SECOND EDITION

WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 9, 2015 | Agrahayan 25, 1422, Safar 26, 1437 | Regd No DA 6238, Vol 3, No 233 | www.dhakatribune.com | 32 pages | Price: Tk10

INSIDE

Full coverage of Paris COP21

PAGE 5

Bangladesh mounts pressure for GCF grants, but unlikelyto get in Parisn Meer Saiful Islam, from Paris

Bangladesh maintains its position to get � -nance from the Green Climate Fund (GCF) as grants as the ministers continued negoti-ation in reaching a consensus on the issues still remained unsettled at the UN climate change conference in Paris yesterday.

Member of Bangladesh delegation Dr Has-san Mahmud, chairman of the Parliamentary

PAGE 2 COLUMN 1

Bangladesh seeks clear � nance, technology dealn Meer Saiful Islam, from Paris

Bangladesh wants world leaders to clarify the � nance and technol-ogy sharing provisions of the cli-mate change agreement expected to be adopted in Paris on Friday.

“Finance and technology are obviously the most critical ele-

ments,” Environment and Forest Minister Anwar Hossain Manju told the high-level segment of the COP21 in Paris on Monday evening.

He raised the demand as the heads of del-egation began negotiating critical issues that remain unresolved after the � rst segment of the o� cial negotiation ended last week.

He listed four expectations that Bangla-

desh has for the agreement.First, he said it is important to form a col-

laborative platform that will facilitate e� ec-tive engagement between countries under-taking meaningful climate action.

Second, with reference to nationally determined mitigation commitments or contributions, Manju said Bangladesh is

PAGE 2 COLUMN 1

BNP: Poll campaign without symbol discriminatoryCandidates will launch their election-eering today ahead of the municipal-ity polls but they are still confused whether they can use symbols during the campaign PAGE 3

Nizami’s appeal verdict on January 6On the closing day of arguments, Attorney General Mahbubey Alam prayed to the court to uphold Nizami’s death penalty as he had instigated and abetted al-Badr, an auxiliary force of the Pakistani Army, to exterminate the country’s intellectuals and many other freedom � ghters during the 1971 Liberation War PAGE 32

RMG workersgo chaotic

Ready-made garment (RMG) factory workers yesterday blocked a road near Kamalapur Railway Station for nearly � ve hours protesting the death of a RMG worker in road accident on Monday PAGE 4

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1

News2DTWEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 9, 2015

Bangladesh seeks clear � nance, technology dealgravely concerned that the submitted INDCs will allow a global temperature rise of be-tween 2.7° and 3.5° Celsius.

This will cause dangerous negative conse-quences for the global community, particular-ly vulnerable countries like Bangladesh. Even a 2° Celsius global goal is not safe for Bangla-desh and other vulnerable countries, he said.

Third, the linkage between mitigation and adaptation needs must be clearly recognised in the agreement.

“It is necessary to recognise adaptation as a global challenge and a global responsibili-ty,” he said, adding it was critical to ensuring the e� ective and adequate implementation of nationally appropriate adaptation actions.

For this to be the case, appropriate � nance and technology transfer is essential, Manju told his global colleagues.

For Bangladesh, Manju said it is critical to include Loss and Damage as an integral part

of the Paris agreement. This must include an emphasis on the establishment of a climate change displacement coordination facility to provide organised migration and planned re-location, he added.

Fourth, he said the agreement should in-clude clear provisions to provide adequate means of implementation for adaptation and mitigation, taking into consideration the speci� c circumstances of LDCs and other vulnerable countries.

The Green Climate Fund needs further capitalisation along with early replenish-ment of the LDC Fund. Clarity must be pro-vided on the mobilisation of resources for pre-2020 and post-2020 climate action, con-sidering the pathway to $100 billion per year as a � oor from 2020, he added.

“Since climate change is a global problem, we collectively have to � nd a global solu-tion,” the minister said.

“As we speak in Paris, our people ask us to deliver on the expectations of COP21. This COP must redeem the faith reposed in us,” he said, urging ministers to engage in Paris in a true spirit of dedication, trust and cooperation.

Manju pointed out that climate change is a harsh global reality that poses one of the greatest threats to humanity and the planet. Particularly vulnerable countries, especially least developed and small island countries take on a disproportionate burden while con-tributing least to this global calamity.

Bangladesh contributes negligibly to glob-al greenhouse gas emissions, Manju said. “Yet, we pay heavily on account of the im-pacts of climate change.”

Bangladesh risks losing 2-3% of the coun-try’s development gains annually and this loss could increase if climate change contin-ues to worsen, he said.

Manju informed the conference that Bang-

ladesh was doing its part to address the com-plex vulnerabilities it faces. The country es-tablished a Climate Change Trust Fund in 2009 and so far an allocation of $400 million has been made from its own budgetary resources.

Despite limited resources, Bangladesh is pursuing a low carbon development path-way, with emphasis on renewable energy, energy e� ciency and energy conservation. Over the years, the country has set up close to four million solar home systems and around 16 million people have access to re-newable energy.

The minister said, in response to the call of our times, Bangladesh had submitted its INDC with both unconditional and condi-tional contributions along with an adapta-tion component.

“Now we have to make sure that the Paris agreement facilitates the meaningful imple-mentation of the INDCs,” he said. l

Bangladesh mounts pressure for GCF grants, but unlikely to get in ParisStanding Committee on Environment and Forests Ministry, stated the country’s stance at a press conference at the COP21 venue.

Bangladesh delegation leader, Environ-ment and Forest Minister Anwar Hossain Manju, Secretary Dr Kamaluddin, environ-ment expert Dr Ainun Nishat and eminent economist and environmentalist Dr Kazi Kholiquzzaman Ahmed also spoke at the event, explaining Bangladesh’s position in the wake of the country’s climate vulnera-bility.

“We’ve taken a strict position on grants,” Hassan said. “No loan from the climate change fund. It should come as compensa-tion as we are the victims of consequences caused by others [developed countries],” he said.

In response to a question about what Bangladesh would do if the stance is rejected at the COP21, the minister said: “This is not our responsibility.

“It will be looked after by our Finance Ministry and then the prime minister. They will decide.”

“It is unlikely to be decided here. It will be decided separately in the GCF,” environment specialist Dr Saleemul Haq told the Dhaka Tribune. Bangladesh has sought around $50 billion annually from the GCF to meet the expenditure on planned adaptation and mit-igation measure.

Former environment minister Hassan said there were many issues and areas needed to be addressed that require huge money. “The

fund committed so far is very little and it has frustrated Bangladesh.”

Replying to another question, he cited an example that Bangladesh’s sea-level is rising gradually, putting around 40 million people along the coastal belt at risk. So, Bangladesh has decided to increase the height of the em-bankment along the coastal line. “We’ll also have to relocate the people from the extreme vulnerable areas of the country.”

He reiterated the country’s demand for adaptation fund from the GCF on a priority basis with preferential treatment. Necessary technology to mitigate emission must also come from the GCF as grant.

Meanwhile, the parties got down to busi-ness yesterday as a � urry of ministerial con-

sultations were conducted through the day.French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius,

on the previous day, took the lead by plac-ing the ministerial section of COP under an open-ended meeting known as the “Paris Committee” that occurs each evening to hear reports from the consulting ministers.

He has given the ministers clear guidance – their mandate is to bridge di� erences by fa-cilitating discussion between the parties. He directed Parties to focus on solutions, rather than simply restate positions.

On Monday evening, the ministerial facili-tators reported their consultations. The over-all message was one of positive engagement from all Parties. Compromise, � exibility and, on some issues, convergence was reported

in all four areas of negotiation as delegation members summarised.

A few facilitation reports indicated that some parties restated existing positions rath-er than providing solutions. On a positive note, statements from parties showed con-tinued support for the COP president.

Negotiations bene� ted from the dynamic pace set by the French Presidency, but min-isters still needed to consider four crucial is-sues before today noon, when the organisers expecting a primary draft on the outcome of the last two days.

There is a clear momentum behind the inclusion of a 1.5 degree temperature limit, says Climate Action Network, a network of over 900 NGOs.

However, the limit will only be achieved if the agreement sees a long-term goal and a process to revise commitments upward. There is also growing convergence on the importance of a global stocktaking, although the critical issues of when it begins and whether it rules out winding back commit-ments still remain unresolved.

“The ministers are holding the pen. Those of us who have watched for a long time see a new spirit of cooperation, but this coop-eration has to result in something real and meaningful,” said Ruth Davis of Greenpeace, a member of CAN.

“Addressing loss and damage is a life and death issue, not a bargaining chip. Negotia-tors need to take the politics out of this top-ic,” said Harjeet Singh of ActionAid. l

Environment and Forest Minister Anwar Hossain Manju speaks at a press conference at the COP21 venue, Paris on Monday DHAKA TRIBUNE

‘Prosecution has proved that Nizami was a collaborator’n Ashif Islam Shaon

The lawyer for death-row convict war crimi-nal Motiur Rahman Nizami has admitted be-fore the court that the prosecution success-fully proved that his client was a collaborator of the Pakistani occupation forces in 1971.

The counsel, however, argued that since the government was not trying the Pakistani Army for committing war crimes, it should consider the merit of trying a collaborator for abetting the Pakistani Army in war crimes.

It was the � rst time that any war criminal or his lawyer admits collaboration with the Pakistani Army that killed around three mil-

lion people during the country’s liberation struggle.

Earlier, two executed war criminals – Ali Ahsan Mohammad Mujaheed and Salauddin Quader Chowdhury – sought presidential clemency, but were rejected. It means that they admitted the crimes for which they had been sentenced to death.

The defence counsel, Khandaker Mah-bub Hossain, yesterday prayed to the court to commute Nizami’s death sentence to life imprisonment if the apex court found him guilty of his wartime o� ence. He also urged the court to acquit his client of all the charg-es.

Nizami, now 75, was the chief of al-Badr force as the head of Jamaat-e-Islami’s then student wing Islami Chhatra Sangha in erst-while East Pakistan. He later became the chief of All Pakistan Chhatra Sangha. The incumbent Jamaat chief was sentenced to death on four charges and life-term jail on four others.

In response to a question after the hear-ing, Mahbub said that seeking reduced pun-ishment did not mean admitting the crimes.

“The prosecution has proved that Nizami was a collaborator. But they could not prove that Nizami was involved with any particular o� ence.

“The prosecution has brought witnesses to prove that Nizami was with the Pakistani Army. [So] they [Army] should be the main accused [in the case]. Here, the [Pakistan] Army is not being tried. So, the court should judge the justi� cation of the trial of Nizami as an abettor [of war crimes].”

He questioned whether the collaborators, who accompanied the Pakistani Army per-sonnel during operations, had the ability to assist them in committing the crimes.

Mahbub also claimed that the witness statements had been inconsistent. They had been taught the facts by the state counsels at safe home. l

Two Indian Sikhs stabbedn Anwar Hussain, from Chittagong and

Kamrul Hasan in Dhaka

Two Indian Sikhs were stabbed late Monday by unidenti� ed assailants in Nunachhara area of Dhaka-Chittagong highway near Si-takunda, Chittagong.

Two suspected assailants were arrested by the police after a case was � led in this regard.

Following the incident, the wounded Sikhs Jogendra Shil Darar, 55, and Amar Jeet Singh, 45 were given primary treatment in a local hospital of Mirsarai upazila. Later they were shifted to Dhaka Medical College Hospital in the capital and released around 11:45am yesterday.

Police sources said a group of 40 Sikhs came to Chittagong from Punjab province of India to attend the 546th birthday of their re-ligious leader Guru Nanak Devji on Monday.

After the attending the programme, the group divided and got in four micro-buses to return to Dhaka. Around 11:45pm on Monday, one of the micro-bus stopped near Nunach-hara as the vehicle was having problems.

When the driver of the micro-bus came out to repair the vehicle, a group of 10-15 masked men swooped on them with sharp weapons and robbed Rs22,000 and mobile phones from the Sikhs, O� cer-in-Charge of Sitakunda police station Iftekhar Hasan said.

After the attack, Ashim Kumar Malakar, the micro-bus driver, � led a case early yester-day with Sitakunda police in this connection.

Police later arrested two people from Nunachhara area for their alleged involve-ment with the robbery. However, the OC did not disclose the identity of the arrested for the sake of investigation. He only said that the two belonged to a gang of robbers who had been operating in the area for a long time.

Meanwhile, the two injured were later taken to a guest room in Gurdwara Nanak Shahi in Dhaka University premises. The me-dia was not allowed to talk to them.

When contacted, the authorities of the Gurdwara Nanak Shahi said they will hold a meeting in this regard and then make a o� -cial statement. l

News 3D

TWEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 9, 2015

Injured in an attack at Sitakunda early Monday, Jogendra Shil Darar and Amar Jeet Singh get treatment at Dhaka Medical College Hospital yesterday DHAKA TRIBUNE

BNP: Election campaign without symbol discriminatoryn Mohammad Al-Masum Molla

Candidates will launch their electioneering today ahead of the municipality polls but they are still confused whether they can use symbols during the campaign.

The Election Commission will decide to-day whether the candidates will be allowed to use symbols before December 14, the day symbols will formerly be allocated among the contestants.

Election observers said this is discrimina-tory as partisan candidates will get an upper hand over others raising a further question of the EC’s intention to hold a free, fair and credible election.

They said their suspicion grew as candidacy withdrawal date will expire on December 13 and symbols of candidates were yet to be allocated. “How will the candidates do their campaign without symbol?” questioned one of them.

When contacted, Election Commission Secretary Sirazul Islam said: “Candidates will start their campaign from tomorrow (Wednesday) but whether the symbol will be used in the campaign is yet to be decided.”

Election Commissioner Shah Nawaz said: “I said earlier that election campaign would start from December 9. I do not know wheth-er any other decision was made in this re-gard. That’s it.”

As per the election code of conduct, the electioneering in favour of any can-didate cannot be launched three weeks

before the election date.Former election commissioner M Sakha-

wat Hossain said as all the candidates are not contesting the polls under party banner discrimination is obvious because the party nominated candidates will get upper hand in election campaign as local people have al-ready known about their party identities.

“This time mayoral candidates are con-testing the polls under their respective par-ty banners, much to their advantage but the independent candidates will become the vic-tims of discrimination as they are yet to get symbols,” he said.

Apart from this, the councillor candidates are non-partisan and they are also yet to get any symbol, said the former election commissioner.

“Then how can they be able to launch their campaign. Candidacy is also not � nalised as the withdrawal date is still valid. It will cre-ate confusion. In local government election, symbol is very important, voters have to be familiar with the symbol as symbols used in this election is di� erent from party ones.”

He also said the Election Commission is putting the independent and councillor can-didates in disadvantageous position and it is the responsibility of the commission to cre-ate a level-playing � eld.

The municipal election is being held polit-ically partially for the � rst time in the coun-try. Some 22 registered political parties have joined the election race � elding a total of 711 candidates for mayoral posts. l

JMB man who killed Kunio arrestedn Kamrul Hasan

Police say they have arrested the prime sus-pect in Japanese citizen Hoshi Kunio’s mur-der, adding that the arrested JMB man also killed a mazar khadem last month in Rangpur.

Masud Rana, 38, is a regional leader of Ja-ma’atul Mujahideen Bangladesh, said Huma-yun Kabir, the acting deputy inspector gener-al (DIG) for Rangpur Range.

Rana was arrested from his house, the acting DIG said without disclosing the time of arrest.

Police sources, however, said Rana had been arrested sometime before last Thursday. News of his arrest had not been announced to the media earlier for the sake of ongoing in-vestigation, the acting DIG said yesterday.

Rana had previously been in jail for two years, but secured bail and started to reorganise JMB activities in the district following his release.

“Masud Rana is the JMB regional com-mander of the region and was one the shoot-ers [of Kunio]. He confessed in the court of Senior Judge Sha� ul Alam that he shot at Ho-shi Kunio,” acting DIG Kabir said.

The same person killed Khadem Rahmat Ali on November 10 at Choita intersection in Kaunia upazila and also tried to kill Bahai com-munity leader Ruhul Amin two days earlier.

Following Rana’s confession, the police re-covered three knives including one that Rana admitted of using to hack khadem Rahmat to death. They also searched the vicinity of his home and found � fty empty cans that were supposed to be used for making crude bombs.

However, police are yet to recover the � re-arm and the bike that were used to kill Kunio.

The 65-year-old Kunio was killed by three unidenti� ed motorcycle-riding men in Ka-chu Alutari village on October 3.

Earlier, the police detained � ve suspects in the Kunio murder case including Rashi-dunnabi Khan Biplob, the younger brother of BNP leader Habib Un Nabi Sohel, and the vic-tim’s business partner Humayun Kabir Hira.

At the time, law enforcers also claimed that all three of Kunio’s attackers have been arrested.

But yesterday, the police did not say whether the latest arrest had any links with the previous detainments. l

RMG workers go chaotic over colleague’s deathn Tribune Report

Ready-made garment (RMG) factory workers yesterday blocked a road near Kamalapur Railway Station for nearly � ve hours protest-ing the death of a RMG worker in road acci-dent on Monday.

The demonstration started at 9am in the morning halting movement of all kinds of ve-hicles on the road leading to Noterdem col-lege and Toynobi Circular.

The agitated workers demanded com-pensation be paid to the members of the de-ceased and injured workers.

The workers vandalized half a dozen vehi-cles during the demonstration.

A bus of Balaka Transport hit Olio Appar-els Limited's worker Aklima Akther, 30, at 8.45pm on Monday leaving her dead on the spot. Three other workers – Rehana Begum, 27, Hazera Begum, 30, and Jashim, 28 also re-ceived injuries.

The bus driver was arrested soon after the incident and police also seized the bus.

Workers of the nearby garment factories came out on to the street as they came to know about the news at 8.30am yesterday.

Hundreds of workers from Drive Star Gar-ment of Arambagh area, Ipu Garment and Olio Garment of Jonaki Cinema hall area of Kamlapur joined the demonstration.

Aklima, a worker of Oli garment, owned by Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA) President Salam Murshidi, said appropriate compensa-tions should be paid to the family members of the deceased and injured workers.

A huge number of police men were de-ployed in the area to avert any untoward in-cidents.

The situation turned normal around 1:45pm after BGMEA Additional Secretary

Mansur Khaled, Olio Garment In-Charge Kazi Taslim along with Motijheel Division Depu-ty Commissioner Anowar Hossain assured them of proper compensation.

Kazi Taslim announced that Olio Garment

would pay Tk2,00000 as compensation to the family of the deceased and bear the treat-ment cost of the injured workers.

The BGMEA also declared that it would pay Tk50,000 to complete the burial of the

deceased. Anowar Hossain, deputy commissioner of

police of Motijheel division, told the Dhaka Tribune that they freed the road after they had a discussion with the workers. l

WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 9, 2015News4DT

Ex-NBR chairman gets clean chitn Adil Sakhawat

The Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) has acquitted former National Board of Revenue (NBR) Golam Hossain of the graft allegation of amassing wealth illegally.

The matter of his acquittal signed by ACC Secretary Abu Md Mustafa Kamal has recent-ly been posted on the ACC website.

The commission started running inquiry against Golam Hossain in December, 2013. Earlier, the inquiry o� cial recommended his acquittal of the graft allegation and submit-ted his report but the commission asked him to conduct the inquiry again.

Finally, the inquiry o� cial again recom-mended his acquittal as he did not � nd any

proof of NBR chairman’s involvement in the graft charge.

As the allegation goes, he gave illegal fa-cilities to reconditioned car importers vio-lating customs rules and in� uenced the NBR not to realise about Tk3,000 crore of revenue from the country’s mobile phone operators in replacing their SIM cards.

Also the commission found allegation against him that the former NBR chairman barred tax of-� cials from realising Tk25 crore from Liberty En-terprises and Tk75 crore from Galaxy Accessories and Sweaters through his direct intervention.

The anti-graft body received allegation that a huge some of money was taken by the former NBR chairman for letting loose the tax dodgers. l

Pankaj leaving Dhaka n Sheikh Shahariar Zaman

Indian High Commissioner to Bangladesh Pankaj Saran paid a farewell call on Foreign Minister AH Mahmood Ali.

