News3 Two studies have been carried out in the last six months by BMET’s market research unit to identify new destinations for Bangladeshi migrant workers revealing good opportunities in Brazil, Italy, Singapore, Qatar, Australia and Sweden.

Metro7 The CNG-run auto-rickshaw drivers charge commuters at their will in the port city, defying the rule of counting fare on the meter. Passengers complain that the drivers sometimes demand almost twice the actual amount.

International9 UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon on Friday renewed his push for Syria to allow UN inspectors immediate access to investigate allegations that the government carried out a deadly chemical weapons attack on the outskirts of Damascus.

Op-ed11 I have been told by many a wise political observer that perception of strength decides political outcome in elections within Bangladesh, where the swing voters decide the fate of a party based on that perception. Matthew Islam writes about the period in politics when anything and everything goes in an attempt to grab headlines

16 pages | Price: Tk10

Bhadra 9, 1420Shawwal 16, 1434Regd. No. DA 6238Vol 1 No 152 SATURDAY, AUGUST 24, 2013 | www.dhakatribune.com

INSIDE

Hasina briefs on initiatives to end political deadlockn Partha Pratim Bhattacharjee

Sheikh Hasina yesterday told UN Sec-retary-General Ban Ki-moon that she had urged the opposition BNP to place its proposal on polls-time administra-tion’s structure in the next parliamen-tary session and that her party was ready to discuss the proposal.

Ban called ruling Awami League chief Sheikh Hasina over telephone yesterday morning and discussed sev-eral issues, including Bangladesh’s ex-isting political situation and the next parliamentary elections.

They talked on the phone for over half an hour, PM’s Media Adviser Iqbal Sob-han Chowdhury told the Dhaka Tribune.

Hasina told the UN secretary-gen-eral that her government believed in solving problems through peaceful ways such as dialogue.

She assured Ban that the next par-

liamentary polls would be held in due time and that her government would take all-out e� orts to make the polls credible and neutral.

She also said her government was ready for a peaceful handover of power.

She said more than 6,000 elections had been held under the incumbent government electing some 47,000 representatives of people, but no one could question the election process.

“The government gave the opposi-tion an o� er for talks but the opposi-tion leader turned it down and issued a 48-hour ultimatum and threatened to oust the government. This stand of the opposition leader led to an unstable situation marked by violence, terrorism and subversive activities,” Iqbal Sobhan quoted Hasina as telling Ban Ki-moon.

The ruling Awami League and the main opposition BNP have been in a stando� centring the nature of the ad-

ministration for overseeing the next general elections. The PM recently de-clared that the polls would be held as per the constitutional provisions and that she would not deviate from the constitution. On the other hand, BNP Chairperson Khaleda Zia also made clear that her party would not partic-ipate in any election under a partisan government and asked the government to place a bill in parliament to restore the caretaker government system.

Hasina told Ban that in the last ses-sion of parliament her party had decid-ed to discuss an adjournment motion on the caretaker government system placed by a BNP lawmaker, but the op-position party later withdrew it.

The UN secretary-general listened to the PM but did not make any recom-mendation for overcoming the prevail-ing situation, said Iqbal Sobhan.

PAGE 2 COLUMN 5

Public servants wait for 20% DA n Asif Showkat Kallol

The government is likely to announce 20% dearness allowance for its 1.1m employees, in a bid to ease the in� a-tionary pressure, o� cial sources said.

The two or three increments of salaries of government o� cials and employees were not helpful for main-taining their living standard, Finance Minister AMA Muhith had told the Dhaka Tribune before Eid.

He had also said the salaries of gov-ernment sta� s should increase which would give them some � nancial com-fort, a step he had hoped might be tak-en within the next two months.

Sources in the Prime Minister’s Of-� ce said Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina may make a formal announcement on dearness allowance when she will in-augurate a renovated 100-bed govern-ment employees’ hospital beside the Railway Hospital at Fulbaria in Dhaka on August 27.

The government has a plan to consti-tute a permanent pay commission, but � nance division o� cials are in doubt whether it will be declared before the Awami League-led government leaves the o� ce.

They also said the � nance minister had initially approved the proposal of dearness allowance, which is mini-mum Tk2,000 and maximum Tk5,000 to help public servants cope with the PAGE 2 COLUMN 5

Doctors’ shortage cripples upazila health complexesn Moniruzzaman Uzzal

The acute crisis of doctors at upazila health complexes around the country is a widely run issue in Bangladeshi media. The prime minister has often been heard asking doctors to stay in the rural areas and serve those who need it the most.

Even the upazila that the country’s president hails, is not free from such inadequacies. The health complex-es in the three upazilas that comprise

the former parliamentary constituen-cy of current President Abdul Hamid, only have seven doctors up against the available posts for 49.

The health complexes at Itna, Ash-tagram and Mithamoin upazilas of Kishoreganj are all separate 50-bed fa-cilities where 49 doctors are supposed to be posted. Mithamoin, the home of the president, actually does not even have an Upazila Health and Family PAGE 2 COLUMN 5

From school to a life on drugsn Mohammad Jamil Khan

Oishee Rahman, daughter of Special Branch of Police Inspector Mahfuzur Rahman and his wife Shapna Rahman was a meritorious student at her prima-ry level of education and passed class � ve with a good result.

Iftekharuzzaman, uncle of Oishee, said Oishee started her education at Banasree Cordova International School in 2002 and after completing class � ve she got admitted into Motijheel Ideal School.

Iftekhar, who was used to live with Oishee’s family on the same � at, said Oishee was a very decent and polite girl during her childhood and he had never seen her losing temper or doing badly in school examinations.

As this correspondent went to Motijheel Ideal School to collect infor-mation about her education life the authorities declined to talk about her saying that her case was sub-judice.

Later, this correspondent contacted Oxford International School authorities who said Oishee took admission when she was in class eight.

PAGE 2 COLUMN 1

Rab unearthsnew militantgroup in Bogran Our Correspondent, Bogra

Law enforcers have rounded up three members of a hitherto unknown al-leged Islamist militant group from the northern district township of Bogra on Thursday in a nightlong drive.

Rapid Action Battalion in a press brie� ng on Friday morning made the disclosure that the new group, which called itself “BEM,” had been planning subversive activities in the area.

Jamil Ahmed, company command-ing o� cer (CO) of Rab 12, told reporters that the group had close structural and ideological resemblances with the out-lawed Islamist out� t Jama’atul Muja-hideen Bangladesh (JMB). He said Rab recovered at least 80 rounds of live bul-lets, one SMG, one LMG, one pistol and several sharp weapons from a house in Thanthania area in Bogra town.

He also said the arrestees, namely Firoz Alam, Md Nahid and Barha Mo-hmmad Babu, had come from Dinajpur, Gaibandha and Dhaka to train on us-ing modern � rearms and ammunition. PAGE 2 COLUMN 1

Police have no vital cluen Mohammad Jamil Khan

The Detective Branch of Police is like-ly to seek extension of the remand for Oishee Rahman today as it is yet to � nd the vital clue to the mystery behind the murder of her parents.

Oishee, daughter of Special Branch Inspector Mahfuzur Rahman and his wife Shapna Rahman, was taken on a � ve-day remand last Sunday after po-lice recovered the bodies of the couple from their Chamelibagh residence on August 16.

An investigator of DB police who inter-rogated Oishee said on the last day of her remand plea Oishee seemed a lit-tle indisposed with breathing problem and had to use inhaler.

The investigator said from the be-ginning of her remand she is giving confusing statement about the mur-ders.

For that reason, we failed to glean the real fact about the incident like how she used to get drugs at her residence, how many people were involved in the

killings, if any friends helped her and if so how she managed to let them out of the house.

Though another remanded accused, domestic help of Oishee, Khadiza Akter Shumi told the investigators that Oish-ee alone committed the crime.

Jahanagir Hossain Matubbor, dep-uty commissioner of the DB, said they were in search for her two friends – Joni and Sahidul.

Asked about sending her to the court, Monirul Islam, joint-commis-sioner of DB police, said as the remand was over they would send her to the court on Saturday.

But a DB police o� cial said they would seek extension of remand for Oishee.

The third remanded accused and friend of Oishee, Roni declined his involvement in the killing during the remand but he said he had a good rela-tion with Oishee and he often met her outside her house, especially at di� er-ent bars.

Meanwhile, the medical team formed to verify the age and physical condition of Oishee would give its re-sult on Sunday.

PAGE 2 COLUMN 1

A workshop employee works on iron sheets that occupy a large stretch of the walkway in the capital’s Dholaipar area. Photo was taken yesterday NASHIRUL ISLAM

Khaleda says BNP won’t go to polls under ALn Mohammad Al-Masum Molla

BNP Chairperson Khaleda Zia yesterday told UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon that her party was ready for a dialogue but it would not go for any election un-der the incumbent government.

“The leader of the opposition told the UN secretary-general that there was no alternative to a dialogue or discus-sion to resolve the [existing political] crisis and the BNP was ready to go for a dialogue or discussion. But the par-ty would not take part in any election under the Awami League government,” party’s acting secretary general Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir told reporters at a brie� ng at Khaleda’s Gulshan o� ce.

Ban Ki-moon called Khaleda over telephone around 6:40pm and talked for around half an hour regarding the election process and current political crisis, said Fakhrul.

“The UN secretary-general told the opposition leader that he wanted to see a free and fair election with participa-tion of all political parties. That is why the United Nation was closely observ-ing Bangladesh’s political situation,” Fakhrul quoted Ban as saying.

In reply, Khaleda told Ban: “There is no alternative to a non-partisan gov-ernment for holding a free, fair and credible election. A strong Election Commission is also necessary for this.”

Fakhrul said the UN chief had ex-pressed his concern over the country’s political situation.

“I took an initiative to hold a partic-ipatory, fair and free election but that initiative did not proceed so far,” Ban told Khaleda.

In May, Moon sent Oscar Fernan-dez-Taranco, assistant secretary general for political a� airs of the UN, apparently PAGE 2 COLUMN 5

UN chief phones top two leaders, calls for talks

Detective Branch to seek remand extension for Oishee

MURDER OF SB OFFICER, WIFE

Sacks full of limbs found in dump yardn Ashif Islam Shaon

Police recovered several human limbs packed inside seven sacks at a Dhaka City Corporation (DCC) garbage dumping zone in the capital’s Matuail yesterday.

Chief Garbage Management O� cer of DCC South SM Zabed Iqbal said some urchins found the sacks and told them, who then informed the police.

Demra Zone Senior Assistant Com-missioner Minhazul Islam told the Dha-ka Tribune, “Police recovered seven legs, � ve arms, parts of two heads and 13 pieces of bones from inside those sacks. It is being estimated that the parts were of at least four individuals."

In primary investigation, the police was assuming that these were the re-mains of two males and two females.

“We have sent the body parts to Dhaka Medical College Hospital for DNA test. The actual number of bodies will be ascertained after the test has been done,” he said.

Teams of Criminal Investigation De-partment (CID) and Detective Branch (DB) of police visited the spot after the bodies were found.

“We have recovered 16 body parts including legs, hands, and parts of heads. There were also 13 body parts which have rotten down to the bone,” said a CID o� cial.

Police said the victims were killed several days back.

PAGE 2 COLUMN 1

PrescriptionBeware of silent killers: Part II

5 8 InternationalGang rape of journalist shocks Mumbai, � ve identi� ed

EntertainmentAnanta Jalil is the new brand ambassador of GP

12

News2 DHAKA TRIBUNE Saturday, August 24, 2013

Members of the Detective Branch of police work at a waste dumping ground in the capital’s Matuail area from where they recovered decomposed body parts of four men and women yesterday RAJIB DHAR

Energy ministry seeks amendment to contracts for deep sea blocks Proposal set to be placed in next cabinet committee meetingn Aminur Rahman Rasel

The Energy and Mineral Resources Division (EMRD) is expected to place a proposal at the next meeting of the cabinet committee on economic a� airs to amend the Model Production Sharing Contract (MPSC) 2012, which will apparently favour foreign oil companies working in Bangladesh.

EMRD Secretary Md Mozammel Haque Khan told the Dhaka Tribune last week that his o� ce had recently received the proposal after vetting from the law ministry.

Sources said Petrobangla, the state-run oil, gas and mineral corporation, has reportedly proposed amendments to the MPSC for deep sea blocks under pressure from international oil companies (IOCs).

The proposed amendments include increasing the price and share of gas for IOCs, a higher cost recovery limit and corporate tax payment by Petrobangla.

On December 17, 2012, Petrobangla invited international tender for exploring oil and gas in 12 blocks under the O� shore Bidding Round 2012. Of the blocks in the Bay of Bengal, nine are in shallow sea, while three are in deep sea.

However, Petrobangla suspended the bidding process for the deep sea blocks, allegedly after “requests” from interested IOCs.

On 27 July, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, who is in charge of the energy ministry, consented to an EMRD proposal to amend the MPSC for deep sea hydrocarbon blocks.

According to the proposed

amendments, an IOC would sell around 50% of the gas produced to Petrobangla at $6.50 per Mcf (1,000 cubic feet), instead of $5.

The IOC would be allowed to sell 50% of its share of gas to a third party inside Bangladesh. It could also sell o� Petrobangla’s share, if the latter does not purchase it. At present, there is no scope to export gas.

Cost recovery limit has also been raised to 70% from 55% of the produced oil and gas in the amended MPSC, while Petrobangla will have to pay 37.5% in corporate tax on behalf of IOCs.

Four foreign companies _ Chevron, Santos, Conoco-Phillips and Tallow _ are working in the country now, following international biddings in 1993, 1997 and 2008. l

Doctors’ shortage cripples PAGE 1 COLUMN 3

Planning O� cer for supervising the overall healthcare situation in the area. The Mithamoin Upazila Health Complex has four medical o� cers only.

Dr Mahbub Iqbal, president of Bangla-desh Medical Association’s Kishoreganj unit, told the Dhaka Tribune that he had been trying hard to get the authorities to recruit doctors in some of the vacant posts in the health complex at the presi-dent’s upazila.

“Although the country’s president hails from this area, nobody wants to stay. Most of the doctors, who had ever been posted in the area, got transferred to the capital or less remote areas by persuading high-ranked o� cials and political lead-ers,” Dr Mahbub regretted.

Seeking anonymity, several high-ranked o� cials of the Directorate Gen-eral of Health Services (DGHS) told the Dhaka Tribune that the three upazilas in Kishoreganj was just one small portion of a very large picture.

They said there are a total of 397 upa-zila health complexes around the country, of which 244 are 31-bed facilities and the remaining 153 have 50 beds. Depending

on the accommodation arrangements, these complexes have posts for nine to 21 doctors each, including at least four spe-cialists.

However, in reality, most of these health complexes do not even have the least number of doctors, let alone special-ists, they added. The DGHS o� cials also said while the rural health centres were struggling with the crisis, some ofthe public healthcare facilities in the cap-ital and the other major cities have many more doctors than required.

Dr Ruhul Forkan Siddique, a deputy di-rector of DGHS, said there were a total of 24,000 posts for doctors under the health ministry, of which around 8,000 were va-cant. Out of the rest, at least 4,000 doctors are never available as they remain busy attending training and academic courses at home and abroad or were made o� cers on special duty due to various reasons.

“Therefore, we have to depend on only 12,000 doctors to serve the govern-ment healthcare facilities in the country,” Dr Ruhul said. He admitted that the DGHS had always had to face a lot of problems in posting a doctor to an upazila health complex. l

Police have no vital clue PAGE 1 COLUMN 5The investigators are yet to make any breakthrough in the case due to puz-zling statements of Oishee.

The investigation team, led by Joint Commissioner of Dhaka Metropolitan Police Monirul Islam, claimed Oishee Rahman, the 17-year-old daughter of the slain couple, to be ‘partially’ in-volved in the killing after she surren-dered before the Paltan police station on Saturday afternoon.

Later that day, Monirul said she along with some of her friends took part in the killing; however, they were still not sure about the exact number of perpetrators. They said Oishee was a drug-addict and took the help of three friends and the female house-help, 15-year-old Khadiza Khatun Sumi, to execute the killing.

A Dhaka court placed Oishee, Sumi and Oishee’s friend Mizanur Rahman Rony on a � ve-day remand on Sunday.

On the � rst day of the remand, in-

vestigators said Oishee had confessed that she personally took part in the kill-ing and had mixed sedatives with cof-fee and served it to her parents to make them unconscious before the killing.

However, later that night, a mem-ber of the investigation team again claimed, quoting Oishee, that she had not killed anyone but her friends did. However, after a while, the team once again claimed Oishee’s direct involve-ment with the killing.

The investigators said Oishee, with her 7-year-old brother Ohi and house help Sumi, hired a CNG run auto rick-shaw and rode on it all day long on the next day of the incident.

Quoting the CNG run auto rickshaw driver, they said Oishee had paid him Tk1500, for the day and managed to keep Sumi at his residence in Mugda by giving him an additional Tk1000.

“Generally, the CNG drivers charge at least Tk2500 for whole day. We won-der how she managed the driver with

only Tk1500,” said the investigators.Quoting the house help Sumi, they

said Oishee � rst stabbed her mother and then her father. She had stabbed her mother indiscriminately as she held more grudge against her for be-coming a barrier to her freedom.

Meanwhile the investigators recov-ered a suicide note written in Bangla from Oishee’s room where she had written that she was frustrated about her life and wanted to commit suicide.

However, police was still suspicious about the validity of the note because of her constantly changing statements over the case.

On the third day following the in-cident, Joint-Commissioner Monirul told journalists that they were hunt-ing for Jony and Saidul, two friends of Oishee, who were reportedly involved in the killing.

The case scenario of the killings would become clearer after arrest of the duo, he said.

According to the latest statement given by Oishee, Jony and Saidul had come to Oishee’s house at Chamelibag after 9pm on the day of the murder, the investigators said.

They said both Jony and Saidul were drug addicts and were involved in drug peddling. They were notorious goons of Basila area of the capital.

They claimed Oishee to be the pri-mary perpetrator of the murders. She was a yaba addict and frustrated be-cause her parents used to prevent her from taking drugs.

Monirul Islam said Oishee had been saying di� erent things at di� erent times. Therefore, they were yet to get any concrete statement from her.

He said upon detaining two oth-er friends, who are hiding now, they would interrogate them and Rony in front of Oishee. After that we would get a clearer picture and be able to draw coordination over the di� erent statements, he hoped. l

From school to a life on drugs PAGE 1 COLUMN 6After getting promotion to class nine in 2009 Oishee began to show negligence in her education and her attendance was poor.

She totally stopped attending class-es in the beginning of 2011 and for that reasons the school authorities can-celled her registration.

Bilkis Akter, an aunt of Oishee, said

as she lost interest in school education Oishee’s parents registered her with British Council as a private O-level ex-aminee.

But it contributed nothing to her education life; she did not attend the exams either, said Bilkis.

O� cials of the intelligence depart-ment and Oxford school said Oishee started taking drugs when she was

in class eight at the instigation of her close school friend Rocky.

Shahidul Alam Manzur, head of the development and function a� airs of Oxford International School, said Oishee continued her education with Oxford school for a very short period of time and she was often found absent.

“We used to call her parents every month and counsel Oishee,” he said.

He also said the school found her very intelligent and meritorious and she herself never confessed of doing drugs. She was promoted to class nine after passing in all subjects.

“In 2011 we contacted Oishee’s par-ents several times but they did not re-spond to our calls,” he added. l

Sacks full of limbs found in dump yard PAGE 1 COLUMN 6Minhazul said, “Some parts were at-tached with each other by screws. After killing, the parts were detached from the body using machetes.”

“The killers also used chemicals to process the bodies. So, there was no stench,” he added.

“Garbage is collected all day from di� erent parts of the capital and

dumped here. The garbage trucks dump garbage at the West side of the zone from 11pm to 3am and rest of the day to the East side. As the bodies were found in the West side, we are suspect-ing that cleaners dumped them on Thursday night,” he said.

“I think cleaners could not under-stand that the sacks contained the body parts. They collect garbage from

Badda, Gulshan, Banashree and the whole north Dhaka,” he added.

“We will � nd out which vehicle brought the sacks. It may also be the case that killers themselves brought the sacks there,” the senior assistant commissioner added.

Meanwhile, a number of people whose relatives have gone missing in the last few days from nearby areas rushed

to the dumping zone hearing the news. Md Ripon, who came with a pass-

port size photograph of his brother-in-law Mizanur Rahman, said Mizan went missing from his Shajahanpur residence on July 18. A youth named Rony took him out.

“I came here hearing about the body recovery. But these bodies are not identi� able,” he said. l

Khaleda says BNP won’t go to PAGE 1 COLUMN 5to create ground for political dialogue between the two archrival parties for smooth transfer of power through a credible and participatory election.

Taranco met the prime minister, leader of the opposition, speaker of the house, the chief election commis-sioner, leaders of political parties and select members of civil society.

After the meetings he expressed his

concern as “time is running out” to � nd a solution so Bangladesh can hold free, fair, credible and non-violent elections.The UN envoy said Bangladesh is very important for the global organisation, especially because of its strong com-mitment to international peace and security, Fernandez-Taranco praised Bangladesh saying, “Its very brave po-lice and army o� cers are participating in the peacekeeping operations.” l

Rab unearths new militant group in Bogra PAGE 1 COLUMN 6When they were arrested, the trio had been getting trained to draw maps in military style, he said.

The Rab CO, who could not imme-diately give the elaboration of “BEM,” said the group believed in the ideolo-gies of JMB. Rab o� cer Abu Sayeed, who led the Thursday night drive, said BEM had set up a number of wings, in-cluding communication and invento-ry, to conduct organisational activities in the area.

UNB adds: While brie� ng reporters

at the press conference, director of legal and media wing of Rab-12 ATM Habibur Rahman said some 21 activists of BEM rented the house of Dulal at Thanthania Dakkinpara on August 19.

They stockpiled heavy weapons there in a bid to carry out massive sub-versive activities.

Being tipped o� , a Rab team con-ducted a drive from Thursday after-noon and arrested the three. However, the 18 others BEM activists managed to � ee from the scene.

During the drive, the crime busters

seized an SMG, an LMG, foreign pis-tols, 80 bullets, magazines and docu-ments of the out� t from their � at.

During interrogation, the arrested confessed that militant out� t JMB is now operating under new platform BEM.

However, they did not elaborate on the abbreviation of BEM.

Habibur Rahman said they were trying to � nd out the � nancers of the banned organisation.

A case was � led with Bogra Sadar Police Station against them. l

Hasina briefs on initiatives to PAGE 1 COLUMN 3In the beginning of the conversation, Ban Ki-moon conveyed his condolences to Hasina over the killing of her family members on August 15, 1975 and the gre-nade attack on an Awami League rally on August 21, 2004. He praised the PM and her government for achieving the

millennium development goal, moving forward the country’s economic growth and � ourishing the democratic process.

