the event partners. The event had a diverse group of participants, including students, developers, academics, corporate, international organisations, and local and international media.

Fayaz Taher, co-founder and chief � nance o� cer of SD Asia, said, “This year’s Innovation Xtreme was much bigger than the � rst time we organised it. This is because now, we have more entrepreneurs and investors who are interested in Bangladesh’s startup ecosystem.”

With the theme of “Bangladesh: The Next Tech Frontier,” the event was aimed towards showcasing Bangladesh’s entrepreneurial ecosystem and giving a platform to local startups to meet the investors. Therefore, the objective was to highlight the technological and economic potential of Bangladesh in front of a diverse community.

Samad Miraly, co-founder of SD ASIA said, “Tech is fun because it’s new. It changes the way we do things for the better. Innovation Xtreme is the best place to experience tech in Bangladesh.”

The event was divided into 12 interactive sessions, where local and international industry experts reflected upon the promising future of Bangladesh’s tech startups and how investors can help Bangladesh’s startup ecosystem to grow on a global scale. The speakers also talked about the challenges tech startups face under the Bangladesh’s socio-economic system, and the ways big corporations and the government can help improve it.

Representatives from Fenox (venture capital), Facebook, Microsoft, Top Of Mind, Bongo, Razor Capital, Segnel Ventures, MasterCard, IMJ Investment Partners, Chaldal.com, GOBD and BDJobs were present at the event. l

North South University Young Entrepreneur’s Society (NSU YES!) is reputed to be the proud organisers of the nationwide inter-university competition named “Masters of Ideation,” for the fourth time this year. Masters of ideation is a strategy based, business case solving competition for undergraduate students.

The successful completion of the intra NSU rounds of the event helped proceed to the inter university workshop held on March 18, which started at 9am. 50 groups representing 12 universities from all around the country signed up for the competition. Out of all the teams, six will qualify to the � nal round and gain the title of “Masters of Ideation” and receive a total of Tk300,000.

The workshop was presided over by corporate elites, entrepreneurs and business strategy specialists from illustrious organisations in Bangladesh. They shared tips and tricks for succeeding in both their corporate lives and the upcoming competition rounds ahead of them.

The speakers were Ashiqur Rahman Khan (international marketing manager) of Square Foods and Beverages, Saimun Hossain (co-founder) of Geeky Social as well as lecturer of

business studies, University of Dhaka and Ifteqar Tawhid (executive manager) of Banglalink.

Ashiqur Rahman enlightened the participants with a motivational video, and provided insights on the philosophical approach to a journey of success. He advised that in order to set up a business, one needs to have new ideas, investment, market research and a unique selling proposition.

Samiun Hossain had a di� erent approach to engage the participants. He segmented them into groups of 10 and tasked them to prepare an elevator pitch to the rest of the audience. He energised and lightening up the

atmosphere with his comical and witty commentary. He concluded by asking everyone to take an entrepreneur’s oath.

Ifteqar Tawhid focused on case solving suggestions, along with three ways to run a new business. The ways include availability, attention, and advocacy, or 3 As. According to him, word-of-mouth is the best way to advertise and daydreaming is the key to success.

The competition is gold sponsored by Aamra Solutions Ltd and silver sponsored by Dhaka Bank. Media partners for the event are Radio Foorti, Jamuna TV, The Daily Star and The Daily Ittefaq. l

Joining millions across the globe on March 19, Radisson Blu Dhaka Water Garden demonstrated its commitment to protecting the planet by switching to energy preservation mode from 8:30pm to 9:30pm.

An hour in darkness was observed by switching o� all the lights in the building, along with non-essential equipments and machineries such as desk computers, pool pumps, boilers, chillers, fans, and air conditioners. The atrium lobby lights were dimmed and candles were the only source of light. Guests were encouraged to take part by switching o� their room lights, dining in a candle-lit ambience and refrain from using any form of energy for the full 60 minutes.

Earth Hour is the world’s largest and most inspiring environmental grassroots movement and is sponsored by WWF (World Wildlife

Foundation). It instigates everyone to do something as simple as switching o� lights to save energy. The world’s iconic landmarks go dark for one designated hour to support the stimulating cause.

As an integral part of this

beautiful planet, Radisson Blu Dhaka Water Garden initiates such activities to promote less wastage, reduce its carbon footprint and use the earth’s limited resources sensibly to prevent them from getting exhausted. l

Downtime20DT

MONDAY, MARCH 21, 2016

CALVIN AND HOBBES

PEANUTS

DILBERT

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.

CODE-CRACKER

CROSSWORD

SUDOKU

YESTERDAY’S SOLUTIONS

CODE-CRACKER

How to solve: Each number in our CODE-CRACKER grid represents a di� erent letter of the alphabet. For example, today 8 represents N so � ll N every time the � gure 8 appears.You have two letters in the control grid to start you o� . 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, � ll in the other squares with the same number in the main grid, and the control grid. Check o� the list of alphabetical letters as you identify them.

ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ

CROSSWORD

ACROSS 1 Minute particle (4)6 Edge (3)7 Yield to low spirits (4) 9 Counterpart (4)10 Army chaplain (5) 11 Anaesthetic (5)12 Sister (3)14 Tantalise (5) 17 Chemical compound (5)20 Scottish mountain peak (3)21 Attacks (5)23 Company of soldiers (5)25 Subtle emanation (4)26 Musical work (4)27 Do wrong (3)28 Prepare for publication (4)

DOWN 1 Bring into accord (6)2 East (6)3 Vast sum (4)4 Fish (3)5 Sheltered side (3)7 Female horse (4)8 Non-verse (5)10 Favourite (3)13 Take unjustly (5)15 Ridiculous (6)16 Transported (6)18 Love god (4)19 Sharp blow (3)22 Venture (4)23 Digit (3)24 Not at home (3)

SUDOKU

ANALYSIS

Shaky EU-Turkey migrant deal faces tough reality checksn Reuters, Brussels

The deal between the European Union and Turkey meant to curb the � ow of migrants into Europe in return for � nancial and polit-ical rewards could unravel with-in months because neither side looks able to deliver on its com-mitments.

Turkish Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu and European Coun-cil President Donald Tusk wore relieved smiles on Friday as they sealed a pact for Ankara to take back all migrants and refugees who cross to Greece in exchange for more money, faster visa-free travel for Turks and slightly accel-erated EU membership talks.

But for Turkey to halt the � ow of migrants to Europe will require a major redeployment of its security apparatus to shut down a lucrative people-smuggling business at a time when President Tayyip Erdo-gan has more pressing priorities.

With impeccable timing, Turk-ish authorities announced they had detained 3,000 would-be migrants on Friday, but Greek of-� cials say Ankara has done little to stop the � ow since November, when the EU and Turkey made a � rst deal.

Yet Erdogan is more focused on extending his presidential pow-ers, � ghting Kurdish militants and preventing spillover from Syria’s civil war.

For Greece to be able to pro-cess and send back those migrants who continue to reach its islands would require a transformation of its threadbare asylum and justice systems with scant resources and uncertain EU assistance.

For the EU to resettle, as prom-ised, thousands of legal Syrian ref-ugees directly from Turkey - one for each Syrian returned from the Greek islands - will require most member states to take in more ref-ugees than they have been willing to share out so far.

The joint statement did not spell out who would return po-tentially unwilling migrants from Greece to Turkey, a task that may fall to the EU’s Frontex border agency under the critical gaze of the media and humanitarian groups. Greek o� cials say they are worried it could turn violent.

Images of Afghans, Iraqis or Syrians being removed against their will could lead to an interna-tional outcry.

Logistical challengeGreece already faces a huge logis-tical challenge with 43,000 mi-grants bottled up in the econom-ically ravaged country since its northern neighbours shut their borders, and more continuing to arrive daily, albeit at a slower pace.

And all this is before the sum-mer weather and calmer seas that facilitated last year’s mass in� ux.

For the EU to give Turks vi-sa-free travel by the end of June also requires a leap of faith, since Ankara has so far met fewer than half of the 72 conditions. European o� cials stress the ball is in Turkey’s court to pass the necessary laws and change its visa regime with other, notably Muslim countries.

The EU managed to sidestep a potential stumbling block over Cyprus by agreeing to limit Tur-key’s progress in snail’s pace membership negotiations to one policy area - budget - which Nico-sia has not blocked.

If both sides are lucky, the vexed Cyprus issue may not im-

pinge on the migration deal for months, leaving time for peace talks now under way that may lead to the reuni� cation of the east Mediterranean island after more than 40 years of division.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel, the deal’s co-architect, said there were bound to be set-backs and big legal challenges but she hoped the deal had “irreversi-ble momentum”.