They discussed simpli� cation of visa procedures and other bilateral issues, says a press release of the Foreign Ministry.

After the meeting, the Indian high com-

missioner said he was leaving Bangladesh with a satisfaction that he had duly per-formed his duties.

Pankaj said he is going to Moscow as a sat-is� ed ambassador.

“Yes, de� nitely,” he said.Pankaj took over as Indian high commis-

sioner in March 2012 and scheduled to leave for Moscow as his next assignment. l

Agitated workers vandalise a bus in Kamalapur area in the city yesterday demanding compensation to family members of their colleague killed in a road accident on Monday MEHEDI HASAN

Cox’s Bazar 26 21Dhaka 28 17 Chittagong 26 19 Rajshahi 27 14 Rangpur 26 14 Khulna 28 14 Barisal 28 16 Sylhet 27 14T E M P E R AT U R E F O R E C A S T F O R TO DAY

Source: Accuweather/UNB

D H A K ATODAY TOMORROW

SUN SETS 5:11PM SUN RISES 6:30AM

YESTERDAY’S HIGH AND LOW29.3ºC 13.2ºCTeknaf SrimangalWEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 9

DRY WEATHER

Source: IslamicFinder.org

Fajr: 5:09am | Zohr: 11:54am Asr: 3:35pm | Magrib: 5:12pmEsha: 6:33pm

PRAYERTIMES

WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 9, 20155

DTPARIS CLIMATE CHANGE CONFERENCE

Vulnerables say it should be 1.5 degreesn Abu Bakar Siddique from Paris

The Climate Vulnerable Forum (CVF) yester-day placed its demands to global leaders for settling the target of limiting carbon emission below 1.5 degrees in the draft Paris agreement.

They said countries have to come to an agreement on this common agenda to avoid further devastation due to global warming.

“If we cannot bind the emission limit within 1.5 degrees, the earth will be more vulnerable in terms of erratic weather pat-tern and food security and biodiversity will be hampered,” said Dr Saleemul Huq, chair of the CVF Advisory Panel.

He was speaking at a press brie� ng of the Forum at Le Bourget in Paris.

He said 126 countries have already ex-pressed the same demand at the Paris cli-mate summit, “which is a good sign.”

However, Saleemul said countries like Saudi Arabia are opposing to � x the target be-low 1.5 degrees with an aim to continue their fossil fuel business.

The CVF is an international partnership of countries highly vulnerable to a warming planet. It was founded in 2009.

Currently chaired by Philippines, the Fo-rum members are meeting in Paris in full for the third time since its inception to deliver a collective vision of the vulnerable countries for COP21. l

Call for zero-emission vehiclesn Abu Bakar Siddique from Paris

COP21 yesterday saw a call from ministers, industry executives, civil society and inter-national organisations for a swift move to ze-ro-emission vehicles as a key component of a future global climate change strategy.

“Electric vehicles can drive us into a cleaner, more sustainable energy future. The IEA has shown that if global warming is to be limited to 2 degrees, at least a � fth of all vehi-cles on roads by 2030 should be electric,” said Fatih Birol, executive director of Internation-al Energy Agency.

Currently, the transport sector is almost completely dependent on fossil fuels and con-tributes approximately one quarter of all en-ergy-related carbon dioxide emissions to the atmosphere. The contribution is set to grow to one-third, faster than any other sector.

Ligia Noronha, director of the Division of Technology, Industry and Economics of the UN Environment Programme (UNEP), said: “Time has come for a global push towards zero-emission vehicles.

“The continued use of fossil fuels for vehi-cles is costing too much – in terms of climate, air pollution and economies. To get the nec-essary bene� ts we need to ensure this will indeed be a global shift – in all regions and countries.” l

Gender just climate solutions placed on Gender Dayn Sohara Mehroze Shachi

December 8 has been named Gender Day at COP21. Highlighting the gender di� erentiated impacts of climate change, the day comprised of a plethora of events , including a women’s caucus, presentations by women from around the world of their practical solutions for climate change, and performance and testimonials from women climate leaders.

Yet, sadly, these events remain largely con� ned to the sidelines of the conference, and are not re� ected in the actual negoti-ations. Men far outnumber women in the negotiations and gender is yet to become a cross cutting issue in the negotiating text.

“Women are not being adequately represented at the planning level,” said Kalyani Raj, member in charge of All India Women’s Conference. “Women’s needs, impacts of climate change and requirements are di� erent, so it is crucial that their voices are included more in policy and decisionmaking,” she adds.

Realising this urgent need for adopting a gender responsive approach to developing just solutions to climate change, the Women and Gender Constituency (WGC), a stake-holder group of the UNFCCC comprising of 15 women’s organisations and thousands of members from over 60 countries, put togeth-er the following key demands for COP21:

l Governments must commit to keep glob-

al warming under 1.5 degrees to prevent catastrophic climate change, in line with equity and common but di� erentiated responsibilities

l Adaptation approaches must be country driven, gender responsive, participatory and fully transparent

l The agreement must ensure that all cli-mate actions, both adaptation and mit-igation, respect, protect, promote and ful� l human rights, gender equality and the rights of indigenous peoples, inter-generational equity, a just transition and decent work, food security and resilient ecosystems

l Developed countries must do their fair share by taking the lead to close the ineq-uitable emissions gap of current intend-ed nationally determined contributions and providing unconditional support to developing countries to mitigate and adapt to climate change

l Technology development and transfer must be safe for people and the envi-ronment, a� ordable to all and gender re-sponsive

l Governments must commit to wide rang-ing ambitious and just actions pre-2020 under workstream II

l Concepts such as “net zero” or carbon neutrality or any that encourage o� -set-ting and unsafe technologies must be left out of the agreement

l The long-term global goal of the agree-ment must articulate a sustainable

pathway for urgently reducing emis-sions: phasing in 100% safe and sus-tainable renewable energy systems and a wide-ranging structural and lifestyle changes, and phasing out harmful tech-nologies and fossil fuels

l The new agreement must explicitly in-clude a standalone section on loss and damage and include a mechanism to ad-dress both � nancial and non-monetised loss and damage

l Countries must provide clearly de� ned, new, additional and predictable gender responsive climate � nance in the form of grants. The goal of $100 billion per year must be a � oor, not a ceiling, scaled up at least every � ve years, with a 50:50 bal-ance between mitigation and adaptation, and include � nance for loss and damage in addition to adaptation funding

l Finally, participation in decisionmak-ing under the new agreement should be inclusive and transparent, ensuring all barriers to movement and travel for de-veloping country participants are allevi-ated and the civil society has access to decision making spaces

“We are collectively working to make sure all climate policy is gender responsive,” said Bridget Burns of Women and Development Organisation, one of the member of the WGC. “We are highlighting to ministers why it is important that policies respect the rights and needs of women.” l

At a Friends of the Earth Action at COP21 on December 7, activists were showing support for keeping the 1.5 degree Celsius limit in the climate negotiations and also held a banner which read “Rich Countries Do Your Fair Share” EMMA CASSIDY | SURVIVAL MEDIA AGENCY

WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 9, 2015News6DT

Probe team from Dhaka visits Kantaji blast siten Arifur Rahman Rabbi,

back from Dinajpur

A team of Criminal Investi-gation Department (CID) and Special Branch (SB) of police from Dhaka visited the scene of the blast in Dinajpur’s Kan-toji Temple premises yester-day, but local law enforcers said there has been no pro-gress in the probe so far.

Assistant police superin-tendent of Dinajpur, Sujan Sarker, told the Dhaka Trib-une that the visiting CID-SB team spoke to locals as well as temple and fair authorities. But there has been no arrest or progress in the case, he added.

A six-member committee, headed by district SB Sub-In-spector Manjur Mawla, is helping with the probe. “We are looking at every angle, in-cluding militant involvement, sabotage and personal con-� icts. But it is not right time to comment,” the SI said.

Very early Saturday, three

bombs went o� inside the tent housing the jatra show at the Rash Mela inside the Kantaji Temple premises, leaving 10 people hurt, six of them criti-cally injured.

Following the attack, the o� cer in-charge of Kaharole police station was closed, fol-lowed by the investigation of-� cer as well.

Monsur Ali Sarkar, the new OC at Kaharole, said Sub-In-spector Tazul was now inves-tigating the blast. All local law enforcement agencies were working together to solve the case, he added.

According to police, the sit-uation at the site was now nor-mal. However, additional po-lice remain deployed around the fair, which has seen visitor numbers plummet since the explosions.

Locals have also been in a state of panic since the inci-dent. But most have dismissed the possibility that militants had been behind the attack. l

Shahadat granted bailn Ashif Islam Shaon

The High Court has granted bail to Kazi Shahadat Hossain, a suspended national cricket-er, in a case � led against him for torturing his domestic help.

The bench of Justice M Enayetur Rahim and Justice Md Amir Hossain granted the bail yesterday until March 31.

The court also issued a rule upon the government asking why Shahadat would not be granted regular bail in the case. The government has been asked to respond to the rule within three weeks.

On October 5, Shahadat sur-rendered before a Dhaka court.

Police arrested Shahadat’s wife Jesmin Jahan Nitto from Pabna Lane in the capital’s Malibagh area on October 4.

On September 6, journalist Khandkar Mozzamel Haque found Mahfuza Akhter Happy, 11, the domestic help of Shaha-dat’s residence, lying injured on a road in Sangbadik Colony area of Pallabi in Dhaka.

Happy told the journalist that cricketer Shahadat and his wife Nitto tortured her.

Later, journalist Mozzamel took her to the police and � led the case with Mirpur Model po-lice station under Section 4 (2) of the Women and Children Re-pression Prevention Act 2000. l

HC upholds death sentence in 2009 schoolgirl murder casen Tribune Report

The High Court yesterday up-held a trial court verdict that awarded death sentence to one and life imprisonment to four in a 2009 murder of a schoolgirl in the capital.

The HC bench of Justice Bhabani Prasad Singha and Justice SM Mozibur Rahman delivered the verdict reject-ing the convict’s appeal and accepting the death reference.

On February 26 2009, An-amika Ghosh, 9, a student of class III, was abducted while

she was on her way home from school. The kidnappers de-manded a ransom of Tk10 lakh from the family but they could not manage the ransom.

On March 1, police recov-ered her body near the Paturia Ferry Terminal in Manikganj and arrested � ve suspects on March 7. In December 2009, Fourth Speedy Tribunal of Dhaka found the � ve guilty of abduction and murder of the schoolgirl. Yesterday, the High Court rejected their appeals against the verdicts and up-held the sentences. l

AL to face tough � ght in Dhunot, Sarikandin Our Correspondent, Bogra

The Awami League leadership in Bogra is con� dent that the nominated mayoral aspir-ants will defeat the party’s rebels and other candidates in Dhunot and Sarikandi munici-pality polls slated for December 30.

The rebel candidates have alleged that the district unit leaders ignored grassroots’ opinion in choosing the mayoral candidates. Election observers say the con� ict between the ruling party candidates will only bene� t the BNP-backed candidates.

The party has nominated Shariful Islam Khan, organising secretary of the upazila unit Awami League, for the mayoral race.

Incumbent mayor of Dhunot municipality AGM Badshah, also a member of the Awami League’s upazila unit, did not get party ticket this time. So he resigned from the party be-fore submitting his nomination paper. More-

over, mayor hopeful Al Amin Tarafder has quit the Awami League to contest the elec-tion as an independent candidate.

Even though the central leaders of the Awami League have ordered the rebels to withdraw their candidature and support the party-nominated candidates, Badshah and Al Amin think most of the voters were in their favour.

On the other hand, the BNP has their lone nominee in Dhunot municipal election, for-mer mayor Alimuddin Harun Mandal.

Badshah alleged that district unit Presi-dent Mamtaz Uddin and General Secretary Mojibur Rahman Mojnu had not discussed

the nomination issue with the upazila or mu-nicipality units.

Mojibur refuted the allegation, and hoped that Shariful would win the election.

The ruling party-backed mayoral candi-date in Sarikandi is also facing two rebels – former mayor Abdul Hamid Sarder and Ab-dur Rashid Farazi.

The duo claimed that the nomination of upazila unit General Secretary Alamgir Shahi Sumon as the mayoral candidate was partisan. They also refused to withdraw their candida-ture, but the district returning o� ce has can-celled their nomination papers during scrutiny.

The BNP-backed candidate, Tipu Sultan, has no rival from the party but he has got his nomination paper cancelled for concealing information and audit objections. He is the incumbent mayor of the municipality.

Hamid, Farazi and Tipu have appealed against the EC’s decision. l

WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 9, 2015News 7

DT

MUNICIPALIT Y POLLS 2015

MUNICIPALIT YPOLLS 2015

M U N I C I P A L I T Y P O L L S 2 0 1 5

Ajmiriganj municipality’s wait for a poll continuesn Our Correspondent, Habiganj

As municipalities across the country head to the polls on December 30, the Ajmiriganj municipality in Habiganj will continue its 11-year wait for an election.

Since Ajmiriganj was made a municipal-ity in 2004, the role of administrator has changed hands several times, but locals say the area has seen little development because there had been no elected representative.

The delay in election is caused by disputes – one case and another written complaint – over the demarcation of the municipality.

Nayagram village resident Towhid Ali � led the case when the municipality was founded in 2004; its verdict is currently pending. The other complaint was � led with the UNO by Ward 8 councillor Jyotish Kuri, but its hearing cannot start until the verdict in the other case.

In January 2004, the BNP government de-clared the 6.5 sq-km area of Ajmiriganj upzila sadar as a municipality. The area has 16,000 residents, 9,000 of them voters including 3,500 Hindu voters.

The local upazila nirbahi o� cer acted as the initial administrator of the municipality, but the o� ce was then given to upazila BNP General Secretary Md Golam Faruk.

He served as the administrator until Sep-tember 2012 when the role went back to the then UNO as Faruk had cases against him. However, less than a year later, a court rul-ing paved way for Faruk being reappointed as the municipality administrator.

Asked for a comment, Faruk said his ad-ministration would provide all necessary support if the court clears the way for an election.

However, a local voter named Sohel Ahmed claimed that it was the will of the municipality administrator that was delay-ing a poll.

Another voter named Khalilur Rahman echoed Sohel, saying the municipality resi-dents were being denied of development for the lack of an election. l

CEPZ factories choke Chittagong bus servicesn Anwar Hussain, Chittagong

Every day during the morning and evening rush hours, o� ce-goers and commuters in Chittagong � nd that there are not enough buses on the port city streets to carry them to their workplaces and homes.

As they wait for hours to catch a ride, the public buses that are supposed to operate across di� erent routes – instead stay busy carrying workers of CEPZ factories; they do so as bus owners can get a better pro� t that way.

In order to save overhead expenses, most factories in the Chittagong Export Processing Zone (CEPZ) choose to rent public buses in-stead of owning any private transport.

“The factory owners at the CEPZ do not feel encouraged to introduce their own transport service as it will increase the over-head costs. Drivers will have to be employed,

routine maintenance and parking spaces will also be required for the vehicles,” said a senior o� cial of the Bangladesh Export Pro-cessing Zones Authority (BEPZA), seeking anonymity.

To make matters worse, many public transports are kept o� the roads as they re-quire maintenance, putting extra strain on the city’s public transport sector. Also, law enforcers often seize or requisition public transports.

CMP Deputy Commissioner (Tra� c) Masud-ul-Hasan told the Dhaka Tribune that letters have been sent to the BEPZA on sev-eral occasions requesting that factories intro-duce transport service for their own workers.

The hiring of city buses by CEPZ factories hurts Chittagong’s transport system and in-creases su� erings of the general commuters, Masud said.

“The factories at the CEPZ require 300 vehicles to carry the workers. However, the factories have only 100 vehicles and the rest are hired on contract from bus operators,” the deputy commissioner added.

According to the tra� c department of Chittagong Metropolitan Police, as many as 899 buses and minibuses ply in a total 11 routes. Besides, 109 buses and minibuses ply as EPZ reserve service in the city.

“Some 60 public transports illegally ply to carry workers of Chittagong EPZ and Kar-naphuli EPZ, � outing their assigned routes. There is an unholy nexus between a section of dishonest tra� c sergeants and the bus op-erators for the malpractice,” said Belayet Ho-sain Belal, secretary general of Metropolitan Paribahan Malik Group.

However, such allegations were denied by the CEPZ authorities.

“A large portion of the workers at the CEPZ do not require transport service since they reside within walking distance of their fac-tories,” said CEPZ General Manager Khurshid Alam.

He added that 168 factories in CEPZ cur-rently employs around 200,000 workers.

Asked for a comment, BEPZA General Manager (Public Relations) Nazma Binte Alam said the public transport service pro-viders should increase the number of vehi-cles that operate in the port city.

Engineer Subhash Barua, vice-president of Forum for Planned Chittagong, o� ered a di� erent solution.

“To mitigate the su� erings, the factory owners should either arrange transports on their own or construct dormitories for the workers within the factory vicinity,” he sug-gested. l

Mayoral candidates in Rajshahi have started their election campaign to win the upcoming municipality polls. The picture taken yesterday shows mayoral candidate of Katakhali municipality from ruling Awami League giving money to poor people to woo voters DHAKA TRIBUNE

News8DTWEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 9, 2015

Transport strike withdrawn n Our Correspondent,

Panchagarh

The inde� nite transport strike in the district, enforced by transport workers from ear-ly Sunday protesting plying of illegal vehicles on di� er-ent roads and highways, was called o� yesterday following a fruitful meeting with the ad-ministration.

Panchagarh Motor Owners’ Union and three transport work-ers’ associations were assured at the meeting that the � nal de-cision about their demand will be taken on December 15.

Deputy Commissioner Mo-hammad Salauddin presided

over the meeting. Superin-tendent of Police Gias Uddin Ahmed and Panchagarh Motor Owners’ Union president Iqbal Kaiser Mintu and its general secretary Apel Mahmud were present at the meeting.

After the meeting, Iqbal Kaiser Mintu said they had de-cided to withdraw the strike following the assurance of the administration.

The transport and own-ers and workers enforced the nonstop strike as the local ad-ministration failed to stop the plying of human haulers like Nasimon, Karimon and bat-tery-driven easy-bike on the busy roads and highways. l

Grabbers, disease destroying mangrove forests n Our Correspondent,

Cox’s Bazar

Nearly 20,000 acres of man-grove forests in Moheshkhali coastal belt are being destroyed due to an unknown disease in an epidemic form and illegal felling by unscrupulous people following lack of proper moni-toring by the authorities con-cerned.

According to forest o� ce sources, if the extinction of trees in the forests is going on, the ecology and bio-diver-sity of the whole region will be a� ected. Besides, the area, which is situated in the coastal belt, will have to face natural calamities including storm and cyclone.

While visited, the deterio-rating scenario was found in Gorokghata, Sonadia, Dhal-ghata, Kalamiar Chhara, Ghat-ibhanga, Chhoto Moheshkhali, Shaplapur and other places.

Many species of trees in-cluding screw pine trees were planted by forest division in those areas. The areas were getting dense with trees, but the black hands of grabbers fol-lowed by attack of the disease hindered the bene� cial process to a great extent.

The grabbers have been cutting green tress of seven to eight years of age. The trees within pine forest developed adjacent to government prima-ry school can hardly be seen now-a-days.

Newly planted pine forest on 925 acres of land in Sonadia Island have been already axed.

According to local experts, climate change and other fac-tors relating to salinity has caused extinction of about 2,000 trees on the western side of the island.

More than 80 per cent of mangrove forest, developed by planting pine trees in � ve bit ar-eas and covering about 15,000 acres of land, turned into grey-ish colour following the dis-ease. One kind of unknown insect is multiplying the infec-tion very fast from one tree to another, according to locals.

Talking with the inhabit-ants adjacent to Gorakghata and Adinath Mandir, it can be known that the leaves of pine trees look gray colour.

Locals said 80 per cent of the mangrove forest, abound-ing with pine trees, are being destroyed due to less surveil-lance and steps by concerned department.

Anisul Haque, range of-� cer of Gorokghata under Mo-heskhali forest division said: “The e� ort of creating parabon in Moheskhali coastal areas in between 1980 to 2009 has been foiled by heavy attack of diseases in epidemic form and misdeeds of grabbers.”