Ban Ki-moon also congratulated Hasi-na for her government’s success in curb-ing militancy and fundamentalism and expressed hope that her government would continue the e� orts in future. l

Public servants PAGE 1 COLUMN 1in� ation, which marked a slight fall to 7.78% in July.

This will cost the exchequer Tk50bn.President of Bangladesh Secretariat Kar-machari Oikyo Parishad (a platform of secretariat employees) Abul Kudus Khan told the Dhaka Tribune the government’s delay in announcing the new pay scale has created resentment among o� cials.

“The � nance minister promised us that the government will announce the new pay scale in September,” he said.

The government has not kept any

block allocation in the current � scal’s budget to meet the new pay scale which will require the government to spend Tk2.5bn every month in addi-tion to regular salary.

The government announced the seventh national pay scale in 2009 � x-ing the highest salary at Tk40,000 and lowest at Tk4,100. The last pay scale has come up with a 52% increase, on an average, in the basic salary of pub-lic servants. This enhanced pay scale requires the government an additional amount of Tk62.22bn annually. l

Cops among 5 injured in Keraniganj gun� ght n Mohammad Jamil Khan

At least � ve people, including four police o� cials, were injured in a gun� ght between police personnel and a gang of muggers at Zianagar village in Keraniganj area, the outskirts of the city, in the early hours of yesterday.

 The injured were identi� ed as sub-inspectors – Abul Kalam Azad and Aminul Islam – and constables Abdul Matin and M Safur of Keraniganj Model police station.

Police arrested bullet-hit Noor Hossain, 28, son of Nurul Haque of the

village, after the shootout. Mohammad Mainuddin, o� cer-

in-charge of Keranigaj Model police station, told the Dhaka Tribune that acting on a tip-o� , a team of police had conducted a drive at the village around 11:30pm.

Sensing the presence of the law enforcers, Noor and his accomplices opened � re on them, prompting them to retaliate that triggered a gun� ght between them, he said, adding that the gun� ght continued for around half an hour, leaving four police o� cials including, terrorist group member Noor, injured.

Noor was admitted to the National Institute of Traumatology and Orthopedic Rehabilitation (Nitor), popularly known as Pangu Hospital.

OC Mainuddin said Noor was not only a notorious terrorist of the area but also a drug trader and accused in two cases.

The injured o� cials received treatment from Keraniganj Upazila Health Complex.

Police also recovered 96 bottles of Phensidyl, one shutter gun and a machete from the spot.

Two separate cases were � led with the police station. l

Rony’s illegal o� ce swept from classroomn Anisur Rahman Swapan, Barisal

O� ce of Awami League lawmaker Golam Maul Rony was dislocated from a room of Galachipa Secondary Model High School on Friday, which he had alleged occupied.

Four years ago, the detained MP for Patuakhali-3 had forcibly occupied a segment of the school after engaging in a factional dispute with the upazila AL unit and set up his o� ce there.

The school authority had issued notices alleging the occupants to leave the premises on February 26, 2011.

This year, following the arrest of Rony, the district administration again served him notice on August 18 following which Rony’s followers started vacating the premise on Friday morning.

Reazul Karim Haoladar, upazila AL president of pro-Rony faction said we handed over the room to the school authority and started searching for a new location.

Leaders of the anti-Rony faction of upazila AL unit thanked the district administration for recovering the premises of an educational institution by evicting illegal

occupants.Harun-ur-Rashid and Golam

Mustafa Tito, president and secretary of the unit respectively said it was not a place for setting up the party o� ce.

They alleged that by forming an illegal committee with two expelled leaders of the upazila AL unit, Rony used to carry out di� erent terrorist activities like, extortion, toll collection etc from that o� ce.

Police on July 24 held Rony in connection with a case � led by Independent TV for assaulting two journalists. l

20 detained for severing RU BCL leader’s tendons n RU Correspondent

Police yesterday detained 20 students, in connection with severing the ten-dons of hand and leg of Touhid-al-

Hossain Tuhin, general secretary of Bangladesh Chhatra League’s (BCL) Rajshahi University (RU) unit, a crime allegedly committed by Islami Chhatra Shibir men on Thursday.

Police conducted several raids at messes and dormitories adjacent to

RU at Meherchandi, Budhara, Kajla and Minodepur area from early Friday morning to afternoon, and picked up the suspects. They are being interro-gated at the Motihar thana.

SM Abdus Sobhan, o� cer-in-charge (OC) of Motihar police station informed that a night-long drive by police ap-prehended 15 suspected miscreants involved in attacking Tuhin, while � ve more suspects were picked up Friday morning.

The tendons of the BCL leader were severed on Thursday night, allegedly by activists of Bangladesh Islami Chha-tra Shibir. BCL leaders said, at around 10pm Thursday, a group of masked as-sailants launched a sudden attack on Touhid-al-Hossain Tuhin, while he, along with several other activists, were going to the Madar Bux hall.

The incident took place in front of the residence of Syeed Amir Ali hall’s provost, on the campus.

The miscreants chased Tuhin and hacked at him with sharp knives, leav-ing him unconscious. Shawon Sarkar, social a� airs secretary of the unit, was also hit by a bullet in his right hand, said BCL leaders.

The assailants � ed the scene quickly after setting o� several crude bombs.

Tuhin was then rushed to the Rajshahi Medical College Hospital (RMCH), where the on-duty doctor con� rmed that the tendons in Tuhin’s right hand and both legs were severed.

Tuhin was sent to Dhaka Orthopedic Hospital in the early hours of Friday af-ter his condition deteriorated despite surgery. The BCL leader went under surgery again at Dhaka, with Tuhin’s companions notifying the media that he had regained his senses.

BCL RU unit President Mizanur Rah-man Rana alleged that Shibir activists assaulted Tuhin with the intention of killing him.

A group of BCL activists also staged a demonstration at the Shahbagh inter-section in the capital late Thursday, de-manding actions against the culprits.

Shibir RU unit secretary Saifuddin Eyahiya, meanwhile, denied the BCL’s allegations and told newsmen they had no connection to the incident, and that factional disputes of BCL might have led to the incident.

On the other hand, Vice-Chancellor of Rajshahi University Professor Mi-januddin called an emergency meeting yesterday at the Senate Bhaban of RU with teachers, student representatives and law enforcement agency mem-bers.

The RU VC said, measures have been taken to ensure security at the campus and additional security personnel will be deployed to maintain law and order on the campus.

Speaking after the meeting, SM Mon-iruzzaman, Commissioner of Rajshahi Metropolitan Police, said that the mode of attack on Tuhin, specially, severing the tendons of both legs and hands, bears all hallmarks of a Shibir operation. l

News 3DHAKA TRIBUNE Saturday, August 24, 2013

Six countries o� er more job scopes for Bangladeshisn Rabiul Islam

There are good opportunities for Ban-gladeshis to get jobs in Brazil, Italy, Sin-gapore, Qatar, Australia and Sweden, according to market research conduct-ed by the Bureau of Manpower, Em-ployment and Training (BMET).

Two studies have been carried out in the last six months by BMET’s mar-ket research unit to identify new desti-nations for Bangladeshi migrant work-ers, an o� cial said.

The � ndings of the research, done with assistance from the Internation-al Organisation for Migration (IOM), would be shared with the BMET direc-tor general soon.

According to one study, titled “Op-portunity for Bangladeshi migrant

workers: A comparative analysis of mar-ket in Sweden and Australia”, jobs are available in manufacturing, wholesale, retail trade, automobile repairing, agri-culture, forestry and mining in Sweden. In Australia, there is a demand for pro-fessionals like engineers and doctors, carpenters, plumbers and technicians.

Another study on “Opportunity for Bangladeshi migrant workers in Brazil, Italy, Singapore and Qatar” found that Brazil needs workers in sectors like manufacturing, agriculture, mining, en-gineering, energy, bio-fuel, water, and waste and environmental management.

Italy has a shortage of workers in car manufacturing and tourism sectors, and there is also scope for jobs as sports instructors and fruit pickers. Singapore has openings in oil, gas and chemical

industries. Qatar, which is going to host the

FIFA World Cup in 2022, requires a large number of workers in the con-struction sector. The study also found that the Arab nation prefers to hire workers from Bangladesh, Pakistan and Sri Lanka.

“The research provides primary in-formation about job opportunities for Bangladeshi migrant workers. It will also help us to prepare our workers through training,” Hazrat Ali, addition-al secretary of the expatriates’ welfare ministry, told the Dhaka Tribune over phone yesterday.

“We would be able to send many people abroad for jobs if we know where and what type of workers are needed,” said Ali. l

JU VC awaits chancellor’s decisionn JU Correspondent

Con� ned vice-chancellor of Jahan-girnagar University (JU) has said he is waiting for a decision from the chan-cellor of the institution.

JU VC Professor Anwar Hossain has been kept con� ned in his on-campus o� ce for the third consecutive day, yesterday, by a section of teachers un-der the banner “General Teachers’ Fo-rum,” demanding his resignation.

Prof Anwar has already sent a letter to President Md Abdul Hamid inform-ing him about the entire situation and seeking help.

“I am an elected VC of JU. Agitating teachers have been con� ning me irra-tionally over two days and demanding my resignation; but I will not resign giving into their demand,” he told the Dhaka Tribune

“I have sent a letter to the chancellor

and requested him to form a commit-tee according to the university act for investigating the allegations that the teachers have raised against me. I am expecting an immediate decision from the chancellor. If the probe committee � nds me guilty, I will resign,” Prof An-war asserted.

The Dhaka Tribune has learnt that the president has already moved for a solution to the crisis that has nearly paralysed the university. On Thursday, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina assured the VC telling him that the government had been closely observing the devel-opments at the university.

The members of the General Teach-ers’ Forum say their movement was meant to protect the university from a “wonton and autocrat VC.”

“We are continuing our movement maintaining the rules. VC Anwar Hos-sain must take the responsibilities of

the charges brought against him and resign,” Prof Dr Md Hanif, convener of the General Teachers’ Forum, told the Dhaka Tribune.

However, two other groups of teach-ers – “Shikkakh Mancha” and “Shadha-ran Shikkhak Porishod” – have stood beside the VC. They rejected the anti-VC movement saying the allegations were baseless and meant to serve agendas.

Meanwhile, the General Teachers’ Forum has announced a 3-day compre-hensive strike from today until Mon-day. They, however, have decided to keep the scheduled exams out of the strike.

Nahid to meet striking teachers Education Minister Nurul Islam Na-hid will have a meeting with agitating teachers at his residence today to dis-cuss a possible solution, ministry o� -cials said. l

Chhatra League-Shibir face-o� looms ahead at Rajshahi Universityn RU Correspondent

Bangaladesh Chhatra League and Is-lami Chhatra Shibir, the two student wings of ruling Awami League and Ja-maat-e-Islami respectively, are now � exing their muscles over establishing supremacy over each other on the Ra-jshahi University campus.

Shibir reigned supreme in the uni-versity until it was driven out of the campus following the death of BCL ac-tivist Faruk Hossain in a violent clash

between BCL and Shibir activists on February 8, 2010.

Since then BCL, with the assistance of law enforcers, has resisted Shibir’s at-tempt to enter the campus. But recently Shibir has built a strong organisational base in the areas around the university as an attempt to make forced entry into the campus to restore its supremacy.

Exasperated by being warded o� the campus for three years and seven months Shibir activists have now be-come desperate to regain control over

the university.On Thursday night a group of Shi-

bir men hacked BCL General Secretary of the university Touhid-al-Hossain Tuhin who is now � ghting for his life in the Dhaka Pangu Hospital. The Shi-bir men also severed the tendons in Tuhin’s legs and right hand.

The incident was a follow-up to a prior clash between BCL and Chhatra Shibir. BCL activists on Wednesday stabbed Shibir’s Ziaur Rahman Hall unit President Jahurul Haque as he was

entering the campus along with his unit president on a motorbike.

BCL men also beat up Shibir activist Muhammad Bin Kashem the same day on the campus. Some BCL leaders said the assaults on the Shibir men were led by Tuhin.

After the formation of the BCL’s new committee on July 20 this year, with Mizanur Rahman Rana and Tuhin as president and general secretary respec-tively, Tuhin was trying to take control of the university’s student politics. A

number of BCL leaders, seeking ano-nymity, said Tuhin was made BCL RU unit secretary as he was hard on the Shibir. Shibir stabbed Tuhin as he was ruthless in his attempts at not letting them enter the campus.

Earlier on October 2 last year BCL, with the assistance of law enforcers, foiled Shibir’s attempt to enter the campus.

Tension is running high in the univer-sity. Some BCL leaders, wishing anonym-ity, said they were apprehending violent

clashes between the two organisations at any time. BCL RU unit President Mizanur Rahman Rana, however, vowed to resist the anti-liberation forces.

Shibir RU unit General Secretary Saifuddin Eyahiya blamed the BCL for the attacks on them and said they wanted to stay on the campus peace-fully.

RU Proctor Tariqul Hasan told the Dhaka Tribune that additional police were deployed on the campus to avert any untoward incidents. l

DU ‘Black Day’ observed n DU Correspondent

Dhaka University observed a “black day” yesterday, marking the 6th anni-versary of the military crackdown on the university and the repression of several teachers and students on Au-gust 23, 2007.

Teachers and students, wearing black badges, attended a conference at around 11am held at the university’s Teachers and Students Centre (TSC), in which DU Vice-chancellor AAMS Are� n Siddique was present as thechief guest.

Demanding restitution for the re-pression, Are� n alleged it was staged by the same people that killed Bang-abandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman in 1975, along with many freedom � ght-ers and intellectuals after the war for liberation. He also urged the govern-ment to ensure justice in the case and implement the recommendations of the committee formed to probe theincident.

Among others, the university’s trea-surer Professor D. Mohammad Kamal Uddin, Teachers Association president Professor Farid Uddin Ahmed, O� cers Association general secretary Sayed Ali Akbar, and other teachers, o� cials and students were present on the occasion.

On August 20, 2007, students of the university were engaged in a heated argument with some members of the army following a football match, which escalated to the students being physi-cally assaulted. This triggered a wide-spread agitation by both teachers and students.

On the night of August 23, 2007, the military arrested four teachers and eight students of the university andallegedly tortured them. l

Khaleda will announce next course of action after Eidn Mohammad Al-Masum Molla

The main opposition BNP yesterday said party Chairperson Khaleda Zia would hold a public meeting in the capital after Eid-ul-Azha and announce the party’s next course of action to re-alise the demand for election under a non-partisan interim government.

“To intensify our movement, work-ers’ meetings will be held at the grass-roots level and the capital. The leader of the opposition will announce the next course of action from a rally in Dhaka after Eid-ul-Azha,” Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir, acting secretary general of the party, said.

He held a joint meeting with the party’s front and associate bodies to make the ongoing programme success-ful. BNP Standing Committee member

Mirza Abbas, Vice-Chairman Sadeque Hossain Khoka, Joint Secretary General Amanullah Aman, Jubo Dal President Moazzem Hossain Alal, Member Sec-retary Abdus Salam and other senior leaders were present at the meeting.

Fakhrul said the date of the Dhaka city rally was yet to be � nalised.

The meeting decided to hold work-ers’ meetings at 25 spots of the city within August 31 while similar meet-ings would be held at 100 wards of 48 thanas of the city.

The BNP leader said Khaleda Zia would address rallies in Narsingdi on September 8, Rangpur on September 15, Rajshahi on September 16, Khulna on September 22, Barisal on September 29 and Sylhet on October 5. The date of the Chittagong meeting would be an-nounced later. l

Shahbagh youths demand arrest of Tuhin’s attackersn DU Correspondent

The Ganajagaran Mancha brought out a procession at Shahbagh intersection in the capital yesterday evening, protest-ing the attack on Rajshahi University unit Chhatra League General Secretary Touhid Al Tuhin.

It demanded immediate arrest and exemplary punishment to the attackers.

The activists urged everyone to pro-test against Jamaat-e-Islami and its stu-dent wing Islami Chhatra Shibir.

They said Jamaat-Shibir had been committing brutal attacks across the country, including the recent one at Rajshahi on Thursday night.

Leaders and activists of Chhatra Sangram Parishad and Chhatra League have decided to stage a demonstration on August 26 on Dhaka University cam-pus and other major universities, pro-testing the brutal attack.

The decision came at a press meet-ing chaired by Chhatra League Presi-dent HM Badiuzzaman Sohag.

Sohag said a protest rally would be held on August 26 demanding punish-ment to the attackers and ban on poli-tics of Jamaat and Shibir.

Bangladesh Chhatra Moitri Presi-dent Bappaditya Basu and Jasad Ch-hatra League President Muhammad Shamsul Islam, among others, attend-ed the meeting.

Earlier, Chhatra League leaders and activists brought out a procession and held a rally on DU campus Thursday night following the attack on Tuhin. l

Benapole international passengers’ terminal opens n Our Correspondent, Jessore

Benapole, the largest land port in the country, wore a festive look yesterday on the occasion of the inauguration of two terminals.

Shipping Minister Shahjahan Khan inaugurated the newly-constructed international passengers’ terminal and bus terminal in the afternoon.

With Mayej Uddin Ahmed, chairman of Bangladesh Land Port Authorities in the chair, the programme was attended

by Sohrab Hossain, joint secretary of ministry of shipping and Ashraful Alam Liton, mayor of Benapole municipality.

Earlier, the minister assured the port authority that Tk1.30bn would be allocated for the welfare of the port.

Abul Khayer, engineer of Benapole port authority, told reporters that spending Tk7.69m, the terminal was constructed near Benapole customs and immigration buildings. Costing Tk10.6m, a bus terminal was also con-structed adjacent to the place. l

Students and teachers of Dhaka University hold a rally in front of the Aparajeyo Bangla on the campus yesterday, marking the “Black Day” when many of them were arrested and harassed by the then army-backed caretaker government in 2007 SYED ZAKIR HOSSAIN

4 DHAKA TRIBUNE Saturday, August 24, 2013

ADVERTISEMENT

Beware of silent killers: Part IIThe habit of washing hands before taking food and after using a toilet in ourdaily life can save us from many deadly diseasesn Sir Frank Peters

Washing our hands regularly with soap and clean running wa-ter (hot or cold doesn’t matter) can help stop the spread of germs and prevent illnesses

like in� uenza, bronchitis, swine � u, diphtheria, measles, conjunctivitis, leprosy, chicken pox and scabies among many more, not to mention acne and other skin problems and diseases.

Washing hands requires no e� ort and is one of the most e� ective ways to prevent the spread of many types of in-fections and illnesses. It has the poten-tial to save more lives than any single vaccine or medical intervention and billions of dollars in medical expenses and medicines.

There are more than 3.5 million children under the age of � ve who die every year from diarrhoeal disease and pneumonia – and many are prevent-able.

Although most people clean their hands with water, medical science tells us that is not enough and the use of soap is essential. A recent study by Michigan State University claims most people wash their hands for only six-seconds whereas 20-seconds is recommended.

To convey the message of hygiene to the populace e� ectively, it wouldhelp ENORMOUSLY if hospitals, diag-nostic centres, doctors’ surgeries etc set the example in their own facilities.

It’s time the standards of hygiene in Bangladesh were raised with every individual playing their part; prevent-able diseases prevented, and vile and disgusting bad habits like picking one’s nose in public or spitting on the pave-ment are frowned upon and deemed unacceptable behaviour.

There can never be enough empha-sis on good hygiene practices such as washing your hands regularly with

soap and running water, cleaning all utensils before cooking and keeping cooking places clean to prevent com-municable diseases.

While TV, magazine and newspaper adverts and posters are productive and play an essential and supporting role in conveying the vital messages and im-portance of hand hygiene to the mass-es, TV soap operas reign supreme.

People tune in to soap operas to see a re� ection of their own mundane bor-

ing lives on the small screen in hope they will � nd escape from, or solutions to, the problems they themselves face. While a 30-second commercial has the power to help convince the viewer s/he should be using brand-X toothpaste, no doubt a 60-minute ‘real-life’ soap opera has the power to in� uence the thinking of the entire family.

To harness this enormous sublimi-nal power e� ectively, it is essential that TV scriptwriters play an active pa-triotic role and are encouraged (if not forced) by the government (as part of their transmission agreement) to write scenes into their dramas that promote good hygiene practices (and other im-portant society-bene� ting issues) that bene� t and pro� t the nation (or cancel

their licences).While the entertainment value of

soap operas themselves might be ques-tionable, they can at least serve and help protect the health of their viewers by promoting the proper and bene� cial use of soap. After all they are SOAP op-eras!

If the adage  ‘cleanliness is next to godliness’  is true; then  ‘God helps those who help themselves’ is its part-ner. And washing hands properly is as good a place as any to begin. l

The writer is a former newspaper publisher and editor, an award winning writer, a humanitarian, human rights advocate, and a long time caring friend of Bangladesh. [END]

Prescription 5DHAKA TRIBUNE Saturday, August 24, 2013

QUICK TIPS

LIFESTYLE

Washing hands requires no e� ort and is one of the most e� ective ways to prevent the spread of many types of infections and illnesses

Sip Oolong teaWe know tea is good for both body and mind. Green tea has a special positive e� ect on the body. There is also anoth-er kind of special tea, called Oolong Tea which seems to be very healthy. Re-search suggests that people with mild eczema who drink oolong tea three times a day may show improvement in itching and other symptoms. Com-pounds in the tea called polyphenols appear to be responsible. l

FOOD THERAPY

Enjoy gingerMany of us like Ginger. Some of us take dry Ginger while some take raw ginger with tea. And ginger is regularly used in various recipes in our country. The volatile oils in ginger have long made it a useful herbal remedy for nasal and chest congestion. Pour 2 cups of boil-ing water over a 1-inch piece of peeled, grated ginger; steep for 10 minutes; and strain. Add a pinch or two of cay-enne pepper to the water and drink as needed. l

Pop a probioticThough, the term “probiotics” is not that much known to us. But, but the probiotic foods are very much popular in our country. Yogurt, Borhani, Mouri are widely taken probiotic items in our festive and occasional parties. Probi-otics are very useful to control yeast infection. Supplementing with “good” bacteria (for example, Lactobacillus or Bi� dobacterium) may help restore the balance of the bacteria living in the female genital tract and inhibit thegrowth of yeast in women with recur-rent infections. Yogurt has got the spe-cialty proved with active cultures, also contain these bacteria. So take yogurt and strengthen your body’s naturaldefence. l|

Compiled by: Shirsho Sikder

Think before exercising

Don’t push yourself too much when you � rst start exercising or you may end up with injuries.  Your bones, joints and ligaments have been in rest mode for a while and are not prepared for the force you are about to put on them.  Build up slowly and steadily. Check your weight when you start exercising, but don’t use it as a guide to how much you are losing.  Muscle weighs heavier than fat so the pounds on the scales may not drop as quickly as you would like.  Also your weight will � uctuate throughout the day depending on your level of activity and what foods you have been eating. l

Get yourself moving

You don’t have to sign up to an expen-sive gym membership to get exercise.  Simple brisk walking is excellent for toning up legs and gently increasing your heart rate for aerobic bene� ts. Don’t expect to see immediate results when you start to exercise.  Remem-ber, it took a long time to get this out of shape. So, it is going to take some time to get that � gure back again. l

| Compiled by:

Dr Fuad Shaeed| Compiled by:

Gazi Kashif Yousuf

Aspirin may protect from colorectal cancern Prescription Desk

Taking a low-dose as-pirin every other day may reduce the risk

of colorectal cancer, according to a study published in the  Annals of In-ternal Medicine that focused on nearly 40,000 women aged 45 and older.

