Massive blizzard paralyses NYC, 19 deadn Reuters

Millions of residents, business owners and workers began digging out yesterday from a massive blizzard that brought Washington, New York and other northeastern US cities to a standstill, killing at least 19 people in sev-eral states.

The storm was the second-biggest in New York City history, with 68cm by midnight Saturday, just shy of the record 68.9cm set in 2006, the National Weather Service said.

Thirteen people were killed in weather-re-lated car crashes in Arkansas, North Caroli-na, Kentucky, Ohio, Tennessee and Virginia on Saturday. One person died in Maryland and three in New York City while shoveling snow. Two died of hypothermia in Virginia, o� cials said.

On the New Jersey shore, a region hard-hit in 2012 by Superstorm Sandy, the storm drove � ooding high tides.

After dumping about 65cm of snow on PAGE 2 COLUMN 3

n Tribune Report

The moderate cold wave that has been sweeping across the country for the past few days is likely to turn severe from today, the Met O� ce has warned.

The weather will start to warm up again after a couple of days but the feeling of cold would remain for a few more days because of strong winds, said Rubayet Kabir, a meteor-ologist at the Met O� ce.

The cautionary words came as the coun-try’s lowest temperature yesterday was re-corded in Chuadanga: a chilling 6.1 degrees Celsius, which is also the lowest recorded this winter.

The poor who do not have warm clothes were the worst su� erers as bone-chilling winds made the cold more intolerable in Chuadanga yesterday, our local correspondent reports.

Most people in Chuadanga chose to stay indoors, with public transports seeing only a few passengers throughout the day.

The northern districts also experienced dips in mercury, with the coldest weather after Chuadanga being recorded in Rajshahi, Pabna’s Ishwardi, and Dinajpur at 6.6, 7.4 and 8 degrees Celsius respectively, according to the Met O� ce.

Meteorologist Rubayet Kabir said the northern and western parts of the country have been the most a� ected by the current spell of cold wave.

The situation is relatively better in Dhaka city, where yesterday’s lowest temperature was 11.4 degrees Celsius.

According to the Met O� ce, mercury level between 8-10 degrees Celsius is considered

as mild cold wave, between 6-8 degrees as moderate cold wave and below 6 degrees is considered as severe cold wave.

Meanwhile, our correspondent in Lalmon-irhat says locals there are con� ned in their

homes because of the numbing cold outside. As a result, the labourers who must work on the � elds every day to earn a living have been out of food.

Shops in the area are staying shut, while people’s presence on the roads also remain thin.

However, the worst su� ering is because the poor just simply do not have enough warm clothes.

“No one is giving us a blanket. Thousands are passing extreme hardships in the Char ar-eas. We have not even received any govern-ment-sanctioned blankets,” said Afzal Hos-sain, a labourer who resides near the banks of the river Teesta.

Lalmonirhat Deputy Commissioner Ha-bibur Rahman admitted that the number of warm clothes received from the government has not been adequate this year. He urged in-dustries, banks and welfare organisations to donate more warm clothes to the people in dire need.

“We are not lucky enough to have a piece of blanket to wrap ourselves with. We do not even have any warm cloth. I fear we might not survive this winter,” said 60-year-old Sabran Bewa, a woman of Bhelakopa in Kurigram, which is also bearing the brunt of the cold wave.

The children and the elderly are the most vulnerable, with the su� ering especially

PAGE 2 COLUMN 1

SECOND EDITION

MONDAY, JANUARY 25, 2016 | Magh 12, 1422, Rabius Sani 14, 1437 | Regd No DA 6238, Vol 3, No 279 | www.dhakatribune.com | 32 pages | Price: Tk10

BIMAN SEES PROFIT AFTER RECORD LOSSES PAGE 16

GOVT CARES LITTLE, PEOPLE HAVE FEW CHOICES PAGE 32

POLICE CHIEF SAYS SORRY PAGE 3

Govt recommends � ling of sedition case against Khaleda Zian Kamrul Hasan

The home minister has hinted that the gov-ernment has given go ahead to a lawyer for bringing sedition charges against BNP Chair-person Khaleda Zia, who recently doubted the number of Liberation War martyrs.

Home Minister Asaduzzaman Khan Kamal gave the hint after a attending an award cer-emony at the Bangladesh Film Development Corporation, better known as FDC, in Dhaka yesterday.

He said his ministry had received a letter in regard and issued a guideline.

Asked whether they would arrest Khale-da, the minister said everything would be done according to the laws.

During a discussion on December 21 in PAGE 2 COLUMN 1

Bone-chilling cold to intensify

A man walks along a street covered by snow during a winter storm in Washington on Saturday. The storm dumped nearly 2 feet of snow on the suburbs of US capital before moving on to Philadelphia and New York, paralysing road, rail and airline travel along the East Coast REUTERS

A baby, su� ering from respiratory ailments due to the ongoing cold wave, is being nebulised at the Dhaka Shishu Hospital (children’s hospital) yesterday MEHEDI HASAN

News2DTMONDAY, JANUARY 25, 2016

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1

Bone-chilling cold to intensifyworse for the people in remote Char areas who are cut o� from relief initiatives.

“The Boro season has begun, but we cannot plant the seedlings. There are just no labourers willing to work in this shiv-ering cold,” said local farmer Jabbar Ali, as Kurigram yesterday recorded its lowest tem-perature of 9 degrees Celsius.

Abul Hossain, a local day-labourer, said even when he had no other choice but to go out and look for work, he was being forced to take frequent breaks and warm himself up.

However, a couple of day’s delay in plant-ing seedlings would not hurt this year’s Boro harvest, assured Deputy Director Md Shawkat Ali of Kurigram’s Department of Ag-ricultural Extension.

The district’s Deputy Commissioner Khan Md Nurul Amin told the Dhaka Tribune that his o� ce has so far distributed 30,000 blan-kets among the poor. If the cold wave contin-ues, they would seek further relief from the government, the DC said.

Meanwhile, like other districts, the desti-tute and the day-labourers are su� ering the most in Naogaon.

Ansar Ali, 42, has to feed his family of � ve by pulling a rickshaw every day in Naogaon town; but he has seen his daily earnings plummet as there are not enough passengers because of the harsh winter.

Our Naogaon correspondent also says many of the locals have fallen ill from cold-related ailments.

The children and the elders are mostly su� ering from diarrhoea, pneumonia and � u as the cold intensi� es.

Over the past week, more than 500 pa-tients have been admitted in 11 upazila health complexes and Naogaon Sadar Hospital, said the district’s Civil Surgeon Dr AKM Mozahar Hossain.

A similar surge in cold-related illness-es was also reported by our Comilla corre-spondent.

Resident medical o� cer at Comilla Gen-eral Hospital, Dr Salahuddin Mahmud, said most elderly and child patients were su� er-ing from breathing problems or diarrhoea. For every six seats for diarrhoea patients, the hospital is currently treating 16, the doctor added. l

Massive blizzard paralyses NYC, 19 deadthe Washington area, the storm unexpect-edly strengthened as it spun northward and slammed into the New York metropolitan area on Saturday, home to about 20m people. The record high of 70cm of snow in Washing-ton was set in 1922

Winds gusting to more than 64km/h sculpted drifts many feet high, burying cars.

New York Governor Andrew Cuomo de-clared a state of emergency, as did 10 other governors. A ban imposed on all travel on New York City area roads and on Long Is-land, except for emergency vehicles, which ended on early hours of Sunday. Bridg-es and tunnels into the city were also setto reopen.

Subways running above ground and trains operated by the Long Island Rail Road and Metro-North halted service onSaturday.

By early Sunday the storm had all but moved o� the coastline, with remnants trail-ing over parts of Long Island and Cape Cod. Much of the northeast was expected to see a mix of sun and clouds on Sunday with tem-peratures just above freezing.

Shows, flights cancelledBroadway theaters canceled Saturday mati-nee and evening performances at the urging of the mayor, and a Bruce Springsteen con-cert set for Sunday was called o� .

As an otherworldly quiet descended on the usually bustling city of 8.5m, the nation’s most populous, tourists and residents took to city streets, venturing into the expanses of parks, some on skis.

Others built snowmen and had snowball � ghts.

Authorities in New York and New Jersey halted public transportation and the Wash-ington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority took the rare step of suspending operations through Sunday.

About 3,500 � ights were cancelled on Sunday, with more than 600 already can-celled for Monday, said FlightAware.com, the aviation data and tracking website.

The brunt of the blizzard reached the New York City area after battering Washing-ton, where snow piled up outside the White House and famous monuments were frosted with snow. l

Government recommends � ling of sedition case against Khaleda ZiaDhaka, Khaleda Zia said there were doubts about whether three million people really got killed during the 1971 Liberation War. She also alleged that Bangabandhu Sheikh Mu-jibur Rahman wanted to become the prime minister of undivided Pakistan rather than leading the nation to independence.

These comments sparked massive criti-cism. Two days later, lawyer Momtaz Uddin Ahmed Mehedi served a legal notice to the

BNP chief, asking her to issue an “uncondi-tional apology.”

Having not got any reply, last week Me-hedi � led a plea with the Home Ministry seeking clearance to � le a sedition case against Khaleda. That plea has got approvedrecently.

A case would be � led with the metropol-itan magistrate’s court of Dhaka today seek-ing the court’s cognisance under sections

123A and 124B of the penal code, Mehedi told reporters yesterday.

These sections deal with o� ences includ-ing anything in speech or in writing that goes against the state and lead to abolition of the sovereignty of Bangladesh in respect of all or any of the territories lying within its borders.

The maximum punishment for such o� ence is rigorous imprisonment, which may extend up to 10 years and also be

liable to � ne.Saying that Khaleda’s speech was not se-

ditious, BNP leaders said that the Bangladesh government does not have any speci� c infor-mation on the exact number of people killed during the war and so it was high time that such questions were raised.

They also said suing Khaleda Zia for this was part of a government conspiracy to keep her away from politics. l

Crackdown on drug peddlers from Februaryn Kamrul Hasan

The chief of Narcotics Control Department has said that they would launch drives against the drug peddlers across the country from next month.

Khandakar Rakibur Rahman, director general of the NCD, at a programme yester-day said that they had taken zero tolerance stand against illegal drug business and would work to create an environment so that the youths do not get addicted intentionally or

unintentionally.‘The Narcotics Control Department is

ready to face any challenge in order to pro-tect the youths from becoming dependent on drugs,” he added.

The event was organised at Bangladesh Film Development Corporation to distribute awards among winners of a debate compe-tition held as part of the NCD’s month-long awareness programmes.

Dhaka Cantonment Girls’ College be-came the champions. Shaheed Police Sm-

riti College was the � rst runner-up while South Point School and College became second runner-up in the competition, joint-ly organised by the NCD and Debate forDemocracy.

A senior o� cial said that the department had already � nalised their plans to conduct the drive. He, however, declined to disclose the procedure of the drive but said that they would arrest the top drug dealers to reach their godfathers.

“It is not possible to control drug addic-

tion only through political pledges. The peo-ple must be determined to solve the prob-lem,” Home Minister Asaduzzaman Khan Kamal said speaking as the chief guest at the programme.

“Drugs are not being prepared in Bang-ladesh. Those are usually smuggled from other countries. We have talked to the Indian Border Security Force to check drug smuggling and they also assured us of providing assistance in this regard,”he added. l

Speakers for child drowning prevention projectn Tribune Report

Speakers at a workshop yesterday urged the government to take up the Saving of Lives from Drowning (SoLiD) project to reduce the rate of child death from drowning, which is a leading cause of child death in Bangladesh.

State Minister for Women and Children A� airs Meher Afroze Chumki lauded the pro-ject, and asked project o� cials to identify more vulnerable areas where the rate of child drowning is high.

“This is a brilliant project. We agree that child drowning should be eradicated from Bangladesh. We can take necessary steps once the most vulnerable areas are identi-

� ed,” she said. The workshop on child drowning preven-

tion e� orts was organised by Ciprb (Centre for Injury Prevention, Health Development and Research, Bangladesh) and icddr,b with support from Johns Hopkins International Injury Research Unit and Bloomberg Philan-thropies at a hotel in the capital.

Chumki said a holistic approach was needed to reduce child death from drowning in the country.

Hossain Zillur Rahman, executive chair-man of Pprc (Power and Participation Re-search Centre), said child drowning is an is-sue that needs action to be addressed.

“It is not only a pure awareness issue. It

is an issue that demands active intervention. Also, the participation of communities is es-sential,” he said.

Zillur, also a former adviser to caretaker government, said the government should take up the SoLiD project and can set an example to the world that Bangladesh can lead in decreas-ing the rate of child deaths from drowning.

Dr Adnan Hyder, director of John Hopkins International Injury Research Unit, said edu-cation or awareness alone would not reduce child drowning deaths as it requires other in-terventions.

He said the government should lead the SoLiD project because the role of the project to reduce drowning deaths is crucial. l

Paturia-Daulatdia ferry service resumes n Tribune Report

Ferry service on the Paturia-Daulatdia route resumed yesterday morning after two hours of disruption caused by dense fog.

Mahiuddin Russel, manager of BIWTA Ari-cha, said they kept suspended ferry service on the Paturia-Daulatdia route from 7am to 9:15am due to blurred visibility caused by dense fog

Earlier, the ferry service on the route was suspended around 7am as thick fog envel-oped the area.

Eight ferries remained stranded at Paturia while four at Daulatdia ghat. l

News 3D

TMONDAY, JANUARY 25, 2016

Specialised anti-terrorism unitin the o� ngn Kamrul Hasan

Inspector General of Police AKM Shahidul Ho-que admitted that his force lacked a special-ised unit to combat terrorism in the country.

He said they were trying their best with the existing forces to maintain law and order. Still, some groups had conducted some scat-tered attacks last year. The IGP said that they were working to set up a specialised unit.

The police chief made the remarks at a press brie� ng arranged ahead of the Police Week 2016 at the Police Headquarters. Praising the police forces for their e� orts, Shahidul said that the police, DB, Special Taskforce and oth-er units were working jointly to � ght against terrorist activities despite having limitations.

He claimed that all the cases � led over terrorist activities last year had been solved. “Some 70 cases were lodged with di� erent police stations last year in which 235 sus-pects and accused were arrested.” The IGP, however, did not provide any statistics on the number of people got bail last year.

He also claimed that law and order sce-nario had been improving for the last three years. According to a US-based law and or-der monitoring organisation – Gallup Poll, Bangladesh ranks second among the South Asian countries after Sri Lanka. It says that the country’s law and order is better than the USA, France, Australia and India. l

Police chief says sorry

n Mohammad Jamil Khan

The police chief yesterday apologised to the public for the misdeeds of some his sta� , at press brie� ng at the force’s headquarters in Dhaka.

“Just as some citizens break the law, some police o� cers have committed excesses and have acted contrary to the spirit of the force,” Inspector General of Police (IGP) AKM Sha-hidul Hoque said.

The brie� ng was organised on the eve of the Police Week 2016, which comes at a time when several members of the force have been suspended or closed for allegedly harassing civilians, including governmentemployees.

“The law is there to take actions if anyone breaks it. But that does not mean assaulting

anyone,” the police chief said. “If anyone breaks the law, � eld o� cials should take that person to police stations and take appropri-ate actions after discussing with higher o� -cials.”

“But we have zero tolerance for it and are punishing the o� enders,” he said.

In the last � ve years, some 709 police of-� cers appealed in the courts against depart-mental complaints against them. The court let 293 police o� cers return to their jobs.

“This proves that we were not merciful to o� enders, but the courts later decided to re-instate them,” Shahidul said.

Asked why departmental actions were taken against those sta� members, the police boss said o� ences include irregularities, ex-cess use of power and misbehaviour.

The police chief, however, requested all to think about the environment that police members work in, their limitations and citi-zens’ mindset of not obeying laws. l

F A C T B O Xl Mohammadpur SI Masud beat Bangladesh

Bank o� cial Golam Rabbi on January 11.Masud suspended six days later.

l Jatrabari SI Arshad beat DSCC o� cer Bikash Chandra Dash on January 15. Arshad suspended two days later.

l Shahbagh Constable Mahbub beat civilian Aiyub Ali on January 20. Police apologised but no actions taken against the constable.

Inspector General of Police (IGP) AKM Shahidul Hoque addresses a press brie� ng at the Police Headquarters in Dhaka yesterday on the eve of Police Week 2016 MAHMUD HOSSAIN OPU

MONDAY, JANUARY 25, 2016News4DT

Journalist leader Altaf Mahmud dies n Tribune Report

Altaf Mahmud, president of the pro-Awami League faction of Bang-ladesh Federal Union of Journalists (BFUJ), died at Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib Medical University (BSMMU) yesterday morning. He was 66.

He breathed his last around 8:30am at the intensive care unit (ICU) of the hospital, reports UNB.

Altaf Mahmud, executive editor of the Bangla daily Destiny, had been suf-fering from neurological problems and undergoing treatment at the hospital.

He is survived by wife, one son, two daughters and a host of relatives and well-wishers to mourn his death.

Muhammad Sha� qur Rahman and Kamrul Islam Chowdhury, president and general secretary of the National Press Club respec-tively, have expressed deep shock at the demise of Altaf Mahmud and also conveyed their sympathy to the bereaved family members.

President, PM mournPresident Abdul Hamid and Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina have expressed deep shock at the death Altaf Mahmood.

In a condolence message, the president said the contribution of Altaf Mahmood to journalism will ever be remembered. The death of this senior journalist is an irreparable loss to the coun-try’s journalism, he added.

He prayed for eternal peace of the departed soul and con-veyed sympathy to the bereaved family.

In her message, the Premier recalled Altaf Mahmood’s contri-bution to journalism as well as democratic movements and other crucial events of the nation. “His death is an irreparable loss to the journalism arena,” she said.

Sheikh Hasina also prayed for eternal peace of the departed soul and conveyed profound sympathy to the bereaved family. l

BASIC BANK LOAN SCAM

ACC to face parliamentary standing committeen Adil Sakhawat

The Anti-Corruption Commission investigation team that looked into the BASIC Bank loan scam has been asked to appear before the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Finance Ministry next Thursday.