Sarder Shariful Islam, assis-tant director at the department of environment said a plan had been taken already to save the mangrove forest. l

Feature 9D

T

WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 9, 2015

Down to earth with Banerjee

n Khan N Moushumi

The recent climate conference (COP21) has everybody talking about doing their part for the environment. Would you say khadi is fashion’s answer to reducing the carbon footprint?

Khadi as a fabric and as a fashion movement (if we could call it that), has always been an answer to all things ecological. It is the answer to the growing mechanised movement of all things machine-made. The foremost way of reducing carbon footprints is to be able to transition fabrics from machine-made to hand-made and make them more “human” oriented. Thankfully, since khadi is traditionally woven in handlooms by weavers, it de� nitely adds to reducing carbon, gas emission, etc, that would have been caused if machines were used.

Would you say that khadi is uniquely placed, culturally, ecologically and yes, fashionably?Khadi has been one of the closest to natural/hand-made products since right from the yarn stage to the weaving stage, it’s processed manually and not by machines. At this present juncture, fashion as a whole is undergoing a revolution in terms of finding newer reaches and audience and most importantly, acceptability. Fashion as we normally know it is including such hand-made fibres and fabrics like khadi, hemp, linen, etc. And since right now we are talking about all

things ecological, yes, khadi is leading foremost in this.

We as a brand at PAROMITA BANERJEE, had started using khadi right from the start of the inception of our company in 2009. It was the most natural thing for us to do, as a handmade/eco-friendly and ethical brand.

India has done a lot to preserve and uphold the rich tradition of Khadi, an achievement that Bangladesh is aspiring towards. Any advice for our young designers?To a young designer, I can only advise that fashion is a huge industry and a heavily revenue-generating one too. I would suggest, be in this industry only if you feel responsible for it and for the clothes you make. Fashion is as much about responsibly making clothes as much as it is about business and earning money. For example, if you work with handwoven fabric or use materials like khadi in your garment collection, it will automatically sustain thousands of weaver clusters for whom handloom weaving is the main source of income. Help sustain the century-old weaver skills that have been handed down from generations. The handloom industry is a very old one and as a new young generation of entrepreneurs, it becomes our duty to support this. Use fashion along with design to lead the way forward through the clothes you make, but use it responsibly.

How do you think today’s designers could embrace traditional fabrics/designs and stop them from going out of fashion?By using more and more of it. As fashion designers we are said to be the trendsetters of fashion and design. So if we start by getting our inspiration from our rich textile archives and design vocabulary and make it adaptable to the contemporary times, then the present generation will embrace it whole-heartedly.

The main idea should be to package the older and richer traditions and make it contemporary and global so that the reach is more.

How do you think khadi could be more popularised?By using khadi as a daily wear fabric as well. khadi as a fabric is most suited to our temperate climate where there is heat and humidity. Since it uses natural yarn, it breathes and is more suited to our climate.

What fascinates you most about Bangladeshi fashion?Ever since I have been introduced to fashion and fabrics, I have always been fascinated by the Dhakai Jamdani textile which was originated in Bangladesh. It is a fascinating and painstaking weave done solely by hand and the e� ect is � ne motifs on an almost transparent base.

In West Bengal, where I come from, there have been many weavers from Bangladesh who have migrated across the border and are now weaving the Dhakai Jamdani but I will always know that the origin was from Bangladesh.

What kind of modernisation does India have in their fashion industry that Bangladesh could adapt and bene� t from?In India, fashion has tried to adapt to the changing times and become more global. Since the average customer is well travelled and has been to many parts of the world, he or she wants fashion that moves with the times and wants silhouette and garment shapes that are more global and edgy.

What’s trending in Indian fashion this season?There is a lot of handmade fabrics that is in the market now in India. There are huge talks of eco-fashion and organic clothing since everything around us is becoming more and more mechanised and modernised, people are wanting to wear natural fabrics like khadi, linen, tassar; namely man-made fabrics. This in turn is helping the handloom industry � ourish and

the weaver communities are being sustained through employment generation.

Could you describe your collection for the festival?I am very excited to be a part of this Khadi Festival.

Khadi was one of the � rst fabrics we have started working with, when I started by company and my brand PAROMITA BANERJEE in 2009.

We have worked on a range for both men and women using khadi as the base material. The silhouettes and garment shapes are very global and at the same time very rooted and traditional. That sort of describes our brand too. We have a very local approach to global aesthetics rooted in the handloom sector of India, since our fabrics are all woven by various weaver clusters from all over India.

In this collection, expect to � nd silhouettes like the Bandgala kurta, Ghera angarakha, kurta, pajama, the dhoti and the sari all mixing together to form an amazing colour palette in indigo, black, white and splashes of red. A very traditional silhouette story in a contemporary setting.

We have also used the traditional Bengali “Laal-paar” red which is a very classic vermillion red, auspicious and used during the Durga Puja. This red/Laal-paar story continues throughout the collection. Lastly, we have also used a detail of up-cycled patchwork, where we have used left-over fabrics from past collections as details in the garments.

This is our � rst show in Bangladesh and we hope to come back sooner. l

Photos: Courtesy

Paromita Banerjee

Renowned Indian designer Paromita Banerjee has been working with khadi and all things ecological for the last six years. Today, she shares with us the importance of making these environment-friendly fabrics more contemporary and accessible, all at the same time

Feature10DT

WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 9, 2015

The Presentation Success Movement:Envisioning a superbly skilled Bangladesh

The problem arisesHumankind has been using di� erent practices of communication to convince and persuade others for a host of objectives from time immemorial. The latest of the bunch is presentations, a must-have tool for managers and salespeople alike to win over their needs, be it an allocation from the company’s budget for a new project or a multi-million dollar contract. Professionals across disciplines and functional areas are expected to provide presentations in today’s world of cut-throat competition.

However, the inability to give impactful presentations has turned out to be a serious problem all over the world, for the skill may not be as widely prevalent as one might expect. Bangladesh is no exception from the problem, for this “presentation-poverty” is causing millions of youth to miss billions of employment and promotional opportunities today.

“People say there are no jobs, and companies say they cannot � nd the right people. In our careers, we often � nd ourselves at the corporate end of the interview table, and I can state that the gap to this economic issue is indeed con� dence and conviction, the skill to communicate and promote yourself, to be able to present,” says Zeeshan Kingshuk Huq, co-founding director and CEO, Zero Gravity Ventures Limited.

The PWK Foundation formsRecognising this problem, a “Presentation Success Movement” in the form of a unique competition was initiated back in 2012, focusing exclusively on presentation skills. After two years of trial and error regarding formats and scale, the competition, fondly

called “Presentation WhizKids (PWK),” was ready to be taken to a bigger and better level.

With that in mind, Muhammad Saimum Hossain, founder of PWK, re-launched the competition under a national platform called the PWK Foundation in 2015. Keeping up with the PWK founder’s vision, both the competition and the foundation aim at solving the acute problems of weak communication and presentation skills prevalent in today’s university-level students across boundaries.

“We plan on grooming and forming no less than 20,000 world-class presenters by the year 2020,” said Muhammad Saimum Hossain with determination.

PWK Nationals 2015 beginPWK Nationals 2015 was divided into four segments, beginning with the online registration and slide submission rounds, followed by a bootcamp session held at the FBS, University of Dhaka premises to better prepare the participants.

Out of about 100 participating teams, the top 24 made it to the quarter-� nals

on November 14 at the EMK Center based on the slides submitted. After a spectacular show of talent and neck-to-neck competition, 12 teams managed to squeeze their way through to the semi-� nals on November 20. After another ground-breaking performance, the � nal six were chosen to proceed to the Grand Finale, the instant presentation round.

The three esteemed judges chosen to determine the fates of the top six, namely Mohammad Masum Khan, country business manager of Nestle Professionals, Md Saifuddin, managing director of IDLC Securities Limited, and Zeeshan Kingshuk Huq, co-founding director and CEO, Zero Gravity Ventures Limited were at unease in their di� culty to separate the � nalists.

With the � nal topic being to “sell a gym membership to a nerd,” TEAM DITCHING X snatched the championship title, with members Nakibur Rahman, Waheed Rashed Chaudhuri and Faria Mowla. TEAM POTTER secured the second place by a slight gap. Similarly close, TEAM EGG HEADS took third.

The “Presentation Success Movement” takes o� A grand gala and award-giving ceremony was hosted after the hectic rounds at which Prof. Shibli Rubayat Ul Islam, dean, FBS, Dhaka University was present as the chief guest.

It was in his presence, as well as the judges, participants and audience, at which Muhammad Saimum Hossain � ttingly chose to formally illustrate and launch the “Presentation Success Movement,” a � rm step to � nally curb the gripping “presentation-poverty” in Bangladesh.

In his speech, Prof Shibli Rubayat Ul Islam mentioned: “Thankfully, the PWK Foundation took the right initiative at the right time. The globalised world requires our younger generation to be able to present themselves and represent our country. It is a crucial skill, and I hope this movement is just the beginning.”

The PWK Nationals 2015 was organised by the PWK Foundation, powered by the social and digital marketing company GEEKY Social Ltd, and sponsored by the EMK Center and NewsCred, in association with Dhaka Tribune. l

The competition may have come to a grand conclusion, but the PWK Foundation has much bigger plans at heart

A mu� ed hush � lled the room as the participants perfected their materials urgently on December 4. Their time was short, for the Grand Finale of the “Presentation WhizKids (PWK) Nationals 2015” was well underway at the Nawab Ali Chowdhury Senate Building at Dhaka University, the � nal token through which their lives would change forever.

The content was provided by SteamPug Writers, a pack of experienced word-smiths and editors well-versed in producing dynamic content. Contact them at steampugged@gmail.com or visit www.facebook.com/SteamPugWriters

The competition and the foundation aim at solving the acute problems of weak communication and presentation skills prevalent in today’s university-level students across boundaries

INSIDE

The results of a study revealed at COP21 in Paris show that a move towards renewable energy could reduce emissions by a staggering 1.7 gigatons a year by 2020.

Furthermore, as the level of green energy � nancing is likely to rise after the COP21 negotiations, it is quite likely that the 1.7 gigaton estimate will grow further in the future.

These � ndings are important. We have editorialised before about the need for clean, renewable energy. The present way of doing things -- using energy sources like coal -- is simply not sustainable in the long run.

The conference in Paris has made it clear that climate change is one of the most pressing global concerns of our time, and the consequences of inaction would be disastrous and irreversible. Bangladesh should play its part in the global � ght against climate change and support the move towards a clean energy revolution.

For far too long we have been overly reliant on fossil fuels. These fossil fuels are � nite in amount, and contribute to increased levels of greenhouse emissions. However, as recent studies have highlighted, economic growth need not come at such a steep environmental cost.

The government can and should encourage the production and usage of renewable energy, and disincentivise burning fossil fuels. We cannot a� ord to be short-sighted about this.

Bangladesh is a � ood-prone nation and is particularly vulnerable to the adverse e� ects of climate change. It is for this reason that we need to set an example.

Many nations throughout the world have already realised the true value of clean energy sources like wind and solar. Bangladesh cannot a� ord to lag behind.

Bangladesh should play its part in the global � ght against climate change and support the move towards a clean energy revolution

Success or failure: Anatomy of a dichotomy

End gender-based violence once and for allEducate men and boys to support women and girls and stand up to violence

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Westphalian shadows revisitedThe world has moved too far past the strict Westphalian doctrine of sovereignty -- which forbade any non-provoked interference in the a� airs of another state -- to now go back to ignoring signi� cant, serial human rights abuses by rogue states or regimes

These two narratives dominate the analysis of the climate change negotiations. Because both are nearly always true, neither is helpful in actually measuring the progress made at this round of talks

Renewable energy is the way to go

11D

TEditorialWEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 9, 2015

BIGSTOCK

n Neil Tangri

Some predictions are safe to make: The climate change negotiations currently underway in Paris will run overtime, overnight, and possibly even through

the weekend.As soon as they close, the UN and many

environmental organisations will trumpet the great advances made -- COP 21 was a success! We are well on our way!

Simultaneously, other activists will bitterly decry the negotiations’ abject failure. Well before we know the � nal outcome, the Battle of the Battle of Paris has begun: Are the negotiations a success or a failure?

In the success camp are those dedicated to the process: Declaring the UN negotiations a failure will only discourage further participation.

Countries, as well as ordinary people, will become disheartened and turn their attention to other matters. For success, we need engagement, and people engage with successes. This might be called the “fake it till you make it” camp.

On the other side are those who point to fundamental shortcomings in the agreement. The 195 nations participating have agreed to keep planetary temperature increases to 2 degrees Celsius, but the emissions pledges

they submitted come nowhere near that goal.They agree that developing countries need new investment to wean themselves o� cheap and dirty fossil fuels, but actual support is not materialising.

Funds for adaptation, measurement, and reporting have been repeatedly promised but largely not delivered. The singers of this litany are the “dismal allies” of climate justice.

In truth, there are two metrics in use here, and neither are particularly useful. Measured in terms of progress (is what we get an improvement over last year?) almost anything deserves a “yes.” The UNFCCC has so consistently failed to deliver meaningful

results that any movement, no matter how minimal, is an improvement.

Measured against where we need to be -- decarbonising the economy, compensating the impacted, building a more peaceful and just society, and � nding the funds to make it all happen -- there is no doubt that the agreement will fall far, far short.

Even the o� cial US position, with perhaps the most modest de� nition of “success,” acknowledges that the agreement won’t get us to 2C. Again, this metric o� ers a foregone conclusion: Failure.

These two narratives -- marginal improvement over the past, nowhere near the minimum we need -- dominate the

analysis of the climate change negotiations. Because both are nearly always true, neither is helpful in actually measuring the progress made at this round of talks.

One of the advantages of quantitative metrics -- in this case, emissions reduced or funds delivered -- is that they allow a more nuanced analysis than the binary “success or failure” framework.

We all understand that 60% of a goal is a substantial achievement, still far from what’s needed, and yet signi� cantly better than 40% of the way there.

Unfortunately, we won’t know if this meeting has had any impact on the carbon or � nancial budgets for some years, and we’d like a more immediate report card on the meeting itself.

So, what better yardstick is there to measure the success of the climate negotiations? I wish I knew. Because, until some clever thinker gives us a di� erent lens into this process, we’re going to end up hearing the same recycled narratives, year after year. l

This article was previously published in Medium.com.

Neil Tangri is Campaign Director for Global Anti-Incinerator Alliance.

Success or failure: Anatomy of a dichotomy

These two narratives -- marginal improvement over the past, nowhere near the minimum we need -- dominate the analysis of the climate change negotiations. Because both are nearly always true, neither is helpful in actually measuring the progress made at this round of talks

Slogans don’t always translate into action REUTERS

How can we measure the success of the climate negotiations?

Opinion12DT

WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 9, 2015

Opinion 13D

T

WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 9, 2015

As women ambassadors representing nine nations, there are certainly a wide range of issues on which we focus. Yet we all vigorously

agree on this: The urgent need to prevent and respond to gender-based violence in Bangladesh, in our own countries, and across the globe.

Studies show that gender-based violence (GBV) is disturbingly pervasive. Worldwide, the World Health Organisation estimates that one of every three women will experience physical and/or sexual violence by a partner during her lifetime.

Here in Bangladesh, � ndings from the Report on Violence Against Women (VAW) Survey 2011, published by the Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics, indicate that as many as 87% of married women have ever experienced any type of violence by their husbands.

We can do something to stop it. Gender-based violence threatens entire

communities, precludes economic growth, and fuels cycles of violence and con� ict. A recent World Bank study showed that violence against women has signi� cant economic costs.

These include health-care costs, lost income for women, decreased productivity, and negative impact across generations. According to UN Women, violence against women causes more death and disability for women and girls between the ages of 15 and 44 than do cancer, tra� c accidents, malaria, and war combined.

Gender-based violence comes in many forms, from intimate partner violence to sexual assault to early and forced marriage. Each form of violence is a stain on our collective humanity, a barrier to peace and stability, and a call to action for all of us.

Violence is not inevitable -- and each of us can do something to stop it.The 16 Days of Activism Against Gender-Based Violence is an opportunity for everyone to act. Every November 25, the International Day of Elimination of Violence Against Women kicks o� the 16 Days, which ends on Human Rights Day on December 10.

Launched by the United Nations, the campaign demands action from everyone -- men and women, boys and girls, government o� cials and community leaders.

Around the world and across Bangladesh, people are taking action to raise awareness and promote social norms that refuse to tolerate GBV, prerequisites for preventing this scourge.

At a global level, the nations we represent -- Bhutan, Brazil, Denmark, France, Malaysia, the Netherlands, Norway, Sri Lanka, and the United States -- are working with the United Nations to end gender-based violence with the new 2030 Sustainable Development Agenda, which emphasises gender equality and the empowerment of women and girls as a cross-cutting issue that we must address

if we are to achieve any of our development goals.

Now we must turn our attention to implementation. Partnership with other governments, private sector, and especially civil society will be critical to these e� orts.

We can each take action in our own lives to end gender-based violence. Support survivors by listening to them and believing in them. Educate men and boys to support women and girls and stand up to violence.

At home and abroad, our governments support projects to raise awareness of gender-based violence, educate policy-

makers on this issue to increase legislative support, train service providers to better address the needs of survivors, and increase justice and accountability.

We fund projects that provide safe spaces and vocational training for survivors, and work to mobilise religious leaders, business owners, and community leaders to end di� erent forms of gender-based violence.

We engage in these e� orts because there is another issue on which we all agree: That only through collective action will violence against women and girls be eliminated once and for all. l

HE Pema ChodenAmbassador, Royal Bhutanese Embassy.

HE Wanja Campos da NóbregaAmbassador, Embassy of Brazil.

HE Hanne Fugl EskjærAmbassador, Embassy of Denmark.

HE Sophie AubertAmbassador, Embassy of the Republic of France.

HE Norlin binti Othman High Commissioner, High Commission of Malaysia.

HE Leoni Margaretha CuelenaereAmbassador, Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands.

HE Merete LundemoAmbassador, Royal Norwegian Embassy.

HE Yasoja GunasekeraHigh Commissioner, Sri Lankan High Commission.

HE Marcia BernicatAmbassador, Embassy of the United States.

End gender-based violence once and for all

We can each take action in our own lives to end gender-based violence. Support survivors by listening to them and believing in them. Educate men and boys to support women and girls and stand up to violence

A joint op-ed for 16 Days of Activism Against Gender-based Violence campaign by women ambassadors

Violence against women and girls must be eliminated BIGSTOCK

Opinion14DT

WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 9, 2015

n William Milam

Last March, on the context of the Russian aggression in Ukraine, I wrote about the 1648 Treaty of Westphalia that ended 30 years

of ostensibly religious warfare in Europe. The treaty ended the most destructive event of European history up until the 20th century, and the Peace of Westphalia that followed has often been called “the peace of exhaustion.”

Though the war was, on the surface, driven by the religious disputes that had become acute in the century after the Protestant break from the Church of Rome, in reality, it masked the national and ethnic divides that had accumulated in Europe since the fall of the Roman Empire. In dealing with these long, pent-up forces, the Westphalian Treaty-makers came up with the new and revolutionary principle of national sovereignty, a principle that became one of the bedrocks of international law.

It strikes me, however, that the shadow of Westphalia hangs equally heavy over the Middle East today, as violence and dysfunction there also re� ect the breakdown of empires and the strains of religious fervour. The concept of Westphalian sovereignty played a role in the political breakdown in the Middle East, but could also become a concept around which a new and viable peace could be centred.

Clearly, the very complicated wars in the Middle East are about more than religion. But clearly also, religion is a convenient and an important factor. Moreover, it strikes me that the exodus from the region toward Europe is a sign of the near exhaustion of the great majority of the populace, so perhaps if peace is ever brought to the region, it will be

another peace of exhaustion. I don’t think we can wait another 25 years for this to come.

Perhaps more important is that if that peace does ever come, it will have to bring with it a strengthening, but more nuanced, concept of sovereignty.

It was, I think, the breakdown of the old Westphalian concept that led to the present quagmire. Of course, strict Westphalian sovereignty had been violated for years before the 2003 invasion of Iraq which started the Middle Eastern dominoes to tumble.