After 18 years of follow-up, research-

ers found a 20 percent reduction in co-lon cancer over the whole time period. In the follow-up of 10 to 18 years marked the rate of reduction up to 42 percent.

However, risks linked with aspi-rin, such as gastrointestinal bleeding, must be considered. Aspirin has been long known for its protective e� ects on heart health, but the protective e� ect of aspirin on colon and rectal cancer has only been found more recently.

In this study, the women assigned to the aspirin group were told to take a low dose (100 milligrams) of aspirin every other day. The comparison group took placebo pills on alternate days.

Though the study included only women, but the results would probably apply to men, too.

Even with the double bene� t of heart and colon protection, we really need to balance risks and bene� ts of aspirin the researchers said. Generally, daily 325 mg of aspirin is recommended for heart disease risk reduction. l

Source: Annals of Internal Medicine

FDA warns antihistamine like promethazine linked to deaths n Prescription Desk

Promethazine hy-drochloride is a drug widely used for children su� er-ing from allergies, running nose and vomiting. Federal health o� cials

warned parents and doctors not to give this drug to children younger than 2, after an incident of seven cases of death suspected to be linked to use of this antihistamine.

The Food and Drug Adminis-tration said in a safety alert that beyond the deaths, it also has re-ceived 22 reports of severe breath-ing problems associated with use of the allergy drug, all in children younger than the age of two.

The drug promethazine HCl, is sold by Wyeth under the brand name Phenergan as well as in vari-ous generic versions. The warn-ing covers all forms of the drug, including syrups, suppositories,

tablets and injectable liquids. This drug is also available in Bangladesh in di� erent brand names.

Parents also should use care in giving the drug to children older than 2, the FDA said.

The labels on all versions of the

drug have been updated to re� ect the strengthened warnings, the FDA said.

The drug, approved in 1951, is used to treat hay fever, stu� y or runny nose due to allergies and other minor allergies. l

Heartburn leads to throat cancer?

Heartburn, or re� ux, is no more related to heart conditions. It is a form of indigestion that occurs when acid and digestive juices � ow back up from the stomach to the gullet,

which doesn’t have a protective lining, so it causes in� ammation and pain. Heart-burn occurs when stomach acid backs up into your esophagus. Researchers proved that heartburn may very much lead to cancers on the throat and vocal cord. Pre-viously people had to be cautious regard-ing alcohol consumption and smoking to avoid this deadly disease but now it has been proven that heartburn may actually increase the risk even more.

Gastric re� ux can damage the cellular lining of the oesophagus, according to the researchers. People who experience frequent heartburn were found to have nearly 80% of increased risk even if they were not heavy drinkers or smokers. The full study appears in the Cancer Epidemi-ology, Biomarkers & Prevention journal and highlights that heartburn is a major risk factor for laryngopharyngeal squa-mous cell carcinoma or throat cancer.

However amongst all such concerns,

there is good news. People who su� er from constant heartburn taking antacids can lower the prospect. Researchers want to determine if it reduces the chance of getting this disease or has no real in� u-ence on it. Initial data suggests that antac-

ids may have a bene� cial aspect, but more research is required. For now we can say it can be treated by making lifestyle changes, such as losing weight, stopping smoking and reducing alcohol and caf-feine consumption and also intake of food that have too much spices and high-fat content. If that does not help then in such severe case surgery is the last option. l

HEALTHNEWS

HEALTHALERT

DID YOUKNOW?

Researchers proved that heartburn may very much lead to cancers on the throat and vocal cord. Previously people had to be cautious regarding alcohol consumption and smoking to avoid this deadly disease but now it has been proven that heartburn may actually increase the riskeven more.

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6 NationDHAKA TRIBUNE Saturday, August 24, 2013

Locals struggle to save Teesta dyke n Our Correspondent, Lalmonirhat

A 240 meter spur dyke on Teesta Riv-er is under threat of collapsing near Uttar Dawabari village of Hatibandha upazila in Lalmonirhat, which sits on the downstream of the Teesta bar-rage.

With 40 percent of the embank-ment already collapsed and no ini-tiative from the Water Development Board (WDB), local villagers have been volunteering to protect the embankment by dumping sacks of sand to strengthen its structural in-tegrity.

Locals alleged that WDB o� cials in Dalia, in unison with the contrac-tor, misappropriated around Tk3.5m in repair and maintenance fund for the embankment – which was allo-cated after it su� ered damages last year. This resulted in at least 40 per-cent of the embankment collapsing last week, they added.

“If the spur dyke completely col-lapses, many families in � ve villages of Dawabari union would become homeless by the erosion of Teesta River,” local villager Momenul Islam said, adding that at least one hun-dred local people are working as vol-

unteers to save the spur dyke in light of the WDB’s silence.

Toslim Uddin, another villager said residents of Dimla upazila in Nilphamari will also su� er if the spur dyke collapsed completely. He also alleged the WDB of showing a lack of cooperation in the ongoing e� orts by the volunteers.

Sub-Assistant Engineer of Da-lia WDB, Tobarak Hossain said, he performed his duties during repair and maintenance work to save the Spur Dyke, but claimed of having no knowledge about the funds.

Meanwhile, the Sub-Divisional Engineer of Dalia’s WDB, Mainud-din Mandal, refused to comment on the matter, saying the executive en-gineer directly controlled the entire work.

He also informed that over a hun-dred hired laborers are working with the local volunteers to save the em-bankment, adding that the WDB is determined to protect the spur dyke by any means necessary.

The Executive Engineer of Dalia’s WDB Mahbubur Rahman said a small section of the spur dyke collapsed after being hit by currents from up-stream. l

Strengthening police-people trust a must to curb crimes n Tribune Desk

Speakers at a view exchange meeting on community-based policing have called upon all for raising police-peo-ple mutual trust in curbing crimes and maintaining peace and harmony.

Nababganj Thana organised the meeting at its o� ce in Nababganj upa-zila town of Dinajpur with the assis-tance of Asia Foundation, RDRS Bang-ladesh and USAID yesterday.

Members of the upazila and Sadar union units of community based polic-ing committees, local community lead-ers, police o� cials, civil society mem-bers and local journalists took part in it.

Assistant Superintendent of Police

of Fulbari Circle of Dinajpur Police Shushanto Sarker attended it as the chief guest with O� cer-in-Charge (In-vestigation) of Nababganj police station Sambhudas Gupta Suman in the chair.

President of Nababganj Sadar union community based policing committee Amirul Islam, General Secretary Ha� zur Rahman, member Azizur Rahman, free-dom � ghter Mahmudul Islam, District

Coordinator of RDRS Bangladesh Nirmal Chandra Barman and Nabab-ganj Upazila Coordinator Abdur Raz-zaque, spoke.

The speakers called for improv-ing relationship between police and citizen through building mutual trust, partnership, information sharing and

strategic planning to address root caus-es of crimes instead of solving those on more time consuming case-by-case basis.

They urged the police and common people to break down longstanding barrier of mistrust and explore oppor-tunities of community based policing for strengthening police e� ectiveness to ensure citizens’ safety mobilizing lo-cal resources.

They suggested police o� cials for applying their communication and leadership techniques they learnt from di� erent training courses for aware-ness-raising, developing skill in crime analysis, response, intervention and evaluation. l

Guava growers bracing for heavy losses in Jhalakathin UNB

Last month’s incessant downpour and transportation woes have left Jhalakathi guava farmers counting heavy losses despite a bumper produc-tion.

About 30%-40% of the guava pro-duced reportedly got damaged in the orchards by rainfall.

On top of which, wholesalers were already rather reluctant in purchas-ing the highly perishable fruit from growers doubting whether they would arrive in Dhaka, and other districts, amid countrywide hartals enforced by the Jamaat-e-Islami after Eid-ul-Fitr.

Perturbed at the inevitable losses, the growers have sold guava at local mar-kets at lower prices.

Farmers in the district often have to incur large losses due to the lack of any storage facilities. While the prob-lems with transportation resulting in the produce arriving in the capital in 24 hours instead of the expected 7-8 hours, sources said.

Guava is cultivated on 700 hectares of land in Atghar-Kuriana, out of the total 1000 hectares in Swarupkathi upazila. Statistics show that there are 2,055 guava orchards in the upazila. Growers said motorised vessels were the main mode of transportation for

carrying guava. However, only two launches operate on the Swarupkathi-Dhaka route instead of four, every day. Due to space shortage in the two passenger launches, a small quantity of guava can be transported to Dhaka during the peak season of harvest for the fruit.

Farmers said if the businessmen along with the government do not come forward and farmers don’t get a fair price, they would lose interest in cultivating this lucrative produce, they expressed concerns. The farmers also urged the government to take steps im-mediately to promote farming of the fruit in the upazila. l

Panchagarh food procurement may fall short of target this year n UNB

The target of the government’s food procurement drive in Panchagarh is unlikely to be achieved this season due to stoppage of rice supply by the mill owners.

A syndicate of mill owners has stopping supplying rice to the food warehouses citing its market price to be higher than the government � xed price.

Traders said if the price of rice was not increased or the government did not provide necessary intensives, the target might su� er in the current sea-son.

An o� cial concerned said during the current Irri-Boro season, a target was set to purchase 14,690 tonnes of rice at Tk29 per kilogram in � ve upazi-las of the district.

To achieve the target, the Food De-partment signed an agreement with 400 mill owners of the district.

Among them, 300 mill owners have supplied 9,800 tonnes of rice to the warehouses so far while the rest 100 have not supplied any.

The District Food Department has sent a letter to the millers giving them a warning to ful� l the rest of the target immediately.

According to the agreement, the millers will purchase rice from the lo-cal markets and after processing it in their mills, they will supply the rice to the food warehouses.

Form the very beginning, the millers bought rice from outside the district, violating the conditions of the agree-ment, due to its lower price in the local markets, and provided the same to the warehouses.

When contacted, District Rice Mill Owners Association leader Mohammad Amirul Islam said as the price of rice increased suddenly many millers have failed to provide rice to the warehouses.

In this regard, a meeting of the Dis-trict Food Procurement Committee was held on Monday with participation of Deputy Commissioner Mohamamd Salah Uddin, where the district food controller was asked to send a letter to those who had not provided any rice yet to the warehouses to ensure their supply within next seven days.

Besides, the meeting also urged the government to provide intensive of Tk one or two per kg to the mill owners.

Acknowledging the price hike of rice in the local markets, District Food Con-troller Syed Nazrul Islam said as per the agreement the millers were bound to provide rice. l

Four killed in separate incidentsn Tribune report

Four people were killed in separate in-cidents in Jhenaidha, Gazipur and Ra-jbari.

In Jhenaidah, unidenti� ed miscre-ants shot a local Awami League leader at Panami village in sadar upazila on Thursday night.

The deceased was identi� ed as Sanaruddin Mandal, 55, general secre-tary of Harishankar union unit Awami League.

Police said a group of miscreants � red gunshots at Sanaruddin and stabbed him indiscriminately on his way home from Goalpara Bazar around 8:30pm, leaving him dead on the spot, reports UNB.

Kaliakoir police recovered the body of a man from a forest in the Baraichati area under Kaliakoir upazila yesterday,

said our Gazipur correspondent. The deceased was identi� ed as Rus-

sel Hossain, 25, of Kanchanpur village of the upazila.

Local sources said Russel lived at a rental house in Baraichati area with his mother.

On Thursday night Russel went out of his house and did not return back.

In Rajbari, two people were killed a in separate incidents.

A man, who went missing Thursday night, was found dead near a pond at Brammondia village in sadar upazila yesterday.

Police identi� ed the deceased as Nazmul Sheikh, 25, of village Kamalpur under Dadshi union.

Meanwhile, police recovered the body of an unidenti� ed man from Ka-likapur railway bridge area near the Machpara railway station. l

Three killed in road accidents in Mymensingh, Netrakona n Tribune Report

Three people were killed in separate road accidents that took place in My-mensingh and Netrakona yesterda.In Mymensingh, two motor-cyclists were killed and another was injured in a road accident at Ashrampara on Ha-luaghat-Nalitabari road in Haluaghat upazila.

The victims were Ma� zur Rahman Khan, 25, from the village of Chandsree in Haluaghat and Biplob Das, 28, from Kalibari area in Mymensingh town.

Meanwhile the injured, Appel, 24, from the village of Chandsree, was ad-mitted at Mymensingh Medical College and Hospital.

The accident took place when the motorcycle, driven by Ma� zur, hit a road side tree as its driver lost control around 1 pm, leaving the two dead on the spot and the other injured, said Emarat Hossain Gazi, o� cer-in-charge of Haluaghat police station.

Police recovered the bodies and a case was lodged. Meanwhile, at least one person was killed while 20 others were injured in a road accident on the Netrakona-Kalmakanda road at Gutora in Kalma-kanda upazila, Netrakona yesterday morning.

The deceased was identi� ed as Tam-izuddin, 65, from the upazila’s Jatrabari village.

Police and locals said the accident occurred when a Kalmakanda bound passenger bus from Netrakona reached Gutora at around 10am.

The driver lost control of the bus and fell into a road side ditch, leaving Tamizuddin dead on the spot and 20 others injured, they added.

Critically injured Azizur Rahaman, Abdul Hakim, Rawshon-Ara and Putul were sent to Mymensingh Medical Col-lege Hospital, while the rest were ad-mitted to a local health complex.

A case was � led with the Kalma-kanda police station regarding this in-cident.

Police seized the bus, but the driver had managed to � ee. l

Pirates unleash reign of terror in Bayn UNB

Pirates have created a reign of terror in the Bay of Bengal by kidnapping � sher-men for ransom, looting their valuables and killing.

According to Coast Guard, the gang members of notorious “Sirsha Bahini” and “Jahangir Bahini” kidnapped 140 � shermen along with 10 � shing trawl-ers from the Bay demanding Tk100m as ransom for their release over the last two weeks.

They also looted hilsa and other val-uables worth Tk50m, leaving some 50 � shermen injured.

As the incidents of piracy has taken an alarming proportion, leaders of local � shermen’s association raised question over the role of law enforcers, includ-ing the Coast Guard, in maintaining law and order in the coastal areas.

“The situation has gone out of proportion since early August,” said Didaruddin, president of Mohipur Wholesale Fish traders’ Association.

He alleged that the government was reluctant about the law and order

in the coastal areas though it got huge revenue from � sh traders, particularly that of hilsa.

He demanded that a temporary camp of elite force Rapid Action Battal-ion bet set in the Bay during the peak time of hilsa � shing and in winter.

Pirates, belonging to the “Sirsha Bahini,” kidnapped 40 � shermen with 40 � shing trawlers from Nakelbaria in the Bay on August 17 and demanded a ransom of Tk1om for their release. They looted � sh, � shing nets and other valuables worth Tk20m. They also kid-napped 50 other � shermen on August 2 and demanded Tk15m as ransom.

Meanwhile, pirates of the “Jahangir Bahini” kidnapped 50 � shermen from Boya area one and looted valuables worth Tk15m on August 15.

When contacted, Coast Guard west zone commander (Mongla) Captain Abdul Majed said their team had been working for rescuing the kidnapped � shermen. Coast Guard members ar-rested many pirates, recovered huge arms and rescue many � shermen in the last one month, he claimed. l

Local people of Uttar Dawabari under Hatibandha upazila in Lalmonirhat voluntarily working to save dyke from Teesta river erosion DHAKA TRIBUNE

A human chain was formed in front of the National Press Club in the capital yesterday, demanding measures to save Bhola district from river erosion DHAKA TRIBUNE

Metro 7DHAKA TRIBUNE Saturday, August 24, 2013

Commuters su� er as CNG drivers charge high faresn Tarek Mahmud, Chittagong

The CNG-run auto-rickshaw drivers charge commuters at their will in the port city defying the rule of counting fare on the meter.

Passengers complain that the driv-ers ask for the fares at their own will, and sometimes, demand almost twice the actual amount. The situation gets worse during school and o� ce hours in the morning and in the evening.

The commuters said they hardly got CNG-run auto-rickshaws without hag-gling over the fare as their drivers de-clined to run the meters for the drives. Many sources also con� rmed the fact.

A ride from Dewanhat to New Mar-ket should cost around Tk50 in a CNG-run auto-rickshaw, but the drivers were charging up to Tk80, said Nur Moham-mad, a computer engineer of Flora Computers in Chittagong.

Abdul Mannan, a schoolteacher, who regularly goes to his workplace by CNG-run auto-rickshaw, said the fare from the city’s Oxygen intersec-tion to Agrabad now stood at Tk150-Tk200, whereas he paid almost half the amount just a year ago. The commuters blame the three wheelers’ drivers for high fares while the transport workers attribute the excessive fare to the rising prices of daily essentials.

A CNG-run auto-rickshaw driver Md Anwar said he pays Tk800 to the owner of the three-wheeler every day.

Moreover, he said the gas price had shot up and he needs around Tk200 per day to � ll up the cylinder.

“So we have no other way but to charge high fares for our survival,” he added. Expressing the same opinion, another driver Faruk Hossain said the meters should be re-� xed taking into

account the increased cost of essentials.According to fare structure set by the

government in January 2011, commut-ers have to pay Tk25 for the � rst two ki-lometres and Tk7 for each subsequent kilometre. The waiting charge is Tk1.35 per minute.

Haider Azam Chowdhury, president of Chittagong District and general sec-retary of Chittagong City CNG-Run Au-to-Rickshaw Malik Chalok Oikya Pari-shad, admitted that the auto-rickshaw drivers charged extra fare from passen-gers. If auto-rickshaws run on meter there will be no hassle between pas-sengers and drivers. He called upon the government to re-� x the meter rates of CNG-run auto-rickshaws in consulta-tion with their owners and drivers.

Mohammad Shahidullah, assistant director of Bangladesh Road Transport Authority (BRTA), Chittagong division-al o� ce, claimed that they regularly conducts mobile court drives to check the irregularities in fares charged by au-to-rickshaw drivers.

He, however, puts emphasis on peo-ple’s awareness to this end.

“If commuters instantly inform the on-duty police personnel about charging extra fare by the drivers, it will be very much e� ective in checking the irregularities,” Shahidullah further said.

Additional Deputy Commissioner Tanvir Arafat (Tra� c-South) of Chit-tagong Metropolitan Police said they were very much active in this regard.

They regularly checked irregularities about charging additional fares by the CNG-run auto rickshaw drivers from the commuters and took action against those found guilty, he added.

According to BRTA, there are around 15,000 CNG-run auto-rickshaws plying across the port city roads. l

DSCC opens 10 cattle markets tendern Tribune Report

Dhaka South City Corporation on Thursday opened the tender box for 10 makeshift cattle markets in the city ahead of the holy Eid-ul-Azha.

Chief Estate O� cer of the DSCC Kha-lid Ahmed opened the tender box at Nagar Bhaban Auditorium in presence of bidders.

The highest bid of Tk21.1m, which is Tk22.7m less than last year’s bid, was proposed for Armanitola playground at Nayabazar. Moreover, price of Moradia Bazar of Khilgaon had also decreased Tk1.7m. As a result, the DSCC authori-ties announced invitation for re-tender to these two grounds.

Ninety � ve bidders have submitted their proposals to secure leases of the 10 markets.

The DSCC o� cials said no one would be allowed to set up cattle markets on roads and the DSCC would take actions if any such market was found. l

‘Professional skills must for success in banking sector’n Tribune Desk

Speakers asked the branch-level bank-ers to gain professional skills as it is inevitable for attaining success in the banking sector for overall socio-eco-nomic development of the region.

They urged them to make their banking activities client-friendly so that they get total bene� ts of the bank-ing service.

They were addressing the closing session of a � ve-day training course styled “Skill and Attitude Develop-ment” for the promoted o� cers of Ra-jshahi Krishi Unnayan Bank (Rakub) at its training institute here on Thursday afternoon.

RAKUB Chairman Prof Dr Shah Nawaz Ali addressed the session as the chief guest while Managing Director Mofazzal Hossain and Directors Saifud-din Ahmed and Prof Modon Mohan Dey spoke as special guests with prin-cipal of the institute Mozammel Haque in the chair.

The speakers highlighted the im-portance of the bank in agricultural

development of the northwest Bangla-desh and asked the o� cers to apply the knowledge acquired from the training in the professional � eld properly for boosting agricultural production in the region.

As the largest development partner in the agricultural sector of the north-west Bangladesh, RAKUB plays a vital role to earn economic emancipation and free the nation from poverty and hunger through boosting credit-� ow to the potential agricultural � elds, they added.

In this regard, they asked them to discharge their duties with utmost sin-cerity and honesty to brighten the im-age of the bank.

Main objective of the course was to improve skills and attitude alongside enhancing professional competence of the officers through disseminating ideas about operation, administra-tion and other related matters of the bank.

In two batches, a total of 52 branch level o� cers took part in the training course. l

Disaster management organisations need modern technologies and equipment n Tribune Report

The highest priority should be given to equipping the country’s disaster � ghting organisations with modern technologies and tools, so that e� ec-tive and immediate steps can be taken if any disasters like that of Rana Plaza take place in future, discussants said yesterday.

“We have seen that after the dead-liest building collapse, many organisa-tions and individuals came forward. Trained and untrained volunteers risked their lives by coming forward with machetes, axes, and torch lights— whatever they got in hand. Organ-isations like Fire Service and Civil Defence, Red Crescent, Armed forces went through hectic e� orts,” said Prof Jamilur Reza Chowdhury, while ad-dressing as the chief guest at the Safety workshop titled “Urban Disaster Re-sponse and Lessons learnt from Rana Plaza collapse” at a city auditorium.

“But they felt the shortage of es-sential rescue tools. During the second phase of massive rescue operations, army and � re � ghters were seen de-pending on heavy tools supplied by

private organisations,” Prof Chowd-hury added.

“In the future, if any kind of disas-ter happened in mass scale, we can’t imagine how the government or the people of the country will tackle it,” he observed.