A letter from the national parliament secretariat, dated Janu-ary 17 and addressed to ACC Secretary Abu Md Mustafa Kamal, asked the probe team to appear before the standing committee at 11am on January 28, said a senior ACC o� cial seeking anonymity.

The investigation team was called to provide updates on their probe into the BASIC Bank loan scam, the o� cial added.

On September 8 last year, the probe team submitted its re-port, but did not accuse the bank’s chairman Abdul Hai Bachchu.

At the time, the chairman of the parliamentary body, Abdur Razzak, expressed his disappointment over this exclusion, say-ing the ACC had failed to include Bachchu’s name in their re-port even though BASIC Bank had provided proof regarding the ex-chairman’s involvement with the loan scam.

However, a well-placed source at the commission told the Dhaka Tribune that the ACC has still not decided whether to ap-pear before the parliamentary committee or not.

The commission has already � led 56 cases against 156 accused with police stations in Paltan, Motijheel, and Gulshan, accusing them of pocketing Tk2,009 crore through the loan scam.

In the FIR, the ACC said the commission had not found any involvement of the Board of Directors at BASIC Bank, but would take action if their links were later found.

O� cials of the investigation team are deputy directors Mor-shed Alam, Mohammad Ibrahim, Hritik Saha, Assistant Director Samshul Alam, Deputy Assistant Director Fajle Hossain and Mo-hammad Jainul Abedin. ACC Director Nur Mohammad and dep-uty director Syed Iqbal Hossain. l

PRAYERTIMES

Cox’s Bazar 24 16Dhaka 25 12 Chittagong 24 13 Rajshahi 24 11 Rangpur 23 11 Khulna 24 10 Barisal 26 12 Sylhet 25 8T 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 5:39PM SUN RISES 6:42AM

YESTERDAY’S HIGH AND LOW26.1ºC 6.1ºCTeknaf Chuadanga

MONDAY, JANUARY 25

Source: IslamicFinder.org

Fajr: 5:21am | Zohr: 12:11amAsr: 4:04pm | Magrib: 5:39pmEsha: 7:09pm

MONDAY, JANUARY 25, 2016News 5

DT

FOGGY

Members of the Bangladesh Village Police stage demonstration in front of the National Press Club yesterday to press home their four-point demand, including a pay scale similar to fourth-class government employees MAHMUD HOSSAIN OPU

Bills placed to raise pays and perks of speakers, MPsn Tribune Report

Two bills seeking a rise in the remunerations, allowances and privileges of speaker, depu-ty speaker and members of parliament was placed in the parliament yesterday.

Law, Justice and Parliamentary A� airs Minis-ter Anisul Haque placed the bills styled Members of Parliament (Remuneration and Allowances) Act, 2016 and Speaker and Deputy Speaker (Re-muneration and Privileges) Act, 2016.

If the bills are passed the speaker, deputy speaker and lawmakers’ salary and bene� ts will be close to double.

According to Speaker and Deputy Speak-er (Remuneration and Privileges) bill, the speaker’s salary will be Tk1,12,000 from TK57,200 and daily allowances will be Tk3000 from that of Tk1000.

According to the bill, the deputy speak-er will draw Tk1,05,000 instead of present salary of Tk53,100 and daily allowances will

stand at Tk2000 in place of Tk750.According to the Members of Parlia-

ment (Remuneration and Allowances) bill, the lawmakers will get Tk55,000 instead of Tk27,500, daily allowances will be Tk750 from Tk300 while transport allowance (monthly) Tk70,000 instead of Tk40,000.

The proposal for increase was made keep-ing in mind the increase of living expendi-ture, in� ation and the eighth pay scale for the government employees, says the bill.

Meanwhile, another bill seeking rise in the ceiling to which lower courts can hear civil suits and proceedings was placed in the parliament.

Law, Justice and Parliamentary A� airs Minister Anisul Haque placed the bill styled Civil Courts (Amendment) Act 2016.

Speaker and Deputy Speaker (Remunera-tion and privileges) Act 2016 and Members of Parliament (Remuneration and Allowances) (Amendment) Act, 2016 bills were placed in the parliament. l

Cold making it worse for evicted slum residentsn Kamrul Hasan

As if losing their home was not bad enough, the increasingly cold weather is making it even worse for the former residents of Kaly-anpur slum in the capital, parts of which was recently evicted.

“My 50-year-old mother, who is ill, cannot sleep all night because of the cold. She does not let us sleep either as she keeps crying due to her ailment,” said Idris Ali, one of the slum residents, who lost all his belongings when a � re broke out only a day after the eviction drive took place on Thursday.

Idris claimed since the High Court stayed the eviction drive hours after it began, some musclemen of the local lawmakers set the still-standing shanties on � re the next day to clear out the area.

The � re, which broke out in Slum No 8 in the area, destroyed 70-80 rooms before it was put out, including Idris’s room.

Hundreds of people became homeless in Thursday’s eviction drive before the High Court order, but most of them managed to � nd a place to stay around the city, mostly in Bou Bazar and Paikpara areas, sources said.

However, there are 30 or so families who have not been able to � nd a place and are liv-ing under the open sky, braving the cold.

It is about to get worse for them as the met o� ce said they had recorded the lowest tem-perature for the season yesterday and pre-dicted further fall in temperature today.

Those living out in the open in Kalyanpur have no preparation for the time when the weather gets worse.

“I have no savings, and all my belongings were lost in the � re. I don’t know where to go. I only see darkness ahead,” said Idris. l

SC to hear petition on Kallyanpur slum evictionn Tribune Report

The Appellate Division of the Supreme Court is likely to hear on January 31 an appeal � led by the state against a High Court order that had halted the eviction drive at Kallyanpur slum for three months.

Chamber Judge of the Appellate Division Justice Hasan Foyez Siddique yesterday did not give any order on the petition and sent it to the regular bench of the Supreme Court for hearing. Hence, the stay order would be prevailed until further order.

The High Court bench of Justice Tariq ul Hakim and Justice Bhishmadev Chakrabort-ty gave the stay order on January 21 when the o� cials of the Housing and Building Research Institute led by an executive mag-istrate were at the spot to evict the slum res-idents.

One block of the slum was completely demolished and two others saw partial dam-age during the drive that continued until the evening despite protests.

The court passed the order following a writ petition � led by rights group Ain o Salish Kendra (ASK). Sara Hossain, a lawyer for the ASK, said that the High Court had issued a re-striction on the eviction of Kallyanpur slum 10 years ago. But the government carried out the drive ignoring the court order.

In 2003, when the Housing and Public Works Ministry took an initiative to evict the slum from Kallyanpur, ASK and two slum residents � led a writ petition with the High Court. On December 28 that year, a vacation bench of the court stayed the eviction drive and issued a ruling.

In 2004, a regular bench of the court too passed the same order. In 2006, the ministry again issued a letter to evict the slum and the ASK again moved the court, which passed a stay order on the drive.

Finally, the High Court on January 17, 2007 extended the stay order’s time until the disposal of its previous ruling. l

Tarana: Facebook to respond in 48 hoursn Ishtiaq Husain

State Minister for Posts and Telecommuni-cations Tarana Halim said Facebook, Inc had assured Bangladesh that it would respond to speci� c safety concerns within 48 hours of receiving a complaint.

The state minister was speaking at a press conference held at the Secretariat yesterday.

“We had a fruitful discussion with Face-book o� cials for the south-east Asian region during my visit to Singapore.

“They assured us they would take action or inform us about what they were doing,”

Tarana said. “Facebook, Inc said there was no need to

set up an administrative panel in Bangladesh to curb criminal activities using the social media platform,” she added.

“The company would take action on se-curity issues within 48 hours of receiving a complaint through proper Bangladesh gov-ernment channels.”

Tarana met Facebook o� cials in Singa-pore on January 12 to negotiate a deal with the social media giant.

During her visit, she also met with high-ups of Google Inc and Microsoft Corporation.

Microsoft showed interest in working with Bangladesh government to build a strong cy-ber security team that would help identify cyber security risks, she added.

They also proposed to provide assistance on developing cyber protection for children in Bangladesh.

Meanwhile, Google assured that it would take steps to remove objectionable and potentially harmful contents from Google Bangladesh site (google.com.bd).

“It will also take steps if Bangladesh gov-ernment places complaints about any content that is indecent, violent, hateful or abusive,

harmful and dangerous, involves child abuse, is a spam or misleading information, and in-fringes rights, on YouTube,” Tarana said.

She said the government had taken initia-tive to re-brand Teletalk to make it a leading player in the country’s telecommunication industry. As part of this initiative, a new logo for the only state-owned mobile phone oper-ator will be launched next month.

“We are following the lead of Celcom, the leading mobile phone operator in Malaysia. Teletalk will earn people’s con� dence by im-proving its services throughout the country,” she said. l

30 or so families who could not � nd a place are living under the open sky,braving the cold

MONDAY, JANUARY 25, 2016News6DT

3-day renewable energy exhibition begins Jan 27 n Aminur Rahman Rasel

To showcase the country’s success and potential in the renewable energy sector, a three-day seminar and exhi-bition on renewable energy is going to be held at the Energy Park and Mokarram Bhaban of Dhaka University.

At a press brie� ng at Dha-ka Reporters Unity yesterday, Dr Saiful Haque, director of Dhaka University’s Institute of Energy, said the seminar and exhibition would be held from January 27 to 29.

“During the exhibition and seminar, we will showcase Bangladesh’s success and in-itiatives in the renewable en-ergy sector. We will also hold seminars where experts will discuss the potential of this sector,” he said.

“The Awami League gov-ernment has emphasised electricity production from renewable energy sources. We are pleased to know that the government has taken an attempt to amend the renew-able energy act and enact a modern act after consulting

with experts,” Saiful said. He said the three-day pro-

gramme includes debates, which would be participated by four renowned schools and four renowned colleges.

Dr Nasif Shams, professor at Dhaka University’s Insti-tute of Energy, Balaram Ba-hadur, managing director and CEO of LIC Bangladesh Lim-ited, Abdul Halim Mridha, managing director of GTS Group, and M Anwarul Alam, chief operating o� cer of Bestway Powertech Ltd, were present at the brie� ng.

State Minister for Power, Energy and Mineral Resourc-es Nasrul Hamid will inaugu-rate the seminar and exhibi-tion while Dhaka University Vice-chancellor Dr AAMS Ar-e� n Siddique will be present.

Sustainable and Renew-able Energy Development Authority, Infrastructure De-velopment Company Limit-ed, Green Banking Division of Bangladesh Bank, Practical Action, GIZ and Rahimafrooz are among the organisations that will take part in the semi-nar and exhibition. l

BUP VC Khaled earns Chancellor Gold Medal n Tribune Report

Major General Sheikh Mamun Khaled SUP PSC PhD, who is the vice-chancellor of Bang-ladesh University of Profes-sionals, has been awarded the Chancellor Gold Medal for his PhD thesis, said a press release of Inter Service Public Relations Directorate.

The third convocation of

Bangladesh University of Pro-fessionals was held on Janu-ary 21, and President Abdul Hamid, also the chancellor of the university, gave him the gold medal.

Maj Gen Khaled is the � rst person who earned a PhD de-gree from this university.

A total of three students were given gold medals at the convocation. l

102 policemen to be honouredn Mohammad Jamil Khan

Bangladesh Police will award 102 o� cers with ser-vice medals for outstanding work done in 2015.

The policemen are being recognised for their contribu-tions to public service, courage and ability to investigate cases.

The prime minister will hand the awards over to the o� cers during Police Week

2016, scheduled to be held on January 26 at Rajarbagh Po-lice Lines, in the capital.

For outstanding public service, 19 policemen will re-ceive the Bangladesh Police Padak and 20 will receive the President Police Padak.

For courage on the job and excellence in investigations, 23 o� cers will get the Bangladesh Police Padak and 40 will receive the President Police Padak. l

MONDAY, JANUARY 25, 2016News 7

DT

Legal hindrances make Palashbari municipality poll uncertainn Tajul Islam Reza, Gaibndha

No mayoral election was held at Palashbari in Gaibandha after it was declared as munici-pality in 2011 as a writ petition was � led with High Court.

According to sources, government de-clared Palashbari as municipality by includ-ing total 43 moujas. Of them 19 moujas were at Sadar upazila.

After declaration, Tk39 lakh had been sanctioned for 2011-2012 � scal year for the development of the municipality. But no de-velopment work has been done due to � le a writ petition with the court by a Sha� qul.

The money was returned after the petition.In 2007, Sha� qul Islam of Udoysagor village

in Sadar upazila � led the petition demanding cancellation the function of the municipality.

Locals said Morsheda Begum, councilor of reserved seat and wife of Sha� qul manged him to � le the petition with the help of some union council chairmen who do not want the municipality.

The court dismissed the case several times after hearing. But he appealed to the Supreme

court again and again to halt the election.He said:“We do not want the municipality.

There is no infrastructure in the upazila that can be turned into municipality.”

“If it is operated as municipality, the devel-opment work will be hampered due to lengthy process of bureaucracy,” he said. But locals al-leged that Sha� qul � led the petition to imple-ment the agenda of the chairmen of Palash-abri, Kishoregari and Barisal union councils.

The up chairmen think they may lose pow-er if the upazila is turns into municipality.

Social worker Nuruzzaman of Gridhara village in Sadar upazila said there were hun-dreds of business institutions and banks be-side the Dhaka-Rangpur Highway.

The institutions cannot work properly due to manifold reasons. The main reason is the absence of the budget sanctioned by the government for the municipality.

If the work of the municipality is going on properly, the activities of the institutions will go on in full swing, he claims.

Shamikul Islam, lecturer of Palashbari Wom-en College, said they were deprived of civic rights as there had been no election for a long

time. Moksed Chowdhury, former chairman of Sadar upazila parishad, said some UP chairmen of the upazila wanted to establish their power for a long time. Already 13 years had passed, there was no election in those union councils. They had a great role behind the petition.

Trader Aminul Islam said: “The chairmen of three union councils who � ance Sha� qul to � le the petition, have grabbed the power for 13 years illegally.” He urged the govern-ment to take action against those chairmen.

Golam Sarwar, general secretary of Motor Workers’ Union, said anomalies had been continuing due to absence of proper admin-istrative work.

Abdul Mannan, chairman of Barisal union council, said: “I have no role behind the pe-tition.”

Habibur Rahman, chairman of Palash-abri Sadar, Aminur Rahamn, chairman of Kishoregari echoed the speech of Mannan.

Mokhlesur Rahman, deputy director at the administrative o� ce of deputy commissioner o� ce, local govt unit, said they had nothing to do to implement the work of the municipality as it was at the hand of higher authorities. l

The Rajdhani Unnayan Kartipakkha conducts a drive at Dhandmondi’s Sobahanbagh in the capital yesterday and demolishes some shops built in car parking area of a residential building MEHEDI HASAN

Gazipur � re death toll reaches six n Our Correspondent, Gazipur

Another man who received burn injuries in a boiler explosion at a tyre factory in Pubail of Gazipur on Saturday died at Dhaka Medical College Hospital (DMCH) early yesterday.

The deceased was Abdul Kader, 60, son of Foisuddin Bepari of Bonomali area in Tongi. He was a wholesaler at the factory.

Sources at the DMCH said Kader, who was undergoing treatment at the hospital burn unit with 95 per cent burn injures, suc-cumbed to the injuries around 3am.

Witnesses said the boiler in the factory named Smart Metal and Chemical, located in Pubail of Gazipur, exploded with a loud bang around 4pm.

With the death of Kader, at least six peo-ple, including a woman, were killed in the boiler explosion in the factory.

Three of the deceased were Siddika Rah-man Doly, a teacher of Boroibari Govt Prima-ry School of the locality and wife of Delwar Hossain of Pubail area of the city, factory workers Selim, son of late Mannan of Basug-aon in Pubail, and Abdur Razzak, hailing from Madaripur district.

Jebunnessa, who was an assistant teacher at the local Baraibari Government Primary School, was walking past the factory when the explosion took place, said Joydebpur � re service station o� cer Hasibur Rahman.

Around 30 people were working in the factory which caught � re right after the ex-plosion. Many workers came running out to save themselves. Injured workers including Abdul Kader, Kamal Hossain and the � ve dead bodies, were � rst taken to the Shaheed Tajuddin Ahmed Medical College Hospital around 7pm.

Hospital sources said both the injured men, who have su� ered more than 30% burns, were in critical condition.

Four � re� ghting units from Gazipur and Tongi later brought the factory � re under control. Local ward councillor Bazlur Rah-man said the factory melt old tires to man-ufacture a special kind of oil used along with pitch for carpetting roads.

Deputy Commissioner (DC) SM Alam said a three member-probe committee, headed by ADC Rahenul Islam, had been formed to investigate into the incident. The committee was asked to � le a report in three days.

The DC also said that families of the de-ceased had been given Tk10,000 each for the carrying funeral expenses.

Owner Iman Uddin and the other manage-ment sta� of the factory have been on the run since the blast took place. l

Chittagong physicians postpone strike after � ve daysn FM Mizanur Rahaman, Chittagong

Physicians of private clinics and hospitals of the port city postponed their strike yesterday after � ve-day getting assurance from Mayor of Chit-tagong City Corporation (CCC) AJM Nasir Uddin.

The decision was taken at a meeting of Bangladesh Medical Association (BMA) Chit-tagong chapter at Chittagong Medical College Hospital’s Shah Alam Bir Uttam auditorium around 3pm. With CCC mayor in the chair, the meeting was attended by BMA members and

senior journalists. Dr Mujibul Haque Khan, president of the

BMA Chittagong chapter, said: “The inde� nite strike was postponed as the city mayor AJM Na-sir Uddin assured them of looking into their de-mands and � nding out a respectable solution”.

BMA sources said the BMA would hold a meeting after seven-day to announce their next course of action in this regard.

