Arson attempt at the book fair

Miscreants tried to set a book stall on � re at the Amar Ekushey Book Fair in Dhaka. PAGE 32

SECOND EDITION

INSIDEJMB behind Hindu priest murder, not ISOne day after the killing of a Hindu priest, police have arrested three peo-ple – two of them members of JMB and the other from Shibir. PAGE 3

TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 23, 2016 | Falgun 11, 1422, Jamadiul Awal 13, 1437 | Regd No DA 6238, Vol 3, No 308 | www.dhakatribune.com | 32 pages | Price: Tk10

Police vehicle on wrong side kills uni studentn Kamrul Hasan

A police vehicle speeding on the wrong side of the road has killed a private university student at Dhaka’s Banani.

Riaz Uddin Tipu, a BBA � nal-year student at ASA University, was on his motorcycle when a minibus without a number plate, requisitioned by po-lice, hit him yesterday afternoon. He was rushed to a hospital where doc-tors pronounced him dead.

Tipu, 26, worked for mobile com-pany Oppo. His colleague Bitin, who was pillion riding, was seriously in-jured, Banani police station’s Inspec-tor (investigation) Waheduzzaman told the Dhaka Tribune.

They were on their way to Radis-son hotel to attend a programme.

Waheduzzaman con� rmed that police had requisitioned the vehicle. “We have detained the driver and

will investigate why he was on the wrong side,” he said, declining fur-ther comment.

Witnesses faulted police. They said the minibus, rushing towards Mohakhali � yover, hit Tipu’s motor-cycle when he was making space for another vehicle.

“He could have been saved had police stopped. But they sped away after running over the bike,” a wit-ness, seeking anonymity, said.

Students of nearby private uni-versities blocked the road for about two hours after the accident. Police brie� y detained three of Tipu’s col-leagues from there. The agitators left after police promised stern actions against culprits.

Several witnesses questioned police action. “How can you expect people to abide by tra� c laws when police choose to drive on the wrong side of the road?” a man said. l

PM slams Mahfuz Anam, says he should quit n UNB

Coming down heavily on the Dai-ly Star Editor Mahfuz Anam for publishing DGFI-supplied reports during the army-led caretaker gov-ernment, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina said he should quit after his confession if he has a little bit of self-dignity.

“This editor has confessed to making a mistake by publishing those DGFI-supplied reports, but people, Awami League leaders and activists, the business community, students and teachers, and my fam-ily and I had to pay the price for that mistake. Why didn’t he show the courage by resigning? If he has the guts, then he should resign,” she said at a meeting organised by Awami League marking Language Martyrs' Day and International Mother Lan-guage Day at Bangabandhu Interna-

tional Conference Centre (BICC) in the capital yesterday.

Hasina wanted to know why those news items provided by the DGFI were published. “A

newspaper like the Daily Star should carry the news as supplied by the DGFI? Who is that

mad there to believe that? The Daily Star is very much choosy about English. It proves that DGFI people are more knowledgeable than the Daily Star.”

She recalled a recent incident at the BBC which carried false news items on British MPs and ministers. "When the report was found false, the BBC o� ered apology and the people involved in that story all re-signed.”

Hasina said what the editor has so far written with the pretence of honesty were all fraudulences and

PAGE 2 COLUMN 1

ATM CARD FORGERY

More foreigners, bankers involvedn Mohammad Jamil Khan

Police yesterday arrested a foreign-er and three local bank o� cials in Dhaka in connection with the re-cent ATM card forgery.

Investigators suspect that two more foreigners and several other local bankers could have also had a hand to play with the recent ATM card forgery scam.

Police’s Deputy Inspector Gen-eral (DIG) Monirul Islam, head of the newly formed Counter Terror-ism and Transnational Crime Unit, said these in a press brie� ng after arresting the four suspected debit card forgers yesterday.

The other suspected bankers mainly work in the information technology (IT) or card divisions of a number of private commercial banks.

The passport seized from the foreigner’s possession shows he is Piotr Szczepan Mazurek, who came to Bangladesh with the Polish pass-port on business visa a year ago. The three bank o� cials are Mak-sud, Rezaul Karim Shahin and Re-faz Ahmed Roni – all from the City Bank’s card division.

They were shown arrested in the case � led by the United Commercial

PAGE 2 COLUMN 1Detectives escort suspects of the recent ATM booth skimming to the DMP media centre on Minto Road yesterday. Third from right is a foreigner with a Polish passport and a German ID card, while two others in handcu� s beside him are bank o� cials. Another detained suspect, also a banker, is not in the picture MEHEDI HASAN

Rohingyas stay put in Myanmar campsAfter Husaina’s 20-year-old son boarded a boat to escape poverty and discrimination in Myanmar’s Rakhine State, she heard nothing from him for seven months. PAGE 22

News2DTTUESDAY, FEBRUARY 23, 2016

More foreigners, bankers involvedBank Limited with the Banani po-lice station in Dhaka on February 14. Later, a Dhaka court granted police six days’ remand for each of them.

Investigators also seized a Ger-man identity card from Piotr that has a di� erent name. In prima-ry quizzing, Piotr said two other foreign nationals were part of the racket but have left the country be-fore the scam came to air on Feb-ruary 12.

Police did not give the full de-tails of the suspected foreigners but said they were from Romania and Spain.

Piotr came to Bangladesh as a manpower businessman and has sent a number of people to the Eastern European countries. He came to Bangladesh on December 13, 2014 on a one-year business visa.

At � rst he used to live in a hotel

named “Holiday Planet.” A couple of months into his stay in Bangla-desh, he married the receptionist of the hotel and moved in with her. They had their � rst baby boy just seven days ago.

He has been involved with card forgery under the cover of his man-power business.

In the past, he has forged cred-it cards belonging to people living abroad. This is the � rst time he has forged cards belonging to local people, police said.

“An estimated Tk20 lakh is claimed to have been withdrawn using forged local cards. But we still are not sure how much cash was withdrawn using forged international cards,” said DIG Monirul.

Sources said that police had also learned that Piotr is wanted in Ru-mania, Russia and Bulgaria for sim-ilar crime. l

Non-MPO teachers go on fast unto death n UNB

Non-MPO teachers yesterday went on a fast-unto-death strike in the capital demanding that their job be brought under the Monthly Pay Or-der (MPO) facilities.

Under the banner of Non-MPO Bangladesh Shikkhak Oikya

Parishad, the teachers were observing the inde� nite hunger strike in front of National Press Club in the capital.

Pradip Chandra Roy, presi-dent of the Oikya Parishad, said although they were appointed following proper procedures � ve years ago, their jobs are yet to be

brought under the MPO facilities because of a circular of the Educa-tion Ministry issued on November 12, 2011.

He said they have already submitted a memorandum to the prime minister, the education minister and the education secretary requesting them to

withdraw the circular. Pradip said non-MPO teachers

and employees have been passing their days in hardship for years.

Claiming that about 15,000 non-MPO teachers appointed in di� er-ent educational institutions are participating in the hunger strike, he warned that they would contin-

ue their programme until the can-cellation of the circular, which cre-ates impediment to nationalisation of their jobs.

The organisation’s General Secretary Kamal Hossain and Or-ganising Secretary Musta� zur Rahman joined the hunger strike programme as well. l

PM slams Mahfuz Anam, says he should quituntrue which were aimed at de-stroying the country.

Hasina said truth cannot be hid-den, it will ultimately surface. “The Daily Star editor’s original face has been exposed.”

Recently on a talk show, Mahfuz Anam admitted that running reports on Sheikh Hasina based on informa-tion fed by DGFI without scrutiny was his biggest mistake.

Hasina also said if the editor con-fessed to publishing or writing those reports out of fear, then he could not do fearless journalism. “I don’t have anything to say if you [Anam] were sold out and wrote on the basis of [your] relations,” she said.

The prime minister also said if the editors were involved in the conspiracy of prolonging their [then military-backed govt] power by killing democracy, obstructing the democratic rights of people then you will be tried one day like the trial of

war criminals. “Which path will you choose?” she asked.

Hasina recalled that Mahfuz An-am’s hectic e� ort was there to prove her corrupt, but the fact is that even the World Bank could not prove that.

The prime minister also sharply criticised those demanding with-drawal of the cases � led against the Daily Star editor.

She asked those who demand the withdrawal of cases to feel the pain of the solitary con� nement she suf-fered for 11 months, when she was not even allowed to meet her rela-tives during the Eid time.

Praising the Awami League lead-ers who raised their voice against the false news of the Daily Star, she re-gretted that many leaders were still mum. “Why is there such a fear just to tell the truth?” she asked.

Hasina also questioned about the contributions of Mahfuz Anam to the Liberation War. “We were also

university students… our academic activities were hampered due to the Liberation War, but that editor went to Pakistan (then West Pakistan) so that his study was not hampered.”

She also said he, however, went to Kolkata and got assigned to write materials in English as he knew a bit of English. “And this is his Liberation War and this is how he is a freedom � ghter.”

Chaired by Deputy Leader of the House Syeda Sajeda Chowdhury, the function was addressed, among others, by Commerce Minister Tofail Ahmed, Agriculture Minister Matia Chowdhury, Public Administration Minister and AL General Secretary Syed Ashraful Islam, Mahbubul Alam Hanif, MP, Relief and Disaster Man-agement Minister Mofazzal Hossain Chowdhury Maya, Jahangir Kabir Nanak, MP, Abu Sayeed Al Mahmud Swapan, MP, SM Kamal Hossain and Kamal Ahmed Mazumder, MP. l

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina addresses a discussion on International Mother Language Day, organised by Awami League at the capital’s Bangabandhu International Convention Centre yesterday BSS

Video testimony to help convict Bangladeshi human tra� cker n Thomson Reuters

Foundation, Mumbai

The video testimony of a Bangla-deshi tra� cking victim rescued from an Indian brothel will help con-vict her alleged tra� cker, and such depositions should become a part of e� orts by both countries to curb tra� cking, activists and lawyers say.

The 24-year-old woman, who was tra� cked by her husband and rescued from a Mumbai brothel in 2014, gave her deposition last week by video link from Dhaka. It is probably the � rst time this was done in a cross-border tra� cking case, said lawyer Kalpana Heere in Mumbai.

“Typically, when the victim is from Bangladesh, she is repatriated after 21 days, and while we have her statement, it is not as powerful as a deposition in person,” said Sanjay Macwan of the non-pro� t Inter-national Justice Mission, which helped set up the video conference with the victim.

“The video conference is now our great hope of bringing more

convictions against tra� ckers in cross-border cases if we can � nd a way to do it cheaply and easily,” he said.

South Asia, with India at its centre, is the world’s fastest-grow-ing and second-biggest region for human tra� cking after Southeast Asia, according to the United Na-tions O� ce for Drugs and Crime (UNODC). Bangladesh is a major source and transit country, with thousands of women, girls and young men being tra� cked to In-dia and some Gulf Arab nations.

Tra� ckers or “agents” often take advantage of poor communi-ties, luring victims from villages with promises of good jobs and a better life in cities, only to sell them into forced marriage or bond-ed work as prostitutes or maids.

More than a quarter of the wom-en and girls who are tra� cked to Mumbai, India’s � nancial hub, are from Bangladesh, activists say. India signed an agreement with Bangladesh last year to strengthen cooperation and information shar-ing to ensure speedier investiga-

tions and prosecutions of tra� ck-ers and organised crime syndicates in either country.

Of the 5,466 tra� cking cases in all of India in 2014, while charges were � led in almost 95% of cases, the conviction rate was only 45%, according to the India’s National Crime Records Bureau.

In cross-border cases, it can be hard to convict the tra� cker after the victim has been repatriated, said Heere.

“The victim is the star witness, and if we can’t question her in court, then it is di� cult to bring a conviction,” she said. “With a vid-eo conference, we have very good chances.”

At least 25 victims of tra� cking who were repatriated to Bangla-desh are willing to testify through similar video depositions if al-lowed, Macwan said.

“We are already using video depositions in terror cases. We want to show that tra� cking is just as serious, and victims of tra� ck-ing are just as important in the eyes of the law,” he said. l

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1

News 3D

TTUESDAY, FEBRUARY 23, 2016

Fakhrul himself to submit explanation on his remarks on judiciaryn Ashif Islam Shaon

The Appellate Division of the Su-preme Court has ordered BNP act-ing secretary general Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir to submit his expla-nation on his recent comment on the judiciary. Tomorrow.

A � ve-member bench headed

by Chief Justice SK Sinha passed the order yesterday, rejecting the plea to submit the explanation by Fakhrul's lawyer.

Mirza Fakhrul, at a meeting of BNP’s Sylhet unit on February 7, said the government was trying to con-trol the judiciary. He claimed that there was no democracy in the coun-

try, nor an independent judiciary.He further said murder, en-

forced disappearance and abduc-tion had been on sharp rise since the government took the o� ce by force. The court � xed February 22 for the submission of the written explanation.

As the court said Fakhrul should

explain his statement by himself Fakrul's lawyers then sought time.

The apex court did not hear Fakhrul's leave-to-appeal petition against the High Court ruling on his bail plea.

The High Court on November 24 granted three months’ bail to Mirza Fakhrul in three cases of violence,

� led on January 4, 5 and 6 last year, accusing him and several other party leaders and activists of vandalising and torching vehicles in the capital.

Fakhrul then � led the leave-to-appeal petition with the Chamber Judge of the Supreme Court, who forwarded the petition to a regular appeal bench for hearing. l

Police: JMB behind Hindu priest murder, not ISn Mohammad Jamil Khan

in Dhaka and Sazzadur Rahman Sazzad in Panchagarh

One day after the killing of a Hindu priest in Panchagarh, police have arrested three peo-ple – two of them members of JMB and the other from Shibir.

However, police have yet to be sure if they were really be-hind Sunday’s murder of Jogge-shwar Roy, 50, priest of the Son-to Gaurio temple in Debiganj area, and injuring his neigh-bour Gopal Chandra Roy, 35, who tried to save the deceased.

The men arrested are: Ja-ma’atul Mujahideen Bangla-desh (JMB)’s Khalilur Rahman, 45, and Babul Hossain, 40, both also accused in the 2005 series bomb blast cases; and Jahangir Alam, 25, member of Jamaat-e-Islami’s student front Islami Chhatra Shibir.

Local police said yesterday that they were interrogating three suspects and would show them arrested in the priest murder case if their in-volvement is found.

From an analysis of the crime scene, police have con-cluded that the murder was carried out by JMB. There are

similarities between the Hin-du priest's murder and killings of Italian Cesare Tavella, and Japanese Hoshi Kunio. In all cases, unidenti� ed assailants came on motorbikes.

Like most recent killings of liberal activists and religious preachers, militant group Is-lamic State (IS) has claimed responsibility for this murder as well, but police say the IS is not active in Bangladesh.

Police also questioned how the SITE Intelligence Group, the US-based portal that tracks militant activities, is always the � rst to report such claims.

Asked about IS’s claims, police’s Deputy Inspector Gen-eral (DIG) Monirul Islam, head of the newly-formed Counter Terrorism and Transnational Crime unit, said: “In previous cases, despite SITE reporting IS claims, the arrested con-fessed but none of them ever said they had any links with the IS.”

He continued: “SITE is basi-cally a pro� table organisation who cooks up such statements.”

Meanwhile, a group of De-biganj residents yesterday formed a human chain at the Bijoy Chattar protesting the killing of the priest. l

Writ seeks ban on Justice Manik's remarks in median Ashif Islam Shaon

A Supreme Court lawyer has sought ban on the publication or broadcasting of former Jus-tice Shamsuddin Choudhury Manik's remarks on judiciary in the media.

SM Zul� qure Ali, the law-yer, � led a writ petition with the High Court yesterday, seeking the ban.

On February 18, Zul� qure wrote a letter to former Justice Manik, asking him to apolo-gise before the nation for what he dubbed as “derogatory re-marks against the chief justice and the judiciary.”

The write, � led by anoth-er apex court practitioner

Ehsanur Rahman on behalf of Zul� qure, sought the HC's directives on the information secretary to prevent media from airing the former jus-tice's remarks on the judiciary.

Ehsanur said that the media have the constitutional right to enjoy freedom or expres-sion and speech but with some restrictions, which have not been followed in case of news on Justice Manik's statements.

Apart from the secretary to the Information Ministry, the writ also made the chairmen of the Bangladesh Telecom Regu-latory Commission (BTRC) and Bangladesh Press Council, and the director general of Bangla-desh Television defendants. l

TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 23, 2016News4DT

Bangladesh’s deforestation rate at 0.18%n Tribune Report

Bangladesh losses 0.18% of its for-ests annually due to environmen-tal and human causes, parliament heard on Monday.

In reply to a query in the House, Environment and Forests Minister Anwar Hussain said the country currently has 2.3 million hectares of forest cover, of which 84% is natural forest.

Replying to another query, the minister said forests cover just 15.5% of the country’s total area.

Agriculture Minister Matia Chowdhury said according to the Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics some 204,366 hectares of land in Bangladesh remain uncultivated. l

Luggage lost is exceptional incidentn Tribune Report

Civil Aviation and Tourism Minister Rashed Khan Menon yesterday told the parliament that baggage lost or dam-aged in the Aviation Industry is exceptional incidents.

Replying to a query, the minister said sometimes pas-sengers luggage go into wrong destination or remain un-identi� ed due to the limitation of handling passengers.

It is not possible to identify all those damaged or lost baggage through system, he said adding that in those cases incidents of lost or damaged baggage are resolved through compensation following International rules.

The minister also said 36 luggage have been lost over the past three months. l

BCS exam to include 100 marks on Liberation Warn Tribune Report

The government is working on in-cluding 100 marks on questions about the 1971 Liberation War in the BCS examination, said Libera-tion War A� airs Minister AKM Mo-zammel Huq.

In reply to a query, he told the parliament yesterday that the questions would be about the struggle for independence since Pakistan’s independence from the British rule in 1947 and the ninth-month liberation war in 1971.

BCS examination is a competi-tive test conducted by the Public Service Commission to recruit cad-res for various government jobs.

The minister said the initiative to include questions on the war was aimed at enabling the next generation to remember the histo-ry of the war.

He said the incumbent govern-ment had stated the de� nition of the liberation war as no clear de� -nition existed earlier.

Replying to another query, Mo-zammel said the monthly allow-ance of freedom � ghters would be increased to Tk10,000 from the ex-isting Tk8,000.

He said the government was considering increasing the month-ly allowance for wounded freedom � ghters and also those who had re-ceived awards. l

‘Ansarullah planned attacks on major establishments’n Arifur Rahman Rabbi

Banned militant out� t Ansarullah Bangla Team, allegedly involved in killing bloggers and secular writ-ers, has been planning large-scale attacks on major establishments in Bangladesh, investigators claim.

Documents, outlining possible future attacks, were seized dur-ing raids on Ansarullah hideouts at Badda and Mohammadpur by newly-formed Counter Terrorism and Transnational Crime Unit (CT) and the Detective Branch, CT chief Additional Commissioner Monirul Islam said.

On Friday, police arrested sus-

pected Ansarullah members Kalam alias Shahin alias Jamal, 26, and Shah Alam alias Salahuddin alias Hiron, 30, in Badda. A Dhaka court yesterday granted police � ve days to interrogate them.

“We have already gleaned im-portant information from them,” Monirul said.

Based on information provided by the two, the joint team raided a � at in Nabodoy housing in Mo-hammadpur and recovered a huge cache of bombs and explosives.

Monirul skirted a direct reply to a speci� c question about the mili-tant group’s possible targets. “Our primary investigation found that

the seized explosives might have been used to bring down a number of important establishments,” he told the Dhaka Tribune, without specifying.

He dubbed the joint team’s 30-hour raid on Ansarullah dens in Badda and Mohammadpur “the most successful counter-terror-ism drive”, claiming that it had foiled the militant out� t’s sabotageplans.

