n Md Emroz Khandakar, Pabna and Monoj Saha, Gopalganj

A sexagenarian sta� of a Hindu monastery in Pabna was hacked to death in an ongoing militant-style attack early yesterday, amid law enforcers’ crackdown on the Islam-ic extremists.

The murder took place around 5am in front of the main gate of Pabna Mental Hospital at Hemayet-pur. The spot is only 200 yards from the Sri Sri Thakur Anukulchandra

Satsang Ashram where Nityanando Pandey, 62, had been working as an attendant for the past 40 years.

Pabna sadar OC Abdullah Al-Hasan said that Nityanando was on his daily morning walk in the area when some unidenti� ed assailants hacked him indiscriminately leav-ing him dead on the spot.

Nityanando used to walk every morning since he had diabetes.

He hailed from Arua Kangsu area under Gopalganj sadar upazi-la. His family members have urged the prime minister to arrest the killers and ensure security of the religious minorities.

Pabna Hindus staged a protest

in the town demanding arrest of the killers within 24 hours and se-curity of over 100 other people in-volved with the monastery.

Police have formed a � ve-mem-ber committee to look into the murder. The OC said that they were probing the case seriously and conducting drives to arrest the culprits.

The murder took place only three days after a Hindu priest was slaughtered in Jhenaidah allegedly by the members of international militant group Islamic State. IS also threatened additional knife attacks

to “cleanse” the country from the “� lth of the polytheists and apos-tates.”

The same group earlier claimed that their members had murdered a Christian grocer in Natore on June 5 and a Buddhist monk in Bandarban on May 14.

The government, however, claims that the killings were or-chestrated in a planned manner by the local outlawed militant groups to embarrass the ruling Awami League-led government and desta-bilise the country.

“Analysing the wounds, it

seems that the killers hit his head and neck from behind with a sharp weapon and then hacked him to death with an aim to severing the head,” Assistant Superintendent of Police (sadar circle) Selim Khan said.

The killers possibly con� rmed his death within one and a half minutes, and left the scene imme-diately without facing any obstacle since there was no people on the street at that time, he added.

High o� cials of police’s di� er-ent agencies visited the spot. Police

PAGE 2 COLUMN 1

SATURDAY, JUNE 11, 2016 | Jyoishtha 28, 1423, Ramadan 5, 1437 | Regd No DA 6238, Vol 4, No 49 | www.dhakatribune.com | 32 pages plus 24-page Euro 2016 special supplement | Price: Tk10

SECOND EDITION

EURO 2016 SPECIAL SUPPLEMENT INSIDERiyadh agrees to invest in BangladeshThe relationship between Dhaka and Riyadh has reached a new height where for the � rst time Saudi Arabia has expressed its willingness to channel its public fund for investment in Bangla-desh. During the recent visit of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina to the kingdom, the issue was discussed with the top Saudi leadership. PAGE 3

An end to life asthey know itRui Moun, an 85-year-old living in the remote hills of Bandarban, has known hardship throughout her life.

PAGE 32

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SEHRI & IFTAR Ramadan June Sehri Iftar 05 11 – 6:50 06 12 3:38 6:50 07 13 3:38 6:50

Source: Islamic Foundation

Family members of slain Hindu ashram sta� Nityanando Pandey wail in grief outside their house in Hemayetpur, Pabna yesterday. Nityanando, hacked to death by unknown assailants, is the latest victim in the series of such killings that has been taking place in Bangladesh for the past few years DHAKA TRIBUNE

Nityanando Pandey

Hundreds detained on � rst day of special driven Tribune Desk

Law enforcement agencies yester-day detained more than 700 people all over Bangladesh on the � rst day of their combined countrywide op-eration.

Since January last year, at least 48 people were killed in 46 militant attacks – 11 in the last two and a half months. Local Islamic extremist groups who claim to be linked to IS and al-Qaeda have claimed respon-sibility.

The government’s stance has been to say there is no direct link between the local militants and the global terrorists and that the political opposition is involved in the crimes.

The joint drive follows the murder of SP Babul Akhter’s wife Mahmuda Akhter Mitu in Chit-tagong on June 5.

Since the murder, at least six ar-rested militant suspects have been killed in ‘gun� ghts’ with police.

The police headquarters on Thursday declared it would run a joint forces operation against mili-tancy. The operation will continue for another six days.

Police headquarters said they would be able to provide the accu-rate number of detainees later.

Chittagong On the � rst the week-long crack down, police have held 135 persons including a Jamaat-e-Islami activ-ist, Chittagong District Police’s Ad-ditional Superintendent of Police (Special Branch) Rezaul Masud told Dhaka Tribune.

The Jamaat activist was de-tained from Banskhali upazila, he said, adding that no arms or am-munition were recovered during the drives.

PAGE 2 COLUMN 1

Pabna monastery sta� latest victim of militant attack

News2DTSATURDAY, JUNE 11, 2016

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1

Hundreds detained on � rst day of special driveKhulnaIn the � rst 16 hours of the drive, po-lice have detained 102 people in Khul-na district. But most detainees are wanted criminals, convicts and peo-ple accused in various cases. The po-lice have arrested 31 people in the city and 71 from the rest of the district.

DinajpurPolice have detained 100 criminals across the district, Dinajpur Super-intendent of Police Ruhul Amin said. Among them 24 are BNP and Jamaat activists, he said.

RangpurRangpur police detained 90 accused in cases of sabotage, theft and rob-bery. Rangpur acting superintendent of police (SP) Abdullah Al Farooq told reporters that the criminals would be under city police scanner.

KushtiaAt least 57 men accused in vari-ous cases including � ve Jamaat and Shibir activists were detained by Kushtia police yesterday. They were arrested from di� erent raids

conducted between Thursday night and Friday morning, Additional Superintendent of Kushtia Police Zainul Abedin, said.

KishoreganjIn Kishoreganj, police detained 51 people including district BNP Sen-

ior Joint Secretary General Khaled Saifullah, although he was later re-leased by the court. Among the arrested 18 people were accused in one case and 34 in other case. Khalid Saifullah, was accused in the both cases. All the accused were released on bail.

SatkhiraA joint force in Satkhira yesterday arrested 35 people from the district including an activist of Jamaat. They were all accused in several cases there.

NatoreAdditional Superintendent of Natore Police Munshi Sahabuddin said as part of the joint force drive they had detained 27 accused of several cases and seized some 40 motorcycles.

JhenaidahJhenaidah joint force detained 27 people including seven Jamaat ac-tivists from di� erent areas of Ma-heshpur upazila.

GaibandhaPolice have arrested 26, including one Jamaat activist, in various cas-es on the � rst day of the drive.

PanchagarhPanchagarh Additional Superinten-dent of Police Din Mohammad said 26 people had been arrested in the district yesterday. All of them are

named in di� erent cases, police said.

MaguraMagura police detained at least 24 people in several raids. All detain-ees were accused in several cases, said Magura Superintendent of Po-lice Ehsan Ullah.

RajshahiPolice have arrested 21 people in the district.

MeherpurMeherpur Police SP Hamidul Alam said they had arrested 10 accused in the � rst day of the drive.

BograPolice Bureau of Investigation has arrested a JMB member named Sagar Ahmed Roni from Sherpur Baganbari area. He was found to be in possession of 21 books on mili-tancy. A case has been � led against him in the anti-terrorism act.

Also, local correspondents have reported one arrest in Jhalakathi and two Jamaat leaders in Kishoreganj. l

Pabna monastery sta� latest victimsuspect that it could be a militant attack considering the style of the recent murders by militants.

O� cials of the monastery also think that religious extremists car-ried out the attack to create panic among the minority communities. They claimed that Nityanando did not have enmity with anyone.

Superintendent of Police Alam-gir Kabir said that they were inves-tigating the case considering the involvement of militants and the dispute over land of the monastery.

The � ve-strong probe body

formed yesterday is headed by Ad-ditional Superintendent of Police Liton Kumar Das. It has been asked to submit report within seven days.

Meanwhile, the assistant deputy high commissioner of India, Abhijit Chatterjee, visited the monastery yesterday afternoon, and assured them of providing all necessary supports.

The Indian High Commission o� cials and several members of India’s ruling BJP-led coalition gov-ernment earlier visited Jhenaidah and other places where the mem-

bers of the minority communities have been killed at the hands of ex-tremists recently.

Earlier at noon, several organ-isations including Hindu-Bud-dhist-Christian Oikya Parishad formed a human chain in front of the Town Hall and issued a 24-hour ul-timatum for the arrest of the killers.

They blamed the law enforcers for the series of murders and also demanded removal of the district deputy commissioner and the SP.

Murder puzzles familyThe victim’s brother Satyaranjan

Pandey, a retired school teacher, said that Nityanando used to visit his house at Arua Kangsu three to four times a year, especially during the harvesting season and religious functions, and stay for 10-15 days.

He went to Pabna 40 years back and started working at the monas-tery where his father-in-law was one of the o� cials. Later he became a senior attendant and used to trav-el di� erent places of the country to spread the philosophy of Thakur Anukulchandra.

Son Nanda Dulal Pandey and

daughter Sandipa Pandey demand-ed exemplary punishment to the culprits, and urged the government to stop recurrence of such killings.

Nityanando’s wife Dulu Rani Pandey said: “We had talks over the phone last night [Thursday]. He en-quired about us all and also wished to visit the house within four to � ve days. But in the morning I was in-formed about his death.”

She demanded intervention of the prime minister to ensure securi-ty of the Hindus and justice for her husband’s murder. l

AQIS condemns Mitu murdern Probir K Sarker and FM

Mizanur Rahaman, Chittagong

Ansar al-Islam, the Bangladesh wing of al-Qaeda in the Indian Sub-continent (AQIS), has condemned the murder of police o� cer Babul Akter’s wife Mahmuda Khanam Mitu in Chittagong as “impermissi-ble under Islam.”

In a statement issued last night, the group also alleged that the Is-lamic jihadists had been blamed for the June 5 murder as part of a ploy, according to US-based monitoring website SITE Intelligence Group.

Earlier in the day, the law enforc-ers launched a seven-day country-wide crackdown on militants in the face of series of targeted attacks.

Mitu was stabbed and shot dead in front of her son near GEC intersec-tion of Chittagong around 6:30am on June 5. Three killers left the scene

on a motorcyle – a style seen in the recent killings by militants – prompt-ing the law enforcers to suspect ex-tremists for the murder.

Neither AQIS nor Islamic State claimed responsibility for the mur-der.

Banned militant out� t Ansarullah Bangla Team is believed to be oper-ating under the name of Ansar al-Is-lam. It has claimed 13 attacks since January 2013 in which 11 people – mostly secularist teachers, bloggers, publishers and LGBT rights activists – were killed and � ve wounded.

On the other hand, IS has claimed 21 attacks since September 2015 that killed 19 people and wounded at least � ve persons. The targets in-clude foreigners, and non-Muslim and non-Sunni preachers.

The government claims that the attacks are being carried out by banned out� ts Ansarullah and

Jama’atul Mujahideen Bangladesh or JMB.

Suspected militant heldChittagong Kotwali police yesterday detained a suspected militant with two knives from the press club area during a demonstration demanding justice for Mitu murder.

Md Ibrahim, 24, claimed himself as a rickshaw puller, “but we recov-ered two knives, a burner phone and a pen drive kept inside a bag from his possession,” OC Jasim Ud-din told the Dhaka Tribune.

Earlier, police detained an al-leged activist of Islami Chhatra Shibir, the owner and driver of a microbus, and owner of a motor-cycle in connection with the case � led by the victim’s husband Babul Akter, a superintendent of police, who earned fame for his drives against militants in Chittagong. l

Police wrapping up Tavella and Kunio murder casesn Mohammad Jamil Khan

Investigations in the murder cas-es of two foreigners are about to close and the police will soon press charges against suspects.

Political activists will be charged in Italian aid worker Cesare Tavella murder while members of banned militant out� t Jama’atul Muja-hideen Bangladesh (JMB) in Japa-nese citizen Hoshi Kunio murder. International terrorist group Islam-ic State claimed responsibility for both the killings.

Tavella was shot dead in Dhaka’s Gulshan area by unidenti� ed as-sailants on September 28 last year. Police arrested four men – Rasel Chowdhury, Tamzid Ahmed Rubel, Minhazul Are� n Rasel and Sakha-wat Hossain Sharif – in the case.

Rubel later confessed that the mastermind was a man they only knew as “big brother.” Later MA Matin, the younger brother of BNP leader MA Kaiyum, was arrested On November 4.

Monirul Islam, additional com-missioner of the DMP, said that they were yet to recover the mur-der weapon.

Kunio was killed on October 3 in Rangpur in a similar fashion. Po-lice arrested eight people including local BNP leader Biplab. Detained JMB commander Masud Rana and another gave confessional state-ments before courts.

Home Minister Asaduzzaman Khan said that the police had arrest-ed the criminals behind the mur-ders. “The charges against them, will be pressed soon,” he added. l

Police search an intercity bus of Hanif Enterprise in Magura town yesterday while the passengers wait outside. To stop the series of recent killings around the country that Islamic militants have claimed responsibility of, police launched a week-long, countrywide crackdown on militants yesterday. The � rst day saw a good number of men detained on suspicion of militant involvement DHAKA TRIBUNE

3D

TSATURDAY, JUNE 11, 2016

News

Riyadh agrees to invest petro-fund in mega projects in Bangladeshn Sheikh Shahariar Zaman

The relationship between Dha-ka and Riyadh has reached a new height where for the � rst time Sau-di Arabia has expressed its willing-ness to channel its public fund for investment in Bangladesh.

During the recent visit of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina to the king-dom, the issue was discussed with the top Saudi leadership.

“Bangladesh wants Saudi pub-lic investment in di� erent devel-opment projects in infrastructure, communications and energy, and Saudi Arabia responded positive-ly,” Bangladesh’s deputy chief of mission in Riyadh, Nazrul Islam, told the Dhaka Tribune.

The prime minister in her meeting with Saudi King Salman bin Abdu-laziz last week put forward proposals to invest in several mega develop-ment projects and the king instructed relevant ministers to visit Dhaka to discuss in details about the projects.

Nazrul said Saudi Arabia has adopted a plan to transfer its bil-lions of dollars of petro-fund from Europe and America to Asian coun-tries like Bangladesh.

The kingdom country also wants to reduce its economic dependen-cy on oil revenue and invest in real

and other sectors to absorb any negative oil shock, he added.

Manpower recruitmentThe deputy chief of mission said Riyadh has opened up its labour market but it must be based on market demand.

“As long as Bangladesh can sup-ply quality human resources, Riyadh has agreed to take them,” he said.

Citing an example, he said a Saudi government recruitment delegation visited Dhaka last month to recruit physicians with � ve to ten years of experience and their recruitment process has already started.

The monthly salary of the doctors would be around Tk300,000 and all other facilities like lodging and edu-cation for their children, he said.

Saudi Arabia is a big country with a huge economy and it needs foreign workers and as long as Bangladesh can provide quality workers with a reasonable migra-tion cost, it will absorb them, Naz-rul added.

Around 1.5 million Bangladesh-is currently reside in Saudi Arabia and send billions of dollars of re-mittance back to the country.

Military coalitionBangladesh has agreed to provide

military assistance to Saudi Arabia in its e� ort to counter violent ex-tremism and terrorism.

Saudi Arabia last year formed a 34-nation coalition where Bang-ladesh is a primary member and agreed to provide all sorts of civil and military help to the coalition.

The prime minister in a press brie� ng on Wednesday said Bang-ladesh would send military person-nel to protect the two holy shrines in Saudi Arabia.

A senior government o� cial said the army chief of Bangladesh visited Saudi Arabia in March to discuss possible military assistance for the coalition.

Another meeting at the foreign minister level would be held in Riyadh soon where Bangladesh high-level representation is ex-pected, he added.

Dhaka has a policy not to send military forces without the approv-al of the United Nations, but in the case of Saudi Arabia, it would make an exception, the o� cial said.

Anti-Tehran positionBangladesh gave a patient hearing about the anti-Tehran stance of Saudi Arabia during the visit of the prime minister to Riyadh.

Another senior government of-

� cial said during the visit, Saudi Arabia raised the anti-Tehran issue and Bangladesh listened and took note of it.

Bangladesh has a foreign pol-icy of “friendship to all, malice to none” and it has very friendly rela-tionship with Iran.

“We have an embassy in Tehran where our ambassador is working and in reciprocity, Iran is also operat-ing in Dhaka with a full-� edged em-bassy and an ambassador,” he said.

After the hajj tragedy where hundreds of pilgrimages from Iran died last year and attack on Saudi mission in Iran put the bilateral re-lationship in strained position and eventually Saudi Arabia cut diplo-matic ties with Iran. l

14-party alliance to hold human chains against secret killingsn Abu Hayat Mahmud

Leaders and activists of the rul-ing Awami League-led 14-party alliance are going to hold human chains in Dhaka and the rest of the country demanding to end secret killings.

The event is set to take place on June 19 from 3pm to 4pm.

Besides, leaders of the alliance will visit the family of slain Hindu priest Gopal Ganguli in Jhenaidah on June 14.

The alliance’s spokesperson and Health and Family Welfare Minis-ter Mohammad Nasim made the announcement at a press brie� ng following a meeting of the alliance leaders at Prime Minister and Awami League President Sheikh Hasina’s of-� ce in Dhanmondi, Dhaka yesterday.

Speaking to reporters, Nasim, also a presidium member of the Awami League, alleged that the BNP and Jamaat-e-Islami were re-sponsible for the recent killings.