The strike was enforced for inde� nite pe-riod at all private hospitals, clinics and diag-nostic centres in the city since last Wednes-

day, demanding withdrawal of the two cases � led against three doctors of Chittagong Med-ical College Hospital (CMCH) over alleged negligence during providing treatment.

Along with the strike the physicians also stopped their private practice shutting down their chambers.

Physicians of all private clinics and diag-nostic centres under the banner of the Bang-ladesh Medical Association went on the strike on Wednesday, demanding withdrawal of two cases � led against two doctors for their

alleged negligence in performing duties. Khairul Bashar, father of a patient named

Meherunnesa Rima who died recently at Sur-giscope Clinic, � led the case on Tuesday with Chief Metropolitan Magistrate Court against doctor couple – Dr Shameema Siddique and Dr Mahbubul Alam.

Rima, wife of Australia expatriate Abdul-lah Al Mamun, gave birth to a baby boy on January 10. Later, she died due to alleged negligence of doctors while taking post-oper-ative treatment. l

Advertisement8DTMONDAY, JANUARY 25, 2016

Education 9D

T

MONDAY, JANUARY 25, 2016

n Jumana Abuwala

Education City, a small multiversity community in the outskirts of Doha is an up-and-coming education capital of the Arab world. It is the epicenter of Qatar’s attempts at moving from a fuel-based economy to a knowledge-based economy where a concentration of regional and foreign talent takes place. The city hosts an array of elite schools, colleges and universities and of the nine universities in the city, eight are international. For those who are considering an international degree for taking their careers to the next level, we at GradConnect are here to tell you why this could be the perfect place for international education.

The thing that sets this small city apart is its “multiversity” environment.

The city boasts six American universities, one British university and one French university. Here’s a list of the universities with o� shore campuses in Qatar: Virginia Commonwealth University, Weill Cornell Medical College, Texas A&M University, Carnegie Mellon University, Georgetown University School of Foreign Service, Northwestern University, HEC Paris and UCL Qatar.

This impressive list in itself is an indicator

of the standards that this city upholds when it comes to education. With the rising trend of universities having campuses in multiple countries and continents, Qatar has capitalised on the industry trend to invite international universities to the Education City.

The universities here uphold the same standards as their main campuses in the West and therefore entry requirements are usually the same at the Qatar campus. The tuition fees at most of these campuses are

also the same as the main campus, thus making education here quiet expensive.

However, as all of these universities are under the Qatar foundation, the foundation o� ers � nancial aid to local and international students alike. The Hamad Bin Khalifa Financial Aid Program provides � nancial aid of up to 100% based on demonstrated need. Students have to pay 15% of their salaries upon graduation until the loan is repaid. The system also allows loans to be forgiven within two to six years for those who work

in Qatar at an approved company. If you are willing to stay back and get industry experience in Qatar itself, an international education can be fairly cheaper for you.

Living in a city whose sole purpose is to educate is a unique experience that no other region can currently o� er. The city is home to about 1300 students, making it a huge campus by itself. This makes Education City one of the world’s � rst “Multiversity” and thus an exciting educational journey unlike any other. The small community allows for more communication amongst students themselves and amongst students and teachers not only from the university you are attending, but also from the other renowned institutions in the area.

Education City is a mere half hour away from the hustle and bustle of Doha. Doha is easily accessible by using public transport such as the metro. Average meal costs per day come up to about $21 and personal expenses amount to about $9 per day. Universities have their own recreation facilities on campus with Carnegie Mellon boasting a cinema and a bowling alley on campus amongst other things. The HBKU Student Center also provides a social space for students to interact while providing amenities such as international food options and recreation.

This futuristic “multiversity” provides Bangladeshi students the opportunity to attain a remarkable international education while still presenting them with practical and viable � nancial options. Life in Education City might be a little expensive, but it is undoubtedly an incomparable experience.

The bright side is, most students can now have access to international degrees with practical � nancial aid options in the Education City. All the renowned universities in the area o� er all sorts of di� erent degrees, and one must also consider that living standards in Qatar are extremely high. With one of the lowest crime rates in the world and vast amounts of resources, the region is bound to be interesting for those who want to have an excellent international degree at a much closer and safer place. l

Opportunities for education abroad at a� ordable rates: Education city in Qatar

Students have to pay 15% of their salaries upon graduation until the loan is repaid. The system also allows loans to be forgiven within two to six years for those who work in Qatar at an approved company. If you are willing to stay back and get industry experience in Qatar itself, an international education can be fairly cheaper for you

Jumana Abuwala is an intern, content writer at GradInsights, the career intelligence service of GradConnect. She is also a senior at Monash University, Malaysia campus. Follow GradInsights on Facebook for more articles from her and the team.

Reprinted in special arrangement with GradInsight.

Feature10DT

MONDAY, JANUARY 25, 2016

A DIY list of ways to beat the evils of winterPHOTOS: BIGSTOCK

n Amreen Rahman

Although winter is taking a quick roundabout and the chills are receding, there’s still that nagging cough, or that painful sore throat that somehow retains its zeal. Whether you’re su� ering from a cold or a sore throat, here’s a quick listing of � ve ways to make the most of things you have at home to not only keep the cough and cold at bay, but perhaps also help relieve some of the symptoms.

Remain hydratedFirst and foremost, begin with keeping yourself hydrated this winter. This one’s a no brainer, but it’s one reason why we are more prone to the cold and � u in winter. Try to keep the ca� einated drinks at bay. Try to aim for eight to 10 glasses of water per day. Alcohol, ca� eine and sugar laden drinks will only suppress your immune system, making you more prone to illnesses.

Make your own nasal concoctionFor winter ailments – salt water is your go-to cure. If you’re su� ering from nasal congestion, create a solution of the following: ¼ teaspoon of salt mixed with ¼ teaspoon of baking soda in 8oz of boiled or distilled warm water. Use a bulb syringe to squirt this mix into one nostril, while holding down your other nostril. Allow one nostril to drain before doing the same for the other.

Opt for DIY cough syrupMost cough syrups come with its fair share of side e� ects – drowsiness, mild sedation and even nausea. Make your own homemade cough syrup to beat those dry hacking coughs. Combine ¼ cup of honey

with ¼ cup of apple cider vinegar well. Take 1 tablespoon of this every four hours.

Invest in raw, unpasteurised honeyHoney contains compounds such as phenolic acid and � avonoids that can quickly turn your cold around. A new study has found that two ounces a day reduces the length of the common cold by two days. Invest in unpasteurisd honey and mix it with warm milk, warm lemon water or ginger tea. Raw honey has antimicrobial agents and antioxidants that can boost immunity and suppress coughs.

DIY sore throat gargleTo help you clear a sore throat gargle with a mixture of salt water and apple cider vinegar. The salt will help draw excess � uid out of the tissues in your throat, to help soothe the uneasy swelling that’s causing

you discomfort. Apple cider vinegar, on the other hand, may aid in killing the bug while also soothing you of the pain. Mix 1 cup of water with 1 cup of apple cider vinegar and 1 teaspoon of salt and gargle thrice a day to relieve the pain.

Resign to the old fashioned hot water bottleIf your DIY concoctions aren’t really helping, you can try to loosen up with some heat. If you’ve got really deep congestion, use a hot water bottle. The trick is to � ll it halfway, and then allow the rest of the air to escape. Continue � lling it afterwards, leaving an inch or two space to ensure that the bottle isn’t too hard or sti� , rather squishy and � exible. Cover this in a thin cloth and place it between your shoulder blades on your back, or on your chest. l

5 common cold cures

INSIDE

It is good news the government has decided to install solar-powered charg-ing stations in six divisional headquarters for electricity-powered two and three-wheelers, such as easy-bikes, and battery-run rickshaws.

There is a strong environmental case to incentivise their use. By directly us-ing renewable energy, they can do more work quicker than person-driven vehicles alone, without using costly fossil fuels that add to carbon emissions.

More than 400,000 electricity-powered bikes operate across the country, con-suming many megawatts of power per day. Charging them through low cost solar powered charging stations would obviously bring huge bene� ts in terms of saving expenditure on fuel across the national grid.

One new Tk1.5 crore charging station built with solar panels capable of producing 125kW of electricity has the capacity to recharge 120 sets of batteries daily, at a lower price for the bike-user than charging from the grid.

The government should encourage businesses and local authorities to set up more of such solar-powered charging stations across the country.

These are urgently needed anyway because the Power Development Board estimates two-thirds of existing battery-run rickshaws run on electricity pilfered by connecting metal hooks directly to supply lines, while the rest depend on plugging into domestic connections.

New solar-powered charging stations would hence bring both direct cost and safety bene� ts by eliminating illegal and risky connections, and help reduce pres-sure on the national grid.

The government should incentivise electric bikes further by making their import duty-free.

As well as environmental gains, encouraging solar-powered bikes can be a boon to Bangladeshi manufacturers who have considerable potential to build more such bikes and construct solar-powered charging stations. Public policy should support the development of infrastructure such as charging stations and bike lanes to encourage their use.

Incentivise low cost, zero emissions transport to save fuel and reduce pressure on the grid

A smarter Dhaka

To keep the ball rollingYoungsters want to be like Messi and Ronaldo, but they are no longer interested in Mamunul Islam and his teammates. The Barcelona or Man United jerseys carry more value to them than the green and red. Time for BFF to go back to the drawing board and adopt a clean slate approach

PAGE 13

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Kurdish � ghters on the frontline Kurdish forces are no more the communist forces of the 1970s. Presently they have reformed themselves as an ideological, well-disciplined force. There appears to be no Arab-Kurd tension in the force, given the history of region

So why should we include the community voice? Simple answer: Because they live in the place in question and have a natural stake in the matter. Despite this greatest of stakes in urban planning decisions, the urban poor has the weakest voice when it comes to participation

Go faster to encourage solar-powered bikes

11D

TEditorialMONDAY, JANUARY 25, 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.

Opinion12DT

MONDAY, JANUARY 25, 2016

n Shusmita Khan

I was born and brought up near the Tejgaon area. To be more precise, just around the Tejgaon bus terminal. Despite being a local, I was always

forbidden to travel alone past that area when it was dark because of the bus terminal and how unsafe it used to become.

Just a few days back, all the trucks and buses had been been shifted to their rightful place and the squeaky, muddy road has now been transformed into a wide one. How did that happen? Who waved their magic wand created this haven?

I know the mayor played an imperative role, but at the same time, I would like to give some credit to the people who live around that area. On the day, when the Mayor took the stride, the community -- except the bus associations -- were with him and that is how this was possible. I � rmly believe that, if Tejgaon bus terminal can be transformed into the way it looks now, anything is possible, even to make Dhaka a mart city.

There are many issues one could propose to tackle with the communities' engagement strategies, but to slim down the topic of discussion, let’s consider just one: Enabling smart growth in the one of the world’s fastest growing megacities -- Dhaka. Estimates suggest that around one-third of the population lives in the urban areas of Bangladesh and Dhaka holds a vast majority of that population. Among that vast

majority, around one-third lives in informal settlements such as slums and squatters.

So why should we include the community voice? Simple answer: Because they live in the place in question and have a natural stake in the matter. Despite this greatest of stakes in urban planning decisions, the urban poor have the weakest voice when it comes to participation.

Having said that, we have to keep in mind that the potential take from empowering the poorer segment of the urban population to help shape the urban environment is immense. They should have a say on topics such as where to locate transport corridors, how to upgrade services, and where to try to attract private sector investment because these kinds of questions strongly in� uence their access to services, jobs, and opportunity.

Second, although urban planning issues are highly complex, the relevant information is often not known. This kind of information can easily be collected from the community living there and often citizens themselves can provide it. In addition, communities often lack information about what policy-makers are considering, which sometimes creates misunderstandings -- especially

when policy gets translated into action. Therefore, improving a mechanism for the two-way � ow of information would generate real bene� ts. Creating such mechanisms for participation of communities in urban planning can be as traditional as institutionalising town meetings on zoning issues or as innovative as deploying digital platforms for community mapping.

For instance, a number of initiatives, such as the “Open Cities Project,” illustrate the

ways in which citizens can help contribute information to the policy-making process.In addition to the data creation and collection, there are mechanisms, some digital and some low-tech, that seek to involve citizens in a collaborative decision-making process. The 26’10 Ruimsig project convened architects, NGOs, and other stakeholders, along with residents of the Ruimsig informal settlement outside Johannesburg, South Africa.

Working together, they mapped the existing settlement and designed a proposal to improve living conditions. Based on the plan, they launched a process of moving and upgrading structures in the settlement.

Another example of a process that uses both high and low-tech outreach mechanisms to involve a wide range of constituents comes from Brazil’s “Governor Asks” initiative in Rio Grande do Sul.

Through this program, the government asks citizens how they feel about di� erent issues, and then responds to their input in concrete ways that have included increased funding for a family health care program, a larger � eet of ambulances, and support to speci� c hospitals.

These examples show that if the government wants to help build momentum toward the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), looking closely at the role of Dhaka City Corporations and opportunities to engage the communities cannot wait. l

Shusmita Khan is a Public Health Activist.

We need to listen to our communities to improve the the city we -- and they -- live in

When it comes to urban planning, the poorer population have the weakest voice DHAKA TRIBUNE

So why should we include the community voice? Simple answer: Because they live in the place in question and have a natural stake in the matter. Despite this greatest of stakes in urban planning decisions, the urban poor has the weakest voice when it comes to participation

A smarter Dhaka

Opinion 13D

T

MONDAY, JANUARY 25, 2016

n Jeeshan Mirza

Back in the 1980s and 1990s, long before Bangladesh’s exploits in international cricket, football was the nation’s undisputed favourite

sport. During World Cups, rooftops of cities,

towns, and villages would be painted sky blue or yellow, matching the jerseys of favourite football teams.

Abahani-Mohammedan matches would attract throngs of devout supporters with intense rivalry amongst themselves. The Bangladeshi football team playing in the SAFF Cup or SAFF Games would attract millions of viewers from around the country.

The youth in rural Bangladesh spent afternoons playing football in the muddy school grounds to the enthusiastic cheers of the entire village. Youngsters emulated their celebrated icons like Kazi Salahuddin, Monem Munna, Jewel Rana, and Aminul Hoque.

However, in the past two decades, the interest in Bangladeshi football has dwindled. Cricket has replaced football in the village grounds, and Shakib, Mashrafee, and co are the new poster boys. Although EPL, La Liga, and the Champions League have gained a major following amongst Bangladeshi youth -- no one quite cares about the country’s football.

Part of it is attributed to Bangladesh’s steady rise in cricket. But, mostly, it is due to the severe mismanagement which has brought down the country’s footballing standard to the bottom rung of South Asia. Whereas, once, Bangladesh competed with India for South Asian supremacy, they now � nd themselves below the level of Sri Lanka, Nepal, and Pakistan.

Considering the level of infrastructure, investment, the quality of domestic football Bangladesh enjoys compared to these

nations, our slump is deeply disheartening -- and embarrassing. Even more so when you consider the BFF chief’s vision of qualifying for the 2022 World Cup. Bangladesh’s recent � rst round exit in the 2015 SAFF Cup, which saw drubbings against Afghanistan and Maldives, is a strong indicator of the team’s downward spiral.

What’s more alarming is that, once, such heavy margin defeats would be against more illustrious Asian teams like Thailand or Qatar.

Every now and then, the Bangladesh Football Federation signs a new foreign coach. This is followed by a period of great hope and optimism.

But every time, it inadvertently leads to the same outcome -- disagreements with management, premature axing, signing of a local interim coach, and falling in the FIFA rankings. It is a never-ending cycle, making BFF’s every strategic move analogous to the boy who cried wolf.

One could come up with a dozen hypoth-eses to explain Bangladesh’s decline. But to keep it simple, perhaps BFF should take a

few lessons from their fellow administrators at Mirpur. While BCB’s good work by no means has a fairy-tale ending in place, they have certainly done enough to make their team reasonably competitive.

The success of the Tigers has also popularised the sport and inspired newer generations to take it up. So what is it that BCB does so well that BFF does not?

For starters, BCB works with a more long-term oriented plan. Since getting test status in 2000, Bangladesh has invested

heavily in grass roots level development with age group teams, competitions. They have hired quality international coaches for such teams, and also trained local coaches to carry on the work. BCB have set up decent facilities and infrastructure.

They have started programs like the National Cricket Academy and High Performance units, both of which have yielded good success. BCB also does not compromise with the quality of head coaches with names like Dave Whatmore, Jamie Siddons, Gordon Greenidge, Eddie Barlow, and, more recently, Chandika

Hathurusingha. All of these coaches have been given

accomplished support sta� . Such coaches have also been given long stints to imple-ment their ideas and philosophies. Although still far from ideal, the standard of domestic cricket has also been upped to promote a platform for local players.

Bangladesh cricket did not have instant success. The progress of the Tigers has been slow and painful with tumultuous ups and downs. But BCB’s holistic and patient long-term approach is slowly paying o� . BFF’s strategy, meanwhile, has been anything but long-term with constant chopping, changing, and ad hoc initiatives.

For instance, consider BFF’s desire to launch a Bangladeshi version of the Indian Super League. Perhaps intended to compete with All India Football Federation or BCB’s BPL, this is a short-sighted project with no visible long-term bene� ts.

BCB can a� ord to run BPL, because it has everything else in place. Wouldn’t it be better for BFF to instead focus on grassroots development or hire a professional coach on a long-term contract?

Football in Bangladesh is in a precarious position. Youngsters want to be like Messi and Ronaldo, but they are no longer interested in Mamunul Islam and his fellow teammates. The Barcelona or Man United jerseys carry more value to them than the green and red. Time for BFF to go back to the drawing board and adopt a clean slate approach.

BCB provides them the best example on how to move forward. With every year that passes, other countries are moving ahead. At this rate, in Bangladesh, football may also eventually end up losing the second spot. l

Jeeshan Mirza is a freelance contributor based in Colombo, Sri Lanka.

