SECOND EDITION

SUNDAY, JANUARY 17, 2016 | Magh 4, 1422, Rabius Sani 6, 1437 | Regd No DA 6238, Vol 3, No 271 | www.dhakatribune.com | 32 pages | Price: Tk10

TAIWAN ELECTS 1ST FEMALE PRESIDENT PAGE 21

CRASHES KILL TWO SCHOOLGIRLS PAGE 3

23 killed in jihadist attack on Burkina Faso hoteln AFP

At least 23 people from 18 countries were killed in an attack by jihadist gunmen on a top hotel and a restaurant in the capital of Bur-kina Faso, before security forces ended the siege on Saturday and killed four assailants.

A total of 126 people were freed, including 33 wounded, from the four-star Splendid ho-tel, popular with Westerners and UN person-nel, after security forces retook the 147-room facility and the Cappuccino restaurant near-by in the early hours of Saturday, Interior Minister Simon Compaore told AFP.

The jihadists’ assault had been complete-ly crushed by midday Saturday, a security source said. Four jihadists, including two women, were killed in the counter-assault.

Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM) claimed responsibility for the attack saying it was “revenge against France and the dis-believing West”, according to a statement carried by US-based monitoring group SITE.

The attackers were members of the Al-Murabitoun group based in Mali and run by Mokhtar Belmokhtar, SITE said.

The security source said at least 23 people from 18 countries were killed in the jihadists’ assaults, adding that the toll could yet rise.

Aside from the four jihadists killed, a � fth

attacker could be seen rushing into a nearby bar, according to witnesses who managed to escape.

Compaore told AFP earlier that � re� ght-ers had seen 10 bodies on the terrace of the restaurant.

A total of “126 people, including at least 33 wounded, have been freed.Three jihadists -- an Arab and two black Afri-cans -- have been killed,” Compaore said.

President Roch Marc Christian Kabore, who took o� ce just last month, visited the hotel Saturday but made no immediate comment.

Communication Minister Remis Dan-djinou told AFP the counter-assault was carried out by Burkinabe troops with the support of French special forces. He also said that among those who escaped unharmed was Labour Minister Clement Sawadogo.

- ‘There was blood everywhere’ -Early Saturday, a � re raged at the main

entrance of the hotel in Ouagodougou and screams could be heard from inside, while on the street outside about 10 vehicles were set alight.

“It was horrible, people were sleeping and there was blood everywhere. They were � ring at people at close range,” Yannick Sawadogo, one of those who escaped, told AFP.

PAGE 2 COLUMN 1

n Arifur Rahman Rabbi in Dhaka and Tanvir Hossain in Narayanganj

Police last night recovered � ve of a family with throats slit in a house in Baburail area of Narayanganj sadar upazila.

The dead are Taslima, 35, her daughter Su-mayia, 7, son Shanto, 10, brother Morshedul

Islam, 20, and sister-in-law Lamia, 20.According to police, the murders might

have been committed sometime between Friday night and yesterday morning.

Taslima’s brother-in-law Shobuj said he and his mother found the two-room apart-ment locked from the outside when they

PAGE 2 COLUMN 4

Chronicles of a gangster copSI Masud Sikder is known as a ruthless crime boss in his localityn Kamrul Hasan with Asruf Uddin Seizel

from Mymensingh

Sub-Inspector Masud Sikder, who recently made headlines for allegedly assaulting and threatening a central bank o� cial in Dhaka, is known as a crook, drug lord, extortionist and pimp in his locality.

Locals claimed Masud’s activities in his village home of Soyaitpur in Mymensingh’s Fulbaria centred around his ambition to be-come the Eneyetpur union parishad chair-man in future.

His misuse of power has turned him into a local terror. “SI Masud,” one of the locals said, “was born into a poor family. But he became rich very quickly after joining police thanks to drug peddling, extortion and pimping.”

Police sources said Masud had misused power in the past for which he was warned and suspended. He was accused of corrup-

tion and extortion and threatening to kill people. But he managed to stay in his job.

Masud joined police as a constable in 1997. Locals said he got the job not because he was quali� ed but because his family supported

the Awami League. His father-in-law, one Ansar Ali, was the alleged leader of a local robber gang.

Everyone the Dhaka Tribune spoke to PAGE 2 COLUMN 1

Masud suspendedn Arifur Rahman Rabbi

Sub-Inspector Masud Sikder was suspended yesterday for allegedly torturing a central bank o� cial and threatening him with death at Mohammadpur last week.

The Dhaka Metropolitan Police and the police headquarters formed separate com-mittees to investigate the incident. Detective Branch Joint Commissioner Monirul Islam said Masud had been suspended based on � ndings of the primary investigation.

On January 9, Masud reportedly tortured Bangladesh Bank o� cial Golam Rabbi, threatened to kill him and demanded Tk5 lakh as ransom. He was withdrawn after Rab-bi had � led a written complaint.

Sub-Inspector Akash of Jatrabari police station beat up Dhaka South City Corpora-tion’s inspector Bikash Chandra Das, 40, at Dholairpar last week.

PAGE 2 COLUMN 3

He quickly became rich after joining police, through drug peddling, extortion and pimping

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VOLUNTEER TRAINING COMES TO LITTLE USE PAGE 32

Five of a family found with throats slit in Narayanganj

Morsheda Begum wails after her daughter Taslima, along with four others, is found dead in a � at in Baburail area of Narayanganj yesterday DHAKA TRIBUNE

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1

23 killed in jihadist attack on Burkina hotel“We heard them speaking and they were walking around people and � ring at people who were not dead. And when they came out they started a � re.”

The attack comes less than two months after a jihadist siege at the luxuryRadisson Blu hotel in the Malian capital Bamako left 20 people dead, including 14 foreigners -- an attack claimed by the same Al-Qaeda a� liate behind the Ouagadougouassault.

The head of the city’s main hospital said prior to the start of the counter-assault that 20 people had been killed and that there were “more white people than black” among

the dead.A French source meanwhile put the death

toll at 27 dead.An AFP reporter at one point saw three

men clad in turbans � ring at the scene on Avenue Kwame Nkrumah, one of Ouagadou-gou’s main thoroughfares.

A witness also reported seeing four assail-ants who were of Arab or white appearance and “wearing turbans”.

SITE published a clip from a phone con-versation with one of the � ghters participat-ing in the attack.

“I counted 18 but there are at least 30 dead,” the jihadist claims.

‘Odious, cowardly’The French embassy said on its website earli-er that a “terrorist attack” was underway and urged people to avoid the area.

French President Francois Hollande in a statement condemned the “odious and cow-ardly attack.”

With Ouagadougou airport closed because of the attack, and an Air France � ight from Paris to Ouagadougou was diverted to neigh-bouring Niger.

A US defence o� cial, speaking on condi-tion of anonymity, said Washington could provide drone-based surveillance.

The Burkinabe army, meanwhile, said a

heavily-armed group of about 20 people had also carried out an attack on Friday near the border with Mali, killing two people -- a po-lice o� cer and a civilian -- and leaving two others wounded.

Several attacks have taken place in Bur-kina Faso in recent months, but no such as-saults had hit the capital.

In April the Romanian security chief of a mine in northern Tambao was kidnapped in a move also claimed by Belmokhtar’s Al-Mu-rabitoun group.

Burkina Faso is part of the G5 Sahel group-ing that counts the � ght against terrorism as part of its remit. l

News2DT

SUNDAY, JANUARY 17, 2016

Chronicles of a gangster copdeclined to be named fearing for their safe-ty. According to them, Masud’s swanky life-style earned him a fan following in the area that helped him form his own gang – ‘Masud Bahini’. He was not directly involved in local politics but used his gang to do his bidding.

The policeman could not be contacted while his family and relatives declined com-ments for this article.

Locals claimed Masud used three of his purported gang members – Sohel, Sabuj and Julhas – to extort money in Dhaka. The local Chhatra League unit expelled the trio, saying they had found evidence of their complicity in crimes.

His ancestral home is in Soyaitpur, some 20km away from Fulbaria municipality, where his father Siraj Ali Sikder had a small tin-shed hut, which according to locals, was his only asset. But things changed soon after Masud joined police.

He now owns a house in Soyaitpur bazar which he uses as a base for running his illegal a� airs, locals alleged. They claimed Masud ran his pimping business through his tenant and whenever he visited the place, he would indulge in drugs with his gang.

Fulbaria police station’s O� cer-in-Charge Rifat Khan Rajib denied having any knowl-edge about Masud’s alleged involvement in illegal business. He said he had heard that

Masud was on good terms with local youths.Locals said Masud’s two younger brothers

were involved in drug peddling and other crimes. His younger brother Shahid Sikder allegedly oversaw the drug business while the youngest, Habib Sikder, was involved in criminal activities and a racket run by Masud in the capital – although the family insisted Habib was working in the Maldives.

Shahid had reportedly told locals that his brother was suspended as the incident was reported in the media but he would be cleared of the charges once the dust settled.

Masud, born in 1978, completed his SSC from Ghunarchala High School in 1993 and HSC from Bangladesh Open University after joining police. He was transferred to Narsh-ingdi in 2000 where he was accused of cor-ruption, police sources said.

He was promoted to an assistant sub-in-spector in 2007 and posted at the Dhanmon-di police station. He was deputed to RAB-7 in February 2012. Two years later, Masud was promoted to a sub-inspector and posted at Mohammadpur.

Last week, Masud allegedly threatened to kill Bangladesh Bank o� cial Golam Rab-bi and demanded Tk5 lakh as ransom from him. Rabbi claimed the SI had also snatched his wallet. Masud was suspended yesterday.

Detective Branch Joint Commissioner

Monirul Islam told reporters that SI Masud was suspended based on � ndings of the pri-mary investigation. l

Masud suspendedPolice’s Wari division Deputy Commissioner Nurul Huq told the Dhaka Tribune that the Jatrabari police OC had been verbally or-dered to keep away the accused policeman from o� cial work for now.

National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) chairman Mizanur Rahman visited Bikash yesterday. He lamented the growing “culture of impunity” and feared letting o� the accused would create insecurity among the citizens.

Monirul Islam said: “They will be punished if they are found guilty. The police department will not take responsibility for crimes committed by its members.”

Rabbi’s cousin Jahid Hasan told the Dhaka Tribune that Rabbi’s condition had improved but he was still traumatised.

He said the probe committee, headed by Additional DIG Harun-or-Rashid, visited Rabbi yesterday.

Replying to a question, Monirul said they had introduced counselling sessions for policemen to prevent recurrence of such incidents. l

Five of a familycame to visit the family yesterday afternoon. They tried Taslima’s mobile phone but found it unreachable. Even the neighbours could not give them any idea where the family could have gone.

Several hours later they informed police, who came and broke into the apartment and found the dead bodies – three on the � oor in one room and the two others in the second room, Shobuj said.

Mohammad Ali, deputy inspector general of police, who visited the crime scene late last night, said they were primarily suspect-ing that the murders might be results of fam-ily feud.

The DIG also said that they had so far ar-rested two people in connection with the murders.

Based on primary � ndings, police believe that the killers were possibly acquaintances of the family and paid frequent visits. Inves-tigators are also ruling out theft or robbery because nothing so far have been reported missing from the small apartment and there were no signs of struggle.

While talking to our Narayanganj corre-spondent Tanvir Hossain, Taslima’s mother Morsheda Begum said the killings might be result of disputes over money matters that her son-in-law Sha� qul Islam might have had with some lenders in Dhaka.

Taslima’s husband Sha� qul, who drives the car of a private company in Dhaka’s Hatirpul, is now in police custody and being interrogated.

Morsheda said Sha� qul had borrowed several hundred thousand taka at high inter-est rate from some powerful moneylenders in Dhaka. But he has not been able to pay the interests and so the moneylenders have been threatening him for quite some time.

Sha� qul used to live in Dhanmondi along with his family; they moved to the small apartment in Narayanganj only three months ago, Morsheda said.

She also said that the people to whom her son-in-law owed the money might be behind the murders.

Both the families of Morsheda and Sha� qul hailed from the Nandail upazila of Mymensingh.

The Crime Scene Unit of police’s Criminal Investigation Department (CID) collected ev-idence from the apartment. O� cials of Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) have also visited the place.

When this report was being � led around 1:10am, the dead bodies were still at the crime scene. Police said the bodies would be sent to the 100-bed General Hospital in Narayanganj sadar upazila for autopsy. lFrench soldiers arrive at the site of the attack in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso yesterday REUTERS

Protesters, supporters of Chunarughat economic zone stage demos n Tribune Report

Tension spread in Habiganj district’s Chunarughat upazila yesterday as the pro-economic zone ruling party leaders and activists and anti-economic zone tea garden workers staged demonstrations and rallies in the area.

Local Awami League and Jubo League leaders and activists brought out a proces-sion and held a rally under the banner of Chunarughat Upazila Citizens’ Committee yesterday afternoon, our correspondent in Habiganj reported.

The rally was addressed by International Crimes Tribunal Prosecutor Syed Sayedul Haque Suman, renowned industrialist Ka-wsarul Gani, Awami League leader Adbul Quddus and Jubo League leader Yakub Miah, among others.

Fearing an attack by the pro-econom-ic zone faction, tea garden workers in the upazila also gathered together and staged their own protest rally and procession.

While protesting, the tea labourers reiter-ated their vow to never let an economic zone be established on arable land.

They urged all tea garden workers to join and make successful their inde� nite strike

starting from January 21 and Dhaka-My-mensingh highway blockade on January 25.

When contacted, Chunarughat police sta-tion OC Amulya Kumar Chowdhury told the Dhaka Tribune that police were aware of the tense situation and were present in the area during the protests.

No violence occurred and the two oppos-ing groups did not get involved in any clash, he added.

But Rambhajan Kairi, secretary general of the central committee of Bangladesh Tea La-bourers’ Union, said two tea garden workers were assaulted by unknown miscreants later yesterday in Chunarughat. “I was informed about it later.”

However, he said, no violence occurred between the supporters and protesters of the economic zone during the demonstration de-spite a tense situation.

Meanwhile, the Communist Party of Bangladesh (CPB) and the Socialist Party of Bangladesh (SPB) yesterday urged the local administration to stop attacks on tea workers in Habiganj.

In a joint statement, CPB President Mujahidul Islam Selim and SPB General Secretary Khalequzzaman expressed concern over an alleged attack by a group of

Awami League activists, led by its local unit leader Abu Taher, on the tea workers in Chunarughat in the morning, reported UNB.

Quoting the tea workers, CPB and SPB alleged that the attack was carried out with an aim to grab the agricul-tural lands in the area which have long been cultivated by the tea workers.

The tea workers have been staging demonstration over the last one month protest-ing a government decision to take over about 512 acres of the cultivable land in the area to set up a special economic zone.

The two left-parties also alleged that local BNP leader Seraj and local Jamaat leader Ismail were involved in the attacks.

They demanded immediate arrest and punishment of those involved in the attack. l

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TSUNDAY, JANUARY 17, 2016

Crashes claim two lives within eight hours n Kamrul Hasan

Two schoolgirls were killed in separate acci-dents that took place within eight hours of one another in the capital yesterday, with witnesses saying that reckless driving led to the loss of the young lives.

The deceased are Sabiha Akhter Sonali, a ninth-grader who was on the way to enrol at Tejgaon Girls High school, and Khadija Sultana Mitu, a student of � fth grade at Lak-khanpur High School in Comilla.

They died after they were run over by buses.

According to family members, one of the victims dreamed of becoming a doctor while the other wanted to be a teacher.

Sonali’s father Zakir Hossain, who is a painter and lives with his family at the Hous-ing and Public Works Ministry’s sta� quar-ter, told the Dhaka Tribune his wife was tak-ing Sonali to enrol her at Tejgaon Girls High School in the morning when the accident took place at Matsya Bhaban intersection.

“A bus hit Sonali while she was crossing the road with her mother. She died on the scene,” he said.

Sonali scored GPA 5 in the Junior School Certi� cate examinations from Rahima Adar-sha High School in Segun Bagicha.

Zakir said: “My daughter wanted to be a doctor but the bus killed her. The dream is now shattered.”

Eight hours after the death of Sonali, Mitu lost her life in another road crash that hap-pened opposite to Shishu Park in Shahbagh.

A passenger bus that run on Jatra-bari-Gabtoli route hit her as she was cross-ing the road with her sister, brother-in-law

and her nephew around 4:10pm. The four were returning home after vis-

iting the park.Omar Faruq, brother-in-law of Mitu, said

she came to his Shyampur residence on a visit.“We four were crossing the road around

3pm when the bus hit her, leaving her crit-ically injured. She was immediately taken to Dhaka Medical College Hospital (DMCH) and doctors declared her dead around 4pm.”

The two accidents prompted locals to pro-test by blocking roads. The High Court Road was blocked for 20 minutes, and Shahbagh Road for nearly half an hour.

A mob also beat Shahin Mollah, who was driving the bus that killed Mitu.

Shahin was later admitted to the DMCH, said Abu Bakar Siddique, o� cer-in-charge of Shahbagh police station.

He said both the buses were seized and police were looking for the driver of the bus that killed Sonali.

“Cases will be � led in this connection,” he added. l

Fifth grader Khadija Sultana Mitu, top right, is killed in a road crash at Shahbagh yesterday, eight hours after Sabiha Akhter Sonali, a ninth grader, top left, was killed in another accident at the Matsya Bhaban intersection. Below, a relative consoles Sabiha’s mother, in blue sari DHAKA TRIBUNE

The deceased are Sabiha Akhter Sonali, a ninth-grader who was on the way to enrol at Tejgaon Girls High school, and Khadija Sultana Mitu, a student of � fth grade at Lakkhanpur High School in Comilla

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4 personalities receive Kazi Mahbub Ullah Award 2015n UNB

Four distinguished personalities were hon-oured with the Kazi Mahbub Ullah Award 2015 yesterday for their outstanding contri-butions to their respective � elds.

They are Anisul Haque (literature and journalism), Professor Dr Hasina Khan (sci-ence), Mashrafe Bin Mortaza (sports) and Professor Dr AK Azad Chowdhury (lifetime achievement).

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina handed over the awards at the National Theatre at Shilpakala Academy in the capital.

Begum Jebunnesa and Kazi Mahbub Ullah People Welfare Trust organised the function.

On behalf of Mashrafe, his father Mosta-fa Mortaza received the award as Mashrafe is now in Khulna to play cricket matches against touring Zimbabwe.

The award carries a cheque for Tk1 lakh, a crest, a citation and an “Uttaria.”

Cultural A� airs Minister Asaduzzaman Noor was present at the function as the spe-cial guest, while Chairman of the trust Zobai-da M Latif presided over it.

Begum Zebunnesa and Kazi Mahboobul-lah Jana Kalyan Trust introduced the award in 1978. l

No dowry-free wedding as 2nd phase of Ijtema ends todayn Our Correspondent, Gazipur

Like the � rst phase, no dowry-free marriage took place at the Biswa Ijtema venue as the second phase of the congregation is to end today after Akheri Munajat.

Md Gias Uddin, a member of the Ijtema or-ganising committee, said such marriages are not appreciated by many as they think these are low-key events.