“The 14-party alliance will work to prevent any more killings from happening, just as it did during the political unrest of 2015 to prevent arson attacks and killings by the BNP-Jamaat,” he said.

Earlier, denying BNP Chairper-son Khaleda Zia’s allegation that the Awami League was responsible for the spate of killings across the country, Awami League leader HT Imam said Khaleda was trying to hide her own involvement in these heinous crimes.

Speaking with reporters at the press brie� ng, Imam, who is the chairman of Awami League’s Pub-licity and Publication Cell, said: “Khaleda is trying to keep the con-spiracy she hatched with Jamaat under wraps. But it is crystal clear to the country as to who is commit-ting the murders.”

Imam, also the PM’s political adviser, claimed that various in-telligence agencies have found evidence of BNP-Jamaat’s involve-ment in the killings.

“We have already identi� ed the criminals and their leaders. So none of her [Khaleda’s] techniques can save the criminals,” Imam said.l

Muslim devotees bow to the Almighty during the Jumma prayers on the � rst Friday of Ramadan yesterday at Baitul Mukarram National Mosque in Dhaka RAJIB DHAR

SATURDAY, JUNE 11, 2016

4DT News

Gulistan turns into a battle� eld againn Mohammad Jamil Khan

For two days in a row, hawkers and shop owners of Dhaka Trade Centre have battled it out at Gulistan over setting up of shops on the footpath.

Police say have arrested about 100 men from the scene during yesterday’s clash but are yet to press charges.

After Thursday’s clash, the two groups were trying to settle the issue in the morning to avert ten-sion between them. However, at one point in the meeting, hawkers started to beat up shop owners and the market’s sta� s which fueled yesterday’s argument, witnesses said.

Following the scu� e, the own-

ers and sta� s took shelter inside the market and started to hurl bricks at the hawkers, who fought back throwing bricks at the market.

During the two-hour skirmish that started around noon, the two groups chased and counter-chased hurling bricks, disrupting vehicular movement in the area for a second day.

Police came to the scene and lobbed teargas canisters, � red rub-ber bullets and unleashed water cannons to disperse the two sides,

following which the tra� c in the area resumed around 2pm.

Deputy Commissioner Anowar Hossain of police’s Motijheel divi-sion was hit on his head by a brick. He was later treated at the Dhaka

Medical College Hospital (DMCH).Hawker Bilal Hossain and shoe

shop owner Nazrul Islam, who were injured in the clash, also received primary treatment at DMCH.

“About 100 men have been ar-rested from the scene and taken to the police station,” Morshed Alam, o� cer-in-charge of Paltan police station, told the Dhaka Tribune.

He said they would take action against those who were involved in the incident. They would identify the instigators and release the rest, he added.

The OC also said that additional police have been deployed in the area to keep the situation under control.

The shop owners claimed that the hawkers were occupying the road in front of the trade centre, hampering businesses.

On the other hand, the hawkers argue that their “small shops” did not create problems for others.

Dhaka South City Corporation Mayor Sayeed Khokon conduct-ed an eviction drive in the area on Thursday.

DMP Commissioner Asaduz-zaman Mia visited the area and said the hawkers had been removed from there to ensure hassle-free movement of pedestrians.

He warned against creating obstacles and said the capital would be made hawker-free in phases. l

Extremist leader killed in Satkhira ‘gun� ght’n Our Correspondent,

Satkhira

A local leader of an extremist group was killed in a “gun-� ght” with police at Tala upazila in Satkhira early yes-terday.

Purba Bangla Communist Party’s Moza� ar Sana was ac-cused in a dozen cases includ-ing murder, robbery, mugging, possession of illegal arms and extortion in Satkhira and Naogaon.

Police said they recovered a gun, several rounds of ammu-nition and a motorcycle from the spot after the gunbattle in

the early hours yesterday at Magura union.

In a late night statement, police said one of their patrols, led by Tala police OC Chhagir Mia, signalled a motorcycle to stop at Chara Bottola.

But the rider hurled two improvised bombs at police and opened � re, injuring two policemen and forcing the law enforcers to retaliate.

The gun� ght left Moza� ar injured.

Police said they had rushed the injured to Tala Upazila Health Complex, where doc-tors pronounced Moza� ar dead. l

Left, hawkers, who have shops set up in front of Dhaka Trade Centre, hurl bricks at the market during yesterday’s clash with shop owners in Dhaka’s Gulistan. The detainees from the clash sit queued up on the road under watch of policemen MAHMUD HOSSAIN OPU

DMP Commissioner Asaduzzaman Mia said the hawkers had been removed from there to ensure hassle-free movement of pedestrians

SATURDAY, JUNE 11, 2016News 5

DT

PRAYERTIMES

Cox’s Bazar 30 27Dhaka 33 28 Chittagong 31 28 Rajshahi 41 29 Rangpur 35 26 Khulna 36 28 Barisal 33 28 Sylhet 31 25T 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 6:46PM SUN RISES 5:10AM

YESTERDAY’S HIGH AND LOW37.6ºC 23.3ºC

Rajshahi TetuliaSATURDAY, JUNE 11Source: Islamic Foundation

Fajr: 3:49am | Zohr: 1:15pmAsr: 5:15pm | Magrib: 6:59pmEsha: 8:45pm

THUNDERSHOWER WITH RAIN

The budget and outlook for banks, capital markets, and NBFIsA good policy applied for too long is just a bad policyn Sajid Amit

The National Budget for FY17 has generated widespread media at-tention and analysis from leading think-tanks, civil society organisa-tions, and academics. Tax revenue generation, ADP expenditure tar-gets and allocation, prioritisation of sectors, implementation chal-lenges, social and environmental orientation, pro-poor provisions, have all received reasonable cov-erage, and more will surely follow. Hence, in the interest of brevity and focus, this article will consider one dimension of the macro econ-omy -- outlook for banks, capital markets, and NBFIs.

Our banking sector, for anyone who has paid attention, has seen better days. There are problems with poor asset quality of state-owned banks, and despite falling interest rates, the sector is faced with a slowdown in demand for large industrial loans. While there is su� cient liquidity in the sector, the liquidity is yet to translate into investment in meaningful sectors.

This problem of weak demand is echoed in the capital markets where there is low appetite among retail investors for stocks, com-pounded by a low supply of high quality stocks. No signi� cant IPOs are con� rmed to be in the o� ng. Although the Bangladesh Bank has hoped to encourage banks to invest capital in stocks through their subsidiary merchant banks and brokerage � rms, it has not yet happened, despite the low returns banks are generating from disburs-ing loans.

Meanwhile, the mutual funds and insurance sector are both at an embryonic stage. After the short-lived interest in the mutual funds sector in 2010, there has been no notable interest among investors in this sector, of late. With regard to insurance, both life insurance and non-life insurance products have far lower penetration rates in Bang-ladesh than in regional peers.

So, what guidance can one ex-pect in terms of development of the aforementioned sectors as far as the National Budget is con-cerned?

With regard to the banking

sector, the budget has allocated Tk2,000 crore for investment for recapitalisation of state banks. This is a lower number than the alloca-tion in the previous year’s budget, which is a good sign. While it is debatable whether this is a high enough or too high an amount, the fact remains that low quality assets in some of the country’s largest banks is worrisome for any central bank and by extension, the state.

Then there is the matter of re-liance on borrowing from domes-tic sources to � nance the budget de� cit. Although government bor-rowing is not expected to increase signi� cantly in FY17, estimates suggest that it may go up in FY18-19. Therefore, as posited by CPD, it would be important to tap into

sources of foreign debt. This will relieve pressure on local banks from the “crowding out” e� ect and also be less expensive for the gov-ernment to service, since foreign loan interest rates are 5-6 times lower than local rates.

With regard to the capital mar-kets, DSE and CSE, the two bourses of the country had requested for an extension of tax exemption for an-other three years and reduction of turnover tax on the bourse’s mem-ber houses.

However, point to be noted is that the government had already waived taxes for two years and there has been no fresh tax im-posed on the markets, despite the need to widen the tax bracket. Whether the � nal version of the

budget reconsiders the bourses’ re-quest remains to be seen.

Among the reform measures indicated in the Budget FY17, the implementation of a Pension Fund Management Authority is high-lighted as ongoing and this needs to be enacted soon. The Insurance Development and Regulatory Au-thority has already been imple-mented.

However, there needs to be fresh discussion and guidance on the Insurance Corporation Act and the National Insurance Policy 2014. Pension funds and the insurance sector are integral to deepening our � nancial markets and increas-ing circulation of money.

It is also important that capital markets stake-holders recommend

meaningful policies to the � nance minister to develop the bond mar-ket and mutual funds sector. In fact, mutual funds can contribute to bond market development given the former’s long-term investment strategies.

Interestingly, if bond markets are underdeveloped, both pension funds and insurance companies are forced to hold short-term se-curities, which do not correspond to the liability side of their balance sheet, in turn, exposing them to maturity mismatches. Therefore, developing the bond market has the impact of developing the pen-sion funds sector and the insur-ance sector.

The policy experiences of Ma-laysia, Thailand, and Singapore may be relevant for Bangladesh. All three countries have highly devel-oped � nancial markets, large bond markets, and high saving rates. Although liquidity is not currently a problem in the banking sector, banking sector penetration and savings rates are still low in Bang-ladesh and among the lowest re-gionally.

Mobile banking can and will help in increasing banking sector penetration, but it is also important to encourage thrift and savings in a growth economy. Singapore, some 60 years ago, had employed direct measures to enforce thrift, via the establishment of a mandatory sav-ings scheme through the Central Provident Fund. The point to be noted is that a culture of savings is also important to communicate to citizens while other policies for � nancial sector development are enacted.

It is possible that the revised � -nal budget for FY17 will encompass more guidance for the � nancial sector at large, considering its im-portance to private investments, business growth, job creation, poverty alleviation, and the econ-omy. Agility in policy-making is important in order to actualise our growth aspirations. In a growing economy, it must be remembered that a bad policy is often a good policy applied for too long. l

Sajid Amit is Director, Center for Enterprise & Society, ULAB

Where should our government invest? BIGSTOCK

There needs to be fresh discussion and guidance on the Insurance Corporation Act and the National Insurance Policy 2014. Pension funds and the insurance sector are integral to deepening our � nancial markets and increasing circulation of money

SATURDAY, JUNE 11, 2016

6DT News

Illegal battery-run vehicles plying in Kushtia defying bann Kudrote Khuda Sobuj, Kushtia

Hundreds of unauthorised bat-tery-run three wheeled vehicles have � ooded the district town and adjoining areas of Kushtia.

These vehicles are of two types – motor rickshaws and easy bikes.

The motor-rickshaws are similar to ordinary paddle rickshaws, but it is powered by four rechargeable batteries. The easy-bikes, however, look like CNG-run auto-rickshaws but are powered by � ve rechargea-ble batteries.

Sources at the Local Power De-velopment Board said that each

of the auto-bikes, which needs to be charged eight hours daily, consumes 7-8 units of electricity whereas a motor-rickshaw con-sumes around 2-3 units daily.

The cost of charging 500 such vehicles with more than 2,400 units of electricity daily amounts to Tk10,000 per day.

According to Bangladesh Road Transport Authority rules and reg-ulations, all motor vehicles need six di� erent types of documents to ply on the roads.

These motor-rickshaws and easy-bikes appear to have none of the necessary documents but

around 300 easy-bikes and 200 motor-rickshaws are regularly seen on the roads.

The owners’ association for the motor-rickshaws allegedly have to bribe the police to run the vehicles without legal repercussions.

Sources said that a motor-rick-shaw owner has to pay police Tk300 per month.

These vehicles are cheap and are turning a fast pro� t because a trip to Mazampur gate from Chorhas, a rickshaw charges Tk20 while an easy-bike takes only Tk5 and a mo-tor-rickshaw takes around Tk15.

A cottage industry of servicing

these vehicles and charging sta-tions have emerged in the locality although residents complain that they use the electricity connec-tions illegally.

The local BRTA has not conduct-ed a single drive against the vehicles even though it is their responsibility.

Meanwhile, the PDB o� cials here admitted that they incur loss-es from the illegal consumption of electricity by these vehicles.

Police, however, denied taking bribes from the illegal vehicles but admitted that some vehicles are plying on the town roads without a license. l

Jubo League man stabbed to death in Pabnan UNB, Pabna

An activist of local unit Jubo League was stabbed to death by unidenti� ed miscreants at Library Bazar on Thursday night.

Locals said Rajib Chowdhury, had an altercation with some youths in the area over a tri� ing matter around 8:30pm.

Being informed, Rajib’s elder brother Munna Chowdhury, 31, went to the spot and tried to settle the matter. At one stage, the youths stabbed Munna indiscriminately, leaving him critically injured.

Later, he was rushed to Pabna General Hospital where the doctors declared him dead. l

SATURDAY, JUNE 11, 2016News 7

DT

‘BNP tarnishes country’s image’n Ahad Chowdhury Tuhin, Bhola

Awami League Presidium Member and Commerce Minister Tofail Ahmed yester-day said BNP-Jamaat alliance would like to tarnish our country’s image through target killing abroad.

He made this at a discussion as the chief guest with Awami Legue activists at his resi-dence at Gazipur road in Bhola with Upazila AL President and Upazila Chairman Moshar-raf Hossain in the chair.

“BNP Chief Begum Khaleda Zia is suf-fering from severe depression as she has become isolated by not participating in the last general election. For her uncertain fu-ture and isolation, she has broken down to such an extent that his mental condition is now unstable, so the party wants to tarnish the country’s image abroad”, he also said.

Even, in Union Parisad poll, BNP could not nominate its good candidates. So the party’s leaders and workers have lost inter-est, he continued. l

School still honouring Pakistani ex-premiern Saiful Islam Swapan,

Lakshmipur

Forty-� ve years since the inde-pendence of Bangladesh, there is still a school in Lakshmipur’s Raipur upazila that is named after former Pakistani prime minister Liaquat Ali Khan – who was one of the main proponents against Bang-la as a state language for the then undivided Pakistan.

The LM – or Liaquat Memorial – Pilot Model High School in Keroa village, near the Raipur-Chandpur Road, was named after the � rst Pa-kistani premier in 1947.

Over the following 69 years, the

name has not been changed, de-spite protests from freedom � ghters and other locals. School authorities, however, claim that the Liaquat mentioned in the school name is not the Pakistani ex-premier but the name of a local zamindar.

According to locals, the school was originally set up in 1903. Mosammat Zebunnesa Chowdhu-rani, the wife of zamindar Munsi Mohammad Monohar Mia, estab-lished the school in her own house to bring literacy to the area.

The school was then moved to di� erent locations before Zebun-nesa’s son Emdad Ali Chowdhury brought to it to its current location

in 1911 and renamed it as George Coronation High School – in honour of the then British king George V.

Following Emdad’s death, his son zamindar Gaznafar Ali Chowd-hury in 1947 renamed school after the erstwhile Pakistani premier Li-aquat Ali Khan.

Over the years, the school grew in size and was declared a pilot school during former president Ziaur Rahman’s rule in 1977; it was declared a model school in 2008 during the tenure of the previous caretaker government.

Through all the changes, one thing remained constant – the name that honoured Liaquat Ali Khan.

Freedom � ghter Nizam Uddin Pathan said that Liaquat Ali had acted against the public demand for the status of Bangla as a state language. The agitations � nally led to the Language Movement of 1952.

Naming an educational institu-tion after him in an independent Bangladesh cannot be acceptable at all, he said, adding that all local freedom � ghters demand that the school’s name be changed imme-diately.

However, the school’s govern-ing body’s president, Mohammad Shahjahan, claimed that the school was actually not named after the Pakistani leader, but in memory of

a local zamindar named Liakat Ali who had donated the school’s land.

But Shahjahan’s claim was dis-puted by upazila Awami League President Mamunur Rashid, who said the school was indeed named after the Pakistani politician.

Saying Raipur never had any za-mindar called Liakat Ali, Mamunur said it was zamindar Gaznafar Ali Chowdhury who donated the land for the school.

Asked for clari� cation about the school’s naming, Upazila Secondary Education O� cer Kamal Hossain told the Dhaka Tribune that he was new to his post and did not know about the origin of the name. l

Fear of losing dwellings ignites Khasia peoplen Our Correspondent,

Moulvibazar

People living in Khasia Palli in Moulvibazar are fearing eviction as district admin-istration has recently asked them to leave their ancestral dwellings by 12 June.

A notice signed by Addi-tional Deputy Commission-er (revenue) Prokash Kanti Chowdhury said people of the Naharpunji 1 and Naharpunji 2 had been illegally living on government’s land as well as producing betel leaf there.

The notice issued on May 30 said the district adminis-tration had taken a decision to free government from ille-gal occupation following two reports prepared by Srimngal upzila nirbahi o� cer and as-sistant commissioner (land). The reports said the total amount of land is 150 acres.

The notice also warned

people of the two villages of eviction in presence of exec-utive magistrate if they do not leave their dwellings by June 12.

Dibarmin Potam, a resi-dent of Naharpunjo 1 said: “We have been in panic of eviction since we got the no-tice. A large number of peo-ple do not know where they will go. We do not know what to do to face the upcoming uncertainty.

“The notice said about betel leaf cultivation, but we have been farming the leaf on the last for last 50 years.” Is betel leaf cultivation is illegal in the country?”

Forty families have been paying tax to local union pari-shad since 1982. Livelihood of 250 people of the locality depends on betel leaf cultiva-tion. People who have been living on the land for long � led a case in 2012 claiming

ownership of it, but verdict of the case is yet to come.