Youngsters want to be like Messi and Ronaldo, but they are longer interested in Mamunul Islam and his teammates. The Barcelona or Man United jerseys carry more value to them than the green and red. Time for BFF to go back to the drawing board and adopt a clean slate approach

BFF needs a long-term plan to combat the declining popularity of football

To keep the ball rolling

Is football about to get kicked out? DHAKA TRIBUNE

n Lt Col (Retd) Quazi Sajjad Ali Zahir Bir Protik

Recently, two major developments took place in Syria. One was the downing of the Russian aircraft and the other, the rapid gains

made by the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) in the battlefronts of Syria against IS. The Russian incident received media attention but SDF advances were largely ignored, understandably due to the former’s international geopolitical sensitivity.

Islamic State (IS) forces are facing multiple attacks from the coalition forces in both Iraq and Syria. In Syria, both Assad forces and the coalition are gaining ground against IS. Assad’s forces are concentrating mainly on taking over Palmyra which they lost in May, 2015.

However, there has been notable success against IS in Syria recently, carried out by the newly formed Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), supported by US air strikes. In October, 2015, SDF was formed to defeat the IS. SDF is an umbrella organisation originating mainly from the Kurdish Workers’ Party (PKK) which was earlier condemned by Turkey as a terrorist group and was internationally accepted as such.

The leftist group PKK, commonly known as YPG, is now the main component of the Syrian Democratic Forces and also has an all-female force, YPF. The soldiers of this force, over the years, have become battle-hardened and, in 2015, had achieved success in retaking the towns of Kobani, Tal Abyad, and Hasaket from the IS. SDF is gaining success in west and north-east of Syria.

On the Iraqi side of the border, a large Kurdish force, Peshmerga, conducted o� ensive operations against the town of Sinjar, where IS had conducted genocide against the Yazidi community in 2014 and cut o� the supply route of IS between Mosul and Raqqa. SDF is aiming for other strongholds in Syria with American air support.

USA could not succeed in training the Free Syrian Army, but its support to SDF is delivering results. Some smaller Syrian Sunni groups, Syrian Christian militias, and Yazidi militias are working with SDF, thus giving SDF wider organisational status. It is known that American ammunition dumps in Syria are located in the Kurdish controlled areas which the US considers to be more secure.

As SDF appears to be an e� ective anti-IS force, US may be planning to form a bigger alliance of united forces mainly from Arab forces and, with them, deliver a decisive blow to the IS. It is likely that, after gaining some ground from IS, SDF may undertake o� ensive operations against the administrative centres of the IS (which are in Raqqa) with US air support. SDF would like to capture more terrain around IS strongholds to make them safer for future operations. Attacks from these areas will soften the IS positions and help SDF advance.

In Al-Hasakah and Al-Qamishli, SDF and Assad forces share the towns and there remains an uneasy calm. Due to the possession of more resources, SDF is gaining

more in� uence among the local population. Capture of Al-Houl will allow SDF to

attack Syrian oil � elds held by IS from where IS is smuggling oil and earning revenue. In 2014, SDF captured Tishir oil � eld -- one of the largest oil � elds of Syria -- which will no doubt help SDF revitalise its � nances.

By capturing Tishir and Sweiditah, SDF now controls oil � elds which have a capacity of producing about 100,000 barrels per day. Syrian total oil producing capability is 380,000. It is known that 27.7% of IS revenue comes from the oil and gas sector. As a result, SDF has lowered the IS revenue and is making advances.

SDF, with KDP (Peshmerga forces), is trying to cut o� IS’ communication network, with a view to isolating IS forces which will become weaker, isolated in pockets. Other than Raqqa, the other stronghold is the eastern city Shaddad, which, if captured by SDF, will further deprive IS of its oil revenues.

Kurdish forces are no more the ultra-nationalist, communist forces of the 1970s. Presently, they have reformed themselves as a multi-cultural, ideological, well-disciplined force. There appears to be

no Arab-Kurd tension in the force, given the history of the region. However, while retaking lands from IS, support from the Sunni Arabs remains a big challenge. Kurdish leadership also interested in a long wished-for Kurdish homeland, covering parts of Iran, Iraq, and Turkey, which remains a long shot.

SDF would not like to overstretch itself by depending only on US air forces which recently produced decisive results. However, Turkey has recently allowed US to � y Syrian missions from Incirlik airbase, which has facilitated the air operation in Syria.

US failed to organise an anti-IS force as per their plan as the forces they trained were proved to be incapable in the battle� eld. US then had opted for the better option of investing in SDF.

With more successful operations executed by SDF, there may be more defection from Assad’s army. There are some risks in US’ decisions and some uncertainty still exists. 50 US soldiers from Special Operation Forces have been sent to aid SDF with training, advising, and assessing missions and co-ordinating operations in Syria. This is the � rst o� cial deployment of

US troops in Syria and this step has proved to be e� ective.

Map of Iraq and Syria re� ects that IS is losing the territory including resources, economy, and manpower. The peak of success of IS was in October, 2014, which appears to be abating for its unplanned advance, operation, and exhausted resources.

Its invincible image is falling apart. Its � nancial situation is weaker today due to the destruction of oil � elds, oil transport system, and falling oil prices. IS now faces di� culty in paying its � ghters and providing social services in the occupied lands -- which discourage new recruits to join the cause.

Due to prolonged air raids, its state operations are no more e� ective, which has been further a� ected by its leaders going underground. The movement of IS soldiers and leaders has become di� cult. IS atrocities have uni� ed the Kurds and they have also lost sympathy among moderate sections of the population.

Recently, YRP began participating in operations and joined forces with SDF, joined by Yazidi female � ghters. Advances of SDF against IS are not large tactical gains but are encouraging steps forward. To achieve success at great lengths, they will require many more successful operations.

However, the present gains made by SDF in the battle� elds can serve as a model for future strategy for the continued � ght against IS. Kurdish and allied Arab force’s new alliance has demonstrated validity of the US program in Syria.

However, the main � ghters in SDF are the Kurds who are under focus today. l

Lt Col (Retd) Quazi Sajjad Ali Zahir Bir Protik is a Freedom Fighter, a recipient of Swadhinata Padak, and a researcher on the Liberation War.

Opinion14DT

MONDAY, JANUARY 25, 2016

Kurdish forces are no more the communist forces of the 1970s. Presently they have reformed themselves as an ideological, well-disciplined force. There appears to be no Arab-Kurd tension in the force, given the history of region

SDF has had the most success against IS forces

Kurdish � ghters on the frontline

Is the SDF Syria’s best hope? REUTERS

15D

TBusinessMONDAY, JANUARY 25, 2016

Global insurers plot cautious course to IranGlobal insurance � rms are circling Iran for business opportunities following the lifting of sanctions - and the � rst test of their appe-tite could come in March when some Iranian companies seek new cover. PAGE 18

Second review meeting on EU Sustainability Compact to be held Thursday With one condition remaining unmet, the second review meeting on “Sustainability Compact” – an initiative for improving safety standards and ensuring labour rights in the country’s RMG sector – is going to be held on Thursday in Dhaka. PAGE 17

Biman sees pro� t after record losses Civil Aviation and Tourism Minister Rashed Khan Menon has told the parliament that in the last six years, Biman Bangladesh Airlines gained pro� t only in 2014-15 � scal year after incurring losses from FY2009-10 to FY2013-14 in a row. PAGE 17

Capital market snapshot: SundayDSE

Broad Index 4,626.1 -0.7% ▼

Index 1,115.8 -0.1% ▼

30 Index 1,750.4 -0.0% ▼

Turnover in Mn Tk 4,277.7 2.2% ▲

Turnover in Mn Volume 150.7 2.9% ▲

CSEAll Share Index 14,236.1 0.0% ▲

30 Index 12,472.7 0.2% ▲

Selected Index 8,653.5 -0.0% ▼

Turnover in Mn Tk 308.0 -4.3% ▼

Turnover in Mn Volume 12.8 -6.4% ▼

INSIDE

PM urges investors to grab business opportunities Bangladesh Investment and Policy Summit begins in the capital n UNB

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina yesterday re-assured all the local and foreign investors of her government’s highest level of commit-ment to quickly facilitate their pragmatic proposals and simpli� cation of investment procedure so that they can make the best use of their money.

After inaugurating a two-day Bangladesh Investment and Policy Summit 2016 at a city hotel, she also said the government is going to establish ‘Bangladesh Development Au-thority’ to facilitate their business.

Mentioning that security and pro� tabil-ity of investment are guaranteed in Bang-ladesh, Hasina repeated the poets’ verse, “You will never � nd another country like this anywhere else ...”

Board of Investment (BoI), Business In-itiative Leading Development (BUILD) and Prime Minister’s O� ce (PMO) are jointly organising the Bangladesh Investment and Policy Summit.

Sheikh Hasina said this is the most oppor-tune moment to show the dynamic role of in-vestors and urged them to be part of Bangla-desh’s historic growth and development. “All relevant forces have fallen into place nicely.”

“This Summit will give you the most ap-propriate platform to know Bangladesh’s in-vestment trend, policies and potential more concretely and systematically - for seeing is believing,” she told the investors.

She said Public Private Partnership (PPP) in infrastructure investment o� ers a new window of opportunity for investors while the Existing Export Processing Zones (EPZs),

and Special Economic Zones (SEZs) are being expanded and developed for competitive manufacturing for local and global markets.

Hasina said her government is going to establish Bangladesh Development Author-ity for the simpli� cation of investment pro-cedure.

“We’re planning to establish 100 Eco-nomic zones across the country. More than thirty sites have already been selected for special economic zones and foundations stones of 10 zones will be laid next month.”

“We achieved 6.51 percent GDP growth in the last � nancial year. During the previ-ous � ve years, our average GDP growth was 6.2 percent. We’ve been working to achieve

7 percent GDP this year. Theindication we after passing half of the

� nancial year, we’re hopeful of achieving 7 percent growth,” she added.

Finance Minister AMA Muhith, Indus-tries Minister Amir Hossain Amu, Com-merce Minister Tofail Ahmed, Chief Minis-ter of Meghalaya Dr Mukul Sangma, South Asia Region CEO of Axiata Limited Dr Hans Wijayasuriya, Chairman of Adani Group Gautam Adani, Director of the Internation-al Finance Corporation of the World Bank Group Sujoy Bose and FBCCI President Ab-dul Matlub Ahmed spoke at the inaugural session of the Summit.

PAGE 17 COLUMN 1

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina addresses a two-day Bangladesh Investment and Policy Summit 2016 that began in a city hotel yesterday BSS

Business16DT

MONDAY, JANUARY 25, 2016

Biman sees pro� t after record losses n Tribune Report

Civil Aviation and Tourism Minister Rashed Khan Menon has told the parliament that in the last six years, Biman Bangladesh Airlines gained pro� t only in 2014-15 � scal year after incurring losses from FY2009-10 to FY2013-14 in a row.

“In 2014-15 � scal year, Biman’s pro� t amounted to Tk272.23 crore while its loss Tk1435.64 crore from FY2009-10 to FY2013-14,” the minister told the Parliament in re-sponse to a query of ruling party Lawmaker M Abdul Latif.

Menon attributed the loss to the nation-al carrier’s fuel and maintenance cost, plus lackluster passengers’ response.

At the beginning of FY’14-15, Biman’s rev-enue earnings saw a positive trend to ulti-mately end up in pro� t making this year.

The airlines has reduced its net loss and made a pro� t of TK274 crore in nine months in last � scal year.

Industry insiders said the brand new fu-el-e� cient six Boeing aircraft helped a lot turn the organisation into a pro� table one.

In his question-answer session in the Par-liament, Menon yesterday said forex earning is rising as tourists are visiting Bangladesh.

Replying to a query, the minister said Bangladesh earned Tk11621.54 million in 2014-15 � scal year through foreign tourists.

In his address at the Parliament, Public Administration Minister Syed Ashraful Islam said the government has plan to buy some � ghter jets to protect country’s independ-ence and sovereignty.

In replying to another query, Menon said the government’s Power Division has already been asked to take initiative for setting up a power plant in Saint Martins, and local Upazila Nirbahi o� cer (UNO) was asked to submit feasibility study report in this regard.

He said as a good number of tourists vis-it Saint Martins every year, a power station could be set up to provide necessary facilities to the tourists. l

0

100

200

300

400

500

600

2009-2010

2010-2011

2011-2012

2012-2013

2013-2014

BIMAN LOSS AT A GLANCE (Tk in crore)

46.02

224.16

594.21

285.63 285.61

‘In 2014-15 � scal year, Biman’s pro� t amounted to Tk272.23 crore while its loss Tk1435.64 crore from FY2009-10 to FY2013-14’

NBR to impose 1% surcharge on mobile phone uses n Tribune Report

The National Board of Revenue (NBR) has taken up an initiative to collect 1% surcharge on the amount paid by the subscribers for mobile phone services.

Once introduced by this month, use of mobile phones would be more expensive for the mobile users as the surcharge will be col-lected from all the services including voice calls, short messaging services and multime-dia messaging services, internet and other services.

The surcharge will be imposed on services by all Subscriber Identity Module (SIM) and Re-movable User Identity Module (RUIM) cards.

The NBR has taken up the move after a gazette noti� cation on the Development Surcharge and Levy (Imposition and Collec-tion) Bill-2015 was issued by parliament on November 21.

Value Added Tax (VAT) wing of NBR had already sent a draft of the rules to the law ministry for vetting, said an o� cial con-cerned.

Once the vetting is done, an o� cial ga-zette will be published to e� ect the surcharge collection.

According to a primary estimate of NBR, once implemented, the NBR may collect Tk140 crore additional revenue from the tel-ecom sector.

Currently, users share 15% VAT on any uses of mobile phone services including voice, data, or any other value added servic-es and it will be 16% soon after imposing the fresh surcharge. There is also a 3%supple-mentary duty on mobile services.

The NBR � rst took the move to impose the surcharge in July 2014, but failed to im-plement it in absence of the related laws and rules. l

Nervous selling sends stocks down n Tribune Report

Stocks fell amid nervous selling yesterday extending their losing streak for the third straight session.

The market opened sharply lower as the main index plunged over 56 points in mid-session spooked by heavy sell pressure on large cap stocks. However, it recovered some points at the wee hour.

The benchmark index DSEX declined 32 points or 0.7% to 4,626. The Shariah index DSES was marginally down over 1 point to 1,115. The

blue chip comprising index DS30 witnessed fractional loss of 0.6 point to settle at 1,750.

The Chittagong Stock Exchange Selective Category Index CSCX also su� ered a frac-tional loss of 0.9 points to 8,653.

Trading activities continued to remain poor on the Dhaka Stock Exchange. Its turno-ver increased only 2% to Tk427 crore.

Lanka Bangla Securities said the market players were nervously trading as volatility spiked amid lack of market triggers.

As large cap stocks faced selling pressure more than the low cap ones, the market

breadth remained positive. Out of 327 scrips traded on DSE, prices of 162 advanced, 118 declined and 41 remained unchanged.

Large caps like Grameenphone (GP), BAT-BC, Square Pharmaceuticals and Lafarge Surma Cement remained out of favour, sig-ni� cantly contributing to pull the market down in the morning. Some recovery in large cap stocks and marginal rally in banks o� -set losses. Other sectors, including cement, non-banking � nancial institutions and pow-er closed marginally negative.

Low cap textile sector remained favourite

as it continued to top turnover leader for the third consecutive day, making up 25% of the total traded value on DSE.

Moreover, textile was the best perform-er of the day, surging 1.2% as high export growth was registered so far in FY’16.

Engineering and Power also dominated the trading, together accounting for more than 25% over the previous session.

Emerald Oil Industries, United Power Gen-eration and Distribution Company, All Tex-tile, CAN Textile, ITC, IFAD Autos and Dacca Dyeing were the most-traded stocks. l

Business 17D

TMONDAY, JANUARY 25, 2016

Bangladesh Investment and Policy Summit begins Finance Corporation of the World Bank Group Sujoy Bose and FBCCI President Abdul Matlub Ahmed spoke at the in-augural session of the Summit.

The Prime Minister noted that the ability to attract private investment, both foreign and local, has increased. “We’ve at-tained the ability to implement big projects. The initiative to implement the Padma Bridge project with our own fund is a testimony of our ability.”

“Our duty is to create a business-friendly environ-ment, which we’re doing. Massive reforms have been carried out in infrastructures and, rules and regulations. We’ve undertaken all types of initiatives to create an invest-ment-friendly environment,” she said

Sheikh Hasina said her gov-ernment and colleagues have put in utmost e� orts to provide and develop policy and regula-

tory framework conducive to the business community.

She said to identify private sector policy issues and re-solve them in a systematic, re-search-backed and fact-based manner, the Prime Minister’s O� ce (PMO) has set up the Private Sector Development Policy Coordination Commit-tee (PSDPCC).

The Prime Minister noted that the major opportunities for foreign investors in Bang-ladesh exist in the physical in-frastructure sector, including gas and electricity generation, roads, highways and bridges, tertiary health care and phar-maceuticals, ports develop-ment.

She said Bangladesh has en-tered a new era of inclusive and equitable growth -- both eco-nomic and social. The country has started displaying its in-creasing strength by following an upper growth path. l

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 15

Desperate in Davos: Policymakers struggle for answers n Reuters, Davos

Angela Merkel was missing from Davos this year, but the German leader’s optimistic mantra “we can do this” echoed through the snowy resort in the Swiss Alps.

China’s economic slowdown? Managea-ble. Plunging � nancial markets? Temporary. And Europe’s refugee crisis? A big challenge, but one which will ultimately push the bloc’s members closer together, audiences were told over and over again.

Beneath the veneer of can-do optimism at the World Economic Forum, however, was a creeping concern that the politicians, diplo-mats and central bankers who � ock each year to this gathering of the global elite are at the mercy of geopolitical and economic forces beyond their control.

At the top of the lengthy list of worries was Europe, whose policymakers remain deeply divided in their approach to the refu-gee crisis at a time when the bloc faces a host of other threats, from Islamic extremism and the rise of far-right populists, to a possible British exit from the European Union.

“You’ve had deadly crises in Europe from day one and we’ve overcome them. Howev-er we always had one crisis at a time. Today we have about � ve, from Brexit to ISIS and everything in between,” said Josef Jo� e, the publisher-editor of German weekly Die Zeit.