“Most of the Ansarullah lead-ers and members are on the run,” the police o� cer said. “I hope the militant out� t will never be able to carry out subversiveactivities.” l

TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 23, 2016News 5

DT

PRAYERTIMES

Cox’s Bazar 29 22Dhaka 34 20 Chittagong 29 22 Rajshahi 33 16 Rangpur 31 16 Khulna 32 20 Barisal 32 21 Sylhet 32 15T 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 5:58PM SUN RISES 6:26AM

YESTERDAY’S HIGH AND LOW33.8ºC 16.4ºC

Patuakhali RajshahiTUESDAY, FEBRUARY 23Source: IslamicFinder.org

Fajr: 5:10am | Zohr: 12:13amAsr: 4:21pm | Magrib: 6:00pmEsha: 7:28pm

CLOUDY

IMPORT OF PETROLEUM PRODUCTS

15 days given to scrutinise tender documentsn Aminur Rahman Rasel

An evaluation committee has been tasked with submitting a report within 15 working days on the im-port of petroleum products for Bangladesh Petroleum Corporation.

The seven-member commit-tee, led by a director of BPC, was formed yesterday to evaluate the documents submitted by the tender

bidders for the import.BPC Director Mosleh Uddin said

12 out of the 16 international bid-ders have quali� ed. They include: Emirates National Oil Company (sin.) Pte. Ltd (ENOC), China-based Petrochina (Singapore) Pte. Ltd; Unipec Singapore Pte. Ltd, Malay-sia-based PETRONAS and US-based ExxonMobil.

On February 11, the interna-

tional tender was � oated for the import, doing away with the gov-ernment-to-government (G2G) ne-gotiations, to make pro� ts in the context of a slumping global oil market.

BPC Chairman AM Badrudduja told the Dhaka Tribune that the cost of import would either be covered from BPC’s fund or sourced from the state co� er.

BPC will procure of 9.875 mil-lion barrels [1.32 million tonnes] of import re� ned diesel [GASOIL] and 1.440 million barrels [180,000 tonnes] of Jet A-1

The government believes that importing oil through internation-al tenders will lower the premium rate. State-owned BPC incurred huge losses after introducing the G2G system in 2003-04. l

Eight fake DB police held n Tribune Report

The Dhaka Metropolitan Police’s Detective Branch (DB) yesterday arrested eight members of an in-ter-district robber gang that spe-cialised in posing as police detec-tives in order to commit acts of robbery on the highways.

Long wanted by the police, the gang faces arrest warrants at many police stations in the capital.

Members of the gang posed as DB policemen on the highways, halting vehicles, looting passengers and leaving their victims to fend for themselves on lonely stretches of the road, DMP Deputy Commissioner (Media) Maruf Hossain Sarder said.

“The gang is suspected of in-

volvement in committing high-way robberies over a span of eight years,” he added.

The DB impersonators were tak-en into custody in Matuail in the Jatrabari area of the capital as they prepared to carry out a robbery.

The arrestees have been identi-� ed as Shahidul Islam Majhi alias Shahid alias Kamrul Majhi, Yusuf Kazi, Abdul Malek, Malek Chowd-hury, Jahangir Alam alias Jahangir, Yasin Miah, Badol and Abbas Ali.

Lethal weapons, walkie-talkies, handcu� s, DB jackets and a mi-cro-bus were seized by the police.

A case has been � led with Jatra-bari police station and legal action is under way in this connection, police sources said. l

KALIHATI POLICE SHOOTING

HC asks what actions have been taken against 13 copsn Ashif Islam Shaon

The High Court has sought details on what punitive actions had been taken against 13 policemen who were found responsible for a clash at Tangail’s Kalihati upazila that left four people dead.

The inspector general of police and the DIG of Dhaka Range have been asked to submit a progress re-port on this regard by March 7.

Following submission of two probe reports, which were pre-pared on an earlier court order, the High Court bench of Justice Md Moinul Islam Chowdhury and Justice Md Iqbal Kabir passed the order yesterday.

On September 18 last year, four people were killed and 50 others were injured when police alleged-ly opened � re and charged trun-

cheons on some people demon-strating against the torture of a youth and his mother in Kalihati upazila.

On September 21, Advocate Sal-ma Ali, executive director Bangla-desh Mahila Ainjibi Samity, � led a writ petition over the incident. Af-ter hearing the petition, the court asked that all probe reports con-ducted in the incident be submitted before the court within 60 days.

The court also wanted to know if police had dispersed the agitating people in accordance with the law.

Deputy Attorney General Mot-ahar Hossain Saju said the police had formed two probe committees which submitted their reports to the Police Headquarters on Decem-ber 5, which were then submitted to the High Court after ten days.

The reports were placed before

the High Court bench yesterday.Motahar said the probe commit-

tees recommended in their reports that various departmental actions including suspension be taken against the 13 policemen.

Those who were found respon-sible for the incident include then acting SP of Tangail district police Sanjay Sarker, Tangail (North) Ad-ditional SP Mohammad Sharifur Rahman, constable of DSB Md Mahtab Uddin, ex-OC of Kalihati police station Md Shahidul Islam, SIs Md Abul Bashar and Md Salim Uddin, and Constables Md Aminul Islam, Ziaul Haque and Tamal Chandra Deb.

Other policemen include Ghatail police station’s ex-OC Md Mokhlesur Rahman, ASI Md Har-un-or-Rashid, SI Md Omar Faruk and SI Monsup Ali. l

Cabinet okays new pay scale of judgesn Tribune Report

The cabinet has approved a new pay scale for the judicial service, with changes similar to the eighth pay scale for public servants.

The nod came at a regular cab-inet meeting yesterday, chaired by Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina.

Judges would get their new ba-sic salaries from July 2015 and oth-er allowances from July 2016 – sim-ilar to how civil servants are getting paid under the new scale, Cabinet Secretary Mohammad Sha� ul Alam told reporters.

According to the new structure, the basic salary of a senior district judge will be equal to that of a sec-retary. Their new pay scale will be Tk78,000 from previous Tk40,000.

The basic pay of a district judge will be Tk70,925 to Tk76,350, up from Tk36,000 to Tk39,600.

The basic salary of an additional district judge will be Tk62,350 from the previous Tk32,000, and joint district judges will get Tk54,370 instead of the previous Tk28,000.

A senior assistant judge will be paid Tk44,450 from Tk23,000 and an assistant judge will get Tk30,935 from previous Tk16,000.

Basic salaries of senior district judge will see a 95% raise, district judge 97%, additional district judge 94.84%, joint district judge 94.18%, senior assistant judge 93.26% and assistant judge 93.34%, Sha� ul said.

He said pension facility for the judicial service will also be raised to 90% from the previous 80% in light of the eight national pay scale.

They will also get 20% of basic as bonus for Pohela Boishakh festi-val and other allowances. l

Bangladesh police, US to team up to curb terrorismn Tribune Report

The country’s police department and the United States have expressed ea-gerness to continue their coopera-tion for combating terrorism.

They agreed that intelligence and technological assistance would be exchanged between them and the cooperation would be strengthened through the ex-change of training, a press release of Bangladesh Police said.

According to the press release, US Ambassador to Bangladesh Marcia Stephens Bloom Bernicat said this during a meeting with In-spector General of Police AKM Sha-hidul Haque at Bangladesh Police headquarters yesterday morning.

The US envoy also praised the initiatives of the ongoing commu-nity policing activities.

The two countries could combat issues like cybercrimes, transna-tional crimes and money launder-ing through cooperation, she said. l

DMP detectives present eight DB impersonators, arrested from Jatrabari’s Matuail area, in front of the city’s Detective Branch o� ce yesterday MEHEDI HASAN

TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 23, 2016News6DT

Shakila granted bailn Ashif Islam Shaon

The High Court yesterday granted bail to Supreme Court lawyer Shak-ila Farzana in two cases � led over � nancing militant organisation Shaheed Hamza Brigade.

The bench of Justice Farid Ahmed and Justice AKM Zahirul Hoque passed the order, disposing a rule over the bail order.

The court granted bail to the SC lawyer until the charge in the cases are framed, Shakila’s lawyer ZI Khan Panna told the Dhaka Tribune.

Shakila was arrested on Au-gust 18 last year from outside her chamber along with two of her as-sociates. The trio claimed that they had deposited money to an ac-count which was taken as advance

and that they were unaware of the owner of the account.

The account is owned by Mon-iruzzaman Don, a top leader of mil-itant group Shahid Hamza Brigade now in jail.

The RAB said the Chit-tagong-based group was formed in November 2013 by former members of Islami Chhatra Shibir, the student wing of Jamaat-e-Islami, Hefaz-at-e-Islam and other militant groups.

Shakila is the incumbent joint general secretary of the Supreme Court wing of Bangladesh Jati-yatabadi Ainjibi Forum, a pro-BNP lawyers’ body.

She is the daughter of Syed Wa-hidul Alam, a former BNP whip and lawmaker from Chittagong during 2001-06 tenure. l

Cricketer Shahadat, wife indictedn Md Sanaul Islam Tipu

A Dhaka court yesterday framed charges against former national cricketer Shahadat Hossain and his wife Jesmine Jahan Nitto in a case � led against the couple for alleg-edly torturing their 11-year-old do-mestic help.

Judge Tanjina Ismail of Dhaka Women and Children Repression Prevention Tribunal 5 � xed March 20 for recording deposition of wit-nesses in the case.

The couple, currently on bail, pleaded not guilty after the pros-ecution read out the charges brought against them.

On February 4, the same court accepted the charge sheet against the couple and scheduled the hear-ing for charge farming yesterday.

The charge sheet was submit-ted on December 29 last year byMirpur Model police station OCMd Sha� qur Rahman, who isalso the investigation o� cer of the case.

Shahadat was sent to jail by a Dhaka court after he surrendered before the court on October 6, two days after police arrested his wife Nitto.

Later, Shahadat secured bail from the High Court on December 8 on the grounds of health issues, while Nitto was granted bail by a Dhaka court on December 1.

According to the case, on Sep-tember 6 last year, a journalist named Khandkar Mozammel Haque found the victim, who used to work as a housemaid at Shaha-dat’s residence, on a road in Sang-

badik Colony at Pallabi in the cap-ital.

The child was covered in bruises and said she had escaped her em-ployers’ residence unable to endure their beatings and torture anymore.

Later, Mozammel took the vic-tim to police and � led the case against the couple with Mirpur Model police station under the Women and Children Repression Prevention Act, 2000.

On September 20, the victim gave judicial statement before Dha-ka Metropolitan Magistrate Snig-dha Rani Chakraborty on how she was abused by the cricketer and his wife.

Following the case, Shahadat was suspended from all forms of cricket by Bangladesh Cricket Board on September 13. l

TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 23, 2016News 7

DT

Two more placed on remand in Habiganj killing case n Our Correspondent, Habiganj

A Habiganj court yesterday put two people on di� erent terms of remand in connection with the killing of four schoolboys at Sundrateki village, Bahubal upazila.

Senior Judicial Magistrate Kou-shik Ahmed Khandaker placed Ha-

dibur Rahman Arju on a seven-day remand while Abdul Bashir on a � ve-day remand.

Earlier, police produced Arju and Bashir before the court on Friday with a 10-day remand prayer for each.

A total of six people have so far been arrested in connection with the killing of the four schoolboys.

Of them, Jewel Miah and his younger brother Rubel Miah gave confessional statements before the court under section 164 of the Code of Criminal Procedure.

Meanwhile, a probe body was formed to investigate whether po-lice personnel were reluctant to � nd out the boys after their missing

complaint was � led. Habiganj police super Joydeb Ku-

mar Bhodro told the Dhaka Tribune that the probe committee led by Ad-ditional Police Super Shahidul Islam would submit its report soon.

Four schoolboys who had gone missing from Sundrateki village in Bahubal upazila on February 12

were found buried at the village on February 17.

Police recovered the bodies of Zakaria Ahmed Shuvo, 8, son of Wahid Miah, his two cousins – Tajel Miah, 10, son of Abdul Aziz, Mon-ir Miah, 7, son of Abdal Miah – and Ismail Hossain, 10, son of Abdul Quadir. l

Three held with � rearms n Tribune Report

The police arrested three peo-ple in possession of � rearms from Paharika re-fueling station premises, Akbarshah police sta-tion in the port city yesterday.

The arrested were identi-� ed as Md Selim, 20, Moshar-raf Hossain, 42, and Jahirul Islam Manik, 25.

The police also seized two locally manufactured LGs, one single shooter gun and

two locally-manufactured one-barrel guns from their possession.

“During primary inter-rogation, the trio confessed to have been involved with dealing in arms trade. They also admitted that they kept the arms in their possession to sell them o� . A case was lodged against the trio under the arms act,” said Sadip Ku-mar Das, o� cer-in-charge of Akbarshah police station. l

COCAINE HAUL CASE

Khan Jahan Ali Group’s chairman sent to jail n FM Mizanur Rahaman,

Chittagong

A court in Chittagong yester-day sent Nur Mohammed, chairman of Khan Jahan Ali Group, to jail after rejecting his bail prayer in much-talked about cocaine haul case.

Additional Deputy Commis-sioner (Prosecution) of Chit-tagong Metropolitan Police Kazi Muttaki Ibn Minan saod: “The court of Metropolitan Abdul Kader sent accused Nur Mo-hammed to jail after rejection his bail petition in cocaine case”.

Earlier, Nur Mohammed was put on remand in two times after his arrest by the elite force Rapid Action Bat-talion on January 5.

Currently, the much talked-about cocaine haul case being investigated by RAB 7’s Addi-tional Superintendent of Po-lice Mohiuddin Faruquee fol-lowing a court direction.

On December 7,  last year, a court in Chittagong ordered the RAB to lunch further in-vestigation into the case re-jecting charge sheet pressed by CMP’s Detective Branch. 

Accusing eight persons, in-cluding two Bangladeshi-born UK expatriates, DB’s Assistant Commissioner (AC) Moham-med Kamruzzaman had sub-mitted the charge sheet before the court on November 19, last. But the IO then dropped the

name of Nur Mohammed from the charge sheet saying his in-volvement could not be found during the investigation.

Other accused of the case are COSCO Shipping Agency’s Manager AKM Azad, Mondol Group’s Commercial Executive Atikur Rahman, Real Estate Company o� cial’s Mostafa Ka-mal, Prime Hatchery Limited’s Manager Golam Mostafa So-hel, Security Company O� cial Mehedi, C&F Company O� cial Saiful Islam, UK-expatriate Fa-zlur Rahman and Bokul Mia.

Of them, six accused of the case were arrested and two UK-expatriates were shown fugitive.

Mostafa Kamal, Golam Mostafa Sohel and his cousin Mehedi Alam gave their con-fessional statements before the court.

An accused of the case also admitted the involvement of Nur Mohammed in cocaine consignment during his con-fessional statement.

Acting on a tip-o� , Direc-torate of Customs Intelligence and Investigation (CIID) sealed a container carrying 2,140 kilo-grams of liquid cocaine in 107 drums in Chittagong Port on June 6, last year.

The Chittagong Port sources said the container was loaded from Uruguay on March, 30 and it arrived at Chittagong Port on May 13, via Singapore Port. l

News8DTTUESDAY, FEBRUARY 23, 2016

Our heartiest felicitationsto the government and

the brotherly peopleof the state of Kuwaiton the occasion of the55th National Day andthe 25th Liberation day

GAMCA-DHAKA

COURTESY BY

House # 4/A, Road # 94, Gulshan-2, Dhaka, Bangladesh

Bengali Chhatra Parishad block road protesting Azizul murdern Our Correspondent,

Khagrachhari

Parbatya Bengali Chhatra Parishad (PBCP), a hill tract-based Bengali student organisation, observed a daylong road blockade in the dis-trict yesterday protesting the killing of Azizul Haque Shanta, a motorcy-

cle driver in Matiranga upazila.The announcement came from

a rally organised in Chengi Square area of the district town protesting the incident on Sunday.

Superintendent of Police Md Mazid Ali said all sorts of vehicles including passenger buses re-mained halt at Khagrachhari bus

station during the road blockade.PBCP leaders also brought out a

protest procession in the hill town in the afternoon damaging some battery run auto-rickshaws.

Two passengers Arnab Chakma and Gayetri Chakma were injured during the incident. Later, they were admitted to Khagrachhari

Adhunik Sadar Hospital. Abdul Ma-jid, central leader of the PBCP, de-manded the arrest and punishment of those involved in the killing.

Earlier, police recovered the body of Azizul Haque Shanta, son of Saleh Ahmed of Natunpara, from Richang Jharna area in Matiranga upazila on Sunday morning.

Shanto who used to run bike on hire went missing on February 18.

Agitated people blocked the Kha-grachhari-Chittagong Highway follow-ing the incident. Police also arrested a suspect, Dhon Bikash Tripura, in con-nection with murder, said Mohammad Shahadat Hossain, o� cer-in-charge of Matiranga police station. l

Saudi expatriate killed in Noakhali n Our Correspondent,

Noakhali

A Saudi expatriate was alleg-edly killed by his family mem-bers at Talua-Chandpur vil-lage under Begumganj upazila of the district yesterday.

The deceased was Abdus Zaher, 58.

Kabir Hossain, younger brother of the victim, said Za-her came to Bangladesh two months ago. He used to quar-rel with his wife regarding the money he sent from Saudi Arabia.

Quoting locals, Kabir said on Thursday night, Zaher had a serious quarrel with his wife.

Soon after the incident he went missing.

Kabir then � led a general diary with Begumganj police station.

Golam Kabir, o� cer-in-charge of the police station, said the police arrested Za-her's wife Rehana Begum, 42, and son Abdul Hannan.

After interrogation, they admitted that they had killed Zaher.

Based on their confessional statement, police recovered the body of Zaher from a pit under a canal just beside their house, the OC added.

The body was sent to Noakhali General Hospital. l

UP chairman sent to jailn Our Correspondent,

Naraymnganj

Chairman of a union parishad (UP) in the district was sent to jail yesterday after he surren-dered before the court in a case.

Police sources said Zakir Hossain, chairman of Alirtech union parishad, surrendered before the Narayanganj court in the morning.

SI Golam Hossain at the

court, said Zakir and his men attacked a meeting on January 25, arranged by the Adarsha High School committee in the area, leaving over 100 people injured.

Later, a case was � led with Narayanganj police station against the chairman.

The court, led by Judge Syduzzaman Sharif sent him to jail after examining the re-cords and witnesses. l

Youth beaten to deathn Our Correspondent,

Sirajganj

A youth was beaten to death allegedly by his neighbours at Kallyani village in Sadar upazila yesterday.

The deceased was Shohel Rana, 28, son of Aminul Islam.

Golam Mostofa, sub-in-spector of Sadar police sta-tion, said a cow owned by Babul Mian, a neighour of Shohel entered the kitchen garden of Amiul and damaged few vegetable plants.

Aminul and his friends went to the house of Babul and in-formed the incident to him.

At one stage, the people from the both side got locked into altercation. Later, Babul and 20 others of his relatives beat up Shohel and his friends, leaving Shohel critically injured. They also vandalized 15 houses of his relatives and looted valuables.

Loclas rescued Shohel and admitted to Bogra Moham-mad Ali Medical College and Hospital where died.

At the news of the death, people of Shohel attacked the house of Babul and his men.

On information, police went to the spot and brought the sit-uation under control. A case was � led in this connection. l

Feature 9D

T

TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 23, 2016

Tripooly: Travel simpli� ed

n Features Desk

Imagine not having to go from one travel agency to another to � nd a travel deal or the cheapest airfare. Wouldn’t it be great to have a single

platform where you can � nd jaw-dropping tour packages, airfare, visa assistance, cruise deals, medical tourism, corporate travel deals, leisure and honeymoon deals or even customised deals at a� ordable prices? That’s where Tripooly comes in - it aims to be your one-stop-travel shop. You can compare and discover mind-blowing travel deals from multiple travel agencies, easily pay online with your credit or debit card, mobile banking or pay in cash.