He said: “The case is under trail, but there was no men-tion about the case in the no-tice which the district admin-istration has issued recently.”

Perli Surang, a resident of Naharpunji 2, said: “We have been going through uncer-tainty since we got the notice. We have been living in the lo-cality for decades. How the district admiistration served such notice when a case over the ownership of the two vil-lages is still under trail?”

Additional Deputy Com-missioner (ADC) (revenue) Prokash Kanti Chowdhury said he had issued notice fol-lowing the UNO and assistant commissioner’s reports and he was not aware of any case.

“If there any case remains pending at court, we will take measures according to the existing law. l

Members of CHT Writers and Activists Forum form a human chain in front of National Museum in Shahbagh, Dhaka yesterday demanding justice for Kalpana Chakma, the CHT rights activist who was abducted 20 years ago RAJIB DHAR

8DT WorldSATURDAY, JUNE 11, 2016

SOUTH ASIA

Obama approves more aggressive Taliban � ghtPresident Barack Obama has ordered the US military to take on the resurgent Taliban more directly -- in tandem with Afghan allies. A US o� cial, who asked not to be named, sketched plans to provide more close air support and to accompany Afghan forces on the battle� eld. -AFP

INDIA

5 Indian men given life for gang-rape of Danish touristFive Indian men were sentenced to life in prison on Friday for raping a Danish tourist in the heart of New Delhi’s tourist district in 2014. The men, all in their twenties, were found guilty by a Delhi court on Monday for robbing and raping the 52-year old Dane at a secluded spot close to New Delhi railway station. -REUTERS

CHINA

Protesters deliver big petition against China dog-meat festivalAnimal rights activists calling for an end to the slaughter and eating of dogs at a Chinese festival deliv-ered a petition with 11m signatures to authorities in Beijing on Friday. The two dozen activists were ac-companied by dogs and unveiled banners with pictures of the ani-mals above the message “I’m not your dinner” as they presented the petition at the representative of-� ce of Yulin city, where the festival is held. The annual festival is set to begin on June 21. -REUTERS

ASIA PACIFIC

S Korea, UN join patrols to halt illegal Chinese � shingSouth Korea and the UN Com-mand, which overseas the Korean War armistice, said on Friday they had begun a joint operation to keep Chinese � shing vessels from operating illegally o� the west coast. The move comes after South Korean � shermen used rope to impound two Chinese trawlers this month and handed them over to authorities. -REUTERS

MIDDLE EAST

Baghdad bombings kill 25Kurdish rebel group TAK claims Istanbul bombingMilitant Kurdish group the Kurd-istan Freedom Falcons (TAK) on Friday claimed a car bombing in the centre of Istanbul that killed 11 people. The TAK said Tuesday’s attack was revenge for operations by the Turkish army in the Kurd-ish-dominated southeast. -AFP

Pakistani family seeks justice for US drone strike victimCabbie Mohammed Azam was a collateral victim of a US drone strike, when his taxicab was hit by a Hell� re missile with deceased Taliban chief Mullah Akhtar Mansour on board

n Tribune International Desk

Pakistan's government met senior US o� cials Friday to discuss the fallout from a May 21 drone attack that killed Taliban chief Mullah Akhtar Mansour, while the family of the taxi driver who died along-side Mansour demanded justice.

Peter Lavoy, head of Wash-ington's South Asia desk at the National Security Council and Richard Olson, the US Special Representative for Afghanistan and Pakistan, met with Pakistani civilian and military leaders in the � rst high level exchange since the drone strike, according to Paki-stan's Foreign Ministry.

In a statement following their meeting, Sartaj Aziz, Pakistan's special adviser on foreign a� airs, said the discussions were candid. According to the statement, the two sides restated their positions. Pakistan a� rmed that the drone strike breached its sovereign-ty and compromised an already stalled Afghan peace process; and the United States reiterated its ac-cusation that Pakistan is provid-ing safe havens for the Taliban in Pakistan.

At the time of the drone attack, Mansour was travelling with a Pa-kistani passport and identity card, infuriating the US and Afghanistan who said this was proof of the ease with which Taliban � ghters are travelling throughout Pakistan.

Mansour's taxi driver, Moham-med Azam, was also killed in the

attack. His family said they were outraged that they have not yet re-ceived an apology from the US or recognition of Azam's innocence. As a result, they have gone to the police, demanding justice.

In the police report, his elder brother Qasim said Mohammad Azam was innocent of any crime. He said Mohammad was not aware of the identity of his pas-senger and demanded that the po-lice and local Baluchistan provin-

cial government o� cials conduct an investigation to identify the culprits. He called for "justice."

The police complaint doesn't de� ne what form that justice should take, but in a handwritten note at the bottom of the com-plaint one local o� cial wrote that he had begun an investigation.

In a telephone interview from his home in the town of Taftan, close to the Iranian border, Qa-sim said it was just his bad luck

that his brother's � nal passenger turned out to be the Taliban chief, Qasim said.

It had been a morning like every other for Azam, recalled his brother. Azam's � rst passenger of the day had just walked across the border from Iran — which wasn't unusual. Hundreds of people cross daily between Iran and Paki-stan at Taftan.

He was told to take the bushy bearded Pashtun to Quetta, the capital of Pakistan's largest and least populated province of Bal-uchistan, some 650km away.

What Azam wasn't told, and what he didn't know, was that his passenger was the Taliban chief and that US drones had been tracking him.

They had just reached Ahmadw-al, about 25km from Quetta, when the US drone slammed into his vehicle. Azam and his Taliban pas-senger died instantly. His car was reduced to a smoldering wreck.

Qasim said he received a call from local police forces in the af-ternoon informing him that his brother was dead and telling him to come and collect the body. It wasn't until he arrived at the hos-pital in Quetta that he was told how his brother died.

Qasim said his brother had nev-er had any a� liation with the Tal-iban. Qasim also sought both the Pakistan and US government to recognise his brother's innocence and � nancially compensate the family for their loss. l

DRONE STRIKE IN PAKISTAN SINCE 2004Total strikes 424

Strike during Obama regime 373

Total killed 2,499-4,001

Civilians killed 425-967

Children killed 172-207

Injured 1,161-1,744

A taxicab is seen on � re at the site of a drone strike that killed Afghan Taliban leader Mullah Akhtar, 25km east of Pakistan’s Quetta on May 21 REUTERS

Resistance to India joining nuclear suppliers group softensn Reuters, Vienna

A US-led push for India to join a club of countries controlling access to sensitive nuclear tech-nology made some headway on Thursday as several opponents appeared more willing to work towards a compromise, but China remained de� ant.

The 48-nation Nuclear Suppli-ers Group (NSG) aims to prevent the proliferation of nuclear weap-ons by restricting the sale of items that can be used to make those arms. It was set up in response to India's � rst nuclear test in 1974.

India already enjoys most of the bene� ts of membership under a 2008 exemption to NSG rules

granted to support its nuclear co-operation deal with Washington, even though India has developed atomic weapons and never signed the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT), the main global arms control pact.

But China on Thursday main-tained its position that the Non-Proliferation Treaty is central to the NSG, diplomats said.

The handful of other nations resisting India's admission to the group, including South Af-rica, New Zealand and Turkey, softened their stance somewhat, opening the door to a process un-der which non-NPT states such as India might join, diplomats said.

"There's movement, including

towards a process, but we'd have to see what that process would look like," one diplomat said after the closed-door talks on Thursday aimed at preparing for an annual NSG plenary meeting in Seoul lat-er this month.

Opponents argue that granting India membership would further undermine e� orts to prevent pro-liferation. It would also infuriate India's rival Pakistan, an ally of China's, which has responded to India's membership bid with one of its own.

Pakistan joining would be un-acceptable to many, given its track record. The father of its nuclear weapons programme ran an illicit network for years that sold nucle-

ar secrets to countries including North Korea and Iran.

"By bringing India on board, it's a slap in the face of the entire non-proliferation regime," a dip-lomatic source from a country re-sisting India's bid said.

Washington has been pressur-ing hold-outs, and Thursday's meeting was a chance to see how strong opposition is.

Most of the hold-outs argue that if India is to be admitted, it should be under criteria that apply equally to all states rather than under a "tailor-made" solution for a US ally.

Mexico's president said on Wednesday his country now backs India's membership bid. l

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SATURDAY, JUNE 11, 2016World

USAUS House passes Puerto Rico debt relief billFollowing months of internal wrangling, the US House of Rep-resentatives, on Thursday passed legislation creating a federal control board to help Puerto Rico cope with crippling debt that is wreaking havoc throughout the island’s econ-omy. By a vote of 297-127, the House approved the bill, sending it to the Senate for consideration. -REUTERS

THE AMERICASSuspended Brazil president calls for referendum on early pollsBrazil’s suspended President Dilma Rousse� is calling for a referendum on whether to hold early elections if she survives removal from o� ce in an impeachment trial that is expected to conclude in August. Under the Brazilian electoral time-table, presidential elections are scheduled every four years, with the next due in 2018. Rousse� ’s proposal for early elections, which are not provided for by the Con-stitution, is seen by many political analysts as a way out of Brazil’s political crisis. -REUTERS

UKGerman � nance minister: Brexit would shut UK out of single marketGerman Finance Minister Wolf-gang Schaeuble warned Friday that if Britain voted to leave the European Union, it wouldn’t have access to the single market like non-members Norway and Swit-zerland do. If a majority of Britons opt for a Brexit in the June 23 referendum, it will shut the nation out of the single market with its free movement of people, goods and services, Schaeuble said. -AFP

EUROPESweden agrees to continue nuclear powerSweden’s left-wing government struck a deal with the opposition Friday to continue nuclear power for the foreseeable future, back-tracking on its pledge to phase out atomic energy. The government coalition, made up of the Social Democrats and the Greens, had agreed in October 2014 to freeze nuclear energy development, while the opposition has been in favour of building new reactors. -AFP

AFRICANiger Delta Avengers claims fresh oil attackA Niger delta militant group on Friday claimed a fresh attack on a pipeline operated by the Nigerian subsidiary of Italy’s Eni in the restive oil-producing south. There was no immediate con� rmation of the attack from Eni. -AFP

Q&A

How will UK's EU referendum vote count work on the night?When will results come?Votes will be counted by hand starting as soon as polls close at 2100 GMT. Each of 382 local counting areas will tally the number of ballot papers cast and announce local turnout � gures (including spoiled ballots and postal votes) in each of the areas. The British Electoral Commission watchdog has estimated that most turnout announcements at counting-area level will come between 2230 GMT on June 23 and 0130 GMT on June 24. The last turnout � gure is expected at around 0400 GMT. Then each area will count the votes and announce totals for “Remain” and “Leave” in each of the 382 areas. The majority of counting areas are expected to declare between around 0100 and 0300 on June 24. The last declaration is expected around 0600. These local totals will be collated into totals for 12 regions, and then a � nal, national, re-sult. The � nal result will be announced in Manchester by Jenny Watson, who is the Chief Counting O� cer.

When can people vote?Polling stations open at 0600 on June

23 and close at 2100.

Will there be an exit poll?There are currently no plans by broad-casters for an exit poll as the margin of error is deemed to be too large.

The questionVoters will be given one piece of paper with the question: "Should the United Kingdom remain a member of the European Union or leave the European Union?" They will be asked to put a cross beside either: "Remain a member of the European Union and "Leave the European Union"

Who can vote?All those who are entitled to vote in a UK parliamentary general election can vote in the referendum, including British, Irish and qualifying Commonwealth citizens over the age of 18 who are resident in the UK. UK nationals resident overseas who have appeared on a parliamentary election register in the past 15 years will also have the right to vote, as will Irish citizens who were born in Northern Ireland and registered to vote in Northern Ireland in the last 15 years. In addition, peers and citizens of Gibraltar who were able to vote at

a European Parliamentary election can vote.

Registering to voteBritain extended the voter registration period for the referendum to midnight on June 9 after a late surge in appli-cations crashed a key website shortly before the original June 7 midnight deadline.

Can the count and vote be challenged?The electoral commission says this: "The referendum rules do not provide for a national recount to be carried out in any circumstances. Any request for a recount of votes will be at local count level and is for the Counting O� cer to determine. We expect local recounts to be granted if a speci� c issue has been identi� ed with the process in that counting area, rather than simply when the local totals are close.

"The national referendum result is only subject to challenge by way of judicial review. An application for ju-dicial review would need to be lodged within six weeks of the certi� cation that is being challenged being made."

Source: Reuters

12 DAYS TO GO

Democrats searching unity after con� rming Clinton's nomination n Tribune International Desk

Nearing the end of a lengthy pri-mary � ght, Dem-ocrats are coa-lescing around Hillary Clinton's presidential bid

and looking to reunite the party through a carefully orchestrated plan aimed at nudging rival Bernie Sanders to make his exit.

President Barack Obama's en-dorsement of his former secretary of state on Thursday headlined a day of unity for Democrats as the party prepares for Republican Donald Trump. Amid the message of harmony, Sanders crisscrossed the nation's capital and received praise in meetings with Obama, Vice President Joe Biden and Sen-ate Democratic leaders.

Democrats are wary that di-visions that emerged between Clinton and Sanders during the primaries might spill out during next month's Democratic National Convention or provide an opening to Trump, who is on course to be-

come the Republican nominee. So unity has become Job 1 in the party.

Biden and Massachusetts Sen-ator Elizabeth Warren joined that e� ort Thursday evening, both en-dorsing Clinton and signaling to many of Sanders' supporters that it's time to unite around the par-ty's presumptive nominee.

Warren, the progressive stal-wart, who has been positioning herself as one of Trump's tough-

est adversaries, had been the only holdout among the Senate's Democratic women. But she said she would do all that she can to prevent Trump from getting "any place close to the White House."

In his long-expected endorse-ment, delivered via an online vid-eo, Obama pointed to Clinton's grit and determination but also called for "embracing" Sanders' econom-ic message, which has galvanised

liberals and independents. Trump responded to Obama's

endorsement by tweeting: "Oba-ma just endorsed Crooked Hillary. He wants four more years of Oba-ma — but nobody else does!"

The Clinton campaign tweeted back, "Delete Your Account."

While Sanders stopped short of endorsing Clinton, he told report-ers he planned to press for his is-sues — rather than victory — at the party's convention and he would meet with Clinton in the near fu-ture to discuss ways they could work together to defeat Trump.

Clinton declared victory over Sanders on Tuesday, having cap-tured the number of delegates needed to become the � rst female nominee from a major party.

Obama's endorsement and Sanders' visit were the public cul-mination of that work. Leaders on the Hill underscored Obama's message. The party's delicate han-dling of the Vermont senator re-� ected Sanders supporters' deep distrust of the Democratic estab-lishment and its meddling in the primary. l

The campaigns for Hillary Clinton and Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders were working on Sunday out of the same union hall in Santa Fe last week AP

10DT

SATURDAY, JUNE 11, 2016World

INSIGHT

On southwestern fringe, China's Silk Road ambitions face obstaclesn Reuters, Kunming/Vientiane

For the southwestern city of Kun-ming, China's plan to extend a high-speed rail link 3,000km south to Singapore is already a boon: pristine expressways, a gleaming station and something of a real es-tate boom, as young buyers crowd property showrooms.

In Laos, work has yet to start on what should be the � rst overseas leg of a rail line stretching through-out Southeast Asia. The country, one of the region's poorest, could struggle to � nance even part of the $7bn cost and has yet to agree � -nancial terms with China.

From Laos, the railway would enter Thailand. But Beijing's nego-tiations have soured there as well, in part over � nancing, adding to a growing headache for China and highlighting the sort of problems Beijing may face as it develops its economic highways beyond South-east Asia and across Asia under its "One Belt, One Road" project.

The ambitious plan to build land, sea and air routes reaching across the continent and beyond was announced by President Xi Jinping in 2013 with the aim of boosting trade by $2.5tn in the next decade. As China's economic growth slows, Beijing is encourag-ing its companies to win new mar-kets overseas.

But across the Southeast Asia border, China is facing the most complex and possibly most signif-icant obstacles to its ambitions, as its neighbours protest what they say are excessive Chinese demands and unfavourable � nancing conditions.

They have resisted Chinese de-mands for the rights to develop the land either side of the railway. Beijing says turning a pro� t on land development would make the rest of the project more commercially

viable and allow it to make a great-er upfront � nancial commitment. Myanmar, in addition, had envi-ronmental concerns and cancelled its part of the project in 2014.

For China, Southeast Asia's con-cerns are "going to be the � rst sig-ni� cant hurdle as they implement One Belt, One Road," said Peter Cai, a research fellow at Lowy Institute for International Policy in Sydney.

China's foreign ministry and the Export-Import Bank of China did not respond to requests for com-ment.

Land-linkedIn 2013, all signs pointed to fast completion of the Laos leg. Leaders from both countries agreed to speed up construction - China o� ered

to loan most of the project funds. In November, construction on the line's terminus in Kunming began.

The RMB2.1bn ($325 million) high-speed rail station in Kunming is now months from opening. Yet, there is no action in Vientiane de-spite an elaborate groundbreaking ceremony in December.

Without signi� cant help from China, Laos lacks the � nancial mus-cle for the project, diplomats said.

It is unclear why China, which has been vying with Vietnam for in� uence in Laos, could not o� er terms acceptable to Vientiane.

Both countries are invested po-litically in the scheme. China aims to increase its reach and in� uence in Southeast Asia and Laos says it wants to turn its country into one that is land-linked, rather than landlocked.

"There were very high-ranking dignitaries from both sides at the signing," said a Western diplomat in Vientiane. "Most people believe it will cost more than $7bn, and Laos is struggling to even � nance $2bn of that."