“In the past we had leadership. Today we are facing overwhelming demands on lead-ership and we are delivering less of it,” he added.

Amid the reassuring messages on the ref-ugee crisis, came stark warnings from people like IMF chief Christine Lagarde that Europe faced a “make or break” moment. Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte and his Swedish

counterpart Stefan Lofven gave the bloc 6-8 weeks to get its act together.

And frustration boiled over after Austria became the latest country in Europe’s Schen-gen passport-free travel zone to unveil uni-lateral steps at the border to stem the tide.

“There is no way you can cope with such a massive � ow of people just by closing the borders,” said the EU’s top diplomat Freder-ica Mogherini. “What do you do? You close the border and it’s your neighbor’s problem.”

Very clear limit On the economic front, there was also a growing sense of policymaker impotence.

Last January, in a bold sign of policy ac-tivism, the European Central Bank unveiled its hotly anticipated stimulus, or quantitative easing (QE), program in a bid to kick-start growth and in� ation in a euro zone still reel-ing from � nancial turmoil and breakup fears.

A year later, despite Mario Draghi’s as-sertion that the bank still has “plenty of in-struments” at its disposal, the consensus in Davos was that it has now used up all its monetary ammunition and that politicians have failed to use the time the ECB bought them to implement economic reforms at home. Meanwhile growth remains subdued and in� ation close to zero.

“We understand that there may be no limit to what the ECB is willing to do but there’s a very clear limit to what the ECB can and will achieve,” chairman of Swiss bank UBS and for-mer Bundesbank chief Axel Weber said after Draghi signaled yet more monetary easing.

The central theme of this year’s meeting was the “Fourth Industrial Revolution” -- the idea that technological advances will allow ever greater levels of automation, transform-ing the global economy in profound ways. l

Second review meeting on EU Sustainability Compact to be held Thursday n Ibrahim Hossain Ovi

With one condition remaining unmet, the second review meeting on “Sustainability Compact” – an initiative for improving safety standards and ensuring labour rights in the country’s RMG sector – is going to be held on Thursday in Dhaka.

The European Union, US, International Labour Organisation, BGMEA, BKMEA will participate in the meeting which will be represented by the Ministry of Commerce, Labour and Employment Ministry and the Ministry of Foreign A� airs.

The � rst meeting was held in Brussels last year.

Following the deadliest Rana Plaza build-ing collapse in 2013, Sustainability Compact – an agreement between the EU and the Bangladeshi government with the support of ILO – was outlined for ensuring continuous improvements in labour rights and factory safety in the RMG sector of Bangladesh.

The present compact puts emphasis on re-spect for labour rights, freedom of association and the right to collective bargaining, structur-al integrity of the buildings and occupational safety and health, plus responsible business conduct by all stakeholders engaged in RMG and knitwear industries in Bangladesh.

“The government along with its stakehold-ers has met all conditions of Sustainability Compact except amendment to EPZ rules to allow trade unions in factories at Export Pro-cessing Zone,” Senior Labour and Employment Secretary Mikail Shipar told the Dhaka Tribune.

The rights to organise by RMG workers in

EPZ factories would be ensured under the Workers Welfare Association (WWA), said Shipar.

A comprehensive Bangladesh EPZ Labour Act 2014, however, has been drafted and in principle approved by the cabinet. It is ex-pected to be vetted by the Law Ministry and sent to the Parliament.

Commenting on the remediation pro-gress, Shipar said the Accord and Alliance are providing funds for their sourcing factories while the government is making e� orts to manage fund for those factories inspected under the national initiatives.

“Our achievement in workplace safety and workers rights is very high, which would be discussed in the meeting,” Senior Com-merce Secretary Hedayetullah Al Mamoon told the Dhaka Tribune.

“From the manufacturers end, we have complied with all conditions as per the pre-scription of Sustainability Compact. The pro-cess of implementation of rules of the Labour Act has started to ensure workers’ rights as well as their rights to organise,” BGMEA sen-ior Vice-President Faruqe Hassan told the Dhaka Tribune.

In the � rst review, the stakeholders put the highest priority on addressing unfair la-bour practices, including anti-union discrim-ination and reprisals, alongside reporting, plus documenting violence against trade un-ions and workers’ representatives.

The meeting also put pressure on legisla-tion of trade unions in EPZ factories to en-sure workers’ rights to associate as per the ILO convention. l

Business18DT

MONDAY, JANUARY 25, 2016

CORPORATE NEWS

Kazi & Kazi Tea has recently organised a prize giving ceremony for its Diamond O� er 2015, said a press release. Mitsu Shaolin from Khulna received the � rst prize, a diamond necklace that was handed over by Asma-ul-Roxana, senior manager (operations) of Kazi & Kazi Tea. The company’s assistant managers, Sk Ashifur Rahman (sales) and Yaasir Quader Abedin (brand) were also present at the ceremony

Mutual Trust Bank Limited (MTB) has recently signed an agreement with The Peninsula Chittagong & Sayeman Beach Resort, Cox’s Bazar in order to provide the bank’s customers and employees with discounts, said a press release. Chairperson of The Peninsula Chittagong & MD of Sayeman Beach Resort, Mahboob Rahman, the bank’s MD & CEO, Anis A Khan and its COO, MD Hashem Chowdhury signed the agreement

Meghna Group of Industries (MGI) has recently unveiled new jerseys of Bangladesh U-19 team, sporting logo of its sponsor Fresh, a brand of MGI. Director of MGI, Tahmina Mostafa was present at the occasion along with Mayor of Chittagong City Corporation, AJM Nasir Uddin, said a press release

An international workshop on capacity building of teachers and IT sta� s of Bangladesh Open University (BOU) on eContent Development has recently been concluded, said a press release. Vice chancellor of BOU, Professor Dr MA Mannan was chief guest at the concluding ceremony

Global insurers plot cautious course to Iran n Reuters, Sydney

Global insurance � rms are circling Iran for business opportunities following the lifting of sanctions - and the � rst test of their appe-tite could come in March when some Iranian companies seek new cover.

Insurers, the reinsurers that share their risk and the brokers that forge deals are ex-ploring ways to tap a market worth $7.4 bil-lion in premiums after a nuclear accord be-tween world powers and Tehran led to the removal of restrictions on � nancial dealings with Iran this month.

Allianz, Zurich Insurance, Hannover Re and RSA, for example, said in recent days that they would evaluate potential opportu-nities in the country.

Insurance and reinsurance specialists regard the marine and energy sectors as among those o� ering the best opportunities in oil-producing Iran. Alongside commercial cover, life insurance is a potential growth area as it represents less than a tenth of over-all Iranian premiums, compared with more than half globally.

At � rst international companies are likely to link up with Iranian � rms to capitalize on their local knowledge and to reinsure local in-surance in the international market, according to industry experts, with international brokers helping foreign � rms get that business.

American insurance industry players are still banned from doing business in Iran,

however, due to separate US sanctions that remain in place.

The insurance contracts of some Iranian companies expire when the Persian calendar year ends in late March - similar to the Jan-uary renewal season in Western countries - and they will be looking to strike new agree-ments. This could include insurance � rms themselves seeking new reinsurance cover.

Mohammad Asoudeh, vice chairman and

managing director of Iranian Reinsurance Co, told Reuters he had already been contacted by foreign insurance players looking to forge tie-ups with his company and enter the market.

“They have been waiting for Implementa-tion Day,” said the 30-year industry veteran, referring to the day this month when the UN atomic agency con� rmed Tehran had met its commitments under the nuclear deal. “We have had enough visits (from foreign � rms)... resum-

ing business could be quick but will depend on the terms and conditions they o� er us.”

“There are some market renewal dates in two months’ time. This will be a good point to start.”

Sasan Soltani, regional business develop-ment manager at Dubai-based but majority Ira-nian-owned Iran Insurance Company, said his � rm had also been approached about tie-ups by British and Japanese brokers and insurers.

Hurdles remain Foreign players have been awaiting the lift-ing of sanctions for months; eight out of 11 established Western and Middle East insur-ance and reinsurance � rms who responded to Reuters questions last year said Iran was an attractive market, especially in the marine and energy sectors.

However despite the lifting of sanctions, hurdles still remain which are making com-panies cautious about a speedy entry.

The US curbs still in place exclude Ameri-can nationals, banks and insurance industry players from trading with Iran including dol-lar business, so concerns remain on whether other foreign insurers can transact without the risk of penalties.

London-headquartered United Insurance Brokers (UIB) said it was active in Iranian reinsurance before the imposition of inter-national sanctions and planned to reopen its Tehran o� ce “as soon as we can”, according to chairman Bassem Kabban. l

US Secretary of State John Kerry shakes hands with Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif after the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) veri� ed that Iran has met all conditions under the nuclear deal REUTERS

Biz Info 19D

T

MONDAY, JANUARY 25, 2016

Ecstasy o� ering ‘buy one get one free’

Ecstasy is one of country’s largest fashion and lifestyle brands for clothing, accessories, shoes, bags, perfumes, and other fashion essentials. Ecstasy lifestyle store o� ers quality, exclusive and trendy merchandise to their customers. The store houses Ecstasy’s top-of the-line brand “Tanjim” for men and “ZarZain” for women along with other international brands.

From this month Ecstasy is introducing formal and casual wardrobe under the tag line “smart wardrobe solution.” and also a special o� er of “buy one get one free” for shirt and kameez in all outlets. l

Bengal Foundation has taken a major step to ensure that Bangla literature is easily accessible for everyone through an e-book platform named, eBoi. Through this, enthusiasts now have the opportunity to chose from classics and contemporary literature and read them at their convenience. The launching ceremony was held on January 22 at the National museum.

Prominent writer Anisul Haque stated; “The world is changing so rapidly, that it won’t come as a surprise if newspapers don’t exist. It is often hard to � nd rare books in libraries but through e-books, such books are readily available for readers. It is wise to keep up with technology.”

Bengal Foundation chairman Abul Khair said; “Among the various operations Bengal Foundation hosts, Bengal Publications is one that prints quality books as well as seven di� erent papers. And now with eBoi, Bangla literature will be easily accessible by enthusiasts from all over the world.

Honourable minister for civil aviation and tourism, Rashed Khan Menon, MP expressed his delightment at the launch of eBoi. l

With great enthusiasm and greater promise, Samsung Mobile Bangladesh has launched “Samsung Studio,” an ingenious initiative to associate greater local a� nity through its products and services in Bangladesh. Through this, for the � rst time ever, the product packaging (unit boxes) for Samsung phones will be designed in Bangladesh.

Samsung is considered as the best smart phone, TV, refrigerators, LFD, wearable and memory manufacturing company around the globe, with a brand value of $45.3 billion. This 78-year old company has won more than 100 awards in the CES 2016. Besides, it became one of the Most Innovative Companies (in IoT) in Fast Company 2015, which is number two among the companies operating in Bangladesh.

Samsung Mobile Bangladesh started its journey in 2009 and the company’s growth increased to 110% from 2012 to 2013 (market growth rate 10%), 60% from 2013 to 2014 (market growth rate 20%) and 72% from 2014 to 2015 (market growth rate 11%).

In Bangladesh, Samsung has the highest smart phone value share. Samsung Mobile Bangladesh has been introducing various innovative campaigns and has won 15 local and global awards for these campaigns. It is also operating its Facebook fan page in Bangladesh.

Samsung is now thinking big for Bangladesh and launching the campaign

“Make for Bangladesh” and its � rst initiative is Samsung Studio.

The competition, Samsung Studio, will be conducted among the university students. Participants of Samsung Studio will submit their designs online (January 24 – February 16) and the winner will be selected by a panel of experts.

The � nal design will be revealed in a gala event and the winner along with the � nalists will be awarded. The winner will be receiving $1000 cash as the � rst prize, two runners-up will be receiving Galaxy J7 and top ten contestants will be receiving certi� cates from Samsung. Moreover, the selected design will be used in millions of boxes of Samsung handsets in Bangladesh.

With big success comes bigger responsibilities. Samsung Mobile Bangladesh is thus stepping in to blend more with Bangladesh after receiving the huge success and brand loyalty in this market. Samsung Studio is a � rst of many such steps. l

Samsung Mobile Bangladesh launches the campaign ‘Samsung Studio’

Bengal Publications launches eBoi

Downtime20DT

MONDAY, JANUARY 25, 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 17 represents K so � ll K every time the � gure 17 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 Fruit (4)4 S-shaped moulding (4)8 Pinch (3)9 Ballot choice (4)10 Outer covering (4)11 Waterway (5)12 Large volume (4)14 Colour (3)15 Sorrowful (3)17 Zodiac sign (3)19 Water storage (3)21 Dry (4)23 Unmoving (5)26 Back of the neck (4)27 Window glass (4)28 Tree (3)29 Reduced sharply (4)30 Repair (4)

Down1 Soft colour (6)2 Single entity (4)3 Person under age (5)4 Eggs (3)5 Instruments of summons (5)6 Greek letter (3)7 Slippery � sh (3)11 Tree (5)13 Decoration (5)16 Protect (6)18 Sheeplike (5)20 Musical note (5)22 Venture (4)23 Mineral spring (3)24 Financial obligation (3)25 Was ahead (3)

SUDOKU

INSIDE

21D

TWorldMONDAY, JANUARY 25, 2016

Nepal constitution talks fail to end protestsNepal’s ethnic minorities have rejected a constitutional amendment, dashing hopes of an end to a political crisis that has led to fuel shortages and hampered deliveries of relief materials to survivors of last year’s earthquakes.

PAGE 23

Bloomberg: A potential dark horse in White House Race?Di� erent prominent US media reported on Saturday that Michael Bloomberg, a former mayor of the New York city and founder of the media giant Bloomberg LP, is consider-ing running for US presidency.

PAGE 23

A riddle that’s called Super PACThe rise of Super PACs has raised fears that candidates can be bought by the special interest groups who are spending to elect them, and that wealthy individuals can exert undue in� uence on the political process. We explain why.

PAGE 24

Afghan Taliban stress pre-conditions for peace talksn AFP, Kabul

The Afghan Taliban Sunday reiterated their pre-conditions for the resumption of peace talks with Kabul, including their removal from international terror blacklists and re-lease of all political prisoners, at an informal meeting with lawmakers and activists in Doha.

Members of the Taliban’s political o� ce in Qatar launched two days of discussion with an Afghan delegation Saturday as momentum grows for the start of a formal peace process.

The militant group emphasised its hard-line stance on talks aimed at ending their 14-year insurgency, ruling out negotiations until their preconditions were met.

“Before any o� cial talks, we want names of our mujahideen to be removed from UN and US blacklists and all bounties on their heads be cancelled,” Taliban spokesman Zabiullah Mujahid said, listing the group’s demands at the Qatar conference.

“We also want our political o� ce in Doha to be o� cially re-opened.”

The Taliban opened an o� ce in Qatar in June 2013 as a � rst move towards a possible peace deal. But it shut a month later after enraging the then-Afghan president Hamid Karzai by styling itself as the uno� cial em-bassy for a government-in-exile.

The High Peace Council (HPC) -- the gov-ernment body tasked with negotiating with the Taliban -- urged the militants to resume talks before laying out pre-conditions.

“Any pre-conditions could further de-lay the reconciliation process,” HPC o� cial Aminuddin Muza� ari said.

“The Taliban need to join the negotiating table before making such demands.”

Afghan government o� cials are not at-tending the meeting in the Gulf emirate, which is organised by Pugwash Conferenc-es, an international group that promotes con� ict resolution.

But it marks a rare direct interaction be-tween the Taliban and Afghan lawmakers and civil society members amid an interna-tional push to revive talks.

The meeting comes after delegates from Afghanistan, Pakistan, China and the United

States convened in Kabul last Monday for a second round of talks seeking a negotiated end to the insurgency.

The � rst round of the so-called “roadm-ap” talks was held in Islamabad earlier this month in a bid to lay the groundwork for direct dialogue between Kabul and the Isla-mist group.

Taliban representatives were notably absent in both rounds and analysts caution that any substantive talks are still a long way o� .

Despite the push to restart talks, the Tal-iban have ramped up violence across Af-ghanistan.

Seven employees of popular Afghan TV channel TOLO were killed on Wednesday when a Taliban car bomber rammed into their minibus in Kabul, just months after the militants declared the network a legitimate “military target”.

At least 25 other people were wounded in the bombing near the Russian embassy in downtown Kabul, in the � rst direct assault on an Afghan media organisation since the Taliban were ousted from power in 2001. l

Afghan Taliban � ghters listening to Mullah Mohammad Rasool Akhund (unseen), the newly appointed leader of a breakaway faction of the Taliban, at Bakwah in the western province of Farah on November 3, 2015 AFP

AdvertisementMONDAY, JANUARY 25, 2016

22DT

Bloomberg: A potential dark horse in White House Race?Di� erent prominent US media reported on Sat-urday that Michael Bloomberg, a former mayor of the New York city and founder of the media giant Bloomberg LP, is considering running for US presidency.

Here we highlight some facts about Bloomb-erg which might help understand the readers his potential of becoming a US president-- Ü Bloomberg’s outspoken support for gun

control, as well as other liberal social views, could dissuade some Republicans from back-ing him. His more conservative record on policing, as well as his background on Wall Street, could prevent him from picking up crucial support among some Democrats

Ü Bloomberg’s media outlet Bloomberg LP, has a history of switching parties, � rst running for mayor in 2001 as a Republican before switching his a� liation to independent. He served three terms as New York mayor.

Ü Since he � nished his third term as mayor of New York, Bloomberg has been an advocate for causes close to his heart. The roster of causes he supports sounds like a liberal can-didate’s talking points: climate change, mar-riage equality, education, and of course, gun control.

Ü Independently wealthy, the former mayor is reportedly willing to spend $1bn of his own money to run. Bloomberg already has his own Super PAC, Independence USA, which sup-ports political moderates and their causes.