“Only devotees are present at the Ijtema venue when dowry-free marriages take place there in the absence of brides. This means not even many relatives of both sides get to

know about the weddings. This is why we have asked families to arrange marriages in their respective localities instead of coming here,” he explained.

Dowry-free marriages had been one of the key attractions of Ijtema in the past. Such weddings would take place on the second day of the congregation.

Meanwhile, two more devotees, includ-ing a Malaysian national, died at the Ijtema venue till yesterday morning, taking the total death toll in both phases to 12.

The Malaysian national, Shahidan Ibra-him, 48, was taken to Tongi Government

Hospital after he fell sick on Friday morning.For better treatment, he was being tak-

en to Shaheed Suhrawardy Medical College Hospital in the capital but he died on the way.

His namaz-e-janaza was held at the Ijtema venue.

Police said Ibrahim’s body would be sent to the Malaysian embassy in Dhaka and the embassy would send it to Malaysia.

The other person who died was Abul Kashem.

The 65-year-old, who hailed from Ja-malpur Sadar upazila’s Kacharipara, died of age-related illness on Friday evening.

In the � rst phase of Ijtema, nine devotees, including a foreign national, died.

Devotees from 16 districts joined the sec-ond phase while organisers estimate that some 2-2.5 million people would be present during the Akheri Munajat.

Akheri Munajat will be held between 10am and 11:30am, said organisers.

Maulana Saad Ahmed, who is from Delhi, is expected to conduct Akheri Munajat.

Tra� c movement has been prohibited in and around Ijtema venue for Akheri Munajat since early today. The restriction will be in force till evening. l

PM: A bank MD’s removal led to Padma fund cancellation threatn UNB

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina yesterday alleged that she had been threatened that funding to Padma Bridge project would be stopped if a particular person was not there as the managing director of a particular bank.

“Some high o� cials from the USA told me that funding would be stopped if a particular person is not there in the [MD] post [of the bank],” she said.

The prime minister said this while distributing “Kazi Mahbub Ullah Award” at Shilpakola Academy in the capital. Begum Jebunnesa and Kazi Mahbub Ullah People Welfare Trust organised the function.

Without mentioning anyone’s name, Sheikh Hasina said the fund was withdrawn by the World Bank at the provocation of a particular person. “And you know that very well,” she said.

The prime minister said there were unprecedented e� orts to attach the stigma of corruption to her government. “I myself and my family members were the prime targets… even they didn’t spare my cabinet members and secretaries,” she added.

Recalling those days, Hasina said: “A serious confusion was created that we had siphoned o� all the money through corruption…they didn’t disburse a single penny, but before that they had created the confusion,” Hasina said adding that she took

the matter as a challenge.The prime minister said she had nothing

to do over the managing director post of that bank as the particular person went to the court and the court gave the verdict.

“That person violated the law of that bank and remained as the managing director for 10 years, if anyone failed to win [the legal battle] in the court that is not our responsibility…it’s not the responsibility of the people of the country. Could the construction of the Padma Bridge be stopped for that?” she said.

Bangladesh Bank in 2011 removed Prof Muhammad Yunus, then 70, from the managing director post of Grameen Bank saying that he passed the retirement age of

60 years. Prof Yunus then went to court and failed to win the legal battle.

Hasina said there was huge pressure on the government to reinstate him (Yunus) as the managing director.

“So, there was tremendous pressure from various quarters…they had created a hell on us in that two years. We then decided to construct the [Padma] bridge with our own resources…if anyone wants to help us with money we’ll receive, but we’ll show the world we can deliver,” she said.

The prime minister thanked the people of the country for their all-out support to the government for constructing the bridge with own resources. “That support has given us a tremendous strength,” she added. l

Armed with local weapons, activists of a faction of Bangladesh Chhatra League’s Rajshahi University unit head towards Bangabandhu residential hall after news of local Chhatra League leader Anik Mahmud Bonny beaten by a rival faction spread across the campus. Anik was admitted to a hospital after being attacked as a result of a factional clash in RU Chhatra League AZAHAR UDDIN

PRAYERTIMES

Cox’s Bazar 27 20Dhaka 28 13 Chittagong 26 15 Rajshahi 27 10 Rangpur 25 11 Khulna 28 13 Barisal 29 16 Sylhet 26 11T 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 5:33PM SUN RISES 6:43AM

YESTERDAY’S HIGH AND LOW28.4ºC 9.5ºC

Patuakhali & Khepupara BadalgachhiSUNDAY, JANUARY 17

Source: IslamicFinder.org

Fajr: 5:22am | Zohr: 12:08am Asr: 3:57pm | Magrib: 5:33pmEsha: 7:03pm

SUNDAY, JANUARY 17, 2016News 5

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DRY WEATHER

Police take bribe to allow heavy vehicle on Teesta barrage

n Moazzem Hossain, back from Teesta barrage

Heavy vehicles, including freight trucks, are being allowed on Teesta barrage despite a ban on such transports imposed in 2014.

The ban was imposed in November of that year after the barrage developed some cracks because of the movement of heavy vehicles.

But new and bigger cracks have recently appeared on the barrage as some dishonest police o� cials and Ansar members allowed heavy transports on it after evening in ex-

change for bribes.O� cials in charge of maintenance of the

barrage described the new cracks as hairline cracks.

The barrage includes 52 sluice gates and fresh cracks have appeared on the structure near eight of the gates.

Locals said law enforcement o� cials col-lect Tk300-500 in bribes from each truck and let those pass.

This correspondent found that what locals said was true. The main gate of the barrage is always kept closed but on Thursday evening, on-duty policemen and Ansar members

opened it after taking money from a number of trucks carrying cattle and brick.

Khairul Islam, one of the police o� cials who collected bribes, strenuously denied any wrongdoing when asked about taking bribes. He is a constable at Doani Teesta bar-rage police outpost.

Sub-Inspector Mizanur Rahman Mizan, in-charge of the outpost, also said police do not collect bribes from trucks.

Ha� zul Haque, assistant engineer of Dalia Water Development Board’s management and maintenance department, said any law enforcer, if found guilty of taking bribes from

heavy vehicles to pass the barrage, would face action.

He said initiatives had been taken to invite tenders for repair work of the existing cracks and other problems of the barrage.

Mahbubur Rahman, executive engineer of Rangpur Water Development Board who has been given additional duty of Dalia Water De-velopment Board, said the cracks were not a cause for concern.

“The cracks can be repaired and we will do that,” he said.

He also said he would look into the allega-tions of law enforcers taking bribes. l

Despite a ban on heavy vehicles, a cattle-laden truck is seen waiting to cross the Teesta barrage in Lalmonirhar on Thursday. Cracks have recently appeared on the barrage, but authorities concerned claim that they are hairline cracks and there is nothing to be worried about DHAKA TRIBUNE

Anuradha Roy wins DSC prize for South Asian literature n Tribune Report

Anuradha Roy has been announced the winner of the prestigious DSC Prize for South Asian Literature 2016 for her novel “Sleeping on Jupiter” at the Fairway Galle Literary Festival

in Sri Lanka. In a glittering ceremony, the $50,000 prize

and a unique trophy was awarded by Ranil Wickremesinghe, prime minister of Sri Lan-ka.

Now in its sixth edition, it is an estab-

lished international literary prize that awards the best work in South Asian � ction each year. This year the DSC Prize had received 74 entries from UK, US, Canada, Australia and South Africa as well.

The jury panel was chaired by Mark Tully, a renowned journalist who has commentated on a wide range of issues a� ecting the South Asian region for over four decades.

Speaking on the occasion, Mark Tully said: “We had a shortlist of six outstanding books. Their excellence made our task par-ticularly di� cult.

“We chose ‘Sleeping on Jupiter’ by Anuradha Roy because of its elegance, � air and readability ... The South Asian setting is described faithfully and evocatively.

“Among the issues raised are the power of memory and myth, religious hypocrisy, sex-

uality, abuse and other forms of violence,” Tully said.

Congratulating the winner, Surina Narula, MBE and co-founder of the DSC Prize, said: “The winning novel highlights the changing dynamics in South Asian life and culture in a unique way.

“It must have been a tough task for the jury members to choose from the six exceptional contenders and arriving at the eventual winner as each one of the novels represents the very best in South Asian � ction writing.

“Completing six successful years, the DSC Prize remains focused on recognising and showcasing the immense talent writing about the South Asian region and bringing it to the larger global audience,” Narula said. l

Cancellation of metro rail through DU campus demandedn DU Correspondent

Expressing solidarity with Dhaka Universi-ty students’ movement, Bangladesh Chha-tra Union of DU unit yesterday announced to submit memorandum to the university’s vice-chancellor on January 18 demanding change of the proposed metro rail route planned to build through DU campus.

The student organisation also threatened to launch a tougher movement along with students if the government does not change its decision. The leftist student body also an-nounced to stage a demonstration on the DU campus the same day.

Liton Nondi, president of the Chhatra Un-ion DU unit, made the announcement at a press conference held at DU Madhur Canteen.

“If the route is built through DU then it will hamper historical sculptures and educational atmosphere on the campus” he added. l

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Dhaka rea� rms zero tolerance policy to terrorismn UNB

Home Minister Asaduzzaman Khan at an assembly of the United Nations has said Bangladesh government has taken a zero toler-ance policy to combat extremism and terrorism.

The home minister was addressing the assembly at UN Trus-teeship Council in New York on Friday.

Asaduzzaman shared various measures, taken by Bangladesh with the participation and cooperation of women, civil society, religious leaders, local elite, grassroots people and media, for combating extremism.

He also rea� rmed Dhaka’s commitment to providing all-out cooperation in curbing extremism and terrorism both at the re-gional and international levels.

At the assembly, attended by 193 UN member states, its Sec-retary General Ban Ki-moon announced a plan of action to face extremism.

Earlier in the day, the home minister inaugurated the services of Machine Readable Passport (MRP) and Machine Readable Visa (MRV) at Consulate General o� ces of Bangladesh in Mexico and New York, said a press release from the Permanent Mission of Bangladesh to the UN. l

Awami League leaders thank Khaleda for participating in UP pollsn Abu Hayat Mahmud

Several central leaders of the ruling Awa-mi League have thanked BNP Chairperson Khaleda Zia for taking part in the union pari-shad (UP) polls scheduled to be held in March.

“Khaleda made a great mistake by boy-cotting the January 5 national polls in 2014. She has realised that, which is why her par-ty participated in the recently held munic-ipal polls and has decided to join in the UP polls, too,” Awami League’s Advisory Council member Suranjit Sengupta said at a discus-sion yesterday.

The discussion, titled “BNP follows policy

of Pakistan,” was organised by Bangabandhu Sangskritik Jote at Shishu Kallyan Parishad in the capital.

Suranjit said BNP chief Khaleda’s heart lies in Pakistan, which was proven when she sent a letter of condolence after the death of former Pakistan Army o� cial Maj Gen Iftikhar Khan Janjua, but she had no reaction after the death of former Indian Army o� cial and Bangla-desh’s Liberation War hero Lt Gen JFR Jacob.

In a separate event, Commerce Minister and Awami League’s Advisory Council mem-ber Tofail Ahmed thanked Khaleda for decid-ing to join the UP polls as well.

“Thanks to Khaleda Zia for attending

the municipal polls last month, and thanks for her positive approach towards the UP polls too,” he said at a conference of Awami League’s Jhalakathi unit yesterday.

The minister further said the BNP leader-ship has realised its mistake of boycotting the 10th National Elections. “There is no alterna-tive for Khaleda Zia, so she will join the 11th Parliamentarian Polls in 2019 under the su-pervision of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina.”

In another programme in Chittagong, Housing and Public Administration Minister Engineer Mosharraf Hossain said Khaleda will be defeated again in 2019, as her party was defeated in the municipal polls. l

Jails to become correctional facilities soonn Tribune Report

It is time for the prisons in Bangladesh to become proper correctional facilities, Additional Inspector General of Prisons Col Fazlul Kabir has said.

In a press conference at Bangladesh Jail headquarters on the occasion of jail week yesterday, the AIG-Prisons said the prisons would soon be turned into correction homes.

He also said Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina will join the inauguration programme on January 20 at the Kashimpur jail in Gazipur.

“Our society stigmatises persons convicted for crimes. Everyone starts avoiding them. It became di� cult for them to come back to the mainstream,” Col Fazlul said.

“To help inmates come back to their normal lives and so that they do not repeat the crimes, the jail authorities have begun a process of giving technical training to prisoners including on tailoring, cultivations, etc.”

Authorities are also councelling the drug addicts so that they could get rid of their addiction, the AIG-Prisons said.

Currently, there is a training centre at the Kashimpur jail. In addition, the newly-built Keraniganj jail also has similar facilities for pertaining technical training to the inmates.

Recently, Inspector General of Prisons Brig Gen Syed Iftekhar Uddin has said that gradually such facilities would be launched in all the 68 jails in the country.

On January 1, there were a total of 71,105 prisoners in the 68 jails across the country up against a capacity of hosting 34,796 inmates at best.

Among them 68,593 were men and 2,512 women. A total of 20,198 were convicted, 50,823 were under trail and 1,197 were sentenced to death.

Among them 438 were psychologically challenged, 5,970 were addicts and as many as 297 infants were living with their mothers. l

Passengers climb up the engine of inter-district train Madhumati coming from Rajshahi in Kushtia’s Court Station yesterday. This is a common phenomenon between Pabna’s Ishwardi upazila and Rajbari’s Goalando Ghat upazila, where passengers travel sitting on or beside the train engine, putting themselves at great risk. Several passengers on the train complained that the train driver and railway police allow it in exchange of a fee ranges from Tk20 to Tk100 AZAHAR UDDIN

SUNDAY, JANUARY 17, 2016News 7

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Hill people to form 300-km human chain n Our Correspondent, Rangamati

Chittagong Hill Tracts Citizens Committee, Bangladesh Adivasi Forum and CHT Head-men’s Network announced a programme of 300-kilometre long human chain at a news conference at Tugun Restaurant in Rangama-ti yesterday.

People in Chittagong Hill Tracts will form the human chain demanding complete im-plementation of CHT Accord and establish-ing a separate land commission for ethnic people in plain lands on January 18.

The human chain would span from Dudu-kchara of Panchari in Khagrachari to Gund-hum of Naikhyangchari of Bandarban from 10am to 11am, said sources.

Leaders of the organisations at the news conference alleged that the government was continuing to deceive people by providing wrong information about the implementa-tion of the CHT accord.

They said there was no move to imple-ment the basic aspects of the accord rather initiatives against the treaty was on.

National Human Rights Commission member Nirupa Dewan, Headmen’s Network leader Shaktipada Tripura and CHT Citizen’s Committee president Gautam Dewan were present at the news conference. l

Obituaryn Tribune Report

Agriculture researcher, organiser and friend of farmers Ayub Hossain, 74, died yesterday morning due to su� ering from diabetics and heart disease.

Ayub was born on April, 24, 1942 in Jh-nidah. He joined Bangladesh Communist Party (CPB) in 1980. Later, he got involved in research of BRRI.

On Friday night, he was admitted to Jes-sore Medical College and Hospital.

He left behind one son, one daughter, wife and a host of relatives to mourn his death. l

RDS demands gas supply in Rangpurn Tribune Report

Dhaka-based Rangpur Divisional Samity (RDS) yesterday formed a human chain and rally in front of the Deputy Commissioner’s O� ce in the city demanding natural gas supply to Rangpur region through pipelines.

President of RDS Alhaj Advocate Abdullah Al Nasser presided over the hour-long human chain and rally programme.

General Secretary of RDS Professor Dr Md Nazrul Islam, its Youth A� airs Secretary Ma� dul Islam and Executive Member Jafrul Islam, addressed, among others on behalf of the organisation,reports BSS.

Among the representatives of Rangpur region, Executive Member of Bangladesh Medical Association Dr Syed Mamunur Rahman, President of Rangpur Ainjibi Samity Advocate Abdul Haque, its General

Secretary Advocate Abdul Malek and Vice-president of the central committee of Jatiya Party Advocate Salahuddin Kaderi, addressed.

Members of di� erent socio-cultural, civic rights-based and professional organisations of Rangpur region, civil society members, public representatives, business community leaders, journalists, students, teachers and elite participated.

The speakers explained their arguments justifying the demand for supply of natural gas to enhance industrialisation for creating employment opportunities and accelerating economic uplift of the economically backward Rangpur region.

They said uniform developments here have been overlooked over the decades and time has come to eradicate all sorts of discriminations being faced by the northern

people and achieve the just rights and uplift of this economically backward region.

For lack of gas supply, rate of poverty in Rangpur region is still higher than the Dhaka-Chittagong and Khulna regions, they mentioned adding that industrialisation at the Uttara Export Processing Zone at Syedpur still remains incomplete.

Citing some statistics of regional discriminations in uplifts, they said about seventy percent of the country’s total industries have been established in Dhaka and Chittagong regions with some twelve percent in the northern region.

Without supply of natural gas, there would be no industrialisation to create adequate employment opportunities of the unem-ployed youths for real development of Rang-pur region in the process of building a middle income digital Bangladesh, they said. l

Sale of unauthorised guidebooks rampantn FM Mizanur Rahaman, Chittagong

Most of the bookshops in the port city are selling unauthorised guidebooks and note-books, defying ban on the practice.

The students of primary and secondary lev-el schools are being forced to buy the books.

The publishers of the books pasted posters and banners in front of several institutions to attract the school-goers and their guardians.

They are also keeping relation with the au-thorities of di� erent schools so that they can incorporate the illegal books in the book lists of the respective schools.

According to the Notebook Prohibition Act 1980, no notebooks or such type of books for the students of class two to class eight can be printed and marketed.

Besides, no notebooks for the students reading above class eight can be printed or marketed without permission of the Nation-al Curriculum and Textbook Board (NCTB) authorities.

Even the Supreme Court on December 9, 2009 upheld a High Court verdict banning both guidebooks and notebooks.

While visiting city’s Anderkillah, Chawak-bazar, Agrabad, New Market and other book selling points, this correspondent found huge amount of banned books have in� uxed.

Andarkillah, which is the hub of book sell-ers and publishers in the port city, most of the bookstalls were found � lled with di� er-ent banned note and guide books.

Though the education ministry has intro-duced the creative method for the students in a bid to distract from guidebooks but it the real scenario is totally di� erent, said Anwar Hossen, a guardian of a student and also an employee of Chittagong Port.

“Sometimes the teachers of the school in-stigated the kids to buy the guidebooks men-tioning the books’ name”, said Rubel Pervez, another guardian.

Seeking anonymity, an o� cial of Chit-tagong Education Board told the Dhaka Trib-

une that the business of selling the books was open as the law enforcing agencies did not take action against the illegal traders de-spite the government direction.

Chittagong District Education O� cer Hossne Ara Begum said: “No can refer or force the students to buy guidebooks as per the law.”

“Law enforcing agencies should take pu-nitive steps against the book sellers to pre-vent the business,”, she said.

Prominent writer and the teacher of Bang-la department of Chittagong University (CU) Professor Dr Mahbubul Haque said:“The demand of note and guidebooks will be re-duced if the content of the textbooks is edit-ed, upgraded and modernized by the real-ex-perts and writers.”