The Laos government did not respond to a request for comment for this story. Diplomats though say the inaction re� ected an inter-nal Communist Party rift over how the negotiations with China were handled.

They said a shock decision in January by the politburo to exclude Deputy Prime Minister Somsa-vat Lengsavad from the top deci-sion-making body in part indicated

concern at senior levels that the deal's terms were too favourable for China.

Somsavat had led negotiations on China-related projects and had faced internal criticism for being too pro-Chinese.

"The terms were good for Laos," Somsavat said. Construction was delayed because Laos was still "researching some details" and be-cause of local opposition of land issues.

Holding the ground-breaking ceremony on December 2 last year also raised eyebrows in the lead-ership because the date clashed with celebrations marking the 40th anniversary of the founding of the Laos People's Democratic Repub-lic, diplomats said.

With Somsavat out of the gov-ernment "moves internally by the Laos government have been to renegotiate the terms of this rail agreement," a diplomat said.

UnrealisticChina has o� ered at least $30bn in loans and credit lines for projects. Zhao Jian, transportation professor at the Beijing Jiaotong University, said China o� ers concessionary loans of between 2% and 7%, so any country pushing for cheaper loans was being "unrealistic".

Still, infrastructure projects like these need to be subsidised, said Kamalkant Agarwal, the head of commercial banking at Thailand's Siam Commercial Bank.

"You can build these projects if

you have a government or Santa Claus to pay for it," he said. "But otherwise, making these projects pro� table is a huge challenge."

After failing to bridge gaps on � -nancing, investment and costs, Thai Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha told Chinese Premier Li Keqiang at a meeting in Hainan in March that Thailand would go it alone on � -nancing and for now build only part of the project. The Thai line would stop well short of the Laos border.

"They will have to invest more because this is a strategic route that will bene� t China," Thai Transport Minister Arkhom Termpittayapa-isith said earlier this year. Thailand refused Chinese requests to devel-op land along the railway route.

"I have said since day one with China, that there will be no o� er on land rights," Arkhom said.

Thai � nance ministry sourc-es said the country could secure funds from Japan at much lower rates. Japan is Thailand's biggest investor but also a country jostling with a more assertive China for in� uence across Asia, so Beijing would be wary of this idea.

"The ministry does not want to be condemned for borrowing an expensive loan compared with oth-er options to support this project," said a Thai � nance ministry o� cial who attended some negotiations with China.

Some Chinese local o� cials, for their part, see the delays as South-east Asian dithering.

"We are the face to Southeast Asia," said Sun Xiaoqiang, vice-di-rector of the Kunming Investment Promotion Board. "Of course, we all hope they will build faster."

Big gapThe gap between China and South-east Asia is clearest on the streets of Vientiane and Kunming.

Hundreds of Chinese � rms op-erate in Laos, including Wan Feng Shanghai Real Estate Company, which is building a $1.6bn project to supply Chinese expatriates with condominiums and shopping cen-tres.

But the Laotian government has invested little in new rail and roads.

Billions of dollars have poured into Kunming, including the dis-trict surrounding the new rail sta-tion - described by the World Bank six years ago as a "ghost town".

"One Belt, One Road is good for Kunming," said Jin, a teacher, who only wanted to give his surname. "(Those countries) have a lot of issues over politics and governance. China is ready, but Southeast Asia isn't." l

A view of the construction site of the new Kunming South Railway Station at Chenggong District of Kunming in China's Yunnan province REUTERS

Cars park on a dirt road leading up to the new Kunming South Railway Station at Chenggong District of Kunming in China's Yunnan province REUTERS

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SATURDAY, JUNE 11, 2016World

Taliban gains in Afghanistan threaten US reconstruction e� ort n Reuters, Washington, DC

The United States has wasted bil-lions of dollars in reconstruction aid to Afghanistan over the past decade, and now a renewed Tali-ban insurgency is threatening the gains that have been made, the US government’s top watchdog on Af-ghanistan said.

“The bottom line is too much has been wasted in Afghanistan. Too much money was spent in too small a country with too little over-sight,” John Sopko said. “And if the security situation continues to de-teriorate, even areas where money was spent wisely and gains were made, could be jeopardised.”

The nearly $113bn Congress has appropriated for reconstruction since 2001, when US-led forces

invaded the country and toppled the Taliban regime, has long been plagued by corruption, waste and mismanagement, according to a series of reports from Sopko, the Special Inspector General for Af-ghanistan Reconstruction (Sigar).

Appointed by President Barack Obama, Sopko has led the watch-dog agency for nearly four years. He said the planned drawdown of US troops could compound the re-construction e� ort’s problems and add to the amount that already has been wasted, which he estimated is in the billions of dollars.

According to Sopko’s latest report, issued in April, US reconstruction funding for Afghanistan includes projects for programmes to combat the drug trade, build electric power lines, develop new industries, im-

prove the banking and legal systems and modernize agriculture, which the report says “employs more than 50% of the labor force”.

While he declined to comment on how many American troops he thinks should remain in Afghan-istan, his new warning could in-crease the pressure on Obama to reconsider his timeline for reduc-ing the US force in Afghanistan from about 9,800 today to 5,500 by the time he leaves o� ce in January.

Last week, more than a dozen retired US generals and diplomats urged Obama to maintain the cur-rent level of troops in Afghanistan, warning that a reduction would un-dercut the morale of Afghan govern-ment forces and bolster the Taliban.

Nearly $951m- less than 1% - of the aid money has been saved in “restitution, � nes, forfeitures, re-coveries, savings, civil settlements,” and between 2015 and 2016, 107 people and companies have been barred from doing business with the US government for contractor mis-conduct, Sopko’s o� ce said.

“Our agency wasn’t created until half the money or more was spent,” Sopko said.

About 60% of the $113bn Con-gress has appropriated has gone to train and equip Afghan security

forces. However, how e� ectively Afghan forces can � ght the Taliban remains a big question, Sopko said, and if the security situation deteri-orates further, it could threaten the ability of Afghan President Ashraf Ghani’s government to provide ser-vices to citizens.

“If we can’t get out there ... we can’t see if the troops are getting shoes, or getting bullets, or getting grenades, or getting paid, and the security will have an impact on that,” Sopko said.

Still, US reconstruction money has helped Afghanistan make some strides in human development, ac-cording to experts and former senior US o� cials, and the US Agency for In-ternational Development said it is not concerned about the planned draw-down of US forces in Afghanistan. l

Fight over fasting led to blaze at German refugee centren Reuters, Berlin

Residents of a refugee centre in the German city of Duesseldorf set their shelter alight after a � ght among Muslim refugees over Ramadan meals, a prosecutor said on Friday, in an incident that is likely to increase unease among anti-immigrant groups.

On Tuesday a � re ripped through the accommodation that was home to around 280 refugees on the site of Duesseldorf’s trade fair. All residents were brought to safety but 24 su� ered from smoke poisoning.

Ralf Herrenbrueck, senior public prosecutor in Duesseldorf, said there had been disputes among Muslims living in the home over how to celebrate Ramadan before the blaze broke out.

“There are two groups -- one group wants to follow it strictly and so only eat when it’s dark while the other group wants to eat at normal times -- for example because there are also pregnant women there,” he said.

Herrenbrueck said the Red Cross, which is running the home, had decided to provide a basic lunch and only distribute warm food late in the evening, causing the group of Muslims that did not want to follow Ramadan strictly to complain since it started on June 6.

“They threatened that they would do something if this didn’t change and when there was no warm food at lunchtime again on Tuesday, the arson happened,” he said.

Five migrants were detained but three have since been released because they could not be directly linked to the � re, he said.

Criminal police are investigating a 24-year-old Syrian, two Moroccans aged 18 and 26 and two Algerian men aged 16 and 26, police said in a statement. l

Power shovels remove debris from a burned down a home for asylum seekers and migrants in Duesseldorf on Wednesday REUTERS

The $113bn reconstruction fund has been plagued by corruption and mismanagement

12DT

SATURDAY, JUNE 11, 2016Learn English

Find lots more fun things to do atwww.britishcouncil.org/learnenglishkids

Tongue twisters are di�cult to say. How fast can you say it without making any mistakes?

Friendly �eas and �re�ies.

© British Council 2016

TONGUETWISTERS

n Shireen Pasha

What sort of matrix are we living in where we have the rising of despot after despot who have the audacity to kill and oppress in the name of Allah? One in which you think you are powerless. Balance your inner life (Deen, sympathetic nervous system) with your outer life (Duniya, parasympathetic nervous system) and you will see the grid, the mis-information and the suggestology under which we are maintained. The House of Saud, Erdogan, ISIS - are they not all re� ections of the Qurayshis who stepped on beloved Muhammad’s neck when he bowed down in prayer? It is all a game and we jump too quickly. The forces at play have been on this plane too long. They are bored and they continue to turn humans into their game and prize. Would you believe me if I told you that the forces, which caused the Jewish holocaust are the same forces that are causing the Muslim holocaust, the climate change holocaust? Become aware and you will have direct experience of the matrix.

We are a country of deeply loving people. Yes, we are poor. Our men and women o� er

themselves as slaves in the Middle East in order to build concrete homes on sliding earth. There is very little we can do to at a gross level to topple the injustice they experience. But let us not forget, we have atomic hearts and minds (which become subatomic when breath and beat are combined) and a heritage of persistently seeking knowledge.

How can we forget Paharpur (one of the oldest international universities in the world)? From the knowledge of Buddha to Begum Rokeya - every moment of love and consciousness is embedded in our DNA - what we have inherited from our beloved mothers and fathers. Our inheritance, once unleashed through our atomic minds (while continuing to balance our material life without mundane obsession) can topple any great tyrant, starting with the ones in our shadow (verily the most di� cult). This Ramadan, fast, meditate (even better in community), o� er your namaz (even better in community) and care for your body, forgive yourself and others - unleash heart, your power. Who can stop you then? No one. Who can stop the tyrants? You. l

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SATURDAY, JUNE 11, 2016

Ramadan Special

PHOTO: COURTESY

Caption of Indian Miniature from Wikipedia: Ibrahim Ibn Adham in meditation when Angels arrive bearing gifts. (718 – c. 782 / AH c. 100 – c. 165). He is one of the most prominent of the early ascetic Su� saints. 

The story of his conversion is one of the most celebrated in Su� legend, as that of a prince renouncing his throne and choosing asceticism closely echoing the legend of Gautama Buddha, Su� tradition ascribes to Ibrahim countless acts of righteousness, and his humble lifestyle, which contrasted sharply with his early life as the king of Balkh    (itself an earlier center of Buddhism). As recounted by Abu Nu’aym, Ibrahim emphasised the importance of stillness and meditation for asceticism. Rumi extensively described the legend of Ibrahim in his Masnavi. The most famous of Ibrahim’s students is Shaqiq al-Balkhi (d. 810).

Ramadan:Understanding the matrix between Deen and Duniya

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SATURDAY, JUNE 11, 2016Feature

Haleem: How Hyderabad cafes made a Muharram dish synonymous with Ramadan

n Sriram Karri

When Aurangzeb undertook the conquest of the Deccan, his army was busy conquering the lands and subduing the Qutb Shahis. At the time, it was a customised Arab dish that travelled out from the cantonments, winning the hearts of the people of Hyderabad and creating a legacy. It was called harisah, harissa or harees.

Even today, most popular anecdotes in Hyderabad credit the haleem or the harissa to the Alamgir, though history points to the Yemenis in the army of Bahadur Shah, the Sultan of Gujarat in the 16th century, for � rst serving it to Hyderabad Nizams. Either way, it was a pure-play soldier dish.

The alchemy started with the slaughter of lambs – the skull and breasts were cooked as nihari, while the meat, mixed with wheat, lentils or cereals and sometimes sweetened with jaggery, was cooked for eight-odd hours. What magic got produced was eaten together as a community. Already a heavy dish, it was made richer over time by adding dry fruits and ghee.

That’s the creation we also see today. Unlike today, however, it was not a traditional Ramadan dish.

Camel, emu variants

“It was a dish that was consumed during Muharram,” said Ashar Farhan, cultural curator of Lamakaan, whose family has been in Hyderabad for generations. “It was a dish created to serve the energy needs of the soldier - like � ery mourners. It was cooked for hours, often for seven to eight, and hence the dish took the name of haleem – Persian for patience – but close to the Arabic harissa. Since it was never a domestic dish, it was cooked for large numbers of people; it was a dish associated with a special occasion.”

“It is a tough dish, though a delicacy,” Farhan further explained. “The richness of the dish and its appeal lies in it being cooked for hours, and beaten and mashed. It becomes like a rich paste, the spices and herbs used are thoroughly mixed with the wheat-� our and meat. It takes a tough stomach to digest it. It was also used as a starter in some wedding dawats over the decades.”

Despite being a traditional fare in a city which reveres both tradition and food, it has evolved, and its appeal has grown beyond the faithful. In Hyderabad’s Arab quarters of Barkas, where the descendants of the African-Arabian tribes live, it is consumed with beef and retains the original name of harissa or harees. A few restaurants prepare a chicken variation called hareez, but the

chicken biryani loving city has never really taken to it in a big way.

Some variations have also used the camel, while emu meat

has become the most recent experiment. But most people don’t like anything except lamb.

Month-long businessThe haleem as a Ramadan dish is not really an old tradition, says Farhan – it has been there only for a couple of decades. It was the changing lifestyle and economic growth of the city that put pressure on the city’s Irani cafes and they went searching

for alternatives. And so the haleem moved from Muharram to Ramadan, giving the outlets a month of assured business.

The most famous innovations

came from Pista House, now a brand became available globally. Its proprietor, MA Majeed, has built a cult status for a dish which is available during the month of Ramadan in di� erent variations in over 3,500 outlets – big and small. “My mother created our recipe, we kept it a secret,” he said, “but using best of business and technology practices, we took to spreading it.”

Majeed was the � rst to have

It was cooked for hours, often for seven to eight, and hence the dish took the name of haleem – Persian for patience – but close to the Arabic harissa

The city was changing and the restaurateurs wanted assured business for a monthpackaged haleem for parcels. While most outlets stuck to one option, he began innovating. Pista House was the � rst to create a vegetarian option, and it now boasts of a Jain version. He has applied for a geographical indication status for their trademarked bestseller. Pista House has also tied up with the US Postal Department to make haleem available across Chicago, San Francisco, Dallas and St Johns in the US.

The Pista House haleem is made from the best-of-breed goats, wheat, ghee, dry fruits and spices like dalchini, elachi, laung and shahzeera. Their success prompted other famous Hyderabadi brands like Paradise and Hyderabad House to convert a traditional fare into a big viable business. As a result, Hyderabadi Haleem is also available across the Middle East.

Which is the best?Building on the strength that Hyderabadi haleem is unique – because most break fast with softer food like fruits, dates and rice dishes like pulao and biryani – they began packing haleem and made it available at bus stations, railways stations and the airport for people to take it outstation.

With the growth of the city, Indians from all states who came and settled in Hyderabad began having the dish. Come Ramadan, Hyderabadis of all religions and states await the start of the haleem season.

While they wait, before the holy month begins, outlets set up ovens of clay and mud, stock wood and goats besides herbs and dry fruits. Cooking happens over 12 hours, often pre-sunrise, and haleem starts getting served after Iftar prayers in the evening.

“It is amazing how it can be so di� erent in di� erent parts of the city and outlets,” said Rohit Lingineni, a Hyderabadi who is studying in Melbourne. “It is impossible to ascertain which is the best – and each one boasts of being number one. The only thing that can be claimed with certainty is that after biryani, Hyderabad’s biggest contribution to the culinary world is the haleem. And it is worth waiting for a year.”

Reprinted under special arrangement from Scroll.in

Arts & Letters 15D

TSATURDAY, JUNE 11, 2016

The path that everyone has taken for returningI shall not go down that path.Listening to the sickening song of disintegration, getting all wet in the rainThe broken raft of Behula shall return in the belief of birth.

What will I take along?From the fancy city will I take the love of a sharp woman?Booze, meat, a pair of lips giving composed laughter, and air-conditioned love?What I will take along!From the brick-built world will I take the corpses of rusted humans? Black money, forgery, go-downs of potatoes, and this impotent politics?Will I take them along?

Rabindranath is con� ned in the shelf, while some paddy sheaves are hanging from the drawing room wall.Ah Bangladesh! You are hanging – my golden Bengal!Like leftover bones, you are falling � at on your face at the tablewhere a bunch of pseudo-intellectuals dine with ignoramus leaders.

I know it is I who will have to pay o� this debt;it is I who will have to walk a thousand miles with this debris on his shoulder.

I shall return.But the path everyone takes, with a smile over their face, in the company of dear ones,down that path I shall not return; that path is not mine –I shall return with blood, sweat and debris heaved upon my shoulders.

I shall not return beholding green rice � elds through the window of a trainOr listening to Bhatiali or Lalon songs;I shall not return with a chest full of love, or the lure of songs in silence.

I shall return shouldering blood, sweat and the debris of timeLike the last soldier, all alone, I shall return – a weary history.

Translated by Rifat Munim

A WEARY HISTORY –Rudro Mohammad Shahidullah

BIG

STO

CK

n Naeem Mohaiemen

A Bangla prize fightOur � rst sighting of Ali is inside an airplane, in wide business class seats. He is looking out the window, although the � ight is not near Bangladesh yet. A moment later, the stewardess serves him a glass of orange juice. The o� cious British narrator, journalist Mark Alexander, sits next to Ali and tells the audience that he has the privilege of “accompanying Muhammad Ali on this rare pilgrimage” (Massey: 1978, 11:04 mins, emphasis added)1. We could consider Ali’s Bangladesh trip as a time-traveling version of scholar Sohail Daulatzai’s concept of a roving “Muslim International” (a di� erent concept from ummah, especially in its reliance on African American experiences). But the careful viewer will catch hints of how Ali’s position within this concept had changed, as the � ery and transformative political possibilities of the 1960s gave way to the reversals and defeats of the late 1970s.