Ü Bloomberg also appears to have plenty of support. The Atlantic reported last fall that Bloomberg has been receiving calls from wealthy friends, encouraging him to run. Business interests want a representative

who isn’t as conservative as Donald Trump.Ü Bloomberg, who served as New York mayor

for a record 12 years until January 2014, is remembered for his aggressive public health policies, like banning smoking in bars and restaurants, and limiting consumption of sugary drinks.

Ü He also won plaudits as a campaigner for tighter gun laws while overhauling the city

waterfront, widening green spaces, launch-ing the popular city-bike program and restor-ing business optimism after the attacks of September 11, 2001.

Ü Forbes magazine ranks him as the 14th rich-est person on the planet, with a total net worth of $35.5bn. l

Source: Washington Post, The Atlantic, Politico, AFP

WorldSOUTH ASIAPakistani, Indian foreign secretaries may meet in FebForeign secretaries of Pakistan and India are expected to meet next month, a Pakistani senior o� cial disclosed on Saturday. Howev-er, dates of the high-pro� le meeting are yet to be � nalised. The pre-scheduled January 15 meeting, which had to decide the timetable and modalities of the resumed peace dia-logue, was postponed after a terrorist attack on an airbase in India’s Pathankot. -DAWN

INDIAAmit Shah re-elected BJP president Incumbent BJP chief Amit Shah has been re-elected as party President on Sunday. Top party leaders led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, a bevy of federal ministers and chief ministers of BJP-ruled states proposed his name for the party president’s post during the nomination process. BJP Parliamentary Board is scheduled to meet on January 28 evening to welcome Shah into his new term. Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi tweeted that he was con� dent the party would scale newer heights under Amit Shah’s leadership. -THE HINDU

CHINAKhamenei seeks closer ties with ChinaIran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei on Saturday called for closer economic and security ties with China, as the two countries agreed to increase bilateral trade more than 10-fold to $600bn in the next decade. Iran’s most powerful � gure told Chinese President Xi Jinping during a visit that Iran wanted to expand ties with more independent countries, adding the US was not honest in the � ght against terrorism in the region. -REUTERS

ASIA PACIFICVietnam PM nominated to panel in key move to seek leadershipSupporters of Vietnam’s prime minister have nominated him for a key Communist Party panel, a necessary step to contesting the post of the party chief, in a last-minute maneuver to secure the top job in the country. Delegates at a Communist Party congress nominated Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung to the Central Committee in what amounts to open de� ance of the party chief, General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong, who for years has been trying to sideline Dung. The move, while not completely unexpected, exposed the deep division between Trong and Dung. -AP

MIDDLE EASTSyria regime advances in north-west ahead of talksPro-government forces overran the last major rebel-held town in Syria’s coastal Latakia province Sunday, as the UN prepares to host talks this week on ending the coun-try’s nearly � ve-year war. State television said army forces, working with pro-regime militia, had seized control of the town of Rabia after heavy � ghting with rebels. It was the second strategic victory for pro-regime forces in Latakia in less than two weeks, after government troops seized the town of Salma from rebels on January 12. -AFP

MONDAY, JANUARY 25, 201623

DT

Nepal constitution talks fail to end protestsn Reuters, Kathmandu

Nepal’s ethnic minorities have rejected a constitutional amendment, dashing hopes of an end to a political crisis that has led to fuel shortages and hampered deliveries of relief materials to survivors of last year’s earthquakes.

More than 50 people have died since the ethnic Madhesis, backed by some other smaller ethnic groups, launched protests in the landlocked, Himalayan country’s south-ern plains against the amendment to the constitution.

Protests at the border have prevented trucks from entering from neighbouring In-dia since September, causing fuel shortages and rationing in Nepal. Deliveries of relief supplies to communities hit by earthquakes in April and May last year have also been disrupted.

The Nepalese people had hoped the char-ter, the country’s � rst since the abolition of the monarchy in 2008, would bring peace and stability closer after years of con� ict.

However, the Madhesis, who have close familial, linguistic and cultural ties with Indians across the border, say Nepalese authorities have failed to meet their aspi-rations for greater participation in govern-ment.

The 597-member parliament voted 461-7 late on Saturday in favour of a provision of “proportionate inclusion” of minority groups in all government institutions in-cluding the army, and to carve out electoral constituencies on the basis of their popula-tion to increase their representation in par-liament.

The rest of the lawmakers either did not vote or walked out.

“The government believes that the amendment will address the problems in the Tarai and hopes that the protests will end,” Law Minister Agni Prasad Kharel told parliament before the vote, referring to the lowlands bordering India in the south.

Madhesi lawmakers protested

and walked out of parliament, saying the changes had loopholes and were incomplete.

“It is a complete farce. It does not ad-dress our demands,” said Hridayesh Tripa-thi, a leader of Tarai Madhes Loktantrik Par-ty, part of the Madhesi Front that is leading the protests.

Nepal’s giant and in� uential neighbour India said the changes were positive. “We hope that other outstanding issues are simi-larly addressed in a constructive spirit,” the Indian External A� airs Ministry said in a statement.

The Nepali government says a political panel will be tasked to redraw the inter-nal boundaries of federal provinces within three months, another key demand of the Madhesis.

It says other demands such as citizenship cards for foreign spouses of Nepali nationals will also be resolved through political con-sensus.

But the Madhesis are opposed to splitting their region into more than two provinces, as the government plan envisages, saying this would scupper their chances of con-trolling the provincial governments.

Many in Nepal blame India for quietly supporting the Madhesi protesters, a charge New Delhi denies. l

Ü Greater involvement of naturalised citi-zens in state a� airs

Ü More districts in Madhesh stateÜ Instating population-based constituencies

instead of geography-based constituenciesÜ 52% reservation on government jobs to

people of Terai region

Source: Quora.com

A QUICK PEEK IN DEMANDS MADE BY MADHESHI MINORITIES

Former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg attends a meeting during the World Climate Change Conference 2015 at Le Bourget REUTERS

USA ELECTION 2016

A riddle that’s called Super PACn Adil Mahmood

What is it?A political action committee (PAC), is the name given to any private group organised and funded with the goal of electing a po-litical candidate or advancing a legislative agenda. According to US electoral laws (known as Federal Election Campaigning Act or FECA), PACs can only accept dona-tions from individuals, and there’s an annu-al limit of $5000.

Two landmark court cases — Citizens United vs Federal Election Commission (FEC), and SpeechNow.org vs FEC — in 2010 paved the way for “supersize PACs” (Super PACs in short). The rulings from these cases allowed corporations, unions, and individ-uals to donate unlimited amounts of cash to “independent expenditure-only commit-tees”, o� cial title for the Super PACs.

Super PACs are required to disclose their donors and are not allowed to coor-dinate with the candidates or agendas they advocate.

Difference between a PAC and a Super PACWhere a super-PAC di� ers from a PAC is that it must be independent from a candi-date and his or her campaign. Super-PACs cannot donate money to or coordinate directly with the campaign. Instead, the money raised is spent to help a candidate get elected through ads, robocalls (auto-mated telephone calls which delivers a re-corded message, typically on behalf of po-litical parties or candidates), outreach, and voter turnout e� orts.

According to OpenSecrets.org, during the 2012 US presidential election race, the pro-Romney super PAC Restore America has raised $12.2m dollars, and it released numerous advertisements right before Iowa caucus attacking Newt Gingrich, another GOP front-runner in the race.

As of January 24, 2016, 2,076 groups or-ganised as super PACs have reported total receipts of $322,404,169 and total inde-pendent expenditures of $152,132,068 in the 2016 cycle.

Legal frameworkThe FECA institutionalised a process of � nancing candidate campaigns directly through donations from individuals and interest groups, with the party playing a peripheral role. Since its inception, party contributions and spending on behalf of candidates has typically been in the range of 5%–6% for challengers and just 1%–2% for incumbents.

Super PACs influence in US electionsThe 2010 midterm elections were the � rst test of the e� ects of the so-called Super PACs. Some $80m was spent by Super PACs during the midterm election cycle. Repub-lican candidates largely reaped the bene� ts of the PACs’ largesse, and Republicans won control of the House. Democrats cried foul, saying the elections were being bought by deep-pocketed individuals and companies and questioned what the donors expect-ed in return for their contribution. But it was not long before Democrats established

their own super PACs. In the 2014 midterm campaign, 1,360 Super PACs raisded nearly $700m, according to OpenSecrets.org.

LoopholesThe already lax rules governing Super PACs are riddled with loopholes. For example, candidates cannot communicate or coordi-nate with PAC organisers, but they can speak to a group of donors at a fund-raising event and leave the gathering before any planning or coordinating about fundraising occurs.

Noted satirist Stephen Colbert helped to educate the US public about PACs, famously mocking them on his show, The Colbert Re-port. In fact, he created his own super PAC, Americans for a Better Tomorrow, Tomor-row, which collected more than $1m. The PAC ran ads in South Carolina that took aim at Mitt Romney.

The FEC is tasked with regulating Su-per-PACs, but is often divided along par-tisan lines, and as a result, little enforcing took place so far.

Democrats jump on the Super PAC bandwagonUS President Barack Obama was an early critic of the Citizens United ruling, calling it a “threat to democracy” and a “victory” for Wall Street and Big Business. He fur-ther criticised the ruling in his 2010 State of the Union address, saying the decision would allow “special interests—including

foreign companies—to spend without limit in our elections.” He went on: “I don’t think American elections should be bankrolled by America’s most powerful interests.”

However, Obama announced in February 2012 that he worked with—but not coordi-nate with—Priorities USA Action, the Dem-ocratic Super PAC organised to help Obama win reelection. He also said that members of his administration would speak at the PAC’s fundraisers. The Ready for Hillary PAC, cre-ated to encourage Hillary Clinton to run for president, raised about $15m from 135,000 donors.

In May 2015, Clinton announced that she’ll support Priorities USA Action, a Dem-ocratic Super PAC, during her presidential campaign. She’s the � rst Democratic pres-idential hopeful to endorse the powerful fund-raising groups.

Despite the rule that candidates cannot closely associate with super PACs, the 2012 presidential campaign clearly illustrated that candidates on both sides of the aisle plan to push the limits of campaign � nance regulations in future races. l

References: 1. The Wall Street Journal, “How Much Are Super PACs Spending?”

2. US News, “Are Super PACs Harming U.S. Politics?”3. La Raja, R. (2013). Why Super PACs: How the American Party System Outgrew the Campaign

Finance System. The Forum, 10(4). http://dx.doi.org/10.1515/forum-2013-0009

WorldMONDAY, JANUARY 25, 2016

24DT

USAAlaska hit by 6.8-magnitude earthquakeA 6.8 magnitude earthquake struck southern Alaska early Sunday, US seismologists said. The US Geological Survey, which initially had assessed the magnitude of the quake as 7.1, estimated that it had a depth of 127k. There is only a low likelihood of casualties and damage, the USGS said, adding that weak shaking from the quake could be felt in nearby cities. -REUTERS

THE AMERICASShooting suspect Canadian teen charged with murderA 17 year old male student has been charged with four counts of � rst degree murder fol-lowing a shooting spree that left two brothers and two teachers dead in western Canada, authorities said Saturday. The high school student was also charged with seven counts of attempted murder over those injured in Fri-day’s rampage at a home and nearby school in remote La Loche, in Saskatchewan province, Royal Canadian Mounted Police Superinten-dent Grant St Germaine said. -RUETERS

UKScottish leader warns against June EU referendumScottish First Minister Nicola Sturgeon warned Sunday it would be a mistake to hold Britain’s European Union membership referendum in June. British Prime Minister David Cameron hopes to � nalise a renego-tiation of the UK’s terms of membership at the European Council meeting on February 18 and 19. Sturgeon said holding it in June would be disrespectful to the Scottish, Welsh, Northern Irish and London mayoral elec-tions, which are taking place in May. -AFP

EUROPEPegida plans anti-Islamisation demos in 14 countriesRallies against the Islamisation of Europe will take place on February 6 in 14 Europe-an countries including the Czech Republic, Estonia, Finland, Germany, Poland, Slovakia and Switzerland, the far-right organisers said on Saturday. The demonstrations are being organised by the anti-foreigner Ger-man group Pegida, an acronym for Patriotic Europeans Against the Islamisation of the Occident. Tatjana Festerling of the group made the announcement on Saturday fol-lowing a meeting with like-minded groups in Roztoky, near Prague. -AFP

AFRICATunisia holds emergency cabinet meeting over unrestTunisia’s Prime Minister Habib Essid held an emergency cabinet meeting Saturday, after authorities declared a nighttime curfew nationwide following the worst outbreak of social unrest since the 2011 revolution. Five years after the ouster of longtime dictator Zine El Abidine Ben Ali, street demonstra-tions against unemployment and poverty have again shaken the North African nation. Anger erupted over the death on January 16 of Ridha Yahyaoui, a 28-year-old unem-ployed man who was electrocuted when he climbed a power pole while protesting in the central town of Kasserine. -AFP

$4.00Presidential

$3.50

$2.50

Billi

ons (

adj 2

012

)

$2.00

$1.00

$0.001998 2000 2002 2004

Congressional

2006 2008 2010 2012

1998 2000 2002 2004 2006 2008 2010 2012

$0.50

$1.50

$3.00

$4.00

$2.81

$1.90

$2.34

$3.01 $2.90

$2.74

$3.27

$3.65$3.37

$2.67

$2.24

$3.50

$2.50

Billi

ons (

adj 2

012

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$2.00

$1.00

$0.00

$0.50

$1.50

$3.00

Source: Center for Responsive Politics . Note: Figures are adjusted for 2012 collars using the average CPI.

COST OF US FEDERAL ELECTIONS, 1998 – 2012

$2.30

25D

TSportINSIDE

MONDAY, JANUARY 25, 2016

Djokovic survives scare, Serena rocks onSerbian Novak Djokovic’s grip on the Aus-tralian Open title looked shaky for a short spell yesterday but the world number one � nally shook o� Frenchman Gilles Simon in a marathon to take his place in the quarter-� nals. American Serena Williams, by contrast, booked a last-eight date with Russian Maria Sharapova. PAGE 26

Dhoni, Smith warn against SpidercamMS Dhoni knows the introduction of broadcast technology has enhanced the viewing experience for fans but he has called for restraint after the overhead “Spidercam” interfered with play in Sat-urday’s ODI against Australia. Virat Kohli upper-cut John Hastings for a boundary in the 19th over but it hit the camera. PAGE 27

Hussey’s perfect send-o� as Thunder win BBLThe Sydney Thunder gave captain Michael Hussey the perfect send-o� from Australian cricket when they beat the Melbourne Stars by three wickets to win the Big Bash League yesterday. Hussey won the toss and sent the Stars in to bat at a robust MCG. PAGE 28

City not just Aguero one-man show: PellegriniManuel Pellegrini insists Manchester City are more than a one-man team, despite again needing Sergio Aguero to dig them out of a hole in a 2-2 draw at West Ham on Saturday. Aguero grabbed an 80th-minute equaliser for his second of the game at Upton Park while Enner Valencia also scored twice. PAGE 29

Diego Costa (C) scores the only goal for Chelsea against Arsenal in their Premier League away match at the Emirates Stadium yesterday REUTERS

Costa checks 10-man Arsenal’s title chargen AFP

Arsenal missed out on the chance to regain top spot in the Premier League after losing 1-0 at home to London rivals Chelsea yesterday.

Meanwhile Swansea gave new coach Francesco Guidolin victory in his � rst game in charge with a 2-1 win away to Everton as the Welsh club moved four points clear of the relegation zone.

At the Emirates, Arsenal were reduced to 10 men in the 19th minute when Per Merte-sacker was sent o� for a challenge on Chel-sea striker Diego Costa, with referee Mark Clattenburg ruling the Gunners defender was the last man.

Four minutes later, Costa gave Chel-sea the lead when he got on the end of a Branislav Ivanovic cross at the near post.

Arsenal’s defeat left them in third spot, three points behind shock leaders Leicester City, while Chelsea moved up into 13th place.

A hard-fought victory at Goodison Park saw Italian boss Guidlolin o� to a winning start with the Swans.

Swansea went ahead though Gyl� Sig-urdsson’s 17th-minute penalty but Everton were level nine minutes later when Gareth Barry’s near-post � ick was turned into his own net by the Swans’ Jack Cork. 

But Swansea regained the lead in the 34th minute. Left-back Neil Taylor burst

clear and released Andre Ayew, whose shot de� ected in o� the sliding John Stones.

This was a notable win for Swansea as it meant they had recorded back-to-back league successes for the � rst time this sea-son following last week’s 1-0 defeat of Wat-ford. It was also their � rst league victory over Everton.

“Six points in two matches is very impor-tant for us because the table was not good,” said Guidolin. “I hope to have the possibility to go up in the table.

“In this moment I am very happy. This is the � rst match in the Premier League for me.”

Guidolin added: “I dreamed of working in the Premier League but I didn’t dream of winning the � rst match.

“I must understand what happens in this day because I am surprised. It is new for me.”

Everton manager Roberto Martinez had to make two substitutions in the � rst half, with the injured pair of Muhamed Besic and Kevin Mirallas now set to miss Wednesday’s League Cup semi-� nal second leg against Manchester City. l

Andre Ayew’s winner provided the Italian Guidolin the perfect start to his Swansea chapter

Arsenal 0-1 Chelsea Costa 23

Everton 1-2 Swansea City Cork O.G. 26 Sigurdsson 17, Ayew 34

RESULTS

26DT BPL 2015

Novak Djokovic of Serbia hits a forehand return during his fourth round match against Gilles Simon of France at the Australian Open in Melbourne yesterday

AP

MONDAY, JANUARY 25, 2016

U19 WORLD CUP OFFICIAL WARM-UP MATCHES

South Africa, WI in thrilling tien Tribune Report

Under-19 World Cup reigning champions South Africa and the West Indies played out a thrilling tie in their o� cial warm-up match in Fatullah yesterday ahead of the tournament proper, which starts this Wednesday.

In the other match of the day, which was also curtailed by bad weather at the start, � rst-tim-ers Fiji were beaten by Scotland by 21 runs.