Tusk, who chaired the sum-mit, said the deal was the best the EU could do for now. “A piece of something is better than a piece of nothing,” he said.

The optimistic version, voiced by Dutch Foreign Minister Bert Koenders, is that some “intel-ligent synchronisation” can be found between the Cyprus peace process and Turkey’s migration deal. Critics say that is just EU wishful thinking.

No better planSome experts believe Turkish leaders don’t expect the EU to keep its word on visas, refugee

resettlement or the membership talks and are planning to turn a predictable failure to domestic political advantage.

“Davutoglu and Erdogan know perfectly well that neither side will deliver,” said Michael Leigh, senior fellow at the German Mar-shall Fund think-tank and a for-mer director-general of the EU’s enlargement department.

At most, he said, the EU could ful� l the � nancial part of the bar-gain if Germany pays the lion’s share of the extra €3bn Ankara was promised to support Syrian refugees in Turkey.

Sidelined by Merkel when she drafted the outline deal with Davutoglu last week, French Pres-ident Francois Hollande made clear he would hold Turkey to meeting EU visa standards in full.

EU diplomats are sceptical that Ankara will be able to meet all the required benchmarks in time, but such is the urgent need to get the migration crisis under control that they would rather clinch a deal now and deal with shortcomings later. l

INSIDE

21D

TWorldMONDAY, MARCH 21, 2016

Rival protests ignite debate on race, class in BrazilThe rival protests sweeping Brazil have exposed a demographic divide between President Dilma Rousse� ’s haters and backers, igniting a national debate about race and class that is only increas-ing tensions. PAGE 22

Yemen war generates widespread su� ering, but few refugeesYemen’s civil war intensi� ed sharply almost a year ago when a Saudi-led Arab coalition inter-vened with air strikes, a naval blockade and ground troops to counter Houthi rebels intent on seizing the whole country. PAGE 24

Exiled Tibetans to elect leader to sustain struggle against ChinaExiled Tibetans across India and overseas started voting on Sunday to elect a political leader for the next � ve years, in a bid to help sustain their struggle to secure complete autonomy for Chinese-ruled Tibet. PAGE 23

0

100,000

200,000

300,000

400,000

Finland32,1505.9

5.4

Germany441,800

xx

Hungary174,43517.7

Sweden156,11016

Austria85,50510

Italy83,2451.4

France70,5701.1

Netherlands43,0352.5

Belgium38,9903.5

UK38,3700.6

Denmark20,8253.7

Bulgaria20,1652.8

Spain14,6000.3

Greece11,3701

Poland10,2550.3

Ireland3,2700.7

Luxembourg2,3604.2

Cyprus2,1052.5

Malta1,6953.9

Czech Rep.1,2350.1

Romania1,2250.1

Portugal8300.1

Latvia3300.2

Lithuania2750.1

Slovenia2600.1

Slovakia2700.1

Estonia2250.2

Croatia1400

Germ

any

Hunga

rySw

eden

Austri

aIta

lyFr

ance

Neth.

Belg

ium UK

Finl

and

Denm

ark

Bulg

aria

Spain

Greec

ePo

land

Irelan

dLu

xem

bour

gCy

prus

Malt

aCz

ech R

ep.

Rom

ania

Portu

gal

Latv

iaLit

huan

iaSlo

vakia

Slove

nia

Esto

nia

Croa

tia

Requests 2015Asylum seekers in the EU Requests per 1,000 inhabitants

Source: Eurostat

xx

Syria29%

Others37

AfghanistanKosovo

AlbaniaIraq

Germany

HungarySweden

Italy

France

Restof the EU

29

35.2%

Nationality ofasylum-seekers

% of total number

1,255,640 requests in 2015, up 123% on 2014

INSIGHT

Rival protests ignite debate on race, class in Braziln AFP, Brasília

The rival protests sweeping Brazil have exposed a demographic divide between President Dilma Rousse� ’s haters and backers, igniting a na-tional debate about race and class that is only increasing tensions.

Waving the red banners of the ruling Workers’ Party, Rousse� ’s left-wing base sought to seize back the streets this week, after tides of protesters draped in the yellow and green of the national � ag marched nationwide last Sunday calling for her impeachment.

The opposing theme colors were not the only di� erence in hue: the anti-government protesters were a visibly whiter crowd than the Rousse� supporters. They were also wealthier and better-educated than average Brazilians, pollsters found.

Brazil has undergone a transfor-mation since Rousse� ’s predeces-sor and mentor, Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, took o� ce in 2003.

In the decade that followed, strong economic growth and pro-gressive social programs lifted more than 26m people from poverty.

Historian John French said he sees a conservative backlash against this new social order in the anti-government protests.

“They’re discomforted by the fact that people are rising to places where they’re not supposed to be,” said French, a Brazil specialist at Duke University.

Troubled historyAnti-Rousse� protesters reject that characterisation.

Je� erson Banks, a leader of the anti-government movement in Bra-silia, said talk of race and class divi-sions seeks to distract from the is-sues that have left Rousse� hanging by a thread: a colossal corruption scandal, a drawn-out recession and government dysfunctionality.

Banks reiterated that his move-ment is color-blind.

But the numbers are awkward in a country known for its racial di-versity and a troubled history of in-equality dating back to the time of slavery -- abolished in 1888.

At the largest anti-Rousseff protest, in Sao Paulo, 77% of the demonstrators self-identified as white, and 77% were university graduates, according to polling firm Datafolha.

Nationwide, those � gures are 48% and 13%, respectively.

Half the demonstrators earned between � ve and 20 times the mini-mum wage -- more than double the percentage of people in that income bracket citywide.

A house dividedThe anti-government protests are less broad-based than the ones that swept Brazil in 2013, in the build-up to hosting the World Cup.

Then, Brazilians from many walks of life took to the streets demanding better services such

as transportation, education and health care.

At the time, some political ana-lysts suggested the Workers’ Party was a victim of its own success: gains in income and education were making voters more demanding of their government.

Despite the tumult, Rousse� went on to narrowly win re-election

in 2014.But with the economy in a tail-

spin and scandal ensnaring top of-� cials -- including Lula, who faces charges of accepting bribes -- her popularity has now plunged to 10%.

A full 68% of Brazilians support impeaching her, a new poll found Saturday.

But only a portion of those who

disapprove of her are taking to the street.

The fact that the current protests have drawn a narrower demograph-ic has raised suspicions of undemo-cratic ulterior motives.

In the highly polarised atmos-phere, many Brazilians complain that the tone of the debate has turned vitriolic. l

WorldMONDAY, MARCH 21, 2016

22DT

Demonstrators attend a protest over the appointment of former Brazilian president Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva as chief of sta� , at Paulista avenue in Sao Paulo on Thursday REUTERS

WorldMONDAY, MARCH 21, 2016

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SOUTH ASIANepal PM leaves for China to deepen tiesNepal’s Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli left Sunday for a week-long visit to China aimed at deepening tries following months of frosty relations with neighbouring India. Gopal Khanal, the prime minister’s foreign a� airs adviser, said the two sides are considering a transit and trade agreement that would allow Nepal to use of China’s ports for third-country trade. -AFP

INDIAPDP, BJP start blame game over condition to form J&K governmentA day after PDP-BJP ties over government formation in Jammu & Kashmir were pushed to the brink, the blame game has begun. The PDP (Peoples Democratic Party) insists that it has come up with no new conditions to form the government and it’s the BJP which is stalling the process. On the other hand, the BJP says it’s the PDP which keeps throwing up new conditions. -TOI

CHINAJournalist with possible link to Xi petition missingJia Jia, who has been linked by Hong Kong media reports to an anonymous online petition calling for the resignation of Chinese President Xi Jinping, disappeared Tuesday from the Beijing airport on his way to Hong Kong. According to his lawyer Yan Xin, authorities at the airport, local police, immigra-tion services and the airline have all denied knowledge of his case. -AP

ASIA PACIFICIndonesia to summon China ambassador over � shing boat incidentIndonesia will summon the Chi-nese ambassador in Jakarta over an incident involving a Chinese � shing vessel in the Natuna Sea. Indonesia was attempting to detain the Chinese vessel for � shing ille-gally in waters near the contested South China Sea when a Chinese coast guard vessel intervened, � sheries minister Susi Pudjiastuti said on Sunday. -REUTERS

MIDDLE EASTKhamenei: All US presidential candidates hostile to IranUS policy is preventing big compa-nies from doing business with Iran, while US presidential candidates are trying to outdo each other in their hostility to the Islamic republic, the country’s supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said on Sunday. The candidates for the American presi-dency have competed to vilify Iran in their speeches, and this is a sign of hostility, he added. -REUTERS

INSIGHT

Eurosceptic minister’s resign sparks civil war within UK government n AFP, London

A top British eurosceptic min-ister who quit over welfare cuts launched a damaging attack on Prime Minister David Cameron Sun-day, exposing deep tensions within his government ahead of June’s ref-erendum on EU membership.