Before we can think of all this, the grating narration (“Bangladesh lies to the south of China”) has carried us away to Ali’s � rst encounter with General Ziaur Rahman at the Banga Bhavan2. A few moments later, an o� cial presents Ali with a Bangladeshi passport, making him the “country’s newest citizen” (13:27). The dialogue that ensues is instructive.

O� cial: “Here is a passport for you…”Ali: “So I am a citizen of Bangladesh?”O� cial: “Yes that’s right.”Ali: “Can I use this all over the world?”O� cial: “Yes, you can.”

Ali: “Thank you so much. Now, if they kick me out of America, I have another home. Thank you.” (13:58)

In that moment, I wanted the camera to pan back, so we could see the Bangladeshi o� cials’ startled facial expressions. Ali was positioning his new citizenship as an antidote to his fraught relationship with the United States, especially after his refusal to � ght in Vietnam. However, he was enacting this moment in a country that had very recently shifted away from a Soviet tilt and much closer to an American axis – an arc that began as early as 1974, but accelerated from 1976. Ali had not properly understood

the nature of the region he was visiting, still dreaming of a Muslim International as inheritor to the idea of a radical Third World. In Bangladesh, Ali was seen as a global athlete. The live telecast of two of his � ghts made him one of the � rst global � gures to have wide recognition in the country3. His earlier opposition to racism in America, and overseas empires was largely not understood inside Bangladesh. Even if they had been, that position would not have � tted the distinct “tilt” Bangladesh had gone through by 1978.

Elsewhere, Muhammad Ali was a public � gure who broke with the idea of loyalty to America, placing himself within a Muslim International, as when he told the listener:

“I belong to the world, the black world. I’ll always have a home in Pakistan, in Algeria, in Ethiopia.” (Mike Marqusee: Redemption Song: Muhammad Ali and the Spirit of the Sixties. Verso Books, 2005.)

While Ali used the term “black,” he gestured at Pakistan, and later visited Bangladesh. He was aligning himself with a force outside America, something he repeats after receiving his Bangladesh passport. Black here was an isomorphism for an intersection between Third World and Muslim world. Elsewhere, “Black Britain” was already in use to describe the alliance of Asian and Black migrants against the common enemy of British racism. Ali was indicating a wider possibility, the black experience as entry point into a Muslim experience, and vice versa.

But Ali’s travels, and his fellow travelers, of the 1970s were sometimes at odds with this earlier position. The Vietnam war had ended in a dramatic defeat for the United States, and the White House was now occupied by Nixon’s antithesis, Carter. While Vietnam had been a clearer issue for antiwar protestors, the subsequent war in Cambodia hinted at more messy transnational con� icts with dirty shades of grey. The dramatic events in Iran and Afghanistan were just around the corner, and with them would come the last fading act of the Cold War (which had most clearly been played out in Vietnam). The clear lines of demarcation for an anti-imperialist platform were starting to fade by 1978, and Ali himself was enervated physically from a brutal � ght regimen, and � nancially by a long exile from the ring. In

the coda to the Bangladesh trip, we � nd an Ali enthralled by the “new” America of Jimmy Carter. The Georgia peanut farmers’ arc seemed to suggest a path of redemption for the American project (“I will never lie to you”). A Black radical now shifted from a critique of the American empire fueled by experiences of besieged black bodies, to a new position of embracing American exceptionalism. Ali was now transformed from a “dangerous” member of a transnational Black network to a “goodwill” ambassador for the American presidency.

Bangladesh, I Love YouLet us return to Reginald Massey’s documentary Muhammad Ali Goes East: Bangladesh, I Love You, a travelogue that requires decoding of stage-managed images. The original documentary was made for Bangladesh’s business interests, with enthusiastic support from a government, and wide popular

support for the athlete. After a screening on Channel Four, and a command screening at the White House, the � lm company went bankrupt and the documentary disappeared into obscurity. A few years back, a VHS copy was recovered by the London-based Brick Lane Circle which hosted a screening of the � lm for British Bengalis. In this way, the � lm � nally emerged and now circulates through a clandestine recording made by an audience member at that screening.

Massey’s biography says he was born in “Lahore, then in British India.”4 After moving to London, he became an author of books on classical dance in India. His website states, “Some of his books are standard works and used by international bodies such as New York’s Lincoln Center.” Approached by Bangladeshi businessman Giashuddin Chowdhury in 1977 about creating an event that would “boost the image” of Bangladesh,

Massey proposed a state visit by Muhammad Ali. The � ghter was then at a declining stage of his career, having been beaten by Leon Spinks in a humiliating match. Massey presented the Bangladesh voyage as a tonic that would re-energize Ali, because “he was still a hero in Bangladesh.”5 The trip was framed as Ali doing his duty, for a third world nation, which we see in his speech at the beginning of the � lm:

“[I want to] help more people in the world to know about Bangladesh. One of my goals is to greet all my fans, and do all I can to help more people in the world to know about Bangladesh. To draw attention to some of the positive things about Bangladesh, so much negative things have been said.” (10:00)

From the � rst touchdown, the � lm is structured as an extended travel � lm, guiding the viewer through tropes of a visit to Bangladesh: the river cruise (the passing crowd in another

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Arts & Letters16DT

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Unsteady dreams of a new international

boat yells “Muhammad Ali/Jindabad”6 (16:28)), the “golden � ber” jute (the camera lingers on two containers marked with destinations of Los Angeles and Savannah), the (already) endangered Sundarban forest, the historic Star Mosque, the Dhakeswary temple, and the Sylhet tea gardens. Along the way were other elements which were not particularly speci� c to Bangladesh, but were part of the “East” imagery that Ali was dutifully granted: an elephant ride, and, of course, snake charmers (“snakes are poisonous to all but the snake charmers,” (15:17)). Ali charmed the audience by speaking of his largesse (to the people in Sylhet he said, “Many people could not a� ord to come to Dhaka, so we came to see you,” 30:24) and his � ashes of humor (he pointed to his wife Veronica Ali in front of a group of female fans and said, “The ladies in this country not as tall as her…” (29:50))

By the � lm’s end, Ali has been

given a passport, a plot of land in Cox’s Bazaar, and the promise of naming a stadium after him. He had performed a symbolic bout with a twelve year old Mohammad Giasuddin (later three times national champion in Bangladesh). The state visit ended with a dinner where renowned Bengali singer Sabina Yasmin sang the special composition “Ali Ali.” (A decade later, Yasmin would sing “Shob Kota Janala Khule Dao Na” [Open All The Windows], anthem of the Ershad era). Two million fans had come out to meet him, trailing him everywhere on his trip. Driving along the Cox’s Bazaar beach with its “miles of unbroken beach,” Ali waxed rhapsodic: “we in heaven over here. You want paradise come to Bangladesh … eat at the President’s house” (32:05).

Ali had come to Bangladesh because the country “needed” him – because Massey had said his trip would help improve Bangladesh’s image, giving stability to a country that had been through a brutal

war and an unstable aftermath. Repeatedly, Ali reminded the camera, “We never get the news in America about how beautiful this place is.” But it was also Ali who also needed Bangladesh to revive him on a psychic level, after his bruising defeat to Leon Spinks – a moment that signaled a physical decline from which he never fully recovered. The � lm does its best to keep the frame on Bangladesh’s place in the world, but in it Ali also takes refuge from a boxing world that has declared him a spent force. There is irony in the champion � ghter who opposes violence overseas, and we see it in the � lm as well. Speaking of Bangladesh’s potential as a beacon in the world, he says, “So much violence in the world, so much killing… [I’ll do] what I can in my power to tell people…” (33:00). Yet by the end, he is raring for a second chance at Spinks and � nally explains why he has to wear sunglasses all the time. “[He] gave me a black eye! Can you imagine?” (50:39)

The idea of Muslim InternationalAli believed in the idea of a shared history between the Muslim parts of the Third World and Black American struggles. Bangladesh was perhaps to be an early stop in a global tour that would rekindle his connection with this transnational concept, just as his 1972 Mecca trip had done. However, there were several instabilities within this project, beginning with Bangladesh as the locus of the dream of a Muslim International that included a critique of the empire. While there were still sites of resistance to forms of western domination, Bangladesh by the late 1970s was itself seeking a deeper embedding within the Arab power bloc. This bloc, strengthened by the oil crisis, had moved far away from the non-aligned concept of the 1960s. The realignments of that period increasingly presented the dilemma of Third World leaders who were not in anti-imperialist positions. Journalist Palash Ghosh highlighted some of the more problematic sites of Ali’s world travels: “But Ali mixed with some questionable characters during his many overseas jaunts, including such bloody despots as Uganda’s Idi Amin and Iraqi strongman Saddam Hussein (both of whom praised Ali no end).”7

Grant Farred, in the Ali volume of the series on “Black Vernacular Intellectuals,” (What’s My Name. Minneapolis: University of

Minnesota Press, 2002) makes a similar argument, stating that Ali’s presence could give Third World nations an “arti� cial unity.” Ali had performed a mistranslation that is common within the conception of the Muslim International. In this conceptualisation, every Muslim majority nation was a source for liberation theology and natural ally with black radical thinking. Cassius Clay’s conversion to Islam had been received ferociously in America, including denunciation from icons such as Justice Thurgood Marshall (who called him “the ugly American)” and boxer Floyd Patterson (the “Black Muslim scourge [needed to be] removed from boxing”). Given this response, it is not surprising that Ali had moved into an emotional exile, seeking a new home in the Muslim Third World. Yet, this journey landed the boxer into the public relations arena of a location such as Bangladesh, where a transnational Muslim identity was, at least in 1978, still highly contested and in � ux.

Muhammad Ali was the exemplar of a de� ant Black American experience, and he remained a contested � gure until he was struck down with Parkinson’s Disease. Only in this debilitated state (recall his unsteady lighting of the torch at the 1996 US Olympics) was Ali safe for consumption by the American dream. In an interview, Reginald Massey told me that Ali had felt a particular kinship and warmth towards Jimmy Carter. Carter’s grandmother had employed a freed slave as a housemaid, and this made the future President “comfortable with black people”8. I am unsure what to make of such enlightenment-via-housemaid stories, but it is certainly true that Carter reached out actively to rehabilitate Muhammad Ali. Perhaps it was particularly easy for Carter, since he had inherited the post-Vietnam zeitgeist of retrieval and redemption. According to Massey, Ali showed the Bangladesh � lm in the White House and this resulted in a distinct warming of US-Bangladesh relationship and opening of foreign aid channels (which had been choked o� during the Kissinger period).

Buoyed by the success of the Bangladesh � lm, Massey began work on a sequel, which would take Ali to India (although the Muslim International may have been Ali’s framing for his � rst trip, it was not where Massey’s interests

lay). Ali was � own to India with entourage, and according to Massey, charmed Indira Gandhi endlessly. He gave her a warm peck on the cheek, and quipped, “America kisses Mother India!”9. Ali had traveled a long, strange way– the man who once said “the only solution to today’s racial problems is separation.”10 was now an ambassador for the post-Vietnam Carter era. Perhaps he believed, as many others did, that the Vietnam period had been a temporary malaise brought about by individual antagonists at the top (Johnson, McNamara, Nixon, and Kissinger). Jimmy Carter was supposed to be the corrective, but all that was soon to unravel with the twin ascendancy of Regan and Thatcher, and the beginning of the neoliberal backlash.

The looming superpower contradictions were brought to the surface halfway through the India � lming. One day, while resting at the hotel, Massey received a direct phone call from the White House. After determining that the “Southern gentleman” voice on the phone was indeed Carter, Massey passed on the phone to Ali. After a brief conversation, Ali came to Massey and said:

“Brother Reg, My President has ordered me to immediately � y to Africa and Saudi Arabia. My orders are to tell them all to boycott the Moscow Olympics because the Russians have invaded Afghanistan, a Muslim country.” (emphasis added)

With that, � lming was abandoned (Massey later said this contributed to the bankruptcy of the company) and Ali was on his way to Saudi Arabia, where he was warmly greeted by the King. The Muslim International shifted away from the idea of being led by the Black experience to the centre of the Oil Bloc. Ali was now an emissary of the United States against Russia in the Afghanistan crisis, placing himself in the middle of a superpower battle. Ali did say “no Vietcong ever called me n****er”, and subsequent errors in political judgment will not diminish the courage of that lonely political stance. But in the span of a decade, the Afghan war was another Cold War staging ground (as Vietnam had been) with no possible bene� t to the lives of poor or Black Americans.

Ali’s later experiences do not negate the potency of the Black International as a framing device for exploring Black radical

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Unsteady dreams of a new international

O� cial: “Here is a passport for you…”

Ali: “So I am a citizen of Bangladesh?”

O� cial: “Yes that’s right.”

Ali: “Can I use this all over the world?”

O� cial: “Yes, you can.”

Ali: “Thank you so much. Now, if they kick me out of America, I have another home. Thank you.” (13:58)

Feminist writers’ festival in AustraliaL I T E R A T U R E F E S T I V A L S

Arts & Letters18DT

SATURDAY, JUNE 11, 2016

n Rashmi Patel

When Ryan Broderick, Deputy Global News Director at BuzzFeed, went about trying

to � nd “social justice” literature at a London bookstore in a bid to poke fun at a male feminist, the only books that he could � nd for a pose were: Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice, Gillian Flynn’s Gone Girl, and Stieg Larsson’s The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo.

While these may be feminist reads, the picture goes on to show that in your average bookstore you are not going to � nd an accessible stack of books written by feminist writers. After so many years of feminist writing, shouldn’t bookstores have more to o� er? Where is all the feminist writing?

The � rst of its kind... well, sort of

The inaugural Feminist Writers Festival, the � rst of its kind as far as its name is concerned, has just been announced in Melbourne, Australia. This is not to say that it will be unique in terms of intended agenda and content, but surely there is no other writers’ festival with the f-word so prominent in its banner.

Panels that discuss feminist

writing have been an integral part of all major literary and writers’ festivals around the world and one needs to only glance at the international literary calendar to know that many local variations of women writers’ festivals already exist. So why a Feminist Writers Festival?

Cristy Clark, chair of the festival, says it all started with a Facebook post she shared in 2015, in which she wrote about her hope for a space to engage diverse voices of feminist writers across the country. She received overwhelming encouragement that indicated a need for a more

in-depth engagement with the scattered community of feminist writers which does not always get the support and visibility it would like.

Is writing the hardest job?A few minutes of glancing

through tweets of Australian feminist writers makes it clear that it is no easy feat to openly call oneself a feminist writer. One of the most outspoken feminist writers in Australia is Clementine Ford. On January 25 she tweeted a seemingly harmless line:

“Writing a book is the hardest thing I have ever done. #homestretch”

In response, Youtube user Gary Orsum introduces the tweet by saying:

“I like this one. This one’s f***ing hilarious.”

After displaying Ford’s tweet, he goes on to show the picture of a male sewer worker and addresses the worker:

“Excuse me mate,” he drawls, “um, Clementine Ford’s having a pretty hard time of it. Would you mind letting her do your really cruisy job as a sewer worker for a week, while you take on the hardest job ever in the world of writing a book and stopping whenever you feel like it to make

a cup of tea and get on twitter and abuse men?”

The video has over nine thousand views and four hundred likes. Social media abounds in such responses. Feminist writers are often inundated with messages on how and what they should write, where they are going wrong, and what their aims should be in expressing themselves. Even voicing that it is just too di� cult to be a woman writer brings more brickbats than empathetic nods. In short, feminism has a long way to go in helping women writers write in voices they are comfortable with and still be acknowledged as equals in the literary world.

A more empirical evidence of bias on the Australian literary scene is provided by the Stella count, which shows the ratio of books by men and women reviewed in twelve major Australian review publications. It continues to indicate a clear bias by male reviewers towards male authors.

As Gloria Steinem aptly proclaimed recently at the Sydney Writers Festival:

“Just don’t ask us if feminism is still relevant.” l

This is a shorter version of an article that � rst appeared in scroll.in

FOOTNOTES1 All references to Muhammad Ali’s

Bangladesh visit are from Reginald Massey’s documentary Muhammad Ali Goes East: Bangladesh, I Love You (1978). Massey left the production company after a disagreement, and the company itself has since gone bankrupt. The circulating copy is a clandestine recording made by an audience member during a screening in London. Time codes are of the pirated London recording. https://

youtu.be/OLpQQA9eEBU

2 For a detailed description of Muhammad Ali’s Bangladesh trip, see Mohammad Lutful Haque’s forthcoming Muhammad Ali’r Bangladesh Joy [Muhammad Ali Wins Bangladesh], Prothoma Publishers: 2016.

3 For a brief description of the impact of these live telecasts, see chess grandmaster Niaz Morshed’s

memorial in Prothom Alo, June 6, 2016.

4 http://www.reginaldmassey.co.uk/

5 http://www.indiaofthepast.org/contribute-memories/read-contributions/the-unforgettable/380-working-with-muhammad-ali-the-boxing-champ

6 “Bangladesh Jindabad” was by then a newly popularized phrase.

7 Ghosh, Palash. “Muhammad Ali In Bangladesh: 35 Years Ago The Champ Visited A New Nation In Turmoil.” International Business Times, 08/12/13.