The idea of creating such a platform for Bangladeshi travellers � rst came to Ra� Mustafa, one of the co-founders of Bangladesh’s premium fashion e-commerce site ZuumZuum.com. It has been identi� ed as one of the top 10 start-ups in Bangladesh by Tech In Asia (Asia’s largest tech/start-up news portal). Having lived in Australia and Europe most of his life, Ra� has travelled around the globe (62 cities and counting) and would like to inspire others to do the same. Upon returning to Bangladesh, two years ago, Ra� realised, one still had to go through the age-old method of going from agency to agency or search multiple Facebook pages for the best deal.

Ra� ’s family has been involved in the travel industry for the past 28 years. During his time as a director in his family business, Ra� has learned the ins-and-outs of this business. And, it was time for Ra� to combine his passion for travelling with his experience and create a single platform – Tripooly.com!

So, how will Tripooly simplify travelling?In Bangladesh, regardless – if you plan to travel internally or go overseas, one usually has to go through the agonising process of � nding the right deal from multiple travel agencies. The whole process is pretty time-consuming and painful in nature. Moreover, most online travel deals

are non-customisable. Tripooly wants to simplify that process by curating the most amazing online deals for you on its platform. All you have to do is tell Tripooly your budget and the places you want to visit, and let Tripooly take care of your worries.

For example let’s say you have Tk30,000 and craving to travel somewhere within Bangladesh or abroad - think of St Martins or Bhutan. With Tripooly, all you have to do is mention your budget and the duration of your stay. Tripooly will act as your personal travel concierge and � nd the right deal for you! Your “Tripooly Travel Consultant” will search through their pool of amazing deals and recommend the right travel deal.

So, is Tripooly a competitor to the existing travel agencies?Not at all. Tripooly is basically another sales platform for existing travel agencies. Travel agencies in Bangladesh have been developing this market for the last 40+ years and Tripooly wants to be part of that exciting market. Any existing

travel agency in Bangladesh or abroad are welcome to showcase their travel deals on Tripooly’s platform.

“Seeing this beautiful world” is in everyone’s bucket list. Tripooly aims to inspire us – to travel. And they want to do this by simplifying travelling! There are incredible places around the world and travelling will only deepen your understanding of the world as a whole. Travelling introduces you to new cultures, amazing food, wonderful people, but most importantly it in� ames your passion of living a life full of adventure. So, start your adventure with Tripooly and let them take care of your next holiday. l

Travelling introduces you to new cultures, amazing food, wonderful people, but most importantly it in� ames your passion of living a life full of adventure

“In Bangladesh, everybody looks for travel packages, which are often not customisable and poorly-priced.”“I realised the importance of creating travel packages that are in line with people’s need. For example cruise trips, which are normally assumed to be very expensive, are actually not that pricey! There’s a tiny unexplored customer base for it but the package needs to be presented in the right way.”

“Travelling should be available for everyone. It doesn’t matter if you are a student, or a businessman, or a seasoned traveller, as long as you have the passion for travelling, you are a Tripooly customer.”“We don’t see the existing travel agencies as our competitors; we see them more as our business partners.”

– Ra� Mustafa

Finding the right deals has never been easier

Content provided by SD Asia.

Tech10DT

TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 23, 2016

Huawei launches MateBook at MWC 2016At the Mobile World Congress 2016, recently held in Barcelona, Spain, Huawei launched the HUAWEI MateBook, a 2-in-1 device designed to meet the evolving demands of today’s modern corporate users. Building on Huawei’s success in delivering beautiful and powerful high-end mobile consumer devices, the MateBook de� nes itself as a mobile productivity tool that seamlessly integrates mobility, high e� ciency, work and entertainment.

The MateBook is answering the demand for portable, stylish smart devices that allow users to stay connected in any setting. Designed as a total solution for consumers who enjoy the � exibility of a convertible device, the MateBook is a premium product that perfectly balances mobility, productivity and design.

“With this landmark device, Huawei is demonstrating our industry-leading design and manufacturing expertise by bringing a beautifully crafted � agship product to the market that is rede� ning the new style of business – connected computing across all devices in almost every scenario,” said Richard Yu, CEO, Huawei Consumer Business Group. “Huawei has successfully channelled its comprehensive experience and excellence in building premium mobile products into the needs of the modern business environment by introducing a highly e� cient device, seamlessly capable of integrating work and

entertainment functions.” With the MateBook, Huawei

is continuing its strategy of partnering with the most innovative market leaders. The device features a 6th Generation Intel® Core™ m-series processor to handle the most rigorous business demands in a stylish, thin and lightweight fan-less design.

“This is an exciting time for Huawei to enter the market with its powerful new MateBook,” said Kirk Skaugen, senior vice president and general manager, Client Computing Group, Intel Corporation.

Built to operate on Windows 10, the MateBook also delivers the best of the legendary productivity tools and features o� ered by Microsoft Corp, including its latest browser, Microsoft Edge and the Cortana digital personal assistant.

Ultra slimCombining the mobility of a smartphone with the power and productivity of a laptop, the MateBook is designed with simplicity in mind. With minimal embellishment and a sleek appearance, the device is made of high-quality aluminum unibody that is both elegant and sophisticated. The MateBook features a strong protective body to withstand the rigors of an on-the-go lifestyle, and its slim pro� le and ultra-low weight of just 640g makes it ideal to carry it around.

Casing, keyboard and touchpadThe MateBook keyboard case is

made of environmentally friendly, soft PU leather, the perfect choice to match style with functionality. The durability of the keyboard case also provides an ideal level of protection. The keyboard features a 1.5mm keystroke and chiclet keycap design, which allow for larger key surfaces to minimise typing errors. The built-in touchpad uses multi-touch technology that supports smooth and precise � nger movements, combining comfort and utility.

The screenThe MateBook’s 12-inch IPS multi-touch screen is further enhanced by an ultra-narrow frame and a screen-to-body ratio of 84%. The screen boasts a resolution of 2160x1440 and a 160-degree wide angle for an immersive experience. The color gamut reaches an impressive 85 percent, capable of displaying true-to-life colors.

Long-lasting batteryThe MateBook’s 33.7Wh high-density lithium battery provides

enough power for nine hours of work, nine consecutive hours of Internet use and 29 hours of music playback. The device also features Huawei’s exclusive power-saving technology to meet the needs of business users. The MateBook’s battery can attain a full charge in just two and a half hours. When there is not enough time for a full charge, the device can power up to 60% battery strength in just one hour.

The processorThe MateBook runs on Windows 10 and is powered by a 6th Generation Intel® Core™ m-series processor, putting high-speed processing power and the most essential business productivity tools, including Microsoft O� ce, at users’ � ngertips. The device o� ers up to 8GB of LPDDR3 memory and a solid-state hard drive with capacity up to 512GB.

The MatePenWhen only a hand-written note will do, the accompanying

MatePen stylus offers 2,048 levels of sensitivity, perfectly capturing users’ subtle and diverse pen-tip actions with zero delay. For advanced business functions, MatePen supports graphics and mathematical functions, and can be used as a laser pointer for delivering presentations.

Fingerprint recognitionThe MateBook provides security while maintaining quick access through the � ngerprint recognition feature that supports 360-degree sensitive identi� cation for fewer authentication failures. It takes only one touch to unlock the MateBook’s screen – the fastest � ngerprint recognition in the industry.

The MateBook will be available in Asia, Europe and North America in the coming months and will be available in grey and golden. Starting from approximately Tk55,000 up to Tk118,000, consumers will be able to buy Huawei Matebook. l

Photos: COURTESY

INSIDE

The murder of Jagneshwar Roy, the Hindu priest of the Santo Gaurio temple who was stabbed to death in Panchagarh on Sunday, was a despicable act designed to spread fear and divide communities.

Police have detained two JMB men and a Shibir activist for their suspected involvement in the murder.

Every e� ort must be made to ensure this leads to all the murderers being found and brought to justice.

Sadly, this is not an isolated incident. In the past year, religiously motivated militants bombed a Shia religious procession and carried out more vicious targeted murders of secular writers.

The threat posed from such terrorism must be taken seriously. Recent disclosures by law enforcement o� cials indicate that militants have been actively planning attacks on public gatherings.

Bangladesh needs to stand � rm against all groups and individuals, from whatever quarter or organisation, who seek to divide communities and spread violence.

It needs to be a top priority for authorities to make more progress in identifying and catching all the perpetrators involved in carrying out and organising the earlier killing cases. The longer such individuals remain at large, the more likely it is that they or others will be emboldened to strike again.

There is no excuse or justi� cation for murder. The government cannot allow impunity. It must act unequivocally to show zero tolerance for those who commit murder and seek to spread hatred and violence.

The government needs to provide more reassurance that every e� ort will and is being made to protect the public. It must ensure su� cient support for law enforcement authorities to help them both track down the perpetrators responsible and to improve intelligence to guard against groups that plan to harm the fabric of our society.

Zero tolerance for those who commit murder and seek to spread hatred and violence

Heretic pride

How to keepRMG aliveThe Bangladesh government must work on the RMG brand image to enter the US market with duty bene� ts like Vietnam. We must move away from solely being suppliers to branded retailers, and focus on establishing our fashion industry as a brand in itself

PAGE 13

PAGE 12

PAGE 14

Communication breakdown A nation as entrenched in the global � nancial system as China can only stand to lose by discouraging independent and transparent communications between its central bank, currency institutions, equity market entities, and the rest of the world

When it comes to not allowing an individual to say what he wishes to, what he thinks, then we are in fact murdering that person as he wishes to be. We are forcefully choking the ideas out of a man who thinks di� erent from us

Don’t let religious extremists divide society

11D

TEditorialTUESDAY, FEBRUARY 23, 2016

Be heardWrite to Dhaka Tribune

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

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

www.dhakatribune.comJoin our Facebook community:

https://www.facebook.com/DhakaTribune.

The views expressed in Opinion articles are those of the authors

alone. They do not purport to be the o� cial view of Dhaka

Tribune or its publisher.

BIGSTOCK

n SN Rasul

When a book stall gets shut down by the police for having literature that may

hurt religious sentiments, I think we all should be worried.

The age-old issue of free speech rears its ugly head again, and those of us on this side of the argument can do little to not sound too much like a broken record.

Yes, I repeat, the right to free speech is crucial. Yes, we cannot live in a democracy, a secular nation, without the free exchange of ideas. Yes, it is not right to oppress the dissenting viewpoints of the few to cater to the so-called sentiments of the many.

Those on the other side of the argument aren’t much better o� either.

But shouldn’t there be a limit

to how “free” free speech should be? Shouldn’t we try and keep the delicate nature of religious sentiments in mind when writing/talking about the issue?

If free speech is allowed to be so free, wouldn’t that lead to hate speech (and we certainly quell and ban when Islamic clerics are found to be haranguing on about being o� with the heads of apostates and Jews)?

Shouldn’t we strike down any speech that is attempting to, intentionally or unintentionally, provoke certain members of the populace?

With regards to the incident itself, there really isn’t much to say. Last time this happened, as some of us may well know, the fair’s organisers, Bangla Academy, had shut down a stall because they had predicted some sort of incident.

This time, however, it was the police themselves who, without due process or the proper channels, came down on a stall, going by the name of Badwip Prakashan.

But, seriously, who cares? Whether or not it was shut

down through proper channels because it might o� end someone is a red herring at best. But the outcome is still the same, someone wrote something, someone else might take issue with it, so why not pretend like that something never even existed?

That is taking the spotlight o� of the real issue.

Words are powerful tools. They can move a man to tears, shake mountains, start revolutions, and end wars. Or so the romantic in me says.

Which is exactly why we cannot continue to bow down

to extremists or the “sensitively challenged” every time a word is written or said that might rub them the wrong way.

Tell me: Where does the responsibility lie? Someone will always be o� ended by something and there is no way we can create a false cocoon of pretence where every single utterance is a mere capitulation to a more violent breed.

Is it not up to the consumer, the public, the common man to decide whether or not they wish to avail the words published in a book?

Or are we giving so little respect to the whimsies of the common man that we do not trust them with deciding for himself?

And it is also up to the common man whether or not he is provoked to such an extent that he has to resort to violence to carry out the will of an omnipotent god.

Does the responsibility not lie on him? Or her? Or them? Those that continue to blame the wielders of freedom? Even if it is in their very faces?

If such a situation does exist (and sadly, it very much does), why do we continue to persist in the endeavour of trying to oppress the publishers?

In a con� ict in which one is peaceful and the other violent, why are we bowing down to the latter? Isn’t peace the better option? Shouldn’t we turn the violent not quite so?

If the common man is so

susceptible to provocation and lack of judgment, shouldn’t we be changing the common man?

And considering publishing like this, even ones which are so ostensibly o� ensive such as Charlie Hebdo, as being hate speech, is a mistake of the highest order.

Tell me, does Charlie Hebdo ask you to hate your fellow human beings? Did The Satanic Verses tell you to wage a war on a particular people? Did Avijit Roy attempt to bring about an apostate coup?

On the other hand, certain books within the religious cannon do attempt to do all of these things, mostly against apostates, people of other faiths, women, children, and sometimes, nations.

Should we now ban these Abrahamic texts because they incite hatred? Because they say “kill,” even though they preach so-called peace?

To be part of a society, a group, a people, we must follow laws and rules, maintain certain etiquettes, so that we can function united, as a whole.

And that is why, no freedom, no matter how instrumental it may seem to individual existence, can be practiced fully. We must follow tra� c rules, we must not harm others, we must pay for services exchanged.

But when it comes to not allowing an individual to say what he wishes to, what he thinks, then we are in fact murdering that person as he wishes to be.

We are forcefully choking the ideas out of a man who thinks di� erent from us. And a person who is di� erent is never wrong, but crucial to the continued existence of a society, because they show us what we ourselves were never able to see.

For each of us, God is in the details. You may � nd your God up in the sky and in the intricacies of the universe and be proud of it. But someone else -- be it a heretic, a Hindu, a Buddhist -- � nd it in other details, and see each detail di� erently, and they too can be proud of it.

Neither has to cancel out the other.

In the history of the universe, censorship has never led to anywhere but oppression and subsequent resistance.

If we do wish to practice it though, the only kind of censorship that is acceptable is self-censorship. l

SN Rasul is a journalist and academic. Follow him @snrasul.

Opinion12DT

TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 23, 2016

Shouldn’t we be changing the common man instead? BIGSTOCK

When it comes to not allowing an individual to say what he wishes to, what he thinks, then we are in fact murdering that person as he wishes to be. We are forcefully choking the ideas out of a man who thinks di� erent from us. And a person who is di� erent is never wrong, but crucial to the continued existence of a society, because they show us what we ourselves were never able to see

Words are powerful tools -- can we not wield them to teach tolerance?

Heretic pride

Opinion 13D

T

TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 23, 2016

n Md Harunur Rashid

One of Bangladesh’s biggest competitors, Vietnam, has already entered into a Trans-

Paci� c Partnership (TPP) agreement (at Auckland on February 2016) with some other countries including the US.

According to economists, that’s why our country most likely stands to su� er from the e� ects of the US-led TPP trade deal, especially in terms of export earnings, such as from RMG.

The matter of concern at hand is that Vietnam is the only garment-producing country that has been included in the TPP. With the implementation of TPP, Vietnam will become a more attractive source for imported apparels, if and when it gets duty-free access to the US.

The RMG sector’s capacity to take a bigger share of the US market is hindered by the high tari� rates levied on Bangladeshi apparels.

Surprisingly, Vietnam’s apparel export to the US increased by a massive 244% during the period between 2005 and 2014, unmatched by any other

substantial exporter, whereas apparel export from Bangladesh to the US increased by 108% during this period.

Moreover, Vietnam is leagues ahead of Bangladesh in terms of investment, compliance, and environment a� airs.

Bangladesh may meet challenges in the short run, but in the long run the deal will a� ect it adversely, according to the former vice-president of BKMEA, Mohammad Hatem.

Meanwhile, many economists are thinking that, not only RMG but non-RMG exports from Bangladesh will also be a� ected by the TPP deal.

Another misfortune for the RMG sector was the US govern-ment’s extention of the general system of preferences (GSP) for 122 countries -- the only caveat being (you guessed it) Bangladesh being left out of the list.

The US government have said that there was “no improvement” in working conditions, workers’ rights, and social compliance in the RMG sector, even though social compliance had already been established after the Rana Plaza building collapse at Savar, Dhaka in 2013.

Mohammad Hatem suggested that the external factors are also at play, such as getting lower prices from buyers of major RMG-importing countries even after meeting social compliance standards.

During the period between January-July 2015, the price of RMG products imported by the US fell by 2.45% and the price of RMG products imported by the EU fell by 1.41%, in spite of the fact that every factory had to spend Tk5 crore to Tk20cr to upgrade infrastructural, � re safety, and electrical safety facilities to meet international standards.

Such a large investment would be rather risky if these internal and

external issues are not sorted out as soon as possible.

Doing business and earning foreign revenue through export is becoming harder for Bangladeshi RMG entrepreneurs, not only due to disruptive internal factors that are more than enough to render the trade uncompetitive.

For example, the recent price hike of gas by 15% for industrial units and 100% for captive power producers.

Apparel manufacturers and exporters have also urged the government to maintain a smooth gas supply to their production plants in order for them to have a greater global market share.

Finally, the Bangladesh

government must work on the nation’s RMG brand image to enter the US market with duty bene� ts, just like Vietnam.

We must move away from solely being suppliers to branded retailers, and focus on establishing our fashion industry as a brand in itself.

In addition, Bangladesh should consider following the Chinese strategy of enhancing productiv-ity and manufacturing high val-ue-added products to increase its market share in the US and other markets. l

Md Harunur Rashid is Assistant Deputy Secretary, Green Industry Development Cell, BKMEA.

Our RMG sector needs new deals to survive and thrive RAJIB DHAR

Is the Trans-Paci� c Partnership deal a threat to Bangladeshi industries?

How to keep RMG alive

The Bangladesh government must work on the RMG brand image to enter the US market with duty bene� ts like Vietnam. We must move away from solely being suppliers to branded retailers, and focus on establishing our fashion industry as a brand in itself

n Refayat Mosaowir Haque

The Chinese Communist Party (CCP) and the People’s Bank of China (PBoC) -- the country’s

central bank -- recently admitted the existence of a serious gap in their communications strategy. Sadly, the fundamental opacity of the CCP makes this an insurmountable challenge. Exacerbating this issue further is the fact the PBoC is de facto an advisory board accountable to Premier Li Keqiang’s State Council. This results in the PBoC, akin to the Federal Reserve or the ECB (European Central Bank), remaining near to powerless and submissive to the whims of the State Council.

Adding to the woes is the fact that what the world needs from China, now more than ever, China does not possess. China needs a central bank governor similar in poise and authority to Ben Bernanke (now Janet Yellen) or Mario Draghi. It is safe to assume we are more or less being kept in the dark with regards to key Chinese economic and � nancial data, and policies mandated by Beijing.

Let’s take the example of the currency adjustment last August. Beijing decided to depeg the renminbi to the US dollar to make it more � exible. The move was promising, as it aimed to o� er greater exchange rate � exibility with 2% devaluation relative to the US dollar, and to make the currency more market-driven in order to satisfy one of the International Monetary Fund’s (IMF) requirements for o� cial reserve currency status.

For this reason, world markets were left utterly perplexed in August. What Beijing sought as a positive policy step was misinterpreted as the government’s � rst shot in a new currency war. Such instances compel us to sit and pull our hair out trying to make sense of it all.

Beijing’s motive was not clearly communicated, and this culminated in negative speculation and, eventually, widespread apprehension. Markets saw the devaluation as Beijing’s desperate response to rescue a sinking economy. It was widely perceived that the move to a more � exible currency re� ected the abysmal state of the economy, something o� cial � gures concealed. Poor communications surrounding the move not only sent world markets into a state of

hysteria but also cost the country $320 billion of its foreign exchange reserves from August till now as Beijing frantically attempted to limit a free fall of the currency.