For humanitarian as well as political reasons, it had come to be believed that intervention was justi� ed and legal to prevent serious abuses of human rights.

After the ISIS attack on Paris, I have noted a number of pundits harkening back to a strict interpretation of sovereignty as one part of a solution to the now-perceived ISIS threat to the West. Some go so far as to advo-cate a complete abandonment of the policy to unseat President Assad and his circle.

Their reasoning goes like this: ISIS and other terrorists groups grow and take hold in ungoverned spaces; in the Syrian civil war, much of Syria became an ungoverned space; moreover, Malaki’s mis-rule in Iraq led to a large swath of that country being de facto ungoverned; thus ISIS easily took that space and now has territorial writ over it, which it portrays as de facto sovereignty.

This gives it an unparalleled attraction for the alienated and disa� ected young Muslims which it now attracts in large numbers. Without its so-called “caliphate,” ISIS would be just another terrorists group -- highly dangerous and very mobile no doubt, but with much less attraction and ability to attack the West as well as its immediate surroundings.

The conclusion that ungoverned space is dangerous breeding ground for terrorists is correct, and the conclusion is that all of ISIS’ enemies must band together to take down the ISIS caliphate. While its � uidity of movement would probably allow it to move elsewhere (Libya would be most likely), whether it could then � nd enough ungoverned space, even in an almost ungoverned Libya, is unclear.

The image of a caliphate on the run seems much less attractive in any case to those seeking a place to vent their anger. But the idea of adding Assad’s government in Damascus to the coalition of anti-ISIS states seems to me to be profoundly foolish.

The ISIS caliphate and ISIS itself (the latter perhaps over a longer term) must be eliminated. But I believe that, in fact, the anti-ISIS coalition would fall apart if Assad’s Syrian government became its ally. The ungoverned space of Syria must be � lled by a Syrian state that emerges from the negotiations that are about to begin, and the results of which take on the aura of another Westphalian Peace.

Without its space in Syria, the territory ISIS holds in Iraq would fall quickly too. But discontinuing the now-agreed all-party talks in Vienna, and/or signalling that the talks are

not about a di� erent, all-inclusive future for Syria, would alienate what must be the core of the anti-ISIS coalition -– the Sunni states of the Middle East. ISIS is as much their enemy as much as it is the West’s.

Cynics do not hold out much hope for the Vienna talks; the participants have such a confusing and cross-cutting set of interests that, indeed, it looks impossible to meld them into some semblance of an agreement.

But I wonder if the 109 delegations from 15 Western European governments, 66 imperial states (from the Hapsburg Empire) and 27 interest groups (various independent cities and transnational organisations) that trooped in and out of the negotiations that led to the Westphalian Treaty wouldn’t have looked any less confusing or more unlikely to get anywhere.

Like the brilliant negotiations for the Westphalian Treaty, getting to an agreement in Vienna will take skill and perseverance -- as well as a long time.

I do not imagine that pundits (if there were any in 1644 when they began) would have given the Westphalia talks much chance either. But, perhaps, as time goes along, the sharp outlines of con� icting interests seem to blur, as the pain and the exhaustion become

more acute. The Westphalia Treaty took � ve years

to come to fruition. But the international principles it established have lasted two and a half centuries. While the Vienna talks last, however, the war must go on, just as the 30-year war went on during the Westphalia talks.

And the anti-ISIS coalition -- while not losing its focus on an outcome that leads to a restored and di� erent Syrian state, and with a writ over all Syrian territory -- must raise its game against ISIS, to the point that it loses territory and attraction.

The world has moved too far past the strict Westphalian doctrine of sovereignty -- which forbade any non-provoked interference in the a� airs of another state -- to now go back to ignoring signi� cant, serial human rights abuses by rogue states or regimes.

Politically, it would not be possible in many Western countries. I would not expect the Vienna participants to take on this assignment, but perhaps there should be an international understanding, which could be centred on the United Nations, of what would be the criteria -- the level and kind of human right abuses -- that would qualify to justify some kind of international intervention.

As for South Asia, I think the lessons of

the Paris attack are simple: Ungoverned spaces are rife for exploitation by terrorist organisations, so make sure there are no ungoverned spaces. Pakistan’s NAP is aimed at doing this it seems, although one still worries about the civilian follow-up and governance that is supposed to come after the army clears out the areas that were controlled by terrorist organisations.

Of course, one also still wonders if sharing writ over territory with extremist organisations -- which still seems to be the case in some parts of Pakistan -- might not be counterproductive in the long-run. But I think the main immediate implication is that the US/NATO e� ort in Afghanistan is likely to last somewhat longer, and possibly be ramped up, because there is highly contested (in some ways ungoverned) territory in Afghanistan, and some evidence of a growing ISIS presence. That is a territory that ISIS could think of as a fallback caliphate when the one in the Middle East is taken down. l

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

Westphalian shadows revisitedUngoverned spaces are dangerous breeding grounds for terrorists

The world has moved too far past the strict Westphalian doctrine of sovereignty -- which forbade any non-provoked interference in the a� airs of another state -- to now go back to ignoring signi� cant, serial human rights abuses by rogue states or regimes

ISIS is just another terrorist group REUTERS

15D

TBusinessWEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 9, 2015

Japan dodges recession with revised GDP dataJapan has sidestepped its second recession in as many years after revised data yesterday showed that the economy actually grew last quarter. The stronger-than-expected revision of a 0.3% expansion for the July-September period comes several weeks after initial esti-mates showed a 0.2% contraction - the second consecutive quarterly decline. PAGE 17

Low in� ation to give biggest global payboost in 3 yearsThe slowing world economy looks set to get a boost from stronger consumer demand next year, as low in� ation boosts the real value of workers’ pay rises to a three-year high, a survey said yesterday. PAGE 18

Ecnec okays 10 projectsof over Tk7,000crThe Executive Committee of the National Economic Council (Ecnec) yesterday ap-proved 10 development projects involving Tk7,276 crore in power, energy and commu-nications sectors. The approval came from a meeting of the government’s highest poli-cy-making body at NEC conference room in city’s Sher-e-Bangla Nagar area with Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina in the chair. PAGE 16

Capital market snapshot: TuesdayDSE

Broad Index 4,593.5 -0.3% ▼

Index 1,106.6 -0.4% ▼

30 Index 1,749.2 -0.4% ▼

Turnover in Mn Tk 3,980.8 -12.8% ▼

Turnover in Mn Volume 94.4 -16.2% ▼

CSEAll Share Index 14,024.7 -0.3% ▼

30 Index 12,344.0 0.2% ▲

Selected Index 8,534.5 -0.3% ▼

Turnover in Mn Tk 301.5 -7.1% ▼

Turnover in Mn Volume 9.4 5.1% ▲

INSIDE

Rice import duty doubledn Syed Samiul Basher Anik

The National Board of Revenue (NBR) has doubled the regulatory duty on rice import to 20% from the existing 10% to ensure fair price for local farmers.

The customs wing of the NBR on Monday issued a statutory regulatory order (SRO) signed by NBR Chairman Nojibur Rahman to the e� ect of the duty hike.

According to the decision, 20% duty will be imposed on husked (brown) rice, forti-� ed rice kernels, broken rice, and on semi-milled or wholly milled rice, whether or not polished or glazed during import stage.

Nojibur Rahman told the Dhaka Tribune that the duty was hiked to ensure that farm-ers in Bangladesh get the fair price for the rice they produce.

The revenue authority issued the SRO within two weeks after Food Minister Qua-mrul Islam in November announced that the government was going to increase the import duty on rice to 20% from existing 10% to ensure fair prices for local growers.

Inn May this year, the government im-posed 10% duty on import of above-men-tioned rice patterns, except the forti� ed rice kernels with the same view.

The duty was imposed in line with rec-ommendations from the Food Ministry to protect local farmers from fall of rice prices because of excessive import of the item and of increased domestic production.

Although Bangladesh is now self-su� -cient in rice cultivation, the private sector has long been importing rice from other countries, mostly from neighboring India due to its cheap price.

According to the ministry data, the pri-vate sector has imported 2.03 lakh tonnes of rice from July to December 6 of ongoing � scal year. The � gure was 14.9 lakh tonnes in � scal year 2014-15, the highest quantity since the � nancial year 2010-11.

Farmers have long been urging the gov-ernment to increase duty on rice import as they were reportedly unable to recover cul-

tivation costs because of imports from India at cheaper rates. Many millers have given up rice milling due to its excessive imports from India.

Millers, however, feared that the duty hike may not have that much impact if rice price falls in India.

Bangladesh Auto, Major and Husking Mill Owners Association general secretary KM Layek Ali told the Dhaka Tribune local millers were avoiding milling paddy fearing tough competition in the wake of rice im-port from India.

“Usually, rice price decreases in India whenever any such move is taken in Bang-ladesh. If the rice price does not fall in India,

the duty hike will surely help local growers get proper price required for them to be in the market,” he hoped.

In India, non-basmati rices were selling at Tk29 per kg against Tk35 last year in the wholesale market, as reported in November. On the other hand, the wholesale price of pre-mium basmati rice was sold at between Tk53 and Tk54 a kg down from Tk73-Tk75 last year.

However, according to a study by As-sociated Chambers of Commerce of India, rice prices may shoot up and reach a boiling point in coming months creating trouble for consumers if timely adequate safeguards are not taken. l

Despite self-su� ciency in production, rice import by private sector continues

BSRM Steel starts production after BMREn Tribune Report

BSRM Steel has started production with enhanced capacity after successful comple-tion of BMRE (balancing, modernisation, rehabilitation and expansion) work.

This is considered as having reached a major milestone by the country’s largest steel manufacturer based in Chittagong, which is a sister concern of BSRM Group.

The production commenced on Monday.According to a statement, the compa-

ny’s annual production will be increased to 700,000 tonnes from 600,000 tonnes after the BMRE. The company had to shut down mill from November 15 to complete the BMRE work.

The company is mainly engaged in pro-duction and supply of “Xtreme 500W” de-formed bars of reinforced steel. It had com-

menced its commercial operation in April, 2008.

To meet its total requirement, most of its raw materials are imported from Japan, Taiwan, Korea, Turkey, North America and South America.

Yesterday, its share prices fell 3.3% to Tk98.7 a share on the Dhaka Stock Exchange.

The company’s net prof-it in � rst six months of this calender stood at around Tk18.6 crore, up from Tk3.2 crore in the same period a year earlier, according to its latest � nancial statement.

Bangladesh has more than 400 steel, re-rolling and auto-rerolling mills

with a combined annual production capac-ity of 8m tonnes, against the total demand of only 4m tonnes. The government pro-jects account for nearly 40% of total steel consumption. l

Business16DT

WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 9, 2015

IBA bags � rst prize in Battle of Minds contestn Tribune Report

Institute of Business Administration (IBA), Dhaka University’s team ‘Van Gogh’ bagged the � rst prize of Battle of Minds 2015, says a press release yesterday.

The annual competition is a prestigious event of British American Tobacco Bangla-desh (BATB) for recruitment of talented indi-viduals in the industry.

‘Desert Fox’ from Islamic University of Technology (IUT) became the � rst runner up while IBA, University of Dhaka’s another team `Dabom!’ bagged the second runner up award.

BATB managing director Shehzad Munim, BATB board member and secretary of minis-

try of industries Md. Mosharraf Hossain Bhu-iyan, board member and additional secretary of ministry of � nance Jalal Ahmed, Metro-politan Chamber of Commerce and Industries president Syed Nasim Manzur, Editor of the Dhaka Tribune Zafar Sobhan presented the crests to the winning teams at a city hotel.

Sanjir Ali, award winning student from IBA, said, “The contest raised self-con� -dence to make a place in the corporate world. We solved various business cases and chal-lenges throughout the competition.

“This experience will help us prove our-selves as robust and quali� ed for upcoming corporate job market with more competence and enthusiasm after completing education.”l

ROBI-AIRTEL MERGER

VRS withdrawal in merger plan may hurt employees’ interest n Ishtiaq Husain

The removal of Voluntary Retirement Scheme in merger proposal of Robi Axiata Ltd and Airtel Bangladesh Ltd could hurt the interests of the employees, said a BTRC o� -cial.

He said the BTRC wanted to continue the employees’ scheme, but had to exclude the option due to immense pressures from the au-thorities of the two mobile phone operators.

In September, Robi and Airtel applied to the Bangladesh Telecommunication Regula-tory Commission (BTRC) for permission to merge.

BTRC then decided at a commission meet-ing that there must have an option before merging into a single entity for the employ-ees who are not interested to join the new company.

A BTRC o� cial said the regulator has laid emphasis on the job security of the employ-ees after the two operators get merged.

The commission also decided that no one would be terminated after merger and the two companies would submit detailed docu-ments on the employees’ job security.

“We don’t need to endorse this VRS option as high-ups of the both companies have al-ready promised to accommodate all of their

employees,” said an o� cial of an operator re-questing anonymity.

“In global practice, it’s not mandatory to keep VRS option in merger proposal,” he added.

He said the VRS system is desirable to keep the freedom of employees to quit job before merger.

Another o� cial said the option should create pressure on the managements before sacking any employee.

He said if Robi and Airtel continue the VRS system, they will have to pay a huge amount of money to the employees resigning from job as per the international standard.

“As they are not willing to pay, the oper-ators are trying to omit the option, but it’s completely against the employee’s interest.”

When contacted, Robi’s vice president Ekram Kabir and Airtel’s head of PR Sham-it Shahabuddin both declined to make any comment on the merger issue.

In the meantime, the BTRC sought de-tails from Robi and Airtel on merger scheme, spectrum merger scheme, numbering amal-gamation, services amalgamation, human resource merger scheme and tax-vat clear-ance certi� cate. Last week both the compa-nies submitted the documents to the BTRC.

Indian telecommunication giant Bharti Airtel and Malaysia-based Axiata Group be-

gan talks to merge their operations in Bangla-desh last month to create the second-largest mobile phone operator in the country.

Robi will have a 75% stake in the merged entity while Airtel 25%, according to the joint application signed by Supun Weerasinghe, chief executive o� cer of Robi, and PD Sar-ma, managing director of Airtel Bangladesh, to the regulator.

Of Robi’s 75% stake, 70% will be owned by Axiata Group, Robi’s Malaysia-based parent company, and 5% by Japan’s NTT DOCOMO.

Earlier in January 2010, Airtel bought a 70% stake in Warid Telecom in Bangladesh for $100,000, which prompted the O� ce of the Comptroller and Auditor General to raise questions about the deal price.

Airtel is the fourth largest telecom opera-tor in Bangladesh while it is number one in India.

According to BTRC, as of July 2015, Grameenphone — promoted by Telenor — has 53.98m mobile subscribers, Banglalink 32.4m, Robi Axiata 27.9m, Airtel Bangladesh 9m and Paci� c Bangladesh Telecom 1.1m.

Airtel Bangladesh operates in all 64 dis-tricts of the country with a distribution net-work comprising 152,000 retailers. The com-pany has a 3G network with more than 2,000 3G sites across the country. l

Ecnec okays 10 projects of over Tk7,000crn Tribune Report

The Executive Committee of the National Economic Council (Ecnec) yesterday ap-proved 10 development projects involving Tk7,276 crore in power, energy and commu-nications sectors.

The approval came from a meeting of the government’s highest policy-making body at NEC conference room in city’s Sher-e-Bangla Nagar area with Prime Minister Sheikh Hasi-na in the chair.

Planning minister AHM Mustafa Kamal in-formed journalists after the meeting.

Of the total project cost, Tk918,65 crore will come from the government exchequer, Tk603 crore from the related public entities’ own fund and rest of over Tk4,755 crore from project assistance, said the planning minis-ter.

The meeting approved installation of sin-gle point mooring with double pipelines pro-ject worth around Tk5,000 crore at Mahesh-khali to ensure smooth unloading of crude oil and � nished products.

The minister said the idea for single point mooring project was � rst initiated with sin-gle pipeline in 2010, but later the idea of in-stalling double pipeline was devised to make the project more e� ectively.

“Once the project is implemented, it would take only two days instead of exist-ing 11 days to unload crude oil from mother vessels to the light vessels in the bay and also

reduce the cost of doing business signi� cant-ly and ensure e� ective service delivery,” said the minister.

Eastern Re� nery Limited on behalf of the Bangladesh Petroleum Corporation under the Power, Energy and Mineral Resources Minis-try will implement the single point-mooring project by December 2018.

Out of the estimated project cost, around Tk921 crore would come from the govern-ment exchequer while over Tk112 crore from the own fund of public agencies and around Tk3,903 crore as project assistance from the Chinese EXIM Bank.

Under the project, around 220-kilometer pipeline, tank farm and pump station will be set at Maheshkhali.

The Ecnec approved another project titled “The Western Zone Grid Network Develop-ment Project with around Tk1424 crore.

Power Grid Company of Bangladesh (OGCB) under the Power, Energy and Mineral Resources Ministry will implement the pro-posed project by June 2019.

Of the estimated project cost, the gov-ernment would provide around Tk325 crore, KfW of Germany would provide Tk625 crore as project assistance and the rest of around Tk474 crore would be collected from PGCB.

The meeting also endorsed another pro-ject titled “Procurement of Container scan-ner for Chittagong, Mongla, ICD Kamalapur and Benapole Custom House” with a cost of over Tk117 crore. l

Stocks fall for 2nd dayn Tribune Report

Stocks closed lower for the second consecu-tive day yesterday with a low volume of trade.

The market opened higher in the morn-ing, but slipped into negative immediately as quick pro� t booking continued mainly on heavyweight stocks.

The benchmark index DSEX lost 14 points or 0.4% to close at 4,593.

The Shariah index DSES shed 4 points or 1,110. The blue chip comprising index DS30 settled at 1,749, dropping 7 points or 3%.

The Chittagong Stock Exchange Selective Category Index CSCX fell 23 points to 8,534.

The Volume of trade declined further as DSE turnover stood at Tk398 crore, down al-most 13% over the previous session.

Telecommunications continued to lose its ground as it shed 1.4%, extending losing streak for the second session in a row.

Almost all other sectors, including power, non-banking � nancial institutions, banks, pharmaceuticals, textile and engineering su� ered losses.

After falling sharply in previous session, cement ended marginally higher.

Drop in heavyweight scrips like Grameen-phone, BATBC and MJL Bangladesh dragged the market down.

Losers outpaced gainers as out of 317 is-sues traded, 103 advanced, 163 declined and 51 remained unchanged.

BSRM Steel was the most-traded shares worth nearly Tk24 crore. It was followed by Delta Life Insurance, Quasem Drycell, Square Pharmaceuticals, Beximco Pharmaceuticals and IFAD Autos. l

Business 17D

TWEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 9, 2015

Japan dodges recession with revised GDP datan AFP

Japan has sidestepped its second recession in as many years after revised data yesterday showed that the economy actually grew last quarter.

The stronger-than-expected revision of a 0.3% expansion for the July-September period comes several weeks after initial es-timates showed a 0.2% contraction - the sec-ond consecutive quarterly decline.

The initial data threatened to deal an an-other blow to Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, who has staked his reputation on kick-start-ing the world’s number three economy with a policy blitz of � scal spending, aggressive monetary policy easing and structural re-forms - dubbed Abenomics.

Since the weak initial GDP � gures were published, upbeat factory output and cap-ital spending data brightened hopes for the economy.

On an annualised basis, which stretches the data across a full year, Japan’s Gross Do-mestic Product expanded by 1% in the third quarter, the � gures showed.

In another bright spot, separate � gures Tuesday showed that Japan’s current ac-count - the broadest measure of its trade with the rest of the world - improved again with a 1.46tn yen ($11.8bn) surplus.

However, economists were cautious about the state of Japan’s recovery, as con-

sumer spending remained weak with little in the way of big wage hikes to put more money in their pockets.

“The data con� rmed that the Japanese economy is growing gradually,” said Hideo Kumano, chief economist at Dai-ichi Life Re-search Institute.

“And while severe pessimism is receding, consumption - a key driver for the economy - is still weak. Without more spending and higher wages, the engine of the economy won’t be ignited.”