8 Interview with author, May 11, 2014.

9 http://www.indiaofthepast.org/contribute-memories/read-contributions/the-unforgettable/380-working-with-

muhammad-ali-the-boxing-champ

10 Carpenter, Les and Oliver Laughland. “Shunned by white America, how Muhammad Ali found his voice on campus tour” The Guardian, June 5, 2016

11 Ross, Lawrence. “A Silenced Ali Was a Likeable Ali for White People.” The Root, June 4, 2016.

Unsteady dreams of a new internationalthought. However, it does show some of the limitations of forms of racialized and religious essentialism that framed activism and alliances. By the mid-1960s, events inside America were also moving towards ruptures (assisted by provocateurs inside and outside the Black radical movement) that isolated Ali. Malcolm X and Elijah Muhammad parted ways dramatically, splitting the strength of the Nation of Islam’s black membership. The fallout of this event was a distancing between Ali and X as well, which deprived the � ghter from one of his radical

political teachers. Once Martin Luther King started speaking against the Vietnam war and Malcolm returned from Mecca, � red up by the possibility of cross-race alliances, they both became too dangerous to be allowed to live. After their assassinations, Ali lost two mentors who could o� er two polarities of incremental struggle or radical resistance. The 1970s therefore saw the waning of the idea of an International that could have derived energy from the African American experience. The possibility of a transnational solidarity network was not only

ornamental but also political, independent and radical, and was eliminated during this decade.

Lawrence Ross11, in one of the obituaries to strike a contrarian note, said: “So now that he is dead, we have to ask the question as to who gets to decide which Ali voice gets heard and remembered. Which Ali voice, the one that challenged America to be better, or the one that imagines Ali being the silent façade on which he could mean everything to everyone?” I know which one I want to honour and remember: the Ali who fought the colour line, and opposed the

destructive game of third world as chessboard (played by both the Soviet Union and the United States). He was a black radical who gave a generation the strength to resist and � ght back. But it is also important to understand what combination of factors produced the later year � gure– an Ali who would misrecognise the great game of the Afghan War (the origin point for many of today’s entwined wars) simply as the invasion of a “Muslim country,” sti� ing other possibilities the Afghan people held within themselves. These moments are unlike the man who once said,

“my goals, my own.” His later years carry both the weight of sacri� cing his body to the sport, and the loneliness of an African American living on after revolutionary possibilities had been taken away from his people. l

Naeem Mohaiemen explores postcolonial histories through essays and � lms. His essays include “Fear of a Muslim Planet: Islamic roots of hip-hop” (Sound Unbound: Sampling Digital Music and Culture, MIT Press, 2008). Email: Naeem.Mohaiemen@columbia.edu

FEMINIST WRITERS’ FESTIVAL

Continued from page 17

19D

T

SATURDAY, JUNE 11, 2016Biz Info

Managing director of Microsoft Bangladesh, Sonia Bashir Kabir, has announced a panel for competing at election of Bangladesh Association of Software and Information Services (BASIS), an apex trade body of information and communication technology (ICT) sector in the country.

The panel titled “The Change Makers” led by Sonia Bashir Kabir, including other prominent � gures from the ICT sector, has announced their beginning with the slogan “Members First” and the aim to bring about groundbreaking changes within BASIS and in the ICT sector of the country.

Regarding the panel, Sonia Bashir Kabir said: “Digital Bangladesh is transforming our country and BASIS has been playing an integral role in it. We believe that BASIS members can be empowered to do more and overcome the challenges that our industry is currently facing. We admit that BASIS member organisations are su� ering from di� erent problems, and every day these reputed organisations are facing di� erent kinds of challenges. We all know about these problems, but we haven’t seen any e� ort to solve them.”

“It is not possible to bring sustainable development in the ICT sector without developing

the member originations of BASIS. And to address these problems, ‘The Change Makers,’ a panel of software, ICT businesspersons and experienced entrepreneurs guided by respected senior and junior members of BASIS, have agreed to work in unison. With a message to bring change, we are expecting votes from the members. The new panel wants to establish Bangladesh as a country leader in global ICT sector,” she added.

The main goal of the panel is to foster innovative, dependable and pro� table software businesses, informed Sonia Bashir Kabir.

The panel consists of general member aspirants Sonia Bashir Kabir (Microsoft Bangladesh Ltd), Mostofa Ra� qul Islam (Metronet Bangladesh Ltd), Su� Faruq Ibne Abu Bokor (Evatix), Azmal Haq Azim (Digicon Global Services Ltd), Nazmul Kabir Chowdhury Sharun (Gonona Technologies Ltd), Sabbir Rahman Tanim (Third Bell Entertainment Ltd), Saidul Islam Majumdar Likhon (Majumdar IT Ltd) and associate member Zaman Khan (Zaman IT). l

Le Méridien Dhaka, an upscale hotel in Dhaka, hosted a celebratory iftar mah� l with the children of Baitul Aman Housing Society Madrasah and Orphanage. Minister Rashed Khan Menon, Ministry of Civil Aviation and Tourism, presided over the event as chief guest and blessed the young guests along

with hotel’s chairman Amin Ahmad, president Hasan Ahmad and general manager Ashwani Nayar. Also present were various other dignitaries of the Government of People’s Republic of Bangladesh.

With just a week over the hotel’s � rst anniversary, they considered the month of

Ramadan as a good opportunity as an organisation to contribute to the community. Le Méridien Dhaka catered to the little guests the way it knows best – with uncompromising service.

The hotel’s management team divided among the 150 children from a welfare home to give them undivided attention and share stories that may encourage the youths to greater heights of inspiration.

“It is a very encouraging beginning for Le Méridien Dhaka to be able to share these happy moments with these beautiful children,” informs Nayar. “Our target guests are in fact the curious and the creative-minded, and who is more curious or creative-minded than a child? Children inspire us to do better and I hope today, with what little time we spent with them, we were able to inspire these children like they inspired us.” l

Symphony unveiled their new HD series Smartphone H400, which is their � rst to include � ngerprint security technology. Fingerprint security sensors help Smartphone users to quickly lock and unlock their phone.

The handset contains 2.5D curved glass with a 5 inch HD IPS Display packing a resolution of 1280x720. The color screen device is quite comfortable for the MiraVision Technology. Through MiraVision, the contents will be displayed more vividly, providing a far richer and more colorful viewing experience.

The 13 megapixel rear camera with auto focus delivers quality pictures with faster and more image details. It has 5 megapixel front camera. It even includes face beauty, zero shutter display, voice

capture, gesture and smile shot and much more.

This handset runs on Android 6.0 Marshmallow, 1.3GHz Quad Core 64 bit processor with 2GB of DDR3 RAM. They claim 64 bit processor users can play any type of game without lag. It has a 16GB internal storage of memory which is expandable up to 64 GB.

Its 3200mAh Li-poly battery enables customers to use it for longer periods of time. Moreover, battery optimisation options will help to boost battery life further and shuts down all background tasks, sensors, and services when idle.

The handset will be available in pickaboo.com and local markets from the end of June at Tk9,990. The Symphony H400 will be available in black and silver. l

Discover the warmth of Arabian hospitality with the richness of traditional Arabian bu� et spread at Water Garden Brasserie of Radisson Blu Dhaka Water Garden. Feast your soul to a choice of Arabian treats and beverages along with local delicacies in the Holy month of Ramadan. More than 150 dishes have been spread on the bu� et. 

Moreover, savor the sumptuous iftar take away treats from Chit Chat Deli Café and Water Garden Brasserie.

Executive chef from Italy, Antonio Gravagno, is all set to present saucy, scintillating Italian dishes which will take your taste buds on an exciting and sumptuous ride through the food capital of the world, Italy, this summer! Bask in the glory of sheer culinary brilliance in this encounter with inspiring Italian cuisine.

Special discounts include a “Buy 1 Get 1 Free” o� er on City Bank issued Amex Gold and Platinum Cards; a “Buy 1 Get 1 Free” o� er on Standard Chartered Bank Cards (Platinum Preferred Card, Platinum Preferred MasterCard, Platinum Preferred Saadiq Card, Priority Debit Cards and VISA Signature Cards); and a “Buy 1 Get 1 Free” o� er on Robi Platinum Ace and Platinum subscribers of the Dhonnobad Program.l

Le Meridien Dhaka celebrates Ramadan with orphans

Symphony Mobile o� ers � ngerprint security

Arabian Iftar Festival at Radisson Blu Water Garden

| initiative |

| tribute | | technology |

| o� er |

Microsoft BD boss announces panel for BASIS election

INSIDE

Twenty-eight-year-old Rony Khalashi, shot dead two days ago by the BSF, is just the latest victim in a series of border killings.

It is beyond belief that, over the last 10 years, India’s Border Security Force has killed close to 600 Bangladeshi citizens.

Last month, Sujon, another Bangladeshi, was shot down by BSF. And let us not ever forget the image of 15-year-old Felani, whose body lay tangled up in barbwire after being shot dead by BSF’s very own Amiya Ghosh. Her killer was subsequently acquitted twice in a special BSF court because of “inconclusive and insu� cient evidence.”

Despite repeated incidents of the BSF overstepping its boundaries, and its guards constantly going over the line, the Indian courts refuse to acknowledge the negligence and cruelty involved in such behaviour, and continue to treat the perpetrators with impunity.

Last month, BGB and BSF came together in the � ght against crimes being committed in and around the border areas. Increased co-operation between both the border patrols are, of course, a welcome development in the ensuing relationships between the two countries.

But this senseless violence has to end now. And those responsible for the continuous killings of Bangladeshi citizens must be tried and brought to justice.

It should be a matter of national priority for both nations to see that these killings come to a stop and the lives of innocents and the undeserving are no longer brought to an end due to trigger-happy soldiers within the BSF.

That is the only way we can ensure peaceful relations between India and Bangladesh continue to � ourish.

It should be a matter of national priority for both nations to see that these killings come to a stop

We need peace at the borderBIGSTOCK

Climate change

PAGE 23

The royal silk city

PAGE 22

Integrity � rst

PAGE 21

Be heardWrite to Dhaka Tribune

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

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

www.dhakatribune.comJoin our Facebook community:

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

The views expressed in Opinion articles are those of the authors

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

Tribune or its publisher.

EditorialSATURDAY, JUNE 11, 2016

DT 20

This trend of the law being broken by the very people who are supposed to enforce it doesn’t exist among law enforcers alone -- almost everyone in a position of leadership in this region seems prone to this habit

Today, Rajshahi lies at the centre of its own administrative division, containing some of the most outstanding cultural and heritage experiences in what remains a much neglected part of, not simply, Bangladeshi history, but even, arguably, human history

It is now high time for all countries to translate what has been agreed to on paper into actions on the ground -- after all, how else are we going to create a more just and sustainable world?

Opinion 21D

TSATURDAY, JUNE 11, 2016

n Ekram Kabir

I was returning to Dhaka through a South Asian airport. After crossing the security thresholds, I arrived at the

place where the duty-free shops were located. After roaming around a bit, I went to the smoking area. An airport security o� cial entered the chamber a minute later and started to look at us with cigarettes in our hands. We found both of us looking at each other. I realised what he was up to.

Raising my eyebrows, I asked him: “Do you want a smoke?”

“Yes, sir,” he replied, with a wide grin.

I gave him a cigarette and o� ered him a light, but he refused it.

“Sir, I’m in uniform and therefore cannot smoke here -- I’ll go to the washroom and have my smoke there.”

“What are you saying, man? If I smoke in the washroom, you’d be the one to catch and penalise me. Now, you’re saying that you, being a security o� cial, are going to smoke in a place where it’s prohibited? Come on! You can’t smoke in the washroom; you have

to do it here where we all are doing it.”

He humbly requested not to make him smoke in the smoking area. Then, he went away.

The reason I’m sharing this little anecdote is to say something about the other side of the people who work in important positions in our sub-continent.

There are people in high positions, or in positions that require one to have a lot of integrity, who are committing the very acts they are supposed to prevent. Take the Bangladeshi tra� c police and police personnel, for instance.

There have been several occasions when I saw tra� c sergeants taking the wrong lane and parking their motorbikes where they shouldn’t be. If they found us normal people parking our vehicles where they park

them, they would have taken us to task.

But they are doing it anyway. They seem to take everything for granted and tend to think that, since they are the ones who “uphold” the law, no one would take them to task. Bangladesh isn’t alone, our entire sub-continent is, in fact, plagued by this speci� c phenomenon in which the “right” people are seen to be doing the wrong things.

In 2013, in Madurai of the Indian state of Tamil Nadu, the district police recorded, for the last three years, that at least 10 cases -- ranging from petty quarrel with neighbours to theft, to dowry harassment, and kidnapping -- were registered against police personnel themselves.

Last year, in Karachi and Daska, law enforcers were seen to behave more like a group of lawbreakers.

In Karachi, masked police commandoes kidnapped the bodyguards of former Sindh home minister Dr Zul� qar Mirza outside the Sindh High Court, and beat up the journalists on duty; while in the Daska tragedy a police o� cer reportedly killed two lawyers and injured two others without any ostensible reason other than verbal provocation.

In both the incidents, the police seemed to have acted with absolute impunity. The police, whose duty it is to maintain law and order even if it means putting their own lives at risk, seemed to have decided to enforce their own rule of law even if it meant putting the lives of those very people whom the police are supposed to protect from lawlessness at risk.

This trend of the law being broken by the very people who are supposed to enforce it doesn’t

exist among law enforcers alone -- almost everyone in a position of leadership in this region seems prone to this habit.

Our leaders are where they are because they are supposed to be people of integrity; we follow them because they live by example, we accept their decisions because they are to be the agents of positive change.

On several occasions, we � nd them not practising what they are preaching. It requires a huge amount of integrity to be in a leadership position.

Now, why does integrity matter to us, the followers? It’s because it plays the most important role in the decision-making process used by the common people when deciding who they will follow, who they will trust, who they will remain loyal to, and, ultimately, for whom they will perform.

The security o� cial at the airport is a leader in his own capacity -- he makes sure that everything’s in order. However, what he displayed while interacting with me wasn’t at all leader-like. l

Ekram Kabir is a writer.

This trend of the law being broken by the very people who are supposed to enforce it doesn’t exist among law enforcers alone -- almost everyone in a position of leadership in this region seems prone to this habit

Integrity � rstLaw enforcement personnel are often the � rst ones to break the law

Who will take the police to task? DHAKA TRIBUNE

n Tim Steel

There are many who recognise the real possibility that silk, the � ne, valuable, luxurious

fabric woven from the cocoons of the mulberry silkworm, had its origins, not, as is generally supposed, in China, but even, possibly, in the lands around the Ganges river and delta, most of which are now the lands of Bangladesh.

There are two reasons for that possibility to be advanced; � rst, that there seems little doubt that the fertile soil, and favourable climatic conditions of the foothills of the Himalayas and the Ganges Delta, o� er perfect conditions for the cultivation of both the Mulberry, and breeding the moths.

The second is that China is frequently, wrongly, identi� ed as the source of such development, largely because of their well-

documented history. There appears to be no evidence that either Mulberry, or moth, are indigenous to any part of China.

The use of saltpetre exempli� es the point of misappreciation; the properties of that particular chemical were, even Chinese documentation accepts, identi� ed by Buddhist monks around the Ganges basin and delta.

No source, in fact, can clearly identify the actual location of the origin of silk. However, one of the earliest documentary pieces of trading evidence can be found in the mid-1st century CE “Periplus of the Erythraean Sea,” a merchant guide to trade on the Arabic and Indian Oceans, which identi� es the Ganges Delta as somewhere that silk may be acquired, “from an inland city called China.”

Whether the writers were confused about the identity of China as merely a city, or were simply aware that the source was an inland city, is not clear. But, if they believed the source was an upstream city, it would not be hard to identify Rajshahi as such a possible source.

With identi� able origins from the Pundra period, as much as � ve

millennia ago, Rajshahi was, by the 18th century, as trade with Europe boomed, at the very heart of the silk industry, said to produce the � nest silk in the world.

And the tradition of silk production continues, today, in this “royal” city; known, even today, as Silk City.

The suggestion the city was founded in the second half of the 17th century is, in fact, to ignore both circumstantial and empirical evidence of a somewhat earlier period. Indeed, it seems unlikely that it was not a community as early, perhaps, as the Mauryan period about the 4th century BCE.

Today, any walk through the town will discover temples of the 18th and 19th centuries; and many other buildings, such as mansions, reveal that, throughout the British period, this was a major mercantile city, on the banks of the Padma/Ganges river.

It is hard to imagine that, since, in close proximity, European nations based their operations, similarly, on the banks of the Ganges, there was not already a community where today’s city now stands.

Indeed, the bund of the river,

from which colourful sunsets across the diminishing waters are wonderful to enjoy, remain one of the greatest, most pleasant, most sociable, and safest places for an evening walk, not just in this city, but, in fact, in all of Bangladesh. Only the sea wall at Kurushkhul, close to Cox’s Bazar, and the river bank in Sylhet, can begin to rival it.

For anyone with a more than passing interest in social history, the building, in the centre of town, of the Rajshahi Co-operative Society conjures up the late 19th and early 20th century of positive British in� uence; more so, perhaps, than any other remnant of two centuries of domination.

However, of the many traces of the British and Imperial period, it is, perhaps, the Varendra Museum, inaugurated in 1910, that best illuminates. The � rst such in the lands that are now Bangladesh, its collection of sculptural and architectural works from Jain, Buddhist, and early Hindu periods may no longer appear to match the numerous quantity listed in the catalogue of the 1960s, but still it o� ers an exhibition of the supreme skills of workers in stone

within the late centuries of the Pre-Christian period, and the early centuries of the Common Era.