Prof Jamilur Reza Chowdhury also emphasised on creating a team of trained volunteers, consisting of peo-ple who are interested in rescue oper-ations. Government should take the responsibility of training them, he said.

Speaking at the event, Maj Shakil, Deputy Director of Fire Service and Civil Defence said, the government should consider including volunteers’ training manuals in the textbooks to allow children to be brought up with a mentality of becoming rescuers during disasters.

He added, it is essential to collect full data on every natural and manmade di-saster that took place in the country in recent times. These data can be anal-ysed to � nd out future remedies.

Brigadier General Ali Ahmed Khan, director general of Fire Service and Civ-il Defence said the country should have groups of trained volunteers to assist

the regular forces and organisations during disasters.

“Volunteers’ and organisations’ ef-forts are splendid during disasters. But they lack in coordination. We should work on this regard,” he said.

Presenting the keynote paper, direc-

tor of Buet-Japan Institute of Disaster Prevention and Urban Safety, Tahmeed M. Al-Hussaini said, Rana Plaza col-lapse was an example of architectural faults.

“A construction company and its engineers built the � rst � oor of the

building. Rest of the building was con-structed upon Rana’s own will and sug-gestions by some masons. There was no sign of professionalism there,” he said.

Besides, extremely poor quality construction materials, and vibration caused by the generators on three of its � oors were responsible behind the nine-storey Rana Plaza collapse, the keynote speaker added.

On April 24, the manmade disaster left 1,132 people, most of them garment workers, dead and 2,000 more injured.

Al-Hussaini also said, a portion of the building was constructed on land which was previously a water body and was � lled with rubbish. Rana had permis-sion to build a six-story structure, but added two � oors illegally so he could rent them out to garment factories.

The building was not built for indus-trial use, and the weight of the heavy garment factory machinery and their vibrations contributed to the building collapse, he added.

The two-day long programme, ar-ranged by Safety Assistance for Emer-gencies (SAFE) and chaired by its chairperson Sadaf Saaz Siddiqi, will end today. l

Customers busy buying clothes at a holiday market which was set up in front of Shilpyakola Academy in the city yesterday MAHMUD HOSSAIN OPU

Sub-stations shortage hits smooth power supply at Gulshan, Banani n Tribune Desk

The scarcity of land for setting up new substations is impeding a move of Dhaka Electric Supply Company Ltd (Desco) to improve the power supply system in the city two posh areas – Gulshan and Banani.

According to official sources, De-sco, the state-owned power entity entrusted with the responsibility of power distribution in northwestern areas of the city, undertook a move more than two years ago to improve the electricity supply in different areas.

However, its move experienced a major setback when it proceeded with four projects to set up three lo-cal and one grid substations at Gul-shan and Banani.

The o� cials said the planned grid substation needs about 2 bighas (about 66 decimals) of land while each of the local substations (33/11 kV) requires at least 16 katha (26 dec-imals) of land, reports UNB.

Desco hardly found any private or public land to install the large appa-ratus earnestly needed for improve-ment of power supply in the city’s most posh areas where diplomatic enclaves are located as well.

“Desco repeatedly appealed to both private land owners and pub-lic entities to provide lands for the planned substations. It wants to pur-chase the lands at current rate. But, unfortunately none shows any inter-est to provide any land,” said Chief Engineer (planning) of the organisa-tion Habibur Rahman.

Even, Dhaka North City Corpora-tion also failed to provide any land for the electricity establishment, he noted.

He said the Desco � nally appealed to Rajdhani Unnayan Kartripakkha (Rajuk), the organisation entrusted with the responsibility of the capital city and also the land developer of the two posh areas.

Sources said the Rajuk outright expressed its inability to provide

any land in the areas. Desco placed names of some vacant lands includ-ing some portions of a newly created public park and playgrounds under the Rajuk authority.

But during meetings between two organisations, Rajuk refused to allo-cate the proposed land on plea of a court order, said a Desco o� cial.

O� cials said at present Desco has three substations at Gulshan and Ba-nani having supply capacity of about 170 MW power. The Desco forecast that the electricity demand in the two areas will go up to about 500 MW by 2020 with fast growing high-rise apartments and commercial build-ings there.

They said the Desco took up the three projects for setting up substa-tions to meet the future demand.

They also noted that applications of over 100 new multistoried com-mercial buildings remained pending with the Desco for its inability for ex-pansion of the electricity system due to lack of substations. l Tk1.63bn

contrabands seized in 8 months in Khulnan Tribune Desk

Members of Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB) seized Indian smuggled goods worth Tk1.63bn in Khulna division in the last eight months from January 1 till August 18.

The above information was dis-closed at a discussion meeting on pre-vention of human tra� cking and stop-page of smuggling of drugs and other goods, organised by BGB southwest region in Jessore, with regional com-mander and BGB Additional Director General Brigadier General Mohammad Rabiul Ibne Quamrul in the chair on Thursday.

At least 1,245 people were arrested by BGB foiling their intrusion attempt on the frontiers in Khulna from Janu-ary 1 till August 18.

Of them, 606 were arrested while trying to intrude into Bangladesh while 639 for bid to enter India illegally.

During the same period, BGB also seized 1,29,518 bottles of Indian Phen-sidyl syrup, 9085 kg heroin, 844 cans of beer, 12,604 bottles of liquor, 3782 bottles of alcohol, 193,893 pieces of sedative tablets, 3,125 kg hemp, eight pistols, two shutter guns, six air guns, 2.5 kg bomb making materials and 1,015 rounds of bullet. l

Prof Jamilur Reza Chowdhury addressing a discussion on disaster management in the city yesterday RAJIB DHAR

FULL RUSH AT HOLIDAY MARKET

Japan woman ties herself up to skip workA young Tokyo businesswoman tied herself up at home because she did not want to go to work, Japanese media reported Friday. The 20-year-old wom-an was found with her hands and legs bound with ropes and belts at her apart-ment in the capital’s west on Monday, the Sankei Shimbun said. The apartment owner discovered her unconscious but otherwise unhurt and called the police, fearing the woman had been the victim of a vicious home robbery. But detectives grew suspicious when they failed to turn up any evidence of forced entry to the � at.

Cameroon rally targets suspected gay barsMore than 100 young men and women in Cameroon’s capital posted anti-gay signs on bars suspected of being gay-friendly during a rally organised amid mounting threats and acts of violence targeting the country’s sexual minorities. The rally organised Wednes-day by the Association of Cameroonian Youth called for stricter enforcement of anti-gay laws, even though rights groups say the country already prose-cutes more gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender residents than any other in sub-Saharan Africa. Demonstrators also placed signs saying “Homosexuals Forbidden” and “No Gays in Cameroon” on various school buildings. Homosexu-al acts are punishable by up to � ve years in prison in Cameroon.

50-year-old mom arrested for placing hit on sonsSouth African police said Wednes-day they had arrested a 50-year-old woman for ordering the assassination of her two sons as part of a suspected life insurance scam. Police said the woman from Port Shepstone, south of Durban, recruited a relative to carry out the dou-

ble murder, but the man reported her to the police. The job was to be done for around $2,400, but she had requested a family discount. The woman promised the hitman three more jobs if he suc-cessfully pulled o� the two murders, the statement said. Police also found her in possession of insurance documents and four other identity cards.

Intruder found at Lopez’s Hamptons estate: policePolice say an intruder had been living for a week on Jennifer Lopez’s property in the Hamptons while she was away. Southampton police said Wednesday she had an order of protection against 49-year-old John Dubis of Rhode Island. Information on why the order was obtained wasn’t immediately available. Newsday says workers discovered Dubis in the pool house of the Water Mill mansion on Aug. 8. He was arraigned the following day on charges of burglary, criminal contempt, stalking and posses-sion of burglar tools. He’s being held on $100,000 bail. His next court date is Aug. 28.

US soldier apologises for Afghan shooting rampage A US Army sergeant who pleaded guilty to killing 16 villagers in a shooting spree in Afghanistan apologised Thursday to his victims’ families and said his behavior was cowardice. Robert Bales, 40, choked back tears as he spoke at a sentencing hearing over the worst war crime by an American soldier in Afghani-stan. Those gunned down included nine children. Bales, who came face to face with survivors of his rampage this week, is facing life in prison. He pleaded guilty in June to avoid the death penalty. The defence and prosecution are to give their closing arguments Friday. The six member military jury will then decide if Bales can ask for parole after serving 20 years behind bars.

WORLD WATCH

Saturday, August 24, 20138 DHAKA TRIBUNE International

Pakistani Taliban commander welcomes talks o� ern AP, Pakistan

A senior Pakistani Taliban commander welcomed the government’s recent of-fer to hold peace talks, raising the pos-sibility the militant group has changed its stance after shunning negotiations earlier this year.

Asmatullah Muawiya, head of the Taliban’s faction of � ghters from cen-tral Punjab province, said Prime Min-ister Nawaz Sharif “demonstrated political maturity” by reiterating his o� er to hold peace talks in a speech on Monday.

“If the present government takes an interest in solving matters serious-ly and with prudence, then there is no reason why jihadi forces active in Paki-stan shouldn’t respond to it positively,” Muawiya said in a statement sent to journalists Thursday.

The main Pakistani Taliban spokes-man, Shahidullah Shahid, said Muawi-ya was expressing his own opinion but was closely tied to the group’s leader-ship. Shahid said the leaders had not yet made a decision about whether to re-engage on peace talks. The leader-ship will hold a meeting Friday to dis-cuss Sharif’s o� er, but will never agree to lay down their arms, said Shahid.

Muawiya was the � rst person to in-

dicate at the end of last year that the Pakistani Taliban were open to holding peace talks. He sent a letter to a local newspaper outlining conditions for a cease-� re, including the imposition of Islamic law and an end to the govern-ment’s unpopular alliance with the US.

Pakistani Taliban leader Hakimullah Mehsud then released a video in which he said the group would consider a serious o� er to talk but would not lay down their weapons as a precondition.

Prime Minister Sharif, who took of-� ce in June, campaigned on a platform that indicated peace talks with the Taliban were the best way to end the group’s bloody insurgency, which has killed thousands of people in recent years.

But the Taliban withdrew their o� er to negotiate at the end of May after the group’s deputy commander was killed in a US drone strike.

Muawiya praised the government’s decision Sunday to halt all state exe-cutions temporarily, just days ahead of the planned hangings of several al-Qaida-linked militants. He threatened in an interview with The Associated Press last week that the Taliban would target the leaders of the ruling Pakistan Muslim League-N if the militants were hanged. l

Pakistan’s ruling party consolidates grip on power in new votesn Reuters, Islamabad

Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Shar-if’s party has consolidated its hold on power, results from by-elections re-leased on Friday showed, cementing its ability to push through unpopular reforms aimed at kick-starting the stag-nating economy.

Sharif began a third term as premier after the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz party won a landslide victory in national polls in May. He has since been attempting to stamp his authority on a nation long plagued by instability and violence.

The results showed his party won at least another � ve seats in the 15 by-elections held on Thursday, rein-forcing its comfortable majority with at least 189 seats in the 342-seat National Assembly.

The by-elections on Thursday were held in seats that were forced to annul results from the May vote because of violence or because candidates had since vacated their seats, among other reasons.

The populist Pakistan Peoples’ Par-ty, which held power for � ve years be-fore Sharif’s victory, won three seats, with corruption a lingering concern

among voters.Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf, led by

former cricket star Imran Khan, also won two seats after promising to crack down on graft.

The secular Awami National Party, which has frequently been attacked by the Taliban in their stronghold in Pa-kistan’s often lawless northwest, also won one seat.

Turnout from the polling was gener-ally lower than the May vote, Pakistani media reported, and several areas re-ported problems.

In Peshawar, the High Court inter-vened to stop vote counting in two ar-eas and ordered polls to be held again amid reports that elders had prevented women from voting.

Another poll was postponed amid security fears in the town of Dera Is-mail Khan, where a militant raid on a jail freed 250 prisoners last month.

In the � nancial centre of Karachi, a roadside bomb aimed at a military vehicle on election duty on Thursday killed a soldier and a civilian, as well as wounding 20 people, said Seemin Ja-mali, a doctor from the Jinnah medical centre.

The Pakistani Taliban claimed re-sponsibility for the attack, saying it was their response to the government’s o� er of peace talks if the militants put down their arms.

“We wanted to convey a message to ... Nawaz Sharif that we would never lay down arms for the sake of mean-ingless talks and today’s attack was to prove that we can strike wherever we wish,” Taliban spokesman Shahidullah Shahid said. l

Pakistan frees Indian � shermen amid Kashmir tensions n AFP, Karachi

Pakistan on Friday released nearly 340 Indian � shermen held for violating terri-torial waters, amid high tensions over the disputed Himalayan territory of Kashmir.

The move is part of an understand-ing between the nuclear-armed rivals to release citizens who mistakenly stray into each other’s waters.

“Today, we have released 337 Indian � shermen and seven other juveniles and they are leaving for Lahore,” where they will be handed to Indian author-ities at the Wagah border crossing on Saturday, Shuja Haider, a senior o� cial at Karachi’s Malir jail, said.

The release had been sped up as a goodwill gesture to India, o� cials said.

Sporadic � ring in recent weeks across the heavily militarised Line of Control (LoC), the de facto border in Kashmir, has sent tensions between the neighbours soaring. Kashmir has been in dispute since India and Paki-stan gained independence from Britain in 1947, with both sides claiming it in full but controlling only part, and vio-lence � ares from time to time.

The latest round was triggered by a raid on August 5 that left � ve Indian soldiers dead, blamed by Delhi on the Pakistani military. l

Israel strikes in Lebanon after rocket attackn AFP, Jerusalem

The Israeli air force carried out an at-tack in Lebanon on Friday, the army said, hours after militants there � red four rockets at the Jewish state.

“The IAF (Israeli air force) targeted a terror site located between Beirut and Sidon in response to a barrage of four rockets launched at northern Israel yesterday,” a statement from the army read.

“The pilots reported direct hits to the target.”

Defence sources said the attack took place near Naameh.

Two of the four rockets � red from Lebanon on Thursday had hit populat-ed areas, causing damage but no inju-ries.

The attack was claimed by the Ab-dullah Azzam Brigades -- an Al-Qaeda-linked group which had claimed similar rocket � re on Israel in 2009 and 2011.

The Israeli army reiterated in its Friday statement it “holds the Leba-nese government accountable for the attack.” l

Malaysia court frees two police o� cers in murder casen AFP, Kuala Lumpur

A Malaysian court Friday overturned a 2009 murder conviction for two police o� cers in a scandal that has fascinated the nation and saw critics try to draw a link to Prime Minister Najib Razak.

Azilah Hadri and Sirul Azhar Umar were convicted of the 2006 killing of Mongolian national Altantuya Shaa-riibuu, a 28-year-old model and inter-preter at the centre of allegations of huge kickbacks in a government pur-chase of French submarines.

Their acquittal led activists to call for an independent inquiry to reopen the case into who killed the woman and her link, if any, to the submarine deal.

Defence lawyer Hazman Ahmad said: “justice has been done.”

“Both the accused have been acquit-ted and discharged. They are free men now.”

Prosecutors said the government would appeal the decision.

Government critics have long al-leged that the two men, members of an elite police unit that guards top minis-ters, were the fall guys in the killing to hide the involvement of their masters at the highest levels of government.

A three-judge appeals panel ruled that a lower court had erred, for ex-ample failing to connect the men to explosives used to blow up the vic-tim’s body, the news portal Malaysian Insider said.

The decision triggered an immedi-ate reaction on Malaysian social media, with many calling it part of a conspir-acy to free the men in return for their silence.

Cynthia Gabriel, a member of op-position-leaning human rights group Suaram, called for an independent in-quiry to question all those implicated, including the prime minister.

“It’s a completely shocking verdict,” she told AFP. “This really calls now for a full and thorough investigation into her death. Who killed her?”

“I think the justice system is not ready to deal with all the elements of this case.”

Najib has vehemently denied any involvement in the a� air, but the gov-ernment has repeatedly ignored calls for a probe.

At the request of Suaram, French judicial o� cials opened an investiga-tion in March 2010 into the sale of the two submarines, which were made by French shipbuilder giant DCNS.l

UN says Syrian child refugees top one million markn AP, Geneva

The number of registered child  refu-gees � eeing Syria’s violence has topped the 1 million mark in another grim milestone of the deepening con� ict, two UN agencies said Friday.

Roughly half of all the nearly 2 mil-lion registered refugees from Syria are children, and some 740,000 of those are under the age of 11, according to the UN refugee and children’s agencies.

“This one millionth child refugee is not just another number,” said Antho-ny Lake, the head of UNICEF, the UN children’s agency. “This is a real child ripped from home, maybe even from a family, facing horrors we can only be-gin to comprehend.”

The children’s ordeals are not over once they escape  Syria, said Antonio Guterres, the head of the O� ce for the UN High Commissioner for  Refugees, known as UNHCR.

“Even after they have crossed a border to safety, they are traumatized, depressed and in need of a reason for hope,” he said.

His agency said it tries to ensure that babies born in exile are provided with birth certi� cates, preventing them from becoming stateless, and that all refugee families and children live in some form of safe shelter.

But the threats to  refugee  children are rising, the agencies say, including child labour, early marriage and the potential for sexual exploitation and tra� cking. More than 3,500 children in Jordan, Lebanon and Iraq have crossed  Syria’s  borders unaccompa-nied or separated from their families, according to the UN � gures.

The agencies say some 7,000 chil-dren are among the more than 100,000 killed in the unrest in Syria, which be-gan in March 2011 and later exploded into a civil war. l

Gang rape of journalist shocks Mumbai, � ve identi� edThe female journalist was on assignment to take pictures of the neighbourhoodn AP, New Delhi

A young photojournalist was gang  raped  while her male colleague was tied up and beaten in an isolated, overgrown corner of India’s business hub of Mumbai, police said Friday. The case was reminiscent of the December gang rape and death of a young univer-sity student in the Indian capital that shocked the country.

The attack took place in Lower Par-el, a onetime textile-manufacturing neighbourhood of south  Mumbai  that over the past decade has changed dra-matically. yesterday, upscale malls, trendy restaurants and super-luxury condominiums sit side-by-side with abandoned textile mills and sprawling slums.

Police said the woman was on as-signment to take pictures of the neigh-bourhood Thursday evening when � ve men confronted her and her colleague. After initially o� ering to help her get permission to shoot inside a crumbling, isolated building, they became aggres-sive and accused the male colleague of

being involved in a local crime.When he denied involvement in the

crime, they tied his hands with a belt and took the woman to another part of the compound and took turns  rap-ing her, Mumbai’s Police Commissioner Satyapal Singh told reporters. The attack

took place at about 7pm on Thursday.On Friday, police arrested one sus-

pect in the attack and he had named and identi� ed the other four men, Singh said. While police have released sketches of the four men, Singh would not give their names or other details,

saying authorities did not want to give them any warning that they were being sought. Singh said the men may have been local drug dealers.

The woman, 22, is in stable condi-tion in a hospital. Police declined to say who the woman was working for at the time of the attack.

The assault comes amid height-ened concerns about sexual violence in India. The gang  rape  and death of the student on a bus in New Delhi in December had shaken a country long inured to violence against women and sparked protests demanding better protection for women.

In response, the government passed a stringent law increasing prison terms for rape and making voyeurism, stalking, acid attacks and the tra� ck-ing of women punishable under crim-inal law.

The attack was discussed in India’s Parliament, where junior Home Minis-ter RPN Singh told lawmakers that the government had asked the state of Ma-harashtra, of which Mumbai is the capi-tal, for a detailed report on the attack. l

400-year-old Hong Kong tree to be chopped downn AFP, Hong Kong

A 400-year-old banyan tree in Hong Kong will be cut down, authorities said Friday, after being hit by a fungal disease brought on when a park devel-opment starved its roots of oxygen and nutrients.

Nestled in the heart of the city in Kowloon Park, the tree, Hong Kong’s oldest Chinese banyan, has been in-fected with the deadly brown root rot disease that authorities fear could spread to others nearby.

A third of the tree collapsed in a 2007 typhoon, but the enormity of it still amazes passersby as they walk near its towering trunk, 22 metres high (72 feet) with a crown spread of 27 me-tres.

“No other banyan tree was as old as this one, none was as big as this one,” chair of Hong Kong University geogra-

phy department Jim Chi-yung said, ex-plaining that it had existed during the time of the Qing Dynasty.

But authorities were left with no choice but to fell the giant tree, fondly known as ‘King Banyan’, because of the risk it posed to others in the vicinity, he added.

“It has become a locus of disease spread we don’t want it to a� ect other trees in the vicinity or in the district,” Jim, who also served on a government expert panel that made the decision said.

The tree was diagnosed with the in-fection in 2009 and other trees in the area were also found infected with it earlier this year, a government spokes-woman said.

“It is considered that the tree has little chance of recovery,” she said, adding that it will be removed in Sep-tember. l

Indian policemen inspect the site where a female journalist was gang raped AP

Pakistani PM Nawaz Sharif REUTERS

Syrian refugees wait for food aid at Kawergost refugee camp in Iraq AP

The Pakistani Taliban claimed responsibility for the attack, saying it was their response to the government’s o� er of peace talks if the militants put down their arms

Ban pushes Syria for chemical attack probeSyria o� ers no public response to UN calls for inspecting attack site

n Reuters, United Nations

UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon on Friday renewed his push for Syria to allow UN inspectors immediate access to investigate allegations that the gov-ernment carried out a deadly chemical weapons attack on the outskirts of Da-mascus.

“I can think of no good reason why any party, either government or op-position forces - would decline this opportunity to get to the truth of the matter,” the UN chief told a diplomatic forum in Seoul.

Syria’s government has o� ered no public response to UN calls for its team to inspect the site of the attack, which opponents of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad said killed from 500 to well over 1,000 people.

They said more bodies were being found in the wake of Wednesday’s mysterious pre-dawn killer fumes, which the Syrian government insists were not its doing.

The administration of US President Barack Obama said it was “appalled” by the death reports.

A US o� cial familiar with initial in-telligence assessments said the attack appeared to be the work of the Assad government. It was “the regime acting as a regime,” the o� cial said. But the Obama administration made clear that any response would await con� rma-tion of a chemical attack and its origin.

French Foreign Minister Laurent Fa-

bius said world powers must respond with force if allegations that Syria’s government was responsible for the deadliest chemical attack on civilians in a quarter-century prove true. But Fabius stressed there was no question of sending in troops on the ground.

Talk of a forceful foreign response remains unlikely to be translated into rapid, concerted action given division between the West and Russia at Wednes-day’s UN Security Council meeting, and caution from Washington on Thursday.

Moscow has said rebels may have released gas to discredit Assad and urged him to agree to a UN inspection. On Wednesday, Russian objections to Western pressure on Syria saw the Security Council merely call in vague

terms for “clarity” - a position increas-ingly frustrated Syrian rebels described as “shameful.”