In his � rst interview since re-signing Friday, Iain Duncan Smith accused Cameron of trying to reduce Britain’s budget de� cit through bene� t cuts which were unfairly hurting poorer voters while protecting older, often rich-er ones.

Duncan Smith, who last month became one of the most senior of Cameron’s Conservatives to say he would campaign against the premier for Britain to leave the EU on June 23, denied his shock resig-nation was about Europe.

But the man who led the Con-servatives from 2001 to 2003 admitted that Cameron and his � nance minister and close ally

George Osborne had stopped lis-tening to him.

“This is not some secondary at-tempt to attack the prime minister or about Europe,” Duncan Smith said in a BBC television interview, adding he quit because he was “losing that ability to in� uence events from the inside.”

Duncan Smith also said that Cameron’s government was “in danger of drifting in a direction that divides society, not unites it”.

The resignation of Duncan Smith -- a former army o� cer who is often referred to by his three in-itials, IDS -- is perhaps the biggest blow Cameron has su� ered since being re-elected last year.

It comes just three months ahead of the referendum on EU membership on June 23 which Cameron admitted in an interview published Sunday would be close.

“My fear is turnout,” the prime minister told the Inde-pendent on Sunday. “For heav-en’s sake, get out and vote in,

because you might wake up and find you’re out.”

Inflicting ‘maximum damage’?In his resignation letter Friday, Duncan Smith questioned wheth-er Cameron was honouring his slogan that Britons were “all in this together”, despite deep aus-terity cuts including £1.3bn axed from annual disability welfare.

A furious Cameron called Dun-can Smith a four-letter word in a phone call to discuss the resigna-tion, describing him as “dishon-ourable”, the Mail on Sunday re-ported.

Ministers in Cameron’s gov-ernment were arguing publicly

Sunday about whether Duncan Smith’s resignation was a princi-pled stand against bene� t cuts or a eurosceptic plot to undermine the premier.

Pensions Minister Ros Alt-mann, who served under Duncan Smith, released a statement say-ing she was ba� ed by his decision to quit after Downing Street had already said it would rethink the cuts he was objecting to.

“He seems to want to do max-imum damage to the party lead-ership in order to further his cam-paign to try to get Britain to leave the EU,” she added.

In response, three other min-isters who worked closely with Duncan Smith, including another leading eurosceptic, Priti Patel, is-sued statements supporting him.

David Laws, who served as a Liberal Democrat minister in the last coalition government un-der Cameron, told the BBC the implications of the current row were “huge.” l

Exiled Tibetans to elect leader to sustain struggle against Chinan Reuters, Dharamsala

Exiled Tibetans across India and overseas started voting on Sunday to elect a political leader for the next � ve years, in a bid to help sustain their struggle to secure complete autonomy for Chinese-ruled Tibet.

Thousands of monks and nuns in maroon robes, students, and men and women queued to vote outside polling booths in Dhar-amsala, a town in India’s Himala-yan foothills where a community of Tibetans live in exile with the Dalai Lama, hoping for resump-tion of talks with China.

The second such election fol-lows a decision by the charismatic monk, an 80-year-old Nobel Peace Laureate, to relinquish his political authority and vest it in a democrat-ic system that could outlast him.

China does not recognise the government that represents near-ly 100,000 exiled Tibetans living in around 30 countries including India, Nepal, Canada and the US.

Election results will be out be-tween April 27 and 28, with more than half of the 90,377 eligible voters expected to exercise their franchise, according to the elec-tion commission.

The “Sikyong”, or elected lead-

er, will be solely responsible for political and diplomatic decisions, as the Dalai Lama steps back from the limelight amid uncertainty over how his successor will be chosen.

“With regard to dialogue with China, we have been making ini-tiatives, e� orts,” Lobsang Sangay, the incumbent Sikyong, said after casting his vote. “It takes two to clap. Our side is willing and ready and as soon as the Chinese give us the positive sign, we will be ready

to take it further.”Concern about the Dalai Lama’s

health, after his admission to a US hospital this year for treatment, has reinforced the importance of the vote in keeping the issue of Tibet alive.

Tibetan Buddhism holds that the soul of a senior lama is rein-carnated in the body of a child af-ter he dies. China says it must sign o� on the reincarnation of the Dalai Lama, who � ed into exile in

1959 after a failed uprising.The election will decide who

leads the parliament of the Cen-tral Tibetan Administration (CTA) in Dharamsala.

Exiled Tibetans consider the CTA to be their legitimate govern-ment, but no country recognises it. China has lobbied to sideline the Dalai Lama from the interna-tional circuit, although he did ad-dress an audience in Geneva last week despite those e� orts. l

Tibetan monks cast their vote during the election for the Tibetan government-in-exile in Dharamsala on Sunday REUTERS

Ian Duncan Smith REUTERS

WorldMONDAY, MARCH 21, 2016

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USAMitch McConnell rules out lame duck action on courtUS Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell on Sunday ruled out the possibility that the Senate could con� rm President Barack Obama’s Supreme Court nomi-nee in a lame duck congression-al session after the November presidential election. McConnell said Republican senators had no intention of con� rming Obama’s nominee Merrick Garland. -REUTERS

THE AMERICAS Colombia hostilities disrupt 250,000 kids’ livesHostilities in Colombia have dis-placed or otherwise disrupted the lives of more than 250,000 chil-dren since peace talks began three years ago, the Unicef said. Among them, almost 300 children were killed or injured and some 1,000 recruited or otherwise exploited by non-state armed groups during the talks between the government and the left-wing FARC rebels, according to a report. -AFP

UKReport: 10 Paris-style attacks feared in London Security agencies in the UK have been alerted to prepare for up to 10 simultaneous terror attacks in London as they fear repetition of Paris-style attack here by terrorists returning from Syria, according to a media report on Sunday. The National Crime Agency has been ordered to make a crackdown on � rearms a priority amid fears of a Paris-style attack by terrorists, the Sunday Times reported. -TOI

EUROPE14 Erasmus students die in Spanish bus crashAt least 14 students died after a bus travelling between the Spanish cities of Valencia and Barcelona crashed early on Sunday, a local government o� cial said, adding it had been carrying a group of university students, many of them foreigners. The bus was carrying 56 passengers, many of the students on board were participating in the Eras-mus exchange programme between European universities. -REUTERS

AFRICAKenyan army raid kills 34 militants in SomaliaThe Kenyan army killed 21 al Shabaab militants in a town in southern Somalia after two of its own soldiers were killed in an ambush by the insurgents, a military spokesman said. Military spokes-man David Obonyo said 13 more Shabaab � ghters were killed in a sep-arate operation on Sunday in Sarira, in which a middle level Shabaab commander was also captured. -AFP

INSIGHT

Conservatives plot Trump demise before July conventionn Tribune Desk

Fearful of a Donald Trump nomination to lead the Re-publican party, c o n s e r v a t i v e leaders hud-

dled privately in Washington last week in search of a plan to stop the billionaire businessman. His Republican rivals braced for an-other Trump victory next week, this time in delegate-rich Arizona.

The Republicans have an eager alternative in Texas Senator Ted Cruz, yet some party leaders are exploring “other avenues” instead of rallying behind the � ery con-servative, an ominous sign that Republican leaders’ deep dislike of Cruz complicates their over-whelming concern about Trump.

Even after being denied victory in � ve contests last week, Cruz in-

sists he still has a path to the 1,237 delegates necessary to claim the Re-publican presidential nomination. In the US primaries voters elect del-egates representing the candidates who then vote at the parties’ con-

ventions to pick a candidate.“This is the moment for all those

who believe in a strong America to come together and craft a new path forward,” Cruz declared on Twitter while conservatives were

meeting in downtown Washington to brainstorm ways to stop his par-ty’s front-runner.

Organisers of the meeting in-cluded conservative commenta-tor Erick Erickson and Christian conservative leader Bob Fischer. The goal, as stated in the invita-tion, was “to strategise how to defeat Donald Trump for the Re-publican nomination, and if he is the Republican nominee for pres-ident, to o� er a true conservative candidate in the general election.”

The group released a statement after roughly four hours behind closed doors calling for a “unity tick-et that unites the Republican Party.”