Lapses in the CCP’s communications strategy have also impacted global perceptions of the credibility surrounding o� cial � gures, especially concerning growth.

Many Western economists do not give much credence to o� cial GDP growth rates, some expressing their distrust by going as far as referring to them as “purely � gments of o� cial imagination.”

In fact, recent � gures on electricity consumption, bank lending, and freight volumes allude to increasingly weaker growth than what the o� cial quarter-to-quarter composite data suggests. Power output as a metric is also a reliable indicator of growth. E� ects of supplying exaggerated and misrepresented data for the bene� t of the CCP is continuously being felt globally in the form of a looming global crisis, with some predicting it to

induce more dreadful and punitive repercussions than the sub-prime mortgage crisis of 2008.

Misguided and harmful policy choices can be attributed to last summer’s collapse of the local equity market, during which we witnessed a fall of 40% peak. In 2014, the CCP devised a scantly thought-out strategy talking-up equity prices to allow state-owned enterprises (SOEs) to � oat shares for raising funds needed in paying o� their excessive debts. No amount of intervention could avert the collapse that resulted from the ensuing bubble.

Complicating matters for the CCP even more is the onslaught of issues they are having to face as consequences of their misguided and poorly-communicated policies, and manipulated economic and � nancial statistics. This is further widening the communications gap as more salient long-term matters such as addressing distortions in the real economy are being side-lined.

What is absolutely essential for the CCP to do at this present moment is to sustain a transparent

communications strategy that e� ectively elucidates the government’s short-term and long-term plans for the currency and equity markets.

Thankfully, Zhou Xiaochuan, PBoC governor, emerged out of oblivion on February 16, vindicating his institution’s communications strategy by saying: “The central bank is neither God nor a magician who can turn uncertainties into certainties.” Mr Zhou’s statement was needlessly demoralising and his analogy fatuous at best.

A nation as entrenched in the global � nancial system as China can only stand to lose by discouraging independent and transparent communications between its central bank, currency institutions, equity market entities, and the rest of the world.

The CCP must restrain itself from being complacent and negligent about fabricating information. Whatever the policy intentions are, the CCP must be assiduous about disclosing them lucidly and in a thoroughly detailed manner, as this is

necessary to reduce the scope for misinterpretation. Manipulating domestic economic data won’t help its case either.

As is being seen in multiple cases, the CCP’s unorthodox and arcane policies are ine� ectively communicated to the outside world. This leaves speculators and analysts completely bewildered and incapable of making educated predictions, and steers world markets towards chaos. But maybe that’s their strategy, to deliberately restrict the � ow of information to the outside world.

The bottom line is if China is to maintain its growth trajectory of 7%, it ought to respect the norms and conventions of global � nancial communities and play by their rules.

They could start by not being reticent about their indispensable economic information. Re-working the communications strategy could be the � rst step in ameliorating the bedridden � nancial status quo plaguing the second largest economy in the world.

However, it won’t be all uphill once this issue is addressed, debilitating e� ects of the global slowdown and other macro-pressures exerting themselves on the nation will be di� cult to subdue. China’s hardships will only increase, as the country carries on its transition from the secondary to the tertiary sector in the wake of a global recession a� ecting everything from commodity prices to currencies. l

Refayat Mosaowir Haque writes from Washington DC and works for Deshee FM (Operator of ‘Radio Masti’ and ‘Radio Amar’ on Mediacorp’s XFM 96.3).

Opinion14DT

TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 23, 2016

The second largest economy in the world cannot a� ord to remain incommunicado REUTERS

A nation as entrenched in the global � nancial system as China can only stand to lose by discouraging independent and transparent communications between its central bank, currency institutions, equity market entities, and the rest of the world. The CCP must restrain itself from being complacent and negligent about fabricating information

China’s opaque economic policies are doing the nation more harm than good

Communication breakdown

15D

TBusinessTUESDAY, FEBRUARY 23, 2016

IEA: Oil price to start slow recovery in 2017World oil prices are unlikely to rise from current levels before 2017, and even then their recovery will be slow as massive oil stocks feed into the market, the IEA said Mon-day. PAGE 16

Tofail: Corporate tax cut on RMG decided in principle Commerce Minister Tofail Ahmed said the government has decided in principle to lower corporate tax on the readymade garment sector which is now 35%. PAGE 18

Capital market snapshot: MondayDSE

Broad Index 4,577.6 -0.2% ▼

Index 1,128.6 0.3% ▲

30 Index 1,773.7 0.4% ▲

Turnover in Mn Tk 4,686.9 6.3% ▲

Turnover in Mn Vol 111.3 3.9% ▲

CSEAll Share Index 14,149.0 -0.1% ▼

30 Index 12,672.5 -0.5% ▼

Selected Index 8,599.1 -0.1% ▼

Turnover in Mn Tk 297.8 -1.0% ▼

Turnover in Mn Vol 9.1 3.9% ▲

INSIDE

NUMBER OF IPOS BELOW ISSUE PRICE

Listing year No. of IPOs 2015 22014 42013 42012 62011 32010 22009 02008 12007 4

Source: DSE

14% IPOs traded below issue pricesn Kayes Sohel

Around 14% of the initial pub-lic o� ers (IPOs) in the country’s prime bourse listed since 1984 are currently being traded below their issue prices.

Of the 341 companies that have raised money via the primary market, shares of 45 companies are being traded below their issue prices presently.

Weakest IPOs hit in 2012 when six � rms were listed as they gave negative return.

Regent Textile, listed in 2015, is the latest example of dismal perfor-mance. Its share price is currently traded at nearly Tk20 a share, down from its o� er value of Tk25 a share.

The worst performing IPOs since

1984 are United Airways (BD), Zeal Bangla, Meghna Pet, Meghna Con-descend Milk, Dulamia Cotton, ICB Islamic Bank and Shyampur Sugar.

Former Bangladesh Securities

and Exchange Commission Chair-man Faruq Ahmad Siddiqi said, “Unjusti� ed IPO price or misre-porting on � nancial statements might be the reasons behind going down from issue price.”

He said share prices might erode after adjustment with the bonus share issued by the � rms. “Regula-tor needs to be very careful on the quality of companies those come to tap the market,” he said.

Another analyst said overall the market valuation is lower now than what was in 2010 when the market was in its pick.

Of the 45 companies, there is no speci� c sector downfall in IPO price, but most IPOs traded below issue prices took place after 2010.

Out of those companies having

their current stock price below the issue price, two was listed in 2015, four in 2014, four in 2013, six in 2012, three in 2011, two in 2010, one in 2008 and four in 2007.

Most of the companies listed in 2011 and 2012 witnessed fall in their earnings per shares immedi-ately after their listings.

Some of the companies includ-ed Deshbandhu Polymer, Rangpur Dairy & Food Products, Zahintex Industries, Saiham Cotton Mills, Generation Next Fashions, GBB Power and Unique Hotel & Resorts.

These track records, according to some analysts, re� ects weak due diligence not only on the part of regulator but also investment bankers, said an analyst on ano-nymity. l

Farmers Bank apologises to BB for loan irregularities n Jebun Nesa Alo

Farmers Bank has � nally con-fessed that it had committed loan irregularities and pleaded with Bangladesh Bank to spare it from paying the penalty of Tk10 lakh.

The bank has recently sent a letter of appology to the central bank, stating that it has in line with the BB’s instruction correct-ed the loan amount of Tk38.26 crore disbursed to six institutions.

Earlier, the bank marked the amount as investment, violating rules. As the bank complied with the instruction of Bangladesh Bank, the bank should be freed from the penalty, reads the letter.

The BB has decided to place the Farmers Bank’s appeal before its board meeting scheduled today.

“The bank’s application will be placed before the board for con-sideration as the governor has no authority to forgive,” said a senior executive of BB.

Earlier on January 11, the bank � led a writ with the High Court against the penalty imposed by the central bank which drew a huge criticism from every corner.

Farmers Bank is the � rst bank that went to the court against the central bank’s action. BB also moved to the court to defend its action and got verdict in its favour.

An investigation carried out by

the central bank found that the bank marked its loans of Tk38.26 crore as investment.

The loans were given to six in-stitutions including EBL Securities, International Securities, Prime Is-lami Securities, Kazi Equities, BD Securities and Union Capital.

But loans and investment were totally di� erent according to the

bank company law which states that no loans can be shown as in-vestment.

The bank concealed the loans as it failed to bring down the cred-it-deposit rate to an acceptable level within a certain period set by the BB.

On January 20 of 2015, the central bank asked the bank to stop aggressive lending by bring-ing down its credit-deposit rate to 85% by March of the year and gradually between 70% and 75%.

The bank failed to achieve the credit-deposit target and trans-ferred the loans of Tk38.26 crore to investment segment on June 29 last year, violating rules. l

‘The bank’s application will be placed before the BB board scheduled today’

Kuwait Assistance In Bangladesh

It is the cardinal policy of Kuwait to stand by its friends throughout the world.The late Amir of the State of Kuwait

Sheikh Jaber Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah, highlighted Kuwait’s global out-reach strategy in 1961 when he remarked during the establishment of Kuwait Fund for Arab Economic Development, ‘Here we are embarking on the tides of change but we will never forget our friends’.

This support comes in the forms of loans and grants that go into the recipient country’s development of infrastructure, strengthening of socio-economic status and di� erent sectoral advancement.

With the establishment of diplomatic relations between Kuwait and Bangla-desh in 1973, Kuwait evinced keen inter-est in providing soft loans to the newly independent country.

All forms of Kuwaiti o� cial assistance to Bangladesh is channeled through Ku-wait Fund.

Kuwait attaches special importance to all requests from the Bangladesh Gov-ernment with regard to � nancing partly or wholly, any development project.

The main thrust of Kuwait Fund’s op-eration in Bangladesh is in three core sec-tors. Financial loans have been provided for projects that have been identi� ed as priority projects by the Government of Bangladesh. The sectors where Kuwaiti assistance has been extended are power and energy, communications and agri-culture.

So far, Kuwait has provided loans for twenty four (24) development projects amounting to US $ 519.60 million over a three decade period. One project was ter-minated while one another will be imple-mented in 2017. These loans have been provided as soft loans with highly � exi-ble terms and conditions and carry about 3 percent or less rate of interest to cover

administrative and related expenses.Most of these loans go in infrastruc-

tural development projects that when completed will impact the socio-eco-nomic life of the people in particular and the country in general. The projects when completed will promote inter-dis-trict connectivity within Bangladesh and on a broader perspective, it will lead to regional connectivity as a result of which

Bangladesh stands to reap substantial economic gain. The underlying goal of the projects is to achieve regional peace, harmony and prosperity through greater economic cooperation through connec-tivity.

The Fund also extended three tech-nical assistance totaling about KD 423,000.00 that is equivalent to US $ 1.44 million for � nancing feasibility studies of

projects in the transport sector.In addition to these loans, the Gov-

ernment of Kuwait also provided a grant equivalent to US $ 10 million to Palli Kar-ma Sahayak Foundation (PKSF) from its Goodwill Fund to promote food security in Bangladesh.

Kuwait is committed to bring about a qualitative change in the socio-economic life of the people of Bangladesh through implementation of vital projects in dif-ferent sectors.

Complementing the Kuwait Govern-ment’s assistance program in Bangla-desh, a number of Kuwaiti Non-Govern-ment Organizations have been working hand in hand with di� erent socio-eco-nomic Organizations in Bangladesh to ameliorate the su� ering of the poverty stricken people.

In an e� ort to eradicate poverty in tar-geted areas, these organizations have ini-tiated social welfare projects that go way beyond the original policy of building mosques, � nancing madrasas and spon-soring orphans. These Organizations have invested around US $ 380 million on di� erent projects. Some of the major ar-eas where the fundings were channeled are given below:

1. Hospital and Clinics2. Students Dormitory3. Clustered Villages4. Income generating Schemes like

supply of cattle, goats, setting small shops, providing sewing machines, providing rickshaws, vans and carts.

5. Supplying seeds, and water pumps to farmers

6. Sinking tube wells for providing safe drinking water

7. Madrasas and libraries8. Vocational Training Centres9. Mosques10. Orphanages and orphan sponsorship

The concerted e� orts by the Govern-ment and NGOs of Kuwait have served signi� cantly as building bridges of friendship and cooperation between Ku-wait and Bangladesh.

Kuwait takes great pride in its role as a partner and facilitator in the develop-ment stride of Bangladesh. l

His Highness Sheikh Nawaf Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah

His Highness Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmed Al-Jaber Al-Sabah

His Highness Sheikh Jaber Al-Mubarak Al-Hamad Al-Sabah

55th National Day of

KUWAIT

Diwaniyas in kuwaitSocial interaction is an important aspect

of Kuwaiti society and it is intertwined with Kuwait culture, hospitality and

tradition.These interactions commonly take place

in social gatherings commemorating special events and occasions that may be religious functions, wedding receptions or family get-togethers.

Other than such gatherings, Kuwaiti men in particular, quite often get together in the evenings in a diwaniya usually at week ends or on weekdays after work.

The diwaniya may be private, public or family. The private is just for close friends who usually gather daily. The public diwaniyas are generally held on a � xed day and is open for all. The family diwaniyas are restricted to family clans where members of the clan can come and meet the prominent and elderly family members.

Indeed, the family Dewaniya was the original form of the diwaniya that has ex-isted since time immemorial.

The term originally referred to the sec-tion of a Beduin tent where the men folk and their visitors sat apart from the family.

In the olden time, it was the reception area where a man entertained his business col-leagues and other male guests. Today, the term refers both to a reception hall and the gathering held in it, and visiting or hosting a deewania is an indispensable feature of a Kuwaiti’s social life. As a social event, a Deewania takes place in. Special room or annex which is usually separate from the main house of the host. The deewania is frequented by men who sit around on soft benches or cushion, conversing casually smoking or pu� ng hubble bubble (sheesha), nibbling snacks and drinking shots of Arabic co� ee, popularly known as Gahwa.

The political or public Dewaniya is a re-cent development of the 20th century which serves as a platform for Kuwaitis as they started exercising political rights and seeking more representation in the political system.

Another form of Dewaniya is the casual Dewania which is organized by groups of friends of the same age group on one member’s property. This type is usually the most relaxed with participants playing cards, smoking Shisha or watching football and other games.

TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 23, 201616

Message from the Ambassador

Mr. Adel Mohammed A H Hayat

Assalamu alaikum wa rahmatullah wa barakatuh.

Dear Friends,As we get together to celebrate the twin occasions of the National Day and Liberation Day of the State of Kuwait, I would like to pay special tribute to our leadership and the people.

My Friends, it is because of the pragmatic leadership that Kuwait is endowed with, so fortunate to have, we have successfully made our presence appreciated in the global arena.

Today, Kuwait is poised to play an active role in the Gulf region by harnessing its resources to promote peace and stability.

In light of the Quranic teaching, the Kuwaiti society has been in the forefront when it comes to sharing its wealth and resources. This benevolent policy is e� ected in three ways: through Kuwait Fund, through Kuwaiti NGOs and by private philanthropists. Kuwait’s philanthropism has aptly been recognized in the International comity. I am happy to note that Kuwait is a proud partner in this country’s endeavor to attain economic growth and social justice. Since the time Kuwait established diplomatic ties with Bangladesh in 1973, Kuwait Fund has been very keen in providing necessary loans and grants in 24 core infrastructural development areas like energy, communications, and electri� cation. The Kuwaiti NGOs in collaboration with local administrations in the rural areas, have played commendable roles in reducing poverty and ensuring social justice. A number of Kuwaiti philanthropists have set up educational institutes in some parts of Bangladesh to make education a� ordable and accessible for underprivileged children.

Friends, I feel honored to recall once again on this momentous day the principled stand of Bangladesh during Kuwait’s ordeal in 1990. This role will remain emblazoned in the annals of Kuwait’s history. I am happy to see that this cooperation and coordination of our resources and skills are continuing till today.

Friends, our two countries are strategically placed to play a cooperative role in global issues in general and regional issues in particular. Thus, I take satisfaction in the fact that our two countries have shared perceptions and views and commonality of approach on most matters of International and regional signi� cance. As members of the UNO, OIC and the non-Aligned Movement, our two friendly countries have forged a uni� ed stand and lent a unanimous voice on various issues and problems.

Friends, one of the cornerstones of Kuwait’s foreign policy is to promote International peace and stability by building bridges of friendship and cooperation. His Highness the Amir, Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah who is the architect of Kuwait’s foreign policy, envisions a World of peace, cooperation, friendship and fraternity. It is this lofted perception that serves as the impetus in shaping Kuwait’s relation with its neighbors in particular and the world at large.

Friends, the vision of the dynamic Kuwaiti leadership is backed by a responsible sharing of Kuwait’s resources with its friends globally without di� erentiating among the recipients. This practice has been persistently adhered to by successive Kuwaiti leadership and the people of Kuwait since time immemorial. This is indeed a re� ection of the globally acknowledged philanthropic principle and practice imbued in the Kuwaiti society.

Friends, this balanced approach of Kuwait in its pursuit of a proactive foreign policy is based on rationality and practicality and like Bangladesh, it believes in the principles of territorial integrity, sovereignty of all countries irrespective of their size, location, religion and race. Kuwait like Bangladesh, has taken a principled stand against terrorism and violent extremism.

Friends, I would like to avail myself of this joyous occasion to speci� cally convey the profound feelings of my country and its people for the friendly people of Bangladesh and for the highly commendable performance of the Bangladeshi diaspora in Kuwait. There are close to 3,00,000 Bangladeshis involved in di� erent trades in Kuwait. Their concerted endeavour in di� erent sectors is deeply appreciated in Kuwait. The strong and growing presence of the Bangladeshi community in Kuwait is a re� ection of the wisdom, pragmatism and foresight of the successive leaderships of the two countries that have been developed and nurtured over four decades of relationship between the two countries.

Friends, an important step in foreign and consolidating further our friendly relations, is to encourage and initiate fruitful interaction in the form of exchange of visits of Government o� cials, political leaders, businessmen and scholars.

I would be happy to facilitate socio-economic interaction between the two countries. I see bright scope for Bangladesh to improve the two way trade in its favour by diversifying its export basket that may help increase the revenue earning by Bangladesh from Kuwait.

Friends, I am highly optimistic that our friendly relations will further be deepened, expanded and consolidated in the years to come under the sagacious leaderships of our two countries.

Long live Kuwait-Bangladesh friendship.

An itemized breakdown of the total assistance provided by Kuwait to Bangladesh is given below:

Sl Name of Project Year Amount in KD (1KD=US $ 3.40) Status

01 Manu River Project 1975 2,300,000.00 Completed

02 Power supply for Irrigation schemes Stage-1 1975 6,376,025.74 Completed

03 East West Electrical Interconnected project 1978 6,750,000.00 Completed

04 East West Electrical Interconnected Project 1980 3,306,744.63 Completed

05 Eight Rural Areas Electri� cation 1981 7,825,349.98 Completed

06 Deep Tube wells (North Western Region) 1981 4,618,943.72 Completed

07 Ashuganj Thermal Power Project 1982 7,907,147.81 Completed

08 The North West Tube well project 1990 5,000,000.00 Cancelled

09 Four Rural Areas Electri� cation project 1993 9,920,173.61 Completed

10 Sylhet-Tamabil-Ja� ong Road 1996 7,000,000.00 Completed

11 Rural Electri� cation Project in Nilphamari District 1997 2,125,353.45 Completed

12 Rural Electri� cation Project in Shariatpur District 1998 1,707,315.05 Completed

13 Shikarpur and Doarika Bridges and Access Road 1998 6,040,436.25 Completed

14 Shahji Bazar Power Station Project 1999 4,748,497.81 Completed

15 Greater Rajshahi Power Transmission and Distribution Project 1999 3,066,700.57 Completed

16 Greater Chittagong Power Transmission and Distribution Development Project 2000 11,199,939.62 Completed

17 Dapdapia Bridge 2001 10,000,000.00 Active

18 Sylhet-Jakershipur Road 2003 8,333,378.37 Completed

19 The Three Bridges Project 2004 8,600,000.00 Active

20 Third Karnaphuli Bridge Project and approach road 2005 15,500,000.00 Active

21 Greater Chittagong Power Transmission 2007 4,000,000.00 Active

22 Shikal Baha 225 MW Dual Fuel Power Plant Project 2011 15,000,000.00 Active

23 Lebukhali Bridge 2012 14,000,000.00 Active

24 Improvement of Roads Dhaka North City Corporation Tk. 2.79 billion Pipeline

Media in KuwaitKuwait’s media is one of the most

open in the Middle East. It is a vibrant media that is fully con-

scious about its roles and responsibili-ties. Press in Kuwait originated in the 1920s and gradually evolved over the years as one of the most important pil-lars of democracy. Kuwaitis take pride in the Press which they regard as a democratic form of the freedom of ex-pression. Freedom of speech and the press is enshrined under Articles 36 and 37 of the Constitution of Kuwait. The Press and publication Law revised in 2006, extends important protection to the media but prohibits publication of materials that hurt the religious senti-ments of the people or directed against other countries or their leaders that may create a misunderstanding between Ku-wait and the other country, or attack the very basis of Kuwait’s existence.