Japan’s economy fell into a brief recession in 2014 after consumers tightened their belts as Tokyo hiked the country’s consumption tax to help pay down a massive national debt.

That downturn spurred the Bank of Ja-pan to sharply increase its already massive bond-buying programme - a cornerstone of Abenomics - e� ectively printing money to spur lending.

But the moves, and Abe’s lurch to over-haul Japan’s highly regulated economy, have been slow going as the conservative premier marks his third year in o� ce later this month.

Stimulus speculationThe central bank holds its last meeting of 2015 next week, when its closely watched Tankan business sentiment survey is also due.

BoJ chief Haruhiko Kuroda has been forced to roll back the timeline for hitting a 2% in� ation rate until at least next year as

prices have stalled - delaying an exit from years of de� ation.

The latest GDP � gures may ease some pressure on BoJ policymakers to expand their massive 80tn yen ($653bn) annual stim-ulus programme.

“The Bank of Japan will likely leave poli-cy settings unchanged at its January meeting unless next week’s Tankan (survey of busi-ness con� dence) disappoints signi� cantly,” research house Capital Economics said in a commentary.

“However, we still think that underlying in� ation will moderate in coming months, which would put the Bank under renewed pressure to step up the pace of easing.”

Japan, once boasting Asia’s biggest econ-omy with internationally known brands, has been overtaken by rival China, as years of de-� ation weighed on growth.

The country is struggling with a tough de-mographic outlook that is expected to see its population shrink by the tens of millions in coming decades, meaning fewer workers to support a growing number of retirees.

While years of stagnant or falling prices may sound like a good thing for consumers, it acts as an incentive to delay buying goods in the hopes of getting them cheaper down the road.

That, in turn, weighs on companies’ ex-pansion and hiring plans, taking a bite out of the wider economy. l

Oil prices sink near seven-year lows on OPEC decisionn AFP, New York

Oil prices � nished at their lowest levels since February 2009 yesterday as mar-kets continue to reel from OPEC’s refusal last week to cut back production.

The January contract for West Texas Intermediate crude, the US benchmark, sank $2.32 to $37.65 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange, a drop of 5.8%.

In London, Brent North Sea for Jan-uary delivery ended at $40.73 a barrel, down $2.27 from Friday’s close.

The Organization of the Petroleum Ex-porting Countries - which pumps about 40% of the world’s crude oil - decided on Friday against cutting output to raise prices.

The 13-member OPEC cartel took no action to shore up the market and ob-servers said it appeared to be in disarray.

“The decision by OPEC members to keep oil production output at record high levels has seen oil prices plummet again,” said Sanjiv Shah, chief investment o� cer of Sun Global Investments.

He added that the decision “suggested that the organization was e� ectively abandoning its long-term strategy of lim-iting production and acting as a cartel, leading to more downward pressures on oil prices in the short term”.

OPEC countries are currently produc-ing an estimated 32 million barrels per day, above the group’s prior 30 million barrel target. The cartel did not set a new production ceiling on Friday and said in a communique that members “should con-tinue to closely monitor developments in the coming months.”

With OPEC member Iran expected to resume substantial exports next year, hopes were high that the cartel would lower supplies. But it has now put o� a production reassessment to its next meeting on June 2, 2016.

“Crude oil prices were no doubt com-pressed by the lack of an agreement at the OPEC, signaling that the supply glut will persist longer,” said analyst Bernard Aw at IG Markets in Singapore.

Traders meanwhile were switching focus to the US Federal Reserve’s interest rate decision on December 16.

“While all eyes are now on the Federal Reserve as it meets next week for the last policy meeting this year to decide wheth-er to raise its benchmark rate, economic data from China will set the tone of prices in the coming weeks,” EY analyst Sanjeev Gupta said. l

A factory is re� ected in a tra� c mirror at the Keihin industrial zone in Kawasaki, south of Tokyo REUTERS

Crude oil prices were no doubt compressed by the lack of an agreement at the OPEC, signaling that the supply glut will persist longer

Business18DT

WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 9, 2015

CORPORATE NEWS

Southeast Bank Limited has recently opened its 118th branch at RR Plaza, Araji Shajiara in Dumuria, Khulna. The bank’s additional managing director, Mohammed Gofran inaugurated the branch

Dhaka WASA has recently renewed an agreement with Premier Bank Limited on collecting water and sewer bills. The bank’s DMD (business), Dewan Anwarul Latif and DMD (operation and maintenance) of Dhaka WASA, SDM Quamrul Alam Chowdhury were present at the signing ceremony

Modhumoti Bank Limited has recently signed an agreement with Jamuna Bank Ltd on distribution of foreign remittance. Managing director & CEO of Modhumoti Bank Limited, Md MizanurRahman and managing director & CEO of Jamuna Bank Ltd, Sha� qul Alam were present at the signing ceremony

Low in� ation to give biggest global pay boost in 3 yearsn Reuters, London

The slowing world economy looks set to get a boost from stronger consumer demand next year, as low in� ation boosts the real value of workers’ pay rises to a three-year high, a sur-vey said yesterday.

A plunge in oil prices has pushed in� ation sharply lower, and means real wages are pre-dicted to rise by an average of 2.5% globally in 2016, the study by human resources � rm Korn Ferry Hay Group showed.

Nominal wage growth of 4.9% across a range of 24,000 � rms and organizations around the world was in line with recent years. But the fall in in� ation was putting more mon-ey into the pockets of consumers globally, Benjamin Frost, a consultant with Hay Group who oversees its salary databases, said.

“A lot of what they seem to be doing is

spending that money and companies are gen-erally not doing badly either,” Frost said. “They are sharing the love with pay increases and hopefully that will come back around into their tills again.” US workers were on course for a 3% increase in wages at the start of 2016, resulting in a 2.7% increase in real pay when taking in ac-count projected annual in� ation of about 0.3% at the same time, the study showed.

In Britain, wage growth of 2.5% and pro-jected in� ation of just 0.2% meant British workers were on course for stronger real wage growth than the 2% average expected for employees in Western Europe.

Central banks, such as the Bank of Eng-land, are watching to see if the fall in in� a-tion results in lower pay rises in cash terms, which would push down on future in� ation and reduce the need for raising interest rates from their rock-bottom lows. l

Three-day capital market fair kicks o� tomorrown Tribune Report

A three-day capital market fair begins in the city tomorrow to create awareness among the investors about the stock market busi-ness.

Commerce Minister Tofail Ahmed is ex-pected to inaugurate the expo titled “Bangla-desh Capital Market Expo-2015” at the Insti-tute of Diploma Engineers in the city.

Insurance Development Regulatory Au-thority (IDRA) Chairman Shefaq Ahmed and Bangladesh Bank Deputy Governor Abul Kasem will also attend the inaugural cere-mony.

There will be no entry fee for the expo, which will remain open for the visitors from 10am till 9pm everyday.

Arthosuchak.com, an online business news portal, is organising the fair. l

Anglo American to slash sta� by almost two-thirdsn AFP, London

Global mining giant Anglo American an-nounced Tuesday a “radical” restructuring of the � rm that will slash its workforce by al-most two-thirds, as commodity prices crash on world markets.

Some of the jobs will be transferred via asset sales, although Anglo will also write o� billions of dollars owing to the closure of loss-making mines.

The prices of metals and other raw materi-als, notably oil, are sliding on markets owing to weak demand growth, in particular from the world’s second biggest economy China.

Anglo’s announcements, as part of its in-vestor day, come as sector rival Rio Tinto said it would slash its spending next year owing to sliding metals prices.

In a statement, Anglo American chief executive Mark Cutifani said “the severity of commodity price deterioration requires bolder action”.

The London-listed company said it ex-pects “impairments of $3.7-$4.7 billion (3.4 billion euros and 4.3 billion euros), largely due to weaker prices and asset closures”.

View galleryA miner works under-ground at the Anglo American Bathope-le …

A miner works underground at the Anglo

American Bathopele Mine in Runstenburg, North Western Provinc …

And Anglo said it plans to slash its work-force by almost two-thirds, from 135,000 sta� to 50,000 after 2017.

The company published a graph showing the expected decline in jobs -- to 99,000 next year and 92,000 in 2017 followed by another sharp reduction -- via a combination of asset sales and internal cuts.

“We will be radically restructuring our portfolio, so the net result is expect to be a reduction to around 50,000 employees,” a spokesperson con� rmed in an email to AFP.

“But bear in mind that these include as-sets that we will sell, so the 85,000 jobs don’t (all) disappear as many will be employed by new owners of those mines that we sell.”

Anglo has already been cutting jobs in re-cent years, with the workforce standing at 162,000 in 2013.

View gallery"The severity of com-modity price deterioration …

“The severity of commodity price deteri-oration requires bolder action,” says Anglo America …

Cutifani added that Anglo American plans to halve its business setup to leave just three components -- its diamonds operation De Beers, Industrial Metals and Bulk Commod-ities. l

O� ce workers walk to the train station during evening rush hour in the � nancial district of Singapore REUTERS

Downtime20DT

WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 9, 2015

CALVIN AND HOBBES

PEANUTS

DILBERT

How to solve: Fill in the blank spaces with the numbers 1 – 9. Every row, column and 3 x 3 box must contain all nine digits with no number repeating.

CODE-CRACKER

CROSSWORD

SUDOKU

YESTERDAY’S SOLUTIONS

CODE-CRACKER

How to solve: Each number in our CODE-CRACKER grid represents a di� erent letter of the alphabet. For example, today 21 represents R so � ll R every time the � gure 21 appears.You have one letter in the control grid to start you o� . Enter it in the appropriate squares in the main grid, then use your knowledge of words to work out which letters go in the missing squares.Some letters of the alphabet may not be used.As you get the letters, � ll in the other squares with the same number in the main grid, and the control grid. Check o� the list of alphabetical letters as you identify them.

ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ

CROSSWORD

ACROSS1 Gain (6) 6 Seize suddenly (3) 9 Uttered wildly (5) 10 Garment (4) 11 Suppose (5) 12 Make brown (3) 13 Way of viewing (6) 15 Exploit (4) 18 Gone by (4) 21 Imposing entrance (6) 24 Lyric poem (3) 25 Minute particles (5) 28 Welsh national emblem (4) 29 Dogma (5) 30 Strange (3) 31 Replenishes (6)

DOWN1 Having self-esteem (5) 2 Sharp blow (3) 3 Sheeplike (5) 4 Marsh (3)5 Notion (4) 6 Musical sound (4) 7 Counting frame (6) 8 Curved (4) 14 Mild explosion (3) 16 Worn away (6) 17 Small spot (3) 19 Make up for (5) 20 Examines (5) 21 Sport (4) 22 Water grass (4) 23 After due time (4) 26 Perfect score (3) 27 Cry, as a cat (3)

SUDOKU

INSIDE

21D

TWorldWEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 9, 2015

Social media companies step up battle against radicalist propagandaFacebook, Google and Twitter are stepping up e� orts to combat online propaganda and recruiting by jihadist militants, but the internet companies are doing it quietly to avoid the perception that they are helping the authorities police the Web. PAGE 22

Trump’s latest tirade: Bar Muslims from entering the USRepublican frontrunner Donald Trump called Monday for a “total and complete shutdown” of Muslims entering the United States, unleashing some of the most provoc-ative and divisive remarks of his controver-sial presidential campaign. PAGE 23

Study: CO2 emissions set for historic fall in 2015Emissions of carbon dioxide (CO2) from fossil fuels, the main driver of man-made climate change, are set to decline this year for the � rst time in a period of global eco-nomic growth, said a study Monday. PAGE 24

Source : Soufan Group

Estimates compiled from governmentdata, UN reports, studies by research bodies,

academic sources

O�icial count where available,upper estimates taken

More than doubled since last year to 27,000 - 31,000, according to a new report by intelligence consultancy The Soufan Group

Travelling from

Britain

Netherlands

Belgium

Denmark

760

130

150133

470

125220

France1,700

Germany

Canada

US

Trinidad

Brazil

Argentina

New Zealand

Spain

Sweden

Tunisia

760

300

Russia

Austria

China

Tajikistan

Kyrgyzstan

Kazakhstan

Turkmenistan

Uzbekistan

Indonesia

Maldives

Philippines

Malaysia

2,400

300

300

386

500

500

300

360

Azerbaijan104

700

200120

100

100

Lebanon

Jordan

Saudi Arabia

Australia

900

2,000

2,500

Turkey

Bosnia

Kosovo

Macedonia

2,100

146

330

232

6,000

Libya

Egypt1,200

600

600170

Morocco Algeria

Foreign fighters in Syria and Iraq

ANALYSIS

Jihadist IS veterans pose generational threat n AFP, Paris

Even if the Islamic State group is one day de-feated on its territory, the world could face an even greater threat from tens of thou-sands of battle-hardened jihadist veterans, experts have warned.

US intelligence services estimate some 30,000 people have joined the ranks of IS from around 100 countries, adding to the huge number that have fought with older Islamic extremist groups over the decades.

In Afghanistan alone between 1996 and 2001, some 10,000 to 20,000 people re-ceived jihadist training, many under the guidance of Osama bin Laden.

After the fall of the Taliban regime, many of those � ghters dispersed around the world, taking their radical ideology and knowledge with them.

O� cials warn that jihadist veterans pose a major long-term threat that Western insti-tutions are ill-equipped to handle.

“Just the current wave -- of around 250 returning � ghters (coming to France) -- is a complicated problem,” said a senior French counter-terrorist o� cial, speaking on condi-tion of anonymity.

He said the vast majority will be tried and imprisoned, and the rest closely monitored, but the di� culty of � nding evidence against returning � ghters means many are jailed for

only � ve to seven years.“That means that in four or � ve years, the

� rst will start leaving prison. The problem will return,” said the o� cial.

“That’s why we have to prepare now, and see how we can return these people to society. Some will be traumatised for years. We need to think about rehabilitation. It’s a huge job.”

Even worse than ISRegardless of current e� orts to target the group with air strikes and diplomatic e� orts in Syria and Iraq, IS has prepared the ground for years of global insurgency by gathering so many people in its self-declared “caliphate.”

Fragmenting or dispersing the group can have its own terrible side-e� ects.

“Since only the most battle-hardened, the most radical will survive, we will � nd ourselves with something even worse than IS,” said Mathieu Guidere, a radicalisation expert at the University of Toulouse.

“Don’t forget: we thought we had elimi-nated al-Qaeda by killing bin Laden, but the fragmentation of al-Qaeda led to something worse.”

Faced with the slow-moving institutions of the European Union and other Western countries, “we risk always being one step behind in the war,” added Guidere.

“Jihadists know perfectly how to adapt to new conditions. They will create new struc-

tures and forms of action adapted to their environment, and become increasingly dif-� cult to combat.”

In its own territory, attacks on IS are also likely to worsen the violence against civil-ians in their immediate region, at least in the short term.

“If there is a perception that the local pop-ulation is assisting the recapture of territory from the group, then there is absolutely a risk that the group will become more vicious,” said Matthew Henman, head of IHS Jane’s Terrorism and Insurgency Centre in London.

As the Paris attacks of November 13 demonstrated, European security agencies have little hope of collating and analysing all the data pouring in about radicalised in-dividuals and combatants returning from the Middle East.

They must also monitor older jihadists from wars in Bosnia, Afghanistan and Iraq that could return to violence at any time.

“Long after the fall of Dae’sh (an alterna-tive name for IS), the whole world will pay for the years of blindness during which it let the jihadist monster grow on Europe’s doorstep,” said Jean-Pierre Filiu, an expert on Islamic extremism at Sciences Po University in Paris.

“It will of course be the European coun-tries, with at least 5,000 jihadists engaged with Dae’sh... that will be most a� ected,” he warned. l

World22DT

WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 9, 2015

INSIGHT

Social media companies step up battle against radicalist propagandan Reuters, San Francisco

Facebook, Google and Twitter are stepping up e� orts to combat online propaganda and recruiting by jihadist militants, but the inter-net companies are doing it quietly to avoid the perception that they are helping the au-thorities police the Web.

On Friday, Facebook Inc said it took down a pro� le that the company believed belonged to San Bernardino shooter Tashfeen Malik, who with her husband is accused of killing 14 people in a mass shooting that the FBI is investigating as an “act of terrorism.”

Just a day earlier, the French prime min-ister and European Commission o� cials met separately with Facebook, Google , Twitter Inc and other companies to demand faster ac-tion on what the commission called “online terrorism incitement and hate speech.”

The internet companies described their policies as straightforward: they ban certain types of content in accordance with their own terms of service, and require court orders to remove or block anything beyond that. Any-one can report, or � ag, content for review and possible removal.

But the truth is far more subtle and compli-cated. According to former employees, Face-book, Google and Twitter all worry that if they are public about their true level of cooperation with Western law enforcement agencies, they will face endless demands for similar action from countries around the world.

They also fret about being perceived by consumers as being tools of the government. Worse, if the companies spell out exactly how their screening works, they run the risk that technologically savvy militants will learn more about how to beat their systems.

“If they knew what magic sauce went into pushing content into the newsfeed, spam-mers or whomever would take advantage of that,” said a security expert who had worked at both Facebook and Twitter, who asked not to be identi� ed because of the sensitivity of the issue.

One of the most signi� cant yet least un-derstood aspects of the propaganda issue is the range of ways in which social media com-panies deal with government o� cials.

Facebook, Google and Twitter say they do not treat government complaints di� er-ently from citizen complaints, unless the

government obtains a court order. The trio are among a growing number that publish regular transparency reports summarizing the number of formal requests from o� cials about content on their sites.

But there are workarounds, according to former employees, activists and government o� cials.

A key one is for o� cials or their allies to complain that a threat, hate speech or cele-bration of violence violates the company’s terms of service, rather than any law. Such content can be taken down within hours or minutes, and without the paper trail that would go with a court order.

“It is commonplace for federal authori-ties to directly contact Twitter and ask for assistance, rather than going through formal channels,” said an activist who has helped get numerous accounts disabled.

In the San Bernardino case, Facebook said it took down Malik’s pro� le, established under an alias, for violating its community standards, which prohibit praise or promo-tion of “acts of terror.” The spokesman said there was “pro-Islamic State” content on the page but declined to elaborate.

What law enforcement, politicians and some activists would really like is for internet companies to stop banned content from be-ing shared in the � rst place. But that would pose a tremendous technological challenge, as well as an enormous policy shift, former executives said.

There have been some formal policy changes. Twitter revised its abuse policy to ban indirect threats of violence, in addition to direct threats, and has dramatically im-proved its speed for handling abuse requests, a spokesman said.

Facebook said it banned this year any con-tent praising terrorists.

Google’s YouTube has expanded a lit-tle-known “Trusted Flagger” programme, allowing groups ranging from a British an-ti-terror police unit to the Simon Wiesenthal Center, a human rights organization, to � ag large numbers of videos as problematic and get immediate action.