Wandering through the seasonal mango markets in and around the city will leave little doubt of the diversity of form and � avour!

The road route between Dhaka and Rajshahi should only take between three and four hours of travelling time, but the way, once the impressive expanse of the bridge across the great Jamuna River is left behind, is littered with evidence of that heritage and cultural traditions.

Pabna, a little to the south of the way, o� ers one of the fairly numerous homesteads of the great poet Rabindranath Tagore. But, also, the well preserved, riverside, Edwardian Oriental palace of Sitlai (now a pharmaceutical factory, but largely intact, and located in an original deer park), and the little, neo-classical gem of Tarish Palace.

Natore, with its fascinating ruins of the Mughal palace of the great Rani Babhani, and magni� cent neo-classical and oriental Edwardian pavilions, as well as the former Rajbari, now the o� cial northern residence of the prime minister, can also easily prove an attraction, inviting a detour.

Puthia, however, lies athwart the main road, and it is hard to resist its � ne, neo-classical palace, and some � fteen or so attendant Hindu temples.

It is, however, beyond Rajshahi, at Chapai Nawabganj, close to the border with India, that some of the

� nest heritage sites in Bangladesh can be found; and unique, tribal, cultural traditions explored nearby.

The ancient Bengal capital of Gaur once spanned what is now the border, and some of the heritage sites within today’s sprawling town of Chapai Nawabganj were originally built in that city.

Gaur, itself, had its origins in early empires, including both Mauryan and Gupta, and traces remain of that, early, imperial past.

It was revived, in the late 17th century, as a hunting and leisure area for the Nawabs whose capital at nearby Murshidabad succeeded Dhaka as the centre of administration of Bengal, Bihar, and Orissa. Chapai Nawaganj, with the complex of Mughal period buildings constructed by Shah Suja, the favoured son of Emperor Shah Jahan and Mumtaz, the wife for whom Taj Mahal was built, and still in excellent condition, is, indeed, well worth exploring.

There is much for the heritage student to study in this fascinating adjunct to Rajshahi; not least, also, its own, seasonal, mango market, the largest in Bangladesh.

Today, Rajshahi lies at the centre of its own administrative division, containing some of the most outstanding cultural and her-itage experiences in what remains a much neglected part of, not sim-ply, Bangladeshi history, but even, arguably, human history. l

Tim Steel is a communications, marketing and tourism consultant.

Heritage

Today, Rajshahi lies at the centre of its own administrative division, containing some of the most outstanding cultural and heritage experiences in what remains a much neglected part of, not simply, Bangladeshi history, but even, arguably, human history

There’s more to Rajshahi than mangoes

The royal silk city

22DT

SATURDAY, JUNE 11, 2016

n Meraz Mostafa

Now that we’ve agreed to the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), our path to a

fairer and more sustainable world, it is time to get moving.

If you haven’t heard of the SDGs, also known as the 2030 Agenda, they are worth looking into. These goals, broken into 140 targets, were agreed to at the United Nations last September and cover everything from reducing inequality to protecting life below the oceans.

More than 70 international participants, representing governments from eight developing countries and � ve multilateral agencies, met last week at the BRAC center, Savar for this year’s Poverty Environment Partnerships conference.

How to implement the 2030 agenda?Unlike its predecessor, the Millennium Development Goals, the SDGs are universal. They apply to poorer countries in the Global South as much as they do to richer countries in the Global North.

Every country has a lot they can learn from each other, which makes forums like the Poverty Environmental Partnerships (PEP) conference crucial.

It was clear from the start that many countries represented at the conference had already committed to national development plans with little reference to the 2030 Agenda.

This is not too surprising since it has been less than a year since the goals were formalised: Governments already have had their own development plans well underway.

Fortunately, it generally appears that national development plans often overlap with what’s in the 2030 Agenda.

For many, the SDGs represent a new paradigm for development. Shifting away from prior e� orts, the new UN plan combines social, environmental and economic goals into a single agenda. It is important that the 2030 Agenda is implemented in the same integrated fashion they were designed:

“While these international agreements are promising,” explained Steve Bass from the International Institute for Environment and Development, “the way they are implemented too often has a history of marginalising poor people and the environment.”

If nations are serious about

tackling poverty and addressing environmental degradation, it is important for countries to integrate these goals into their own national agendas, to ensure no aspect of the global plan is forgotten.

As proposed by Dr Saleemul Huq, Director of the International Center for Climate Change and Development, the separate goals should be imagined as individual strands that need to be interwoven into a uni� ed rope -- with no strand left behind.

To prioritise or not to prioritise A recurring theme at the conference was whether countries or institutions should prioritise certain goals to work on? Would this defeat the “integrated” premise approach of the 2030 Agenda? What potential trade-o� s could arise?

Participants decided that some prioritisation of the SDGs is necessary: every goal is not equally relevant for every country.

Germany for instance will put more emphasis on SDG12: Responsible Consumption and Production than, say, goals having to do with health and education for obvious reasons.

Bhutan will address SDG1, 13 and 15, which cover poverty, climate change, and life on land respectively.

Many also pointed to the fact that if you look at the 140

targets, you’ll soon � nd many commonalities (known as “linkages” in the jargon-� lled industry) between the goals. When you attempt to build more sustainable cities and communities as in SDG11, you are also taking climate action like in SDG13.

Clear water and sanitation, described in SDG6, also leads to better life under water for marine creatures covered by SDG14.

The whole premise of the PEP conference is that tackling environmental issues -- covered by several of the goals -- and poverty, SDG1, can be done together in a “win-win” fashion. Even if you prioritise, you will inadvertently make progress towards some of the other goals.

Zeenat Niazai, vice president of the Development Alternatives in India, stressed this might not always be the case:

“Unless you are able to look at all the goals together, they are going to con� ict with each other,” she said.

This is probably most true for the goals that have to do with energy and infrastructure, and the environment.

The coal-� red Rampal Power Station in Bangladesh will meet the � rst target of SDG7 in helping “ensure universal access to a� ordable, reliable and modern energy services” but falls short on SDG13: Climate Action by contributing to global CO2 emissions.

If we want to reduce the

possibility of trade-o� s, we need to improve the coordination between di� erent parts of the government and development agencies that traditionally may have worked in very di� erent areas.

This is as true for Bangladesh as it is for Finland. Governments, development agencies, civil society and the private sector will now have to come together and work in very di� erent and new ways if we are going to implement the SDGs.

Even if certain goals are prioritised, everyone is going to have to see the bigger picture when it comes to the 2030 Agenda.

2015 was a landmark year for global development with the agreement of the new global

sustainable development plan as well as the Paris Agreement, which addresses climate change.

While Bangladesh was fairly successful in achieving the Millennium Development Goals, we will have to do much more to implement the 2030 Agenda.

It is now high time for all countries to translate what has been agreed to on paper into actions on the ground -- after all, how else are we going to create a more just and sustainable world? l

Meraz Mostafa is a Visiting Researcher at the International Center for Climate Change and Development.

Climate Change

This page has been developed in collaboration with the International Centre for Climate Change and De-velopment (ICCCAD) at Independent University, Bangladesh (IUB) and its partners, Bangladesh Centre for Advanced Studies (BCAS) and Inter-national Institute for Environment and Development (IIED). This page represents the views and experiences of the authors and does not necessar-ily re� ect the views of Dhaka Tribune or ICCCAD or its partners.

SDGs: Enough planning, it’s time to act

It is now high time for all countries to translate what has been agreed to on paper into actions on the ground -- after all, how else are we going to create a more just and sustainable world?

23D

TSATURDAY, JUNE 11, 2016

BIGSTOCK

24DT Sport

SATURDAY, JUNE 11, 2016

TOP STORIES

Suarez lays bare Copa frustrationA Luis Suarez tantrum near the end of Thursday’s 1-0 defeat by Venezuela graphically summed up Uruguay’s frustration at a shock early exit from the Copa America Centenario. The striker has scored 40 goals for Barcelona in the La Liga this season. PAGE 29

Oh brother! Xhakas set to clash at EuroEuropean Championship history is set to be made today when Granit Xhaka plays for Switzerland against his brother Taulant Xhaka in Albania. The siblings have been dreading facing o� since the draw for Euro was made. PAGE 26

Injured Nadal out of Wimbledon Rafael Nadal will not play at this year’s Wimbledon due to the wrist injury that forced the Spaniard out of the French Open, he said. “I won’t be able to play at Wimble-don this year,” Nadal said on his Facebook page. PAGE 27

Abahani shocked, MSC heldArambagh Krira Sangha handed Abahani Limited a shocking 1-0 defeat in the Federation Cup at Bangabandhu National Stadium yesterday. The defeat will make it tough for the Sky Blues to reach the knockout stage. PAGE 28

EURO FACTS

(L-R) England mid� elder James Milner, forward Jamie Vardy, mid� elders Jordan Henderson, Jack Wilshere and Raheem Sterling are pictured during a team training session in Chantilly, France yesterday. England take on Russia in their opening game in Marseille today AFP

Temptation of draw might stymie England and Russian Reuters, Marseille

England and Russia are the big beasts of Group B and, though each would love a winning start when they meet today, the fear of losing could well become all-pervading and lead to a cagey encounter.

With games against Wales and Slovakia to come, and the po-tential for three teams to qualify with two guaranteed, a point at the Velodrome might look a very useful result in a couple of weeks.

England, on the back of win-ning all 10 quali� ers, not to men-tion a rare victory in Germany in a friendly, start favourites and will expect to make the running in front of a 60,000 crowd that will be predominantly behind them.

However, despite that great run of form, England are anything but a settled side as Roy Hodgson struggles with the question of how to shoe-horn his form play-ers into an established system.

Strikers Jamie Vardy, fresh from leading Leicester City to the most unlikely Premier League ti-

tle, and Harry Kane, the Premier League’s top scorer, seemingly demand selection.

But Hodgson is adamant Wayne Rooney, the captain and most experienced squad member, should get a starting berth, leav-ing the coach experimenting with his attacking options right up to the last minute.

England have not lost in 90 or 120 minutes in 22 Euro matches in � nals and quali� ers, going back to a 3-2 defeat by Croatia in Novem-ber 2007.

The impressive statistics are skewed, however, as they lost on penalties to Italy in the 2012 quar-ter-� nals and failed to qualify in 2008.

Russia reached the semi-� nals that year with a side full of pas-sion and pace but they were dis-appointing in 2012 and in the 2014 World Cup and the current crop are not a group to have fans on the edge of their seats.

They are, however, a well-or-ganised and technically adept squad and coach Leonid Slutsky has quickly developed a strong team spirit since taking over from Fabio Capello last August.

With that to deal with and winnable games on the horizon, Russia are unlikely to take too many risks today, leaving it up to England to decide whether to open up in all-out pursuit of victory or indulge in 90 minutes of cautious chess. l

England Head-to-head Russia 11 Fifa ranking 29 14 Matches 14 6 Wins 4 4 Losses 6 4 Draws 4 25 Goals scored 17 17 Goals against 25

ENGLAND RUSSIAStade Velodrome, Marseille8pm local time (1am BST)

* Bangladesh standard time

V

England have not lost over 90 or 120 minutes in 22 EURO � xtures, going back to that 3-2 defeat by Croatia in November 2007 – since then, their record is W17 D5, although they were beaten on penalties by Italy in the UEFA EURO 2012 quarter-� nals.

Roy Hodgson’s side won all ten of their UEFA EURO 2016 quali� ers – just the sixth team to achieve the feat, after France (1992, 2004), Czech Republic (2000) and Germany and Spain (both 2012).

England failed to qualify for the � nal tournament in 2008 – due in no small part to that reverse against Russia in Moscow – but that is the only time they have missed out since 1984.

England were semi-� nalists as hosts in 1996, matching their previous best performance from 1968, when they came third.

This is Russia’s fourth successive EURO � nal tournament and � fth in six as an independent nation.

The Soviet Union won the � rst UEFA European Championship in 1960, and � nished as runners-up in 1964, 1972 and 1988. Russia’s best perfor-mance since the dissolution of the Soviet Union came in 2008, when they reached the semi-� nals.l

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SATURDAY, JUNE 11, 2016

Wales' forward Gareth Bale takes part in a training session in Dinard, western France, on Thursday AFP

Bale dismisses Wales as one-man teamn Reuters

Winger Gareth Bale was quick to play down the idea that Welsh for-tunes at Euro 2016 in France rest-ed on his shoulders after the team heavily relied on the Real Madrid winger to guide them to their � rst international tournament � nals since 1958.

The 26-year-old scored sev-en goals during Wales’s Europe-an qualifying campaign, three of which were winners.

“It’s never a one-man team. For us it’s a squad thing. We’re ‘To-gether Stronger’ and it’s there for a reason -- we don’t just say it for no reason,” Bale, a � ve-times Welsh player of the year, told reporters on Thursday.

“We all work hard as one unit -

we attack as one and we defend as one. When we lose the ball we all � ght back to get it.”

Chris Coleman’s team kick o� their European Championship campaign in Group B against Slo-vakia today before facing England and Russia. Bale insisted Wales would not be satis� ed if they went out at the group stage of the 24-team tournament.

“I have been playing for Wales for 10 years and it was a massive goal of mine to get to a major championship,” the twice Champi-ons League winner said.

“We have achieved that but we do not want to come here and make up the numbers. We have done something amazing that we have not done in a long time but now we want to do even better.”l

History arrives for Walesn AFP, Bordeaux

Gareth Bale and Wales will play their inaugural European Championship � nals game today mixing the joy of a special day with nerves over whether they can get back to winning ways.

The Group B game against Slo-vakia will be the � rst time that a Wales team has appeared at a ma-jor tournament since June 19, 1958 in Gothenburg, Sweden, when a 17-year-old Pele settled a World Cup quarter-� nal in Brazil’s favour and consigned the Welsh to the in-ternational wilderness.

The years in between have brought a succession of failed managerial regimes and agonising near-misses, but come kick-o� , the call of the country’s long-suf-fering football fans will � nally be answered.

Welsh dreams were realised last October when, despite a 2-0 defeat away to Bosnia-Herzegovi-na in their penultimate qualifying match, Chris Coleman’s side se-cured their place in France.

The � nal game, a 2-0 home win over Andorra, became a 90-min-ute party, as players, sta� and fans united in celebration of the team’s feat and in memory of former man-ager Gary Speed, who committed suicide in 2011 after sowing the seeds of the side’s revival.

Jubilation, however, has given way to uncertainty in the months that have followed. Wales have failed to win any of their four sub-sequent friendlies, losing to the Netherlands, Ukraine and Sweden and drawing 1-1 with Northern Ire-land.

Arsenal mid� elder Aaron Ram-

sey will line up with him, but Joe Ledley is due to start on the bench after Coleman said it would be “reckless” to start him just a month after he fractured a � bula playing for Crystal Palace.

Striker Hal Robson-Kanu, mean-while, has declared himself � t to start despite sustaining an ankle injury in a pre-tournament training camp.

While Wales go in search of lost momentum, Slovakia enter the tournament on the back of an eight-game unbeaten run that includes a stunning recent 3-1 win away to world champions Germany.

Like Wales, Slovakia are ap-pearing at their � rst European Championship and will also come up against Russia and England in Group B. Right-back Peter Peka-rik says that his team-mates are in high spirits. “The atmosphere is great,” he said. l

England’s Hart keen to banish demons of the past at Euro 2016n Reuters, Chantilly

Goalkeeper Joe Hart is keen to for-get England’s failures at previous tournaments and put his trust in the new young squad at the Euro-pean Championship in France this month.

A perfect qualifying campaign and warm-up victories over Tur-key, Australia and Portugal have raised hopes Roy Hodgson’s charg-es might win a � rst major trophy since England’s World Cup triumph 50 years ago.

Hart has been part of England’s squad at three earlier tournaments but has never progressed beyond the quarter-� nals.

“I’ve gone into every tourna-ment con� dent and felt like we’ve been ready. So for me to say it’s dif-

ferent this time would be wrong,” Hart told reporters on Thursday.

“But they’ve gone, they are the past, this is a new one, a new set of players we’re going to give it all we’ve got.”

England’s squad is the youngest at the tournament, with only four survivors from Euro 2012. Hodgson has indicated captain Wayne Roon-ey will be a mandatory pick, but the form of Harry Kane and Jamie Vardy means England’s record goal scorer may be shoe-horned into mid� eld.

But for Hart, there was no doubting the skipper’s importance.

“Wayne is such a key part of the squad, and accessible to all the players,” said Hart. “There is de� -nitely a connection and age doesn’t really factor into this team.”l

EURO FACTS Wales have never before reached

a UEFA European Championship � nal tournament. Their previous best performance came in 1976, when they lost to Yugoslavia 3-1 on aggregate in the quarter-� nals, losing the � rst leg 2-0 in Zagreb before a 1-1 draw in Cardi� .

Bale scored seven of Wales’ 11 goals in qualifying for EURO 2016, providing two assists – meaning he scored or set up 82% of his side’s goals.

While Slovakia have never before competed in a UEFA European Championship � nal tournament as an independent nation, as part of Czechoslovakia they appeared in three four-team � nals. Czechoslovakia’s 1976 glory

Czechoslovakia � nished third in 1960 and 1980 and lifted the trophy in 1976. Eight of the 11 players who started the � nal against West Germany – and triumphed on penalties after a 2-2 draw – hailed from Slovakia.

Slovakia reached the 2016 � nals thanks mainly to wins in their � rst six Group C quali� ers, a run that included a 2-1 home triumph against Spain – the holders’ � rst qualifying defeat in 36 matches and nine years.