“The Education Ministry and NCTB should be strictly implemented the law in this regard while the teachers should be trained up over the creative methods and � nd out the error of the system”, added Prof Mahbub.

Mahbubul has been working with the NCTB for last 30 years.

Chittagong Nasirabad Boys’ High School’s headmaster M Faridul Alam said notebooks were prohibited at his institution while the teachers were highly trained at creative method.

Additional Deputy Commissioner (ADC) Md Dowlutuzzaman Khan said: “Due to man-power shortage, district administration could not carry out mobile court in this regard.”

Kazi Saber Ahmed, director of Bangladesh Publishers’ and Book Sellers’ Association and also the general secretary of the organization in Chittagong chapter told the Dhaka Tribune on the behalf of the organization, their elect-ed member Nesar Ahmed � led a writ petition with High Court against the ban of the books and the court had issued stay order over it.

Chittagong Metropolitan Police (CMP)’s Additional Commissioner Debdas Bhattacha-riya said: “We will assist the district adminis-tration if they want help.” l

A woman looks at a display of colourful clay sculptures at Pagla Mela in Chinail area in Kaliakair, Gazipur yesterday. Pagla Mela, literally translated to The Mad’s Fair, is an annual a� air in Chinail organised by the followers of spiritual sage Pagla Dham. His followers and admirers come from far away to visit the fair SYED ZAKIR HOSSAIN

Advertisement8DT

SUNDAY, JANUARY 17, 2016

How To Start A Startup

Career 9D

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SUNDAY, JANUARY 17, 2016

PHOTO: COURTESY

n Ibrahim Mahbub

A lot of people out there who want to start a startup often retract for mainly two reasons. Sometimes because they actually don’t want to take the risk of starting a business. Sometimes because they don’t quite understand the process, how a startup works, how different it is from starting a regular business. Basically, there is no difference between a startup and a regular business. We call early stage companies startup except one thing: startups are high growth companies.

It means, growth is what separates a startup from a regular early stage company. Being said that, starting a startup is no different from starting a regular business. One thing you have to keep in mind that you have to choose a relatively difficult problem and a big market.

The infographic below, prepared based on an essay of Paul Graham of YC and designed by Funders and Founders, explains the process of starting a startup pretty clearly. It breaks down every possible step and illustrates it brilliantly. l

How To Start A Startup

Content provided by Future Startup

n Saudia Afrin

A usual day at the premises might give us a glimpse of two empty vans, with “SEID School” written on them, standing in front of a tiny gate. There are four rooms inside the building’s ground � oor, having di� erent function for each. One may also � nd a child receiving physiotherapy to cure cerebral palsy in his leg, by a physiotherapist, who works with such children to facilitate their daily activity. Along with required equipments and proper treatment, the children also receive physiotherapy for better physical movement.

A few more students attend pre-school. While you may � nd second grade students drawing apples and colouring them in red, while in the next room you’ll � nd third graders learn the names of animals, fruits and trees and writing them down in their notebooks. SEID only provides pre-school and special education to prepare these students to get accepted into mainstream schools for further education. SEID, a 13-year old organisation, not only prepares these kids for future through physiotherapy, ocupational and speech therapy, but it also provides them with study materials, food, transport, sports and cultural activities. And by the grace of almighty and their hard work, 15 children got accepted in Kamrangee char school.

Society for Education and Inclusion of the Disabled (SEID), a non governmental entity, pledges to diminish the hindrances faced by unprivileged children with Neuro developmental Disability (NDD) and Multiple Disabilities (MD) and di� culty in being

accepted by the society.SEID has supported these Neuro

developmental Disability (NDD) stricken children through schooling and by providing livelihood training. A conversation with Dilara Sattar Mitu, executive director and her vibrant students has given us some more insight on the initiative.

Disability has di� erent stages for each of its many types. SEID is mainly concentrating in promoting the rights of people with disability especially the ones with Autism, Intellectual Disability, Down’s Syndrome and Cerebral Palsy.

Without making any discrimination the

world allocates a set of human rights for all from the day they are born. However, the status quo seems to be quite inaccurate for people with disability. Often times, actors of society refuse to give them their rights as human beings. “The primary concern of SEID is to work only with underprivileged children in order to establish their position in the society,” said by Dilara Sattar Mitu, executive director, SEID.

SEID provides step by step procedure for admissions. It runs a primary assessment

process to identify the type and level of disability. After that, they are sent to designated places like Shishu Bikash Kendra (Child Development Center), Mental health organisation etc. for more accurate observation. If further medical services are required, it is facilitated by SEID.

Reshma, from third grade, was accepted into a mainstream school, however, she came back to SEID. Many like Reshma are constrained to SEID because the frequency of dropping out from mainstream school still exists in the society due to the existing problem is the society’s mindset.

“It is also quite evident that the schools

themselves are not ready for such children since there is a lack of trained teachers,” commented Dilara Sattar Mitu.

Since drop outs have more physical growth compared to regular students in the mainstream schools, they are no longer accepted to study with the regular students, and are taken back by SEID to give them vocational training in order to make them economically independent. The training involves blockprinting, dying, sewing and many more.

A huge part of the initiatives adapted by SEID is to try and reduce the number of school drop outs and promote social inclusion. Highly active in orientation programme, SEID arranges dialogue sessions with mainstream students, teachers, school management committee, law enforcing agency, policy-makers and civil society.

On the context of human rights, SIED’s most emphasised advocacy reads “Amar kotha ami bolbo.” The slogan advocates encourages these children to learn to speak for themselves and � ght for their own rights in the society. “People are not letting them speak because they perceive them as incapable. This is clearly a violation of human right. But it is very di� cult to convey it to the people in the society that these children are capable of speaking for themselves.”Beyond everything, the executive director of SEID believes that a lot of progress has been achieved. A long time of nurturing has gradually made it possible for them to communicate and be accepted by the society. l

In control of their own future

Feature10DT

SUNDAY, JANUARY 17, 2016

There is a chance to become a friend of one or more underprivileged children su� ereing from NDD and MD in SEID Trust by providing donation to the following address.House # 6/5(3rd � oor), Humayun Road, Block B, Mohammadpur, Dhaka-1207, Baangladesh. http://www.seidtrustbd.org/

PHOTOS: SAUDIA AFRIN

“It is also quite evident that the schools themselves are not ready for such children since there is a lack of trained teachers.”

COURTESY

INSIDE

The government needs to prioritise projects to improve the capability of emergency services to deal with the risk of earthquakes hitting the country.

After 2015’s severe earthquake in Nepal jolted Bangladesh last April, � re services in Dhaka began keeping life-saving equipment outside their own

buildings, because they were deemed at risk of collapse from major tremors.While some investment is now being made in new buildings, the pace of e� orts

to improve emergency services needs to be urgently sped up.Nationally, there is still only around one fully trained � re-� ghter and rescuer for

every 30,000 people. The � re service also remains deeply under-resourced with the entire capital city and Dhaka division having only four fully-equipped rescuer-vans for its 25 million people.

Even more worrying, there is little evidence of co-ordination and training to improve preparedness.

Severe doubts exists, for example, about the ability of utility providers and trans-port services to keep power, gas, water supplies, and roads functioning to enable help to be provided to victims.

The threat level is increased by the large number of poorly constructed buildings prevalent in the country. These need to be modi� ed as a matter of urgency as part of e� orts to ensure all buildings are constructed to be as earthquake resistant as possible.

More investment also needs to be made in equipment, training, and planning to ensure more back-ups are available to keep rescuer and medical services running in the event of disasters.

The government should apply lessons learned in countries such as Japan on ways to prepare for earthquakes, and to build up public awareness and safety precau-tions.

It also needs to build up the capacity of the nation’s emergency services and improve planning so the country is better prepared to save lives and keep utilities running when disaster strikes. l

Build up capacity and improve planning to save lives and keep utilities running

A daughter’s tribute

The reality and the rhetoric of mobile � nancial servicesIt is an ancient piece of truth, championed by the founder of modern economics, Adam Smith, that all parties involved (consumers and businesses) bene� t through specialisation. MNOs would bene� t by specialising on the provision of connectivity

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The Middle Ages have not endedWhen I read with dismay of the brutal murders of bloggers in Bangladesh because they are atheists, and that a very responsible Pakistani newspaper has felt obliged to not print a story about those murders because it would o� end some of its readers (to the point of violence), it seems to me to be another attack on religion and faith

Abba believed in the young generation, had genuine interest in their aspirations, and took great, almost childlike pride in their achievements. He had no patience for ignorance, backbiting, and idle minds

Improve earthquake response capability before disaster strikes

11D

TEditorialSUNDAY, JANUARY 17, 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

Opinion12DT

SUNDAY, JANUARY 17, 2016

n Zarina Nahar Kabir

Writing about one’s parent is no easy task. Balanced writing requires a certain level of distance from the character

in focus. For the only child of a parent who served as father, mother, and best friend all rolled into one, such distance is impossible to attain. I do not claim to make such a futile attempt in the current piece.

The biography of my father, Syed Ali Kabir (1926 - 2000), by no means stands out as an exceptional one. Like the majority, he was mediocre even when at his best, wheth-er in his academic or professional career, participation in political movements, as a writer, or even in amateur acting.

In essence, he was like any other common person. And just like any other common person, he possessed qualities that made him unique as an individual, as a re-sponsible citizen, a human being whose val-ues counted in in� uencing individual lives, and maybe even in shaping the socio-politi-cal conscience of our society during his days as a columnist.

I write about him today to remember his life, because even a common man is to be celebrated for the principles, values, and ethical standards that he upheld.

An intensely principled man, one of the strongest impressions Abba made on me was that bending of rules was not to be indulged in. In the 1980s, at the age of 16, I attended a driving school and obtained my driver’s license. Yet, I had no access to a car to practice my driving. We did not have a car of our own.

Abba’s o� cial car was o� limits for me, not because he did not trust my driving skills, but the car was not to be driven by anyone other than the o� cially assigned driver. Such a stance about the use of o� ce property is laughed at nowadays. It was not only his sense of morality that led to his principles, but the recognition that collec-tive responsibility for public goods is key to an equitable and sustainable society.

As long back as I can remember, material-istic fascination was never allowed to govern our lives. I am pretty sure the reason was � nancial as is often the case with most peo-ple. No negotiation on my part moved him to grant me one taka to buy a bottle of coke in school. He was not necessarily a miser, but lived within his means without any fuss.

As his father, he never depended on his o� spring to provide for him in his old age. When he died, he had left behind just about enough to pay for his hospital expenses and last rites. Like my grandfather, Abba did not believe in excesses. He used to proudly declare that his father always maintained what a person needed, just one roof over her head. Even if one has the means of expand-ing property holdings, such excesses are unnecessary and super� uous.

I know these principles seem absurd in our increasingly unequal society � lled with greed. Egalitarianism was the rule by which Syed Ali Kabir tried to lead his life.

My grandfather, Syed Golam Kabir, a gold medallist from Presidency College in Kolk-ata, came from a very modest background. As a civil servant, he provided the right con-ditions for his two sons to have privileged starts in their lives. The rest was up to them (his daughters’ choices were not so � exible).

With a Master’s degree in political science from Dhaka University, Abba went into banking. I believe it was his experience in the banking sector that made him so pas-sionate about economics, which led him to London School of Economics after his � rst

wife and my biological mother, Nurunnahar, died during childbirth.

I clearly remember the day Abba died on December 18, 2000. I had to pay the hospital bills before I could take him home for his funeral. Abba and I had a joint account (with instructions that either of the signatories could operate the account) at the bank next to the hospital. It was not even an hour that his soul set free, his body still warm, when my mother, Siddiqua Kabir, and I went to the bank to make a withdrawal for the hospi-tal bills.

A young fellow at the counter had already heard that the “mighty” deputy governor of Bangladesh Bank, Syed Ali Kabir, who had retired 16 long years ago, had passed away about an hour earlier, and he refused to pro-cess my legitimate request for a withdrawal. This is the very situation Abba wanted to avoid by opening such a joint account with me. His reputation overrode his foresight.

I realise I don’t even know much of his landmark contributions in the banking sector, as he never really talked of his own accomplishments. I do remember him pas-sionately talking of people he came across during his banking career full of potential, speaking highly of their innovative ideas.

One such person is the only Nobel lau-reate of our country. He used to declare as early as the 1980s that the man should be awarded a Nobel Prize. If only he were alive to share the pride.

Abba believed in the young generation, had genuine interest in their aspirations, and took great, almost childlike pride in

their achievements. He had no patience for ignorance, backbiting, and idle minds. If he ever spent his time and energy talking of other people, it was for praise.

He raised me to be a responsible, inde-pendent person, to stand up for my own identity. In his perception, it could be at-tained only through intellectual pursuit and socio-political engagement.

As for his own identity, he never had any qualms in presenting himself as the husband of his well-known wife Siddiqua Kabir, the author of the famed recipe book Ranna Khaddo Pushti. He would proudly say to strangers: “You won’t know me, but you probably know of my wife. I am Siddiqua Kabir’s husband.”

Syed Ali Kabir was a common man. He cared for society. He did not need revela-tions to understand the struggles and hard-ships of those without privilege. He would constantly try to � nd solutions to complex national issues, to improve conditions for the disadvantaged.

He was a brilliant, constructive thinker. As most common people, he was not at the right place at the right time, nor did he have the right kind of publicity to have made a di� erence, to have left behind a legacy.

However, as most common men and women, he passed on some of his values to the younger generation. His ideals had imprinted upon his close ones the vision of a just, equitable society. His achievements were no more, no less. l

Zarina Nahar Kabir is a public health professional.

Abba believed in the young generation, had genuine interest in their aspirations, and took great, almost childlike pride in their achievements. He had no patience for ignorance, backbiting, and idle minds

A life that � ickered out too soon BIGSTOCK

Syed Ali Kabir wasn’t just a brilliant banker -- he touched the lives of those around him

A daughter’s tribute

Opinion 13D

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SUNDAY, JANUARY 17, 2016

n Khalid Hasan

Having worked in the mobile tel-ecom industry for over a decade and having played an active role in establishing Association of

Mobile Operator of Bangladesh (AMTOB), it is important that I throw in my little observation on a recently published article on mobile � nancial services. In an op-ed in Dhaka Tribune titled “How if not mobile?” on January 8, 2016 -- the author did a great job on behalf of mobile network operators (MNOs), making the case that MNOs should provide mobile � nancial services (MFS) in Bangladesh. At the moment, MNOs are not allowed by Bangladesh Bank to operate MFS. Only scheduled banks or their subsidiaries are allowed to do so.

First, let me present some realities next to the author’s rhetoric. He is implying that MNOs might be “marginalised” or “killed” if they are deprived of carrying out MFS, a point that could not be farther from the truth. The largest MNO’s pro� tability is per-haps a hundred times higher than that of the largest MFS. How can MFS, with this level of strength, marginalise or kill MNOs?

Second, the author brings up the fact that MNOs are the largest tax-payers. They are the largest tax-payers because they have the largest businesses. By saying that the largest businesses should be given more business in new industries, the author is basically arguing that big business should get bigger. In fact, the author wants them to go beyond banking and get involved in “health and agriculture,” making them even bigger. If they are allowed to enter banking, it would only be the beginning, by the author’s own account. If big businesses become bigger and economic power is concentrated within a few at the expense of smaller ones, is that good for Bangladesh? Far from so.

Larger businesses can create many problems, including sti� ing innovations, competition, and losing focus of what cus-tomers need. They destroy opportunities for entrepreneurs, and are less accountable. The country is better o� with many entrepre-neurial ventures than its economy being dominated by a few large corporate bodies.The author also says that MNOs have paved

the way for a truly digital Bangladesh. In reality, digitalisation happens because of the government’s policy, focus, and approach. Others are contributors in building an eco-system. Nobody is denying that MNOs have done a useful job. This is how and why, as already noted, they have gotten some of the biggest businesses.

That does not, however, mean that they must take over banking, and later into other industries, such as health and agriculture. Other businesses must remain free to pursue their ideas and dreams in respective industries. Furthermore, Bangladesh does not become “less digital” if MFS is carried out by whole new industry as it is being done now. MNOs are not the inventors nor owners of digital technology; such technology is owned and used by many other industries. Bangladesh is better o� by allowing many di� erent industries to use digital technology.

The author further says that MNOs are heavily investing in distribution network. In reality, distribution networks have been existing for centuries. Distributors and re-tailers are independent business houses who have been distributing hundreds of products of di� erent companies. The same distribu-tion and retail businesses sell fast-moving consumer goods, tobacco, medicine, MNO’s products, MFS’ products. All di� erent pro-ducers have to invest in the distribution net-work, nothing unique for the MNO. What’s wrong in distributors and retailers earning from multiple sources?

To advance the cause of inclusivity in MFS, there is absolutely no need to create confusion as to which body should oversee it. It should be the central bank. MFS should not be operated by MNOs that are super-vised by the Ministry of Telecom.

In four years, MFS providers have re-cruited 31 million subscribers, creating one of the most impressive cases of inclusivity worldwide. In contrast, in many countries, such as Pakistan and Philippines, inclusivity is poorer despite a more-or-less free reign by MNOs who do not necessarily advance the cause of inclusivity. What is to prevent MNOs to neglect MFS once they are licensed to operate? After all, MFS would be repre-senting marginal business, economically speaking, for the MNOs.

The author also brings up the issue of

over-the-counter (OTC) use of MFS, which means agents sending money to agents, on behalf of customers, rather than individual customers sending money to each other. Let’s look into some facts. Firstly, third-par-ty surveys con� rm that OTC numbers are improving, namely, going down. This is a natural trend in new services.

Initially, consumers are afraid of getting into new things; over time, they become more comfortable. Second, Bangladesh is physically a small country, and the success of MFS requires agents being located close to users. Such closeness and MFS largely being used by the poor, who cannot easily read or write, naturally contribute to this challenge that is getting mitigated over time. Third, the reasons presented above (as to why OTCs take place) apply to MNOs as well, and they are likely to encounter the same problems. Fourth, it is said that MNOs might introduce more advanced identi� ca-

tion technology, but so can MFS providers. The MFS providers pro-actively are about to validate their KYC data with the Election Commission’s database.

The author writes that MNOs have had to face all sorts of teething problems as telecommunication start-ups. The author implies now that the MNOs have over-come such problems, if they at all have, everything else must now be thrown to them. He goes back to his let-the-big-get-bigger argument. If these giants had their teething problems -- which have gone unno-ticed because they did not have other giants breathing down their necks -- we should let the MFS providers overcome their own teething problems in due time.

Today, the MNOs are posturing to get into MFS, ie banking. Someday, they will be asking to get into other industries. Digital technology is unleashing possibilities, and the MNOs happen to be in the advantageous position of catering to them. Unless the gov-ernment and Bangladesh Bank strictly regu-late them, as has been done by Bangladesh Bank so far, they will engulf other industries like, television, health care, agriculture, education.

I would rather say that this constant posturing of giant MNOs trying to get into MFS over the last � ve years is preventing new capital from � owing into this nascent industry, preventing it from further growth, competition, and innovation. All these good things -- investment, growth, competition, and innovation -- would be promoted if the central bank could maintain a level-playing � eld by keeping the MNOs out.