South Africa, chasing the West Indies’ 153 for nine in 35 overs, appeared to be in total control when they began the � nal over need-ing just seven runs with seven wickets in hand. But fast bowler Keemo Paul claimed a wicket and conceded only six runs to conjure an ex-citing tie. Wiaan Mulder remained unbeaten on 58 as South Africa � nished on 153 for four.

The West Indies, asked to bat � rst, were steered to a challenging total by Keacy Car-ty’s 45 and an unbeaten 33 o� 34 balls by tail-ender Michael Frew.

In the other match, also in Fatullah, Scot-land elected to bat and piled up 192 for eight in 36 overs with Rory Johnston making 53 and Finlay McCreath chipping in with 36. Fiji’s seamer Josaia Baleicikoibia took three for 26.

Fiji made a gallant attempt to surpass the sti� target before being bowled out for 171 in the 32nd over. Opener Delaimatuku Maraiwai scored 57 and lower-order batsman Tuwai Ya-baki smashed an unbeaten 36 o� 16 balls with the help of � ve boundaries and two sixes.

For Scotland, Haris Aslam claimed four wickets for 39 runs and Mitchell Rao took three for 22. l

BRIEF SCORESWest Indies 153-9 in 35 overs v South Africa 153-4 in 35 overs

Match tied

Scotland 192-8 in 36 overs v Fiji 171 all out in 31.3 oversScotland won by 21 runs

TODAY’S WARM-UP MATCHES Afghanistan v New Zealand BKSP-1 Sri Lanka v Nepal BKSP-2 Ireland v Canada BKSP-3 India v Pakistan BKSP-4 Zimbabwe v Namibia Chittagong England v Bangladesh Chittagong

South Africa Under-19 players celebrate a wicket during their warm-up match against the West Indies U-19 in Fatullah yesterday ICC

Djokovic survives scare, Serena rocks onn Reuters, Melbourne

Novak Djokovic’s grip on the Australian Open title looked shaky for a short spell yesterday but the world number one � nally shook o� Gilles Simon in a four-and-a-half hour mar-athon to take his place in the quarter-� nals.

Serena Williams, by contrast, booked a re-match of last year’s title decider against Maria Sharapova by sweeping into the quar-ter-� nals without having lost a set, and Roger Federer progressed almost as comfortably to bring the day to a close. The whi� of an upset hung around Melbourne Park for much of the day - Tomas Berdych, Agnieszka Radwans-

ka and Carla Suarez Navarro all lost opening sets - but it was most potent in Djokovic’s � ve-setter against Simon.

Djokovic had eased into the fourth round without losing a set as he continued the dom-inant form that earned him 11 titles, including three of the four grand slams, last year. Djok-ovic’s next opponent, Japan’s Kei Nishikori, must have enjoyed every last minute of the match as he rested up after a straightforward 6-4 6-2 6-4 victory over Jo-Wilfried Tsonga.

Nishikori was humiliated 6-1 6-1 in his last meeting with Djokovic in November and will be hoping to avenge that defeat and revive memories of his stunning upset of the Serbi-

an in the semi-� nals of the 2014 U.S. Open.Williams lost her serve for the second

time at the tournament in the opening game of her match but that was just about all that went against the American in her brisk 6-2 6-1 demolition of Margarita Gasparyan.

Sharapova was make to work much harder for her 7-5 7-5 victory over teenager Belinda Bencic in the opening match of the day on the main showcourt.

If Djokovic’s high error count was unchar-acteristic, the � fth seed’s reliance on her serve to get her out of trouble against the ris-ing Swiss talent was also at odds with percep-tions of her game in recent years. l

It’s a serve manJo-Wilfried Tsonga struggled to get into his straight-sets loss to Kei Nishikori and encoun-tered some challenging problems. Nishikori had a second serve called out in the second game of the third set, only for that decision to be overruled by the umpire. Tsonga walked to the deuce court awaiting the next point before being told the point was being replayed, leading to his desire to challenge the call. “It’s too late, Jo. It’s too late,” the chair umpire responded. “I didn’t hear it. What it’s too late? It’s a serve, man. Whatever, it’s a serve. I can challenge whenever I want.” Not so, it seems.

Snaptchatting SerenaShe may be 34, but Serena Williams is still happy to keep up when it comes to social me-dia. After poor phone service let her down in Melbourne, the 21-time champion was unable to share a sword she found at the botanical gardens. “I know I de� nitely felt [too old for Snap Chat] a few months ago, but I don’t know,” Williams said after beating Margarita Gasparyan. “Now it’s become part of my life.”

Another farewell for HewittHis singles career may have � nished earlier in the week, but Australian Lleyton Hewitt was given another farewell yesterday. The two-time grand slam champion bowed out of the doubles with Sam Groth after a loss to Vasek Pospisil and Jack Sock. There was more medical drama as well, with play delayed on Margaret Court Arena as a spectator required treatment. Hewitt was, predictably, given a standing ovation as he left.

Watch and learn for BencicSwiss teenager Belinda Bencic fought hard in a straight-sets loss to Maria Sharapova. But her loss and Williams’ win over Gasparyan set up a rematch of last year’s � nal between the two in the QFs. “Yeah, I’m de� nitely gonna be watching and learning,” Bencic said.

TALKING POINTS

Sport 27D

T

MONDAY, JANUARY 25, 2016

Balotelli back but Milan held by EmpoliMario Balotelli struggled to make an impact in a second-half substitute’s appearance as Empoli dug deep to hold AC Milan 2-2 and dent the Rossoneri’s European hopes on Satur-day. Milan travelled to the Castellani stadium buoyed after a 2-0 defeat of Fiorentina last week that left Sinisa Mihajlovic’s men 12 points behind leaders Napoli and within sight of the European qualifying places.

–AFP

5 sent o� in violent Boca-River ‘friendly’ clashFive players were sent o� and Carlos Tevez gave away a penalty that handed River Plate a 1-0 win over Boca Juniors in a far from ami-cable seaside “friendly” between Argentina’s biggest rivals on Saturday. Argentina striker Tevez blocked a free kick with his arm in the 17th minute and Leonardo Pisculichi converted the penalty in the traditional o� -season clash at the Atlantic resort of Mar de Plata.

–REUTERS

Maxwell to miss T20 opener against IndiaAll-rounder Glenn Maxwell will miss Australia’s T20 opener against India in Adelaide with a hamstring injury, acting coach Michael Di Venuto said yesterday. Maxwell � ew straight to Melbourne where the second game in the three-match series will take place on Friday, skipping the opener in Adelaide tomorrow.

–AFP

Pakistan skipper buries hatchet with AmirThe rehabilitation of Pakistan cricketer Mohammad Amir takes another step forward today with one-day captain Azhar Ali welcom-ing him into the side for the series against New Zealand. Ali initially refused to play alongside Amir who is making his return to the interna-tional scene after a prison term and � ve-year ban for spot-� xing.

–AFP

United defender Darmian taken to hospitalManchester United full back Matteo Darmian was taken to hospital after injuring his rib and chest during the 1-0 home defeat by South-ampton in the Premier League on Saturday. The Italian defender tried to prevent Shane Long getting to a cross and was hurt by the Southampton striker in an aerial challenge.

–REUTERS

Spurs wonder goal was ‘instinct’ – AlliTottenham Hotspur mid� elder Dele Alli credit-ed “instinct” after scoring a sensational volley in his side’s 3-1 win at Crystal Palace in the Premier League on Saturday. With the score 1-1 in the 84th minute, Alli controlled a � ick from team-mate Christian Eriksen, lifted the ball over an advancing defender and slammed a volley into the bottom-left corner from outside the box.

–AFP

QUICK BYTES

Young Tigers get new kit from Meghna Groupn FM Mizanur Rahaman from Chittagong

Bangladesh Under-19 batsman Nazmul Hos-sain Shanto believes they have the capability to win the World Cup at home soil but said they will only concentrate on one game at a time.

Fresh, a concern of Meghna Group of In-dustries, the o� cial sponsor of the Bangladesh U-19 team for the U-19 World Cup, handed over the new kits to the young Tigers in Chittagong yesterday evening when Shanto expressed his desire to do well in the tournament.

Shanto, who struck a brilliant hundred against Zimbabwe last Saturday, told Dhaka Tribune, “We expect to do something posi-tive in the upcoming U-19 World Cup. We have played many matches in Chittagong and adapt-ed ourselves well with the wicket and condi-

tions. Now we aim to win match by match.”Meghna Group director Tahmina Mostafa

handed over the jersey to Bangladesh U-19 captain Mehedi Hasan Miraz in the presence of Bangladesh Cricket Board vice-president and Chittagong City Corporation mayor AJM Nasir Uddin.

BCB’s tournament committee chairman Akram Khan, Bangladesh U-19 technical ad-viser Stuart Law and Meghna Group execu-tive directors Asif Iqbal and Taif Bin Yusuf along with the national U-19 cricketers were also present during the programme at Chit-tagong Club.

Addressing as the chief guest, Nasir said cricket in Bangladesh has come a long way and the U-19 team is also moving forward with the trend.l

Agent denies Jose ‘love letter’ to Man Utdn Reuters

Jose Mourinho’s agent has dismissed as “ab-solutely ridiculous and totally absurd” a re-port that the Portuguese wrote a “love letter” to Manchester United to trumpet his case to be their next manager.

A report in the Independent newspaper yesterday said the two-times Champions League-winning manager had written a six-page letter to United explaining his strong de-sire to manage the club and outlining his plans.

Described as a “love letter” to the club, it is claimed Mourinho even went into detail about how he would be willing to adapt his style to meet United’s traditional attacking ethos.

The report emerged on Saturday night and United declined to comment at the end of a day which saw Van Gaal and his team booed o� the pitch by supporters at Old Tra� ord af-ter a 1-0 defeat by Southampton. l

South Africa fast bowler Kagiso Rabada celebrates dismissing England batsman Jonny Bairstow for a duck during the third day of their fourth Test at Centurion Park in Pretoria yesterday AP

Dhoni, Smith warn against Spidercamn Reuters, Sydney

India’s Mahendra Singh Dhoni knows the in-troduction of broadcast technology has en-hanced the viewing experience for fans but the skipper has called for restraint after the overhead “Spidercam” interfered with play in Saturday’s one-dayer against Australia.

Virat Kohli upper-cut John Hastings for a boundary in the 19th over of India’s innings but it was declared a dead-ball after hitting the camera.

“I am quite a traditional guy,” he said after the tourists avoided a whitewash by winning the � fth ODI. “Anything that disturbs the game of cricket I don’t like it.

“It all started right from the T20 where people would be like, ‘Why don’t you wear a

mic?’, ‘Why don’t you wear a camera?’”Dhoni said the camera, which travels

along cables and gives a bird’s eye view of the action, had to be used more carefully.

“I always feel there is always a need for a balance. At the end of the day, it’s a specta-tors’ sport, people watching on television, but at the same time four runs can really matter,” he said.

On a lighter note, he said “Everyone gets pe-nalised, why not have the same system for the Spidercam? Say, ‘Okay if you get hit, $2,000 per hit.’ Let’s make it interesting,” he joked.

His counterpart Steven Smith also saw the funny side of the incident. “He was probably our best � elder tonight, Spidercam. He saved four,” said Smith. “I just think we need to make sure it’s away when the ball is coming.”l

Rabada grabs six as England faltern Reuters, Pretoria

South African fast bowler Kagiso Rabada took a career-best 6-101 to leave England on 318 for eight wickets at tea and trailing by 157 runs on the third day of the fourth and � nal Test at Centurion Park yesterday.

Rabada had decimated the England mid-dle-order before lunch, claiming the big wicket of Ben Stokes (33) during a rain-hit middle session, with the visitors reeling after the Proteas posted 475 in their � rst innings.

Moeen Ali (45 not out) provided a steady hand in response and along with Stuart Broad (four not out) will look to close the gap on a wicket that was starting to favour the bowlers.

England have already wrapped up the se-ries with an unassailable 2-0 lead.

Stokes looked at his � uent best before he was caught at slip by Hashim Amla shortly after South Africa, who posted a � rst innings total of 475, had taken the new ball.

Chris Woakes (26) was the only other wicket to fall in the session and could count himself unlucky, an edge o� the part-time spin of JP Duminy hitting the thigh of wicket-keeper Quinton de Kock and looping to Dean Elgar at slip.l

28DT Sport

MONDAY, JANUARY 25, 2016

MELBOURNE STARS R BM. Stoinis c Russell b Watson 5 8L. Wright b Watson 23 24K. Pietersen c and b Green 74 39P. Handscomb c Hussey b Green 9 9D. Hussey b Kallis 21 14R. Quiney c and b Russell 2 4E. Gulbis c Green b McKay 16 11A. Zampa run out 15 10B. Hilfenhaus not out 0 1D. Worrall run out 0 0 Extras (b4, w7) 11 Total (9 wickets; 20 overs) 176

Fall of wickets1-6 (Stoinis), 2-50 (Wright), 3-85 (Handscomb), 4-131 (Hussey), 5-139 (Pietersen), 6-144 (Quiney), 7-176 (Zampa), 8-176 (Gulbis), 9-176 (Worrall)BowlingRussell 4-0-30-1 (5w), Watson 3-0-17-2, McKay 4-0-40-1 (1w), Kallis 3-0-24-1, Ahmed 2-0-24-0, 4-0-37-2 (1w)SYDNEY THUNDER R BU. Khawaja c Worrall b Hussey 70 40J. Kallis c Pietersen b Zampa 28 27S. Watson c Hussey b Stoinis 6 7M. Hussey b Zampa 18 15A. Russell c Handscomb b Stoinis 10 8B. Rohrer not out 13 9A. Blizzard run out 16 7C. Green c Hussey b Stoinis 8 5C. Hartley not out 0 0Extras (lb3, w8, nb1) 12Total (7 wickets; 19.3 overs) 181

Fall of wickets1-86 (Kallis), 2-94 (Watson), 3-124 (Khawaja), 4-142 (Hussey), 5-146 (Russell), 6-163 (Blizzard), 7-172 (Green)BowlingWorrall 3.3-0-42-0 (2w), Hilfenhaus 2-0-21-0, Beer 3-0-25-0, Gulbis 2-0-19-0 (1w), Zampa 4-0-32-2 (2w 1nb), Stoinis 4-0-30-3 (3w), Hussey 1-0-9-1 Result: Sydney Thunder won by three wickets

BIG BASH FINAL

Sydney Thunder players pose with the Big Bash League trophy after defeating Melbourne Stars in the grand � nale in Melbourne yesterday. (Right) Mike Hussey bids adieu to the fans following his last outing in Australia CRICKET AUSTRALIA

Hussey gets perfect farewelln AFP, Melbourne

The Sydney Thunder gave captain Michael Hussey the perfect send-o� from Australian cricket when they beat the Melbourne Stars by three wickets to win the Big Bash League yesterday.

After Hussey won the toss and sent the Stars in to bat at the Melbourne Cricket Ground, the home side reached 176 for nine thanks largely to a scintillating 74 from Eng-lish star Kevin Pietersen.

But Thunder’s Usman Khawaja (70) played an innings of similar quality to get Sydney’s run chase o� to a perfect start. He and fellow opener Jacques Kallis (28) put on 86 before the South African holed out in the deep to Pi-

etersen o� Adam Zampa.Shane Watson came and went quickly be-

fore Khawaja holed out to backward point to leave the Thunder 54 runs short with six-and-a-half overs remaining.

But Hussey, playing his � nal match in Aus-tralia, hit a quick� re 18 to get the Thunder back on track, and useful contributions from Aiden Blizzard (16) and Ben Rohrer (13 not out) got them home.

Hussey, whose younger brother David captained the Stars, said the win was the re-sult of much groundwork.

“It’s been a great journey - we’ve been building something for the past few years so to reach the summit is something pretty spe-cial,” he said.

“I think we’ve got a nicely balanced team.“We’ve got a lot of all-rounders and when

you’ve got three of the world’s best allround-ers (Kallis, Watson and Andre Russell), it makes the captain’s job a lot easier.”

Earlier, Pietersen played a lone hand for the Stars, smashing the ball all over the MCG as he raced to 74 from just 39 balls, including four boundaries and � ve massive sixes.

However he got little support from his teammates, with fellow Englishman Luke Wright the next highest scorer with 23.

When Pietersen was in full � ight the Stars looked like setting a huge target for the Thun-der to chase, but they lost wickets steadily and momentum slowed, despite a late � our-ish from Evan Gulbis (16) and Zampa (15). l

Sport 29D

T

Borussia Dortmund’s Henrikh Mkhitaryan shoots to score past Borussia Moenchengladbach goalkeeper Yann Sommer during their Bundesliga match at Borussia Park, Moenchengladbach on Saturday

REUTERS

MONDAY, JANUARY 25, 2016

Cologne 1-3 VfB StuttgartModeste 19-P Didavi 36, Werner 51, Gentner 83

Hanover 96 1-2 DarmstadtHugo Almeida 10 Wagner 31, 47

Hertha Berlin 0-0 Augsburg

Ho� enheim 1-1 Bayer LeverkusenHamad 40 Toprak 75

Ingolstadt 1-0 MainzHartmann 41-P

M’gladbach 1-3 DortmundRa� ael 58 Reus 41, Mkhitaryan 51, Gundogan 75

BUNDESLIGA

DAY’S WATCHCRICKET TEN CRICKET

2:30PMEngland Tour of South Africa

4th Test, Day 4

FOOTBALL TEN ACTION

01:45AMSky Bet Championship Burnley v Derby County

HOCKEY STAR SPORTS 2

6:10PMHockey India League 2016

Uttar Pradesh Wizards v Kalinga Lancers

City not just Aguero one-man show: Pellegrinin AFP, London

Manuel Pellegrini insists Manchester City are more than a one-man team, despite again needing Sergio Aguero to dig them out of a hole in a 2-2 draw at West Ham.

Aguero grabbed an 80th-minute equaliser for his second of the game at Upton Park on Saturday while Enner Valencia also scored twice - within the � rst 60 seconds and then on the 56th minute - for West Ham.