The State Department said senior US and Russian diplomats would meet in The Hague next Wednesday to discuss ending Syria’s civil war, in what would be the � rst such meeting since allega-tions of the chemical attack.

A senior State Department o� cial said chemical weapons would also be discussed at the meeting. The meeting had previously been announced, but no date had been released.

Ban said he would send a top UN disarmament o� cial, Angela Kane, to lobby the Syrian government in person and expected a swift, positive answer. l

Brotherhood fails to show street powern Reuters, Cairo

Mass protests called by Egypt’s Muslim Brotherhood mostly failed to materi-alise on Friday as the movement reeled from a bloody army crackdown on fol-lowers of ousted President Mohamed Morsi.

Troops and police had taken rela-tively low-key security measures be-fore the “Friday of Martyrs” proces-sions that were to have begun from 28 mosques in the capital after weekly prayers.

But midday prayers were cancelled at some mosques and there were few signs of major demonstrations unfold-ing in Cairo.

“We are not afraid; it’s victory or death,” said Mohamed Abdel Azim, a retired oil engineer who was among about 100 people marching slowly from a mosque near Cairo University.

“They intend to strike at Muslims,” the grey-bearded Azim said. “We’d rather die in dignity than live in op-pression. We’ll keep coming out until there’s no one left.”

Some marchers carried posters of Morsi, who was toppled by army chief General Abdel Fattah al-Sisi on July 3 after huge demonstrations against his rule. “No to the coup,” they chanted.

Egypt has endured the bloodiest civil unrest in its modern history since August 14 when police destroyed pro-test camps set up by Morsi’s supporters in Cairo to demand his reinstatement.

The violence has alarmed Egypt’s Western allies, but US President Barack Obama acknowledged that even a deci-sion to cut o� US aid to Cairo might not in� uence its military rulers.

Some US lawmakers have called for a halt to the $1.5bn a year in mostly mil-itary assistance to Egypt.

“The aid itself may not reverse what the interim government does,” Obama said in an interview with CNN. “But I

think what most Americans would say is that we have to be very careful about being seen as aiding and abetting ac-tions that we think run contrary to our values and our ideals.”

He said the United States was re-evaluating its ties with Egypt. “There’s no doubt that we can’t return to business as usual, given what’s hap-pened,” he said.

The Brotherhood, hounded by

Egypt’s new army-backed rulers, had called for demonstrations across the country against the crackdown, testing the resilience of its battered support base.

A few dozen Islamists, many of them women, marched in an old Cairo district. Some carried Egyptian � ags or rolled-up Morsi posters. Others held umbrellas to ward o� the afternoon sun. l

InternationalDHAKA TRIBUNE Saturday, August 24, 2013 9

Russia tells Syria to cooperate in chemical proben AFP, Damascus

Russia on Friday urged Syria’s govern-ment to cooperate with UN experts over claims it waged deadly chemi-cal weapons attacks, as calls grew for international action over the alleged atrocity.

The UN children’s agency UNICEF said, meanwhile, that one million Syri-an children now live as refugees abroad as a result of the country’s 29-month con� ict.

Russia’s Foreign Minister Sergei Lav-rov, in a statement issued after he held a telephone conversation with his US counterpart John Kerry, called for rebel � ghters to allow UN inspectors safe ac-cess to areas where chemical weapons are alleged to have been used.

“It is now up to the opposition to ensure safe access for the mission to the site of the alleged incident,” said Lavrov.

Both Lavrov and US Secretary of State Kerry agreed on the need for an “objective investigation,” his ministry said in a statement.

“Common interest was expressed in an objective investigation by a UN ex-pert mission, which is currently in the country, in connection with the reports about the possible use of chemical weapons in a Damascus suburb.”

UN Secretary General Ban said there was “no time to lose” in probing the al-leged attacks, and urged Damascus to allow a UN team already on the ground to begin an investigation without delay.

UN-Arab League envoy Lakhdar Brahimi warned the con� ict is “the big-gest threat to peace and security in the world.” l

Britain operates secret monitoring station in Middle Eastn Reuters, London

Britain runs a secret monitoring station in the Middle East to intercept large numbers of telephone calls, emails and internet tra� c that it shares with intel-ligence agencies in the United States, the Independent newspaper reported on Friday.

The station is part of a 1.56bn global eavesdropping project run by Britain to intercept digital communications, the newspaper said, citing leaked documents from former US National Security Agency contractor Edward Snowden.

Snowden’s leaks have sparked a global surveillance scandal that has pitted US President Barack Obama against the Kremlin and prompted British Prime Minister David Camer-on’s advisers to demand the return of secrets from the Guardian news-paper.

The London-based Independent, which did not say how it got access to the information from the Snowden documents, said the British had tapped into the underwater � ber-optic cables which pass through the Middle East.

Data gleaned from the monitoring station, whose exact location the In-dependent said it would not reveal, is

then passed onto Britain’s eavesdrop-ping agency in Cheltenham, England, and shared with the US National Secu-rity Agency.

Britain’s monitoring station in the Middle East was set up under former Foreign Secretary David Miliband, who served in that post between 2007 and 2010, the Independent said.

Britain’s foreign ministry declined comment. A spokesman for GCHQ could not be reached for immediate comment on the report.

Snowden’s leaks have embarrassed both Britain and the United States by laying bare the extent of their surveil-lance programs. London and Washing-ton say their spies operate within the law and that the leaks have damaged national security.

British police said on Thursday that documents seized from the partner of a Guardian journalist who has led cov-erage of Snowden’s leaks were “highly sensitive,” and could put lives at risk if it fell into the wrong hands.

Counter-terrorism detectives said they had begun a criminal investiga-tion after looking at material taken from David Miranda, partner of Ameri-can journalist Glenn Greenwald, during his nine-hour detention at Heathrow Airport on Sunday. l

UN peacekeepers in Congo ordered to protect civiliansn Reuters, Goma, Congo

The head of the UN mission in Congo on Thursday ordered peacekeeping troops to act to protect civilians after shelling hit the city of Goma in renewed � ght-ing between the army and M23 rebels.

The � ghting close to Goma, a city of a million people on the Rwandan bor-der, comes after a relative lull in the 18-month rebellion. Late last month, the United Nations pledged to keep the M23 rebels out of range of the town, which they brie� y seized last year.

Rwanda, which has long had strained relations with its neighbour, accused the Congolese army of delib-erately � ring artillery into its territo-ry. Kinshasa denied the reports and repeated its accusation that Rwanda backs M23. Rwanda denies it.

Martin Kobler, head of the UN mission known as MONUSCO, said populated ar-eas and UN positions had been directly attacked during the clashes on Thursday.

“I have ordered the MONUSCO Force to react and to take necessary action to protect civilians and prevent an ad-vance by the M23,” he said, without elaborating. l

Syrian chemical weapons a ‘grave concern’: Obaman AFP, Washington

US President Barack Obama said in an interview broadcast Friday that new al-legations of chemical weapons use by Syrian forces were of “grave concern.”

But he cautioned against the United States intervening hastily and getting “mired in very di� cult situations” with actions that could “breed more resentment” in the region.

In an interview with CNN he said opposition allegations that hundreds of people had been killed in a gas attack near Damascus on Wednesday were more serious than previous charges against President Bashar al-Assad’s re-gime.

“We are right now gathering infor-mation about this particular event, but I can say that unlike some of the evidence we were trying to get earlier that led to a UN investigator going into Syria, what we’ve seen indicates clear-ly this is a big event, of grave concern,” he said.

Obama stopped short of saying point blank the United States believes such weapons were used -- an act that in theory would cross what he has called a “red line.”

He reiterated that the United States is seeking to gather more evidence on whether chemical weapons were in fact used this week.

The president has been loath to or-der US military action to protect civil-ians in Syria, fearing being drawn into a vicious civil war, just soon after he extracted US troops from Iraq.

But revulsion over video footage and photos of dead children blanketing the US media has reopened the debate

about a policy Obama allies see as pru-dent but critics brand as weak.

Republican Senator John McCain warned Thursday that Obama had given Assad a “green light” to com-mit atrocities by failing to use military force to respond to previous chemical attacks.

“When the president of the United States says that if he uses these weap-ons that it would be a, quote, ‘red line and a game-changer,’ (Assad) now sees that as a green light,” he said.

Obama answered McCaine in the new CNN interview, saying he under-stood the lawmaker’s worry but that the United States had to proceed with caution.

“I am sympathetic to Senator Mc-Cain’s passion for helping people work through what is an extraordinarily dif-� cult and heart-breaking situation,” he said.

But Obama said Americans expect him to protect their long term interests.

“Sometimes what we’ve seen is folks will call for immediate action, jumping into stu� that does not turn out well, gets us mired in very di� cult situations, can result in us being drawn in to very expensive, di� cult, costly interventions that actually breed more resentment in the region,” he said. l

Tunisia opposition rejects ruling Islamists’ concessionn AFP, Tunis

Tunisia’s opposition coalition on Fri-day rejected proposals by the ruling Islamists for ending a month-long po-litical crisis, saying their o� er to enter talks on a government of technocrats was insu� cient.

“All negotiations without the imme-diate dissolution of the government are a waste of time,” said Taieb Baccouche, a representative of the National Salva-tion Front.

He was speaking after meeting members of the UGTT trade union confederation, which has been medi-ating between the two sides and which forwarded the ruling Ennahda party’s proposals.

Jilani Hammami, another NSF rep-resentative, described Ennahda’s pro-posals, the details of which were not communicated to the press, as ambig-uous.

Ennahda indicated on Thursday, for the � rst time since the start of the crisis triggered by the assassination of opposition MP Mohamed Brahmi, that it might agree to the resignation of the coalition government which it heads.

But the Islamists stressed that a “national dialogue” bringing together supporters and opponents of the ruling coalition needed to take place � rst.

“We are going to keep up the pres-sure for the government’s dissolution, we have a plan to step up the mobili-sation on the ground,” Hammami said.

The opposition has called for na-tionwide anti-government demonstra-tions, starting on Saturday, with the � rst big gathering to take place outside the national assembly.

Activists and opposition MPs have gathered regularly outside parliament over the past month, with two pro-tests, on August 6 and 13, drawing tens of thousands of people.

The UGTT, which boasts some 500,000 members and is capable of bringing the country to a standstill, has been central to the negotiations, shut-tling between the Islamists and the op-position in a bid to break the deadlock.

Beyond the composition of the government itself, Ennahda wants the national dialogue to address other key political di� erences, including on the new constitution, which has been re-peatedly delayed. l

Rival Koreas strike deal on family reunionsn AFP, Seoul

South and North Korea agreed Friday to go ahead with reunions next month for families separated for decades by the 1950-53 Korean War, Seoul said.

The reunions will be held on Sep-tember 25-30 at the North’s Mount Kumgang resort, South Korea’s Uni� -cation Ministry said in a press brie� ng.

The ministry said 100 families from each side would be selected to take part in the temporary reunion pro-

gramme, the � rst in three years.“With today’s agreement, we set the

stage for regular family reunions,” min-istry spokesman Kim Hyung-Suk said.

The two sides will push for another round of family reunions probably in November, he said. The push to restart the reunions was initiated last week by South Korean President Park Geun-Hye.

The reunion programme was sus-pended after the North’s shelling of a South Korean border island in Novem-ber 2010. l

Twin blasts kill 19 in Lebanon’s Tripolin AFP, Tripoli

Two powerful explosions, minutes apart, killed at least 19 in Lebanon’s main northern city of Tripoli on Friday, a security o� cial said.

“Another 35 people were wounded,” the o� cial added.

The � rst blast rocked the city centre near the home of outgoing Prime Min-ister Najib Mikati, although his o� ce said he was not in Tripoli at the time.

The second struck near the port of the restive city with a Sunni Muslim majority, close to the home of for-mer police chief Ashraf Ri� , a security source said.

Lebanese television channels aired footage of buildings with their fronts blown in and vehicles ablaze, as by-standers rushed to help the wounded.

Tripoli, on the Mediterranean coast, has been marred by deadly violence be-tween Sunnis, who support the armed uprising in neighbouring Syria, and Alawites who support President Bashar al-Assad.

The explosions come a week after a suicide car bombing killed 27 people in a Beirut stronghold of the Lebanese Shiite movement Hezbollah, which is � ghting alongside Assad’s forces. l

UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon listens to South Korean Prime Minister Chung Hong-won during their meeting at the Government Complex in Seoul AFP

Republican Senator John McCain warned Thursday that Obama had given Assad a “green light” to commit atrocities by failing to use military force to respond to previous chemical attacks

South Korean working-level delegation chief Lee Duk-haeng, right, shakes hands with his North Korean counterpart Park Yong Il AP

Egyptian soldiers stand guard as they close one of the entrances to Tahrir Square in Cairo REUTERS

Let justice run its course

The AL-led government needs to rethink its decision to withdraw the 72 cases � led against its members, when they held posts as opposition leaders and

activists during 2001-2006, as such an act debilitates the justice process in this country.

Whether these cases are indeed politically-motivated and intended for harassment, as the government claims as the rationale behind the withdrawal, or mere excuses for evading justice, a scenario which we have seen transpir-ing far too often, the process of justice must be allowed to continue.

Indeed, it is alarming that the government is already consid-ering a total of 7,101 cases for withdrawal, of which 345 were � led by the ACC.

By including the ACC cases among those that may be with-drawn, the government is tying its hands.

If the AL government is in-deed serious about curtailing corruption, it should not be taking any steps that negate the actions of the ACC.

The ACC must be allowed to carry out its duties with-out obstruction, and that includes allowing the cases that it has brought to continue their course.

Justice is an integral part of a democracy. Without proper oversight, there is no justice, and, hence, the government must reconsider its decision to withdraw the cases.

Act now to protect the indigenous communities Justice for the victims of the Taindong attack in the

Chittagong Hill Tracts is being demanded by civil society representatives, law-makers and journalists.

The government should heed their call and ensure that adequate measures are taken against the perpetrators, not only for the sake of justice for the victims but also to protect peace in this volatile region.

On August 3, Bangali settlers allegedly attacked 11 indigenous villages in the Taindong area. 36 houses were burnt to ashes and around 400 houses and two Buddhist temples were plundered and vandalised by the attackers.

The representatives of the various groups demanding justice have claimed that the attack was part of a systematic campaign to grab the land of the indigenous people. Human rights groups have previously accused the land administration body and law enforcement of routinely siding with the Bangali settlers over the indigenous population.

The fact that incidents like this keep happening with alarming frequency, in spite of the protestations of vari-ous rights groups, demonstrates the entrenched discrimi-nation that the indigenous communities face.

Leaving these types of attacks against a vulnerable population unpunished is not only shameful for the nation, but it also calls into question the good will of the government in implementing the peace process in the CHT region.

The government needs to ensure that the Taindong victims are properly compensated and exemplary punishment is given to the perpetrators before the trust between the communities and the prospect of peace is further damaged.

Memories unfaded as the nation mourns BangabandhuAugust 20

Shortly after he was released after the so-called Agartala conspiracy case in 1968, I had the good fortune to meet Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman. It seemed like a miracle to me when I met this giant statesman and political leader, the founder and architect of independent Bangladesh. As a college student, I was used to hearing his voice on radio and seeing his picture in print media. But I had never seen him face to face before.

Around June/July-1969, my � rst cousin married the daughter of Mir Ashrafuddin Makhan, the husband of Bangabandhu’s niece. In that marriage ceremony Bangabandhu was invited with his family to attend the marriage ceremony of Mukta, daughter of Bangabandhu’s niece.

In Bangabandhu’s recently published “Un� nished memoirs,” written while he was a state prisoner between 1967 and 1969, he mentions ‘’Mir Makhan” in a number of his real life stories.

The late Mir Ashrafuddin and Bangabandhu studied together in Kolkata’s Islamia College and lived in the Muslim Baker Hostel. Mir Ashrafuddin Makhan had many notable relatives including two sons-in-law who became joint secretaries in independent Bangladesh. Another son-in-law was the late Anwarul Huq Manik who was sales manager of P� zer, the multinational pharmaceutical company. Other relatives include Nayeem Gaha, a noted poet, lyricist and national Independence awardee and the late Barrister Kazi Ahmed Kamal who was also a hostel mate of Bangabandhu

Let us come to our main discussion, how I met this legendary personality Bangabandhu. Both the bride and bridegroom were relatives, with the groom being the younger brother of noted poet, Nayeem Gahar. I was loitering near the narrow lane (Gali) at Arambagh, the time was near about 1:30pm, when an old white Toyota car stopped very close by.

I spotted Bangabandhu getting down from the car and look right and left. Although I guessed he had come to attend the marriage ceremony, I quickly approached him to ask whether he had come to attend the social function of Mir Ashrafuddin.

Bangabandhu was wearing black spectacles and a traditional white Panjabi and pyjama out� t. He was smiling when he spoke, while holding his long-practiced pipe in his left hand, and asked me the whereabouts of Mir Ashraf, saying “Oh! Yes, where is the residence of Mir Ashrafuddin? Lead me up to his residence.” I promptly threw a question. “How could I dare to lead a personality like you? You are leading the Bangalee nation.”

He did not say anything but smiled sweetly. His wonderful smiling face still � ashes in my mind’s eye. Whenever I remember him, I cannot control my tears. Anyway, I showed him the path and led him to Mir Ashraf’s residence. Kazi, Kamal and Nayeem Gahar were also present. They hugged and exchanged greetings.

As the nation observed his Mourning Day on August 15, I recalled how Bangabandhu led the Bangali nation with indomitable courage, patriotism, farsightedness and dynamic leadership. The rest of the killers of Bangabandhu should be brought to the gallows without delay.

“Death is the golden key that opens the palace of eternity.”-John Milton

May Allah rest his soul in eternal peace!

Kazi Liakat Hossain

Editorial10

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DHAKA TRIBUNE Saturday, August 24, 2013

LETTER OF THE DAY

CALVIN AND HOBBES

PEANUTS

Letters to the Editor

Jurgensen hopes for ‘Banglawash’August 20

Nice word invention.Nabila Binte Zahur

The government should ensure that adequate measures are taken against the perpetrators, not only for the sake of justice for the victims but also to protect peace in this volatile region

The ACC must be allowed to carry out its duties without obstruction, and that includes allowing the cases that it has brought to continue their course

How to solve Sudoku: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 num-ber repeating.

Potential neglected: Worker engaged in hazardous taskAugust 21

Sheikh Jinat Mahmid The photo is really outstanding. The fire sparks!!! But the story behind the photo is really sad. They are oblivious of the risk!

Salim Ahmed But dear friend, there are none to see or think about this labour.

Popo Lwin Feyona Excellent pic! One of the best I have ever seen! Hard-working boy, you are so awesome.

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Crossword

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SUDOKU

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11Op-Ed Saturday, August 24, 2013DHAKA TRIBUNE

Cox’s Bazar bluesn Tim Steel

According to recently published � gures from the US, injuries and fatalities in personal

watercraft (PWC) accidents worldwide exceed 130,000 a year.

A US Govt report into the increas-ing casualty rate remarks that most accidents “are associated with rental operators,” and involve factors such as excess speed, inattention, reckless operation and safety violations often exacerbated by underage and under-trained operators.Unfortunately, as I relaxed in Cox’s Ba-

zar over the Eid weekend, all of these factors were clearly evident in the wa-ters and at the edge of its beaches; the roar of quad bikes, operated by clearly undertrained youngsters, disturbed the peace. And watching the high-risk game of the speeding watercraft, popularly known as “jet skis,” after the Kawasaki original brand name, drew many spectators as the craft sped through the crowded revellers.

A few years ago the then deputy commissioner, concerned about beach dangers and the publicity given to rising numbers of beach casualties, ordered that PWCs should operate away from crowds in more remote parts of the beach. An application to the High Court by PWC owners and renters to allow them to conduct their business without such restraint led to the instruction being overruled.

However, as my Eid experience found, not only are these renters operating their businesses close to large crowds, they drive at great risk to the life and limbs of the tourists using them.

Whilst commenting on the “ac-

cident waiting to happen” aspect of the picture, it is only right for me to declare an interest.

Unusually amongst the tourists who throng to Cox’s Bazar, I regularly swim there and love it. This activity often results in my having to head further out in the water to avoid colli-sions and make space for my exercise, and leaves me isolated and detached in the waves.

The � ne judgement required to safely operate PWCs requires constant vigilance on the location of people in the water ahead, but this is often ignored in favour of speeding at the controls and showing o� to friends and family.

A detached swimmer should be hard to miss, but a few years ago, the rider of one PWC, evidently most engaged in waving to admiring friends, apparently failed to notice me in the water. The � breglass hull of the speeding craft approaching from behind brushed my arm as it roared by me.

I am ashamed to admit that, such was my emotional state when head-ing for the beach, aware of narrowly escaping injury or possible death, that once on land, I rushed to where the craft was being beached. “You nearly killed me,” I shouted at the dismounting rider, who grinned in response. For the only time in my life, I lashed out, punching him in the face.

It was him that the beach police eventually arrested, but I never doubt-ed that he would not be charged with endangering life.

Most bathers hit by a craft do not get any opportunity to take revenge or seek justice. The death rate among or caused by PWC users is high, espe-cially amongst younger people. Few human bodies can withstand collision with a reinforced hull travelling at speed.

Cox’s Bazar may aspire to be an international holiday destination, as revealed by the planned upgrading of its airport, but beach safety needs to have a much higher priority.

Otherwise, as is rapidly happening, it will simply become a place for a day out of Chittagong for travellers who cannot a� ord the air ticket to India, Malaysia, Nepal, or Thailand. l

Tim Steel is a communications, marketing and tourism consultant.

T H E O T H E R S I D E

Silly seasonThe period in politics when anything and everything goes in an attempt to grab headlines

n Matthew Islam

On September 1, 2013, the incumbent party in power, Bangladesh Awami League, begins its campaign activities

for the next general election. This is exciting news for those of us who like to observe and be entertained by all the pre-election shenanigans.

It also kicks o� what politicos call the “silly season” which is basically fancy terminology for a period in pol-itics when anything and everything goes in an attempt to grab headlines. Promises will be made, visions preached, lives claimed to have been changed, or not.

It is a time when all of us can demand to get attention of our leaders and in some cases will enjoy it. It

is the only time, in any democracy, when we the people have the odds in our favour and our politicians listen to us with perched ears.

The power scale will tip slightly to our direction and the ego meter on our politicians will be well and truly in the green zone. It is festive. It is tense. It is comical. All in all, a wonderful time to be a political observer.

Now that that’s out of the way, what do I as an ardent political follow-er think will happen over the next few months?

First, in the interest of transparency and as a disclaimer of sorts, what I am about to discuss in the following write up are strictly my views and don’t re� ect in any measure the o� cial edi-torial stand of the Dhaka Tribune and contains heavy doses of conjecture.