A Google spokeswoman declined to say how many trusted � aggers there were, but said the vast majority were individuals cho-sen based on their past accuracy in identifying content that violated YouTube’s policies. l

A logo of Twitter is pictured next to the logo of Facebook REUTERS

WorldSOUTH ASIADozens reported killed as rival Afghan Taliban factions clashMore than 50 people have been killed and dozens more wounded in renewed � ghting between rival Taliban factions in Shindand district near Herat. Rival groups have rejected the authority of Omar’s successor Mullah Akhtar Mansour and called for a new process to choose a leader. There has been inter-mittent � ghting in which scores have been killed. The clashes follow days of confusion over the fate of Mullah Mansour. -REUTERS

INDIA2 separate train accidents kill 14 in India Two train accidents in eastern and northern In-dia have claimed at least 14 lives, o� cials said Tuesday. A speeding train rammed into an SUV at an unmanned railroad crossing in Jharkhand state, killing all 13 people in the vehicle, includ-ing � ve children. In a separate railway accident near Delhi, two trains collided, killing the driver of one of the trains. At least 50 people were injured in the accident. -AP

CHINAUS to deploy spy plane in Singapore amid China tensionsThe US has agreed with Singapore on a � rst deployment of the US P8 Poseidon spy plane in Singapore this month, in a fresh response to China over its pursuit of territorial claims in the South China Sea. China said on Tuesday the move was aimed at militarising the region. China claims almost the entire waters, while the Philippines, Brunei, Vietnam, Malaysia and Taiwan have overlapping claims. -REUTERS

ASIA PACIFICJapan poised to build India’s � rst bullet trainJapan is set to build India’s � rst bullet train, with Tokyo � nancing the project through an $8bn loan to New Delhi, a leading Japanese business daily reported Tuesday. The Nikkei, which did not cite sources, said the bullet train will link the cities of Mumbai and Ahmedabad and that the two countries will issue a joint statement about the deal on Saturday during Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s visit to India, where he will meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The report comes after Japan failed to win a high-speed train deal in Indonesia earlier this year, losing out to a Chinese proposal. -AFP

MIDDLE EASTSaudi annual execution toll hits 150Saudi Arabia on Tuesday executed a convicted Pakistani heroin smuggler and a Saudi murderer, adding to a toll which rights group Amnesty International says is the kingdom’s highest in two decades. The in-terior ministry said the Pakistani was put to death in Mecca for smuggling a large amount of heroin in his intestines. In a separate case, a Saudi national was executed in Qatif city for gunning down two fellow Saudis after an argument. The number of executions in Saudi Arabia this year is the highest since 192 people were put to death in 1995. -AFP

WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 9, 201523

DT

UN: US campaign rhetoric threatens refugee programmesn AFP, Geneva

Rhetoric in the US presidential campaign is threatening a key refugee resettlement pro-gramme, the United Nations said Tuesday, after Republican frontrunner Donald Trump said Muslims should be barred from entering the country.

United Nations refugee agency spokes-woman Melissa Fleming did not directly re-spond to Trump’s call for a “total and com-plete shutdown” of Muslims coming to the US, but said the UN was concerned about the impact of such remarks.

“We are concerned that the rhetoric that is being used in the election campaign is put-ting an incredibly important resettlement programme at risk,” she told journalists.

She also referred to a call from several US state governors -- made after last months’ jihadist attacks in Paris -- for a pause in the resettlement of Syrian refugees.

“The Obama administration has been standing by the programme...It would be a shame if this were halted,” Fleming further said.

The UN spokeswoman noted that the US takes in more refugees each year than any other country in the world, roughly 100,000 people.

More than four million people have � ed Syria’s brutal civil war and more than sev-en million others are displaced within the country. l

WHO SAYS WHAT

Reactions to Trump’s plan Here’s what some foreign statesmen, US presidential contenders, members of both the Republican and Democratic parties and others are saying about Donald Trump’s call to bar Muslims from entering the US soil--“British Prime Minister David Cameron com-pletely disagrees with the remarks, which are divisive, unhelpful and quite simply wrong.”- Spokeswomen for the British prime minister“Donald Trump is unhinged. His ‘policy’ pro-posals are not serious.”— Jeb Bush, former Florida governor and Re-publican candidate for president, via Twitter“Well, that is not my policy. I’ve introduced legislation in the Senate that would put in place a three-year moratorium on refugees coming from countries where ISIS (another ac-ronym for Islamic State) or al-Qaeda control a substantial amount of territory. And the reason is that’s where the threat is coming from.”— Ted Cruz, Texas senator and Republican candidate for president“There are folks in this race who don’t care about what the law says because they’re used to being able to just � re people indiscriminate-ly on television. So, they don’t have to worry about what laws say or not say.”— Chris Christie, New Jersey governor and Republican candidate for president“Trump’s overreaction is as dangerous as Presi-dent Obama’s under-reaction.”— Carly Fiorina, former technology executive and Republican candidate for president“Everyone visiting our country should register

and be monitored during their stay as is done in many countries. I do not and would not advocate being selective on one’s religion.”— Ben Carson, retired neurosurgeon and Republican candidate for president“I think this whole notion that we can just say no more Muslims, and just ban a whole religion goes against everything we stand for and believe in. Religious freedom has been a very important part of our history and where we came from. ... It’s a mistaken notion.— Dick Cheney, former vice president, speak-ing with radio host Hugh Hewitt“This is reprehensible, prejudiced and divisive. @realDonaldTrump, you don’t get it. This makes us less safe.”— Hillary Clinton, former secretary of state and Democratic candidate for president, via Twitter“Demagogues throughout our history have attempted to divide us based on race, gender, sexual orientation or country of origin. Now, Trump and others want us to hate all Muslims. The United States is a great nation when we stand together. We are a weak nation when we allow racism and xenophobia to divide us.”— Bernie Sanders, Vermont senator and Democratic candidate for president“I thought long ago that things he said would hurt his prospects, and he continues to go up.”— Republican Senator John McCain of Arizo-na, who called Trump’s plan “just foolish.” l

Source: NEWS WIRES

Trump’s latest tirade: Bar Muslims from entering the USn Agencies

Republican frontrunner Donald Trump called Monday for a “total and complete shutdown” of Muslims entering the United States, unleashing some of the most provoc-ative and divisive remarks of his controver-sial presidential campaign.

The stunning statement followed last week’s mass shooting in California by a Muslim couple believed to have been rad-icalised by extremists, and landed with a thunderclap just as fellow presidential candidates were contemplating ways to im-prove national security.

His aides did not specify if the proposal would a� ect both tourists and immigrants, and did not say either if it would target American Muslims currently abroad.

In a rambling, 50-minute speech aboard the battleship USS Yorktown later Monday, Trump read part of his statement aloud, hardening the tone and saying the halt on Muslims entering the country should re-main in place “until our country’s repre-sentatives can � gure out what the hell is going on.”

“We have no choice,” Trump said, saying that radicals want to kill Americans.

“It’s going to get worse and worse. We’re going to have more World Trade Centres,” he said, referring to the deadly attacks on

September 11, 2001.Trump drew swift condemnation by

presidential rivals and the White House, which denounced his call to bar Muslims as “totally contrary” to US values.

Trump’s campaign cited poll data alleg-edly showing “hatred toward Americans by large segments of the Muslim population.”

“Where this hatred comes from and why we will have to determine,” the billionaire real estate mogul, who is currently leading in opinion polls among likely Republican voters, said in the statement.

“Until we are able to determine and un-derstand this problem and the dangerous threat it poses, our country cannot be the victims of horrendous attacks by people that believe only in jihad, and have no sense of reason or respect for human life.”

Trump has been increasingly virulent in his remarks targeting Muslim Americans since the deadly Paris attacks, and again in the wake of last week’s shooting rampage in Cal-ifornia, which left 14 dead and 21 wounded.

But his latest statement was particularly jarring, and it unleashed severe condemna-tion on Twitter, including from other Re-publicans running for president.

On Tuesday, Tuesday defended his call to ban Muslims from entering the United States, calling it a temporary measure in a time of war.

Trump likened his proposal to those im-plemented by former US president Frank-lin Roosevelt against people of Japanese, Germans and Italian descent during World War II.

“What I’m doing is no di� erent than FDR,” Trump said on ABC’s “Good Morning America” programme in one of a round of heated television interviews where he de-fended his plan in the wake of last week’s California shooting spree by two Muslims who authorities said were radicalised.

“We have no choice but to do this,” he said, adding: “We have people that want to blow up our buildings, our cities. We have � gure out what’s going on.”

He reiterated that the plan would be tem-porary, telling ABC that the ban would last until Congress acts on the issue. l

Donald Trump AFP

Congress stalls Lok Sabha over government’s Gandhi vendettan Reuters, New Delhi

India’s main opposition Congress party stormed the � oors of parliament on Tues-day and accused Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government of pursuing a “vendetta” against the Gandhi family, in a fresh blow to hopes of passing a crucial tax reform.

The government wants to introduce a nationwide goods and services tax (GST) to replace a long list of state levies, in a bid to boost investment by making it easier to do business in India’s vast internal market.

Modi needs opposition support to pass the reform in parliament’s upper house, where his party lacks a majority. Hopes were raised for the long-delayed legis-lation to be passed this year after Modi met Congress president Sonia Gandhi last month and both parties showed signs of compromise.

But the sides were at loggerheads again

on Monday, after a judge ordered Gandhi and her son Rahul to appear in court in a case brought by a prominent member of Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).

On Tuesday, furious Congress members occupied the � oors of parliament to protest against the case. Modi has moved to weaken the legacy of the Gandhi dynasty since dis-lodging them from power last year.

“I am not scared of anyone,” a de� ant Sonia Gandhi told journalists in parliament.

Parliament was adjourned until Wednes-day following the uproar, but Congress workers carried their protests into the streets, including shouting slogans from the top of a bus.

“The GST bill has gone for a sky walk,” Anand Sharma, the Congress party’s depu-ty leader in the upper house, told reporters. Sharma said the bill would not be discussed on Wednesday.

Another senior Congress leader said dis-

ruptions in parliament would continue, but did not say for how long.

The case, brought by BJP member Sub-ramanian Swamy, alleges the Gandhis used $13.5m of party funds to pay debts accrued by a newspaper business. The Gandhis deny wrongdoing.

Abhishek Manu Singhvi, a Congress spokesman and lawyer for the Gandhis, said they were willing to appear in court, but sought more time. The court will hear the case on December 19.

Finance Minister Arun Jaitley said the government had no role in the case, adding that the Gandhis could explain their con-cerns in court but their party should not dis-rupt parliament.

“All parties must come together (on GST),” Jaitley told broadcaster Times Now. “Anybody who tries to create hurdles in passing that GST will be doing great damage to this country.” l

WorldUSAFBI: California shooters were radicalised for ‘some time’Investigators believe the married couple who massacred 14 people in California last week - a US-born husband and his Pakistani wife - had been radicalised “for quite some time,” but no clues pointing to an interna-tional plot have yet emerged, the FBI said on Monday. Authorities also have evidence that Syed Rizwan Farook, 28, and his spouse Tashfeen Malik, 29, had engaged in � rearms target practice near their Southern Califor-nia home within days of last week’s deadly shooting rampage. -REUTERS

THE AMERICASCanada, Mexico win WTO nod for $1bn sanctions against USCanada and Mexico won WTO approval Monday to impose up to $1bn a year in trade sanctions against the US over its coun-try-of-origin labeling requirement for beef and pork. An arbitration panel at the Gene-va-based World Trade Organisation ruled that the US policy, known by its acronym COOL, was unfair and authorised Canada to impose up to Can$1.05bn in sanctions annu-ally while Mexico can levy up to $227.8m a year in retaliatory tari� s. -AFP

UKUK House votes ‘no’ on lowering voting age for EU referendumBritain’s House of Commons voted on Tues-day against reducing the voting age for a referendum on EU membership, potentially blocking any further moves to give the vote to 16 and 17-year-olds. Lawmakers voted 303 to 253 to reject a move by the upper chamber, the House of Lords, to lower the voting age to 16 from 18 for the referendum which Prime Minister David Cameron has promised by the end of 2017. -REUTERS

EUROPENumber of asylum seekers in Germany soars to 965,000 Almost 965,000 migrants and refugees were registered in Germany from the start of the year to the end of November, the Interior Ministry said on Monday, revealing numbers that trump previous estimates set for the whole year. The ministry said that around 484,000, over half, come from Syria. Other main countries of origin were Afghanistan and Iraq, in second and third place respec-tively, according to the data. -DPA

AFRICAUN: 20 killed, 90,000 � ee Somalia clashesAt least 20 people were killed, 120 wounded and over 90,000 forced to � ee days of rival militia battles in central Somalia, although the situation has now calmed, the UN said Tuesday. Fighting broke out in the town of Galkayo on November 22 between gunmen loyal to the Puntland and Galmudug dis-tricts, with reports of heavy gun� re as well as mortars or artillery. Clashes continued after a cease� re agreement last week, but the situation has been quieter. -AFP

WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 9, 201524D

T

To prevent the Earth’s temperature rising by more than 2°C, cumulative emissions of CO2cannot go beyond the 1,000-gigatonne threshold, scientists say

How much more CO2 can we emit?

Sources :ONU, IPCC

33%50%

1880

*1 GtC (1 billion of tonnes of carbon) = 3.667 Gt CO2

1,570 GtC

1,210 GtC

1,000 GtC*

Emissions of CO2

66% chance

How our carbon budget has been used upin GtC

Chances of limiting global warming to +2°C

2011

alreadyused up

forecastedemissions

all that isle� to use

20252030

662

Total: 1000 GtC

515

719

Study: CO2 emissions set for historic fall in 2015n AFP, Le Bourget

Emissions of carbon dioxide (CO2) from fos-sil fuels, the main driver of man-made cli-mate change, are set to decline this year for the � rst time in a period of global economic growth, said a study Monday.

The “surprising” � ndings were published as 195 nations entered the � nal phase of UN talks in Paris for an accord to roll back heat-trapping carbon emissions, blamed for dangerous climate change.

Thanks mainly to changes in China, the worldwide growth in emissions from fossil fuels-derived energy � attened in 2014 and is set to drop slightly -- by about 0.6% -- this year, said the study in the journal Nature Climate Change.

The decline will come even though the global economy grew this year, by an ex-

pected 3.1%, following expansion of 3.4% in 2014, the authors noted.

“Unlike past periods with little or no emissions growth, global gross domestic product (GDP) grew substantially in both years,” they wrote.

Previous periods of decline were tem-porary and have occurred during economic slowdowns, notably in 2009 after the global � nancial crisis.

Decoupling economic growth from emis-sions generated by oil, coal and gas is a key goal in the bid to tackle global warming.

Carbon-curbing strategies focus on im-proving energy e� ciency from traditional fossil fuels and on shifting to low- or ze-ro-carbon sources such as wind, solar, hy-dro, geothermal or nuclear.

The study was conducted by 70 scien-tists, led by Corinne Le Quere of the Tyndall

Centre for Climate Research at the Universi-ty of East Anglia in England.

Analysts who were not involved in the research hailed its sign� cance.

However, the study cautioned that 2015 was unlikely to be the emissions “peak year” followed by a period of long-term de-cline.

The research team said their projection for 2015 fell within a range of statistical un-certainty, from a decline of 1.6% to a small rise of 0.5%.

The expected drop in 2015 was attribut-ed largely to decreased coal use in China, the world’s number one greenhouse gas emitter.

After rising nearly 7% per year in the previous decade, China’s emissions growth slowed to 1.2% in 2014 and could be minus 3.9% in 2015. l

25D

TSportINSIDE

WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 9, 2015

Mashrafe is a great leader, says Na� saComilla owner Na� sa Kamal, daughter of former ICC, ACC and BCB president AHM Mustafa Kamal, is a pioneer in that she is the � rst female cricket organiser of the country. Not an unknown face in the cricketing arena, Na� sa is looking to come out of her famous father’s shadow and create her own identity. PAGE 26

You just can’t depend on two players: TamimChittagong Vikings captain Tamim Iqbal’s disappointment was clearly visible for all to see following their 45-run loss against Dhaka Dynamites yesterday. And in the mandatory post-match press conference, he made no e� orts to hide his dejection, and cited a lack of team e� ort for their current plight. PAGE 27

Mourinho believes in Abramovich backingChelsea manager Jose Mourinho said yesterday that he feels he retains the support of owner Roman Abramovich despite the looming risk of Champions League elimination. The mis� ring Premiership champions face a make-or-break home game with Porto. PAGE 28

Smith contemplating Proteas comebackGraeme Smith, the former South Africa captain who retired in March 2014, is considering a comeback to international cricket. He is getting ready for the Masters Champions League and reports suggest he might end up training with his old team-mates again, as they prepare for full series against England in December. PAGE 29

DHAKA DYNAMITES INNINGS R BSaykat c Tamim b Sha� ul 3 13Yasir st Anamul b Asif 10 9Hafeez c Anamul b Amir 1 5Sangakkara c Umar b Sha� ul 38 36Nasir c Anamul b Bhatti 10 10Mosaddek c Umar b Sha� ul 24 29Waller c Umar b Amir 19 10Abul c Dilshan b Amir 4 6Mosharraf not out 2 2Nabil not out 0 0Extras (b 6, lb 2, w 2) 10Total (8 wickets; 20 overs) 121FoW: 1-13, 2-13, 3-14, 4-35, 5-91, 6-91, 7-113, 8-119BowlingAmir 4-1-18-3, Bhatti 4-0-24-1, Asif 2-0-6-1, Sha� ul 4-0-21-3, Dilshan 4-0-29-0, Sunny 2-0-15-0CHITTAGONG VIKINGS INNINGS R BTamim lbw b Musta� zur 8 9Dilshan b Abul 4 5Anamul c & b Yasir 9 18Yasir run out (Waller) 2 8Umar st Sangakkara b Mosharraf 14 22Sunnylbw b Mosharraf 10 12Bhatti c Saykat b Musta� zur 11 15Amir c Saykat b Mosharraf 0 1Sha� ul c Musta� zur b Mosharraf 0 3Asif not out 4 9Ziaur absent hurt -Extras (b 8, lb 1, w 4, nb 1) 14Total (all out; 16.5 overs) 76FoW: 1-13, 2-20, 3-24, 4-39, 5-49, 6-61, 7-61, 8-61, 9-76BowlingNabil 3-0-15-0, Abul 2-0-8-1, Musta� zur 2.5-0-7-2, Yasir 4-0-14-1, Mosharraf 4-0-16-4, Nasir 1-0-7-0

Dhaka Dynamites won by 45 runsMoM: Mosharraf Hossain (DD)

DD v CHV

POINTS TABLETeams Mat Won Lost Pts

Rangpur 10 7 3 14

Comilla 9 6 3 12

Barisal 8 5 3 10

Dhaka 8 4 4 8

Sylhet 8 2 6 4

Chittagong 9 2 7 4

Chittagong Vikings’ Pakistani seamer Mohammad Amir’s (L) joy knows no bounds after he dismisses fellow countryman and Dhaka Dynamites batsman Mohammad Hafeez during their 2015 Bangladesh Premier League Twenty20 clash at Mirpur’s SBNS yesterday MAINOOR ISLAM MANIK

Mosharraf spins Dhaka to crucial winChittagong Vikings crash out of BPL 3n Reazur Rahman Rohan

Dhaka Dynamites took a giant leap towards securing their position in the top half of the Bangladesh Premier League 2015 points table as they beat Chittagong Vikings by 45 runs to oust the port-city side from the tournament yesterday.

Chittagong, on four points after nine games, will complete the formalities today when they face Barisal Bulls in the evening match at the Sher-e-Bangla National sta-dium. Meanwhile, Dhaka’s progress in the tournament will be sealed if they continue the momentum against Sylhet Super Stars in the afternoon clash. Two matches remain for both teams who are vying for the fourth spot and Sylhet’s hopes will vanish if they fail to get full points from the encounter.

Kumar Sangakkara, after being put into bat � rst, once again found himself in the middle with his side two down in no time. His stroke of sending in leg-spinner Yasir Shah to open the batting also did not ham-per the Chittagong plan much.

The match got more attention when Mo-hammad Hafeez walked in at No 3 as Tamim immediately brought Mohammad Amir into the attack. It should be mentioned that Pa-kistani Hafeez earlier declined the Vikings’ o� er to play in the BPL due to Amir’s pres-

ence in the squad.Hafeez lasted four balls against the left-

arm quickie as a pumped-up Amir punched the air in his celebratory run; it was his si-lent yet loud answer to Hafeez on the � eld.

However, Sangakkara (38) and Mosad-dek Hossain (24) repaired the early damage with a 56-run partnership before Malcolm Waller’s 10-ball 19 helped Dhaka to a par score – 121 for eight.