Press in Kuwait plays the role of a national watchman, constantly pro-posing reforms, calling for enlighten-ment and independence and creating a wider political and national aware-ness. In practice, the State does not ac-tively interfere with or restrict access to news and the Kuwaiti media are known to be more critical and outspo-ken than those in the region. More in-depth reporting and a greater diversity of opinions appear in newspapers. This freedom of expression ensures that the State system remains answerable to its people. Both the print and elec-tronic media reach out to the entire nation and are an e� ective medium in mounding public opinion through their well informed and objective re-porting. Kuwait boosts of a score of privately owned daily newspapers, 14

in Arabic and 3 in English which are all privately owned, largely independent and diverse in their reporting.

There are 220 periodicals and mag-azines specializing in political, eco-nomic, social, medical, sports, edu-cational, literary, technical, scienti� c, oil, agricultural, legal, juvenile, and a range of other � elds. The Al-Arabi, A Kuwaiti magazine is widely read throughout the Arab World for its rich publication. The Kuwaiti print media for decades, played a major role in the political debate and re� ects a tradi-tion of diversity and outspokenness.

Radio broadcasting originated in 1951 and the radio medium grew in 1961. There are 9 local radio stations. The Electronic media got a boost with the setting up of Kuwait Television in 1957. There are 16 privately owned television stations.

Kuwait’s o� cial media follows an open and � exible policy domesti-cally and internationally. It is based on mutual cooperation, respect and non-interference in the a� airs of other countries. The policy is planned collectively with emphasis on intel-lectual, social, political and economic development. KUNA, the o� cial Ku-wait news agency, is an autonomous institution, established in 1976.

Just as Kuwait is geographically sandwiched triangularly among Iraq, Saudi Arabia and the freedom of the sea, likewise, the Kuwaiti mass media seems to be sociologically sandwiched triangularly among Kuwait’s political and economic loyalty to its citizens, its religious loyalty to Islam and its dedi-cation to the concept of freedom of speech, fundamental to democracy. l

Our heartiest felicitations to the government and the brotherly people of the state of Kuwaiton the occasion of the 55th National Day and the 25th Liberation day

Business18DT

TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 23, 2016

CORPORATE NEWS

MTB Capital Limited (MTBCL), a subsidiary of Mutual Trust Bank Ltd. (MTB) has recently signed an agreement with Sikder Apparel Hosiery Limited to act as its issue manager and corporate adviser for capital issue of Tk600mn including IPO of Tk300mn. Managing director of Sikder Group of Companies Limited, Shahidul Haq Sikder and Khairul Bashar Abu Taher Mohammed, CEO of MTBCL have signed the agreement

Tofail: Corporate tax cut on RMG decided in principle n Tribune Report

Commerce Minister Tofail Ahmed said the government has decided in principle to lower corporate tax on the readymade garment sector which is now 35%.

He also said the Seventh Five Year Plan targetted to raise the country’s biggest industry’s contri-bution to gross domestic product to 33% from the present 29%.

Tofail Ahmed was speaking as the chief guest at a certi� cate giv-ing and employment letter handing over ceremony organised in Dhaka yesterday for 29 former exclave dwellers who received training under the Skills for Employment

Investment Programme (SEIP). The certi� cate recipients have been giv-en jobs in three garment factories.

The former exclave dwellers were from Panchagarh, the coun-try’s northern-most district bor-dering with India.

“As a business-friendly govern-ment, we are providing all-out co-operation to the business communi-ty so that they can do business and contribute to the national develop-ment and the economy,” he said.

Bangladesh Garment Manufac-turers and Exporters Association (BGMEA) President Siddiqur Rah-man said the RMG industry would need 3m skilled workers to increase annual export volume to $50bn

from $25bn now in next � ve years. “The RMG sector needs 3m

skilled workers to achieve the $50bn export target by 2021.” He hoped the newly recruited workers would make contribution to reach-ing the export target.

Siddiqur Rahman said as the country’s apparel sector currently face a shortage of around 25% work-ers, they have a plan to train 43,000 workers. BGMEA is collaborating with the SEIP in training workers.

Earlier, at a meeting at the commerce ministry, Bangladesh Knitwear Manufacturers and Exporters Association demanded corporate tax be slashed for the apparel sector. l

IEA: Oil price to start slow recovery in 2017n AFP, Paris

World oil prices are unlikely to rise from current levels before 2017, and even then their recovery will be slow as massive oil stocks feed into the market, the IEA said Monday.

“We must say that today’s oil market conditions do not suggest that prices can recover sharply in the immediate future - unless, of course, there is a major geopolitical event,” the International Energy Agency said in its medium-term report, which looks � ve years ahead.

“Only in 2017 will we � nally see oil supply and demand aligned but the enormous stocks being accu-mulated will act as a dampener on the pace of recovery in oil prices when the market, having balanced, then starts to draw down those stocks,” it said.

“While oil prices should start to rise gradually once the market be-gins rebalancing, the availability of resources that can be easily and quickly tapped will limit the scope of rallies,” the report said.

The IEA acknowledged that predicting the oil market “is today a task of enormous complexity”, saying experts were still grappling with the implications of a dramatic drop in the oil price from over $100 per barrel in July 2014 to around $30 today.

A year ago, analysts predict-ed that oil oversupply would end by late 2015, “but that view has proved very wide of the mark”, it admitted.

The IEA’s view is that supply will eventually be curtailed as in-vestment cuts prompted by low

prices translate into lower output.Spending on oil exploration and

equipment is projected to drop by 17% this year after a 24% cut in 2015 “which would be the � rst time since 1986 that upstream invest-ment has fallen for two consecu-tive years”, the IEA noted.

Demand for oil, meanwhile, will continue to increase, but at a weak-er pace amid � nancial market tur-moil and clear signs that “almost any economy you care to look at could see its GDP growth prospects downgraded”.

Bottlenecks aheadGlobal annual average demand growth over the next � ve years is expected at 1.2 million barrels per day (mb/d), down from a 1.6 mb/d increase seen in 2015 when demand received an initial boost from oil price falls.

But while the current supply/de-mand mix is keeping a lid on prices, the current slashing of investment in oil producing facilities may well hit the market with bottlenecks further down the road, possibly leading to abrupt price spikes, the IEA warned.

Only Saudi Arabia and Iran have any spare production capacity left, and other countries are not investing enough even to keep current production going, let alone meet demand growth over coming years.

“The risk of a sharp oil price rise towards the later part of our fore-cast (around 2021) arising from insu� cient investment is as poten-tially de-stabilising as the sharp oil price fall has proved to be,” the IEA warned. l

Pound takes hit in Asia on ‘Brexit’ fears n AFP, Tokyo

The pound dropped in Asian trading yesterday, after news the mayor of London will campaign for Britain to leave the EU added to uncertainty over the country’s future in the bloc.

European leaders � nally sealed a deal Friday on reforms demand-ed by British Prime Minister David Cameron after hours of haggling in Brussels, paving the way for a ref-erendum on whether Britain will stay in the EU.

The deal sets the stage for cam-paigning to start in earnest over a so-called “Brexit” ahead of a ref-erendum on June 23.

Cameron is calling for Britain to stay after the deal, but the “In” camp took a blow when London

mayor Boris Johnson on Sunday said he would support leaving the 28-member bloc.

Six members of Cameron’s cabi-net announced they would support leaving on Saturday, highlighting rifts in the ruling Tory Party.

In Tokyo, the pound weakened to $1.4279 from $1.4392 in New York while it also lost ground against the yen and other major currencies.

The euro edged down to $1.1112 from $1.1131 in US trading, while it ticked up to 125.47 yen against 125.36 yen.

“Even if an exit isn’t likely, un-certainty and concerns about it will continue and weigh on ster-ling,” Kengo Suzuki, chief currency strategist at Mizuho Securities, told Bloomberg News. l

Central Anti Smuggling Task-force reconstituted n Tribune Report

The government yesterday recon-stituted the Central Anti-Smug-gling Task-Force with National Board of Revenue (NBR) Chairman as head of the committee.

NBR Chairman Nojibur Rahman will lead the high powered task force while Customs Intelligence and Investigation Directorate Di-rector General Moinul Khan will act as the me mber secretary, con-� rmed o� cials sources.

A 19-member committee will have representatives from dif-ferent government o� ces, and law enforcement and intelligence agencies including all the division-

al commissioners, NBR member (customs and intelligence), direc-tor generals of Rapid Action Bat-talion (RAB) and Narcotics Control Department, Police, Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB), Ansar and VDP.

In addition, representatives from ministries of home and ship-ping, Civil Aviation Authority, National Security Intelligence, Bangladesh Coast Guard, Directo-rate General of Forces Intelligence, Bangladesh Bank, and Federation of Bangladesh Chambers of Com-merce and Industry (FBCCI) will also be in the committee as mem-bers. The existing anti-smuggling committee was earlier formed in 1988. l

USAID funded projects get VAT exemptionn Tribune Report

The National Board of Revenue (NBR) has exempted Value Added Tax (VAT) on di� erent projects, funded by USAID.

The VAT wing of revenue au-thorities on February 7 issued an order o� ering VAT exemption on supply of products or services re-quired for the projects, according to the order signed by NBR � rst secretary Faizur Rahman.

The exemption comes into ef-fect from February 7, 2016, the or-der reads. As of November 2015, there were 71 projects in Bangla-desh funded by USAID, o� cials said adding that all the projects will enjoy the bene� t. l

Biz Info 19D

T

TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 23, 2016

Every year BRAC University Earth and Environment Forum (BUEEF) organises seminars emphasising on di� erent environmental issues and their possible solutions, on account of the increasing concerns about the present status of our environment. Recently this club arranged a seminar on “Climate Change” in Dhaka which was held in BRAC University. There were three honourable speakers at the seminar who are Professor Dr Ainun Nishat, water resource and climate change specialist, Asif Zaman, environmental engineer and Quamrul Islam Chowdhury, chairman of the Forum of Environment Journalist.

The � rst speaker of the event was Professor Ainun Nishat who talked about how the condition of the climate has degraded over time. Basically he talked about two agreements - Sustainable Agreement and Paris Agreement.

He said that recently some people have been attacked by zika virus and culex is responsible for transmitting this virus. This also creates a negative impact on our environment. He concluded his speech by saying that we can save our environment by cutting down on waste, reducing, reusing and recycling them. Asif Zaman talked about rainfall changes, drainage infrastructure and sea- level rise estimates. Kamrul Islam Chowdhury mentioned about Kyoto Protocol. The Kyoto Protocol is an international treaty, which extends the 1992 United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) that commits State Parties to reduce greenhouse gases emissions. He said that 5% of carbon emission is man-made which is not good for climate. He pointed out some measures which should be taken by the government. l

Meat Lovers is an international standard fast food and take away shop. Their � rst and only outlet is at Bashundhara Residential Area.

Meat Lovers is hosting a Valentine Food� e contest 2016 that started from February 13 and will conclude on February 24. The winners will receive coupons for candle-light dinner, � rst class movie tickets at Bashundhara Cineplex, and a lot of other surprise gifts. l

Seminar on Climate Change

Valentine Food� e contest at Meat Lovers

‘Amar Ekushey’ at Da� odil International University

Bangla school in Singapore observe International Mother Language Day

With great enthusiasm, Da� odil International University (DIU) observed February 21, the “Shahid Dibash” and “International Mother Language Day” and paid tribute to the martyrs of the language movement. To mark the day, Da� odil International University chalked out an elaborate program including seminar on “Inclusive Education through and with language - language matters,” discussion, a photo exhibition, cultural program at their university campus in Ashulia, following which a rally was held marching towards Central Shaheed Minar. l

Bangladesh Language and Cultural Foundation (BLCF), a Bangla school in Singapore has been in operation for more than 15 years, providing international standard education to around 600 children of the diaspora of Bangladeshi parents living there.

To observe International Mother Language Day all the children of the school gathered at their school premises early that morning. Two separate events were held in this regard, one at Zhangdi Primary School at 8:30am, and the other at Jhuying Primary School at 11am. All students, accompanied by their teachers and guardians marched over to a makeshift Shaheed Minar and paid homage to the language martyrs by laying down � owers brought by the children.

This was followed by a cultural show where children sang and recited Bengali poems and members of the sta� and guardians also sang songs.

Principal of BLCF, the largest Bangla school in Singapore, and

noted singer Milia Islam Sabed said, “All the future heroes showed up with the willingness to be an integral part of this initiative, connecting them to their forefathers’ thousand year old custom and culture.” l

| summit |

| food |

| tribute |

| event |

Prof Ra� qul Islam, dean, Faculty of Business and Economics accompanied by librarian Milan Khan and other high o� cials of Da� odil International University placing � oral wreaths at the Central Shahid Minar of Da� odil International University at their campus at Ashulia

Downtime20DT

TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 23, 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 9 represents P so � ll P every time the � gure 9 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

ACROSS1 Bludgeon (4)3 Confronts (5)8 Bird (4)9 Ink spot (4)11 Worked into a fabric (5)12 Fish (4)14 Conclude (3)15 Start (5)18 Falter (5)19 Greek letter (3) 21 Prepare for publication (4)24 Waterway (5)26 Airtight grain store (4)27 Turn away (4)28 Composition (5)29 Male deer (4)

DOWN 1 Country (4)2 Black deposit (4) 4 Fuss (3)5 Gathering of witches (5)6 Level (4)7 Transmits (5)10 Musical instrument (4)11 Carried on, as war (5)13 At no time (5)16 Rainbow goddess (4)17 Enthusiasm (5)18 Undulates (5)20 Neck-wear (4)22 Incline (4)23 Instrument of summons (4) 25 Period of time (3)

SUDOKU

INSIGHT

Million dollar question: Where US will put suspected terrorists after Gitmo shuts down?n Tribune Desk

US President Barack Obama has refused to send any suspected terrorists captured overseas to the American detention centre at Guantanamo Bay. But if the US starts seizing more militants in expanded military operations, where will they go, who will hold them and where will they be tried?

Those are questions that worry legal experts, lawmakers and oth-ers as US special operations forces deploy in larger numbers to Iraq, Syria and, maybe soon, Libya, with the Dae’sh group and a� li-ated organisations in their sights.

Throughout Obama’s presiden-cy, suspects have been killed in drone strikes or raids, or captured and interrogated, sometimes aboard Navy ships. After that, they are either prosecuted in US courts and military commissions or handed over to other nations.

This policy has been enough, experts say — at least for now.

“If you’re going to be doing counter-terrorism operations that bring in detainees, you have to think through what you are going to do with them,” said Phillip Cart-er, former deputy assistant de-fence secretary for detainee poli-cy. “If the US is going to conduct large-scale combat operations or large-scale special ops and bring in more detainees, it needs a dif-ferent solution.”

Obama has not sent a single suspected terrorist to the US mil-itary prison at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, where many have been detained for years without being charged or tried — something the president says is a “recruitment tool” for militant extremists.

He is to report to Congress this month on how he wants to close Guantanamo and possibly trans-fer some of the remaining de-tainees to the United States. That report also is supposed to address the question of future detainees.

Republican candidates who want to succeed Obama are telling voters that they would keep Guan-tanamo open.

“Law enforcement is about gathering evidence to take some-one to trial, and convict them,” said Florida Senator Marco Rubio. “Anti-terrorism is about � nding

out information to prevent a fu-ture attack so the same tactics do not apply. ... But, here’s the bigger problem with all this: We’re not interrogating anybody right now.”

That’s not true, said Frazi-er Thompson, director of the High-Value Detainee Interroga-tion Group. The tight-lipped team of interrogators from the FBI, De-fence Department, the CIA and other intelligence agencies gleans intelligence from top suspected terrorists in the US and overseas.

“We were created to interro-gate high-value terrorists and we are interrogating high-value ter-rorists,” Thompson said in a re-cent interview.

Since it was established in 2009, that team has been de-ployed 34 times, Thompson said, adding that other government agencies conduct independent interrogations as well. “We are designed to deploy on the high-est-value terrorist. We are not go-ing out to interrogate everybody,” he said.

Thompson would not disclose details of the cases his team has worked or speculate on whether he expects more interrogation re-quests as the battle against Dae’sh

heats up.The US has deployed about

200 new special operations forc-es to Iraq, and they are preparing to work with the Iraqis to begin going after Dae’sh � ghters and commanders, “killing or captur-ing them wherever we � nd them, along with other key targets,” De-fence Secretary Ash Carter said.

In May last year, a Delta Force raid in Syria killed Dae’sh � nan-cier Abu Sayyaf, yielding intelli-gence about the group’s structure and � nances. his wife, known as Umm Sayyaf, was captured

Her case illustrates how the Obama administration is prose-cuting some terrorist suspects in

federal courts or military commis-sions or leaving them in the custo-dy of other nations.

Umm Sayyaf, a 25-year-old Ira-qi, is being held in Iraq and facing prosecution by authorities there. She also was charged February 9 in US federal court with holding Kayla Mueller and contributing to her death in February 2015.

Ali Soufan, a former FBI agent who investigated and supervised international terrorism cases, in-cluding the US embassy bombings in East Africa and the attack on the USS Cole in Yemen the 1990s, said sending suspected terrorists through the American criminal justice system works. He said the courts are more e� ective than mil-itary commissions used at Guan-tanamo that have been slow in trying detainees who violate the laws of war.

But it’s hard to evaluate the ef-fectiveness of the system.

The Justice Department de-clined to provide the number of foreign terrorist suspects who have been prosecuted or the num-ber handed over to other coun-tries, or their status. Reports on how other countries handle the suspects are classi� ed. l

INSIDE

21D

TWorldTUESDAY, FEBRUARY 23, 2016

Haryana Jats call o� protests after winning jobs promiseLeaders of the Jat community reached a deal late with the govern-ment on Monday to end protests that paralysed Haryana state and cut water supplies to Delhi’s 20 million residents, after winning a pledge of more government jobs. PAGE 23

Italy PM threatens House con� dence vote over same-sex civil unionsItalian Premier Matteo Renzi on Sunday warned he could call a high-stakes con� dence vote in his government in a bid to unlock a parliamentary deadlock over gay civil unions.

PAGE 24

US dominates arms trade, Asia, Mid-East boost importsThe global transfer of major arms has risen in recent years, with the US increasing its dominance of the trade while the � ow of weaponry to Africa, Asia and the Middle East has increased, a new study published Monday showed. PAGE 23

107 current detainees

a year or $900k /year per Guantanamo detainee

$60k/year per inmate at federal ‘supermax’ prison $25k/year per average federal inmate

Compare with

GUANTANAMO BAY

membersSources: US Department of Defence, Congressional Research Service, Christian Science Monitor, Urban Institute, CNN reporting

Personnel2,000

Annual costs of detention $150m

A US military guard stands in a cell block at the detention facility at Guantanamo Bay US Naval Base in this 2009 � le photo REUTERS

WorldTUESDAY, FEBRUARY 23, 2016

22DT

INSIGHT

Scarred by tra� cking abuses, Rohingyas stay put in Myanmar campsn Thomson Reuters

Foundation, Thet Kel Pyin

After Husaina’s 20-year-old son boarded a boat to escape poverty and discrimination in Myanmar’s Rakhine State, she heard nothing from him for seven months.