While many in the room sup-ported Cruz, they declined to endorse the Texas senator or the only other remaining presidential contender, Ohio Governor John Kasich, and instead urged all for-mer Republican presidential can-didates to unite against Trump. l

INSIGHT

Yemen war generates widespread su� ering, but few refugeesn Reuters, Sanaa

Yemen’s civil war intensi� ed sharply almost a year ago when a Saudi-led Arab coalition inter-vened with air strikes, a naval blockade and ground troops to counter Houthi rebels intent on seizing the whole country.

The Houthis, Zaidi Shia tribes-men now allied with an old ene-my, former President Ali Abdullah Saleh, are seen by Riyadh as tools of regional arch-foe Iran, a charge they and Tehran deny.

“You feel like death is wait-ing in every place,” says Kholood al-Absi, 27, who lost her job with an oil services company in Sanaa late last year. “From the air it’s Saudi planes. From the ground it’s Houthis, car bombs, explosions, clashes. You feel the lives of Yem-enis are very cheap.”

Reached by telephone at her home in the capital, she says: “I have a valid passport ... I’m just ready to go.”

But she admits it’s a fantasy for now. Her family would never let her travel as a single woman, even if she had enough money to study abroad and seek a new life.

Besides, she can’t imagine crowding into a refugee boat for Djibouti. “It’s very dangerous, so I think it’s better for me to die in my home than to die far away,” she laughs.

Malnourished childrenAbout 170,000 people have � ed Yemen so far, mostly to Djibou-ti, Ethiopia, Somalia and Sudan. Most of them are not Yemenis, but returning refugees and other for-eigners. The UN expects another 167,000 departures this year.

Given the immense hardships in Yemen, a greater refugee exo-dus might have been expected. People � eeing war and poverty in the Middle East and beyond have � ooded into the EU since early 2015 causing a crisis.

However, penned in by ocean

and desert, with only Saudi Arabia and Oman as direct neighbours, Yemenis have no easy outlets - al-though Riyadh now allows those al-ready in the kingdom to stay. Flights out are irregular at best. Former ha-vens such as Jordan now demand visas and set tough conditions.

Mogib Abdullah, a Yemeni spokesman for UNHCR, says his countrymen have in the past tended not to migrate for work much further than Saudi Arabia, are culturally reluctant to become refugees, and view getting to Eu-rope as a very di� cult option.

The war has in� icted a devas-tating toll on 26m Yemenis strug-gling to survive in an already im-poverished country beset by acute water scarcity, poor governance and corruption.

The UN estimates conserva-tively 6,000 people have been killed, about half of them civil-ians. It says four-� fths of Yemenis need outside aid. More than half have poor food supply and at least 320,000 children under � ve are severely malnourished. Upwards of 2.4m have been forcibly dis-placed. l

Demonstrators against Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump protest during a campaign rally in Tucson on Saturday REUTERS

A boy gets his hand print on a Yemeni � ag during a rally by Houthi loyalists against air strikes in Sanaa on March 9 REUTERS

25D

TSportINSIDE

MONDAY, MARCH 21, 2016

De Villiers, Morris tame AfghansAB de Villiers announced himself at the WT20 with a swashbuckling 64 and made Afghanistan pay heavily for dropping him twice as South Africa revived their campaign with a 37-run victory at the Wankhede Stadium yesterday. South Africa chose to bat � rst after winning the toss. PAGE 27

Smith set for comeback Australia will be determined to demolish underdogs Bangladesh in their World Twenty20 clash today, to secure their � rst points in the group stages. Smith said he was sure his side could turn things around and defeat Bangladesh in Bangalore. PAGE 26

Alonso walks away from horror crashFernando Alonso walked away unharmed from a horrifying crash that wrecked his McLaren car in an incident-packed Australian Grand Prix in Melbourne yesterday. He was shaken but remarkably uninjured. PAGE 29

Mourinho signs pre-contract with UnitedMourinho has signed a pre-contract agreement with Man United as manager, Spanish newspaper El Pais reported yesterday. Citing sources from Gestifute El Pais suggest a deal has been struck that could see the former Chelsea boss make £15 million. PAGE 29

Emotional Mashrafe breaks down into tearsn Mazhar Uddin

from Bangalore

Bangladesh limited-over captain Mashrafe bin Mortaza’s pre-match press conference at the M Chinnas-wamy stadium yesterday was un-like any other presser witnessed in recent times.

Mashrafe walked into the con-ference room with disappointment clearly showing in his face. It was

evident that he was still � nding it di� cult to cope with the suspen-sions of team mates Taskin Ahmed and Arafat Sunny, who were barred from bowling in international cricket by the International Cricket Council.

Almost everyone present in the room could see the helplessness in Mashrafe’s trembling eyes. But the determined cricketer that is Mashrafe, he did manage to control his emotions during the intense presser which lasted 25 minutes.

Upon the conclusion of the con-ference, Mashrafe was on his way out of the room when the Bangla-deshi sports journalists tried to en-courage the Tigers skipper and his charges by wishing the best of luck.

And that’s when the “Narail Ex-press” broke down in tears.

He immediately went inside another room so as not to show his crying face to the media. But, a few of us did see tears in his eyes, which in turn created a sombre at-mosphere around us.

It was only the second time Mashrafe broke down in tears in front of the media. The last time he cried was just before the 2011 World Cup, on January 20, when he was dropped from the � nal squad

due to injury.And this time, Mashrafe minced

no words. He repeatedly said in the presser that Taskin and Sunny have been the victims of injustice. He also reiterated his belief that Taskin’s bowling action is perfectly legal.

“I am not worried about my career. May be I have said some strong words in the press confer-ence. But, if I am not able to stand beside the youngster (Taskin), who will give service to the Bangladesh team in the next 10-15 years? What is the point of remaining captain then?” a teary-eyed Mashrafe told the media.

“When two of your family mem-bers face such kind of trouble, the amount of pain we feel, I am feel-ing the same for my players now,” he added.

The Bangladesh cricketers did train yesterday but the dejection was clearly visible in them too. Sunny was present in the practice session but Taskin remained at his hotel room, probably wondering what has hit him suddenly.

It was learned that the 20-year old fast bowler broke into tears right after hearing about his sus-pension. Immediately, Mashrafe, along with some other senior members of the side, tried to calm him down.

On the eve of the Australia clash, the Bangladesh team have encoun-tered a major blow in the shape of the bowling duo’s suspensions. But you never know, this particular sense of injustice might just inspire the Tigers to take the � eld and an-swer the critics in the best way possible; a passionate performance against the Aussies.l

Suspensions make mockery of Tigers plans on eve of Australia clashn Minhaz Uddin Khan

from Bangalore

The suspensions of Bangladesh cricketers Taskin Ahmed and Ara-fat Sunny have put the Bangladesh side in a conundrum ahead of their crucial Super 10 encounter against Australia, scheduled for today at M Chinnaswamy Stadium.

Taskin and Sunny’s suspen-sions have suddenly forced the Tigers team management to tink-er with their playing XI on the eve of the Australia clash. Such is the desperation of the Bangladesh think tank that pace sensation

Musta� zur Rahman is all set to be named in the playing XI today, de-spite not being fully match-� t.

Musta� zur incurred a side-strain injury during the Asia Cup Twenty20 earlier this month and as a result, missed out on the entirety of the � rst round of the 2016 World T20. The left-arm paceman also sat out the Super 10 opener against Pa-kistan at Eden Gardens in Kolkata.

“We have to make Musta� z play even if he is 20 percent � t. We are out of our best players and have nothing much to do. We are disappointed and hurt with the decision. He (Taskin) was our key

bowler and was in brilliant form. But there is a process which we have to go through now. We need to forget all our sorrows and think of every ball we deliver in the mid-dle. I believe the boys will give their best for the country [today],” Mashrafe informed the media at M Chinnaswamy Stadium yesterday.

“Australia are a tough opposi-tion. We will have to work hard to get a positive result from the game. The spinners will have to take responsibility and the bats-men will have to score big if we bat � rst, given that our bowl-ing strength has been weakened

now,” he said.Mashrafe believes the two

bowlers, especially Taskin, have been the unfortunate victims of injustice and is of the opinion that the Bangladesh Cricket Board should do everything in its power to clear the duo.

“The whole thing now depends on the ICC and the BCB. We want justice with our players. Taskin has no issue with his bowling ac-tion. We want the board to clear this fact. We cannot make any decision overlooking the board. All of us know that we have limi-tations,” he added. l

Bangladesh captain Mashrafe Mortaza (R) yesterday talks to team coach Chandika Hathurusingha during training ahead of their ICC World T20 match against Australia in Bangalore today AP

26DT Sport

MONDAY, MARCH 21, 2016

MUSTAFIZUR RAHMANBangladesh

The 20-year old has not been going through the best of times lately.