The target was small, but a big one com-pared to BPL’s standard and it grew bigger with the departure of both Tamim and Til-lakaratne Dilshan inside three overs. Left-arm spinner Mosharraf Hossain bowled exceptionally well and bagged 4/16 to help Dhaka bowl out their opponents for a paltry 76 in 16.5 overs. l

BPL 201526DT

WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 9, 2015

RANGPUR RIDERS INNINGS R BLMP Simmons lbw b Zaidi 13 18Soumya Sarkar c Shuvagata b Hider 5 6Jahurul Islam not out 62 50Shakib Al Hasan c Zaidi b Kamrul 20 15 NLTC Perera c Russell b Malik 5 4 DJG Sammy c Malik b Russell 24 20 Mohammad Nabi c Malik b Hider 12 7Mohammad Mithun not out 1 1Extras (b 1, lb 5, w 4, nb 1) 11Total (6 wickets; 20 overs) 153

FoW1-6, 2-39, 3-78, 4-89, 5-128, 6-149Bowling Malik 4-0-23-1, Hider 4-1-28-2 Zaidi 4-0-14-1, Russell4-0-38-1, Mahmudul 1-0-10-0, Kamrul 2-0-22-1, Mashrafe 1-0-12-0COMILLA VICTORIANS INNINGS R BImrul Kayes c Arafat b Sammy 38 24Mahmudul Hasan lbw b Saqlain 8 10Ahmed Shehzad c Perera b Nabi 10 13Ashar Zaidi c Simmons b Nabi 2 6Shoaib Malik c Arafat b Perera 15 24Shuvagata Hom b Arafat 12 13AD Russell c Perera b Shakib 9 10Mashrafe Mortaza c Nabi b Saqlain 8 3Dhiman Ghosh b Perera 2 7Abu Hider not out 18 6Kamrul Islam Rabbi b Perera 1 3Extras (lb 6, w 3) 9 Total (all out; 19.5 overs) 132

FoW1-48, 2-59, 3-61, 4-63, 5-85, 6-102, 7-110, 8-112, 9-130, 10-132Bowling Shakib 4-0-30-1, Nabi 3-0-13-2, Arafat 4-0-25-1, Perera 2.5-1-18-3, Sammy 2-0-21-1, Saqlain 4-0-19-2

Rangpur Riders won by 21 runsMoM: Jahurul Islam (Rangpur)

RR v COV

‘Mashrafe is a great leader, obviously I wanted him at Comilla’n Mazhar Uddin

Comilla Victorians owner Na� sa Kamal, daughter of former International Cricket Council, Asian Cricket Council and Bangla-desh Cricket Board president AHM Mustafa Kamal, is a pioneer in that she is the � rst fe-male cricket organiser of the country.

Not an unknown face in the cricketing arena, Na� sa is looking to come out of her famous father’s shadow and create her own identity.

She however, raised a few eyebrows even before the third edition of the Bangladesh Premier League Twenty20 got underway when she informed that her � rst choice as captain and icon cricketer was Shakib al Hasan. Thanks to the lottery, the Victorians instead got Mashrafe bin Mortaza.

A candid Na� sa though cleared all the confusion surrounding the choice of their skipper in an exclusive interview with Dhaka Tribune. Here are the excerpts:

You are the first female cricket organiser in Bangladesh. What inspired you?It was my natural choice to get into cricket as my father is my biggest inspiration. I have grown up watching cricket. I even missed

classes and exams to watch tournaments. My father used to take me all over the world to watch cricket. I do not think I have missed any major series growing up. I have visited all the stadiums in the world.

Have you ever faced any obstacle being a woman in this arena?I will not say I have faced any gender-based di� culties till now. But the problem is, I think, there are groupings in this arena.

There are some advantages and di� cul-ties in being the daughter of Lotus Kamal. I think it’s pretty much impossible for me to make a name as an individual as I have to carry my father’s legacy. But as a girl I do not think I have faced any di� culty so far. What overwhelms me though is the fact that I am the only girl involved with cricket.

Players’ payment irregularities marred the first two editions of the BPL. So far it hasn’t reared its ugly head in the ongoing edition. How has your team tackled this problem this time around?I would like to make it very clear. I am proud to say our foreign players have already been paid fully. We have cleared the payment of [Marlon] Samuels, [Sunil] Narine and [Krish-

mar] Santokie and they have all gone home very happy and satis� ed.

We have already paid 50 percent payment to the local players. They will receive the re-maining amount very soon.

Rumours did the rounds that you openly expressed your dissatisfaction after missing out on Shakib as the icon cricketer. What really happened? Honestly, Shakib is a friend of mine. Moreo-ver, he is very close to my family. That’s the � rst reason why I wanted him in our side. Secondly, we were initially informed that the icon players would choose their own destina-tion. But, the decision to shift to lottery was changed in the very last moment. So, being a friend, I was dying to have him in my team as it’s easy to work with a friend anywhere you go.

Having missed out on Shakib, I obvious-ly wanted Mashrafe as the captain and icon cricketer. Shakib came to the scene only be-cause he is a friend and we were willing to work together. I think Mashrafe is no less of a leader. They both (Shakib and Mashrafe) are icons of Bangladesh, just like the other four (Mush� qur Rahim, Tamim Iqbal, Mahmudu-llah and Nasir Hossain). l M

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Rangpur Riders top-order batsman Jahurul Islam Omi goes big during their 2015 BPL tie against Comilla Victorians in Mirpur yesterday MAINOOR ISLAM MANIK

Rangpur end league campaign with winn Mazhar Uddin

Shakib al Hasan’s Rangpur Riders completed their � rst round campaign in the 2015 Bang-ladesh Premier League Twenty20 with a re-sounding 21-run win over Comilla Victorians at Mirpur’s Sher-e-Bangla National Stadium yesterday.

In the process, Rangpur rose to the sum-mit of the six-team standings with 14 points from 10 matches while Comilla are a place behind at second with two fewer points from a game less.

Asked to take � rst guard, the Riders post-ed a more-than-competitive 153/6 in 20 overs, riding on the back of a brilliant unbeat-en 50-ball 62 by top-order batsman Jahurul Islam. The right-handed Jahurul smashed seven delightful fours and two big sixes.

Victorians left-arm seamer Abu Haider Rony continued his impressive run in the tournament, taking 2/28 to take his wickets tally to 16.

In reply, Comilla eventually managed 132 before being bundled out with a ball to spare. Opening batsman Imrul Kayes top-scored with a � ne 24-ball 38 but none of the other batsmen crossed 18 as they fell short by 21 runs.

Rony tried his best to seal an unlikely win, blasting a six-ball 18, featuring two giant max-imums but Thisara Perera’s 3/18 at the end put paid to Comilla’s hopes. Afghanistan spinner Mohammad Nabi and left-arm slow bowler Saqlain Sajib bagged two wickets apiece.

Jahurul was deservedly adjudged player of the match for his brilliant undefeated knock. l

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WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 9, 2015

BGB, Police face o� in handball � nal todayBorder Guard Bangladesh and Bangladesh Po-lice swept into the � nal of the Exim Bank 25th National Men’s Handball Championship after winning their respective semi-� nals yesterday. BGB outclassed Chittagong district 38-10 in the day’s � rst semi-� nal at the M Mansur Ali National Handball stadium. Mehedi Hasan and Sudhan Barua scored eight and seven goals respectively for the victors. In the second semi-� nal, Police earned a huge 53-38 victory over Bangladesh Ansar at the same venue. Mahbubul Alam and Shohag Hossain scored 20 and 12 goals respectively for Police. The � nal will be held today afternoon.

–TRIBUNE REPORT

ICC targets World Twenty20 on US soilCricket chiefs hope to stage a Twenty20 World Cup in the United States within a decade as the game ramps up e� orts to crack the huge American sports market, a report said yester-day. The International Cricket Council’s head of global development Tim Anderson said the world governing body had ambitions to further popularise the sport in a country more used to baseball, basketball and gridiron.

–AFP

Pellegrini unsure over Aguero return dateManchester City manager Manuel Pellegrini in-sists Sergio Aguero’s heel injury is not serious even though he doesn’t know when the Ar-gentina striker will return. Aguero has missed two games since limping out of last month’s victory over Southampton and was again ab-sent when City wrapped up their Champions League group stage � xtures against Borussia Monchengladbach at Eastlands yesterday. Both Pellegrini and Aguero have played down the problem, but the 27-year-old also seems unlikely to return before the Premier League visit of Swansea on Saturday.

–AFP

Pune, Rajkot named new IPL franchisesWestern Indian cities of Pune and Rajkot will be home to two new franchises in the Indian Premier League for the next two years, the country’s cricket board announced yesterday. The new teams will � ll the void left by the two-year suspension of the Chennai Super Kings and Rajasthan Royals franchises following an illegal betting scandal in the cash-rich Twen-ty20 tournament.

–REUTERS

United’s Schweinsteiger charged over Reid elbowManchester United’s Bastian Schweinsteiger was charged with violent conduct on Monday for an alleged elbow on Winston Reid in Satur-day’s draw against West Ham. Schweinsteiger stuck out his left arm and caught Hammers defender Reid in the throat as both players jostled for position in the build-up to a � rst-half free-kick in the Premier League clash at Old Tra� ord.

–AFP

QUICK BYTES

n Mazhar Uddin

Chittagong Vikings captain Tamim Iqbal’s disappointment was clearly visible for all to see following their 45-run loss against Dhaka Dynamites yesterday. And in the mandatory post-match press conference, he made no ef-forts to hide his dejection, and cited a lack of team e� ort for their current plight. Below are the excerpts:

It seems Chittagong’s batting was heavily dependent on your performance.....Obviously it looks that way. Myself and [Tilla-karatne] Dilshan scored big in two matches and they were the only ones we have won so far. Apart from that, I haven’t seen anything signi� cant. I did not witness any partner-ships from our batsmen, including the local players. It’s very disappointing honestly. I think apart from Dilshan and I, none of the other batsmen were able to score a total of 100 runs in the whole tournament. You just can’t depend on two cricketers as it’s a team game. Everyone needs to perform, especially the local players.

Officiating has not been up to the mark in the entire BPL 3. What’s your take on that?What can I say about umpiring. Everyone has witnessed the standard of umpiring. If I

make any comment, I may be � ned or even suspended. We still have a game left so I do not want to say anything. But I am sure everyone is aware so I do not need to say an-ything.

Prior to the start of BPL 3, Chittagong were one of the strongest sides on pen and paper. What went wrong?If the results are anything to go by then our team does not look strong I must say but on pen and paper, we are a very formidable unit. Sometimes it happens where the key players are unable to perform. Our local players tried hard but failed. Even if you bring Chris Gay-le, [Kieron] Pollard or any other big names, if the local players do not perform then it’s hard to get the results as a team.

The Vikings have lost seven of their nine matches. How did the franchise owners react after each defeat?Our franchise owners have been hundred percent supportive. They have treated us with respect from the � rst day of the tourna-ment. But we are feeling pretty bad because we have been unable to return their favour with performances. We are sorry for that. You do not get these type of owners always. They have given us everything but we failed to deliver. l

BFF will not let rebel clubs have their wayn Tribune Report

Bangladesh Football Federation is deter-mined to keep the continuity of the game “at any cost” and not let negativity a� ect the country’s football arena.

An emergency, albeit “uno� cial”, meet-ing of the executive committee was held out-side the BFF House yesterday where the top o� cials of football’s governing body in the country discussed the recent act of de� ance by a few premier league clubs.

Hosted by BFF president Kazi Salahuddin, senior vice president Abdus Salam Murshedy, three vice presidents – Kazi Nabil Ahmed, Badal Roy and Tabith Awal – and other exec-utive members were present in the meeting. The meeting was originally scheduled to be held last Monday but was later pushed back to yesterday.

A few days ago, � ve premier league clubs led by Sheikh Jamal Dhanmondi president Manjur Kader and director-in-charge of Mo-hammedan Sporting, Lokman Hossain Bhui-yan threatened that the top-� ight out� ts will not take part in any football-related activi-ties next season unless the transfer window, which was set for December 26, is deferred and the Professional Football League Com-mittee is reshu� ed.

However, Badal sounded out a harsh warn-ing to the rebel clubs. “We want to carry on the continuity of football at any cost. We under-stand that a particular person was responsible for creating a negative environment in the hockey arena for a long time. That same per-son and a few others are trying to repeat it in football as well. The purpose of this meeting was not to let this happen. We are determined not to allow any disruption or interruption in football,” said the BFF high-up.l

The goalscoring goalkeeper retiresn Agencies

He was the goalscoring goalkeeper whose record of � nding the net was so good it put most out� eld players to shame.

A world champion with Brazil in 2002 and a winner of 18 major titles with Sao Paulo, Rogerio Ceni’s long and successful career came to an end Sunday.

And it’s a testament to his goalscoring prowess that neither that World Cup success or his haul of silverware will likely be the achievements for which Ceni will be best re-membered.

Instead, the 42-year-old, who made his Sao Paulo debut in 1993, will be revered for

� nding the net 131 times in over 1,200 match-es - a record that left him with a ratio of at least one goal in every 10 games - during a ca-reer which has spanned three decades.

Ceni became the � rst goalkeeper to score 100 goals and his talent for � nding the net from penalties and free-kicks has made him famous among football fans the world over.

Leading the tributes to Ceni following what should have been his � nal match Sunday was fellow 2002 World Cup winner and two-time World Player of the Year Ronaldinho, who took to Twitter to hail his compatriot as a model ath-lete. Ceni was forced to miss Sunday’s meeting with Goais due to injury, depriving fans of the chance to see him score one � nal time. l

‘You just can’t depend on two players’

28DT Sport

WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 9, 2015

Arsenal, Chelsea bidding to avoid exitsBayer Leverkusen (GER) v Barcelona (ESP)Bayer Leverkusen need to beat runaway group winners Barcelona to stand any chance of advancing to the last 16. The Germans would then still need Roma to drop points against BATE Borisov in the group’s other game to reach the knockout rounds.

Roma (ITA) v BATE Borisov (BLR)Despite a 6-1 thrashing at the hands of Barce-lona a fortnight ago, Roma remain in pole po-sition to snatch second place in Group E. Rudi Garcia’s men are level on � ve points with Bayer Leverkusen but own the head-to-head advantage, meaning a victory over BATE Bo-risov would send the Italians through to the knockout phase.

Dinamo Zagreb (CRO) v Bayern (GER)There is little at stake in Dinamo Zagreb’s � nal-day clash against German champions Bayern Munich, but the Croatian side should brace themselves for a potential Bayern backlash in the wake of Saturday’s 3-1 defeat at Borussia Moenchengladbach.

Olympiakos (GRE) v Arsenal (ENG)Arsenal’s quali� cation hopes rest on a knife edge with the Gunners knowing they have to beat Olympiakos - either by two goals or by scoring at least three times - to pip the Greeks to second place. Arsene Wenger’s men are bidding to reach the last 16 for the 16th straight season but the injuries continue to pile up for the Premier League out� t with

mid� elder Santi Cazorla ruled out for up to four months with a knee injury.

Dynamo Kiev (UKR) v Maccabi v (ISR)Dynamo Kiev’s shock win in Portugal last time out means the Ukrainian side can pro-gress to the last 16 for the � rst time since the 1999-2000 season with a victory over point-less Maccabi Tel-Aviv.

Chelsea (ENG) v Porto (POR)The pressure is on Jose Mourinho and his Chel-sea players to avoid an early exit in Europe. Chelsea go into their � nal group game top of the pile on 10 points, level with Porto, and will go through as group winners with a victory while a draw would see them advance as runners-up.

Valencia (ESP) v Lyon (FRA)Incoming Valencia boss Gary Neville will have little time to settle into his new role as the Spaniards need to beat Lyon to stand any chance of overhauling Gent for second place.

Former England and Manchester United right-back Neville held his � rst training ses-sion on Monday and there is little margin for error against crisis-hit Lyon.

Gent (BEL) v Zenit Saint Petersburg (RUS)Belgian champions Gent can seal their place in the last 16 with a victory over group win-ners Zenit, who boast the only perfect record in this year’s competition. l –AFP

Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho (C) and assistant coach Rui Faria (CR) conduct training at Cobham yesterday on the eve of their Champions League tie against Porto today REUTERS

Ancelotti won’t rule out Man Unitedn AFP, London

Former Real Madrid and Chelsea boss Carlo Ancelotti on Monday admitted he would be interested in taking over at Manchester Unit-ed if the job becomes available.

United’s current manager Louis van Gaal has suggested he will retire when his deal with the United expires at the end of the 2016-17 season. Ancelotti has already been linked with the Old Tra� ord out� t this year and his name has been mentioned again after renewed criti-cism of van Gaal’s conservative tactics.

“Of course, for every manager, they would all think of managing Manchester United,” he was quoted as saying.

“I will continue to wait. If I don’t � nd a club with a good project, I can wait. l

Martinez lauds ‘goalscorer’ Lukakun Reuters

Manager Roberto Martinez was left purring in appreciation after Romelu Lukaku scored his sixth goal in � ve consecutive league games to rescue a point for Everton against Crystal Palace on Monday.

Lukaku marked his 100th appearance for Everton by scoring his 50th goal for the club from close range in the 81st minute to level the tie at 1-1 after Scott Dann put the visitors ahead from a corner. Prior to his goal, the powerful Belgian twice hit the woodwork and tormented Palace’s defence all evening with his pace and trickery.

The point was enough to send Palace into sixth place in the table, ahead of West Ham Unit-ed and Liverpool on goal di� erence, with Everton a point adrift of them in ninth spot.l

Mourinho believes in Abramovich backingn AFP, Cobham

Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho said yes-terday that he feels he retains the support of owner Roman Abramovich despite the loom-ing risk of Champions League elimination.

The mis� ring Premier League champions face a make-or-break home game with Mour-inho’s former club Porto tonight, when they need a draw to rubber-stamp their place in the Champions League last 16.

But he issued a robust defence of his Chel-sea record, saying: “I think that I did lots of good things in this club for the owner to know the quality I have.

“The owner shows me that belief twice: once when he brought me back to the club (in 2013); the second time when he gave me a new contract for four years (in August).

“I don’t think the owner is a person to change with the wind. I know the wind of the results is an important wind. I know this wind is strong because the results in the Pre-mier League are really bad.

“But I think the owner knows who I am and what I give to the club, and the owner be-lieves that I am the right person to do the job.”

Chelsea’s hierarchy gave Mourinho a pub-lic vote of con� dence in October, but there has been no o� cial communication from the club’s board since. l

50TH GOAL FORTOFFEES

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WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 9, 2015

Channel 9Bangladesh Premier League2:00PMSylhet Super Stars v Dhaka Dynamites6:30PMBarisal Bulls v Chittagong VikingsTen Sports Uefa Champions League 1:45AM Chelsea v Porto Ten Action7:00PM Uefa Youth League Chelsea v Porto 1:45AM Uefa Champions League Olympiacos v Arsenal Ten Cricket1:45AMUefa Champions League Leverkusen v Barcelona Star Sports 13:00PM Dubai BWF World Super Series Finals: Round of 32 Sony Six9:30PM RAM Slam T20 Challenge Quali� er

DAY’S WATCH MASTERS CHAMPIONS LEAGUE

Kallis attracts top bid at auctionn Agencies

Former South Africa allrounder  Jacques Kallis  attracted the highest bid of $175,000 at the inaugural Masters Champions League (MCL) auction, held in Dubai on Monday. Kallis was signed by the Libra Legends fran-chise, owned by Popcorn Sports and Enter-tainment Private Limited.

Former Australia wicketkeeper-bats-man Adam Gilchrist was the second most ex-pensive player in the auction, purchased for $170,000 by the Sagittarius Soldiers franchise.

Kallis and Gilchrist were among the six

icon players listed for the auction, along with Muttiah Muralidaran, Brian Lara, Paul Collingwood and Brett Lee. The base price for all icon players was set at $100,000. Collingwood was picked up for $140,000 by Capricorn Commanders, while Muralitharan was signed by Gemini Arabians for $120,000. Lara and Lee were picked up by Leo Lions and Virgo Super Kings respectively, for their base prices.

Each team was assigned two marquee players from a list of 12 that included eight former international captains.

Former Pakistan players Abdul Razzaq,

Saqlain Mushtaq and Azhar Mahmood will also participate in the league for Capricorn Commanders, Gemini Arabians and Virgo Super Kings, respectively. Former New Zea-land captain Daniel Vettori and pacer Shane Bond will play for Sagittarius Soldiers, while allrounders James Franklin and Scott Styris were bought by Leo Lions. Kyle Mills was picked up by Gemini Arabians.

The MCL is slated to be played in January 2016 in the UAE and has received a ten-year approval from the Emirates Cricket Board. The league is the brainchild of Dubai-based Grandmidwest Sports. l

CAPRICORN COMMANDERSMichael Vaughan, Abdul Razzaq, Paul Collingwood, Andrew Symonds, Chamara Silva, Ashwell Prince, Upul Chandana, Ryan McLaren, Jeetan Patel, Rikki

Clarke, Rory Kleinveldt, Ben Laughlin, Rizwan Cheema, Geraint Jones, Sunil Joshi, Saleem Elahi.