Then, in a shocking phone call, she was told the young Rohingya Muslim was in the hands of people smugglers in Thailand, and had fall-en severely ill. The only way for him to be released was to somehow � nd the money to pay a ransom.

“The man said: ‘If you don’t pay money, he will die ... I was so up-set. How did he get into the hands of the brokers? How did he become so ill?’” she said, sitting in her dank and crumbling one-room temporary

home in Thet Kel Pyin displacement camp, a few kilometres from the Ra-khine state capital of Sittwe.

They found an employer in Ma-laysia willing to pay about $1,600 in exchange for Mamed Rohim’s labour. That was over a year ago and Rohim is still working to repay the debt.

He only manages to send home about $50 every two or three months, which the family uses to repay their own debts - run up since they � ed communal violence and their home in Sittwe for the camp.

Now barred from returning home, the family - seven other chil-dren and an asthmatic husband - is struggling to make ends meet. But Husaina says Rohim’s plight contin-ues to haunt her.

“Even though I want to send

other children on the boat so they could � nd jobs, I’m really worried about the brokers so I dare not,” she told Myanmar Now, an independ-ent news service supported by the Thomson Reuters Foundation.

Waves of Rohingya Muslims have � ed sectarian violence and apartheid-like conditions in Myan-mar in recent years, many of them swept up in tra� cking rings, some of which hold men like Rohim for ransom, making threats to their im-poverished families that their loved ones will be killed.

But human rights groups say there has been a dramatic drop in the number of Rohingya leaving Myanmar this year. They attribute this to a crackdown on human traf-� cking by countries such as Thai-

land and Malaysia.Experiences such as Rohim’s are

common among the Rohingya, con-� ned to the squalid displacement camps outside Sittwe. The stories are shared among residents, mak-ing many fearful of the multi-day journey.

Matthew Smith, executive direc-tor of Thailand-based human rights group Fortify Rights, agrees num-bers leaving Rakhine have dropped, even though it is di� cult to quan-tify the decrease in departures due to the clandestine nature of the voyages.

Since 2012 - when communal vi-olence between Rakhine Buddhists and Rohingya displaced some 140,000 people, an overwhelming majority of them Muslims - tens of

thousands have left Rakhine State by boat.

What began decades ago as a journey that would take weeks on rickety boats, has in recent years become a mass people tra� cking and smuggling business. The traf-� cking grew to such a scale that it lead to a crackdown by Thai and Malaysian authorities last year.

Despite continued government restrictions, some Rohingya have not left because they are holding out hope for the new government led by Aung San Suu Kyi’s NLD.

The NLD, however, did not � eld a single Muslim candidate in the No-vember elections and has remained quiet on the persecution faced by the Rohingya, who are viewed with suspicion by many in Myanmar. l

Haryana Jats call o� protests after winning jobs promisen Reuters, Bahadurgarh/New

Delhi

Leaders of the Jat community reached a deal late with the gov-ernment on Monday to end pro-tests that paralysed Haryana state and cut water supplies to Delhi’s 20 million residents, after winning a pledge of more government jobs.

A Jat leader said protesters had reached a deal with state and fed-eral leaders to end their mobilisa-tion, in which 16 people have been killed and more than 150 injured.

“The government has prom-ised to meet our demands and we have promised our full coop-eration,” Ramesh Dalal, convener of the Jat Arakshan Andolan (Jat Reservation Movement), said.

Thousands of troops were de-ployed to quell the protests, which had � ared again on Monday near Sonipat when a freight train was torched. In neighbouring Rajasthan, Jats attacked and burned buses.

Disruption has been huge, with

850 trains cancelled, 500 factories closed and business losses esti-mated at as much as $5bn by one regional lobby group.

Dalal said he had appealed to the entire Jat community, which makes up a quarter of the population of Haryana, to return home. A senior o� cer said state police still faced a challenge to maintain law and order.

The army earlier on Monday

retook control of a canal that sup-plies three-� fths of the capital’s water. Water was expected to reach the metropolis by early Tuesday.

Order slowly returnsThe Haryana government put the death toll at 16 while police said earlier that there were tensions in some towns as Jats tried to pre-vent other communities from reo-

pening their shops.Many Jats, who number more

than 80m across north India, are farmers whose livelihoods have suf-fered as families divide farms among their children. Two years of drought have harmed crops, and they are also missing out on urban jobs.

Their demands for government jobs and student places are based on a� rmative action policies that are typically reserved for deprived groups.

The Supreme Court has previ-ously struck down an attempt to classify the Jats as an Other Back-ward Caste, or OBC, which would formally entitle them to a quota of jobs and student places.

Although many of the state’s chief ministers have been Jats, the current minister is not. Commen-tators have faulted him and other BJP leaders for failing to read the social mood and devoting too much attention to issues like cow protection that are a core part of the party’s pro-Hindu agenda. l

WorldTUESDAY, FEBRUARY 23, 2016

23D

T

SOUTH ASIATaliban suicide bomb kills at least 13 A suicide bomb targeting a police commander killed at least 13 people on Monday, including 9 civilians, in Afghanistan’s northern Parwan province, an o� cial said. The attack happened near a clinic and a bazaar, said Gen Zaman Mamozai, the provincial police chief. 4 local police were among those killed, and anoth-er 19 people, including 17 civilians, were wounded, he added. -AP

INDIAGunbattle in Kashmir ends with 9 deadTroops and police on Monday killed 3 militants holed up in a govern-ment building in Indian Kashmir, ending a three-day gunbattle in which 5 soldiers and a civilian also died, police said. The � ghting broke out when rebels ambushed a para-military convoy on Saturday, killing two troopers before taking refuge in the building on the outskirts of the state capital Srinagar. -REUTERS

CHINAChina’s foreign minister to visit USChina’s foreign minister Wang Yi will visit the US from Tuesday, his ministry said, as the two powers grapple over weapons systems on the Korean peninsula and in the South China Sea. The three-day trip comes with Beijing and Washington at loggerheads over militarisation in the South China Sea, while at the same time trying to � nd common ground on how to deal with North Korea’s nuclear and missile programmes. -AFP

ASIA PACIFICAustralia warns of terror threat to MalaysiaAustralia has warned of a possible terror attack in the Malaysian capital Kuala Lumpur, urging travellers to be vigilant after a number of arrests. Australia’s Department of Foreign A� airs and Trade said in its latest advice issued late Sunday that terrorists might be planning attacks in and around Kuala Lumpur -AFP

MIDDLE EASTSaudi: War games will boost military ties The Middle East’s largest ever war games are now underway and will boost military cooperation between the 20 Muslim nations taking part, host country Saudi Arabia said on Monday, as it seeks to check the growing in� uence of arch rival Iran. The Northern Thunder exercises, which began on February 14 and will run until March 10, involve more than 150,000 troops from the Gulf Arab nations, Egypt, Moroc-co, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Jordan, Sudan and Senegal. REUTERS

US dominates arms trade, Asia, Mid-East boost importsn AFP, Stockholm

The global transfer of major arms has ris-en in recent years, with the US increas-ing its dominance of the trade while the � ow of weaponry to Africa, Asia and the Middle East has increased, a new study published Monday showed.

According to the Stockholm In-ternational Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) report, the volume of inter-national transfers of major weapons -- including sales and donations -- was 14% higher in 2011–2015 than over the � ve previous years, with the US and Russia doing most of the exporting.

The biggest importers were India, Saudi Arabia, China and the United Arab Emirates (UAE).

The authors of the report singled out the con� ict in Yemen, where a Saudi-led coalition is backing the gov-ernment against Iran-supported Shia Huthi rebels.

‘US arms went to 96 states’The US has sold or donated major arms to a diverse range of recipients across the globe, the report said.

“The USA has sold or donated major arms to at least 96 states in the past � ve years, and the US arms industry has large outstanding export orders,” including for over 600 F-35 combat aircraft, said Aude Fleurant, director of the SIPRI Arms and Military Expenditure Programme.

The biggest chunk of US major arms, 41%, went into Saudi Arabia and the rest of the Middle East.

Russia remains in second place on the SIPRI exporters list, with its share of the total up three points to 25%, though the levels dropped in 2014 and 2015 -- coin-ciding with Western sanctions against Moscow over the Ukraine con� ict.

India took the largest chunk of Russian weaponry and SIPRI also listed pro-Moscow rebels in Ukraine among the recipients.

While the � ows of weapons to Af-

rica, Asia and Oceania and the Middle East all increased between 2006–10 and 2011–15, there had been a sharp fall in the � ow to Europe and a minor decrease in the volume heading to the Americas, according to SIPRI.

The overall transfer of arms has been upwards this century after a rel-ative drop in the previous 20 years.

China leapfrogged both France and Germany over the past � ve years

to become the third-largest source of major arms globally, with an 88% rise in exports.

Most of the Chinese weapons went to other Asian countries, with Pakistan the main recipient.

India remains by far the biggest importer of major arms, accounting for 14% of the total; twice as much as second-placed Saudi Arabia and three times as much as China. l

Source : Stockholm International Peace Research Institute

2011-2015

World’s largest exporters and importers of weapons

Russia25

France5.6

China5.9 /United States

33 / 2.9

ExportsImports

Germany4.7

Britain4.5

Spain3.5

Italy2.7

Ukraine2.6Netherlands

2.0

Percent of market

India14

Saudi Arabia7.0

4.7

UAE4.6

Australia3.6

Turkey3.4

Pakistan3.3

Vietnam2.9

South Korea2.6

Demonstrators from the Jat community shout slogans as they block the Delhi-Haryana national highway on Monday REUTERS

INSIGHT

Many US Catholics unfazed by pope’s clash with Trumpn Reuters, New York

US Catholics voiced sup-port for Pope Francis on Sunday after he criticised

Donald Trump’s immigration stance as “not Christian,” but many interviewed said the con-troversy would not necessarily sour them on the Republican pres-idential contender.

The ponti� injected himself into the US campaign during a conversation with reporters on his � ight home from Mexico on Thursday. In his comments, Fran-cis disparaged Trump’s vow to build a wall along the southern US border to keep out illegal im-migrants.

A sampling of opinion from people before and after Sun-day Mass suggested that many Catholics saw the pope’s com-ments as well-intentioned and grounded in a moral worldview. Many said Francis, who has be-come a champion of inclusion in his three-year tenure as head of the Roman Catholic Church, was right to insist on the humane

treatment of all immigrants.Even so, most of those inter-

viewed in Boston and New York would not rule out voting for Trump based on what Francis said. About 21% of the US popula-tion identi� es as Catholic.

Many churchgoers said the media unfairly whipped up the controversy to goad the pope and Trump into a � ght days before Saturday’s South Carolina Repub-lican primary. Trump’s victory there made the billionaire real es-tate mogul the clear front-runner for his party’s nomination for the November 8 election to succeed Democratic President Barack Obama.

‘Analogy’Francis never directly criticised Trump or mentioned him by name when he told reporters: “A person who thinks only about building walls, wherever they may be, and not building bridges, is not Chris-tian.”

A spokesman for Francis sought on Friday to tone down the controversy, insisting the ponti� was not making a personal attack on Trump or any statement about the US election.

After initially saying it was “disgraceful” for the pope to judge another’s faith in God, the blunt-spoken Trump said Francis was “a nice man” who was prob-ably misinterpreted by the media.

But from the pulpit of St Paul’s, the Reverend James Flavin did not shy away from the issue. In his Sunday sermon, he linked the pope’s remarks about “walls” to many of the social justice themes

he has sounded since his papacy began in March 2013.

“The pope denounced a world divided by walls,” Flavin said. “He’s challenging us to change the world through our imitation of Christ.”

How much the pope’s views will in� uence US Catholics in the voting booth is an open question, but parishioners suggested a mut-ed impact at best. l

WorldTUESDAY, FEBRUARY 23, 2016

24DT

USAPoll: Majority of Democrats say socialism has positive impactThe term ‘socialist’ once was used as an epithet in American politics. Perhaps no more. In a year in which Bernie Sanders, a self-de-scribed Democratic Socialist, is running a competitive primary campaign for the White House, a new survey � nds that nearly six-in-ten Democratic primary voters believe socialism has a positive impact on society. -POLITICO

THE AMERICASMorales set to lose Bolivia referendum on 4th termBolivian President Evo Morales looked headed for defeat in a referendum on whether the leftist leader can seek a fourth term in o� ce, according to exit polls and early results on Sunday. Morales, 56, now serving his third term, was trying to change the constitution so he could run for re-election in 2019, potentially allowing the former coca grower to remain pres-ident until 2025. -REUTERS

UKNew newspaper to launch despite declining readershipA British publisher says it is launching the country’s � rst new national paper in 30 years - despite rapidly declining newspaper sales and readers switching to online websites. Trinity Mirror says The New Day will stand out from other British newspapers because it will be politically neutral and will not have an op-ed column. -AP

EUROPEClosing borders to cost EU €470bn over 10 yearsEnding Europe’s Schengen agree-ment would cost EU economies at least €470bn over a decade, accord-ing to a German study published Monday. The impact on trade � ows would also cost major trade partners the US and China tens of billions of euros each, said the study. The study was published as several European countries have reintro-duced provisional border controls to stem a mass in� ux of refugees, the greatest wave of people seeking asylum since World War II. -AFP

AFRICAUgandan opposition leader arrested Police arrested Uganda’s main oppo-sition leader, Kizza Besigye, for the 4th time in eight days on Monday, after an election that the US and EU have criticised and the opposition reject as fraudulent. Police also stormed Besigye’s Forum for Dem-ocratic Change party headquarters and arrested 8 member. -REUTERS

Italy PM threatens House con� dence vote over same-sex civil unionsn AFP, Rome

Italian Premier Matteo Renzi on Sunday warned he could call a high-stakes con� dence vote in his government in a bid to unlock a parliamentary deadlock over gay civil unions.

“We are at a crossroads,” Renzi told a national assembly of his cen-tre-left Democratic Party (PD). “I am ready to call a con� dence vote.”

In an unexpected direct inter-vention in a debate he has large-ly stayed out of, Renzi said he regarded the legislation to give gay couples legal recognition and protection for the � rst time as im-portant as his other reforms of the labour market and the parliamen-tary decision-making process.

Opinion polls suggest most Ital-ians favour the principle of allowing gay civil unions but that a majority are reluctant to extend adoption rights to same sex couples.

The Catholic Church has been extremely active in lobbying pol-iticians on the question to the

point of being publicly rebuked for interfering by Renzi earlier this month.

If he did call a con� dence vote, Renzi would run the risk of losing it and having to go to the polls just as he enters his third year since becoming premier via an internal

party coup.But with the PD well placed in

opinion polls, that would be a less daunting prospect for Renzi than for some of his political rivals.

The civil unions bill is currently stalled in the Italian Senate after the opposition Five Star Move-

ment (M5S) last week scuppered a bid by the PD to accelerate its approval.

The second chamber of Italy’s parliament is due to resume discus-sion of it on Wednesday, by which time Renzi’s party managers hope to have secured enough cross-party backing to put it back on track.

At issue is whether the bill con-tains provisions allowing a part-ner in a same sex relationship to adopt the biological child of the other partner.

Italy’s second biggest party, M5S has faced a signi� cant back-lash from its own supporters over its tactics in the Senate.

Gay rights groups, some of whom demonstrated in Milan on Sunday, have expressed dismay over the deadlock, insisting that the draft legislation will be worth little without equal adoption rights.

Opponents of the bill in the Senate have � led hundreds of wrecking amendments, most of which aim to remove the adoption provisions. l

Source : Pew Research Centre

Around 70 million American Catholics Catholics in the United States

% of adultswho areCatholics 2014

0-1011-2021-3031-4041 +

RhodeIsland42

Connecticut33

Massachusetts34

Pennsylvania24

Illinois28

North Dakota26

Nevada25

Lousiana26

New York31

New Mexico34 Texas

23

California28 New Jersey

34

Ruling Democratic Party Senator Monica Cirinna holds a placard as she poses with supporters of gay civil unions outside the Italian Senate in Rome on January 28 REUTERS

25D

TSportINSIDE

TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 23, 2016

Mahmudullah wants title for MashThe main round of the Asia Cup Twenty20 2016 will begin at Sher-e-Bangla National Stadium tomorrow. The tournament, being played in this format for the � rst time, is being seen as the preparation ground to the Asian sides for the ICC World Twenty20 2016 in India next month. PAGE 26

Advantage Barca as Real, Atletico heldCristiano Ronaldo missed a penalty as Real Madrid’s hopes of catching La Liga leaders Barcelona were all but ended with a 1-1 draw at Malaga on Sunday. PAGE 27

Buzz gone for good as Aussies scent winBrendon McCullum drew the curtain on his illustrious batting career as a typically pugnacious but short-lived innings Monday was unable to loosen Australia’s � rm grip on the second Test in Christchurch. PAGE 28

Argentina, Chile face rematch after drawLionel Messi and Argentina were given a chance for revenge on Sunday after being drawn against reigning Copa America champions Chile in the group stage for this summer’s special centenary edi-tion of the tournament. PAGE 29

Bangladesh cricketers play football during their practice session prior to the Asia Cup Twenty20 at the BCB academy ground yesterday MAINOOR ISLAM MANIK

Mashrafe named UN ambassadorn Tribune Report

Bangladesh captain Mashrafe bin Mortaza has been nominated as the youth goodwill ambassador of the United Nations Development Pro-gramme (UNDP) in Bangladesh.

Mashrafe is the � rst Bangladeshi cricketer to become the Goodwill Ambassador of UNDP however former captains Habibul Bashar, Mohammad Ashraful and Shakib Al Hasan were also chosen as the ambassador of UNICEF's other pro-grams previously.

UNDP informed through a press release however the o� cial con-tracts will be signed on a suitable day before the upcoming Asia Cup.

It was under Mashrafe, Bangla-desh have reached to a new height in world cricket and his leadership quality and reception on and o� the � eld made him as one of the biggest personality in Bangladesh.

“I have been informed from the UNICEF's local o� ce that I have been nominated as their Goodwill Ambassador however I am yet to receive any o� cial papers. It's a huge responsibility and obviously a proud moment for me and for my country,” Mashrafe said. l

Rubel loses central contractNadir Shah cleared to o� ciate domestic league matchn Minhaz Uddin Khan

Bangladesh pacer Rubel Hossain has been left out from the Bang-ladesh Cricket Board (BCB) cen-tral contract. The board in its 13th meeting yesterday, decided not to renew the contract to the right-arm spearhead after he failed to follow BCB instructions during his rehabilitation from injury.

The BCB president Nazmul Hasan said Rubel had failed to follow the rehabilitation program given by the BCB physiotherapist while recovering from his injury. The pacer will be handed a show-cause letter now and only a justi-� ed reason could get him his cen-tral contract back.

The board also decided to shuf-� e few chairman’s post in the standing committee. Nazmul said the move will create competitive-ness amongst the directors and also gives equal opportunities to proven one’s capability as a board director.

BCB tournament committee chairman Akram Khan will now take care of the cricket operations replacing Naimur Rahman. Akram

had earlier chaired the BCB crick-et operation before the later took over the post. Naimur, the � rst Bangladesh Test captain, was not assigned to any committee. Saiful Islam Swapan was appointed as the chairman of tournament com-mittee.

One of BCB’s in� uential directors IH Mallick, who headed Facilities Committee, was also removed from his post. Sheikh Sohel will re-place Mallick in the facilities com-mittee. BCB vice-president AZM Nasir Uddin was appointed as the chairman of disciplinary commit-tee taking over from Sohel.