MNO entries will make the � eld extreme-ly uneven. The nation is facing this constant clamouring by MNOs, not because MFS is natural to them, but because they feel they can. The power company provides electrici-ty, but leaves the MNOs to use that electric-ity; the power companies do not try to run MNOs. The government owns the roads and highways and leaves the bus companies in peace to run their buses. MNOs will be far better o� providing connectivity to all those willing to pay for it, and focus on expanding the volume of connectivity business.

It is an ancient piece of truth, champi-oned by the founder of modern econom-ics, Adam Smith, that all parties involved (consumers and businesses) bene� t through specialisation. MNOs would bene� t by specialising on the provision of connectiv-ity. MFS providers could do a better job by focusing on MFS. By creating clear borders among di� erent lines of business, it will also make fair regulations feasible, promoting accountability.

Then, Bangladesh will be better served. l

Khalid Hasan is an independent consultant. He was the Convener of AMTOB, Director of Corporate A� airs of Grameenphone, Country Manager of GE, and had senior roles in Bangladesh Oxygen Limited.

Should mobile network operators be allowed to provide � nancial services? BIGSTOCK

It is an ancient piece of truth, championed by the founder of modern economics, Adam Smith, that all parties involved (consumers and businesses) bene� t through specialisation. MNOs would bene� t by specialising on the provision of connectivity

Clear borders along di� erent lines of business promote fair play and accountability

The reality and the rhetoric of mobile � nancial services

n William Milam

I have been reading a delightful book about a little known, seminal event of the 15th century. And as I read it, I cannot help but re� ect on two seeming

contradictions:First, that human behaviour really hasn’t

changed much in 700 years, despite the enormous technical and scienti� c progress which has made our lives much easier, longer, and more comfortable (at least for those of us who are not in war zones); and second, how remote it seems despite all the seeming similarities, or better yet, how easy it is to forget the past and the lessons it should teach us.

The book concerns the discovery in 1417 in a remote monastery somewhere in what is now Germany, of the text of a classic epic poem presumed lost for a thousand years.

The author of this poem was a Roman thinker and philosopher called Lucretius, who lived and died in the Roman Repub-lic. In other words, in a period of intense intellectual inquiry and activity, as well as political turmoil, before Romans overthrew the republic and fell into the straitjacket of an imperial mindset.

It was a period of artistic achievement to which classical scholars still refer, of poets and thinkers still quoted today -- Cicero, Virgil Horace, and Ovid. Religiously, it was a period of -- to use an often misunderstood word -- paganism. The Romans, and the Greeks before them, recognised many Gods, a multi-purpose pantheon.

Monotheism was practiced mainly in Judea, which the Republic had conquered in 63 BCE. Lucretius called his epic poem “On the Nature of Things,” and it was (is) a beau-tifully written poem (so the Latin scholars say) of several thousand lines with a radical, revolutionary explanation of the way the world works.

Lucretius, who lived until about 53 BCE, would have known of the practices of Judaism, but he had little to say about speci� c religious practices in his great poem. His quarrel was against religion in general. His poem, which was very long and deeply philosophical, was primarily to promote Epi-cureanism, a philosophy of life which was at that point hundreds of years old, having � rst been propounded by a Greek philosopher, Epicurus.

Epicureanism was dismissed as a trivial philosophy of pleasure-seeking, but there was much more to it than that, and it be-came viewed in later centuries as a threat to organised religion.

The basic challenge that Lucretius’ poetic encomium to Epicureanism posed to establishment thinking was based on a radical theory of matter -- that everything is made of invisible particles. He did not use the Greek term atoms, but de� ned these particles as not only invisible but constantly in motion unless they come together to form something. They cannot be divided, but will come apart at times.

In other words, Epicureanism was based on atomic theory, which was in his time sci-

enti� cally unprovable, and was not proven by science for almost 2,000 years. His poem provoked positive responses from some, like Cicero, who thought highly of the stylistic writing.

Some responses were negative, � nding atomic theory unlikely, and the philosophic conclusions he drew from it unpalatable. He was dismissed as an atheist, but su� ered no more than disappointment with his fellow Romans, and perhaps a blow to his ego. He died an unperturbed and natural death sometime around 53 BCE.

This changed over the centuries after his death, especially after the Roman Empire made Christianity its o� cial religion in the 4th century CE. The Church understood the challenge of atomistic theory as it was then called, because it introduced randomness as the central core principle of life.

It attacked atomism by attacking Lucre-tius (although I don’t think he cared much, having been dead for over 400 years). St Jerome, for example, wrote in the 4th cen-tury that Lucretius had been intermittently insane and committed suicide -- statements that all scholars believe are untrue.

While there were a few scholars and even some priests who knew of the atomistic theory in the centuries that followed, its sudden reappearance in the 15th century

certainly marked a large spike of interest in Lucretius’ text, especially after the inven-tion of the printing press in the middle of the 15th century. By the 16th century, the theory had spread widely and had come to in� uence the thinking of many of the leading intellectuals and scientists -- Galileo, Copernicus, Montaigne, Shakespeare, and others. Most of them handled it with care, however, not following Lucretius’ use of this radical theory of matter to attack religion at its most basic level.

The reaction of the church to the redis-covery of Lucretius’ epic and radical poem, and its rapid spread, surely accounts for their caution. The charismatic Christian Preacher, Savonarola, denounced atomistic theory in 1496-97, as he led book burning rampages through the streets of Florence. The Florentine Synod banned Lucretius for school reading in 1516, only 99 years after his poem was rediscovered. In 1549, his poem was added to the Catholic list of prohibited books, not abolished until 1966. Thomas More, in a dazzling display of circu-lar logic, embraced Epicureanism and then denounced it as pernicious to faith in his cel-ebrated Utopia. The Jesuits condemned the atomistic theory as heresy in 1632. And as a result of this, in 1633, Galileo was sentenced by the inquisition to life imprisonment,

under house arrest, for publishing Dialogue Concerning the Two Chief Systems.

Three hundred and � fty years after Gal-ileo was imprisoned in his house (where he stayed until his death) his theory -- and that of Copernicus -- of a heliocentric solar sys-tem is beyond dispute. And so is the atomic theory. But the fear that if these theories were correct, religion would be diminished was wrong. Religion remains vibrant in a world that, despite the great advances in scienti� c knowledge, we still can’t entirely comprehend. I see no reason to believe that religion will disappear, even when we get to the core of matter, inside the atom. Religion meets a human need, and will continue to do so. But one size doesn’t � t all and never will.

Attempts to shoehorn into the same mold those whose religious needs di� er are bound to cause frustration and violence. So if any-thing is to weaken religious faith, it will be the tendency to insist that all believers must believe the exact same thing.

When I read with dismay of the brutal murders of bloggers in Bangladesh because they are atheists, and that a very responsible Pakistani newspaper has felt obliged to not print a story about those murders because it would o� end some of its readers (to the point of violence), it seems to me to be an-other attack on religion and faith. These are proliferating around the world these days.

If Galileo were to return miraculously, the world would look very di� erent materially, but might he not wonder why intellectu-ally and behaviourally the world has not changed very much -- still � ghting and killing wantonly over religion? l

William Milam is a Senior Scholar at the Woodrow Wilson Center in Washington DC and a former US diplomat who was Ambassador to Pakistan and Bangladesh, and Chief of Mission in Liberia. This article previously appeared in The Friday Times.

Opinion14DT

SUNDAY, JANUARY 17, 2016

Even if we get to the heart of atoms, faith won’t disappear BIGSTOCK

When I read with dismay of the brutal murders of bloggers in Bangladesh because they are atheists, and that a very responsible Pakistani newspaper has felt obliged to not print a story about those murders because it would o� end some of its readers (to the point of violence), it seems to me to be another attack on religion and faith

Religion meets a human need -- but one size doesn’t � t all

The Middle Ages have not ended

15D

TBusinessSUNDAY, JANUARY 17, 2016

Does ultra-gloomy start to 2016 signal peak bearishness?With � nancial markets having their worst start to the year in history, investors are following the advice of bears such as Royal Bank of Scotland to “sell (mostly) everything”. And yet little has fundamental-ly changed of late beyond sentiment. PAGE 18

Businesses to get more time for installationof ECR, POSThe National Board of Revenue (NBR) plans not to become harsh on the eligible traders and business establishments who are yet to install neither the Electronic Cash Register (ECR) nor Point of Sales (POS) machines within the stipulated deadline expired on January 15. PAGE 16

Chinese president launches new AIIB development bank as power balance shiftsChinese President Xi Jinping launched a new international development bank seen as a ri-val to the US-led World Bank at a lavish cer-emony yesterday, as Beijing seeks to change the unwritten rules of global development � nance. PAGE 17

Capital market snapshot: Past WeekDSE

Broad Index 4,695.0 0.4% ▲

Index 1,118.9 -0.7% ▼

30 Index 1,761.1 -0.6% ▼

Turnover in Mn Tk 31,449.1 15.9% ▲

Turnover in Mn Volume 983.6 41.5% ▲

CSEAll Share Index 14,365.4 0.6% ▲

30 Index 12,586.0 -0.0% ▼

Selected Index 8,737.8 0.6% ▲

Turnover in Mn Tk 2,143.2 24.1% ▲

Turnover in Mn Volume 80.7 51.7% ▲

INSIDE

Hi-Tech Park Authority to award its block 4 this monthn Ishtiaq Husain

Bangladesh Hi-Tech Park Authority, owner of the Kaliakoir Hi-Tech Park, plans to award its block 4 at the end of current month.

Tender evaluation is now at the � nal stage to allot the block for expediting the construc-tion and development works of the Park.

Developers will have to set up water treatment plant, substation for electricity and develop industrial area for the block with 36 acres of land.

An o� cial of the park authority told the Dhaka Tribune a meeting of the tender eval-uation committee will be held soon.

“ We need one more meeting to � nalise the decision on the bid winner of block 4. After completing all the process, the park authority will formally announce the name of developer for the block,” he added.

Bangladesh TechnoSity Limited and Summit Technopolis are contesting in the bidding process for getting the work.

Besides, another meeting was held re-cently with Abul Kalam Azad, principal sec-retary of the PMO, in the chair to review the overall progress of Kaliakoir Hi-Tech Park and Jessore Software Park.

According to meeting sources, the gov-ernment high-ups have ordered the o� cials concerned to expedite the works for the sake of public interest.

Kaliakoir Hi-Tech Park, the � rst ever in the country is located at Kaliakoirupazilla in Gazipur. It is only 40km north o� Dhaka city with 232 acres of area.

“We are very much hopeful that the en-tire evaluation process would be completed this month,” Hosne Ara Begum, managing director of the Kaliakoir Hi-Tech Park Au-thority told the Dhaka Tribune.

Kaliakoir Hi-Tech Park has a total of � ve blocks, out of them, three blocks have al-ready been allocated to Summit Technopo-lis and TechnoSity Limited.

TechnoSity will develop 40 acres of land under the block no 3 on a design, build, � nance, own, operate (DBFOOT) basis ac-cording to an agreement signed on August 11, 2015.

Initially, TechnoSity will invest US$25m for the construction works and if necessary, the investment might also be increased by 10 to 12 times.

Summit Technopolis will develop 2nd and 5th block of the project under Public Private Partnership (PPP) within next 40 years with a cost of $207m.

On June 28, the government had signed

an agreement with Summit Technopolis to develop block No 2 and 5, which spread over 65 acres and 29 acres of land respectively.

As many as 70,000 employments will be create by the Hi-Tech Park while over one more lakh people will be employed indi-rectly.

The Hi-Tech Park will be equipped with uninterrupted gas, electricity connection, high-speed internet connection.

Hi-Tech Park Authority o� ers 10 years tax holiday, exemption of income tax for ex-patriate professionals, 10 years accelerated depreciation permissible, exemption from import duties, 100% exemption of taxes for all exports, 100% equity is allowed for FDI companies, custom bonded area and single window agency. l

Tofail slams TIB report on RMG sectorn Tribune Report

Commerce Minister Tofail Ahmed yesterday said Transparency International Bangladesh (TIB) is providing false and misleading in-formation to hurt the country’s RMG sector and it should be prosecuted for the o� ence.

The minister came up with the remarks talking to reporters at the closing ceremony of a four-day GARMENTECH Fair 2016 in the capital yesterday.

RMG sector is progressing rapidly with the e� orts of government and entrepre-neurs after the Rana Plaza disaster and Taz-reen Fashions � re incident, he said.

Ambassador and global retailers ex-pressed satisfaction with the safety stand-ard, which restored buyers’ con� dence while TIB is now expressing propaganda to tarnish the country’s image to the foreign-ers, added the minister.

Meanwhile, BKMEA said the TIB report on the RMG sector will add to the ongoing global and domestic conspiracy against the

country’s apparel industry. “We are puzzled and at the same time

disappointed by the TIB � ndings,” Bangla-desh Knitwear Manufacturers and Export-ers Association (BKMEA) Salim Osman said in a statement yesterday.

Transparency International interviewed only 74 people from RMG stakeholders, which is not a representative number and they generalised comments on tens of thousands of RMG workers, entrepre-neurs, buyers, Osman said, adding that it is totally in-tentional.

The organisation on Thursday released a report on the apparel industry that found irregularities and cor-ruptions in 16 stages from order placement to ship-ment, where foreign buyers were also responsible for corruption and malpractice

to reap undue advantages by pressuring Bangladeshi ready-made garment suppliers.

The qualitative study on “How to Pre-vent Corruption in The Ready made Gar-ment Sector: Scenarios from Bangladesh” is the � rst ever study, jointly conducted by Transparency International’s Bangladesh and German chapters from November 2014 to April 2015. l

Business16DT

SUNDAY, JANUARY 17, 2016

Businesses to get more time for installation of ECR, POSn Syed Samiul Basher Anik

The National Board of Revenue (NBR) plans not to become harsh on the eligible traders and business establishments who are yet to install neither the Electronic Cash Regis-ter (ECR) nor Point of Sales (POS) machines within the stipulated deadline expired on January 15.

The businesses have already request-ed the authorities concerned to extend the timeframe for installing the machines.

As asked, NBR Chairman Nojibur Rahman told the Dhaka Tribune that the � eld o� ces were already asked to work on the installa-tion of ECR with highest priority.

“We’ve received very positive response from the traders in introducing the new sys-tem. We’re having discussion with the busi-nesses, chambers and associations, so the entire process can work very smoothly,” he said.

“We’ll soon write to the Finance Minister AMA Muhith with a request for extending the deadline to install of ECR and POS and the minister will decide and approve a fresh deadline,” he added.

The NBR targets to collect Tk1,76,370 crore revenue, including Tk64,262 crore as VAT, this � scal year.

During the last month, the NBR had di-rected the � eld o� ces to ensure installations

of the electronic mechanisms in all eligible shops by January 15 following a decision of the � scal coordination council of the � nance ministry.

However, a large number of business estab-lishments and traders are yet to install the electronic mechanism although the deadline expired two days back.

But, the traders said, “We’ve failed to install the machines within the stipulat-ed deadline as those machines are verymuch expensive and also not available in the market.”

Under such a circumstance, NBR � eld lev-el commissionerates, who are responsible for

monitoring the installation, have requested the authorities concerned to simplify the ap-proval procedure to encourage more traders using the mechanism.

In July 2009, the NBR made it mandatory for 11 types of business to install and use ECR machine and Point of Sales (POS) software to boost the VAT collection.

The businesses include-hotels, restau-rants, sweetmeat shops, furniture outlets, beauty parlours, community centres, all shops located at mega shopping malls in the metropolis, departmental stores, general stores, big and medium-size wholesalers and retailers at the metropolis and jewelers.

The technology was introduced to prevent evasion of VAT collected from the consumers by the shopkeepers as the manual system of accounting used at the outlets leaves room for tax evasion.

It is, however, widely reported that a large number of businesses skips the installation while many of those, who have already in-stalled the machines, do not use ECR during � nancial transactions blaming the machines as faulty.

The NBR � eld o� ces have identi� ed 11,005 shops eligible for usin g the technol-ogy, among which, 8,559 were selected for ECR installation. Of the 8,559 shops, only 2,970 have installed the mechanism, accord-ing to the NBR data. l

Dragon Sweater’s IPO subscription begins todayn Tribune Report

The Initial Public O� ering (IPO) subscription of Dragon Sweater and Spinning begins to-day to raise Tk40 crore. The subscription will continue till January 26.

Investors will be able to subscribe through broker houses.

On December 7, 2015, Bangladesh Securi-ties and Exchange Commission (BSEC) gave nod to the manufacturing company to go pub-lic for raising funds for its business expansion.

As per the stock market regulator’s ap-proval, the export-oriented spinning and sweater manufacturing company will � oat 4 crore ordinary shares of Tk10 each.

The IPO proceeds will be used to purchase machinery and spare parts and to bear ex-penses for the o� ering process.

According to the latest � nancial statement ended on December 31, 2014, the earning per share of the company is Tk1.48 each, with the net asset value Tk18.79 each.

Dragon Sweater and Spinning Limited produces 21.60 lakh pieces of sweaters and 65.70 lakh pound spinning yearly.

It runs the business of spinning and man-ufacturing and exports ready-made sweater, pullover and wearing apparels of all kinds made of wool, cotton, synthetic and � bers.

Swadesh Investment Management will act as the issue manager for the IPO process.

As of yesterday, there are 43 textile com-panies listed with the Dhaka and Chittagong stock exchanges. l

Farmers are now busy collecting paddy saplings for boro cultivation typically held in dry season extending to March. The photo was taken from Dhamrai near Dhaka yesterday SYED ZAKIR HOSSAIN

Stock markets stay � at in past week n Tribune Report

Stock markets remained � at in the past week as cautious investors opted for booking quick pro� t ahead of announcement of half-yearly monetary policy for this � scal year.

The market witnessed volatility during the week as both sellers and buyers were ac-tive, pushing higher turnover.

The benchmark of Dhaka Stock Exchange, DSEX, rose almost 19 points or 0.5% to 4,695. With this rise, it gained 46 points in the two weeks.

The blue-chip comprising index DS30 was down 10 points or 0.6% to 1,761. The DSE Shariah Index, DSES, shed 8 points to 1,119.

The Chittagong Stock Exchange Selective Category Index, CSCX, closed at 8,737, mov-ing up 52 points or 0.7%.

The average daily turnover on the DSE was Tk628 crore, up 16% over the previous week.

The most traded stocks were from engi-neering, fuel and power, and pharma sectors, which together accounted for nearly 50% of the week’s total turnover.

IDLC Investments said: “Short-term and event driven issues clicked investment mo-tives throughout the week. So, � at-ends sus-tained with equal buying and selling strength.”

However, investors kept eyeing macroe-conomic issues like World Bank’s reiteration of expectation of 6.5% growth in FY2015-16, concurring development of gradual pick up in private sector credit growth, said the mer-chant bank. l

‘We’ve received very positive response from the traders in introducing the new system. We’re having discussion with the businesses, chambers and associations, so the entire process can work very smoothly’

Business 17D

TSUNDAY, JANUARY 17, 2016

Chinese president launches new AIIB devt bank as power balance shiftsn Reuters, Beijing

Chinese President Xi Jinping launched a new international development bank seen as a ri-val to the US-led World Bank at a lavish cer-emony yesterday, as Beijing seeks to change the unwritten rules of global development � nance.