It is my belief, on evidence of the

activities leading up to the last four months of this government, that we will have no substantial political crisis, the elections will happen as scheduled or expected. Anything that doesn’t match the above scenario, to me, is fear-mongering.

The opposition doesn’t have a game plan to combat what is in e� ect a full indictment on their brand of pol-itics as it stands today. The opposition cannot stop the tactical controlling of the electoral and national agenda by the ruling party because they have too many things on their platter to com-bat, not in the least of which is � nding the space and time to be relevant.

Healthy and sincere right-wing nationalistic politics in Bangladesh, almost like that of the Republicans in the US, only worse in our case, is ten steps behind in progress and more unpopular today than any given time in our history, resulting from various contributing factors that I will not get into here.

Anti-incumbency is a true neme-sis of the incumbent in Bangladeshi politics and has provided in the past a picture of an end result that is as certain as death and taxes, barring any outside interference or untoward incidents. Despite that, I am willing to put my neck out and say that the incumbent in this silly season is leaps ahead of its closest competitors.

Far from perfect, with mammoth issues of their own and even so, Bangladesh Awami League in my assumption will successfully seize the opportunity to tell the entire country of their future vision for development and top it o� with chest-beating pride, the success they have achieved, of which there are many notable ones.

In the midst of that storm, the opposition will in e� ect be occupied with answering for serious allega-tions, mitigating organisational strife (examples of which we have already

witnessed), fallout from a lack of coordination, indictments and/or convictions in existing cases of some senior ranking members creating an unheard-of negative image going into the next general election – all the while � ghting to stop an unprecedent-ed dip in their party morale.

This will leave no signi� cant room for them to discuss what good they could do if in power. I strongly believe that even if they succeed in securing a pause in that downward spiral, it is simply too late in the game for them to mount a serious movement for any demands to be met.

It is a realisation of that reality, which I believe has played into the softening of the opposition tone for the demand of a caretaker government and indeed in the hardening of the prime min-ister’s recent posture regarding the same.

I have been told by many a wise political observer that perception of strength decides political outcome in elections within Bangladesh, where the swing voters decide the fate of a party based on that perception: the set-winning horse syndrome.

I believe, though, that works only when the opposition is considered to have mounted perceptively a real challenge worth supporting with real ideas and issues that people identify with, having washed-away memories of a bad performance which led to their loss in the interim and having

taken over the national agenda, which even at this late stage the opposition have failed to do.

Many are dissatis� ed with this government and rightly so but aside from a handful of signi� cant issues, it has more to do with our inherent Bangladeshi character to reject and blame those in power.

On a level playing � eld of slow runners, at least one has expressed a plan on how to take us into the future and have, to some extent, succeed-ed. As it stands now, despite the city corporation victories, the opposition hasn’t proposed one single serious

non-gimmicky idea that would make our lives easier. Any perceptive mo-mentum from those victories now lie dormant.

I am sure many recognise that due to circumstances a swing voter, who is now a more mature electorate, may for the � rst time wonder whether keeping the incumbent in power could lead to increased development and sustainable change.

I think people now recognise that change takes time and a consistent approach. I believe they understand this beyond their traditional biases or perhaps I am wrong and it truly is the start of silly season. l

Matthew Islam is a Barrister-at-Law, a textile businessman and a columnist at the Dhaka Tribune. He can be contacted on twitter via @matthewislam.

Clock ticks while experts waitn Anthony Deutsch

and Peter Apps

The longer chemical weapons inspectors wait in a Damascus luxury hotel for permission to

drive up the road to the site of what appears to be the worst poison gas attack in a quarter century, the less likely they will be able to get to the bottom of it.

The poisoning deaths of many hundreds of people took place only three days after a team of UN chemi-cal weapons experts arrived in Syria. But their limited mandate means the inspectors have so far been powerless to go to the scene, a short drive from where they are staying.

“We’re being exterminated with poison gas while they drink their co� ee and sit inside their hotels,” said Bara Abdelrahman, an activist in one of the Damascus suburbs where rebels say government rockets brought the poison gas that killed hundreds of people before dawn on Wednesday.

The Syrian government denies it was behind the mass killing, the dead-liest incident of any kind in Syria’s two-and-a-half year civil war and the worst apparent chemical weapons attack since Saddam Hussein gassed thousands of Iraqi Kurds in 1988.

The United Nations has asked President Bashar al-Assad’s govern-ment for access to the scene, and Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said it should be investigated “without delay.”

Former weapons investigators say every hour matters. “The longer it takes, the easier it is for anybody who has used it to try to cover up,” said Demetrius Perricos, who headed the UN’s team of weapons inspectors in Iraq in the 2000s.

“The more you cover up, the more time it takes afterwards to uncover it. So time is de� nitely not something that you want to take, you don’t want to do it slowly,” Perricos told Reuters.

Chemical weapons experts say there is little doubt that it was ex-posure to poison gas of some kind that killed the hundreds of victims, although exactly what chemicals were used could not be determined from just looking at images.

“Clearly, something has killed a lot of people,” says Dan Kaszeta, a former US Army chemical o� cer and Depart-ment of Homeland Security expert,

now a private consultant. “We’re not going to know what until someone gets a sample.”

Stephen Johnson, a former British Army o� cer specialising in chemi-cal, biological and nuclear warfare and now visiting fellow at Cran� eld University’s forensic unit, said it was also “staggeringly e� ective if it is a chemical attack, which implies more than a casual rocket or two.”

Keeping UN inspectors from reach-ing the site would not stop Western countries from obtaining their own evidence and drawing their own con-clusions, as in previous cases when they determined Assad’s forces used smaller amounts of sarin gas.

In the past, France, Britain and the United States obtained samples of soil and human tissue and other evidence they said proved Assad’s government was to blame.

But unless the UN team obtains its own evidence, it could be di� cult to build an international diplomatic case. Proving beyond reasonable doubt who was responsible might require evidence such as ballistic analysis that shows where any missiles came from.

The incident exposes the limits of the mandate of the UN team led by Swedish scientist Ake Sellstrom, details of which have not been fully made public.

Movements of the 20-member team

are limited to locations previously agreed with Assad’s government. The team is authorised to investigate only three alleged incidents, at least one of which is a case in which the government says chemicals were used by rebels, and the other two of which have not been disclosed.

Western diplomats say they had hoped that once on the ground the team would be able to broaden its mandate.

“They probably have their hands tied as to where they can go because someone has territorial control,” said Hans Blix, who headed a team of weapons inspectors in Iraq. “I can well imagine that objections will be raised on the ground that the security of inspectors cannot be protected in the area in question.”

Rebels said on Wednesday they would provide protection for inspec-tors at the site.

Rolf Ekeus, a Swedish diplomat who worked with Sellstrom in Iraq,

said Sellstrom had the expertise need-ed to determine what happened, if he were given access.

“Sellstrom is extremely well famil-iar with all these capabilities, that is his speciality,” Ekeus told Reuters.

France has led international calls for force to be used if it is proved that the government is behind the attack. Rebels and opposition activists say the diplomatic wrangling over the man-date of the inspectors provides cover for countries that lack the will to act.

A year ago, US President Barack Obama announced that using chemi-cal weapons would be a “red line” that would prompt serious international action. Three months ago, he conclud-ed Syria had crossed the line by using sarin, and said Washington would respond by providing military aid to the rebels, but US hardware has yet to arrive.

“We are all very frustrated by what has happened and the lack of action,” Qassim Saadedine, a commander and spokesman for the rebels’ Supreme Military Command, told Reuters on Thursday.

“As usual, there is a lot of talk and outrage but for the people su� ering on the ground it is hard to take that seriously. After all this time, these statements are empty words to us.” l

The article was � rst published by Reuters.

I have been told by many a wise political observer that perception of strength decides political outcome in elections within Bangladesh, where the swing voters decide the fate of a party based on that perception

It’s the worst apparent chemical weapons attack since Saddam Hussein gassed thousands of Iraqi Kurds in 1988

The � ne judgement required to safely operate personal watercrafts requires constant vigilance on the location of people in the water ahead, but this is often ignored

An activist wearing a gas mask is seen in the Zamalka area REUTERS

SYED ZAKIR HOSSAIN

Shadhona to present Nupur Beje Jay’s 26th installment n Afrose Jahan Chaity

“Shadhona” – A Center for Advance-ment of South Asian Dance and Music, commenced its bi-monthly, perfor-mances of dance, “Nupur Beje Jai” in November, 2009. This year, the twenty sixth episode of the event will be held at the National Theatre Hall of Bangla-desh Shilpakala Academy on August 25.

The � rst performance of the show about Lord Krishna and his � ute, “Bongshi Anurag” is by Mou Das and Dhrumel, which is under a three years project named “Dhrumel” of Shadho-na and Manipuri Theatre. “Dhrumel” is a project, where informed training in Manipuri performance and theoret-ical perspectives are practiced, besides looking into the making of costumes and musical instruments.

Pung Cholom, Dhol Cholom, Kartal Cholom, Thangta, and other Lasya and Tandav forms of Manipuri are being taught. The main trainer of the initia-tive is Sweety Das Chowdhury from Kolkata. Besides that, Gurus of the Manipuri community in Komolganj is also part of the project and will per-

form on “Bongshi Anurag.” Gourahori Chatarjee, Krishnokumari Sinha, Sush-mita Mondol will sing with the Mridan-ga, played by Kannu Sinha and Babu Chand Sinha.

Amit Choudhury will perform Bharatanatyam, Abu Naim, Parsa Eva-na and Lamia Saiyara Mela will enter-tain with contemporary performance. Manosh from Mymensingh will present folk dance performance. The attraction of the evening will be dance perfor-mances on popular songs of Bangla-deshi cinemas from the 60’s, by the

students of Shadhona. The project was inaugurated with a

three day workshop on June 2, in which 30 students, including 15 members of Manipuri Theatre participated. Lubna Marium, dance researcher and gener-al secretary of Shadhona, put forward the aims and goals of the project, and hoped that trainers from Manipur (In-dia) too, will be involved in the project. She also hoped that a yearly Interna-tional Manipuri Dance Festival could be arranged in Komolganj, to attract audiences from far and wide. l

EntertainmentDHAKA TRIBUNE Saturday, August 24, 201312

ONTV

MOVIES

TALKSHOW

COMEDY

DRAMA

NEWS

MISC

4:40pm Fox Movies PremiumThe Avengers5:00pm Star MoviesJohnny English6:35pm Zee StudioSleepless In Seattle7:00pm HBORock Of Ages8:35pm Fox Movies PremiumXXX8:40pm Zee StudioDick Tracy9:30pm WBSherlock Holmes9:30pm HBODark Shadows11:30pmStar MoviesBean12:07am WBSnakes On A Plane

9:30am Z CafeJust For Laughs11:30am Star World2 Broke Girls1:30pm FXThe Simpsons3:30pm Comedy CentralGoodness Gracious Me5:30pm Sony SABChintu Bun Gaya Gentleman7:30pm ColorsMrs Pammi Pyarelal8:30pm Star WorldGlee10:30pm Big CBS PrimeThe Game

11:00am ColorsUttaran12:30pm Star WorldSweet Home Alabama7:50pm Channel iNurjahan8:00pm Star WorldGreys Anatomy8:00pm Zee CaféPretty Little Liars8:15pm NTVOgothon Gothon Potioshi9:00pm SonyAadalat9:05pm RTVOloshpur10:00pm SonyJee Le Zara11:00pm Star PlusYeh Rishta Kya Kehlata Hain

2:00pm Desh TvShongbad Shomoi5:00pm BanglavisionShongbad5:30pm Independent TVPurba paschim7:00pm Channel iShondhar Shongbad10:00pm MaasrangaPrimetime news10:45pm RTVRaater Shongbad

7:45am ETV Ekushey Shokaal 8:10am Channel Ekattor Ekattor Moncho 9:30am Channel i Ekattor Moncho 10:30am ATN Bangla Onno Dristi 11:10am ATN Bangla Promito Bangla 12:10pm Channel 24 Beyond the Gallery 12:20pm NTV Hello America 6:25pm Banglavision Front Line 10:15pm ATN News News Hour Extra

9:30am NDTV Good TimesYogasutra11:30am Fox TravellerThe List1:30pm MTVHit It!3:30pm AXNTop Chef5:30pm NAT GEO AdventureBondi Rescue7:30pm Vh1Dance 1018:30pm TLCThe Michael Jackson Story10:30pm FTVModels

Ananta Jalil is the new brand ambassador of GPn Entertainment Desk

Dhallywood’s heart throb Ananta Jalil is the new brand ambassador of Grameen Phone. He has already started shooting for the new TV commercial of GP’s new pre-paid connection that allows emer-gency balance transfer. The shooting is being conducted since yesterday in the magni� cent headquarter GP House.

The ad is made by Mezba ur Rahman Shumon. The commercial is set in the backdrop of 007 James Bond action thriller story and will have two catchy dialogues, “Ananta’s job is to make re-ality out of the impossible” and “Noth-ing is impossible for Ananta.”

About working as GP’s brand am-bassador, Ananta informs, “It is my pleasure to be able to represent such a widely renowned company, I am look-ing forward to the task.”

Ananta’s big Eid release “Nisshartho Bhalobasha” was tremendously popu-lar among the audience of the country. The talented actor and producer have made his mark in the � lm arena of the country, with his impressive stunts and new story telling concepts.

Starting from his � rst movie “Khoj-The Search,” Ananta has only moved forward towards stardom with his following � lms “Most Welcome” and “Hridoy Bhanga Dhew.” l

3 shows of Chaka begins at DUn Punny Kabir

A three day programme has begun yes-terday at the Natmandal of DU, featur-ing three shows of Dhaka University theatre department’s latest produc-tion, Selim Al Deen’s “Chaka.”

Theatre lovers, who haven’t yet watched the production especially de-signed for intimate audience, still have the chance to experience it today and tomorrow at 7pm.

The play was premiered last Friday at the National Theatre Hall of Bangla-desh Shipakala Academy to celebrate Deen’s 64th birth anniversary. The premiere show of the play, directed by young theatre artiste Sudip Chakrobor-thy, saw a houseful audience.

This is his 22nd directorial venture and like his previous productions, Sudip, along with the set and light de-signer of the play, treats the audience with lot of surprises. The tragic story of Deen’s masterpiece “Chaka” is por-trayed in a circular stage, through a combination of narration, dialogue and action.

Set against the backdrop of the anti autocratic movement of the country in

the late 1980s, the story zooms in on a cart-driver, along with an old man and a Santal youth, embarking on a journey to deliver a corpse of an anonymous man who was unjustly killed. They are assigned by government o� cials to deliver the dead body to its relatives. No one knows who the dead man was or how he died. But the address given to the cart puller is a vague one, and, being so, the team fails to deliver the corpse. Finally he, along with two oth-ers, buries the corpse.

In the play, the iconic playwright has also explored the suppression faced by the indigenous community of our country, through a Santal character. Moreover, Deen has touched the Islam-ic myth of the Battle of Karbala in the play. In this regard, Sudip said to Dha-ka Tribune: “We, the cast and crew of ‘Chaka’ attended classes at the Depart-ment of Islamic History and Culture of DU and went to Kakonhaat of Godagari, Rajshahi to get ourselves acquainted with the lifestyle of the Santal commu-nity, for the production.”

Playing live music, the story begins with a dramatic mood where the actors of the play sit in a circle, with a very

mournful mood. Throughout the play, the performance of all the actors and narrators are centered to a round ob-ject having shape of a wheel, which is placed in the middle of the stage. “We cannot move a cart in the stage, so we placed a wheel shaped object on the stage. We also wanted the wheel to be constantly on the stage, since it sym-bolises continuation of the changeless-ness in our society. On the other hand, the circular pattern of the stage is sim-ilar to the shape of a mother’s womb, the solar system, the rotation of time and in� nity,” said Sudip to Dhaka Tri-bune.

The narrators, time to time, give very satirical descriptions of the social system that turns a youth to an uniden-ti� ed corpse. At one point, they scatter dead leaves on the stage to bring an ambience of bereavement.

The lively and authentic perfor-mance of the � rst year and graduate students of the theatre department of DU makes the play a treat to watch. The theatre is also enriched with the presentation of traditional instruments like dhol, banshi, mondira, kasha and Santal dance recitals. l

A scene from the play ‘Chaka’ SADIA MARIUM

Exclusive Interview airs on NTV tonightn Entertainment Desk

Single episode drama “Exclusive In-terview,” will air on NTV tonight at 9pm. Written by Proshun Rahman and directed by Abu Raihan Jewel,Chompa, Naim, Sporshia, Mahmudul Islam Mithu and many more acted in the drama.

The story is about a celebrity, who quits working in media, detaches her-self from the limelight completely and leaves the country.

One day, when she was visiting the

country, a journalist corners her for an interview. Once they start to talk, many attributes of her life come into the open and she ends up disclosing very personal feelings and emotions to the journalist.

The story takes a turn from that point on. The reporter does not take any notes or record the interview, and the piece ends up never being pub-lished in any newspaper. The celebrity leaves the country without any fuss and the exclusive interview remains forever in the reporter’s memory. l

Chandana’s folk music show at IGCC todayn Entertainment Desk

Indira Gandhi Cultural Centre in asso-ciation with the State Bank of India in Bangladesh is organising “An Evening of Folk Music by Chandana Roy Majumdar” of Bangladesh at 6:30 PM on August 24, 2013 at the Indira Gandhi Cultural Cen-tre, H No 35, Rd 24, Gulshan-1, Dhaka.

Chandana Roy Majumdar is one of the outstanding exponents of folk songs and Nazrul Geeti in Bangladesh. After securing a diploma in music from the Bangladesh Shilpakala Acad-emy, Chandana graduated to record more than 25 solo musical albums in folk music and Nazrul Geeti (most of which have been “Best Selling”) in her long musical career till date. Her song—“Jao pakhi bolo tare”—had been a rage amongst the music lovers of Ban-gladesh and the world. She is currently imparting training in music at the pres-tigious Chhayanaut in Dhaka. l

Victoria opens up about daily life with David Beckhamn Entertainment Desk

There is a reason why Victoria Beckham does not smile in many photos. In an interview with T, the New York Times style magazine, the mother of four opens up about her family as well as address-es the lack of smile in her photos.

When asked why she does not smile, Victoria answers, “When you’re in a position to be pa-parazzi-ed just walking down the street, you’d look a little daft if you were smiling all the time.” She adds, “I smile in family photos.”

The fashion designer also opens up about her daily life with husband David Beckham and their children, saying that the family’s chef and nanny only come a few days in a week. Therefore, David plays chef at home. “David does the cooking,” Victoria says. The former soccer player apparently

is good at it because “he decided to go to culinary school” when he lived in Italy.

Besides cooking, David also contributes to oth-er household activities, such as taking their three children to school. Either Victoria or David always attends the boys’ school events and parents meeting. The couple, who comes from hardwork-ing families, tries to be with their children during important moments. Despite her busy activities, Victoria never misses the children’s birthdays.

“We have what I consider to be normal birthday parties,” Victoria says of her children’s birthday bash. “I’ve been to parties in LA that are mind-blowing. I mean, quite literally mind-blow-ing. People get cellphones in the party bag, that sort of thing. Fabulous, fabulous parties. Ours aren’t like that. They are normal kids’ parties. We’ll have a bouncy castle, a face painter.” l

14

13DHAKA TRIBUNESaturday, August 24, 2013

SportDid you know?

14 15 Shehzad, Afridi lead Pakistan to Twenty20 win

Only three times in the previous 21 English Premier

League seasons has the team top after the

� rst round of games won the title

Clarke con� rms Anelka contem-plating retirement

Townsend stars as Spurs rout Tbilisi

Saber wants ‘level playing � eld’Former Bangladesh Cricket Board president wants board to prioritize cricket over electionn Mazhar Uddin

Former Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) president Saber Hossain Chow-dhury said yesterday that a level � eld for the upcoming BCB election was important and on-� eld cricket should be given more importance than the upcoming BCB elections, a day after incumbent president Nazmul Hasan announced that he would run for BCB president.

Saber Hossain complained that the current BCB boss exchanging views with others was unacceptable since Nazmul was a candidate in the up-coming election. “I always said that I needed a level playing � eld, and how it that be done. We have to monitor this long before the election. If the presi-dent wants to discuss something with someone it’s not a fault. But he can’t do it within the BCB, he can do it outside, else it won’t be a level playing � eld,”

claimed Saber.Saber, however, welcomed

Nazmul’s candidacy as they both be-long to a political party that welcomes democracy. “We are not contesting this election with our political banner. What is very important is that our party also believes in democracy and that’s the same with a federation for organiz-ing a proper election. We have heard that in the football federation there would be contest but later on it didn’t happen,” he said.

Saber expressed concern about the letter that the BCB was supposed to have sent to the National Sports Coun-cil (NSC). “More than one date when the letters would be sent to the coun-sellors have been given. Frist it was the 12th, then the 22nd, but we still don’t know when it will be sent,” said the presidential candidate.

The former BCB president expressed the opinion that the BCB should give

greater attention to the game of cricket itself rather than the upcoming elec-tion. “First priority should be Bangla-desh cricket, which is the game and the other part is the board. Obviously because of the board elections coming up, everyone is very interested but one can’t just forget about the game. The recent performance of the ‘A’ team, under 19 and U-23 teams show that we have to focus on this as well. And I think Bangladesh cricket is a lot more important than the board and I hope that we have our focus on that.”

He added that the poor performanc-es of the above mentioned teams was a sign that the BCB should give more attention to the game and if they did not, the board would be a meaningless organisation, existing in name only.

Saber was also critical of chief selec-tor Akram Khan’s interest in attend-ing meetings related to election issues and again suggested that the recent

poor performances of Bangladesh teams abroad was somehow related to o� -� eld activities of the board. “The performance on the � eld is a� ected somehow by o� � eld happenings. And

I think everyone has lost focus. The chief selector was seen with the repre-sentatives of the DSAs. He didn’t need to be present there,” said Saber.

He also claimed that the delay in

the Dhaka Premier League was linked with election concerns and went on to speak about allegations of corruption in the board. “Regarding corruption, I said that if we see corruption, we need to see who the president was at the time when these things happened. If Mostafa Kamal did something wrong, he should be responsible for it. If you enjoy the high pro� le and don’t do any-thing else, the steps taken to eradicate corruption won’t work,” said Saber.