Having incurred a side-strain injury in the Asia Cup Twenty20 earlier this month, Musta� zur missed the entire

� rst round of the ongoing World T20 along with the Super 10 opener

against Pakistan. What’s more, his inclusion in the playing XI today is

still in some doubt. However, owing to the suspensions of Bangladesh

cricketers Taskin Ahmed and Arafat Sunny, the team management is left

with no other option but to make this gem of a bowler play against Australia. Coupled with his lack

of match-� tness in recent times, Musta� zur will also have to negate

the challenge of the batting-friendly wicket at the M Chinnaswamy

stadium. The venue has witnessed massive totals and in Taskin’s

absence, Musta� zur will have to step up, provided he is named in the

starting XI.

GLENN MAXWELLAustralia

Some � ne bowling by the New Zealand bowlers prevented Australia from posting a winning start to their Super 10 campaign. Chasing 143, the Aussies were well and truly on their

way to victory, only to be denied by the likes of Corey Anderson,

Mitchell McClenaghan and Mitchell Santner. Australia therefore, will be eager to forget the loss against their

Trans-Tasman rivals and register a much-needed win against the Tigers,

who are still smarting from the suspensions of their bowlers Taskin

and Sunny. And among all the Aussie cricketers, it is all-rounder Maxwell

who will be desperate to lead his side to a win. He more than played

his part against the Kiwis, taking two wickets and scoring a 23-ball 22, but it was not enough as their

arch-rival recorded an eight-run win. Maxwell, one of the world’s most

dangerous batsman, has become a key player for his team, especially in the shortest formats, and the Tigers would do well to dismiss him early.

MINHAZ UDDIN KHANFrom Bangalore

PLAYERS TO WATCHBangladesh V Australia

Bangladesh spinner Arafat Sunny (L), who has been banned from bowling by the ICC for a a suspected illegal bowling action, listens to spin bowling coach Ruwan Kalpage during the team's practice session at M Chinnaswamy Stadium yesterday AFP

Smith set for comeback n AFP, Bangalore

Australia will be determined to demolish underdogs Bangladesh in their World Twenty20 clash today, to secure their � rst points

in the group stages and increase their chances of reaching the semi-� nals.

Smith said he was sure his side could turn things around and de-feat Bangladesh after the Black Caps edged past them on Friday, thanks largely to tight bowling.

“Absolutely. We’re still con-� dent,” he said of his side’s title hopes.

Although Australia top the Test rankings and won their � fth 50-over World Cup last year, they have struggled in the shortest form of the game. They have only made the World T20 � nal once, in 2010, when they lost to England. l

Bangladesh women lose to West Indies n Agencies

West Indies women took a step closer towards a semi-� nal berth after comfortably beating Bang-ladesh by 49 runs to register their second win in the ICC World T20 cricket tournament yesterday.

Batting � rst, West Indies scored 148 for four in 20 overs with Hayley Matthews (41) and skipper Stafanie Taylor (40) making useful contri-butions. The duo added 67 runs for the opening stand. While Mathews hit four boundaries in 42 balls, Tay-lor hit two fours and a six in 41 de-liveries.

In reply, Bangladesh women were 99 all out in 18.3 overs losing their third straight match to bow out of the tournament. Skipper Taylor was the most successful bowler as she took 3/13 in three overs with her o� -breaks. l

Steve Smith of Australia and national selector Mark Waugh inspect the pitch in Bangalore yesterday AP

BRIEF SCOREWest Indies women 148/4 (20 ov)Matthews 41, Taylor 40, Nahida 3/27

Bangladesh women 99 (18.3 ov)Nigar 27, Farjana 17, Taylor 3/13

West Indies women won by 49 runs

Hathurusingha waging lone battlen Minhaz Uddin Khan

from Bangalore

Bangladesh cricket till date has faced many hurdles but never like the one they are encountering now. The suspensions of bowlers Taskin Ahmed and Arafat Sunny in the middle of a major tournament like the 2016 World Twenty20 have suddenly rocked the Tigers.

The Bangladesh Cricket Board is yet to make any move against the International Cricket Council’s deci-sion which is being said to have done injustice to Taskin. According to sources, a movement on the issue is

unlikely to make a di� erence but Ti-gers head coach Chandika Hathurus-ingha is in no mood to let it go.

Since Hathurusingha took charge of the Bangladesh team in June 2014, there have been many occa-sions in which the former Sri Lankan cricketer showed full dedication and passion towards his charges. He was often o� ensive when � ngers were raised against his team and this time, it is no di� erent.

The suspensions of Sunny and Taskin were made o� cial last Sat-urday and according to team sourc-es, Hathurusingha has been rest-less since then. On the day, he was

involved in meetings and he was so engaged that he could not even manage the time for a proper meal.

It was learned that Hathurusin-gha has been in constant discus-sions with BCB president Nazmul Hasan and other high-ups of the board, trying to make a change to the harsh decision dished out by the ICC. In all likelihood, Hathurus-ingha will not let this incident go by without a proper � ght.

One can hardly question Ha-thurusingha’s dedication towards the team. And if one takes a glance at his record with the Tigers, it will be clearly evident.

However, it is not only the Ti-gers who have bene� ted from such a strong and determined character like Hathurusingha. Australia cap-tain Steve Smith is another crick-eter who is highly in� uenced by Hathurusingha. The right-handed batsman previously worked un-der the supervision of the Lankan strategist in New South Wales and is well aware of his calibre and de-votion for the team.

“He was a good in� uence on me. I think he reads the game really well, he understands batting really well, he was really good in the time he had at New South Wales,” said Smith.l

Australia Bangladesh 85 Played 59 42 Won 20 42 Lost 37 1 No result 2 3 Head-to-head 0

V

Sport 27D

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MONDAY, MARCH 21, 2016

Siddikur � nishes 58th in Indian OpenBangladesh golfer Siddikur Rahman � nished 58th in the Hero Indian Open that concluded at his favourite course Delhi Golf Club in New Delhi yesterday. Siddikur carded two-under-par 70 in the fourth and � nal round to rise from his third-round position of 70th. He played three birdies and a bogey yesterday. Siddikur scored a total of one-over-par 289 in the $1,660,000 event where he ended up as the runners-up in the previous edition. He had also won the tournament three years ago. Meanwhile, SSP Chawrasia of India clinched the title with a one-under-par 71 in the � nal round to claim a two-shot victory over compatriot Anirban Lahiri and Jeunghun Wang.

–TRIBUNE REPORT

Navy clinch Beach KabaddiBangladesh Navy emerged as the champions in the Walton 3rd Men’s Beach Kabaddi Championship beating Border Guard Bangladesh by 31-25 points at Laboni Point in Cox’s Bazar yesterday. Bangladesh Police and Bangladesh Air Force jointly � nished third. Navy’s Ferdous was adjudged the player of the tournament. A total of six teams – Police, Navy, Air Force, BGB, Bangladesh Jail and Fire Service – took part in the event.

–TRIBUNE REPORT

Football clubs conclude players’ registrationAll the Premier Football League clubs, including champions Sheikh Jamal Dhanmondi, have completed the formalities of the players’ transfer and registration as the deadline expired yesterday. Four-time professional league champions Abahani Limited, traditional crowd-pullers Mohammedan SC, Muktijoddha SKC, Brothers Union, Feni Soccer Club, Uttar Baridhara, BJMC and Sheikh Jamal waited for the deadline day to complete their formalities. Former treble winners Sheikh Russel KC, rising powerhouse Chittagong Abahani and old-Dhaka out� t Rahmatganj MFS � nished their players’ registration before the deadline day. Chittagong Abahani are all set to be the surprise package in the upcoming edition after the port-city side recruited national players Mamunul Islam, Zahid Hossain and Nasir Uddin Chowdhury while Abahani Limited roped in Hemanta Vincent Biswas and Nabib Newaj Jibon.