Despite opposition from Washington, US allies including Australia, Britain, German, Italy, the Philippines and South Korea have agreed to join the Asian Infrastructure In-vestment Bank (AIIB) in recognition of Chi-na’s growing economic clout.

“Asia’s � nancing needs for basic infra-structure are absolutely enormous,” Xi said in a speech at the launch, adding the bank would aim to invest in projects that were “high-quality, low-cost”.

The AIIB is expected to lend $10bn-$15bn a year for the � rst � ve or six years and will start operations in the second quarter of 2016.

Even so, no speci� c infrastructure pro-jects would be announced “for the time be-ing”, AIIB President Jin Liqun told Reuters on the sidelines of the launch.

Diplomatic coupLuxembourg Finance Minister Pierre Gramegna said the establishment of the AIIB was “further proof of the rebalancing of the world economy”.

A successful AIIB that sets itself apart from the World Bank and the International Mone-tary Fund would be a diplomatic triumph for China, which opposes a global � nancial order it says is dominated by the United States and does not adequately represent developing nations.

The AIIB will require projects to be legally transparent and protect social and environ-

mental interests, but it will not force borrow-ers to adopt the kind of free-market practices favoured by the IMF, sources told Reuters in September.

By not insisting on some free market eco-nomic policies recommended by the World Bank, the AIIB is likely to avoid criticism leveled against its rivals, who some say im-pose unreasonable demands on borrowers.

It could also help Beijing stamp its mark on a bank regarded by some in the govern-ment as a political as much as an economic project.

Baikuntha Aryal, joint secretary at Ne-pal’s Ministry of Finance, said the Himala-yan country was hoping the AIIB would fund roads, hydropower and urban development projects.

“The AIIB is speci� cally for infrastructure so we see it as a supplement to projects in Ne-pal funded by the ADB (Asian Development Bank) and World Bank,” he said.

China has an initial subscription of $29.78bn in authorized capital stock in the AIIB, out of a total of $100bn. It invested an-other $50m yesterday . l

Chinese GDP to worry central banks at home and abroadn Reuters, Frankfurt

China is set to report its weakest full-year growth � gure in 25 years on Tuesday on the back of slowing output and sagging invest-ments, troubling news that will likely domi-nate discussion at the European Central Bank and Bank of Canada policy meetings.

Economists said the expansion of the Chinese economy was held back by sluggish domestic and external demand, weak invest-ments, factory overcapacity and high proper-ty inventories, which exacerbated de� ation-ary pressures in the economy.

The poor � gures bolster arguments for more Chinese monetary policy easing on top of the six interest rates cuts seen since No-vember 2014 and suggest that more currency depreciation is coming to prop up corporate pro� tability, bad news for advanced econo-mies.

An even weaker yuan will export China’s de� ationary pressures to advanced econo-mies that are already struggling with anemic price growth, ampli� ed by a fall in oil prices to 12-year lows.

China’s annual fourth-quarter GDP likely slowed to 6.8% from 6.9% in the third quar-ter, the weakest reading since the global � -nancial crisis, while full-year growth is seen at a 25-year low of 6.9%.

“The Chinese yuan has been caught up in a vicious circle than can but lead to fur-ther depreciation of the currency,” Nordine Naam, an analyst at brokerage Natixis, said.

“Concerns over the extent of the slow-down in Chinese growth risk fuelling capital out� ows and in turn a further depreciation of yuan, to which the People’s Bank of China seems resigned,” Naam said.

The Chinese government is expected to target economic growth of at least 6.5% in 2016, but that could require more rate cuts, increased government spending on infra-structure and easing curbs on the cooling property sector.

ING expects Chinese authorities to restrict international capital � ows and tighten sys-temic regulation so the central bank can cut rates further without exerting further down-ward pressure on the currency, also known as renminbi.

But Albert Edwards, a strategist at Societe Generale known for his bearish stance, has bigger fears: “Investors are coming to terms with what a Chinese renminbi devaluation means for Western markets. It means global de� ation and recession,” he said.

“The western manufacturing sector will choke under this imported de� ationary tour-niquet. Indeed US manufacturing seems to be su� ering particularly badly already,” Ed-wards added.

Although China was a fading concern for central banks in recent months, market tur-bulence at the start of the year will likely pro-pel it back on top of the agenda, particularly after another plunge in oil prices, a factor of weak emerging market demand.

Meeting for the � rst time since it cut inter-est rates and extended quantitative easing in December, the ECB is expected to remain on hold on Thursday but will likely express se-rious concern about emerging market pros-pects as the euro area in� ation and growth outlooks fade. l

Chinese President Xi Jinping applauds after unveiling a sculpture during the opening ceremony of the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank in Beijing REUTERS

‘The AIIB is speci� cally for infrastructure so we see it as a supplement to projects in Nepal funded by the ADB (Asian Development Bank) and World Bank’

Business18DT

SUNDAY, JANUARY 17, 2016

CORPORATE NEWS

Does ultra-gloomy start to 2016 signal peak bearishness?n Reuters, London

With � nancial markets having their worst start to the year in history, investors are fol-lowing the advice of bears such as Royal Bank of Scotland to “sell (mostly) everything”. And yet little has fundamentally changed of late beyond sentiment.

Fears about China’s � nancial and econom-ic health have prompted investors to dump stocks equal in value to the annual economic output of Britain and France combined since New Year.

RBS was not alone with its advice in a note to clients this week. Renowned bear Albert Edwards at Societe Generale in London said a further devaluation of China’s currency will result in “global de� ation and recession”.

Western markets, Edwards added, were also vulnerable to the coming “carnage” because they have been in� ated so much by central banks’ quantitative easing stimulus programs.

Bank of America Merrill Lynch (BAML) calculates about $5.7tn has been wiped o� the value of world stock markets in the � rst nine trading days of this year. But is the downturn and doomsday mentality justi� ed?

Investors are typically most optimistic in January as they put money to work for the year ahead. Yet two weeks in Wall Street is down by 6%, Germany’s DAX stock index by 8 percent and China by 18%. Oil has sunk 20% to a 12-year low below $30 a barrel.

The speed of the sello� has caught investors across all asset classes o� guard, even though the factors behind it aren’t particularly new.

China’s economy is no longer growing at breakneck speed, so the price of global re-

sources and commodities it has consumed voraciously is falling sharply, deepening worries about world demand, growth and the risk of a pernicious de� ationary cycle.

According to the E� cient Market Hypothe-sis, stocks incorporate and re� ect all relevant information available to the market, meaning they are always fairly and accurately priced.

But as countless examples down the years have shown, markets are vulnerable to herd mentality among investors, resulting in huge price swings and volatility. Once a market gains momentum and overshoots in either

direction, it’s often di� cult to stop.“We shouldn’t get carried away by being

overly bearish right now. Sentiment has de-teriorated but nothing has really changed in the last few weeks. Fundamentals are OK and expectations are already low,” said Michael Metcalfe, head of global macro strategy at State Street Global Markets in London.

China is not the sole focus of investors’ concern. The latest US data suggest the world’s largest economy is struggling too, just as the Federal Reserve has begun to tighten monetary policy. l

German economy notches up ‘solid, consistent’ growth in 2015n AFP, Berlin

The German economy, Europe’s biggest, shrugged o� the Greek crisis, the economic slowdown in China and geopolitical uncer-tainties to notch up “solid and consistent growth” in 2015, the federal statistics o� ce said yesterday.

According to a preliminary estimate by Destatis, German gross domestic product (GDP) expanded by 1.7% in 2015, fractionally faster than the 1.6% recorded in 2014.

At the same time, Germany notched up a surplus on its public budget of 16.4bn euros ($17.9bn), equivalent to 0.5% of GDP, the of-� ce said. It was the second year in a row that Germany’s public � nances have been � rmly in the black.

Eurozone member countries are not al-lowed to run up de� cits in excess of 3% of GDP and must aim for a balanced budget for even a surplus in the longer-term.

“The economic situation in Germany in 2015 was characterised by solid and consist-ent growth,” said Destatis president Dieter Sarreither.

“Almost all industrial sectors saw growth,” he said. And the increase in economic activi-ty was driven primarily by domestic demand, Sarreither continued.

“Consumption was the most important growth engine in the Germany economy. In-vestment and foreign trade helped support the positive trend, too, but to a much smaller extent.” Private consumption was up 1.9% in 2015 and government spending grew by 2.8%.

Investment in machinery and equipment advanced by 3.6%. l

Islami Bank Bangladesh Limited has recently held a two-day business development conference. The bank’s managing director, Mohammad Abdul Mannan presided over the conference

Bank Limited has recently held a discussion meeting among its CRM and top management to discuss approval and distribution of debt, said a press release. The bank’s managing director (current charge), AFM Shariful Islam presided over the meeting

Premier Bank has recently held its annual management conference for the year 2016. The bank’s chairperson, Dr HBM Iqbal inaugurated the conference

Edison Group has recently distributed winter cloths among poor people in Munshiganj district, said a press release. The group’s chairperson, Aminur Rashid was present at the distribution ceremony

Traders work on the main trading � oor of the New York Stock Exchange shortly after the opening bell of the trading session in New York REUTERS

Biz Info 19D

T

SUNDAY, JANUARY 17, 2016

To support the unprivileged who continue to struggle with hunger and isolation, Amari Dhaka announces its partnership with Shishu Polli Plus. 

Shishu Polli Plus is a children’s village that aims to provide long-term rehabilitation services to unprivileged children and their mothers who are neglected due to poverty, stigma, trauma and other social concerns. As part of Amari’s initiative, “give back to the community” CSR project, a committee was formed with the graceful participation of all departments at Amari Dhaka.

On January 11, Kelly Lewis, general manager of Amari Dhaka, along with other sta� representatives, donated money to Patricia Kerr, overseas director of Shishu Polli Plus. The funding will enable

Amari Dhaka announces partnership with Shishu Polli Plus

On the chilly morning of January 9, the newly recruited general members of the Dhaka West chapter Junior Chamber International (JCI) started their fun-� lled journey with the organisation through the excursion at SH Castle and Resort in Narayanganj, with the rest of the existing members and current president Mabroor Wassey.

The day started with an exciting activity. Later that day, pride of Bangladesh, stalwart mountaineer Musa Ibrahim joined the ceremony to motivate everyone about what they should stand for. 2016 National Governing Body (NGB); JCI’s

president Shakawat Hossain Mamun; national vice president Sumon Howlader; and national director Mir Shahed Ali also rendered their valuable presence to elevate the morale of the members. The day became more productive when the members presented their ideas regarding ventures of social betterment in teams. The induction ceremony ended with a photo shoot wearing the t-shirt of JCI Dhaka West. “Couldn’t have been better,” said Shah Sultan Mohiuddin Raunaq, a new general member of JCI Dhaka West when summarising the whole event. l

Auspicious Member’s Induction Ceremony of JCI Dhaka West

Super Brand in Bangladesh

With a grand programme Super Brand, a sister concern of Rangs, started their journey with Super coffee at Spectra Convention Centre in Dhaka city. The chief guest of this programme was the managing director of Hussain Trading Ltd Beanus Husain. In the programme, the director of Husain Trading Ltd J Ekram was also present. With a performance by singer konok, there were other cultural events too. All mega shops signed with Super Brand in the country making products of super coffee available in the mega shops. Super coffee is mainly produced in Singapore. It’s famous around the world. Husain trading Ltd is bringing Super Brand first time in Bangladesh. l

its members to increase acquisition in necessary areas. Also, Amari purchased handmade bags and birthday cards from Shishu Polli Plus that will be used in the hotel for its guests. The associates purchased a few handmade ladies’ bags during the visit. Also, the engineering team � xed a few fans over there that were not operational.

The children’s village has a beauty salon run by them, which has closed due to the lack of proper � nancial support. Amari will be donating necessary support so that the salon re-opens soon.

During the event, Amari Dhaka’s CSR committee cut a cake with all the unprivileged children.

“Amari is very fortunate to be partnering with Shishu Polli Plus, to reach our shared goal of improving communities across the country,” said Kelly Lewis, general manager Amari Dhaka. He further adds, “this generous support enables us to further our collective e� orts to address three of the biggest threats of ageing: hunger, isolation and loss of independence.” l

Downtime20DT

SUNDAY, JANUARY 17, 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 2 represents M so � ll M every time the � gure 2 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 Person under age (5)4 Tool (3)6 Declare (4)8 Bird (5)9 Labyrinth (4)11 Observed (4)12 View (5)15 Social event (5) 18 Vended (4)20 Wooden shoe (4)21 Gentle pace (5)22 Becomes � rm (4)23 Groove (3)24 Concluded (5)

Down 1 Visible traces (5)2 Illustrious (5)3 Scope (5)4 Swing to and fro (4)5 Unwanted plant (4)7 Greek letter (5)10 Keen relish (4)13 Slightly cold (4)14 Slightly cold (5)15 Stage of development (5)16 Fanatical (5)17 Surrender (5)18 Cicatrix (4)19 Missing (4)

SUDOKU

INSIDE

21D

TWorldSUNDAY, JANUARY 17, 2016

Jakarta bloodshed spotlights rise of Dae’sh a� liate in SE AsiaThe deadly Paris-style attack in Jakarta has thrown a spotlight on a shadowy Southeast Asian faction of the Islamic State group and o� ers new evidence of the spread of Dae’sh franchises. PAGE 22

90 took France trial drug that left 1 brain-dead, 5 hospitalisedOne person has been left brain-dead and three others face possibly irreversible brain damage after they took an experimental drug administered to 90 people in France, Health Minister Marisol Touraine and a neurologist said Friday.

PAGE 23

Video game pulled after uproar over killing Australia AboriginesA video game allowing players to kill Australi-an Aboriginals has been removed from mobile stores after more than 50,000 people signed an online petition against the “racist” app.

PAGE 24

Taiwan elects 1st female presidentn Reuters, Taipei

Taiwan’s independence-leaning opposi-tion leader Tsai Ing-wen won a convincing victory in presidential election on Satur-day and pledged to maintain peace with China, which claims the island as its own, though vowed to � rmly defend Taiwan’s sovereignty.

Tsai, leader of the Democratic Progres-sive Party (DPP), will be thrust into one of Asia’s toughest and most dangerous jobs, with China pointing hundreds of missiles at the island, decades after losing Nationalists � ed from Mao Zedong’s Communists to Tai-wan in the Chinese civil war.

Tsai risks antagonising China if she at-tempts to forcefully assert Taiwan’s sover-eignty and reverses eight years of warming China ties under incumbent President Ma Ying-jeou of the Nationalists, whose forces retreated to Taiwan in 1949.

Tsai said she would establish “consistent, predictable and sustainable” relations with China and not be provocative, to ensure the status quo.

“Both sides have a responsibility to do their utmost to � nd mutually acceptable ways to interact with respect and reciproc-ity and ensure no provocation and no sur-prises,” Tsai added, having taken more than half the vote.

Support for the DPP has swelled since 2014, when hundreds of students occupied Taiwan’s parliament for weeks protesting against a China trade bill in the largest dis-play of anti-China sentiment the island had seen in years.

Outside DPP headquarters, supporters cried for joy.

Optometrist David Chen, 28, said he wanted Tsai to stand up to China.

“We’re not a part of China. I de� nitely think we should exist as two countries,” he told Reuters. “If it’s possible for Tsai, I want her to push for independence. More and more Taiwanese people want this.”

Tsai, a lawyer, got an even stronger man-date as the DPP also won parliamentary polls which were being held the same day, though the margin was not immediately clear.

Tsai will have to balance the superpow-er interests of China, which is also Taiwan’s largest trading partner, and the United States with those of her freewheeling, dem-ocratic home.

Taiwan dollar suffersThe US State Department said it looked for-ward to working with Tsai.

“We share with the Taiwan people a pro-found interest in the continuation of cross-Strait peace and stability,” it said.

Still, underscoring investor worries about uncertainly following her possible victory, on Friday the Taiwan dollar ended lower against the US dollar in its weakest closing since April 2009. Following the vote, a sen-ior central bank o� cial told Reuters that Taiwan’s central bank “always maintains stability in the market.”

There was no immediate reaction from Beijing to her election. The o� cial Xinhua news agency noted in a brief report that Tsai

had won the “Taiwan region leaders’ elec-tion.”

In a statement carried by state media ear-lier in the day, China’s Taiwan A� airs O� ce repeated it would not get involved in the election, saying only that it was “paying at-tention to across the Taiwan Strait.”

Perhaps fearful of allowing discussion about democracy on an island Beijing says it owns, Chinese censors moved swiftly to block searches for Tsai’s name on Weibo, China’s answer to Twitter.

Some Chinese managed to post about the vote though.

“Why is there no election for the chair-man in China? I condemn this,” said one Weibo user.

Relations had already been strained by a 16-year-old Taiwan singer with a South Korean girl band who inadvertently shot to the top of the election agenda on polling day after she publicly apologised for holding a Taiwan � ag, prompting China and Taiwan to trade accusations.

Tsai referred to the spat in her victory speech, saying the incident would remind her that as president her most important duty was to unite and strengthen the coun-try.

The election comes at a tricky time for Taiwan’s export-dependent economy, which slipped into recession in the third quarter last year. China is also Taiwan’s top trading partner and Taiwan’s favourite in-vestment destination.

Tsai has the tide of history against her. Ma and his predecessors all failed to bring about a lasting reconciliation with China, which considers Taiwan a rogue province to be taken by force if necessary.

Shots were traded between the two sides as recently as the mid-1970s.

At stake are relations with an ascendant and increasingly assertive China under Pres-ident Xi Jinping.

Tsai has been ambiguous on her China policy, merely pledging, in public anyway, to maintain the status quo. Beijing has warned repeatedly that hard-earned peace across the Taiwan Strait could be a� ected by a Tsai win. l

Tsai Ing-Wen

Scholar-turned-politician, born into a wealthy family in southern Taiwan

Democratic Progressive Party(China-skeptic main opposition)

Former head of Mainland A�airs Council, Taiwan’s top China policy-making body, and vice premier

Lost a presidential bid in 2012, a defeat widely attributed toher Beijing-sceptic approach

Now wants to "maintain status quo" in cross-Strait ties, but opponents say relations will deteriorate as she does not recognise "one China" policy

Tsai Ing-wen, centre, celebrates her victory inTaipei AFP

WorldSUNDAY, JANUARY 17, 2016

22DT

Jakarta bloodshed spotlights rise of Dae’sh a� liate in SE Asian AFP, Jakarta

The deadly Paris-style attack in Jakarta has thrown a spotlight on a shadowy Southeast Asian faction of the Islamic State group and o� ers new evidence of the spread of Dae’sh franchises.

Under growing pressure in Iraq and Syria from the US-led bombing campaign, the extremist group is spreading its tenta-cles, metastasising into new regions.

The Dae’sh group already has a� liates in Libya and Nigeria, and has targeted a host of other countries like Yemen, Somalia and Afghanistan, using its signature brutality to lure disa� ected � ghters from other jihadists like the Taliban.

Now, with its claim of responsibility for Thursday’s suicide bomb and gun attacks in Jakarta – which left � ve attackers and two other people dead – the brutal grouping appears to be getting a foothold in Southeast Asia.