“We did not make these changes to assess the development of the

committee. We did it as a part of the regular reshu� ing process, which we are doing after every four or six months,” said the BCB boss.

The BCB also appointed two junior selectors.

“The three selectors couldn’t go all over the country at a time. That’s why we will appoint two junior se-lectors to assist and keeping them updated about the new players.”

On the other hand, the board removed the 10-year suspension on umpire Nadir Shah. The Bang-ladesh umpire will now be able to o� ciate matches in the domestic league. Nadir was suspended af-ter he expressed his desire to alter the match in exchange of money in an Indian TV sting operation.

Along with that, the board has decided to sign a three-year deal with an Indian software com-pany for sophisticated software for match analysis. Top-ranked teams are now using this modern and sophisticated software.

The board also inked a deal with UNICEF to use their logo in collar and hand of players’ jersey as charity logo from now on. l

BCB tournament committee chairman Akram Khan will now take care of the cricket operations replacing Naimur Rahman

26DT Sport

Solid Afghans beat Hong Kongn Mazhar Uddin

Afghanistan kept their hopes alive for the solitary place of the Asia Cup 2016 main round as they beat Hong Kong by 66 runs in a must-win encounter of the Asia Cup quali� er at the Sher-e-Bangla Na-tional stadium yesterday.

However, Asghar Stanikzai and his team will be hoping UAE to lose their last match of the quali� er against Oman later on the day.

Despite a good start, Hong Kong lose their last seven wickets in just 25 runs and eventually bundled out on 112 in 17.1 overs after Najibullah Zadran of Afghanistan struck an unbeaten � fty to post a challenging

total of 178/7 in twenty overs.Earlier, after being asked to

bat, Afghanistan started positively and kept scoring quick runs where opener Mohammad Shahzad scored

25 o� 14 balls with three fours and a six. Skipper Stanikzai also struck a quick-� re 49 o� 35 balls with three sixes and four boundaries.

But Najibullah carried on and smashed some big blows as Af-ghanistan took 94 runs in the last nine overs when the 22-year-old re-mained not out on sixty o� just 35 balls featuring four sixes and three fours.

Hong Kong replied well and added � fty runs in the opening stand. Opener Kinchit Shah add-ed 29 o� 19 balls while his partner Anshuman Rath top scored with 41 runs facing 38 balls with four boundaries.

But Afghanistan came back bril-liantly to dismiss seven of the op-position batters on single digit as Hong Kong were eventually all-out with seventeen balls to spare. l

TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 23, 2016

BRIEF SCOREAfghanistan 178/7 in 20 overs

Najibullah 60*, Stanikzai 49, Aizaz 3-38Hong Kong 112 in 17.1 overs

Rath 41, Nabi 4-17Afghanistan won by 66 runs

MoM - Mohammad Nabi (Afghanistan)

Mahmudullah wants title for Mashn Minhaz Uddin Khan

The main round of the Asia Cup Twenty20 2016 will begin at Sher-e-Bangla National Stadium tomor-row. The tournament, being played in this format for the � rst time, is being seen as the preparation ground to the Asian sides for the ICC World Twenty20 2016 in India next month. However this will not down the importance of the tour-nament said Bangladesh all-round-er Mahmudullah.

One of the senior members in the Bangladesh squad, Mahmudllah said the Tigers will like to perform well in the tournament and if possi-

ble win the trophy for their captain Mashrafe Bin Mortaza. The veteran pacer has been a key to Bangladesh’s success in limited over cricket and Shakib-Mush� q will be delighted to honour him with the trophy.

The right-handed batsman cum spinner believes the participating teams will give out their best and so will hosts Bangladesh.

Bangladesh is hosting the tour-nament for the third consecutive time and following Tigers’ good run of form in limited over cricket in the recent past, they will try everything in order to fetch a good result from the tournament said Mahmudullah.

“This tournament is not just for

preparation. We will � ght for the championship. There is no option to take things lightly. A good start is important for our team and we are preparing keeping that in mind. We will carry the boost throughout the competition if we can get a good start,” said Mahmudullah to the media at SBNS yesterday.

“There is no bigger trophy than the Asia Cup and World Cup. We will try our best to get a good re-sult for Mashrafe. He has been an inspiration to the team and we will like to give him back something,” Mahmudullah added.

Hosts Bangladesh will start their campaign taking on giants India to-

morrow. The two nations maintain an exciting on-� eld rivalry. Bangla-desh have often pulled up good re-sults against India and the nation ex-pects an exciting encounter. When quarried if the Tigers be charged up for the game, Mahmudullah said, “There is nothing extra to it (the game). We are relaxed and have pret-ty well with our skill and � tness.”

“India have been playing good cricket recently so we will also need to play well for a good result. We are thinking of ourselves only to be honest. Starting with con� -dence will give us a kick start. With momentum we will be able to do well match by match I believe,” the

30-year-old explained.Bangladesh are yet to master the

shortest version of international cricket. There has been signi� cant improvement in one-day interna-tional and in Test the Tigers are getting in shape. But in Twenty20, Bangladesh lack behind, they are the 10th nation in the ICC rankings.

Mahmudullah believes Bangla-desh will be able to come-out of the shakiness in the format through this Asia Cup. The former Bangla-desh vice-captain also expects to erase the bitter memory of horri� c performance in the last Asia Cup and try to go closer to the � nal match of the tournament. l

Cricket Board to reward SA Games heroesn Minhaz Uddin Khan

The Bangladesh Cricket Board in its 13th board meeting yesterday de-cided to reward the national gold medalists in the recently conclud-ed 12th South Asian Games in Gu-wahati, India. BCB also decided to aid the Bangladesh Hockey Federa-tion to sign a quality foreign coach for the national team.

Swimmer Mahfuza Akter Shila ended Bangladesh’s 10-year wait by winning gold medal in 100m breaststroke and went onto bag her second gold in the competition in 50-metre breaststroke. BCB has de-cided to reward her with Tk10Lac for her two gold medals. The other gold medalist, Mabia Akter Sima-nata will be awarded Tk5Lac for winning in 63kg (women) weight-lifting event and make history.

Shooter Shakil Ahmed had got Bangladesh the fourth gold in the games and is also part of the re-ward list. l

Afghanistan players celebrate a wicket during their Asia Cup quali� er against Hong Kong in Mirpur yesterday MAINOOR ISLAM MANIK

Bangladesh allrounder Mahmudullah stretches his legs during a practice session in Mirpur yesterday MAINOOR ISLAM MANIK

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De Villiers smacks SouthAfrica to easy T20 winn Reuters

AB de Villiers plundered 71 runs o� 29 balls to lead South Africa to a nine-wicket victory over England and wrap up a 2-0 series win in the second Twenty20 International at the Wanderers on Sunday.

The tourists were bowled out for 171 in their last over and South Africa reached 172 with 32 balls to spare, wrapping up a comfortable win that stood in contrast to their narrow victory in Friday’s � rst en-counter in Cape Town.

De Villiers broke his own record for the fastest half-century by a South African in a T20 internation-al, trimming the mark from 23 to 21 balls.

Together with Hashim Amla, he enjoyed a � rst-wicket partnership of 125 to e� ectively seal victory before he was caught out on the boundary. Amla � nished unbeaten on 69.

England were their own worst enemies when Eoin Morgan ran out in-form batsman Alex Hales with the score on 61, but a 96-run partnership between the England captain and Jos Buttler had guid-ed the tourists to 157-3 in the 17th over.

They fell apart, however, when they then lost their last seven wick-ets for just 14 runs to leave South Africa with a modest target to chase at a ground where high scor-ing is the norm. l

TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 23, 2016

Strootman happy to return from injuryDutch mid� elder Kevin Strootman revealed his joy at becoming a “footballer again” after ending a 13-month injury lay-o� for Roma in a 5-0 rout of Palermo on Sunday. Strootman, 26, missed the 2014 World Cup in Brazil and dozens of Serie A and Champions League games because he has undergone three operations on his knee since joining the Serie A club in 2013. Having made only a handful of appearances last season, Strootman was given a standing ovation when he came o� the bench to replace Douglas Maicon with 13 minutes left .

– AFP

Querrey wins Delray Beach titleAmerican Sam Querrey won his � rst ATP World Tour title in four years when he defeated fellow countryman Rajeev Ram 6-4 7-6(6) at the Delray Beach Open on Sunday. The 28-year-old Querrey had not won since Los Angeles in 2012 and had to overcome a break in both sets to claim his eighth career title. “We were both a little nervous today, it wasn’t the cleanest match,” Querrey said. ”

–REUTERS

Cuevas outlasts Pella for Rio trophyUruguay’s Pablo Cuevas, coming o� an upset of Rafael Nadal, won his fourth career ATP title on Sunday, defeating Argentina’s Guido Pella 6-4, 6-7 (5/7), 6-4 in the Rio Open � nal. Cuevas smashed a forehand winner on the � nal point, the only break point either player managed in the last two sets, to claim the crown after two hours and 16 minutes at the clay court event.

–AFP

Player sent o� for showing referee red cardTrabzonspor’s Salih Dursun was sent o� for showing the referee a red card during his team’s 2-1 defeat by Galatasaray in a fractious Turkish league encounter on Sunday. The � ashpoint occurred in the 86th minute after referee Deniz Bitnel showed a straight red to Dursun’s team mate Luis Cavanda for a foul inside the penalty area. Trabzonspor’s players surrounded the o� cial to protest and, in the resulting melee, Dursun snatched the card out of Bitnel’s hand and waved it in the o� cial’s direction, earning himself a sending o� and reducing his team to seven men.

–REUTERS

QUICK BYTES

BRIEF SCORESEngland

171 (Buttler 54, Abbott 3-26)

South Africa172 for 1 (de Villiers 71, Amla 69*) South Africa won by 9 wickets

Advantage Barca as Real, Atletico heldn AFP

Cristiano Ronaldo missed a penalty as Real Madrid’s hopes of catching La Liga leaders Barcelona were all but ended with a 1-1 draw at Malaga on Sunday.

Madrid remain nine points be-hind Barca with 13 games to go after Raul Albentosa cancelled out Ronaldo’s opener.

Atletico Madrid also failed to gain signi� cant ground on Barca as they were held 0-0 at home by Vil-

larreal to move eight points behind in second.

However, Gary Neville’s upturn in fortunes as Valencia boss contin-ued with a third win in a week, 2-1 at Granada.

Zinedine Zidane’s men were left to rue Ronaldo’s miss from the spot to make it 2-0 before the break when Carlos Kameni dived to his left to parry the three-time World Player of the Year’s e� ort.

“It is obviously going to be di� -cult because we have dropped two

points, but we won’t give up,” said Zidane.

Chances were far harder to come by at the Vicente Calderon as the two best defences in the league stood � rm. A point consolidates Villarreal’s position in fourth, � ve points adrift of Real Madrid.

Elsewhere, Neville’s Valencia again rode their luck, but record-ed back-to-back league wins for just the second time this season as Granada passed up a wave of sec-ond-half opportunities. l

Rayo Vallecano 2-2 SevillaManucho 43, Miku 62 N’Zonzi 10, Iborra 20

Malaga 1-1 Real MadridAlbentosa 66 Ronaldo 33)

Athletic Bilbao 0-1 Real Sociedad Jonathas 17Granada 1-2 ValenciaEdgar Mendez 90+1 Parejo 55, Mina 90

Atletico 0-0 Villarreal

LA LIGA

South Africa batsman AB de Villiers, plays a shot during their second and the � nal T20 against England at the Wanderers Stadium in Johannesburg on Sunday AP

Coach’s protest halts play as ‘Auba’ seals Dortmund winn AFP

Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang scored his 21st league goal in Borussia Dortmund’s 1-0 win at Bayer Lever-kusen on Sunday after the referee made Bundesliga history by brie� y stopping play when the home coach refused to go to the stands.

Confusion reigned for nine sec-ond-half minutes at Leverkusen’s BayArena when Bayer coach Roger Schmidt refused match o� cial Felix Zwayer’s order to leave the sidelines which led to the game being halted.

Schmidt can expect heavy sanc-tions from the German FA (DFB), but later apologised for his behav-iour. The 48-year-old was furious that Dortmund were allowed to take a quick free kick in the build up to Aubameyang’s 64th-minute winner and stood his ground.

The controversy was triggered when Leverkusen striker Stefan Kiessling pushed over Dortmund’s Sven Bender in the Borussia half.

Later Schalke were held to a 1-1 draw at home to Stuttgart while South Korea’s Koo Ja-Cheol scored for Augsburg in their 1-0 win at bot-tom side Hanover. l

Watson claims second Riviera title in 3 yearsn AFP

Bubba Watson captured the North-ern Trust Open for the second time in three years on Sunday, emerging from a crowded leaderboard to win by just one stroke.

The two-time Masters winner now heads to the � rst major champion-ship of the season at Augusta Nation-al in seven weeks looking for his third green jacket. The 37-year-old Ameri-can, who also won at Paci� c Palisades in 2014, birdied two of his � nal three holes en route to a three-under 68 for a 15-under 269 total.

Watson’s playing partner, Jason Kokrak, fell just short in his quest for his � rst PGA title, closing with a 68 to � nish at 14 under and share second with Adam Scott.

Rory McIlroy’s hopes of launch-ing his Masters preparations with a victory fell apart after the world number three from Northern Ire-land � red a � nal round 75. l

BUNDESLIGALeverkusen 0-1 Dortmund Aubameyang 64

Schalke 1-1 VfB StuttgartBelhanda 14 Harnik 74

Hanover 96 0-0 Augsburg Koo 14

Malaga goalkeeper Carlos Kameni (R) helps Real Madrid forward Cristiano Ronaldo to stand up during their Spanish league match at La Rosaleda stadium in Malaga on Sunday AFP

28DT Sport

Roma legend Totti dropped after interviewn Reuters

Francesco Totti was left out of AS Roma’s squad for Sunday’s Serie A match against Palermo after the talismanic playmaker complained about a lack of playing time in a tel-evision interview.

Coach Luciano Spalletti said he had been left with no option but to drop Totti after his comments on Saturday and Totti was left to watch Roma’s 5-0 win, from the stands.

“It was just a moment of anger on his part, but I have to manage a group and maintain order,” Spallet-ti told after the game.

“He’s a great champion and de-serves respect but so does every-one else, otherwise anyone can say what they want at any time.”

Spalletti said the episode would be forgotten and Totti would be back in training from Monday.

Totti has missed three months of the season with a thigh muscle injury but told Rai television on Saturday that he had recovered and was ready to play.

“I don’t like being on the bench, I understand that I have to play less at my age but to � nish my career like this is tough for someone who has given so much to Roma.” l

Wenger demands bite against Barca as Juve host Bayernn AFP

Champions League holders Bar-celona arrive at the Emirates on Tuesday to tackle an Arsenal side seeking to rediscover the ruthless streak which deserted them in a tame weekend goalless FA Cup tie.

The clash headlines a week of European action that sees Bayern Munich at Juventus, PSV Eind-hoven hosting Atletico Madrid and Manchester City at Dynamo Kiev.

Barca and Arsenal are no strangers in this arena, the pair having fought out the 2006 � nal, with the Catalans prevailing over

Wenger’s ‘Invincibles’ 2-1 in Paris.Lionel Messi then scored four

times when Barca dished out a 4-1 drubbing to the Gunners in a 2010 quarter-� nal.

And the Argentine superstar in-spired a Barca second leg � ghtback after Arsenal edged the last 16, � rst leg home tie 2-1 in 2011.

To prevent a similar scenario this time around, Gunners coach Arsene Wenger has told his team to bare its teeth on Tuesday after Saturday’s 0-0 stalemate against second-tier Hull.

The Frenchman knows a sim-ilarly toothless display against

free-scoring Luis Suarez and Ney-mar will leave his men on the back foot for next month’s last 16, return leg at the Camp Nou.

Mesut Ozil, one of nine changes against Hull, will return to face Bar-celona after recovering from a cold.

Barca turn up seemingly � ring on all cylinders and eight points clear in La Liga after Suarez and Neymar teamed up in the week-end’s 2-1 win at Las Palmas.

Barca boss Luis Enrique rested only Gerard Pique, whilst Sergio Busquets was also suspended from the side that is expected to start in north London.

Bayern head to Turin to face last season’s runners-up Juve with the German giants having Thomas Mu-eller to thank for digging them out of trouble in a 3-1 home comeback win over Darmstadt over the week-end.

Mueller warned that Bayern cannot expect to enjoy the same 81 percent possession in Turin which allowed them to pepper in 36 shots on Darmstadt’s goal.

Juve are on a 16-match unbeat-en home run in European compe-tition, their last defeat coming in 2013 to Bayern in the Germans’ ti-tle-winning season.

Juventus striker Mario Mand-zukic is expected to return from a three-week injury lay-o� to come up against his old side. l

TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 23, 2016

Australia (Overnight 363-4)AUSTRALIA 1ST INNINGS R BVoges c Latham b Wagner 60 127Lyon c McCullum b Williamson 33 75Marsh c Nicholls b Wagner 18 40Nevill c Watling b Wagner 13 26Pattinson c Boult b Anderson 1 8Hazlewood c McCullum b Wagner 13 12Bird not out 4 7Extras (b9, lb10) 19

Total (10 wickets, 153.1 overs) 505Fall of wickets: 1-25 (Warner), 2-67 (Kha-waja), 3-356 (Burns), 4-357 (Smith), 5-438 (Lyon) 6-464 (Voges), 7-483 (Marsh), 8-484 (Pattinson), 9-496 (Nevill), 10-505 (Hazlewood)

BowlingSouthee 25-4-85-0, Boult 31-5-108-2, Henry 32-8-101-0, Anderson 22-2-66-1, Wagner 32.1-6-106-6, Williamson 7-0-17-1, McCullum 4-2-3-0

NEW ZEALAND 2ND INNINGSLatham c Nevill b Pattinson 39 71Guptill c Nevill b Pattinson 0 12Williamson not out 45 114Nicholls c Smith b Pattinson 2 10McCullum c Warner b Hazlewood 25 27Anderson not out 9 31Extras: (nb1) 1

Total (4 wickets; 44 overs) 121Fall of wicket: 1-8 (Guptill), 2-66 (Latham), 3-72 (Nicholls), 4-105 (McCullum)

BowlingHazlewood 15-5-40-1, Pattinson 12-5-29-3, Bird 7-1-26-0, Lyon 2-0-8-0, Marsh 8-2-18-0 (nb1)

SCORECARD, DAY 3

Atalanta 2-3 FiorentinaConti 84, Pinilla 90+1 Fernandez 67, Tello 81, Kalinic 87

Genoa 2-1 Udinese(Cerci 57-pen, Laxalt 70) (Ali Adnan 33)

Sassuolo 3-2 EmpoliBerardi 41, Defrel 48, 50 Zielinski 36, Maccarone 70-pen

Torino 0-0 CarpiFrosinone 0-0 LazioRoma 5-0 PalermoDzeko 30, 89, Keita 52,Salah 60, 62

SERIE A

McCullum gone for good as Aussies scent victoryn AFP

Brendon McCullum drew the cur-tain on his illustrious batting career as a typically pugnacious but short-lived innings Monday was unable to loosen Australia’s � rm grip on the second Test in Christchurch.

On an emotional day when players and fans marked the � fth anniversary of the devastating Christchurch earthquake, the cap-tain’s departure in his 101st and � nal Test left New Zealand staring down the barrel.

At the end of the third day New Zealand were 121-4, needing a fur-ther 14 to make Australia bat again, but refusing to concede.

“It’s 1-0 in the series and we’ve got to go out there and try and win this Test match,” BJ Watling said.

“We’ve just got to try and get a to-tal on the board that we can win the game (with); that’s the ultimate goal.”

McCullum arrived for his fare-well innings at 72-3 but after 25 o� 27 deliveries, the man who hit the fastest ever Test century in the � rst innings was out.