–TRIBUNE REPORT

QUICK BYTESSOUTH AFRICA R Bde Kock c Shahzad b Hamza 45 31Amla c Stanikzai b Shapoor 5 5du Plessis run out 41 27de Villiers c Noor Ali b Nabi 64 29Duminy not out 29 20Miller c Naib b Dawlat Zadran 19 8Wiese not out 0 0 Extras (lb 2, w4) 6

Total (for 5 wickets, 20 overs) 209

Fall of wickets1-25 (Amla) 2-90 (du Plessis), 3-97 (de Kock), 4-173 (de Villiers), 5-203 (Miller)

BowlingHamza 3-0-25-1, Dawlat Zadran 3-0-46-1, Shapoor Zadran 3-0-28-1, Nabi 4-0-35-1, Khan 4-0-51-0, Shenwari 3-0-22-0

AFGHANISTAN R BShahzad b Morris 44 19Ali Zadran st de Kock b Tahir 25 24Stanikzai c de Kock b Morris 7 6Naib c de Kock b Abbott 26 18Nabi c de Villiers b Tahir 11 14Shenwari c Wiese b Abbott 25 14Zadran c de Kock b Rabada 12 8Khan b Morris 11 7Zadran b Morris 0 2Hamza not out 3 6Zadran b Rabada 1 2Extras (lb 1, w 6) 7

Total (for 10 wickets, 20 overs) 172

Fall of wickets1-52 (Shahzad), 2-60 (Stanikzai), 3-105 (Naib), 4-109 (Noor Ali Zadran), 5-140 (Nabi), 6-156 (Najubullah Zadran), 7-156 (Shenwari), 8-167 (Khan), 9-169 (Dawlat Zadran) 10-172 (Shapoor Zadran)

BowlingRabada 4-0-37-2, Abbott 4-0-36-2, Morris 4-0-27-4, Tahir 4-0-24-2, Wiese 4-0-47-0

South Africa won by 37 runs

SCORECARD

South Africa pacer Chris Morris celebrates the wicket of Afghanistan opening batsman Mohammad Shahzad during their ICC World Twenty20 2016 match at the Wankhede stadium in Mumbai yesterday AP

De Villiers and Morris tame Afghans in WT20n Reuters, Mumbai

AB de Villiers announced himself at the World Twenty20 with a swash-buckling 64 and made Afghanistan pay heavily for dropping him twice as South Africa revived their cam-paign with a 37-run victory at the Wankhede Stadium yesterday.

Unable to defend a target of 230 runs against England two days ago at the same ground, South Africa chose to bat � rst after winning the toss and racked up a total of 209 for

� ve in their 20 overs.The plucky Afghans came out all

guns blazing in their assault on the target with the diminutive Moham-mad Shahzad leading the charge with 44 o� 19 balls. Shahzad, who hit � ve sixes and three fours, tore into paceman Kyle Abbott in the sec-ond over and took 22 runs o� him as Afghanistan made a strong start.

The right-hander took Afghani-stan to 47-0 in three overs, remind-ing South Africa of the onslaught by the English batsmen on Friday,

before paceman Chris Morris up-rooted his stumps.

Afghanistan, who made the Su-per 10 stage after coming through the quali� ers, were ahead of South Africa’s score at the halfway stage on 103 for two but lost too many wickets to keep up with the re-quired run rate.

The lanky Morris showed good control to � nish with four wick-ets, earning him the player of the match award, while leg-spinner Imran Tahir and fast bowlers Ab-

bott and Kagiso Rabada all picked up two wickets each.

Earlier, opener Quinton de Kock (45) continued his impressive show with the bat and added 65 for the second wicket with captain Faf du Plessis after South Africa lost Hashim Amla early in their innings.

The Proteas, among the favour-ites to lift the trophy at Kolkata’s Eden Gardens on April 3, lost De Kock and Du Plessis (41) in quick succession, which set the stage for De Villiers to explode.l

Fletcher shines as West Indies down Sri Lanka without Gaylen AFP

Andre Fletcher powered the West Indies to a comprehensive sev-en-wicket victory against Sri Lanka in their World Twenty20 match in Bangalore on Sunday, even with-out destructive opener Chris Gayle.

The 28-year-old smashed an unbeaten 84, including � ve sixes and six fours, as the Windies suc-cessfully chased down Sri Lanka’s paltry score of 122 for nine.

Fletcher spearheaded the attack

with his 64-ball knock in the ab-sence of explosive opener su� ered

Gayle, who su� ered a tweak in his left hamstring while � elding during Sunday’s match and did not bat.

A Windies team representative told reporters that the 36-year-old’s injury was “not major” but it rais-es questions about whether he will play in the rest of the tournament.

An unimpressed crowd repeat-edly chanted “We want Gayle, We want Gayle”, anxious to see the Ja-maican who has played several sea-sons for the city’s team in the glitzy Indian Premier League (IPL). l

BRIEF SCORESRI LANKA

122 for 9 in 20 OV (Perera 40, Mathews 20; Badree 3-12, Bravo 2-20)

WEST INDIES127 for 3 in 18.2 OV (Fletcher 84,

Russell 20; Siriwardana 2-33) West Indies won by 7 wickets

Player of the match: Andre Fletcher

Barca blow two-goal leadn AFP

Barcelona extended their lead at the top of La Liga to nine points despite blowing a two-goal advantage to draw 2-2 at Villarreal on Sunday.

Ivan Rakitic and a controver-sial Neymar penalty had Barca on course for a 13th consecutive La Liga win before half-time.

Yet, Villarreal were more than worthy of a point and got their re-ward after the break through Cedric Bakambu and Jeremy Mathieu’s own goal. l

28DT Sport

MONDAY, MARCH 21, 2016

Terms & Conditions:v The lucky winners among all the participants who have answered

correctly will be selected in an o�cial lottery and will have their picture published in the newspaper.

v Answers must be sent in only the coupon (photocopy will not be accepted).

v Quiz coupon should be submitted in the Dhaka Tribune newspaper address.

v No one a�liated with Dhaka Tribune and Walton will be able to participate.

v Coupon submission deadline April 4, 2016.v A person can send as many coupons as he/she wants.v Walton-Dhaka Tribune T20 World Cup should be written on top of

the envelope.

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01: Who scored the �rst T20I century for Bangladesh?Ans: Tamim Mashrafe Taskin

02:Who won the �rst World T20 in 2007?Ans: India Zimbabwe Afghanistan

03:In which year did Bangladesh host the World T20?Ans: 2014 2004 2015

United’s Marcus Rashford, right, scores his side's only goal during their English Premier League match against Manchester City at the Etihad stadium in Manchester yesterday –AP

Rashford downs City in derby, Kane lifts Spursn AFP

Harry Kane scored twice as Totten-ham Hotspur won 3-0 at home to Bournemouth on Sunday to cut Pre-mier League leaders Leicester City’s advantage back to � ve points.

But Manchester City’s title am-bitions were dealt a likely fatal blow in a 1-0 home defeat by Man-chester United.

The result, courtesy of 18-year-old striker Marcus Rashford’s 16th-minute strike, left City 15 points behind Leicester in fourth place and took Louis van Gaal’s United to within a point of the Champions League places. l

Sport 29D

T

MONDAY, MARCH 21, 2016

DAY’S WATCHCRICKET

STAR SPORTS 18:00PM

ICC World T20 Australia v Bangladesh

STAR SPORTS 23:30PM

ICC Women’s World T20 Australia v New Zealand

Novak Djokovic of Serbia in action against Rafael Nadal of Spain in the semi-� nals during day thirteen of the BNP Paribas Open at Indian Wells Tennis Garden in Indian Wells, California on Saturday AFP

Alonso walks away from horror crash in Australian AFP, Melbourne

Two-times world champion Fer-nando Alonso walked away un-harmed from a horrifying crash that wrecked his McLaren car in an incident-packed Australian Grand Prix in Melbourne yesterday.

The 34-year-old Spaniard, com-peting in his 253rd F1 race, was shaken but remarkably uninjured when his car rolled and slammed into a barrier after clipping the Haas car of Mexican Esteban Gut-ierrez on lap 17 of the 57-lap sea-son-opener.

Alonso’s McLaren initially veered into the wall on turn three before pitching into a series of violent rolls. It then � ew through the gravel trap and slammed into another barrier, disintegrating upon impact.

He quickly clambered out of the barely recognisable wreckage and walked away unaided.

“I feel good. It was a combina-tion of factors and it ended up in a crash,” Alonso said. "But we are lucky we are both okay. For the safety of those cars is why I am alive - and the safety wall." l

Djokovic stops Nadal, reach Indian Wells � naln AFP, Indian Wells

Novak Djokovic toppled a resur-gent Rafael Nadal in straight sets Saturday and to reach the Indian Wells � nal, where he’ll be seeking a third straight and record � fth over-all title.

The 28-year-old world num-ber one from Serbia was the heavy favourite coming into the joint ATP and WTA Tour event and he showed why as he dis-patched long time rival and nine-time French Open champion Nadal 7-6 (7/5), 6-2.

“Today the � rst set was decided by just one or two points,” Djok-ovic said. “The second set was very close and I played the last three games very well.

“I am glad I overcame this chal-lenge, which is one of the greatest in sport, playing against Rafa.”