Saber went on to point out the weaknesses of the BCB constitution and how the elected president could be removed if the government were to change if those weaknesses were not recti� ed. “Whether the president can continue or not will depend on the constitution and how strong is the election. If this is election such a weak-ness, a new government can cancel the elected body. We have to follow a pro-cess where this cannot happen.” l

Andy Murray of Britain (R) and Serena Williams of the United States pose alongside the Men and Women’s US Open trophies during the draw ceremony prior to the start of the 2013 US Open tennis tournament at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center in New York on Thursday REUTERS

An action shot from the match between Securex and GPIT in the 8th Ascent Corporate 5-A-Side Indoor Soccer Cup at the STM Hall of Scholastica School, Uttara yesterday MUMIT M

Bangladesh beat Chinese Taipein Shishir Hoque

The Bangladesh national hockey team came back from after Thursday’s de-feat against Pakistan to earn a comfort-able 3-1 victory over Chinese Taipei in their second practice match in Malay-sia yesterday.

Puskor Khiso Mimo netted two goals while Krishna Kumar scored one for the men in red and green, who dominated play throughout the game.

The Bangladesh Hockey Federation general secretary believes that the vic-tory will boost the team’s con� dence. “The defeat against Pakistan was not a big thing and not abnormal since they are the former World and Olym-pic champions. We are still learning, which was re� ected in the second game against Chinese Taipei. This victory will boost our con� dence,” said Khwaja.

The Asia Cup Hockey will get under-way today. Bangladesh will play their � rst match against Korea tomorrow be-fore taking on Oman August 27 and India the day after. l

Dhaka Premier League start date pushed back againn Minhaz Uddin Khan

The players’ transfer for the long de-layed Dhaka Premier League is still on course to take place on August 25, as was recently announced by the Ban-gladesh Cricket Board and the Crick-et Committee of Dhaka Metropolis (CCDM), after a meeting between the CCDM and the premier league clubs yesterday.

However, the opening day of the tournament has been delayed yet again at the clubs’ insistence. The board and CCDM had announced September 3 as the starting date a few days ago but that has been pushed back now to Sep-tember 10.

The main discussion topic of the meeting was the � nancial aid that the board had promised the clubs. CCDM chairman Jalal Younus pledged to hand over the funds to the clubs soon after the players’ transfer. However, sourc-es said that some of the clubs are still uncertain of the matter in the light of board president Nazmul Hasan’s re-cently stated position of being against the aid.

Initial steps for the players’ trans-fer has already been completed by the CCDM. A list of 192 cricketers have al-ready been handed over to the clubs. This will be the � rst time that the pre-mier league clubs will recruit cricket-ers through a players’ draft - popularly known as the “lottery” – and this will be held tomorrow at a press conference room at the Sher-e-Bangla National Cricket Stadium tomorrow. l

Big guns start strong in Ascent Corporate 5-A-Side Soccer Cupn Shishir Hoque

Reigning champions Beximco Pharma gained a maximum three points in a walkover victory over their opponents Olympic Industries, while last-time runners-up Gemcon Group won their � rst game 9-0 over General Electric on the opening day of the 8th Ascent Corporate 5-A-Side Indoor Soccer Cup yesterday.

Dhaka Tribune also made a decent start as they defeated Therap BD 4-1 at the STM Hall of Scholastica School, Uttara yesterday. Monu scored a hat-trick while Shakib Hasan netted one for the winners, who are taking part in the meet for the � rst time.

Another title contender, IIDFC handed Green Delta Securities a crushing 10-0 defeat while Lanka Bangla earned a hard-fought 1-0

victory over HRC.In the day’s other matches, Qubee

outplayed Incepta 4-1, Chevron rout ULAB 4-0, Bangla Cat drew with Metlife Alico 2-2, Aarong Dairy defeated Textmart 2-0, Ascent were held 2-2 by Phillip Morris International, Securex outclassed GPIT 3-0, Tesco Sourcing beat Ceat BD 2-0 and Flora Telecom edged past Rahimafrooz-Renewable Energy 1-0.

Dhaka Tribune will take on Pepsi in their second game of the meet today at the same venue. l

Fixtures Verona v AC Milan Sampdoria v Juventus

SportDHAKA TRIBUNE Saturday, August 24, 201314

Bale Real shirts for salen AFP, Madrid

Real Madrid put shirts bearing the name of Wales winger Gareth Bale up for sale on Thursday after a world re-cord deal for the Tottenham player ap-peared to enter its closing stages.

Negotiations between the Spanish giants and Bale’s current club Totten-ham Hotspur over a potential record move are believed to be in advanced stages, but the 24-year-old has not yet made the move to the Bernabeu.

Leading Madrid sports dailies Marca and As published online screen grabs from the shop section of Real’s website, listing Bale as the team’s number 11 alongside pictures of the strips for sale.

The ga� was soon spotted, though, and the shop section of the site was in-accessible later in the evening.

Newspaper As said the online shop is operated by sports brand Adidas and not by the club itself.

Reports have been circulating for weeks that Bale will move to the nine-time European champions for a fee that could eclipse the £80 million ($123.6 million, 93.2 million euros) Madrid paid Manchester United for Cristiano Ronaldo in 2009.

Spanish media said Thursday an announcement on Bale’s signing may come within hours.

Last year Real listed Croatian Luka Modric as a player on their site before signing him, also from Spurs. The club blamed hackers for that mistake.

Spurs boss Andre Villas-Boas re-fused again to be drawn into specula-tion over Bale’s future.l

Clarke con� rms Anelka contemplating retirementn AFP, London

West Brom manager Steve Clarke has con� rmed that veteran striker Nicolas Anelka had spoken to him about quit-ting football, but the coach remains hopeful the player will return to the club once he has “got his head clear”.

On learning that his agent Eric

Manasse had died over the weekend, the former French international left training on Thursday following conver-sations with Albion’s technical director Richard Garlick and Clarke, but the Scot-tish manager is adamant there was no hostility on any side.

“Obviously Nicolas lost a close friend and an agent over the weekend - he died

suddenly. Nicolas went to Richard (Gar-lick) on Thursday and indicated that he wasn’t in a good place,” Clarke told a press conference.

“Really, that is as much as there is to tell on the situation - it wasn’t dramat-ic, there was no big bust-up, he didn’t storm out of the training ground. It is just a boy who is really quite upset.”

Asked directly if Anelka had men-tioned quitting, Clarke added: “I’m not going to deny that he used that word in the conversations we had with him. But we’ve given him time to go away and think about it and I don’t think we could do any more in the circumstances as they were.”

“He was down, really down. He was actually injured. He hadn’t trained with us this week, so I was preparing the team for Everton without Nicolas in it anyway - he got a kick against Southampton.”

Asked if he fully expected Anelka to return, Clarke said: “I don’t know, be-cause from the conversation we had the other day, it was really negative. But as I said, we have given him time to think about it. So I’d like to think he could play for West Bromwich Albion again.” l

Scottish great Miller quits int'l footballn AFP, Glasgow

Striker Kenny Miller has called time on his Scotland career and will retire from international football with immediate e� ect, the Scottish Football Associa-tion con� rmed yesterday.

The 33-year-old Vancouver White-caps frontman won the last of his 69 caps in the 3-2 defeat to England at Wembley last week and signed o� with a goal - his 18th for his country.

The former Hibernian, Rangers, Celtic, Wolves and Cardi� striker quits the national team with only Kenny Dalglish, Denis Law, Hughie Gallacher, Lawrie Reilly and Ally McCoist ahead of him on the all-time list of Scotland goalscorers. l

Scudetto favourites Juve begin season on a highMilan missing 10 players for openern AFP, Milan

Reinforced Juventus be-gin the defence of their Serie A crown with an away trip to Sampdoria today, when newly-pro-moted Verona host Milan

in the opening match of the 2013/2014 season.

Juventus were virtually untouchable last season as coach Antonio Conte led the Bianconeri to a second consecutive scudetto with a nine-point cushion on Napoli.

And the Turin giants have already � red a warning shot to their scudetto rivals by routing Lazio 4-0 in the Italian Super Cup at the Olympic Stadium.

Former Manchester City striker Carlos Tevez, one of Juve’s two major signings along with Fernando Llorente, marked his o� cial debut for the Old Lady with a second-half goal on Sunday and says Juve can go far this season.

“This Juve side can go far, and win another scudetto, but we still have room to improve,” said Tevez, who took the bold step of likening Conte to another former coach, Alex Ferguson, whose near 27-year tenure of Manchester Unit-ed ended last season.

“In some ways Conte reminds me

of Ferguson. He leaves nothing to chance.”

Conte’s only major absence for Sat-urday’s away trip is injured mid� elder Claudio Marchisio, although with Frenchman Paul Pogba in � ne form that is unlikely to worry the Juve handler.

The 44-year-old is already consid-ered one of Italy’s most astute coaches and Sunday’s victory has installed the Bianconeri as � rm scudetto favourites.

Napoli, Milan and to a lesser extent Inter — who � nished a disappointing ninth last season and will miss Europe altogether — will be hoping it does not all go Juve’s way.

Napoli face Bologna at home on Sunday still feeling buoyed by their second-place � nish, under former coach Walter Mazzarri - now at Inter - which secured a long-awaited return to the Champions League.

But the departure of Uruguayan Edinson Cavani, whose league-lead-ing 29 goals played a huge role in that achievement, to Paris Saint Germain is likely to be felt.

New Napoli boss Rafael Benitez has signed Real Madrid forward Gonzalo Higuain as a direct replacement and will expect results from the Franco-Argentine, who scored 121 goals in a six-year spell with Real.

Benitez — who also brought in goal-keeper Pepe Reina on loan from Liver-pool as well as Real Madrid pair Raul Al-biol and Jose Maria Callejon — believes Napoli’s demanding fans are ready to get behind him. l

Townsend stars as Spurs rout Tbilisin AFP, Paris

Young winger Andros Townsend gave England’s Aaron Lennon food for thought with a starring role in Totten-ham’s 5-0 win at Dinamo Tbilisi in the Europa League on Thursday.

In a startling display, Townsend scored the opener and then set-up Bra-zil’s Paulinho to open his Spurs account before laying a third on a plate for Ro-berto Soldado.

Soldado bagged another while young left-back Danny Rose scored his � rst for Spurs since netting on his debut against Arsenal in April, 2010.

Townsend’s pinpoint crossing was in itself telling for a player who may be looking to displace Lennon in the north Londoners’ � rst team this season, given the diminutive former Leeds United winger’s own failings when centring from out wide. The result in this play-o� � rst leg tie has all but rendered next week’s second leg at White Hart Lane meaningless and should see the English Premier League side safely into the Eu-ropa League group stages.

Townsend started o� the rout when latching onto a ball cleared from the Spurs box following a Dinamo corner.

Kyle Naughton played the ball to Townsend, who raced 50 yards before � ring low past goalkeeper George Loria from fully 25 yards on 11 minutes.

“I was delighted to score and that’s what I have to do when I get my chance, score goals and make assists,” said the 22-year-old Londoner. l

Walcott hopes Turkish romp will boost Arsenaln AFP, London

Theo Walcott believes Arsenal’s midweek Champions League victory over Fener-bahce can help kick-

start the troubled club’s Premier League campaign.

England winger Walcott and his team-mates will aim to bounce back after the opening day home defeat to Aston Villa when they travel across Lon-don to face Fulham at Craven Cottage on Saturday.

The Villa loss triggered a wave of criticism directed towards Gunners boss Arsene Wenger from Arsenal supporters frustrated by his failure to strengthen his squad since the end of last season.

A succession of injuries to key play-ers seemed to have further exposed the weaknesses in Wenger’s squad, but an emphatic 3-0 win in Turkey on Wednes-day moved the Gunners to within 90 minutes of a place in the Champions

League group stage and provided a timely boost to morale.

“It was very important after such a disappointing start to the Premier League,” Walcott said.

“There was a lot of pressure on us as well and we’re happy we got that clean sheet, which was important.

“As players we don’t take any notice of that criticism. We know the best per-son to listen to, and our best critic, is the manager. “We knew the Villa game was very disappointing and we needed to bounce back from it.

“We work hard for each other and that’s the most important thing - if ev-eryone works hard for each other we can get the results.

“I think at the weekend that prob-ably wasn’t the case, and we knew how disappointing it was. “You don’t want to start a season like that but, like I said, that’s out of the window now.

“We’ve forgotten about that and we’re concentrating on Fulham. And if we perform like that, with that intensity, we can beat anyone.”

Wenger has stepped up his e� orts to bring in new players, although he now concedes he has no chance of signing Liverpool forward Luis Suarez.

Instead, Arsenal have been linked with Real Madrid pair Karim Benzema and Angel Di Maria and Swansea duo Ashley Williams and Michu.

Wenger admits he is short on num-bers at present, a situation not helped by the loss of French defender Laurent Koscielny to a one game suspension fol-lowing his sending o� against Villa. l

West Brom hand Sinclair loan lifelinen AFP, London

West Bromwich Albion announced on Thursday that they have signed winger Scott Sinclair on a season-long loan from Premier League rivals Manchester City.

Sinclair, 24, joined City from Swansea City in a £6.2 million ($9.7 million, 7.2 million euros) transfer last year, but he failed to make an impact at the Etihad Stadium and started only two Premier League games last season.

“Scott understands he needs to play football and we’re delighted he feels this is the right club for him at this stage of his career,” West Brom coach Steve Brom, who worked with Sinclair during his formative years at Chelsea, told the club website.

“He’s the type of player we were miss-ing from the squad. He’s a pure winger who is quick, direct, and scores goals — he has proved that over his career.

“He’s frustrated he didn’t get the chances to play at Man City last season and hopefully he’ll take those frustra-tions out on Premier League defenders this season.” l

Real Madrid's forward Raul celebrates after scoring during the Santiago Bernabeu trophy football match against Al-Sadd SC at the Santiago Bernabeu in Madrid on Thursday AFP

Tottenham Hotspur FC's Andros Townsend (R) celebrates with teammate Roberto Soldado after scoring a goal during the Uefa Europa League qualifying football match against FC Dinamo Tbilisi in Tbilisi on Thursday AFP

Guardiola ready to face Mourinhon AFP, Berlin

Bayern Munich tackle three games inside a week, culminating in the Su-per Cup against Chelsea next Friday which will pit the Bavarians’ coach Pep Guardiola against former rival Jose Mourinho.

Guardiola’s Bayern have a taxing schedule en route to the UEFA Super Cup showdown in Prague where the Champions League winners take on Europa League champions Chelsea, but the Spaniard is relishing facing Mourinho.

“Yes, it’s not the � rst time we’ve met and we know each other well,” said

Guardiola of the self-styled “special one” Mourinho.

“I have huge respect for his career and you can’t forget the Bayern-Chel-sea game, but we have two more games before us and the next match is always the most important one.

“Bayern have never won it (the Su-per Cup) and it’s an important title.

“I don’t know what will happen next Friday, but they will win it sooner or later.”

The Prague showdown rekindles memories of past El Clasico clashes with ex-Barcelona boss Guardiola against Chelsea’s former Real Madrid coach Mourinho, but before that Bay-

ern face Bundesliga matches at home to Nuremberg on Saturday, then away to Freiburg on Tuesday.

Bayern chairman Karl-Heinz Rum-menigge has described the next seven days as “the � rst hot phase” of the Ba-varians’ season and the triple-bill of matches will test Guardiola’s new 4-1-4-1 formation.

Bayern host Nuremberg at Munich’s Allianz Arena without Spain’s Javi Martinez, who is lacking match � tness according to the Bayern boss, while France winger Franck Ribery is back in the team after an ankle injury kept him out of last Saturday’s 1-0 win at Ein-tracht Frankfurt. l

Fixtures Fulham v Arsenal Everton v WBA Hull City v Norwich City Newcastle v West Ham Southampton v Sunderland Stoke City v Crystal Palace Aston Villa v Liverpool

Sport 15DHAKA TRIBUNE Saturday, August 24, 2013

Nazrana Eva takes leadNazrana Khan Eva took the sole lead in the preliminary phase of the 34th National Women Chess Champion-ship-2013, which is being held at the Bangladesh Chess Federation hall room. Eva beat Evana to and now has four points at the end of the fourth round. Zakia Sultana, Shamiha Sharmin Shimmi, Mahmuda Hoque Chowdhury Moly and Dilara Jahan Nupur shared the 2nd position with 3.5 points each. Jahanara Haque Runu, Afrin Jahan Mu-nia, Kishwara Sjarin Evana, Shukannya Saba and Hamida Rahman are jointly 3rd with 3 points each.

- SH

Mon� ls reaches Winston-Salem semis France’s Gael Mon� ls won an error-� lled match over Spaniard Fernando Verdasco 6-7 (8/10), 6-4, 6-4 on Thursday to reach the semi-� nals of the ATP Winston-Salem Open. The 15th seeded Mon� ls will Friday face o� for a place in the � nal when he takes on Ukrainian tenth seed Alexandr Dolgopolov, who beat Lu Yen-hsun of Taiwan 7-6 (7/2), 6-3. “It’s always good to be in the semis after two big wins,” said Mon� ls. Austrian Jurgen Melzer came through three rain interruptions to take out Russian Dmitry Tursunov 6-4, 6-3. He will play sixth seed Sam Querrey, a winner over Ricardas Beran-kis 6-3, 6-4. Querrey repeated his winning scenario over the Lithuanian after dominating him for the Los An-geles title in July, 2012. The Califonian winner � red ten aces and broke four times. Berankis entered the match without having lost serve all week, but dropped to 1-7 in quarter-� nals over his career with the loss in 69 minutes.

– AFP

Button deal with McLaren not yet signed Jenson Button is hoping to stay with McLaren next year, despite their disap-pointments in 2013, but is still waiting for the team to sign a contract. The 33-year-old Briton revealed his position at the Belgian Grand Prix on Friday, but made clear he has no intention of seek-ing a drive elsewhere. Button said: “I think I have a contract for next year, but I don’t think it has a signature on it yet though... I really want to be here next year. “You might think that is strange after this season, but I think this year has been good for us in a way. We will be a much stronger team next year. “I want to be here next year, but I haven’t heard the con� rmation of that yet from the team — and you have to wait for that.”

– AFP

Wozniacki, Kvitova reach New Haven semis Former winner Caroline Wozniacki and reigning champ Petra Kvitova beat a pair of WTA young guns Thursday to reach the semis of the New Haven Open, the � nal tune-up for the US Open. Four-time winner Wozniacki defeated American wild card Sloane Stephens 7-6 (8/6), 6-2 in a quarter-� nal contest at the Yale University hard-court facility. The former world number one Wozniacki, who is seeded fourth this week, captured the New Haven event four years in a row from 2008-11. The third-seeded Czech Kvitova fought back from a � rst-set stumble to outlast Russian Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova 2-6, 6-2, 7-5. The former Wimbledon cham-pion Kvitova topped Russian Maria Kirilenko in last year’s New Haven � nal.

– AFP

Quick Bytes

Australia 1st Innings 492-9 dec(S Watson 176, S Smith 138 no; J Anderson 4-95)England 1st Innings (overnight: 32-0)A Cook c Haddin b Harris 25J Root c Watson b Lyon 68J Trott lbw b Starc 40K Pietersen not out 29I Bell not out 4Extras (b5, lb4, w4, nb2) 15Total (3 wkts, 82 overs) 181

Fall of wickets1-68 (Cook), 2-118 (Root), 3-176 (Trott)To bat: C Woakes, M Prior, S Broad, G Swann, S Kerrigan, J AndersonBowlingStarc 19-3-46-1 (1nb, 1w); Harris 18-7-27-1 (1nb); Faulkner 7-2-17-0; Siddle 16-5-36-0 (3w); Lyon 17-4-31-1; Smith 5-1-15-0;

England are 311 runs behind Australia with seven � rst-innings

wickets standing.

At Tea

Ten Sports

4:30pm MotoGP World Championship 2013 LIVEQualifying: bwin Grand PrixStar SportsBarclays Premier League 2013/2014 LIVE5:35pm Fulham v Arsenal7:50pm Everton v West Brom10:20pm Aston Villa v LiverpoolESPN

5:50pm FIA F1 World Championship 2013 LIVEQualifying 12:40am Italian Serie A 2013/2014 LIVESampdoria v Juventus Sony Six

6.00amCPLT20 Final

Day’s Watch

Brief ScorePakistan 161 for 5 ( Shehzad 70, Afridi 23*) Zimbabwe 136 for 5 (Sibanda 31, Taylor 32*)

Pakistan won by 25 runs

Pakistan big hitter Shahid Afridi is in action during their opening game of the two-match T20 series against Zimbabwe at the Harare Sports Club yesterday AFP

Boycott slams slow England over-rate n AFP, London

England great Geo� rey Boycott ac-cused Alastair Cook’s men of “poor cricket” as the over-rate slowed to a crawl on the second day of the � fth and � nal Ashes Test against Australia at The Oval on Thursday.

Hosts England may have already won the series at 3-0 up but they have so far been on the ropes in this match.

That was apparent after tea on Thursday’s second day when England captain Cook set excessively defensive � elds even when Australia’s tailenders, rather than century-maker Steven Smith, were on strike.

England bowled just 11.5 overs in 64 minutes after tea, but still conceded 95 runs in the process, before Australia captain Michael Clarke declared on 492 for nine with Smith, whose hundred was his maiden Test century, 138 not out.

Teams are meant to bowl 15 overs an hour under International Cricket Council (ICC) regulations governing Test cricket.

If not, they can be � ned and, ulti-mately, see their captain banned from matches for repeat o� ences, although the rules do give scope for o� cials to apply ‘allowances’ for third umpire re-ferrals and injuries.

But Boycott said the ICC all too rare-ly clamped down on slow over-rates, insisting most leading teams were se-rial o� enders when it suited them, and urged them to take stronger action

“The � eld placing was disappoint-ing, England knew Australia were go-ing to declare, but it’s poor cricket when a team is bowling � ve overs in half an hour,” Boycott said while com-mentating for BBC Radio’s Test Match Special. l

Tennis ace Nadal to show his poker face in Prague n AFP, Prague

Tennis star Rafael Nadal will take part in his � rst live poker tournament in Decem-ber, Czech media reports said yesterday, after devoting himself to the game since a knee injury last summer knocked him o� court for several months .

Nadal will participate in the Euro-pean Poker Tour in Prague from De-cember 8 to December 18, according to Dnes newspaper, which quoted online gambling company Pokerstars.

It is the � rst time the Spanish star will have played “o� ine” in a tourna-ment, but whether he would take part in the o� cial competition or a separate fringe event was not speci� ed.

Nadal appears in advertising for Pokerstars and has previously partici-pated in online events for the company.

A documentary about the current world No 2 and winner of 12 Grand Slams will also be screened at the tour-nament.

“When he started playing poker, he only had the very basics of the game. But his competitive nature meant he quickly improved,” said Alfonso Car-dalda, Nadal’s poker coach.

Nadal has made a superb comeback to top form this year after a seven-month knee injury layo� , winning a re-cord eighth French Open title in June.