Pellegrini’s side have only won one away game since September, and have not claimed successive league wins since October 17.

On Saturday, it could have been a lot worse had it not been for Aguero.

“I don’t think our team is just Sergio Aguero,” said Pellegrini. “If you see, we play

23 games, there are 11 players that play more minutes (than the Argentine).”

He did, however, insist on the importance of Argentine star Aguero now staying � t and reaching his top form.

“It’s very important for him to be 100% � t. Always when he comes back from injury, he needs two or three games to come back to his best performance. (In recent games) he was making the movements that show us he will be there soon. I don’t know if he is at his best moment. I think it is the moment that Sergio normally has when 100% � t. I hope he con-tinues like this because he is a top player.”

West Ham manager Slaven Bilic believed his side should have won, and declared himself “disappointed...but proud” of the performance.l

Dortmund see o� Gladbach to trim Bayern’s leadn AFP, Berlin

Borussia Dortmund consolidated second place in the Bundesliga on Saturday with a convincing 3-1 win at Borussia Moencheng-ladbach to trim Bayern Munich’s runaway lead in the table.

Goals by Dortmund’s Marco Reus, Hen-rikh Mkhitaryan and Ilkay Gundogan, with a consolation from Gladbach’s Ra� ael, sealed the win which left Dortmund both eight points behind Bayern and eight points ahead of third-placed Hertha Berlin.

Dortmund took the lead at Moencheng-ladbach’s Borussia Park when Gundogan’s superb pass in behind the hosts’ defence al-lowed Reus to ri� e his shot across the face of the goal into the far corner on 41 minutes.

With 50 minutes on the clock, Reus turned goal provider by picking out Mkhitaryan un-marked inside the area to � re home. Ra� ael trimmed the lead by pulling one back for Glad-bach seven minutes later before Mkhitaryan’s pass found Gundogan in space to � icked his deft shot into the net with 15 minutes left. l

Rampant PSG crush Angersn AFP, Paris

Paris Saint-Germain served another remind-er of their Ligue 1 supremacy with a thump-ing 5-1 victory at home to Angers on Saturday that moved the reigning champions 24 points clear at the top.

Zlatan Ibrahimovic opened the scoring at the Parc des Princes with his 17th league goal of the season before Lucas doubled the lead for Laurent Blanc’s side just before half-time.

The � oodgates then opened after the break with Gregory Van der Wiel rounding o� a superb team move for PSG’s third, only for Pierrick Capelle to pull one back, but An-gel Di Maria then scored twice in the space of four minutes to complete the rout.

“It was a great second half, although the � rst was a bit trickier against a well-organ-ised opponent, which we noticed in the � rst meeting this season,” said Blanc, whose team won for the 19th time in 22 league games.

With Paris still competing in four compe-titions, the capital club face a � xture backlog that will see them play seven games in three weeks ahead of their Champions League last 16, � rst leg against Chelsea on February 16.

Blanc was without captain Thiago Silva, Marquinhos, Marco Verratti and Javier Pa-store through injury but still � elded an im-posing line-up, although there was no place for Uruguayan striker Edinson Cavani, whose future remains unclear amid reports this week linking him to Manchester United.l

Paris SG 5-1 AngersIbrahimovic 32, Lucas 40, Capelle 59van der Wiel 54, Di Maria 63, 66

Montpellier 1-2 CaenBensebaini 23 Rodelin 40, Delort 52

Lille 1-3 TroyesBoufal 25-P Cabot 77, 80, Pi 86

Nantes 2-2 BordeauxSigthorsson 1, Diabate 84, Bedoya 30 Cana 90+1-og

Guingamp 1-0 BastiaGiresse 90+4-P

Nice 2-1 LorientBen Arfa 35, Koziello 43 Jou� re 23

LIGUE 1

n Showtime Desk

Nayak Raj Razzak said he has worked as a soldier against Urdu � lms.

The veteran performer became emotional while recalling his initial days in the � lm industry during his birthday celebration at Bangladesh Film Development Corporation on Saturday, January 23.

“Sometimes I spent my days in hunger with my wife and children. I used to earn Tk65 by doing a programme on BTV. Then I signed for the � lm Behula.

“We were � ghting against Urdu � lms during those days,” he said.

Addressing friends and well-wishers, the Lifetime Achievement recipient of the National Film Awards said: “I was born in a country of 70 million people. Today, I am a hero to 170 million people. It is a rare honour,” he said while shedding tears.

“Those of you who are new to this industry, do not let this industry go astray. Be like Hasan Imam, Amzad Hossain, Rahman,” he added.

The actor has turned 74. He won the hearts of millions through his powerful acting in the � lm Rangbaj. Some of his notable works are Abirbhab, Bashori, Etotuku Asha, Nil Akhasher Niche, Je Agune Puri, Moinamothi, Dwip Neva Nai, Sharalipi, Ashikkhit, Chutir Ghanta alongside others. l

Showtime30DT

MONDAY, JANUARY 25, 2016

Razzak recalls his � ght against Urdu � lms

n Showtime Desk

Winner of three reality shows in a row, Prince Narula is now the king of Bigg Boss season 9. To everybody’s curiosity, he is not planning on doing a reality show for a while, but he says he would like to attempt Khatron Ke Khiladi next year. And when jokingly asked whether he will do Nach Baliye, he commented that he can’t dance at all. Prince con� rms his interest in Bollywood. so here’s to hoping that it works out for him. His immediate plan, however, is to do a youth TV show. Apparently, he had signed on to do this show even before he was o� ered a spot in the house of Bigg Boss. l

n Showtime Desk

Runa Laila, widely regarded as one of the most popular singers in South Asia, has been made the jury member of Dadasaheb Phalke Award 2016.

The award is presented annually at the National Film Awards ceremony by the directorate of Film Festivals. Each year an individual recipient is honoured for his/her “outstanding contribution to the growth and development of Indian cinema” and is selected by a jury consisting of eminent personalities from the Indian � lm industry.

On January 16, a letter signed by Ashfaque Khopekar, managing trustee of Dadasaheb Phalke Award Foundation, reached out to the artist bearing the news of her nomination by the executive committee. In the letter, the foundation asked Laila to send in her con� rmation as early as possible and they reckon the singer’s involvement would help to “reap the bene� ts of her experience and achievement for the welfare of the organisation.” The singer already gave her word to the committee con� rming her participation as a jury.

The Dadasaheb Phalke Award, for lifetime contribution to cinema, was instituted in his honour by the Government of India in 1969. The award is one of the most prestigious awards in the history of Indian cinema and the highest o� cial recognition for � lm personalities in the country. l

n Milu Aman

This chilly season, let’s try a set of songs to soothe our frosted veins. Here’s a list of winter inspired songs composed to give you chills and at the same time spread the warmth to your heart.

Here Comes the Sun – The BeatlesThis acoustic guitar ballad by The Beatles portrays one’s longing for the spring time after the end of a long cold lonely winter. It is written and sung by the great George Harrison.

Hazy Shady Of Winter – Simon And Garfunkel / The BanglesThis is a 1966 Simon and Garfunkel classic song. The looming harmonies and the added urgency to the Bangles version made the song an 80s classic again.

Winter – The Rolling StonesThis winter lament has a melancholy backdrop. This breathtaking ballad is richly orchestrated, a soulful winter song by the legendary rock n’ roll band, The Rolling Stones.

Winterlong / Four Strong Winds – Neil YoungWinterlong illustrates a feeling of homecoming, an exemplary country

rock classic by Mr Young. Another Neil Young winter classic is Four Strong Wind, originally by the duo Ian and Sylvia, the heartwarming song has strong cold winter references.

Winterlude – Bob DylanDylan sings about a lover he calls Winterlude. It’s clearly set in winter, with its references to snow and a skating rink.

Winter Lady / Famous Blue Raincoat – Leonard CohenWinter Lady tells a simple story of a woman who meets a lonely man on a cold winter night. Another Cohen winter song is Famous Blue Raincoat, this song tells a story of a complicated love triangle.

Sell Me a Coat – David BowieIt is a classic Brit-pop by recently deceased, David Bowie. In the song, he asks for a coat on a winter’s day.

Wintertime Love – The DoorsThis one is a Jim Morrison’s version of a winter love song from the album Waiting for the Sun.

Snowblind – Black SabbathThis song should keep you warm no matter how low the temperature gets. l

Runa Laila as the jury of Dadasaheb Phalke Award 2016

PHOTO: CHANNEL I

A chilled playlist

Prince-the king of reality shows

Showtime 31D

TMONDAY , JANUARY 25, 2016

Belasheshe-In the Autumn of life (2015)n Ishrat Jahan Tithee

After 49 years of marriage, Bishwanath Mojumdar realised that his conjugal life had nothing to do with love. It was all about a few routine habits and responsibilities. He wanted to break free from the shackles, he wanted freedom, he wanted divorce.

The movie focuses on the domestic disputes and how often couples tend to con-fuse love with habits. It explores an entire plethora of emotions, as viewers are taken through the journey of marriage to see how it evolves, changes and sometimes falls prey to lost emotions. It is, most de� nitely, a very touching movie. There will be times when the viewer will be compelled to shed tears.

This movie reminds viewers of how Indi-an cinema has made a signi� cant progress and how well � lms in Kolkata are made. Arati Devi’s role was played by Swatilekha Shengupta, whose acting is extraordinary and worthy of praise. She played it so well that, despite her age, viewers can’t help but admire her. Before reviewing the bittersweet part of the movie, readers must know that there is a major spoiler alert.

The husband in this movie, is a man who worked all his life, keeping himself busy by reading books, spending time with writers, publishers and readers to the point where he lost track of his life with family. His wife, on the other hand, bore him four children, raised and looked after their education and well-being along with looking after her husband’s sick father. Not just that, she also managed the household, cooked for the family, guided the maids and even looked after every little need her husband may have had. She did everything to help him reach the heights of success, sacri� cing her wants and needs to help him become famous.

As the movie progresses, the husband in the � lm, discovers that his wife cannot take care of her day-to-day tasks anymore.

He accuses her of not taking an interest in his life, to read the books in the library and give him reviews. He also accuses her of not being an independent woman. However, he forgets that 49 years ago a little girl entered his home, turning into a wife before she had the chance to � nd out who she was or where she was headed. Her only job was to look after the family which she did earnest-ly. Despite all she is berated for not being “smart and independent” like the widow publisher’s wife.

Again, Mojumdar’s eldest son and his wife are found to be falling out of love. Why, you may wonder? The wife is educat-

ed, self-dependent and also has her own boutique shop. She is smart and intelligent, yet they are not happy with each other. The reason behind it is, under all that domestic chaos the love is lost. The beautiful, stylish, smart girl starts to fade away as they begin calculating grocery bills and discussing the daily details of their lives. Every evening is about their children, school, grocery, maid etc; they do not talk about their merits, careers or their passions anymore. Soon, she too, turns into someone who is uninterest-ing, and eventually he can’t help but � nd himself in an extramarital relationship.

Overall, as we go from scene to scene we

cannot but admire the beauty of this movie. It’s a movie embedded with life lessons, and is de� nitely a must-watch for every couple. Conjugal life is not just about habits formed over time. It’s about a� ection, learning about each other, and growing in the pro-cess. This movie is one that really makes you learn about loving in a di� erent way.

Cast: Shoumitra Chatterjee, Swatilekha Shengupta

Special courtesy: Afroz Mahbub Swatee l

n Showtime Desk

Rumour has it that after just one episode Khloe Kardashian’s new talk show Kocktails with Khloe is being cancelled.

It is indeed inevitable that any scoops, show or a product line that has the letter “K” in it, as in Kardashian, would go unnoticed and lambasted. However, Khloe’s new talk show has left the audience to question why they even turned on the show in the � rst place, as they were only left to watch a few celebrities drink and get sloppy near the end of the show.

According to Star magazine, viewers are having trouble keeping up with the Kardashian sister since Khloe can’t � nd enough guests to appear on the show. “Khloe is � ghting a losing battle with this show. Between the lack of celebrity star power, dismal publicity and her not exactly being the greatest host, things aren’t looking good,” reported the magazine.

Critics have described the show as “komplete krap,” and a “miserable mishmash of fast talking and kwik kamera kuts that was as di� cult to follow as a gum-popping waitress in a loud bar.”

Pretty cold, right? l

Kocktails with Khloe cancelled

Back Page32DT

MONDAY, JANUARY 25, 2016

RAZZAK RECALLS HIS FIGHT AGAINST URDU FILMS PAGE 30

INVESTORS URGED TO GRAB BUSINESS OPPORTUNITIES PAGE 15

DJOKOVIC SURVIVES SCARE PAGE 26

Unavailability, worn out vehicles and little basic facilities render ambulances worthless in case of emergencies. Here is the last tranche of a series of two stories

Govt cares little, people have few choicesn Mohammad Al-Masum Molla

As the government seem to care very little and people do not have much choice in case of emer-gencies, many people have taken the opportunity to make some quick bucks by turning their age old vehicles into ambulances.

Healthcare professionals say ideally, every hospital should have its own � eet of well-equipped ambulances. But reality is far away from that. Whenever someone needs an ambulance, inevitably, they would have to call up some private ambulance services.

Since most individuals or private companies that own ambulances are not a� liated with any hospital, they do not care about ensuring the least of live-saving facilities. All they want to do is make some money out of vehicles that should have been thrown into junk-yards.

Moreover, during hartals or at times of political unrest, ambulances, which remain o� cially out of the purview of political programmes, have recently been used for carrying passengers instead of saving people’s lives.

Worn out vehiclesAn ambulance can be of two types: either a new microbus can be registered as an ambulance; or one can decide to turn a regular microbus into an ambulance against a certain fee.

Md Sanaul Haque, assistant director of Ban-gladesh Road Transport Authority (BRTA), said: “Ambulances are registered under the ‘chha-71’ serial. Most ambulances in the country were initially imported as microbuses and later turned into ambulances.”

He also said: “Sometimes owners of micro-buses, after running them for 10-15 years, decide to turn the vehicles into ambulances that can be used commercially. In that way they can earn some money from vehicles that should have been thrown to junkyards.”

Because most ambulances operative in the country are ages-old worn out vehicles, they do not have proper air conditioning systems. Profes-sionals say AC is a must considering that Bangla-desh is a humid tropical country and ambulances often have to wait long periods on the roads because of the miserable tra� c congestion.

Mohammad Momin Ali, owner of the private Alif Ambulance Service, thinks having a good bed and an oxygen cylinder is enough for an ambulance. “Air conditioning is not essential because it is not essential for saving lives. It only gives comfort to the patients. Non-AC ambulances are high on demand because they are cheaper than AC ambulances.”

Poor government facilitiesProfessionals blame the absence of a binding set of regulations or a regulatory body for that matter as the reason behind the sorry state of ambulance

services in the country, eventually leading to harass-ment and su� ering for patients and their families.

Specialised public hospitals have their own emergency services who receive patients on ar-rival and provide the required services. But these hospitals remain overcrowded most of the times and shortage of beds and other facilities make the services uncomfortable and unsatisfactory.

In the district-level hospitals, the facilities are a lot poorer and less adequate than those at the divisional levels. They provide emergency medical care of sorts for the district town and its surroundings; but problems arise when there is a big accident or a natural calamity.

Upazila-level hospitals also have some provi-sions for emergency medical services but their conditions are also nowhere near satisfactory. Even for the critical cases, they are only as good as providing some kind of � rst aid and on most occasions they refer patients to the emergency department of nearby medical college hospital or district hospital.

In the Dhaka Medical College Hospital (DMCH), the biggest public healthcare facility in the coun-try, there are only four ambulances and those too are mostly used as transportation for doctors and seldom for carrying patients. On the other hand, at least 70 private ambulances operate centring the DMCH.

In the daytime, the ambulances owned by the DMCH are used by the o� cials and are left for

the patients only for a few hours in the evening, sources say.

Recently, this correspondent has recently found a notice hanging in the ambulance parking area which says the service is limited within the city area and people have to pay Tk10/km and the minimum fare is Tk300.

When contacted, Dr Mush� qur Rahman, deputy director of DMCH, said although he was not entitled to use the ambulance, he and some other hospital sta� s sometimes used them in case of emergencies.

The capital’s Mitford Hospital, another major public healthcare facility, has only three ambu-lances of its own. At least 20 private ambulances operate centring this hospital.

According to Nilufar Yeasmin, on-duty o� cer at the control room of Fire Service and Civil Defence in the capital, they operate a total of 15 ambulances in the capital and 124 around the country.

“Patients can hire ambulances from us at Tk9 taka per km in the city. We generally use these ambulanc-es in case of accidents or disasters and usually rent out 3-4 of them on general purposes,” she said.

Former BMA president Prof Dr Rashid-e-Mah-bub said: “Just like � re service, it [ambulance] is also an emergency service and the absence of this has pushed patients and their caretakers to opt for private services. The BRTA should take a stricter stance about giving registration to vehicles as ambulances. In the least, the drivers should have

the knowledge about � rst aid. Ambulances should be classi� ed into various grades depending on the service they provide. There should be a single code dialling which patients and their families can access ambulances instantly.”

Mohammad Momin Ali, owner of Alif Ambulance Service, said: “As the government’s ambulance service is poor, patients do not have any other option but to hire our ambulances. Some people might exploit this situation which is highly unethical.”

Varied usagesInstead of deploying their vehicles on emergency duties, many private owners use their ambulances for non-medical urgencies for the well-disposed such as corporates and high o� cials.

During the year-long political unrest last year, many corporate houses reportedly hired scores of ambulances for transporting their employees.

Vandalising and torching vehicles have been a common practice for street pickets during any kind of political unrest in the country. But, ambu-lances are generally spared from these skirmishes.

A safe journey by an ambulance makes a company’s operation smooth and in return the ambulance owner gets some extra � nancial bene-� ts, beyond its usual service and income.

There have also been instances in the past in which drug peddlers have been seen and caught carrying contraband items in ambulances. l

MEHEDI HASAN

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