Djokovic improved to 21-1 this season and squared o� in yesterday’s � nal against Canadian Milos Raonic, who beat Belgian David Go� n 6-3, 3-6, 6-3.

The women’s � nal is also on yes-

terday with Serena Williams vying for her � rst Indian Wells title since 2001 when she took on former champion Victoria Azarenka.

Djokovic showed why he has been so dominant at Indian Wells, the hardcourt tournament in the California desert that he hopes this year will be a stepping stone to his � rst French Open title and a career Grand Slam.

Djokovic beat Roger Federer in three sets in the title match here the past two years, and now aims to surpass the record of four Indi-an Wells titles he shares with the Swiss.

Djokovic and Nadal have butted heads 68 times with Djokovic now holding a 25-23 edge, including winning 10 of the last 11.

The 25-year-old Raonic stormed into his 17th career ATP � nal by overpowering Belgian 15th seed Go� n.

Raonic, who is going through a makeover under the tutelage of new coach Carlos Moya, blasted 10 aces to help counter 35 unforced errors.l

The wreckage of McLaren Honda is seen after crashing during the Australian Grand Prix in Melbourne yesterday AFP

Bayern edge closer to Bundesliga title with Cologne winn Reuters, Berlin

Bundesliga leading scorer Robert Lewandowski grabbed an early goal to give Bayern Munich a 1-0 victo-ry at Cologne on Saturday that sent them eight points clear at the top of the table with seven matches left.

Bayern, on track for a treble of titles after advancing to the Cham-pions League quarter-� nals with an extra-time victory over Juven-tus this week, are on 69 points.

The Bavarians are also chasing an unprecedented fourth straight Bundesliga title.

“I have to congratulate my play-ers because it was very hard for them two-and-a-half days after playing 120 minutes in an emo-tional game against Juventus,” said Bayern coach Pep Guardiola.

“We controlled the game well but we felt how di� cult it is to de-fend our titles this season.”

Poland forward Lewandowski notched his 25th goal of the cam-paign with a well-placed shot in the 10th minute and Bayern were rarely threatened by the hosts in a one-sid-ed game in which the visitors had more than 70 percent possession.l

Mourinho signs pre-contract with Man Unitedn AFP, Madrid

Jose Mourinho has signed a pre-contract agreement with Man-chester United with a view to re-placing Louis van Gaal as manager of the English giants next season, Spanish newspaper El Pais report-ed yesterday.

Citing sources from Gestifute, the agency company owned by Mourin-ho’s representative Jorge Mendes, El Pais suggest a deal has been struck that could see the former Chelsea boss make £15 million (19 million euro), even if he doesn’t end up tak-ing charge at Old Tra� ord.

If United don’t complete the deal by May 1, Mourinho will be entitled to £5 million compensation, should negotiations drag on beyond June 1 or break down, the 20-time English champions would owe the Portu-guese a further £10 million.

Mourinho was sacked by Chel-sea in December after losing nine out the � rst 16 games of their Pre-mier League defence.

“I look forward to the future,” Mourinho told BT Sport this week.

“I want my football back, time � ies and July will be just around the corner.”

Van Gaal is under mounting pressure if he is to see out the � -nal season of a three-year deal he signed in 2014.l

VfL Wolfsburg 1-1 DarmstadtSchuerrle 90 Wagner 83

Hamburg 1-3 Ho� enheimHunt 30-P Kramaric 20-P, Volland 23, Vargas 67

Werder Bremen 1-1 MainzPizarro 45-P Baumgartlinger 38

Cologne 0-1 Bayern Munich Lewandowski 10

Hertha Berlin 2-1 IngolstadtHaraguchi 54, Hinterseer 75Kalou 69

Frankfurt 1-0 Hanover 96Ben-Hatira 33

RESULTS

Director General of BGB, Major General Aziz Ahmed (C), BGBM, PBGM yesterday handed over the prizes to the BGB members for their achievements in the recently-concluded 12th South Asian Games

–COURTESY

n Showtime Desk

Marking legendary British playwright William Shakespeare’s 400th death anniversary, the British Council, in collaboration with Dhaka Theatre and Graeae Theatre Company (UK), is going to organise a 75-minute play titled “A Di� erent Romeo and Juliet.” The organisation announced production of the play in a press conference held at the British High Commissioner’s residence on March 20.

The production is going to be truly unique in a way that, it will be performed in its entirety by 14 highly talented artists with disability. It was led by Jenny Sealey, the artistic director of Graeae Theatre Company, in collaboration with Dhaka Theatre’s Nasiruddin Yousu� , a renowned Bangladeshi director. The play will be premiered at the National Theatre Hall, Bangladesh Shilpakala Academy on March 28.

Alison Blake, British high commissioner; Matt Pusey, deputy director, British Council; Jenny Sealey, creative director,

Graeae Theatre Company, Nasiruddin Yousu� , head, Dhaka Theatre; and Liaquat Ali Lucky, director, Shilpakala Academy were present in the press conference as panel members.

“The UK’s greatest author William Shakespeare ensured his writings were accessible by all. I am delighted that the British Council Bangladesh’s version of one of his great works, titled ‘A di� erent Romeo and Juliet,’ takes this a step further to celebrate the Bard’s 400th anniversary. In this special year of an ‘inclusive commonwealth,’ the performance by disabled Bangladeshi actors is an example of this inclusivity and demonstrates that no-one should be left behind regardless of their ability. I hope this production inspires others to take part not only in the arts but other disciplines,” said Alison Blake.

“Shakespeare is part of British Council’s global cultural programme in 2016. It is about sparking cultural exchange through the shared language of Shakespeare. One of our major initiatives in Bangladesh is this play, an inspirational

theatre production with a group of talented artists who are di� erently abled. We hope this play will contribute in changing people’s perceptions of life, and the right to love and be loved,” said Matt Pusey.

The British Council initiated this project in 2013 with an aim to empower people with disabilities by facilitating social inclusion through theatre workshops that helped them explore their identity and infused an enriched sense of self-worth.

The artists are drawn from Centre for the Rehabilitation of the Paralysed (CRP-Bangladesh), Bangladesh Rural Advancement Committee (BRAC), Bangladesh Reform Initiatives for Development, Governance and Empowerment (BRIDGE) and Gram Theatre.

The play will be performed in front of the general public comprising of a targeted audience of policy makers, organisations and other stakeholders working with people with disabilities, special needs schools and the average theatre lovers from March 28-29, 2016. l

n Showtime Desk

Sohana Saba, actress, con� rms the news of her separation with Murad Parvez, director. Saba informs that due to lack of understanding between the two, they have decided to break apart. It was a mutual decision which they are proceeding respectfully.

After dealing with the legal formalities, Saba announced the divorce news to the press. They worked together in many projects, Brihonnola being one of them. Their only son is now staying with Saba. Saba also says that Murad is a very good friend of hers and that they want to maintain their friendship in future. l

Showtime30DT

MONDAY, MARCH 21, 2016

British Council celebrates Shakespeare’s life and work

Saba and Murad split

n Showtime Desk

After � ghting with cancer for the last nine months, actress Parvin Sultana Diti � nally lost the battle. She took her last breath around 4:05pm on March 20 at the United Hospital in the capital.

Dr Shagufa Anwar, Public Relations and Business Development o� cer at United Hospital, con� rmed the news to the press.

After she was diagnosed with brain cancer on July 25 last year, Diti was taken to Madras Institute of Orthopaedics and

Traumatology in India. When her health condition improved slightly, she was brought back to Bangladesh. However, her condition worsened again and she was taken back to India in November.

As her health did not seem to improve, she was brought back to Bangladesh in January and was admitted to United Hospital. She has left behind her daughter Lamia Chowdhury and son Shafayet Chowdhury.

Diti stepped into the � lm industry through a talent hunt show named Natun Mukher

Sondhaney in 1984. Her � rst big screen venture was Daak Diye Jai, directed by Udayan Chowdhury. Unfortunately the � lm did not get released.

Her first film was Ami-e Ustad, a directorial venture of Ajmal Huda Khan, following which the 90s film star appeared in more than two hundred films in total.