“Dae’sh is changing strategy,” said Jakarta police chief Tito Karnavian, the former head of Indonesia’s anti-terrorism unit.

Indonesian police have pointed the � nger at Katibah Nusan-tara, a militant unit of Malay-speaking Dae’sh jihadists � ghting in Syria.

While there has as yet been no direct Katibah Nusantara claim, the group has loomed ever larger on the radar of Dae’sh-linked groups.

Its extended name translates roughly as “Malay Archipelago Unit for the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria.”

Its goal: a Southeast Asian outpost for its global caliphate.The faction’s � ghters, primarily from Indonesia and Malaysia

and who coalesced along shared lines of language and culture, rose to prominence in 2015 after distinguishing themselves on the battle� elds of Syria and Iraq, helping to capture territory.

‘Jihadi intellectual’Police say Katibah Nusantara is led by Bahrun Naim, who they accuse of orchestrating Thursday’s attacks from Syria, where he is believed to be instructing Southeast Asian militants and organ-ising recruitment.

He has been described in some media reports as a former In-ternet cafe employee.

Analysts say he was previously imprisoned brie� y in Indone-sia on suspicion of terrorism involvement, and has been linked with other extremist groups in the past.

Sidney Jones, a regional terrorism expert, has called him an “ex-prisoner and jihadi intellectual,” saying he was involved in a previous plot last year to carry out an attack in Indonesia, which appears not to have gone ahead.

Indonesia su� ered several large and deadly bomb attacks by Islamic radicals between 2000 and 2009, but a subsequent se-curity crackdown weakened extremist networks, and there had been no major attacks for years.

If Katibah is responsible, the Jakarta violence marks its � rst high-pro� le strike in its home region, and will challenge Indonesian authorities to once again tame the extremists in their backyard.

‘Thinking big’“One of the saving graces for Indonesia over the last � ve years is that local terrorists have thought small,” Jones wrote in a recent analysis of Katibah Nusantara.

“Bahrun Naim and some of his friends think bigger.”Some � ghters from Southeast Asia have returned from the

Middle East with tales of disappointment at being given little re-spect or responsibility there, analysts said.

But the language and cultural commonalities of Katibah Nu-santara followers could help keep � ghters in the fold and provide an enduring tool for coordinating attacks across Southeast Asia and recruiting more � ghters to Syria, analysts said.

The Islamic State group “is very sophisticated and profession-al in their militancy, in every sense of the word,” said Liow.

“It does appear to be able to capture and captivate the imagi-nation of many Muslims in this part of the world,” she added. l

WorldSOUTH ASIAJailed Maldives ex-president to seek surgery in UKFormer Maldives president Mohamed Nash-eed, who was jailed for 13 years following a controversial trial last year, has been granted permission to travel to Britain for surgery, the Maldives government said Saturday. Nasheed, who became the country’s � rst democratically elected leader in 2008, has previously com-plained of a spinal cord injury and his lawyers have demanded for months that he be allowed specialist treatment abroad. -AFP

INDIAPathankot attack: Punjab Police o� cer to undergo lie detector test Former Gurdaspur Superintendent of Police Salwinder Singh is all set to undergo a lie detector test regarding the terrorist attack at the Pathankot IAF base, a National Investiga-tion Agency o� cial said. The NIA will move court next week to seek permission for the lie detector test. O� cials said that for the test to be conducted, Mr. Singh has to give his concurrence � rst. The NIA has questioned him continuously for � ve days but is still not convinced with his replies. -THE HINDU

CHINAChina: Talking to US over brother of aide to former presidentChina on Friday acknowledged for the first time that it is communicating with the US about Ling Wancheng, the brother of a disgraced one-time aide to former President Hu Jintao, in a case that could complicate ties. Authorities have been tight-lipped about revealing any information about Ling, who is in the US. The Chines government has given no details of any crime Ling is suspected of, but two of his brothers have been accused of corruption, including a former senior aide to Presi-dent Xi Jinping’s predecessor Hu Jintao. -REUTERS

ASIA PACIFICIndonesia blocks radical websites after deadly militant attack in capitalIndonesia shut down at least 11 radical websites and several social media accounts on Saturday after a deadly gun and bomb attack claimed by Dae’sh rocked the capital earlier in the week. Authorities said several accounts had been found on social network-ing website Facebook expressing support for Thursday’s attack in Jakarta’s. The brazen-ness of the assault, which lasted several hours, suggested a new brand of militancy in a country where low-level strikes on police are common. -AFP

MIDDLE EASTDae’sh attack on Syria’s Deir Ezzor kills 35 regime forcesThe Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said Islamic State � ghters killed at least 35 Syrian soldiers and pro-gov-ernment forces in an attack on several areas in the city of Deir al-Zor on Saturday. Dae’sh is in control of most of the eastern province while the government is holding parts of the city including a military airport. AFP

SUNDAY, JANUARY 17, 201623

DT

90 took France trial drug that left 1 brain-dead, 5 hospitalisedn AFP, France

One person has been left brain-dead and three others face possibly irreversible brain damage after they took an experimental drug administered to 90 people in France, Health Minister Marisol Touraine and a neu-rologist said Friday.

Six volunteers were taken to hospital last week after taking part in the Phase I trial of a new medication meant to treat mood dis-orders such as anxiety, developed by Portu-guese pharmaceutical company Bial.

Touraine said the men, aged between 28 and 49, were part of a group of around 90 people who had taken the drug, while about 30 others had received a placebo.

Pierre-Gilles Edan, head of the neurol-ogy department at the hospital in Rennes where the volunteers were taken, said that aside from the man who was clinically dead, three others were su� ering a “handicap that could be irreversible” and another also had neurological problems.

“This is unprecedented” in France, said the health minister, vowing to “shed light” on who was responsible.

‘Tragic but very rare’ The study was a Phase I clinical trial, in which a drug is tested on humans for the � rst time, after likely tests on animals and in the laboratory to ensure its safety.

Touraine said the drug molecule had pre-viously been tested on chimpanzees.

France’s national drug safety body (ANSM) con� rmed it was the worst-ever in-cident to have taken place in a drug trial in the country.

“This type of incident is tragic but very rare in the world of clinical trials,” said Pro-fessor Jayne Lawrence, chief scientist with Britain’s Royal Pharmaceutical Society.

Clinical trials typically have three phases to assess a new drug after preliminary tests on animals and human cells in petri dishes.

After Phase I, Phase II and Phase III are progressively larger trials, typically involv-

ing hundreds or thousands of volunteers, to assess the drug’s e� ectiveness.

The research company conducts its Phase I trials at a 150-bed facility in Rennes and also in Newark, New Jersey, from where it carries out “a large variety of early clinical studies,” according to its website.

‘Followed best practice’In a statement, the Portuguese � rm insisted it had followed “international best practice” in developing the drug and said it would cooperate with the investigation to “deter-mine in a rigorous and exhaustive manner” what had happened.

Based in northern Portugal, Bial says on its website it is Portugal’s largest phar-maceutical company with a presence in 58 countries.

Founded in 1924, it produces treatments for a range of ailments including problems with the nervous system and cardiovascular health, as well as antibiotics and anti-aller-gens. l

A logo is seen on a glass sign in front of the entrance of the Biotrial laboratory building in Rennes, France REUTERS

Nuclear ‘Implementation Day’ looms for Iran as prisoners freedn AFP, Vienna

US Secretary of State John Kerry and his Iranian counterpart met for a � nal time in Vienna Saturday ahead of an expected an-nouncement by the UN watchdog that their momentous 2015 nuclear accord can enter into force.

In an apparent sign of goodwill, Iran said that four Iranian dual-national prisoners had been freed, with local media reporting that they included Washington Post corre-spondent Jason Rezaian and Saeed Abedini, a pastor from Idaho.

In Vienna meanwhile, in the same plush hotel where they agreed last July’s land-mark nuclear deal, Kerry and his Iranian

counterpart Mohammad Javad Zarif met to iron out the � nal details.

This was ahead of an expected UN nu-clear watchdog announcement that Iran has complied with its side of the accord, al-lowing the lifting of sanctions, including on Iran’s lifeblood oil exports.

Zarif said earlier as he arrived in the Aus-trian capital that this was a “good day for the world.”

The International Atomic Energy Agen-cy (IAEA) report is expected to con� rm that Iran has dramatically scaled down its nu-clear programme as agreed in the hard-won July 14 deal agreed in Vienna.

This, combined with ultra-close IAEA inspections, extend to at least a year – from

a few months previously – how long Iran would need to make one nuclear bomb’s worth of � ssile material.

Iran has always denied wanting nuclear weapons, saying its activities are exclusive-ly for peaceful purposes such as power gen-eration.

The IAEA’s green light means that a raft of US, EU and UN sanctions on the Islamic republic can be lifted, allowing oil exports to resume and opening up the 80-mil-lion-strong country to business.

The Vienna agreement between Iran and six major powers was sealed after two years of rollercoaster negotiations following the June 2013 election of Iranian President Has-san Rouhani. l

WorldSUNDAY, JANUARY 17, 2016

24DT

USAUS issues travel alert over Zika virus in Latin America, CaribbeanUS health o� cials on Friday issued a travel warning for 14 countries and territories in the Caribbean and Latin America where in-fection with Zika, a mosquito-borne virus, is a risk. The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in particular cautioned pregnant women not to travel to those are-as as Zika has been linked to a serious birth defects. -REUTERS

THE AMERICASVenezuela’s Maduro admits economic catastropheVenezuelan President Nicolas Maduro admitted before a hostile legislature Friday that the oil-rich nation is mired in a cata-strophic economic crisis, hours after decree-ing a two-month state of emergency.Maduro’s � rst state of the nation address before the newly opposition-held National Assembly, which is locked in a bitter power struggle with his administration, came as Venezuela’s central bank released its � rst economic growth and in� ation statistics in more than a year. -AFP

UK600 British jihadists stopped from entering SyriaSome 600 Britons have been stopped from going to Syria to try to join Dae’sh and other jihadist groups, Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond said in comments reported Satur-day. The foreign secretary said the number of Britons stopped in Turkey had gone up in the past eight months due to Ankara reassessing the scale of the threat posed to Turkey by Dae’sh. -AFP

EUROPEMerkel allies step up pressure over welcoming refugee policyA prominent ally of Germany’s Angela Merkel threatened on Saturday to take her govern-ment to court over its open doors refugee policy as political pressure grows for the chancellor to reduce the number of new ar-rivals. Bavarian state premier Horst Seehofer said he would send the federal government a written request within the next two weeks to restore orderly conditions at the nation’s borders, through which one million migrants and refugees passed last year alone. -REUTERS

AFRICAJoy over Ebola victory crushed by Sierra Leone deathThe World Health Organization con� rmed Friday a new death from Ebola in Sierra Leo-ne just a day after west Africa celebrated the end of an outbreak which killed 11,000 peo-ple. A 22-year-old woman, named as Marie Jalloh, was taken ill near the Guinean border on Thursday last week and died on Tuesday, local health o� cials said as the WHO issued a statement from Geneva con� rming she was killed by Ebola. A total of 27 people have been placed in quarantine in a bid to prevent the spread of the disease, health ministry o� cials said. -AFP

Self-harm at Australia detention centres once every two daysn AFP, Sydney

Self-harm by asylum-seekers being held at Australia’s o� shore detention centres takes place on average once every two days, a re-port said Saturday, with some prospective refugees swallowing poison, cutting them-selves and attempting suicide.

Under Canberra’s hardline immigration policy, Australia sends asylum-seekers that attempt to arrive by boat to the Paci� c is-lands of Papua New Guinea and Nauru for processing.

They are barred from being resettled in Australia even if found to be refugees.

The Fairfax Media report, using Immi-gration Department logs obtained through Freedom of Information laws, found there were 188 self-harm incidents involving asy-lum seekers in Nauru in the 12 months to July 2015.

Self-harm incidents at the Manus Island camp on PNG numbered 55 for the same period.

An immigration department spokesman said the number of self-harm incidents at the two o� shore camps “have reduced con-siderably in recent months.”

“Where an individual in a regional pro-cessing centre threatens self-harm or actu-ally self-harms they are immediately pro-vided with both counselling and medical

services,” the spokesman added in a state-ment Saturday.

“The services provided in both Nauru and Papua New Guinea are broadly compa-rable with health services available within the Australian community.”

The incidents reported included asy-lum-seekers stu� ng tea bags down their throats, attempting to hang themselves by bedsheets or other makeshift nooses, and a woman who “poured boiling water over (her) lower limbs,” the report said.

Self-harm cases in the onshore deten-tion network, which include people held for breaking immigration laws and asy-lum-seekers living in the community, stood at 706 over the same 12-month period.

A total of 1,459 asylum-seekers were being held on Manus Island and Nauru at the end of 2015, according to immigration � gures.

Some 28,919 people are under detention or live in the community within the on-shore detention network, the � gures show.

A Senate inquiry into the Nauru facility last year found that conditions were inadequate and unsafe, with submissions to the hearing including allegations of rape and other abuse.

Human rights groups have criticised the policy against asylum-seekers arriving by boat and the detention conditions, but the Austral-ian government has argued the harsh meas-ures have helped stop people dying at sea. l

Video game pulled after uproar over killing Australia Aboriginesn AFP, Sydney

A video game allowing players to kill Australi-an Aboriginals has been removed from mobile stores after more than 50,000 people signed an online petition against the “racist” app.

The app, “Survival Island 3 – Austral-ia Story,” tells users that they have to � nd ways to stay alive in “one of the most dan-gerous places in the world,” including hav-ing to “� ght with aboriginals – you invaded their home!.”

The change.org petition, which has been signed by more than 50,000 people since it was set up on Friday, called for the app to be pulled from mobile stores, adding that “kill-ing indigenous Australians is not a game.”

“Selling games that promote racism and negative stereotypes of indigenous Austral-ians is not acceptable,” the petition added.

By mid-day on Saturday, the app had been pulled from the two dominant smart-phone app stores – Apple’s iTunes store as well as Google Play.

A spokeswoman for tech giant Google, which o� ers apps through Google Play on its Android mobile platforms, would not comment on the game but said the tech gi-ant would remove “applications that violate our policies.”

Apple did not immediately respond

to AFP requests for comment, and the game’s developer could not be immediately reached for comment.

Australia’s Race Discrimination Com-missioner Tim Soutphommasane wrote on Twitter that it was “unacceptable to see such promotion of violence and hatred against Aboriginal people.”

Aborigines, the most disadvantaged

Australians, are believed to have numbered around one million at the time of British set-tlement.

There are now just 470,000 out of a to-tal Australian population of 23 million, and they su� er disproportionate levels of dis-ease, imprisonment and social problems as well as signi� cantly lower education, em-ployment and life expectancy. l

Jordan queen hits back at cartoon of drowned Syria boyn AFP, Amman

Jordan’s Queen Rania has hit back at a car-toon in French satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo depicting drowned Syrian toddler Ay-lan Kurdi as a grown-up refugee committing sexual o� ences in Germany.

The cartoon shows a pervert chasing a woman, with the caption asking: “What would have become of small Aylan if he grew up?”

“Someone who gropes asses in Germa-ny,” it added, referring to the multiple acts of sexual assault blamed on migrants on New Year’s Eve.

In response Queen Rania posted a cartoon on Facebook and Twitter by Jordan’s Osama Hajjaj depicting the little boy lying face down on the beach alongside an older child with a backpack and � nally a doctor.

The queen added the caption: “Aylan could’ve been a doctor, a teacher, a loving parent.”

“Queen Rania gives an elegant and e� ec-tive rebuttal that refutes the shameful Char-lie Hebdo cartoon. She is such a class act!” Facebook user Jane Shartzer commented on the queen’s page.

In September, the queen in a speech in Berlin urged Europeans not to “bolt the door for fear of the unknown” in response to the growing � ood into the continent of refugees from Syria’s brutal con� ict.

The Charlie Hebdo drawing has triggered sharp criticism on social networks while Aylan’s relatives in Canada expressed “dis-gust.” l

A screenshot of the game Survival Island 3 – Australia Story 3D, which advises players ‘You have to � ght with aboriginals [sic] – you invaded their home!’ INTERNET

25D

TSportINSIDE

SUNDAY, JANUARY 17, 2016

U23 booters crash out, Bahrain throughedBangladesh Under-23 side crashed out of the Bangabandhu Gold Cup conceding a 1-0 defeat against Cambodia in their last group game at the Bangabandhu National stadium. The loss however, played little part in the elimination as the hosts’ fate was sealed earlier when Maldives and Bahrain played out a 1-1 draw. PAGE 26

Brilliant Broad destroys South AfricaStuart Broad decimated South Africa’s top order with a magical spell of fast bowling that yielded � ve wickets and left England on the brink of victory at tea on day three of the third Test on Saturday. The hosts limped to the interval on 71 for eight after Broad returned � gures of � ve for 14 from 10 overs on a lively wicket. PAGE 27

Eriksen brace gets Spurs back in the grooveEriksen scored twice as Tottenham revitalised their CL push by coming from behind to beat Sunderland 4-1 in the EPL. With Tottenham winless in three games and Sunderland chasing a third straight win, it threatened to be a � ddly afternoon at White Hart Lane. PAGE 28

Another big win expected of ZidaneAfter the rousing success of a 5-0 win over Deportivo la Coruna on his managerial debut last weekend, more of the same is expected from Zidane’s Real at home to Sporting Gijon today. The club were rocked by a one-year transfer ban handed down by FIFA for alleged irregularities in the signing of minors. PAGE 29

Sabbir at three could be the right moven Reazur Rahman Rohan

Sabbir Rahman’s promotion to number three in the Bangladesh batting order could prove to be a move in the right direction for the Ti-gers who are looking to increase their capaci-ty in the shortest format.

The right-hander is somewhat labelled as a � nisher for the Bangladesh side and bats usually after number � ve in the ODIs. How-ever, two entertaining innings in the dying stages of the Bangladesh Premier League last month have certainly prompted Mashrafe bin Mortaza to send him up the order.

He had a very sour experience in BPL 3 and playing for eventual runners-up Baris-al Bulls, Sabbir scored just 189 runs from 13 matches. The poor run though, thankfully ended with him promoted to No 3 as he made 79 and 41 to win the matches for Barisal in the Eliminator and the Quali� er.

Sabbir, on Friday, made a valuable 46 o� 36 balls and kept the Tigers on course chas-ing a tricky 166. He usually eats up a few balls up front but also takes little time to settle and keeps the run-� ow active.

Before the series, Sabbir batted at No 3 on three occasions and scored only 21 (v Nepal), two (v Hong Kong) and 18 (v Zimbabwe). The Tigers do not have a settled No 3 batsman like many nations.

With the Bangladesh think-tank des-perate to � nd the right combination for the T20s, placing the 24-year-old high up the bating order might give the right balance with the likes of Mahmudullah, Shakib al Hasan, Mush� qur Rahim and Nurul Hasan to follow him. l

Hard-hitting Bangladesh batsman Sabbir Rahman sports a smile before talking with the media yesterday in Khulna MAINOOR ISLAM MANIK

Experimentation to rule the roost againn Tribune Report

With the 2016 ICC World Twenty20 loom-ing on the horizon, both Bangladesh and Zimbabwe had expressed their desire of tinkering with their respective team com-binations in the ongoing four-match T20 international series.