His second-to-last whack sent Josh Hazlewood for a record-ex-tending 107th six over square leg. But when he danced down the wicket for a repeat performance o� the next ball he was caught by Da-vid Warner.

After Australian captain Steve Smith ran over to shake McCul-lum’s hand and acknowledge the New Zealand captain’s contribu-tion to the game, he was gone for the last time.

It had been a memorable Test for McCullum with a rollicking 145 in the � rst innings, reaching his cen-tury in a record 54 balls, when he de� ed the accepted rules of cricket by lashing out on a seaming wicket.

After that innings he said what mattered most was winning the Test, but that now seems unlikely.

A magical spell from James Pattinson to rip through New Zea-land’s top order gave Australia a sight of victory and a return to the number one world ranking.

Kane Williamson was not out 45 at stumps with Corey Anderson on nine. l

Brendon McCullum salutes the crowd as he leaves the � eld for the last time for New Zealand after being dismissed for 25 by Australia’s Josh Hazelwood on the third day of their second Test at Hagley Park Oval in Christchurch yesterday AFP

AS Roma fan holds a banner reading 'I'm with Totti' in support to forward Francesco Totti during their italian Serie A match against Palermo in Rome on Sunday AFP

(L-R) Arsenal players Calum Chambers, Aaron Ramsey, Olivier Giroud, Mathieu Flamini, Mesut Ozil and Francis Coquelin jog during training at the Arsenal Training Ground on the eve of their Champions League match against Barcelona REUTERS

Sport 29D

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TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 23, 2016

DAY’SWATCHFOOTBALL

TEN SPORTS1:45AM

UEFA Champions League Juventus v Bayern

Ten ACTIONUEFA Youth League

9:00PMChelsea v Valencia

11:00PMReal Madrid v Manchester City

1:45AMUEFA Champions League

Arsenal v Barcelona

KABADDI Star SPORTS 2

Pro Kabaddi League 8:30PM

Kolkata v Mumbai 9:30PM

Jaipur v Patna

FA CUP, 5TH ROUNDBlackburn 1-5 West HamMarshall 20 Moses 26, Payet 36, 90+2, Emenike 64, 85

Chelsea 5-1 Manchester CityCosta 35, Willian 48, Cahill 53, Hazard 67, Traore 89 Faupala 37

Tottenham 0-1 Crystal Palace Kelly 45

Eden Hazard scores Chelsea's fourth goal from a free kick

against Manchester City during their FA Cup Fifth Round match at

Stamford Bridge on SundayREUTERS

Chelsea crush weakened City, Spurs knocked outn Reuters, London

Chelsea exploited Manchester City’s decision to � eld a weakened team by romping to a 5-1 win in the FA Cup � fth round on Sunday as they joined London rivals West Ham United and Crystal Palace in the quarter-� nals.

Second-half goals by Willian,

Gary Cahill, Eden Hazard and Ber-trand Traore, after the teams went into the break level at 1-1, under-lined Chelsea’s dominance over a side keeping their powder dry for Wednesday’s Champions League tie at Dinamo Kiev.

City, who play Liverpool in the League Cup � nal at Wembley next Sunday, have now lost three

matches in a row.Chelsea face a sti� er task in the

next round away to Everton who they beat in the 2009 FA Cup � nal.

Crystal Palace’s reward for a 1-0 win at Premier League title-chasers Tottenham Hotspur was a plumb away tie with second-tier Reading who shocked top � ight visitors West Bromwich Albion 3-1 on Saturday.

Manchester City boss Manuel Pellegrini had threatened to sacri-� ce the FA Cup by making multiple changes.

Five players -- Manu Garcia, Aleix Garcia, Tosin Adarabiyo, Ber-sant Celina and David Faupala -- made debuts as the likes of Sergio Aguero, Yaya Toure and Raheem Sterling were rested. l

Argentina, Chile face rematch after Copa drawn AFP

Lionel Messi and Argentina were giv-en a chance for revenge on Sunday after being drawn against reigning Copa America champions Chile in the group stage for this summer’s special centenary edition of the tournament.

Argentina su� ered an agonizing defeat to Chile in the climax of last June’s tournament in Santiago as their major championship drought continued.

However, Messi and his teammates have the opportunity to strike back at Chile after being drawn alongside their South American rivals in Group D here Sunday. The Copa America Centenario is taking place outside South America for the � rst time this year to mark 100 years of the world’s oldest international football tourna-ment. l

Former football star Alexi Lalas pulls a draw as former star Carlos Valderrama looks onduring the 2016 Copa America Centenario draw event at Hammerstein Ballroom at New York on Sunday REUTERS

GROUP AUSA

ColombiaCosta RicaParaguay

GROUP B Brazil

EcuadorHaitiPeru

GROUP CMexico

UruguayJamaica

VenezuelaGROUP DArgentina

ChilePanamaBolivia

Showtime30DT

TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 23, 2016

n Showtime Desk

Fire at Sea, a documentary about Europe’s migrant crisis, has won the Golden Bear award for best movie at the Berlin Film Festival, which came to an end on February 21.

Gianfranco Rosi’s harrowing movie clinched the top prize from a jury led by three-time Oscar-winner Meryl Streep.

Fire at Sea (Fuocoammare) depicts life on the Mediterranean island of Lampedusa. The Eritrean-born Rosi, who spent several months on Italy’s Lampedusa making the � lm, dedicated the prize to its residents, “who open their hearts to other people.”

“I hope to bring awareness. It’s not acceptable that people die crossing the sea to escape from tragedies,” he said.

Streep said her seven-member jury was “swept away” by Fire at Sea. She said, “It’s a daring hybrid of captured footage and deliberate storytelling that allows us to consider what a documentary can do. It is urgent, imaginative and necessary � lmmaking.”

The picture is told through the eyes of a 12-year-old local boy, Samuele Pucillo and a doctor, Pietro Bartolo, who has been tending to the dehydrated,

malnourished and traumatised new arrivals for a quarter-century.

In chilling footage, Rosi accompanied coastguard rescue missions answering the terri� ed SOS calls of people on boats, most of them arriving from Libya. Many of the vessels are packed with corpses of people who su� ocated from diesel fumes.

The best director award went to Mia Hansen for Love for Things to Come.

Tunisian actor Majd Mastoura won best actor for his role in the love story Inhebbek Hedi, while the Silver Bear for best actress went to Denmark’s Trine Dyrholm for her role as a wronged wife in Thomas Vinterberg’s The Commune, a semi-autobiographical take on his 1970s childhood.

Majd Mastoura said, “I give this gift to the great Tunisian people, all the martyrs of the revolution, everyone who contributed to the revolution. I hope we will continue on being free, being happy, producing good art.”

The Silver Bear Grand Jury Prize was awarded to Death in Sarajevo and its director Danis Tanovic.

In other prizes, France’s Mia Hansen-Love won the Silver Bear for best director for her drama Things to Come, starring Isabelle Huppert as a philosophy teacher whose marriage falls apart just as

her elderly mother dies.The festival, now in its

66th year, had placed a special spotlight on the refugee issue, after Germany let in more than 1.1 million asylum seekers last year.

Donation boxes to support charities helping torture survivors were placed at cinema venues, and festival internships and free tickets were reserved for migrants.

George Clooney, whose Hail, Caesar! opened the event, even met with German Chancellor Angela Merkel with his wife Amal “to talk about how best we can help.”

A more than eight-hour-long historical epic by Filipino director Lav Diaz, A lullaby to the Sorrowful Mystery, claimed the Alfred Bauer Prize for a feature � lm that opens new perspectives in cinema.

Best screenplay went to Polish � lmmaker Tomasz Wasilewski, his portrait of the pivotal 1989-90 period in his country as told through four women, played by some of Poland’s best-known theatre actresses, at crossroads in their lives.

Last year’s Golden Bear went to Iranian dissident director Jafar Panahi’s Taxi.

The 11-day festival ended with screenings of the most popular featured � lms. lSources: BBC, AFP

Fire at Sea wins Golden Bear at Berlin fest

n Showtime Desk

A reminder for the ultimate award extravaganza of the year, the 88th Academy Awards is all set to take place on February 28. The Showtime team is hosting an Oscar Prediction Contest for the readers.

The Dhaka Tribune Oscar Prediction Contest is a competition in which participants compete to guess the 2016 Academy Award winners in selected 12 categories of nominations. The selected categories are Best Picture, Actor in a Leading Role, Actress in a Leading Role, Actor in a Supporting Role, Actress in a Supporting Role, Animated Feature Film, Cinematography, Directing,  Documentary Feature, Foreign Language Film, Music Original Score and Writing Original Screenplay.

Exciting packages of prize are awaiting for the top three winners. Name an individual nominee from each category and mail us at showtime.dt@dhakatribune.com

O� cial RulesContestants must provide their

name and email address (phone number optional).

Contestants may only check one (1) nominee per category.

Any categories left blank or with multiple nominees checked will be counted as incorrect and the participant will be disquali� ed.

Individuals must be 18 years of age or older to participate.

Prizes are determined by the number of correct answers.

Contestants will be noti� ed of prizes won via email by March 3, 2016. Winners will be announced on Showtime and Dhaka Tribune’s website.

Contest Time FrameThe Contest begins on Sunday, January 26, 2016 and ENDS on Sunday, February 27, 2016. All participants must submit their list of predictions by the deadline on February 27, 2016 to qualify.

Here is the list of nominees in selected 12 categories,

BEST PICTUREThe Big ShortBridge of SpiesBrooklynMad Max: Fury RoadThe MartianThe RevenantRoomSpotlight

ACTOR IN A LEADING ROLEBryan Cranston, TrumboMatt Damon, The MartianLeonardo DiCaprio, The RevenantMichael Fassbender, Steve JobsEddie Redmayne, The Danish Girl

ACTRESS IN A LEADING ROLECate Blanchett, CarolBrie Larson, RoomJennifer Lawrence, JoyCharlotte Rampling, 45 YearsSaoirse Ronan, Brooklyn

ACTOR IN A SUPPORTING ROLEChristian Bale, The Big ShortTom Hardy, The RevenantMark Ru� alo, SpotlightMark Rylance, Bridge of Spies

Sylvester Stallone, Creed

ACTRESS IN A SUPPORTING ROLEJennifer Jason Leigh, The Hateful EightRooney Mara, CarolRachel McAdams, SpotlightAlicia Vikander, The Danish GirlKate Winslet, Steve Jobs

ANIMATED FEATURE FILMAnomalisaBoy and the WorldInside OutShaun the Sheep MovieWhen Marnie Was There

CINEMATOGRAPHYCarolThe Hateful EightMad Max: Fury RoadThe RevenantSicario

DIRECTINGThe Big ShortMad Max: Fury RoadThe RevenantRoomSpotlight

DOCUMENTARY (FEATURE)AmyCartel LandThe Look of SilenceWhat Happened, Miss Simone?Winter on Fire: Ukraine’s Fight for Freedom

FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILMEmbrace of the SerpentMustangSon of SaulTheebA War

MUSIC (ORIGINAL SCORE)Bridge of SpiesCarolThe Hateful EightSicarioStar Wars: The Force Awakens

WRITING (ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY)Bridge of SpiesEx MachinaInside OutSpotlightStraight Outta Compton 

Dhaka Tribune Oscar prediction contest: last call

n Showtime Desk

Bapjaner Bioscope, presented by Karukaj Films, has been reported to go for alternative screening at a yet-to-be-speci� ed area within the country. Sanjida Tanmoy, Shahiduzzaman Selim and Shatabdi Wadud shall be starring in the � lm, which was previously released in theaters on December 18 last year, but for unknown circumstances, it was taken out again a day later.

The campaign for the � lm

commenced in Chittagong and is currently screening in Kushtia from February 21 to 23. The � lm’s cast and crew were present on the occasion.

A directorial debut for Reazul Rezu, the � lm is written by Masum Reza, who expressed: “We tried to make a real Bangladeshi � lm, ones we used to watch with our parents and family when we were kids. Simultaneously, we made an e� ort to make it intriguing to contempo-rary viewers as well.”

The director complained that

when his � lm was � rst released across 42 theaters, it was taken out just a day after. This result-ed from a catalyst being stirred by a group of conspirators who were against the � lm. Ultimate-ly, audiences from all over the country missed an opportunity to watch it.

The director said that he had no other option but to go for an alternative screening for Bapjaner Bioscope, which shall take place in Dhaka after the campaigns in Khulna and Tangail. l

Showtime 31D

TTUESDAY, FEBRUARY 23, 2016

WHAT TO WATCH

Save With Jamie: Paella TLC 9:30pmJam-packed with bold � avours, money-saving tips and show-stopping recipes, Jamie Oliver is back to demonstrate how to create tasty, nutritious food without busting the bank. Each episode features � ve colourful dishes, crafted carefully to make them a� ordable without compromising on � avour. Let Jamie show you some nifty tips, and discover how you can eat like a king, whatever the budget.Host: Jamie Oliver

Parker HBO 2:40pmA thief with a unique code of professional ethics is double-crossed by his crew and left for dead. Assuming a new disguise and forming an unlikely alliance with a woman on the inside, he looks to hijack the score of the crew’s latest heist. Cast: Jason Statham, Jennifer Lopez, Michael Chiklis, Wendell Pierce, Clifton Collins Jr, Bobby Cannavale

61st Filmfare Awards 2015 (cutdown)Sony Entertainment TV 10pmThe 61st Filmfare Awards were held to honour the best � lms of 2015 from the Hindi-language � lm industry on January 15,

2016 at the Yash Raj Studio in Mumbai. The ceremony was hosted by Shah Rukh Khan and comedian Kapil Sharma. Hosts: Shah Rukh Khan, Kapil Sharma

Yeh Rishta Kya Kehlata Hai Star World 10pmYeh Rishta Kya Kehlata Hai is a story of love � nding its way after an arranged marriage and how two people bond and blossom together after entering into sacred ties of matrimony. The story revolves around Akshara a shy, demure, obedient daughter who has been brought up like a princess in a traditional Marwari family. Soon comes the desired moment of marriage for Akshara and she experiences emotions beyond those that she is familiar with. The story is her journey from being the ideal daughter to a person striving hard to understand her new situation to ultimately move towards falling in love with her husband.

Top Chef AXN 9:30pmTwelve Aspiring Chef Compete for the coveted Title of Top Chef as they Creatively whip up a storm to escape elimination. Host: Katie Lee Joel

‘Bapjaner Bioscope’ returns

Back Page32DT

TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 23, 2016

FIRE AT SEA WINS GOLDEN BEAR AT BERLIN FEST PAGE 30

14% IPOS TRADED BELOW ISSUE PRICES PAGE 15

MAHMUDULLAH WANTS TITLE FOR MASH PAGE 26

AMAR EKUSHEY BOOK FAIR 2016

Classics remain readers’ favouriten Nure Alam Durjoy

More than 2,500 new books have been published at Amar Ekushey Boi Mela 2016 so far, yet clas-sics seem to be high on demand among avid readers.

It is not only classic Bangla lit-erature that the readers look for; translation of foreign classics are also popular, according to many book stall attendants and publish-ers at the fair.

They said the demand for clas-sics have never really diminished; rather, it had increased over the years – more so in the past decade. So to meet the demand, publish-ers have been bringing in reprints and new editions of the literary classics at the fair every year.

“We have brought an 11-volume set of the works of Syed Mujtaba Ali, which has proven to be very popular among readers and earned us their praise,” said Tahir M Asif, in-charge of Bishwo Shahitto Ken-dro stall. “It is perhaps one of our best sales at the fair this year.”

“Classics are timeless. They re-tain their glory through generations of readers. These books are useful to understand society, culture and literature as well,” said renowned writer and Dhaka University profes-sor Syed Manzoorul Islam.

Shammi Soha, a student at

Buet, said she had bought books of Syed Mujtaba Ali and Shawkat Osman. “I like the works of these two writers. I have been planning to collect some other classics too.”

Of the foreign literature, the translation of Iliad, an ancient Greek

epic by Homer, was one of the most sought-after classic, said attendants of Pathak Samabesh stall.

Attendants at the stalls of dif-ferent publishing houses said other Bangali authors whose works are among the most popu-

lar choices include literary greats like Rabindranath Tagore, Kazi Nazrul Islam, Michael Madhusu-dan Dutt, Mir Mosharraf Hossain, Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay, Tarashankar Bandopadhyay and Bibhutibhushan Bandopadhyay.

In children’s literature, works of Sukumar Ray, Dakshinaranjan Mitra Majumder and Upendrok-ishore Ray are most on demand.

Yesterday saw at least 64 new books published, raising the num-ber of new arrivals at 2,670. l

Miscreants attempted to set � re to the stall of Platform Publications on Ekushey Book Fair premises yesterday. They used paper and fuel to ignite the blaze just outside the stall on Suhrawardy Udyan, but quick action from those nearby prevented any serious damage DHAKA TRIBUNE

Ekushey book fair in the Haguen Tribune Report

An event re� ecting the Ekushey National Book Fair of Bangladesh was held at the Hague, Netherlands on Sunday in solidarity with exiled and threatened Bangladeshi intel-lectuals, writers and bloggers.

The event featured talks and panel discussions on the threats faced by bloggers, writers and pub-lishers in Bangladesh from extrem-ists, and wider issues around free-dom of thought and expression, a press note said.

The event, hosted at the Hu-manity House museum, was organ-ised by the Hague Peace Projects and much-talked-about secularist community blog Mukto-Mona. l

Second Nasa Space Apps hackathon in Bangladesh announcedn Tribune Report

For the second consecutive year, world’s largest hackathon Nasa Space Apps Challenge 2016 organ-ised by USA’s space agency National Aeronautics and Space Administra-tion (Nasa) is coming to Bangladesh.

Along with over a hundred cities around the world, the competition is going to be held on April 22-24 in Dhaka, Chittagong and Sylhet. The winners will get the opportunity to participate in the � nal.

Like last year, Bangladesh Asso-ciation of Software and Information Services (BASIS) is hosting the event.

BASIS President Shameem Ah-san announced this year’s hacka-thon at a press conference held its o� ce in the capital yesterday.

He said: “We hope to get solu-tions to global challenges involving information technology and sci-ence though this challenge.

“It will open the door to em-ployment and engagement in Nasa and other international agencies for Bangladeshis. Someday tech-nologies invented by Bangladeshis will be used on the Mars, moon and in space.”

Ariful Hasan Opu, BASIS direc-tor and convener of the Nasa Space

Apps Challenge 2016, said this year boot camps will be organised on a large scale in three divisions and six teams – two teams from each – will be selected to compete in the � nal challenge at Nasa.

To spread this competition countrywide BASIS Students’ Fo-rum will organise seminars in 100 universities of 64 districts. The participants will be guided by the leading mentors of the country.

This year participants will de-sign solutions to mission-related challenges broken into six cate-gories: Aeronautics, International Space Station, Solar System and

Beyond, Technology, Earth, and Journey to Mars.

The participants will be able to take part in this challenge by regis-tering alone or as a team at http://studentsforum.basis.org.bd/ be-fore March 20. Details about the competition can be found at http://spaceappschallenge.org.

The competition will be sup-ported by BASIS Students’ Forum and CloudCamp Bangladesh, and sponsored by Pbazaar.com and Bag-doom.com. Academic partners are Rajshahi University, Independent University of Bangladesh, and Chit-tagong Independent University. l

Arson attempt at the book fair Miscreants tried to set a book stall on � re yesterday at Amar Ekushey Book Fair in Dhaka.

Prasenjit Roy, salesman of Platform Publication’s stall No 492, said some miscreants torched papers and threw them at the stall around 6pm yesterday.

Soon after the incident, the � re was doused before it could cause any damage to the stall, he continued.

Later, Jalal Ahmed, secre-tary of Amar Ekushey Book Fair Committee, visited the book stall and found the smell of kerosene on the spot.

Analysing CCTV footage, police found two youths sus-piciously moving around the stall at the time of the inci-dent, he added. l

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