GEMINI ARABIANSVirender Sehwag, Kumar Sangakkara,

Muttiah Muralidaran, Kyle Mills, Saqlain Mushtaq, Jacques Rudolph, Naved-ul-Hasan, Justin Kemp,

Paul Harris, Brad Hodge, Richard Levi, Ashish Bagai, Graham Onions, Shivnarine Chanderpaul, Saqib Ali.

LIBRA LEGENDSSourav Ganguly, Graeme Swann, Jacques Kallis,

Brad Hogg, Ryan ten Doeschate, Ajay Ratra, Chris Read, Sean Ervine, Shaun Tait, Ryan

Sidebottom, Michael Lumb, Marcus North, Taufeeq Umar, Nicky Boje, Ian Butler.

LEO LIONSHeath Streak, Scott Styris, Brian Lara,

Herschelle Gibbs, Brendan Taylor, James Franklin, Johan Botha, Robin Peterson, Fidel Edwards,

Mohammad Tauqir, Neil Carter, Hamish Marshall, Kyle Jarvis, Ramesh Powar, Simon Jones,

Darren Gough.

SAGITTARIUS SOLDIERSMahela Jayawardene, Daniel Vettori, Adam

Gilchrist, Shane Bond, Khurram Khan, Phil Mustard, Tino Best, Nathan Hauritz, Alviro Petersen, Michael Carberry, Krishmar Santokie, Jonathan Trott, Yasir

Hameed, Mushtaq Ahmed, Gavin Hamilton.

VIRGO SUPER KINGSGraeme Smith, Azhar Mahmood, Brett Lee, Jonty

Rhodes, Neil McKenzie, John Mooney, Dirk Nannes, Owais Shah, James Foster, Murali Kartik, Malinga Bandara, Gareth Batty, Hasan Raza, Jacob Oram,

Humayun Farhat, Mohammad Yousuf.

Smith contemplating Proteas comebackn Cricinfo

Graeme Smith, the former South Africa cap-tain who retired in March 2014, is consider-ing a comeback to international cricket. He is getting ready for the Masters Champions League and reports suggest he might end up training with his old team-mates again, as they prepare for full series against England in December.

“For me, I’m at the cusp of whether I should play international cricket again or not,” he told the National. “I’m 34 now, re-tired at 33, there’s always that question mark of whether I can play for another three-four years. I know I can. But, it’s just about ... I’m at the cusp. I’m looking forward to the MCL and take it from there.”

Since then, Smith has moved on to a job as a cricket expert. He had even ventured into the corporate sector with Momentum, a � -nancial company, and also dabbled in the ad-ministrative side of things when he served as tournament director for the Ram Slam T20 in South Africa. In July 2014, he said he missed playing for South Africa. “I think ideally, I would have loved to have gone to another World Cup and played against England here, end of next year.”

Those sentiments appear to have precip-itated after watching South Africa’s 0-3 loss to India. But nothing is certain as yet. For now his focus appears to be on the Masters Champions League, where he features as a marquee player for Virgo Super Kings.

“Who knows the MCL could be a platform back into the international game?” he told ARY TV. l

Ambrose bowls bouncers at criticsn AFP, Hobart

Curtly Ambrose hit back at the West Indies critics yesterday with a few verbal bouncers of his own, saying they will look silly when the team knock over Australia in this week’s opening Test in Hobart.

The under-performing Windies have been written o� since arriving Down Under and more so after they were humiliated by a rook-ie Cricket Australia XI by 10 wickets in their only warm-up game leading into the three-Test series.

Some commentators and ex-cricketers

have even predicted the Caribbean tourists will struggle to take the match at Bellerive Oval, starting tomorrow, past three days.

But Ambrose, the menacing pace great who led the West Indies attack with 405 Test wickets, believes the tourists can beat Australia.

“At the end of the day, when we perform and we beat Australia, the reporters will have to change their tune,” the West Indies bowl-ing consultant said, adding that the young and inexperienced squad was up to the task.

“We’re here to do a job and we’re going to make a good job of it,” he said. l

Former South Africa captain Graeme Smith takes a sel� e during the players’ auction of the inaugural Masters Champions League in Dubai on Monday TWITTER

Rii Sen to embark on stage

Showtime30DT

WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 9, 2015

n Showtime Desk

Gandu, Tasher Desh and more recently Cosmic Sex star Rii Sen probably has endured enough criticism for her bold acting ventures, but that hasn’t stopped her from setting the stage on � re. On December 12, at the Tapan Theatre in Kolkata, the play Baby K will be staged with Rii making her stage debut playing the role of a sex worker. For the past month Rii has been rehearsing for the role.

Rii’s long time collaborator and former boyfriend, Q (Qaushiq Mukherjee), has provided the music for Supratim Roy’s Baby K. Rii will play as the eponymous character created by the recently demised author Nabarun Bhattacharya. Saboteur Art is bringing the play on stage.

Story goes that Roy, the play’s director, is a close associate of Q and worked as an editor, along with Nikon, in his latest � lm Ludo. “That is when I discovered Rii’s passion for acting. Also, the way she looks gels well with the appearance of Baby K. While adapting the work for stage, I couldn’t think of any other actress apart from Rii,” says Supratim.

The director says that Rii was excited about the project the � rst time she heard of it. When asked, isn’t collaborating with Q an issue, now that the Gandu maker spends most part of the year in Goa? Supratim replied saying, “Not at all. Q is always a phone call away. He gave us the music concept, while Neel Adhikari, also his close aide, is scoring for the play,” added Supratim. l

n Showtime Desk

Bangladesh Film Festival, featuring a total of 23 films of the country, will commence from tomorrow. An initiative of Bangladesh Shilpakala Academy (BSA), the 15-day festival will run simultaneously at the academy’s 64 local centres, along with the central venue’s schedule.

On December 10, Asaduzzaman Noor, the Minister of Cultural Affairs, will inaugurate the programme at the National Art Gallery auditorium, while Hasanul

Haq Inu, Information Minister, will also grace the occasion. Liaquat Ali Lucky, the director general of BSA, will preside over the programme while the country’s renowned film directors, including Syed Salahuddin Zaki, Mosihuddin Saker and Morshedul Islam will give speeches on the occassion. Sara Ara Mahmud, the director of department of Theatre and Film of BSA, will deliver the opening speech. Afterwards, the programme will open with the screening of Tareque Masud’s The Clay Bird at 7:30pm.

The Clay Bird chronicles a family as they come to grips with their culture, faith and the brutal political changes entering their small-town world. The film deals with Masud’s own experiences studying at a religious school.

Early Bangladeshi films which are selected in the festival includes, Zahir Raihan’s Kancher Deyal, Subhash Dutta’s Shutorang, Alamgir Kabir’ s Simana Periye, Sheikh Niamat Ali and Masihuddin Shaker’s Surja Dighal Bari, Harunur Rashid’s Megher Onek Rong, Goutam Ghose’s Padma Nadir

Majhi, Syed Salahuddin Jaki’s Ghuddi and Abdullah Al Mamun’s Sareng Bou.

Rest of the films are Tanvir Mokammel’s Lalon, Morshedul Islam’s Amar Bondhu Rashed, Tareque Masud’s Runway, Nasiruddin Yousuff’s Guerrilla, Abu Sayeed’s Kittonkhola, Akram Khan’s Ghashphul, Saidul Anam Tutul’s Adhiar, Murad Parvez’s Brihonnola, Gazi Rakayet’s Mrittika Maaya, Adam Dawla’s Boishommo, Proshoon Rahman’s Sutopar Thikan and Noman Robin’s Common Gender. l

Nation-wide � lm festival begins tomorrow

Showtime 31D

TWEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 9, 2015

The Dark Knight RisesWB 1:00 pmIt has been eight years since Batman vanished into the night, turning, in that instant, from hero to fugitive. Assuming the blame for the death of D.A. Harvey Dent, the Dark Knight sacri� ced everything for what he and Commissioner Gordon both hoped was the greater good. For a time the lie worked, as criminal activity in Gotham City was crushed under the weight of the anti-crime Dent Act. Cast: Christian Bale, Gary Oldman, Tom Hardy

Captain America: The Winter SoldierStar Movies Action 3:15 pmSteve Rogers struggles to embrace his role in the modern world and battles a new threat from old history the Soviet agent known as the Winter Soldier.Cast: Chris Evans, Scarlett Johansson, Sebastian Stan

True LiesStar Movies 6:30 pmHarry’s mission is to track down nuclear warheads stolen from Kazakhstan. Harry and his team follow Helen (Harry’s wife) to Simon’s house (Helen’s secret � ick), which they raid using SWAT tactics. Helen is taken prisoner and interrogated by Harry and Gib. Just as Helen discovers Harry through his disguise, the terrorists return. Harry and Helen are taken prisoner. Cast: Arnold Schwarzenegger, Jamie Lee Curtis

Into the StormHBO 6:02 pmThe � lm is set immediately after the end of World War II. The people living in the UK are awaiting the results of the general election of 1945. Winston Churchill (Brendan Gleeson) goes on a vacation to France along with his wife Clementine (Janet McTeer). The � lm goes in � ashback as Churchill recalls his most wonderful moments during the war and also the e� ect they have had on his married life.Cast: Brendan Gleeson, Janet McTeer, James D’Arcy

The ExpendablesSony PIX 12:00 pmThe Expendables is a group of trained mercenaries led by Barney Ross (Sylvester Stallone). The group includes Lee (Jason Statham) who is great with knifes; Yin Yang (Jet Li), pro� cient in martial arts; Hale (Terry Crews) who specilises in heavy weapons; Toll (Randy Couture), the demolition expert and sniper Gunnar (Dolph Lundgren). Mr. Church (Bruce Willis) hires the lot to do away with the dictator of a Small island o� South America. The Expendables are not quite aware of what they are letting themselves in for when they enter terror-stricken city.Cast: Sylvester Stallone, Jason Statham, Jet Li

WHAT TO WATCH

n Showtime Desk

Organised by Indira Gandhi Culture Centre (IGCC), a musical evening, featuring songs of three Bengali poets and recitation, will be held tomorrow at the Indira Gandhi Culture Centre, Gulshan-1 in the capital at 6pm.

Nupurchhanda Ghosh from India will render some songs which are popularly considered as Tin kobir gaan, a bunch of popular Bengali songs written by Dwijendralal Ray, Atulprasad Sen and Rajanikanta Sen. Later, in the evening Dr Sahadat Hossain Nipu will recite infront of the audience.

Nupurchhanda Ghosh was trained in Hindustani classical music by Pandit A Kanan, Rabindrasangeet in Dakshini, Kolkata, and worked under the guidance of Krishna Chattopadhyay in songs of Atulprosad, Rajanikanto, Dwijendralal and Dilip Kumar Roy for over two decades. Her research work on Atulprosad Sen, “Ananya Atulprosad” was published in early 2001 at The Kolkata Book Fair; and her research work on Dwijendralal Roy, “Deshatma Dwijendralal” was formally released in September 2014. Both the biographies have been widely praised by the media.

Sahadat Hossain Nipu is an artist,

director and researcher. He studied MA in Rabindra Bharati University through ICCR scholarship and got his Doctorate from Bardhaman University. He was trained under famous theatre personalities in India, namely, Kumar Ray, Bivash Chakrovorty, and Manoj Mitra. He also got training in elocution from famous Indian elocutionist Pradip Ghosh in India. He is a trainer of elocution in Nazrul Institute and Bangladesh Shilpakala academy, and he has received several awards in India such as Rupashi Bangla Purashkar 2012, Swabhoomi Purashkar 2002 and the Atindra Sahitya Purashkar 2003. l

n Mahmood Hossain

We are less than a week away from the world premier of Star Wars: The Force Awakens (December 14), and there has already been very good signs from influential people. While the crazed fans of the franchise will have to wait until the 18th of December (worldwide release), the big daddy himself, George Lucas has already had an advanced screening. And

guess what Star Wars fans? He likes it. A lot.

We all know that dedicated fans are going nuts over the new unreleased film, but Lucas liked the film so much he’s stated that he will be attending the premieres in Los Angeles and London. The thumbs up from the creator is a huge plus, especially for the fans. Without Lucas there would be no Star Wars. Fans will never stop thanking him for gifting

the world with the original trilogy in the Skywalker saga.

They also find it very difficult to forgive Lucas for providing us with the horrendous prequels. It’s a tough pill to swallow, but surely, everyone’s excited to move on with the new episodes of the franchise. As the rest of the world will be enjoying the release next week, Bangladesh will be able to get lost in a galaxy far, far away on December 24, 2015. l

Lucas impressed

A musical soiree at IGCC

tomorrow

Back Page32DT

WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 9, 2015

BPL 2015

TODAY’S FIXTURES2PM, MIRPUR

Sylhet Super Stars (SSS) v Dhaka Dynamites (DD)

6:30PM, MIRPURBarisal Bulls (BB) v Chittagong Vikings (COV)

MATCH-1 MATCH-2

VDhaka Dynamites

Sangakkara 38, Mosaddek 24, Waller 19, Amir 3/18, Sha� ul 3/21

Chittagong VikingsUmar 14, Mosharraf 4/16,

Musta� zur 2/7, Abul 1/8, Yasir 1/14

Dhaka Dynamites won by 45 runs

121/820 overs

76 all out16.5 overs V

Rangpur RidersJahurul 62*, Sammy 24, Shakib 20,

Haider 2/28, Zaidi 1/14

Comilla VictoriansKayes 38, Haider 18*, Perera 3/18,

Nabi 2/13, Sajib 2/19,

Rangpur Riders won by 21 runs

153/620 overs

132 all out19.5 overs

Nizami’s appeal verdict on January 6n Ashif Islam Shaon

The apex court of the country will deliver its judgement on the appeal case � led by top war criminal Motiur Rahman Nizami, also chief of Jamaat-e-Islami, challenging his death penalty on January 6.

The four-member Appellate Division bench of the Supreme Court headed by Chief Justice Surendra Kumar Sinha set the date yesterday after concluding hearing on the appeal.

On the closing day of arguments, Attorney General Mahbubey Alam prayed to the court to uphold Nizami’s death penalty as he had instigated and abetted al-Badr, an auxiliary force of the Pakistani Army, to exterminate the country’s intellectuals and many other free-dom � ghters during the 1971 Liberation War.

On the other side, Nizami’s chief counsel Khandaker Mahbub Hossain prayed to the court to acquit his client from the charges. He, however, prayed to the court to com-mute the 75-year-old Jamaat leader’s death sentence to life imprisonment if it found him guilty of his wartime o� ence.

According to the case, Nizami headed al-Badr force during the war. Its members were recruited from Jamaat’s erstwhile student wing Islami Chhatra Sangha. Nizami had led the force as the then head of the Chhatra Sangha.

He was sentenced to death by the Inter-national Crimes Tribunal on October 29 last year. Eight of the 16 charges were proven by the prosecution. The tribunal handed him down death penalty on four charges and life imprisonment on the four others.

The charges include leading the execution of intellectuals, mass killing, rape and loot in Dhaka and Pabna.

The tribunal said Nizami had been in-volved in “planning and conspiring” mass killings, murders, rapes and looting at di� er-ent villages in Pabna. Nizami carries the “su-preme responsibility” for the crimes commit-ted by Chhatra Sangha and Jamaat men.

He appealed against the sentence on No-vember 23 last year.

Earlier, the top court bench disposed of � ve war crimes appeal cases. Four of the convicts were executed while the death sen-tence of Delawar Hossain Sayedee was com-muted to life-term jail.

Talking to reporters following the hear-ing, the attorney general said Nizami was undoubtedly an instigator of the war crimes. His articles and writings were among the facts that encouraged al-Badr men to kill the pro-liberation people. l

Kutubdia losing its battleto stem climate tiden AFP, Kutubdia

Hamida Begum has � ed her home on Kutub-dia island more times than she can remem-ber while her neighbours have already given up the battle to prevent theirs being swal-lowed by the sea.

“I am scared our house will be washed away as well some day and during the mon-soon season we can’t live here at all,” says the mother-of-four, standing outside the only one of a row of mud-brick shacks still intact.

“But this is our land and besides, we don’t have money to go elsewhere.”

Although around 100,000 people still re-side on Kutubdia, few have any illusions they are living on borrowed time, with Coast -- a local NGO -- warning the whole island could disappear underwater within 50 years.

Tens of thousands have already left for good, mainly heading to the teeming Dhaka or a slum area of Cox’s Bazar.

In the build-up to the climate conference in Paris, there has been focus on low-lying is-land nations such as the Seychelles or those in the South Paci� c which face obliteration if sea levels continue rising at current rates.

But their populations are dwarfed by the numbers living on the Bangladeshi islands and vulnerable coastal areas in what is one of the world’s � attest - and poorest - nations.

“If we have to shift those people to other ar-eas it will be a big task for us because ours is a very densely populated country and we cannot really take all those people to other areas,” En-vironment Secretary Kamal Uddin Ahmed said.

Bangladesh, along with the Philippines, Myanmar, and Haiti, is among the 10 nations

most a� ected by the consequences of extreme weather events, according to a new climate sur-vey released by advocacy group Germanwatch.

Losing battleIn 2009 the government set up a climate change trust fund, earmarking around 6% of the annual budget on adaptation measures.

On Kutubdia, authorities have erected a network of � ood defences and stilted cy-clone shelters where residents retreat during monsoons which turn what is a slice of para-dise in the Bay of Bengal into a near warzone.

But they are � ghting a losing battle, with Kutubdia’s surface area having shrunk by around a quarter in the last three decades.

Many of the concrete blocks erected to

stem the tide have collapsed or become bur-ied under sand as water laps further inland.

“We have to move each time the waves come over and go and stay with a landlord who we have to pay rent to further inland. It’s very painful for us,” said Begum.

At least she still has a home, unlike Lutfun Nahar who has been living with her father since hers disintegrated during a storm three months ago.

“We often have to take shelter during the rainy season but this time it completely washed away my house,” said the 43-year-old as she re-turned to view the remaining foundations.

Around 40,000 islanders have relocated to Cox’s Bazar, eking out a living in corrugat-ed shacks down rubbish-strewn alleyways. l

In this recent photo, the remains of a destroyed embankment are seen on Kutubdia Island. Although around 100,000 people reside there, few have any illusions they are living on borrowed time, with a local NGO called Coast warning the whole island could disappear underwater within 50 years AFP

MORE ON NIZAMI HEARINGP2

Child dies after falling in manholen Mohammad Jamil Khan and

Kamrul Hasan

A � ve-year-old child died yesterday after fall-ing in an uncovered manhole in the capital’s Shyampur area.

Fire � ghters tried to rescue the boy, Shai-ful Islam Nirob, for almost four hours, but their e� orts were made di� cult by the strong water � ow inside the sewer pipes.

Five members of the � re � ghting unit searched for Nirob since afternoon, � nally � nding him unconscious around 8:30pm.

The doctors of Dhaka Medical College

Hospital declared him dead around 9pm. DMCH Medical O� cer Sohel Rana con� rmed the news to the Dhaka Tribune.

Earlier, Fire Service and Civil Defence Di-rector General Ali Ahmed Khan told the Dha-ka Tribune that the boy was found in an un-conscious state from Shyampur Bazar sluice gate, which is adjacent to the launch terminal.

According to Bhajan Kumar Sarker, the duty o� cer at Fire Service and Civil Defence control room, Nirob fell inside an uncov-ered manhole around 4:20pm. Fire � ghters rushed to the spot immediately after being informed, he added.

The victim’s mother Nazma Begum said: “My son was playing beside the manhole with two other children. At one stage of play-ing, one of his friends pushed him into the ground, but unfortunately he fell into the manhole.”

Nazma’s neighbour Jahirul Islam said: “Hearing the cry of Nazma, we rushed in and called the � re � ghters.”

In a similar accident in December last year, a four-year-old boy named Jihad was found dead inside an abandoned 600ft deep water pump pipe at capital’s Shahjahanpur Railway Colony, almost 23 hours after he fell into it. l

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