She played the role of wife to actor Alamgir in Subhash Dutta’s Shami Stri in 1987, for which she was given the National Film Award in a supporting role. l

Diti passes away

Showtime 31D

TMONDAY, MARCH 21, 2016

WHAT TO WATCH

Step Up 2: The StreetsHBO 7:36pmA follow-up to 2006’s smash, this sequel centers on Andie, a rebellious street dancer who lands a spot at the elite Maryland School of the Arts. Her freestyle moves are at odds with the school’s conservative curriculum but she � nds a kindred spirit in Chase, the school’s most popular dancer.Cast: Briana Evigan, Robert

Ho� man, Adam G Sevani, Cassie Ventura, Will Kemp

Ice Age: Continental DriftStar Movies 5:36pmWhen Scrat accidentally provokes a continental disaster with a storm, Manny is separated from Ellie and Peaches on an iceberg with Diego, Sid and Granny. He promises that he will � nd a way to return home. While crossing

the ocean, they are captured by the cruel pirate Captain Gutt and his crew. However, they escape and Manny plans to steal Captain Gutt’s ship and return to his homeland. Writers: Michael Berg, Jason Fuchs

Breaking The Magician’s Code: Magic’s Biggest Secrets Finally Revealed

AXN 8:29pmBreaking the Magicians’ Code: Magic’s Biggest Secrets Finally Revealed is a television series in which the methods behind magic tricks and illusions are explained. Writer: Scott Mitchell, David Next

Where Tigers RuleAnimal Planet 9:30pmFollow in the footsteps of the fascinating big cats, explore the intricacies of their role as predator and protector and watch them enter new turfs.

Bizarre Foods: AmericaTLC 3:30pmBizarre Foods America is back with another helping of stateside

adventures as chef, writer, and culinary explorer Andrew Zimmern continues his quest to taste the weird and wonderful foods that can be found right here in the US. Andrew is ready to tempt and test his palate without ever leaving his homeland!Genre: Cookery, Travel l

n Showtime Desk

Actress Moutushi Biswas has recently launched her own website. From now on, her detailed work activities shall be posted on this website. The recently activated site includes a show-reel featuring her major work, video links, the latest news about her and more.

Talking about introducing her own website the actress said: “The website is generated for the people who are interested to know me and my works better and to congregate all my works in a single place. The site is still under construction. I am renovating the website as if its my own home.”

Currently, the actress is busy working in several TV serials and single-episode dramas. Herlatest big screen venture, Krishnopokkho, was recently released on the big screen. l

Website: www.moutushibiswas.com

Moutushi Biswas’s personal website

Shraddha Kapoor in a melodious avatarn Showtime Desk

Shraddha Kapoor has a double-treat for all her fans. The Baaghi actress has sung the � lm’s � rst track “Sab Tera” with Armaan Mallik. The romantic song, featuring Shraddha and Tiger Shro� in exotic locations of Krabi in Thailand, has been composed by Amaal Mallik with lyrics penned by Sanjiv Chaturvedi.

Adressing Sabbir Khan, the director of Baaghi, Shraddha tweeted: “It’s you who asked me to give it a shot, it’s you who you believed in me. Thank you sir for giving me this beautiful song.”

Unveiling the song, Tiger Shro� tweeted: “Sung by the most beautiful rebel in town @ShraddhaKapoor, #SabTera is here! Hope you guys love it :)”

Baaghi is the story of Ronny, a rebellious 23-year-old from Delhi. Sanjeev Dutta wrote the script for the � lm, which was produced by Sajid Nadiadwala under the banner of Nadiadwala Grandson Entertainment. The romantic-action � lm is all set to be released this year on April 29. l

Back Page32DT

MONDAY, MARCH 21, 2016

NEW INDUSTRIAL POLICY SEEKS CABINET NOD PAGE 17

EMOTIONAL MASHRAFE BREAKS INTO TEARS PAGE 25

DITI PASSES AWAY PAGE 30

‘I believe ICC will reconsider’n Tribune Report

Bangladesh Cricket Board has started the o� cial procedure of appealing against the International Cricket Council’s decision to ban Taskin Ahmed. Cricket’s governing body in the country is apparently grafting hard to bring the young fast bowler back to the internation-al arena.

BCB is also trying to use crick-et diplomacy in order to make the

right-arm bowler eligible as the board president Nazmul Hasan has already talked with ICC chairman Shashank Manohar and chief exec-utive o� cer Dave Richardson.

“As every delivery of pacer Taskin Ahmed does not breach the ICC’s rules and regulations, hence, BCB will appeal to ICC to bring back Taskin to international cricket,” Nazmul informed the media at his residence in Gulshan yesterday.

“ICC’s report says there are

problems in some of Taskin’s bowl-ing actions. But there is nothing illegal with his stock delivery and yorker. So I think there should not be any problems with Taskin play-ing international cricket. He only has to avoid some speci� c deliver-ies that ICC found to be illegal. We will o� cially appeal to ICC about this,” he said.

Nazmul also stated that they have formed a technical commit-tee to work on the Taskin issue.

“We have a technical committee working on this issue. They will gather all the documents and sub-mit them to ICC. I believe ICC will reconsider,” he added.

Some Bangladesh supporters have criticised the BCB for its de-layed reaction to the incident but Nazmul said, “It’s normal that they are concerned as to what BCB is do-ing. But no other country has taken steps as fast as BCB after a cricketer received a suspension from ICC.” l

UK � rm picked for Shahjalal securityn Asif Showkat Kallol and

Ishtiaq Husain

The government has picked Redline Assured Security, a UK-based avia-tion security company, to upgrade the security management and train-ing of personnel at Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport in Dhaka.

The approval came from a meet-ing of the cabinet committee on economic a� airs yesterday, pre-sided over by Commerce Minister Tofail Ahmed, as part of the gov-ernment’s short term initiatives to meet the conditions on airport se-

curity outlined by the UK.The decision came in the wake

of the UK’s suspension of direct cargo � ights from here over securi-ty concerns.

“The government has appointed the UK based security � rm Redline Aviation Security Limited in direct purchase process with a cost of Tk73.25 crore. The � rm will stay till March 2018,” Additional Secretary Musta� zur Rahman told reporters after the meeting.

Commerce Minister Tofail Ahmed said the UK government has been monitoring 38 airports across

the globe since the attack on a Rus-sian passenger aircraft in the Sinai valley in Egypt on October 31, 2015.

“The crisis of sending local export commodities abroad through Shah-jalal Airport will be over,” he said.

Tofail Ahmed also said 29 work-ers of Redline Security will work at the Shajalah Airport and they will train the existing airport workers.

Civil Aviation Minister Rashid Khan Mannan said, “The policy-makers of the consultant � rm will come to Bangladesh to give advice to the airport’s local security sta� .”

On March 8, the UK imposed a

temporary ban on direct air cargo shipment from Dhaka to London, citing security issues. Australia came up with the same move in December last year.

UK’s Department for Transport in a post said a recent security as-sessment found that Dhaka airport was yet to meet some international security requirements.

“As part of a set of interim meas-ures, cargo will not be allowed on direct � ights from Dhaka to the UK until further notice,” it read.

The British authorities also in-formed the Bangladesh government

that unless there is visible improve-ment in security situation by March 31, direct � ights of Biman between Dhaka and London will be banned.

British Prime Minister David Cameron in a letter to Prime Minis-ter Sheikh Hasina said an improve-ment plan must be developed and delivered by March 31 to avoid fur-ther measures.

The government had been nego-tiating with a number of UK � rms – Restrata, Redline and Westmin-ster Group – to engage in assisting Bangladesh airport security agen-cies and train them. l

Cricket fans stage a protest in the capital’s Shahbagh area yesterday against the International Cricket Council’s temporary ban on Taskin Ahmed and Arafat Sunny from all forms of international cricket due to faulty bowling action MAINOOR ISLAM MANIK

Kabir: Con� dence must be restoredn Tribune Report

The newly appointed Bangladesh Bank Governor Fazle Kabir has said the reserve heist may have caused a loss of con� dence among central bank o� cials.

“We will have to bring back con-� dence among the bank o� cials and alleviate the panic caused by the incident,” the governor said af-ter joining his new position.

Kabir arrived at the central bank at 12pm yesterday for his � rst day of o� ce. Earlier he went to the Sonali Bank headquarters and re-signed from the chairman position.

He said that his � rst priority was to put the highest e� ort into re-covering the $81m stolen from the account with the Federal Reserve Bank of New York.

“We will have to � nd out if there is any technical problem in our sys-tem and � x it so that such incidents do not happen again,” he said.

The next steps will be taken fol-lowing the recommendations of the investigation committee formed un-der former governor Mohammed Far-ashuddin to probe the heist, he said.

The governor on his � rst day held a series of meetings with the deputy governors and executive directors to get an overview of cen-tral bank activities.

On March 15, Atiur Rahman re-signed from his post as the gover-nor in the wake of a $101 million theft from Bangladesh Bank’s re-serve funds.

He served as the governor from 2009 and his tenure would have ended on August 2.

On February 4, hackers stole around $101 million from Bangla-desh Bank’s account with the Fed-eral Reserve Bank of New York. l

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 O� ce: 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