Both the hosts and the visitors lived up to their pre-match words in the � rst T20I last Friday, experimenting at will as the former posted a four-wicket win with eight balls in hand.

The second match, scheduled for today at Khulna’s Sheikh Abu Naser Stadium, is pretty much expected to follow a similar script. And having won the � rst game in a relatively comfortable fashion, it is the Ti-gers who will start as favourites yet again.

Tamim Iqbal, Sabbir Rahman, Mush-� qur Rahim and Shakib al Hasan were all among the runs in the � rst T20I and skipper Mashrafe bin Mortaza duly conveyed his contentment with the batting performance of his charges.

Sabbir was the most impressive among the quartet, scoring a brisk 36-ball 46, deco-rated with four boundaries and a six, and the experimental decision to promote the young right-hander to No 3 paid o� in some style.

Mashrafe however, will be hoping for a better start by his bowlers today.

Even though the Tigers restricted the southern African nation to 166/6 two days

ago, the latter were coasting at one stage on 101 without loss. Opening batsmen Hamil-ton Masakadza and Vusi Sibanda put on a re-cord opening partnership to give Zimbabwe a solid start after skipper Elton Chigumbura won the toss and took � rst guard.

The Tigers bowlers, led superbly by Musta� zur Rahman (2/18) and Al Amin Hos-

sain (2/24), did well to peg back the oppo-sition, giving away only 21 runs in the � nal � ve overs.

Mashrafe and Shakib though proved to be expensive so the experienced duo will be desperate for a better show sooner rather than later.

Like Bangladesh, Zimbabwe too will eye some improvements today, starting with their middle order which failed miserably in the � rst game. None of the middle-order bats-men crossed seven in the face of disciplined bowling by the Tigers so they must � re if they are to script a comeback to the series. l

Tigers face Zimbabwe in second Twenty20 international today

26DT BPL 2015

(L-R) Denmark’s Caroline Wozniacki, Canada’s Milos Raonic, Switzerland’s Roger Federer, Australia’s Lleyton Hewitt, Serbia’s Novak Djokovic and Belarus’ Victoria Azarenka pose with characters from Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles during Kids Tennis Day at Melbourne Park, Australia yesterday. The Australian Open tennis tournament starts tomorrow

REUTERS

SUNDAY, JANUARY 17, 2016

Junior Tigers sweep WIn Tribune Report

Following two convincing losses on the trot, the West Indies Under-19 team put up some sort of resistance but it was still not enough as they su� ered a 16-run defeat against their Bangladeshi counterparts yesterday in the third and � nal one-dayer at Chittagong’s Za-hur Ahmed Chowdhury Stadium.

The junior Tigers thumped the Windies youngsters by eight wickets and 171 runs in the � rst and second one-dayers respectively and even though the visitors tried their best to chase down 236, they still fell short, thus handing the hosts a 3-0 series sweep.

O� -spinner Sanjit Saha was the wrecker in chief for the home side, registering miserly bowling � gures of 5/21 from his quota of 10 overs, and was ably supported by Ariful Islam, Saeed Sarkar, Abdul Halim and skipper Mehedi Hasan Miraz, who all bagged a wicket each.

Windies opening batsman Gidron Pope made a quick� re 48-ball 57, featuring 11 fours and a six, while middle-order batter Keacy Carty scored a painstaking 79-ball 42 but the

fall of regular wickets at the fag end of their innings saw them eventually concede the whitewash.

Earlier, Mehedi’s decision to take � rst guard paid o� rich dividends as the junior Tigers posted 235 for the loss of seven wick-ets with opener Saif Hasan top-scoring with

an unbeaten 147-ball 107, his knock studded with 11 boundaries and three sixes.

Sha� ul Hayat provided valuable support, making 61 o� 69 balls with the help of nine fours. Pope, Kirstan Kallicharan and Odean Smith shared six wickets between themselves. l

U23 booters crash out, Bahrain through with dull drawn Shishir Hoque

Bangladesh Under-23 side crashed out of the Bangabandhu Gold Cup conceding a 1-0 defeat against Cambodia in their last group game at the Bangabandhu National stadi-um yesterday. The loss however, played lit-tle part in the elimination as the hosts’ fate was sealed earlier in the day when Maldives and Bahrain played out a 1-1 draw. Maldives � nished as Group B champions with seven points while Bahrain progressed with � ve points.

Rubel Mia, who was handed a place in the home side’s line-up, impressed from the � anks while Yusuf Sifat and Aminur Rahman Sojib also exhibited glimpses of attacking hope, but all attempts fell short to mid� elder Dina Tit’s strike in the 71st minute

as Cambodia’s � rst win in the tournament left the hosts with only one point in the bag. The story could have gone the other way had Sojib not struck the side-post in the 62nd minute.

Earlier on the day, the slow tempo of the match between Bahrain and Maldives made it a dull a� air as none made a move to win the battle. However, the draw was enough to see Bahrain through to the next stage. With the semi� nal already secured, Maldives coach Turki Sanad � elded six debutants, thus ena-bling their comparatively weaker opponents to steal a point from the encounter.

Imaaz Ahmed put the Red Snappers ahead in the 18th minute before Bahrain forward Anwar Ali equalised in the 58th minute with a top-corner header past the onrushing Mal-dives goalkeeper Faisal Mohammed. l

BRIEF SCOREBD U19 v WI U19, 3RD ONE-DAYBangladesh U19 235/7 in 50 overs

Saif 107*, Sha� ul 61, Jakir 24, Pope 2/20West Indies U19 219 in 49.5 overs

Pope 57, Carty 42, Sanjit 5/21, Ariful 1/33, Saeed 1/36Bangladesh U19 won by 16 runs,

take series 3-0

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Baby comes � rst for Brit MurrayWorld number two Andy Murray has repeated, emphatically, that he will abandon the pursuit of his � rst Australian Open title if his wife goes into labour early. The men’s � nal of the year’s opening grand slam is scheduled for Jan. 31 and with his wife Kim expecting their � rst child in mid-February it should give him time to return home to Britain for the birth.

–REUTERS

Barca, Bilbao to clash in Spanish Cup quartersHolders Barcelona will continue their bid for a fourth King’s Cup triumph in eight years with a quarter-� nal tie against Athletic Bilbao, the team they have beaten in the � nal three times since 2009, including a 3-1 success last season. Friday’s draw pitted the record winners, who lost to Real Madrid in the 2011 and 2014 � nals, against the Basque side, whose 23 Cup victories, their most recent coming in 1984 against Barca, are only bettered by the Catalan club’s 27.

–REUTERS

Berahino can leave West Brom for right price: PulisUnsettled West Bromwich Albion striker Saido Berahino, along with every player in the squad, is for sale at the right price, manager Tony Pulis said on Friday. The subject of four failed bids from Tottenham Hotspur during the close season, Berahino vowed never to play for West Brom chairman Jeremy Peace again after his transfer request was rejected.

–REUTERS

Cole and Roma part by mutual agreementFormer England international Ashley Cole and AS Roma have agreed to part company and the defender is expected to move to Major League Soccer side LA Galaxy, Italian media reported yesterday. The 35-year-old had reached a mu-tual agreement with Roma for the termination of his contract, which ran until the end of the season, Il Tempo newspaper said.

–REUTERS

Cornet hammers Bouchard to take Hobart titleFrance’s Alize Cornet thrashed an error-prone Eugenie Bouchard 6-1 6-2 to win the Hobart International title yesterday, bringing the Canadian former Wimbledon semi-� nalist’s nascent resurgence to a shuddering halt. Cornet dominated the contest on a blustery day in Tasmania, winning the � rst set at a canter after an early exchange of breaks.

–REUTERS

Dhoni may make India chase in third one-dayerBack-to-back one-day defeats in Perth and Brisbane have forced India captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni to rethink his strategy of opting to bat � rst against Australia, who have taken a 2-0 lead in the � ve-match series by chasing down 300-plus targets.

–REUTERS

QUICK BYTES

SOUTH AFRICA, FIRST INNINGS, 313

ENGLAND, FIRST INNINGS (OVERNIGHT 238-5)J. Root c Vilas b Rabada 110 139J. Bairstow c Van Zyl b Rabada 45 84M. Ali c Vilas b Morris 19 28S. Broad b Rabada 12 28S. Finn c Vilas b Morkel 0 9 J. Anderson not out 0 0Extras (b1, lb14, nb3, w9) 27Total (76.1 overs) 323Fall of wickets: 1-10 (Hales), 2-22 (Cook), 3-74 (Compton), 4-91 (Taylor), 5-202 (Stokes), 6-242 (Root), 7-279 (Ali)Bowling: Morris 15-1-71-1, Rabada 23.1-5-78-5 (1nb, 3w), Morkel 20-1-76-3, Viljoen 15-0-79-1 (2nb), Van Zyl 3-0-4-0SOUTH AFRICA, SECOND INNINGSD. Elgar c Bairstow b Broad 15 25S. van Zyl c Stokes b Broad 11 38H. Amla c Taylor b Broad 5 20A. de Villiers c Bairstow b Broad 0 5F. du Plessis c and b Broad 14 41T. Bavuma b Broad 0 8D. Vilas c Taylor b Finn 8 13C. Morris b Stokes 1 5K. Rabada c Bairstow b Stokes 16 21H. Viljoen lbw b Anderson 6 15M. Morkel not out 4 9Extras (lb2, nb1) 3Total (33.1 overs) 83Fall of wickets: 1-23 (Elgar), 2-28 (Van Zyl), 3-30 (De Villiers), 4-31 (Amla), 5-35 (Bavuma), 6-45 (Vi-las), 7-46 (Morris), 8-67 (Rabada), 9-77 (Viljoen)Bowling: Anderson 10-1-26-1, Broad 12.1-6-17-6, Stokes 8-1-24-2, Finn 3-0-14-1 (1nb)ENGLAND, SECOND INNINGSA. Cook c Vilas b Morris 43 70A.Hales lbw b Elgar 18 46N. Compton c Morkel b Elgar 0 2J. Root not out 4 13J. Taylor not out 2 5Extras (b4, lb2, w1) 7Total (3 wkts, 22.4 overs) 74Fall of wickets: 1-64 (Hales), 2-68 (Compton), 3-71 (Cook)Bowling: Morkel 5-2-7-0, Rabada 4-0-28-0, Viljoen 4-2-15-0 (1w), Morris 6-2-8-1, Elgar 3.4-1-10-2Result: England won by seven wicketsSeries: England lead the four-match series 2-0Player of the match : SCJ Broad (England)

SCORECARD

Broad bowls England to series victoryn AFP, Johannesburg

Stuart Broad produced a sensational display of fast bowling as England swept to a se-ries-clinching victory over South Africa on the third day of the third Test at the Wander-ers Stadium on Saturday.

Broad took six for 17 as South Africa were bowled out for 83 in their second innings.

England won by seven wickets to take a winning 2-0 lead into the � nal Test in Centu-rion next week.

Broad ripped the heart out of the South African batting, taking the � rst � ve wickets for one run in the space of 31 balls after lunch.

The defeat toppled South Africa from top spot on the International Cricket Council’s Test rankings. England led on the � rst innings by 10 runs after being bowled out for 323 and

the match was evenly poised as South African opening batsmen Dean Elgar and Stiaan van Zyl put on 23 runs at the start of the second innings, with Broad having conceded 13 of the runs.

Then Broad struck, having Elgar caught behind o� a ball that lifted and moved away from the left-hander.

Broad was rested with � gures of � ve for 14 from 10 overs, eight of which were bowled af-ter lunch. But the carnage continued. Steven Finn had Dane Vilas caught by a diving Tay-lor at short leg and Chris Morris was bowled by a full ball from Ben Stokes.

The last two wickets fell quickly after tea. James Anderson took only his second wick-et of the match when he had Hardus Viljoen leg before wicket and Broad dived full length down the pitch to take a return catch from Faf du Plessis. l

Serena ‘130 percent’ � t, rules out surgeryn AFP, Melbourne

World number one Serena Williams ruled out surgery to � x a persistent knee problem yesterday as she declared herself “130 percent � t” for the Australian Open.

The 21-time Grand Slam champion, gunning for a seventh title at Melbourne Park, retired due to soreness in her left knee during a singles match on January 6 at Hopman in Perth.

It was the 34-year-old’s comeback after some three months away from tennis as she battled knee issues which sparked fears that nearly 20 years on tour was � nally taking its toll. Williams appeared downbeat as she spoke to journalists, but she insisted all was well and that surgery would not be needed anytime soon.

“No, it’s actually really � ne. I don’t have any in� ammation anymore,” she said. “It’s just that I just needed some time to get over that little hump.

“Like I said, I’ve been doing a lot of train-ing leading up to this. But, yeah, I’m totally - I don’t think I would need surgery at all.

“I’m at 120, 130 percent right now.”Williams, who beat long-time rival Maria

Sharapova in last year’s � nal, has a testing start against Italian Camila Giorgi, the highest ranked non-seeded player in the women’s draw.

She could also meet former world num-ber one and close friend Caroline Wozniacki in the fourth round before a possible show-down with Sharapova, who has failed to beat Williams since 2004.l

England fast bowler Stuart Broad (R) celebrates the dismissal of South Africa opening batsman Stiaan Van Zyl (not in picture) during day three of the third Test at Wanderers yesterday AFP

28DT Sport

Aguero sends City top, Terry rescues ChelseaEriksen brace gets Tottenham back in the groove

n AFP, London

Sergio Aguero sank Crystal Palace to send Manchester City top of the Premier League on Saturday, while John Terry’s 98th-minute equaliser earned Chelsea a remarkable 3-3 draw with Everton.

Aguero scored twice, with Fabian Delph and David Silva also on target, as City beat Crystal Palace 4-0, and Terry atoned for an earlier own goal to earn Chelsea an improb-able point at Stamford Bridge.

City provisionally top the standings on goal di� erence above previous leaders Arse-nal, who visit Stoke City on today. After City mid� elder Delph opened the scoring in the 22nd minute with a skidding 30-yard shot that

beat Palace goalkeeper Wayne Hennessey at his left-hand post.

Aguero made it 2-0 shortly before half-time with an e� ort from outside the box that was de� ected past Hennessey by the head of Scott Dann. Aguero struck again 22 minutes from time by tapping in a low cross from Kevin De Bruyne.

Champions Chelsea remain six points above the bottom three after interim man-ager Guus Hiddink avoided the � rst defeat of his second stint at the club by the narrow-est of margins. Everton went 2-0 up early in the second half as Terry scored an inelegant 50th-minute own goal and Kevin Mirallas followed up with a slick turn and shot.

Cesc Fabregas brought Chelsea back into

the game, freeing Diego Costa to round Tim Howard and reduce the arrears in the 64th minute before equalising with a de� ected shot less than two minutes later.

Centre-back Ramiro Funes Mori put Ever-ton ahead in the 91st minute from Gerard Deu-lofeu’s cross, only for Terry to � ick home a last-gasp equaliser despite an apparent o� side.

Tottenham Hotspur tasted victory in 2016 at the fourth attempt with a one-sided 4-1 home success over Sunderland in which Christian Eriksen scored twice.

Bournemouth pulled � ve points clear of danger by beating fellow strugglers Norwich City 3-0 while James Ward-Prowse scored a � ne free-kick and a penalty as Southampton won 3-0 at home to West Brom. l

SUNDAY, JANUARY 17, 2016

Bournemouth 3-0 NorwichGosling 10, Daniels 54-P,Afobe 75

Chelsea 3-3 Everton Costa 64, Fabregas 66, Terry 50-og, Mirallas 56,Terry 90+8 Funes Mori 90)

Manchester City 4-0 Crystal PalaceDelph 22, Aguero 41, 68,Silva 84

Newcastle 2-1 West HamPerez 6, Wijnaldum 15 Jelavic 49

Southampton 3-0 West BromWard-Prowse 5, 35-P,Tadic 72

Tottenham 4-1 Sunderland (Eriksen 42, 67, Dembele 60, Van Aanholt 40Kane 79-pen)

EPL RESULTS

Reds next test for under-pressure Van Gaaln Reuters, London

Manchester United manager Louis van Gaal would rather be taking his under-performing team anywhere but bitter rivals Liverpool to-day as speculation continues over his future at Old Tra� ord.

Van Gaal’s trials and tribulations are con-tinuing to dominate the back pages with United slipping to sixth after conceding a last-minute equaliser to draw 3-3 at Newcas-tle United on Tuesday, a result the Dutchman said felt like a defeat.

In contrast, Liverpool’s 3-3 draw with Ar-senal 24 hours later felt more like a win to boss Juergen Klopp after Joe Allen’s 90th minute equaliser stopped Arsene Wenger’s table-toppers in their tracks.

Liverpool’s rivalry with United is one of the most intense in English soccer and even after the thrilling draw with Arsenal Klopp was already thinking about United’s visit to An� eld.

Van Gaal’s mood was far less upbeat, ruing the loss of two important points, and then insulting a journalist at the end of his post-match news conference.

The biggest problem facing Liverpool might be their own crippling injury concerns rather than United’s indi� erent form which has seen them win twice in eight league matches. Liverpool have 11 players in the treatment room, although they showed real resilience to gain a point against Arsenal. l

FIXTURES Liverpool v Man United Stoke City v Arsenal

Manchester City striker Sergio Aguero (R) in action with Crystal Palace’s Joe Ledley during their Barclays Premier League match at Etihad Stadium yesterday REUTERS

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SUNDAY, JANUARY 17, 2016

FIXTURES Valencia v Rayo Vallecano Real Madrid v Sporting Gijon Las Palmas v Atletico Madrid Getafe v Espanyol Barcelona v Athletic Bilbao

DAY’S WATCHCRICKET

BTV, GAZI TV & STAR SPORTS 43:00PM

Bangladesh v Zimbabwe: Second T20I

TEN CRICKET2:30PM

South Africa v England: 3rd Test, Day 4

STAR SPORTS 19:30AM

India Tour of Australia: 3rd ODI

FOOTBALL TEN ACTION

12:00PMA-League: Jets v Wellington Phoenix

04:30PMI-League: Goa v Shivakians DC

French Ligue 1 2015/1610:00PM

SM Caen v Olympic Marseille 2:00AM

AS Saint- Etienne v Olympic Lyon

SONY SIXItalian Serie A

5:30PMGenoa v Palermo

8:00PMUdinese v Juventus

1:30AMAC Milan v Fiorentina

SONY KIX9:00PM

La Liga: Real Madrid v Sporting Gijon 11:30PM

La Liga: Las Palmas v Atletico Madrid 1:30AM

La Liga: FC Barcelona v Athletic Bilbao

STAR SPORTS 48:00PM

EPL: Liverpool v Manchester United 10:00PM

EPL: Stoke City v Arsenal

BADMINTON STAR SPORTS 2

7:30PMPremier Badminton League: Final

Another big win expected of Zidane’s rejuvenated Realn AFP, Madrid

After the rousing success of a 5-0 win over Deportivo la Coruna on his managerial debut last weekend, more of the same is expected from Zinedine Zidane’s Real Madrid at home to Sporting Gijon today.