He is seeded second for the US Open which starts in New York on Monday and has a shot at regaining the world number one spot. l

Chappell says Lehmann a ‘hypocrite’ in Broad row n AFP, London

Former captain Ian Chappell has ac-cused Australia coach Darren Lehmann of hypocrisy in attacking England’s Stuart Broad for “blatant cheating” during this season’s � rst Ashes Test.

Lehmann’s comments in an Aus-tralian radio interview saw him � ned 20 percent of his match in the ongoing � fth and � nal Ashes Test at The Oval.

The 27-year-old Broad angered Aus-tralia during England’s narrow 14-run � rst Test win at Trent Bridge when he re-fused to walk after a thick edge de� ect-ed o� the wicketkeeper’s gloves to slip.

Victory sent England on their way to taking an unbeatable 3-0 series lead in the Ashes.

Chappell said Australians, who’ve traditionally always waited for the um-pire’s decision, were in no position to complain about opponents who did ex-actly the same thing.

“I don’t like to be called a cheat and basically he (Lehmann) is calling all people who don’t walk a cheat, which would include himself,” Chappell told BBC Radio Five on Friday.

“’Cheat’ is not a word you should use very light-heartedly, and even if you are being light-hearted that’s a word you should steer away from,” added Chappell, captain of the suc-cessful Australian side of the early to mid 1970s.

“And even when you’ve got your tongue in your cheek it’s pretty hypo-critical for an Australian to complain about somebody not walking.”

After Broad defended his actions earlier this week, an unimpressed Lehmann told Australia radio station Triple M in an interview broadcast on Wednesday: “Certainly our players haven’t forgotten, they’re calling him everything under the sun as they go past. l

England � nd life tough in Ashes � nale n AFP, London

Runs dried up for England as Australia dismissed Joe Root and Jonathan Trott in an attritional second session on the third day of the � fth and � nal Ashes Test at The Oval yesterday.

England, who at 3-0 up had already

won the � ve-match series, were 181 for three at tea, 311 runs behind Australia’s � rst innings 492 for nine declared and still needing a further 112 to avoid the follow-on.

Kevin Pietersen was 29 not out and Ian Bell, who came into this match hav-ing scored exactly 500 runs in the series with three hundreds, four not out.

Pietersen, who at The Oval in 2005 scored a stunning maiden Test hundred to help secure a draw that saw England regain the Ashes, had been unusually re-

strained in facing 82 balls with just two boundaries for his runs on Friday.

He was not alone, England scoring just 84 runs in the session’s 38 overs.

England resumed Friday on 32 with-

out loss after Shane Watson’s Test-best 176 and Steven Smith’s 138 not out - his maiden hundred at this level - had taken Australia to their imposing total.

Alastair Cook, the England captain, was 17 not out and Joe Root 13 not out.

The openers made a solid start, with Root clipping Ryan Harris o� his legs for four while left-hander Cook square-drove the fast bowler for a boundary.

But Cook’s mediocre series with the bat continued when, three balls after drinks, he followed a delivery angled across him from Harris, Australia’s best bowler of the Ashes, and edged to wick-etkeeper Brad Haddin for 25.

It was an all-too familiar exit for Cook in a series where he has scored 243 runs in nine innings with a best of 62 at an average of just 27 — a far cry from his tri-umphant 2010/11 Ashes tour of Australia where he scored 766 runs at 127.66 with three hundreds.

Root’s pull o� Peter Siddle saw him to a 145-ball � fty with eight fours, but after lunch he fell tamely for 68 when he top-edged a sweep o� Lyon straight to Shane Watson at short � ne leg, where the all-rounder had been positioned exactly for such a mistimed shot.

Root’s exit ended a stand worth ex-actly 50, with England 118 for two.

Pietersen was nearly run out on 11 with the batsman yards short of his ground going for a risky single when David Warner missed with a shy at the stumps from mid-on.

There were ironic cheers from a ca-pacity crowd when Pietersen went down the pitch to drive leg-spinner Smith for

four — the � rst boundary in 11 overs.But the � rst delivery with the new

ball saw Trott go lbw for 40 to left-arm paceman Mitchell Starc. England challenged but, with the Decision

Review System upholding experienced Pakistani umpire Aleem Dar’s verdict, it was the end of Trott’s 134-ball innings and a stand of 58 with fellow South Africa-born batsman Pietersen. l

Shehzad, Afridi lead Pakistan to Twenty20 winn AFP, Harare

Ahmed Shehzad shone with the bat and Shahid Afridi struck with the ball as Pakistan opened their tour of Zimba-bwe with a comfortable victory in the � rst Twenty20 international yesterday.

Shehzad’s measured 70 allowed Pakistan to post a strong total of 161 for � ve, before Afridi snubbed out Zimba-bwean resistance with three wickets to secure a 25-run victory.

Although Zimbabwe were much improved from the side that lost a re-cent one-day series against India 5-0, they let things slip in the � eld midway through the Pakistan innings and also lost their way after a promising start with the bat. Shehzad’s patience up front proved key to the match as he saw out a tricky opening period when Pakistan lost Nasir Jamshed and cap-tain Mohammad Hafeez to Tendai Chatara, before slowly taking control against Zimbabwe’s other seamers.

“Early on it was doing a bit. They bowled a good channel and that’s why they picked up a couple of wickets, but after six overs the ball was coming on nicely and I was able to manoeuvre the ball,” Shehzad said.

The opener took 17 runs o� Elton Chigumbura’s � rst over to put the pres-sure back on Zimbabwe, and shared in a 55-run stand with debutant Sohaib Maqsood.

Shehzad struck six fours and a six in his 50-ball innings before he was even-tually caught on the boundary o� the bowling of Shingirai Masakadza.

Afridi ensured that Pakistan � n-ished strongly, hitting 23 not out from 16 deliveries, and then made key break-throughs in the Zimbabwean innings in claiming � gures of 3 for 25.

The home side started brightly with a 53-run opening stand between Ham-ilton Masakadza and Vusi Sibanda, but their inability to accelerate from a solid base meant that they never really threatened to achieve their target.

Afridi picked up the wickets of Sibanda and Timycen Maruma after laboured innings by both batsmen, and

also dismissed the dangerous Chigum-bura cheaply.

Although Zimbabwe captain Bren-dan Taylor came in at number three and � nished unbeaten, he was often starved of the strike as he faced just 30 balls in top-scoring with 32.

Malcolm Waller’s late salvo saw him take a six and a four o� Saeed Ajmal’s � nal over, but with too much to do Zimbabwe � nished well short of the line.

“We always know that once we score 150-plus, it will be tough for the opposition to score the runs with our good bowling side,” Hafeez said.

The two teams will face o� again at the same venue in the second and � nal Twenty20 international on Saturday. l

Agnieszka Radwanska attends the 14th Annual BNP Paribas Taste Of Tennis at W New York Hotel n New York City on Thursday AFP

T A S T E O F T E N N I S

Australia's Mitchell Starc appeals successfully for the wicket of England's Jonathan Trott, out LBW for 40 runs, during the third day of the � fth Ashes cricket Test at the Oval in London yesterday AFP

16 Back PageDHAKA TRIBUNE Saturay, August 24, 2013

The Archaeology Department is repainting the Satgombuj Masjid, above, in the capital’s Mohammadpur area to restore its original brick colour from white. The photo below, taken in 2004, depicts the mosque – built during the Mughal era in the 17th century – in its original form SYED ZAKIR HOSSAIN

90K Hajj pilgrims yet to get visaMany pilgrims are concerned that their paperwork will not be completed in timen Moniruzzaman Uzzal

The annual pilgrimage of Hajj will be held this year on October 14, subject to the sighting of the moon. However, the visa processing of 87,689 pilgrims have not even started yet.

Only the 1,490 pilgrims who are going under government supervision have gotten their visas from the Saudi embassy in Dhaka. The other 87,689 pilgrims, who are expecting to perform Hajj with the help of 626 private hajj agencies, are yet to get their visas.

Agencies are saying Bangladesh Bi-man’s delay in declaring the Hajj � ight schedules has caused this dilemma.

One of the preconditions for a pil-grim travelling with an agency to get Hajj visa from the Saudi embassy is that the agency must submit docu-ments showing they had rented a place for the pilgrim in Makkah or Madina. Most of the private agencies have not yet submitted any papers to the reli-gious a� airs ministry.

State Minister for Religious A� airs Md Shahajan Mia in a meeting on Hajj management on August 14 announced that the � rst � ight of Hajj pilgrims will start on September 7.

MA Rashid Shah Samrat, former general secretary of Hajj Agencies of Bangladesh (Hab), told the Dhaka Trib-une that Biman Bangladesh Airlines was supposed to declare Hajj � ight schedules in July but they had not done so yet.

“As the agencies do not yet know the � ight schedule, they cannot rent hous-es,” he said. Last year many agencies had incurred unnecessary costs be-cause of the same problem, he alleged.

Many pilgrims are concerned that their paperwork will not be completed in time.

Moreover, the Saudi government’s warning about health criteria for the pilgrims due to recent outbreaks of the Middle East Respiratory Syndrome

(MERS-COV) has raised concerns among pilgrims.

Health Ministry of Saudi Arabia has urged that the elderly, pregnant wom-en, children and those with chronic diseases should postpone Umrah and Hajj this year. Those aged above 65 and below 12 years have been advised not to perform Hajj.

Religious A� airs Secretary Kazi Ha-bibul Awal told the Dhaka Tribune on Sunday that they did not receive any o� cial letter from the Saudi govern-ment about the age limit.

“Usually they [Saudi government] discourage the elderly and the chil-dren to come to perform Hajj because to perform Hajj properly, physical � t-ness is very important. Moreover they are more cautious this year because of the MARS-COV attacks which killed 38 people,” he said.

Awal hoped that Bangladeshi pil-grims will not have to face any prob-lems to get Hajj visas.

“We have requested the health min-istry to do proper health check-ups on each pilgrim and issue medical certif-icates. Now the people are also con-scious about their age limit and the number of elderly pilgrims is decreas-ing day by day,” he added.

When asked about the slow progress of visa processing, the secretary said Hab leaders had informed him they had almost completed renting houses for the pilgrims.

“They told me they will submit all necessary documents to the religious a� airs ministry soon. Within a week pilgrims with private agencies will start getting visas,” he said.

This year, fewer Bangladeshi pil-grims are going for Hajj. Ministry re-ports said a total of 89,179 people have registered with the government and private agencies for Hajj. Last year there were 105,617 hajis, 16,438 more than this year. l

n Abu Bakar Siddique

Saat Gombuj Masjid, a historic seven-domed mosque in the capital, bears the scars of “ill-conceived renovations” by the archaeo-logical o� cials and mosque authorities, who brought changes to its original design over the years.

The mosque’s original colour pale red was changed to white about a decade ago, and several other changes were made on various occasions.

Sources said, the colour was changed when the department of archaeology, which is responsible for conservation of archaeo-logical sites, took up a project to renovate the mosque in 2003.

Later, in the last � scal year, the govern-ment took up another project to make a few more repairs, including changing the mosque’s damaged plasters, and restore it to its former look.

Dr Ataur Rahman, current regional director of the department of archaeology, said the plan to change colour was “ill-con-ceived” and “wrongheaded.”

“The then director of the department is responsible for making the change. We are now working to restore the originality of the architectural monument through a Tk1m renovation project that would � nish by this � scal year.”

About Tk330,000 worth of work had already been completed, he mentioned.

Apart from the colour, the management committee of the mosque incorporated several changes in its design, including con-structing a washroom with tiled � oor and sidewalls and modern toilet facilities.

Such changes, Ataur said, may add up to a gradual process of distortion of archaeological sites, which require proper awareness of common people and proper renovation by the authorities.

Su� Mosta� zur Rahman, a professor of archaeology at Jahangirnagar University, said the government should be strict about implementing guidelines with regard to renovation of a monument.

“Under no circumstances can you allow the originality of an archaeological site to be damaged or altered,” he said.

Saat Gombuj Masjid, not to be confused with the famous Shaat Gombuj Masjid (six-ty-domed) located in Bagerhat, is located at the Jafrabad area of Mohammadpur. It is popularly known as Saat Masjid, after which an adjoining road was named.

Prof Muntassir Mamoon, a professor of history at the University of Dhaka, said the

mosque, judging from its stylistic patterns, was supposedly built during the reign of Subahdar Shaista Khan, in 1680.

Sources said, the Buriganga River used to � ow past the mosque when it was built, on a beautifully landscaped land covered with forests. With time, the river changed its course and now � ows o� one kilometre west of the mosque.

Saat Masjid is about 38 feet long and 27 feet wide and the thickness of its walls measures four feet. In recent times, the authorities lengthened the prayer hall by making canopied rooms at the front side, to meet the increased pressure of prayer-o� er-ing people.

There are three large onion-shaped domes placed over the main prayer hall and four small ones on all four corners of the rooftop – hence the name Saat Gombuj Masjid (seven-domed mosque). l

US retailers’ alliance to meet in Dhaka for ensuring worker safetyn Ibrahim Hossain Ovi

The  North American Alliance for Ban-gladesh Worker Safety will hold its next meeting at Bangladesh in mid-Septem-ber, aimed at observing progress of safety measures and setting work procedures.

“The next meeting of the North American Alliance for Bangladesh Work-er Safety will be held in Bangladesh,” Atiqul Islam, president of Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association told the Dhaka Tribune. The alliance is expected to arrive in Bangla-desh in mid-September, he added.

The upcoming meeting will set pa-rameter and action plan, and discuss common code of conduct, said Islam, also a member of the alliance board. The alliance will also observe the prog-ress of safety measures.

Earlier on August 20, the US based clothing retailer’s alliance of 20 compa-

nies held a meeting in Chicago, where they announced steps to implement a safety plan for factories in Bangladesh.

“As a board member I could not at-tend the � rst meeting physically, but had a teleconference through which I shared my opinions and presented cur-rent status of garment sector of Bangla-desh,” Atiqul Islam informed.

“I look forward to going to Bangla-desh soon, so I can see � rsthand the kind of progress that the Alliance is making, and to meet government and industry o� cials, because we have to move rapidly to bring these improve-ments for the workers in the garment factories,” said Ellen O’ Kane Tauscher, chair of the alliance.

Speaking after the alliance’s � rst meeting, Tauscher added, “I am pleased to be part of this unique pub-lic-private partnership between com-panies and stakeholders who want to

materially change the safety and work conditions of tens of thousands of Ban-gladeshi garment workers.”

Last week, the Alliance for Bangla-desh Worker Safety elected Ellen O’ Kane Tauscher as its chair for a three-year term on the board of the group.

Tauscher was formerly a democratic member of the United States House of Representatives, representing Califor-nia, and then under-secretary of state for arms control and international security.

The alliance launched a � ve-year project to inspect 500 factory sites in the region, implementing safety stan-dards and assisting owners with mak-ing the necessary improvements.

US retailers took the initiatives fol-lowing the Rana Plaza collapse in April, which killed more than 1,100 workers and injured over 2,500, putting im-mense pressure on retailers to address safety concerns. l

UD suspension withdrawn at 48 factoriesn Ibrahim Hossain Ovi

Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA) has withdrawn the suspension of Uti-lization Declaration (UD) to 48 com-panies as they have ensured 25% open space on the roofs of their factory build-ings complying with the building code.

Earlier, the BGMEA had suspended UD facilities for 160 factories, for not ensuring 25% open space on the roofs of their factory buildings.

The BGMEA has withdrawn UD sus-pension for the 48 companies, while 34 companies got an extension up to September 10 ensure the requirement, said Shahidullah Azim, Vice-President of apparel trade body Apex.

Rest of the 78 factories has been asked to come up with proposals on how they would ensure 25% open space at their respective factories, he added.

After the Tazreen Fire incident, the Bangladesh Fire Service and Civil Defense directed factory owners to ensure space on the roofs of the factory buildings.

Later, 25% open space was made mandatory. The move came following the deadly Rana Plaza collapse, which killed 1,127 workers, while over 2500 sustained injury.

Meanwhile, the BGMEA also urged the Association of Mobile Telecom Op-erators of Bangladesh (AMTOB) to sub-mit proposals detailing on their plans to set up towers on factory roofs.

Azim said AMTOB had submitted their meeting minutes and we had asked them to submit more detailed pa-per regarding establishment of towers.

The BGMEA will provide the list of vulnerable towers and the AMTOB will watch over with their expert panel and take necessary actions, said a director of BGMEA, seeking anonymity. l

Banghabandhu Sheikh Mujib Medical University abuzz with election excitement n Moniruzzaman Uzzal

The two fractions of Banghaband-hu Sheikh Mujib Medical University (BSMMU) are passing busy time in campaigning for their respective candi-dates for the upcoming Dean’s election of the institute.

The Swadhinota Chikitshak Parishad (Swachip) and the Doctors Association of Bangladesh (DAB), backed by ruling Awami League and main opposition BNP, consider the election highly crucial

ahead of the next parliamentary polls.Candidates from four faculties – Ba-

sic Medical Science, Medicine, Surgery and Dentistry – will participate in the election on September 5.

Four deans will be elected by 427 fac-ulty members from the faculties. Among the voters, 179 are from Faculty of Med-icine, 185 from Faculty of Surgery, 45 from Basic Medical Sciences, while 18 belong to the Faculty of Dentistry.

A � ve-member election commis-sion has been formed with BSMMU

Registrar Prof Dr Sayedur Rahman as the chief and Deputy Registrar Zafor Ahmed Zahangir as the member secre-tary.

Dr Sayedur told the Dhaka Tribune that they had received the nomination papers on August 17, 18 and 19. After scrutinising them, 14 candidates were announced on August 20 to � ght for the four posts.

He added that tomorrow was the last date for withdrawing nomination. The � nal list will be announced on August 27.

Prof M Iqbal Arslan, secretary gen-eral of Bangladesh Medical Association (BMA) and Swachip and the present dean of the basic medical science fac-ulty, will contest with DAB candidate Prof Dr Kuddusur Rahman from the clinical pathology faculty.

Three Swachip candidates from the Faculty of Surgery have already with-drawn their nominations. However, Dr Syed Sirazul Karim will run as the Swachip candidate contested by two candidates from DAB – Md Saiful Islam,

ex-dean of BSMMU and chairman of Pae-diatric Surgery and Prof Dr Aftabuddin Ahmed, Faculty of Cardiac Surgery.

Prof Dr ABM Abdullah of medicine faculty, who is also the personal phys-icist of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, will contest against DAB member Dr Nuruddin Ahmed, chairman of herpe-tology department.

Prof Dr Shamsul, current dean of Faculty of Dentistry, is not contesting in the upcoming election. Swachip candidate Prof Dr Ali Asgar Morol was

contesting against DAB candidate Dr Mujibur Rahman.

However, Dr Mujibur’s nomination has been announced illegal.

Seeking anonymity a BSMMU o� cial said Mujibur could not run in the elec-tion as he had been demoted during the tenure of the present government from the post of associate professor to assis-tant professor.

DAB leaders claimed that the deci-sion was illegal and it might boycott the dean’s election. l

Historic mosque loses originality due to ill-conceived renovations

BCL o� ce attacked in Jessoren Our Correspondent, Jessore

Unknown people yesterday hurled crude bombs on the o� ce of Bangla-desh Chhatra League at Bakultala in Jessore, injuring an activist of the stu-dent front of the ruling Awami League.

Witnesses said the attackers had � red six to seven rounds of bullet and hurled a crude bomb targeting the of-� ce. They also damaged a mural of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman.

Shamim, activist of Jessore district

unit of Chhatra League was injured in the attack.

Unit General Secretary Anwar Hos-sain Bipul claimed that about 10 people, including Tak Shipon, Setu, Kasai Faruk, Rabiul, Jewel and Esha, had carried out the attack.

Emdadul Haque, o� cer-in-charge of Kotwali police station, said he had been informed of the incident. The at-tack might have been a sequel to the rivalry between two groups led by in-� uential leaders of Awami League. l

Local bus owners to thwart extortion n Our Correspondent, Narayanganj

The management committee of a local bus service, Nasib Paribahan, was al-leged for extorting Tk60m, in a press conference on Friday.

The newly formed executive com-mittee of Nasib Paribahan alleged that the management committee headed by Ehsanul Haq Nipu, president of local Chhatra League and relative of Narayanganj Awami League leader Shamim Osman, formed the commit-tee in 2009 and have been extorting Tk10,000 per day since then.

A total of 24 buses of Nasib Paribah-an ply inside the district every day.

In the conference, the local bus owners association pledged to prevent extortion by any means and restore dis-cipline. They expressed to refrain from paying toll to anyone, even if the per-son holds a higher rank or is associated with Shamim Osman.

The conference was held at a local hotel near the central bus terminal in Narayanganj.

The speakers alleged that Nipu was made president of the management committee illegally and had extracted Tk60m and Tk600,000 extortion from them in between 2009 and 2013.

Awal said the bus fare was raised from Tk10 to Tk18 after Nipu’s commit-tee was formed.

However, Rab-11 had seized Saiful Islam, a fellow of Nipu on charge of ex-tortion, he said.

When contacted, Ehsanul Haq Nipu denied all the allegations saying he was elected the president of the manage-ment committee in due procedure and had never realised tolls from the bus owners. l

Rehab cautions against purchasing property abroadn UNB

The Real Estate and Housing Associa-tion of Bangladesh (Rehab)expressed caution over buyers’ look out to pur-chase apartments abroad. They fear the buyers might fall into traps and lose large sums of money.

The apex body of the real estate businessmen expressed the concern following a foreign company’s newspa-per advertisements about opportuni-ties to buy apartments in Dubai.

“Such an illegal campaign will only encourage siphoning o� money abroad at a time when the housing sector is going through a critical phase. It’s an ominous sign indeed,” a statement by Rehab read.

Mentioning the Foreign Exchange Regulation Act 1947, the organisation said there is no scope to buy apart-ments abroad. “Rehab expects appro-priate steps from the ministry con-cerned.”

Citing statistics from an internation-al study, it also said about Tk1.12tn has been siphoned o� abroad from Ban-gladesh over thelast decade, as well as another Tk35bn in the name of buying ‘Second Home’ in Malaysia.

Meanwhile, the Bangladesh Bank has warned against purchasing prop-erty abroad by violating restriction on foreign currency transfer. It issued a cautionary notice after advertisements were published in local newspapers of-fering apartments abroad.

Recently, a Dubai-based company called DAMAC Properties o� ered luxu-ry apartments,villa, condominiums and townhouses in the UAE city for sales.

The central bank, citing Foreign Ex-change Regulation Act 1947, said there is a bar on sending money abroad to buy properties. It also said “collaborat-ing” to send money illegally will be a punishable o� ence.

DAMAC Properties was established in 2002, as a private residential,leisure and commercial developer in Dubai and the Middle East. In the past de-cade, it expanded its operation into as far as North Africa, Jordan, Lebanon, Qatar and Saudi Arabia. l

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