The club were rocked on Thursday by a one-year transfer ban handed down by FIFA for alleged irregularities in the signing of mi-nors.

Of more immediate concern for the 10-time European champions, though, is their pursuit of Atletico Madrid and Barcelona at the top of La Liga and, fortunately for Zidane, the Frenchman already has a hugely talented squad at his disposal.

Gareth Bale struck his second hat-trick in four games and Karim Benzema took his tally for the season to 18 goals in as many matches as Zidane got o� a dream start against Depor-tivo just days after replacing the sacked Ra-fael Benitez.

Zidane has a full compliment of players to choose from and Madrid will be out for

revenge after being surprisingly held 0-0 by Sporting on their � rst match back in the top-� ight on the opening day of the season.

Barcelona lead Real by two points and have a game in hand on their eternal rivals, but face a tougher task this weekend when they host Athletic Bilbao at Camp Nou.

The Basques denied Barca a clean sweep of silverware in 2015 on their last visit to the Camp Nou by sealing a 5-1 win in the Spanish Super Cup in August.

Lionel Messi will present his record � fth Ballon d’Or to the home fans before kick-o� .

However, Neymar, Sergio Busquets, An-dres Iniesta and Gerard Pique were all rested and will return, as will Luis Suarez, who was suspended for the visit to Cornella-El Prat. l

5 CONSEQUENCES OF REAL, ATLETICO TRANSFER BANSNO GALACTICO FOR ZIDANE

The news is a huge blow to Real just over a week after they hired French legend Zinedi-ne Zidane as coach. Zidane won’t have the luxury o� ered to other Madrid bosses of a superstar signing, like he was when signing for the club for a world record fee in 2001, despite reported interest in the likes of Paul Pogba and Robert Lewandowski.

RONALDO, BALE SET TO STAYZidane already has one of the biggest and best squads in world football at his disposal in no desperate need of renewal. Indeed, the news could come as just as big a blow to the likes of Man United and PSG, whose hopes of landing Gareth Bale and Cristiano Ronaldo this sum-mer appear to have ended with Real highly unlikely to sell their best players whilst una-ble to sign suitable replacements.

GRIEZMANN UNTOUCHABLE AT ATLETICONews of Atletico’s plans to o� er a bumper new deal to top scorer Antoine Griezmann had already circulated in Thursday morn-ing’s papers before the news from FIFA ar-rived. A new contract would also include a bump in his buyout clause, warding o� po-tential suitors for the Frenchman until after the sanction has been served.

SIMEONE’S FUTURE IN THE AIR

Atletico have done remarkably well to re-place a host of star players that have left the Vicente Calderon in recent years. It would be much tougher, though, to � nd someone to replicate the success Diego Simeone has pro-duced in turning the club’s fortunes around in the past four years. Simeone is contracted to Atletico until 2020, but has been touted

as a potential suitor for Manchester United and Chelsea. The idea is for the Argentine to lead Los Rojiblancos into their new stadium in 2017, but the ban may accelerate his desire for a change of scenery, especially if Atleti-co manage to land La Liga or their � rst ever Champions League this season.

ADVANTAGE BARCELONABarcelona are the perfect example for their rivals in the capital to follow, having deliv-ered � ve trophies in 2015 in a year they were banned from registering new players. Barca got ahead of the game in signing the likes of Luis Suarez and Ivan Rakitic in the summer of 2014 before their ban came into force. That option is open to both Madrid clubs, who have the rest of the January window to add to their squads, but it is much harder to � nd quality recruits midway through the season. l

EUROPEAN TRANSFER HEADLINES

Liverpool could make £8m bid for Shane Long.

Liverpool also have their eyes on Inaki Williams from Athletic Bilbao.

Manchester United keen to land James Rodri-guez from Real Madrid.

Charlie Austin has passed a medical and agreed personal terms ahead of move from QPR to Southampton.

Crystal Palace could make a shock move for Emmanuel Adebayor.

Willian is set to sign new deal at Chelsea.

Sunderland made a surprise approach for Andre Ayew, but Swansea reject any bid.

Southampton will not begin contract talks with Graziano Pelle until summer - and risk losing the forward.

Leicester City is close to landing FC Copenhagen forward Daniel Amartey.

Ferguson the ‘John Lennon of football’: Liverpool’s Kloppn Reuters

Liverpool’s Juergen Klopp described former Manchester United manager Alex Ferguson as the “John Lennon of football” ahead of today’s Premier League meeting between the arch-rivals.

Klopp’s comments on the man who re-tired having ful� lled his long-standing ambi-tion of knocking Liverpool “o� their perch” will raise eyebrows on Merseyside, especially after he compared the Scotsman to the city’s most famous son. Ferguson led United to a record 20th Premier League title before call-ing time on his career, eclipsing the 18 won by Liverpool, a club with whom the United manager always had a stormy relationship.

“Maybe Sir Alex Ferguson is the greatest

ever,” Klopp told reporters on Friday. “I had really good moments with Sir Alex. It was an honour to talk with him,” Klopp added.

Ferguson, a master at playing mind games with rival managers, has gone on record to express his admiration for the German, who was less e� usive in his praise for United’s current manager Louis van Gaal.

“I don’t know Louis too well but we have had a few intensive games. We both want to be successful,” the German said.

“We are di� erent characters. He is more experienced. Maybe I’m more lively on the touchline than him, but sometimes that is not always good.”

Defender Mamadou Sakho, captain Jor-dan Henderson and winger Jordon Ibe are available to face United. l

Showtime30DT

SUNDAY, JANUARY 17, 2016

OSCAR BULLETIN

Sylvester Stallone to be back in Oscar ring after 39 yearsIt’s been 39 years since Sylvester Stallone earned Oscar nominations for lead actor and original screenplay for the 1976 best-picture winner Rocky. Now he’s returning to the Oscar ring as a supporting actor nominee, reprising his role as Rocky Balboa for the seventh time in Creed.The only other performer who had a 39-year span between Oscar nominations was Helen Hayes, who won the lead actress Academy Award for 1931’s The Sin of Madelon Claudet and supporting for 1970’s Airport.

Spielberg tops producing recordSteven Spielberg has set the record for most of the best picture nominations for an individual producer with nine, following his latest nod for cold war thriller Bridge of Spies. Of those nominations, he’s won twice – for Saving Private Ryan and Schindler’s List.

The Revenant’s Inarritu plans celebration drinkHot o� the success of the Golden Globes, and with last year’s Oscars barely gathering dust on the mantelpiece, Mexican director Alejandro G Inarritu has thanked the Academy for The Revenant’s massive 12-strong haul of nominations. And is probably reinforcing that mantlepiece.

“We gave it our all on this � lm and this appreciation from the Academy means a lot to me and my colleagues who made it possible. Champagne and mezcal will run tonight!” l

Charlize Theron, Best Actress (Mad Max: Fury Road)With 10, Mad Max is only behind The Revenant for the most number of nominations. But Charlize Theron could not break through for her towering performance as the rebellious Furiosa – a role that overshadowed the man on whom the movie is named. The Best Actress category has � ve strong performances in it, but many thought Theron at least deserved a shot at competing.

Ridley Scott, Best Director (The Martian)Seen as a pacesetter in this category, Ridley Scott missed out on what would have been his third Best Director nomination. It’s a shame, too, because The Martian is a piece of craftsmanship.

Best Picture (Carol)Adapted from a landmark, Patricia Highsmith novel, and steered through awards season by merciless games man Harvey Weinstein (the George Patton of Oscars), this heart-stopping period of romance about the love that blossoms between two women in 1950s New York seemed to be nominated since it raved reviews at Cannes last May. While the movie’s legacy will doubtlessly survive this year’s most egregious snub, it seems as though the � lm’s patience and precision didn’t align with Academy tastes — a familiar tune for director Todd Haynes, who was also denied a nomination

Michael Keaton, Best Supporting Actor (Spotlight)Spotlight ensemble had too many cooks in the Boston Globe kitchen. Open Road Films campaigned for everyone in the cast as supporting players, and it seemed like Michael Keaton, arguably the � lm’s standout, could become the guy to beat in this category. But then the SAG Awards snubbed both him and Mark Ru� alo, and BAFTA put him in the lead category, making it apparent that the campaign strategy wasn’t e� ective. It worked out in Ru� alo’s favour, but Keaton lost his spot to Tom Hardy (The Revenant).

Idris Elba, Best Supporting Actor (Beasts of No Nation) One of many performers of colour to see their names left o� the list, Idris Elba’s commanding turn as a West African warlord won raves on the festival circuit. However, voters bypassed Beasts of No Nation, Net� ix’s � rst original feature, altogether, despite the surprising attention it garnered from the Screen Actors Guild Awards.

Quentin Tarantino, Best Original Screenplay (The Hateful Eight)Quentin Tarantino has won this award twice, and he seemed destined to secure at least a nomination this year. But the long Hateful Eight script didn’t register in the Academy. Instead, Ex Machina scribe Alex Garland and Straight Outta Compton writers Jonathan Herman and Andrea Berlo� left Tarantino stuck at Minnie’s Haberdashery. l

n Showtime Desk

Some of our favourites like Charlize Theron, Ridley Scott, Carol, have been kicked to the curb. But it’s the only way to make room for a few surprises, and awards season would be mundane if it didn’t conclude with some kooky selections. Here’s what fell o� the Academy shortlist.

Oscars 2016:Major nominations snubs

Showtime 31D

TSUNDAY, JANUARY 17, 2016

WHAT TO WATCH

Gravity HBO 6:08 pmDr. Ryan Stone, a brilliant medical engineer on her � rst shuttle mission, with veteran astronaut Matt Kowalsky in command of his last � ight before retiring. But on a seemingly routine spacewalk, disaster strikes. The shuttle is destroyed, leaving Stone and Kowalsky completely alone—tethered to nothing but each other and spiraling out into the blackness.he deafening silence tells them they have lost any link to Earth…and any chance for rescue. As fear turns to panic, every gulp of air eats away at what little oxygen is left.But the only way home may be to go further out into the terrifying expanse of space.Cast: Sandra Bullock, George Clooney, Ed Harris

G.I. Joe: RetaliationZee Studio 11:25 pmThe G.I. Joes have been set up to take the fall for a crime they didn’t commit and must now retaliate back.Cast: Dwayne Johnson, Bruce Willis, D.J. Cotrona

The Forbidden KingdomSony PIX 9:30 pmJason is a teenager living in South Boston in the present. He is a great fan of martial art movies. Watch the � lm to see how Jason travels back in time to ancient China and frees the Monkey King who has been turned into a statue by the Jade Warlord.Cast: Jackie Chan, Jet Li, Collin Chou

The Lost World: Jurassic ParkStar Movies Action 9:30 pmFour years after the failure of Jurassic Park where the genetically bred dinosaurs went on a rampage, multimillionaire John Hammond reveals that he had been breeding more dinosaurs at a secret location. Malcolm, his girlfriend and a wildlife video producer join Hammond on an expedition to this secret island to check out the beasts.Cast: Je� Goldblum, Julianne Moore, Pete Postlethwaite l

Spiciest break-up in B-Town

Give Lawrence a

break!

n Showtime Desk

If you haven’t caught on already, Katrina Kaif and Ranbir Kapoor have called it quits. Close friends reveal that the two Bollywood superstars hadn’t decided to break things o� in the spur of the moment. Apparently, the two have had a constant � ghts that dragged on for a few weeks. Just like any couple, they tried to see themselves through the arguments, but unfortunately at the end, things didn’t work out as planned.

It is also rumoured that Ranbir’s non commitment on planning a wedding could have been a huge reason for the disagreements. A mutual friend of the former lovebirds says Ranbir had developed cold feet every time the subject of marriage would come up. They went on to exclude Deepika Padukone as one of the many reasons the two could have called it quits. There were recent reports suggestions that Ranbir and former � ame Deepika were getting a bit too cozy on set of their latest Tamasha. However, Deepika is in a committed relationship with the other Ranveer in Bollywood.

And the family isn’t too far from the drama either. It seems Neetu Kapoor wasn’t too fond of Ranbir moving into the Bandra apartment with Katrina. Neetu was heard saying it was pointless for Ranbir, he’d end up coming back home anyway. Well, mother knows best, and here we are.

More and more news will be leaking through the ranks soon enough, and we might just find out why they really broke up. l

n Showtime Desk

Former “It Girl” Anne Hathaway has began to defend newly-fallen “It Girl” Jennifer Lawrence on Facebook on her response to a journalist.

The Joy actress was scorned for telling o� a journalist for being distracted on his phone during an interview with her after she won the award for Best Actress in a Comedy or Musical at the Golden Globes.

The internet went berserk, saying Lawrence was out of line because the reporter was clearly foreign and may have been using his phone to translate the language.

But Hathaway has diverted attention to a more important issue, posting the following on Facebook: “Let’s not continue the sad but common practice of building people - especially women - up just to viciously tear them down when we perceive them to have misstepped. Jennifer is a beautiful, talented, wildly successful, popular, FOUR TIME OSCAR NOMINATED young woman. Please let us not punish her for these things.”

The immediate day after the Golden Globes, Mic magazine ran an article entitled “We Have Reached Peak Jennifer Lawrence,” which basically declared Jen’s “It Girl” status to have run its course l

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SUNDAY, JANUARY 17, 2016

Climate Compatible Development: Pathway or Pipedream?n Tribune Report

Policies on leadership, design and implementation are needed for climate compatible development that o� ers a pathway for dealing with climate change, a top development economist has said.

“An entry point to solving the wicked problem of climate change is the model of ‘climatecompatible development’ that takes place when three things come together: mitigation, adapta-tion and transformation,” said Simon Maxwell, executive chair at Climate and Development Knowledge Network and chair of the European Think-Tanks Group.

He was speaking on “Climate Compatible De-velopment: Pathway or Pipedream?” at the CPD Anniversary Lecture 2015 in a city hotelyesterday.

Maxwell, also one of UK’s leading thinkers on international development, said as climate change

development comes to the mainstream, issues like policy leadership, design and implementation have

come to the fore.He said it may seem strange to give promi-

nence to the issue of leadership so soon after the apparently successful conclusion of the climate talks in Paris – talks marked by the deep personal engagement of about 150 leaders.

“Some policies will be more appropriate and successful in reducing emissions in some countries than in others. Policy design varies from country to country. But policies’ success depends on implementation,”he said.

Laying emphasis on all stakeholders, including the private sector and civil society groups for climate compatible development, he said: “Successful implementation also depends on strong cross-government coordination, and this in turn has bene� ted greatly from having su� cient number of people exposed to climate change issues.”

However, he said there is no single blueprint to the challenge of climate compatible development. “Progress at country level, and substantially, will be idiosyncratic, progressive, and probably uneven.”

The new Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and the Paris Agreement on climate change present a “wicked problem” for research-ers and policymakers.

Referring to the SDGs and Paris talks, he said: “Neither is perfect, but both are important, and together they set the stage for a remarkable trans-formation in the global trajectory.”

Maxwell said: “The adoption of the SDGs and the � nalisation of the Conference of the Parties together highlight the urgency of a new approach and open a new chapter.”

Achieving the SDGs will require close integra-tion of poverty, environmental and social action, he added. l

Volunteer training comes to little useRead the second installment of a series of Dhaka Tribune reports on earthquake preparedness that have found that rescue agencies are ill-prepared to handle the type of damage a strong tremor can causen Mohammad Jamil Khan

Since 2011, the Fire Service and Civil De-fence, leading rescue agency in Bangladesh, have trained up 32,000 people so that they can work as volunteers if a big earthquake hits.

Talking to a number of trainees mainly from the capital city, the Dhaka Tribune has found that the trainings dealt mainly with post-earthquake activities. Apart from some verbal instructions, the trainees are given very little to learn about what to do during earthquakes.

When the aftershocks of the 6.7-magni-tude Manipur tremor hit Bangladesh in the early hours of January 4, Bashori Jannat, 27, a resident of Dhaka’s Banasree, was fast asleep.

She took the � re service training in 2013 and hence should know exactly what to do in such a situation like this.

“The � rst thing to do was stand near or un-der a strong part of the building such as pillars, beams or take shelter under a table and take a pillow to save the head. Running down the stairs out of panic is not advised,” Bashori said.

“The next thing to do is try and � nd out the situation my family members are in and ask them to do these things to save them-selves,” she said.

But in reality, when the earthquake jolted the country, she grabbed her little girl and came running down the stairs from her sec-ond-� oor apartment. She stood in front of the building for 20 minutes after the quake passed and so could do very little to help the other members of her family.

“I was scared to death and just did what the other people were doing instead of what I learned during training lessons.

“Actually, it is not my fault. I started pan-

icking and could not hold my nerves as soon as I heard the people around me screaming out of fear,” Bashori said.

Experts say, what di� erentiates an earth-quake with any other natural disaster is the extreme panic factor. So, there is no point in training up people to help or save others if they cannot save themselves.

Imran Ali, a student of political science at Dhaka’s Jagannath University, took the train-ing recently.

When the earthquake hit on January 4, he did literally nothing – he did not even get down from the bed.

“I woke up after the tremor began. But I did not move from the bed. I knew noth-ing was going to happen. Eventually, I was

proved right,” Imran said.The Fire Service and Civil Defence (FSCD)

usually trains up the members of an organi-sation at a time. Some of these recent train-ings were arranged at the Jagannath Univer-sity and SM Hall of Dhaka University.

Such a training is usually of two days in length and comprises two lessons: one on what to do during an earthquake and sec-ond, and most important, what to do after an earthquake.

Md Akram Hossain, a deputy assistant di-rector of FSCD, said it is every hard to arrange a real-earthquake-like situation for a training drill. However, they give councelling to the trainee volunteers on the � rst day of the train-ing so that they can hold on to their nerves.

He also said that they concentrate more on the activities that follows an earthquake. They teach the trainees to use the various rescue tools – how to using saws, cutting tools, fork lifts, oxygen masks, etc.

Asked why are these trainee volunteers panicking, DAD Akram said: “It is true that they had been given training. But because they have not been able to practice what they have learned, they failed to work accordingly when an earthquake hit.”

Akram, who is also the focus person of the � re service, said: “We are aware of such cases. That is why we have plans to repeat the training drills for those who had already taken part in the lessons. This will give them the much needed practice on how to handle a real earthquake situation.”

Prof Syed Humayun Akhter, head of the Geology Department at Dhaka University, said the entire system of the training was wrong.

“If the trainees cannot save themselves then how would you expect them to save others?”

He has several suggestions on redesigning the training module.

“The trainers should create some arti� cial tremors to give the trainees idea about what happens during an earthquake. They can also show the trainees animated movies or video clips.”

Prof Humayun said that the media also could have a crucial role to play in these.

“When the media will broadcast the training videos repeatedly, there will be dis-cussions among families. In that way, there will be much needed sharing of knowledge among common people.”

DAD Akram said they were including some of these components for the retraining programme they are planning.

FSCD’s Tk160 crore training programme on earthquake preparedness is being funded under the government’s Centre for Disaster Management Programme (CDMP). l

A recent volunteer training campaign of Fire Service and Civil Defence COURTESY FSCD

Simon Maxwell

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