Slovakia coach Ján Kozák earned three caps for Czechoslovakia against Wales in 1978 and 1982 FIFA World Cup qualifying, helping his side reach the latter � nals in Spain.

Hamšík helped Napoli eliminate a Swansea side including Ashley Williams, Neil Taylor and Ben Davies in the 2013/14 Europa round of 32.

Wales Head-to-head Slovakia 26 Fifa ranking 24 2 Matches 2 1 Wins 1 1 Losses 1 0 Draws 0 6 Goals scored 7 7 Goals against 6

WALES SLOVAKIAStade de Bordeaux

5pm local time (10pm BST)* Bangladesh standard time

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England goalkeeper Joe Hart attends news conference yesterday

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EURO FACTS

Germany hoping Hummels could face Ukrainen AFP, Evian

Germany are hoping centre-back Mats Hummels could be � t to face Ukraine when the world champi-ons open their Euro 2016 campaign on Sunday.

Hummels has been out since tearing his calf in the German Cup � nal on May 21, playing for former club Borussia Dortmund against new employers Bayern Munich, but his recovery at the Germans’ base in Evian has gone well.

Germany’s assistant coach Thomas Schneider says a decision on whether Hummels is � t to � y to Lille with ‘die Mannschaft’ for Sun-day’s match has yet to be made.

But Hummels’ inclusion, even o� the bench, would ease Germa-ny’s woes in defence after Antonio Ruediger was ruled out of the Euro-pean championship � nals on Tues-day with a knee injury.

“Things look good for Mats, he trained for an hour on his own yes-terday and he can take part in full team training now,” said Schneider.

Hummels, 27, has won 46 caps for Germany.l

Oh brother! Xhakas set to clash at Euron AFP, Lens

European Championship history is set to be made Saturday when Granit Xhaka plays for Switzerland against his brother Taulant Xhaka in Albania’s colours.

The close siblings have been dreading facing o� since the draw for Euro 2016 was made.

“It’s a crappy feeling. That was the last thing we wanted,” said new Arsenal star Granit, 23, who is 18 months younger than the brother he will have to face at Lens’ Stade Bollaert-Delelis in their opening Group A match.

Granit, who joins the Gunners for the new season, has even joked

the brothers have a pact to “leg it o� the pitch after two minutes”.

Taulant, 25, has a reputation as a mid� eld hardman and plies his trade with FC Basel. But said he will not “put him through the mill” when asked about facing his high-pro� le brother. It promises to be a tense occasion for the Xhaka family who will face a quandary over who to support.

Four sets of brothers will play at Euro 2016 in Belgium’s Romelu and Jordan Lukaku, Northern Ireland’s Corry and Jonny Evans while Rus-sia’s Vasili and Aleksei Berezutski are the only twins.

But the Xhaka siblings are set to become the � rst brothers to play

against each other in a European Championship � nals.

Granit’s rise to the Premier League stardom has been fast: two years with Basel, then four at Borussia Moenchengladbach be-fore he signed for the Gunners in a deal reportedly worth 45 million euros ($50m).

In contrast, Taulant has spent his entire career at Basel, apart from a loan spell at Swiss league side Grasshopper.

Granit made his debut for Swit-zerland as an 18-year-old at Wem-bley in a 2-2 draw against England in 2011. Taulant � rst appeared for Albania two years ago in a 1-0 win over Portugal, who did not have

star scorer Cristiano Ronaldo. Their parents Ragip and Eli � ed

Kosovo, in 1990 just before war ravished their homeland and they found a new home in the work-ing-class neighbour of Basel’s St Jo-hann. Ragip found work as a gard-ner, Eli as a cleaner.

Both their sons were soon chas-ing footballs on the local playing � elds. The brothers soon devel-oped di� ering playing styles.

Granit is a creator, using tech-nique and skill to unlock defences, but was known for being a loud-mouth o� the pitch. Taulant pref-ered to draw less attention to his work, but gets stuck into the mid-� eld dirty work. l

Ronaldo ‘best in the world’, says Cedric n AFP, Marcoussis

Portugal defender Cedric Soares hailed team-mate Cristiano Ronal-do as the “best in the world” yes-terday as the Real Madrid superstar aims to become the leading scorer in European Championship history.

“Cristiano is the best in the world, he’s shown that many times,” said Southampton defend-er Cedric, with Portugal kicking o� their Euro 2016 campaign against Group F rivals Iceland on Tuesday.

“(Paul) Pogba and (Antoine) Griezmann are fantastic players,

but we can’t compare them with Cristiano,” said Cedric.

“The two are good players, but Cristiano is on another level,” he added.

Cedric called Ronaldo “the lead-er of the team”, and the Real for-ward is three goals shy of equalling Michel Platini’s tally of nine Euro-pean Championship goals.

“He feels really good and he’s very motivated. He’s an example for us every day, we have a chance to listen to his advice. I try to always pay attention to what he says.” l

Zidane tips Belgium to impress at Eurosn AFP, Mumbai

France legend Zinedine Zidane on Friday tipped Belgium to impress at Euro 2016 but dismissed any sug-gestion that his countrymen were under added pressure as hosts.

Belgium, ranked second in the FIFA world rankings, open their Group E campaign on Monday against Italy in Lyon, before also facing Sweden and the Republic of Ireland.

Real Madrid manager Zidane, who won Euro 2000 as a player, told reporters in India he could not pick a winner but fancied Belgium’s chances of clinching their � rst major trophy.

“I’m not a magician. You never know who will win a competition like this,” he said on a visit to Mumbai, where he is a brand ambassador for a property development.

“You have to wait until the competition starts to see which team is strong and has everybody ready to play for them.

“Belgium for example are

a brilliant team with lots of individuals. But on the day of the game we will see if they will deliver their best game,” the World Cup winner added.

The Belgians, whose best performance at the Euros came in 1980 when they were losing � nalists, boast a number of top players from Chelsea duo Thibaut Courtois and Eden Hazard to Manchester City’s Kevin De Bruyne.

Zidane, who coached Real Madrid to their 11th European title last month, also said France, who kick the tournament o� against Romania later Friday, would revel in their role as hosts.

“Les Bleus” won both the Eu-ropean Championships and World Cup on home soil, in 1984 and 1998 respectively.

“It’s a bonus to play in your own country. There’s no additional pressure playing at home. With all the fans it will be like having a 12th player in the team,” he said.

France also have Switzerland and Albania in Group A. l

Albania are one of two teams making their major tournament debut at UEFA EURO 2016 along with Iceland.

Albania’s record in qualifying was W4 D2 L2; prior to a 3-0 victory in Armenia in their � nal quali� er, they had not scored in three competitive games (D1 L2), including two defeats.

Switzerland’s record in qualifying was W7 D0 L3, two of those defeats coming against Group E winners England. They won their last two competitive games, scoring eight goals and conceding none.

This is Switzerland’s � rst European championship � nal tournament since they co-hosted UEFA EURO 2008 with Austria. They lost their opening two matches and bowed out at the group stage despite a 2-0 triumph against Portugal in their last game. Switzerland’s best qualifying goals

That success against Portugal was Switzerland’s � rst win in nine EURO � nals contests (W1 D2 L6). They have yet to make it through the group stage in three � nals appearances.

Switzerland have reached the � nals of the last three World Cups, opening two of them with victories – 1-0 against Spain in 2010 and 2-1 versus Ecuador in 2014 – and drawing 0-0 with France in 2006.

The only Swiss side to have played a competitive game in Lens is Young Boys, who lost 5-1 to Lens in a 2007/08 UEFA Cup second qualifying round match.

Albania Head-to-head Switzerland 42 Fifa ranking 15 6 Matches 6 0 Wins 5 5 Losses 0 1 Draws 1 4 Goals scored 11 11 Goals against 4

ALBANIA SWITZERLANDStade Bollaert-Delelis, Lens2pm local time (7pm BST)* Bangladesh standard time

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Taulant Xhaka, Albania Granit Xhaka, Switzerland

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SATURDAY, JUNE 11, 2016

Usha, Abahani win bigJoint title holders Usha Krira Chakra remained at the summit of the Green Delta Premier Division Hockey League after thrashing Sadharan Bima 7-1 at Maulana Bhasani National Hockey Stadium yesterday. Hasan Jubair Niloy netted four goals for Usha yesterday while Krishna Kumar Das, Ashfaq Newaz and Alim Belal added one apiece. Rasul scored the consolation for Bima. In the day’s other match, Abahani Limited, who were also the joint champions in the previous edition, earned a huge 6-0 win over Ajax Sporting Club to stay second in the points table. Maksud Alam Habul notched three goals while Rumman Sarkar grabbed a brace. Sheikh Mohammad Nannu also got himself on the scoresheet from a penalty corner. Usha and Abahani are the only unbeaten teams left in the competition. Usha are at the top with 25 points from nine matches while Abahani are two points behind, having played the same number of games. Mohammedan Sporting Club are third with 20 points from eight outings.

–TRIBUNE REPORT

Kosovo, Gibraltar to play 2018 World Cup quali� ers: FIFAKosovo and Gibraltar are to play 2018 World Cup quali� ers after being admitted as new members of FIFA, world football governing body con� rmed on Thursday. “UEFA’s Emergency Panel has today decided that Kosovo will join Croatia, Iceland, Ukraine, Turkey and Finland in Group I, and Gibraltar will join Belgium, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Greece, Estonia and Cyprus in Group H,” FIFA said in a statement. “The UEFA Emergency Panel has decided that Bosnia and Herzegovina and Serbia should not play against Kosovo for security reasons,” the statement added.

–AFP

Stuttgart match win sets another Federer recordRoger Federer beat Florian Mayer 7-6 (7/2), 7-6 (7/1) on Friday to reach the Stuttgart grass court semi-� nals, claiming another record in the process. The world number three moved ahead of Ivan Lendl to stand second in career match wins with his 1,072 victories putting him behind Jimmy Connors (1,256). Federer dispatched Germany’s Mayer for the seventh time without a loss as he advanced into a � nal-four showdown with Austrian Dominic Thiem, who recovered to defeat Russia’s Mikhail Youzhny 3-6, 6-4, 7-5. –AFP

QUICK BYTES

DAY TWO, AT TEASRI LANKA 62/0 in 15 overs (Karunaratne 30, K Silva 31) v

ENGLAND 416 in 128.4 overs (Bairstow 167*, Cook 85)

England lead by 354 runs

England batsman Jonny Bairstow plays a shot during play on the second day of their third Test match against Sri Lanka at Lord's cricket ground in London yesterday AFP

Sobers leads Lord’s tribute to great Alin AFP, London

Gar� eld Sobers, arguably cricket’s greatest all-rounder, led a special tribute to Muhammad Ali at Lord’s on Friday that coincided with the boxing legend’s funeral.

The two sporting icons met at Lord’s back in 1966 when Sobers was a member of the West Indies side playing England in a Test match at “the home of cricket” and heavyweight star Ali was in Lon-don for his second � ght with Brit-ain’s Henry Cooper.

During the lunch interval of Fri-day’s second day play in the third Test between England and Sri Lan-ka, black and white photographs of Ali meeting Sobers in the Lord’s dressing room were displayed on the ground’s giant screens.

Sobers, 79, then rang a bell in the Lord’s pavilion � ve minutes be-fore the start of the second session of play as a tribute.

Thousands of people from near and far were expected to line the streets of Ali’s hometown Lou-isville on Friday to say goodbye to him. Ali, who died aged 74 last week after decades su� ering with Parkinson’s disease, and Sobers enjoyed success in London in 1966.

Ali stopped a bloodied Cooper in the sixth round to retain his world heavyweight title.

Sobers (163 not out) and his cousin David Holford (105) shared a second-innings stand of 274 that helped save the West Indies from defeat as they drew the second Test against England at Lord’s.

If three-times world champion Ali is viewed as boxing’s best heav-yweight of all time, Sobers is wide-ly regarded as cricket’s greatest all-rounder.l

Bairstow su� ers highs and lows against Sri Lankan AFP, London

Jonny Bairstow continued a bril-liant year of run-scoring with a Test-best 167 not out against Sri Lanka at Lord’s yesterday.

But the debate about wheth-er Bairstow should keep wicket for England intensi� ed when he dropped Dimuth Karunaratne on the second day of the third Test

At tea, Sri Lanka were 62 with-out loss in reply to England’s � rst innings 416, a de� cit of 354 runs.

Left-hander Karunaratne was 30 not out and Kaushal Silva 31 not out. But Karunaratne should have gone for 28 when he got an edge o� all-rounder Chris Woakes only for

Bairstow to drop the two-handed waist-high chance.

Even allowing for the possibili-ty that Bairstow was mentally and physically tired after his more than six-hour innings, and that the ball ‘wobbled’ a touch before reaching him, it was still an extraordinary miss by a Test keeper.

It is not the � rst time this series

that Bairstow has grassed a rou-tine chance -- although yesterday’s miss was the most glaring.

Since January 1 he has been in proli� c form with the bat for both county champions Yorkshire and England, scoring 594 runs at an av-erage of 118.8 in Tests and 1,127 runs in a ll � rst-class cricket at 102.4.

Friday saw Bairstow receive good support from Woakes (whose 66 was his maiden Test � fty) in a seventh-wicket partnership of 144.

Meanwhile Sri Lanka left-arm spinner Rangana Herath took four for 81 on a good pitch for batting.

England resumed on 279 for six with Bairstow, dropped on 11, 107 not out and Woakes unbeaten on 23.l

Nadal out of Wimbledon with wrist injuryn Reuters, London

Twice former champion Rafael Nadal will not play at this year’s Wimbledon due to the wrist injury that forced the Spaniard out of the French Open, he said on Thursday.

“I’m sad to announce that after talking to my doctors, and receiv-ing the results of my last medical revision, I won’t be able to play at Wimbledon this year,” Nadal said on his Facebook page.

“As you can all imagine, it’s a very tough decision, but the injury I su� ered at Roland Garros needs time to heal.”

Nadal’s withdrawal is a blow for the championships at which the Spaniard has been such an attraction for more than a decade. He also had to pull out before the 2009 edition of Wimbledon with a knee injury when

he was defending champion, citing that as “one of the toughest deci-sions of my career.”

Nadal was also badly missed at the last fortnight’s French Open after pain in his left wrist � ared up and he was forced to withdraw following a landmark 200th grand slam win over Argentina’s Facundo Bagnis in the second round.

The 30-year-old’s career has been littered with injuries, particu-larly to his knees. He also missed the U.S. Open in 2014 with a prob-lem with his right wrist and has su� ered from back and hamstring problems as well as appendicitis.

Nadal, who had already pulled out of next week’s grass-court warm-up at Queen’s Club, add-ed on Facebook that he would also miss two more of his usual pre-Wimbledon events.l

NADAL’S GRAND SLAM MISERY AUSTRALIAN OPEN

2006 - foot, 2013 - virus

FRENCH OPEN2003 - elbow, 2004 - ankle

WIMBLEDON2004 - ankle, 2009 - knee, 2016 - wrist

US OPEN2012 - knee, 2014 - wrist

28DT Sport

SATURDAY, JUNE 11, 2016

1. Abdul Mazid (Victoria SC)The right-hander opener was in terri� c form this season at the DPL. He made 538 runs at an average of 48.90 with a top score

of 118. He struck two hundreds and three � fties in 11 matches, and is also the second highest run-getter in the tournament.

2. Imtiaz Hossain (Doleshwar)He made 526 runs at an average of 52.60 with a top score of 100 not out. Imtiaz is one of the most experienced

cricketers in the domestic circuit. The 31 year old right hander smashed two hundreds and three � fties so far and undoubtedly the cricketer from Sylhet has been one of the highlights for Prime Doleshwar this season.

3. Shamsur Rahman (Gazi Group)He has been unheralded since getting chopped from the Bangladesh team

in 2014. But this season, Shamsur has made amends by ending the � rst phase with 558 runs at 55.80 average,

a hundred and four � fties. Certainly he should make the selectors think of him when they next pick Bangladesh’s one-day squad.

4. Al-Amin (Victoria)Young Al Amin has been in terri� c form right from the start of the league for Victoria. He made 502 runs at an average of

55.77 with � ve � fties and a hundred. As the fourth highest run getter in the tournament, Al Amin also has a brilliant strike-rate of 89.80. He also ended the season with his � rst List-A � ve-wicket haul with his o� spin.

5. Mohammad Mithun (WK, Rupganj)The wicket-keeper batsman has played a key role for Legends of Rupganj both with the bat and behind the stumps.

Mithun has made four half centuries in the tournament, making 393 runs at an average of 43.66, with a top score of 90.

6. Mahmudullah (Sheikh Jamal)The ever dependable Mahmudullah led Sheikh Jamal Dhanmondi Club from the front both with bat and ball this season.

The 30 year old smashed two centuries and also picked up 21 wickets with his o� -spin. He was undoubtedly the best allrounder in the competition, bringing his international form into the domestic arena and doing justice as the � rst pick in the draft.

7. Mosaddek Hossain (Abahani)The middle-order batsman made his mark for the Bangladesh Under-19s and continued doing

the job for Abahani this season. With 431 runs at an average of 86.20, he is an easy pick in this XI.

8. Mashrafe Mortaza (C, Kalabagan)He had to be satis� ed with a below par squad but the person that he is, Mashrafe went against the odds to ensure his side

� nished in seventh place despite being a relegation contender. Mashrafe also � nished with 22 wickets and the fastest hundred by a Bangladeshi in List-A cricket, and there is no doubt that he is our captain.

9. Chaturanga de Silva (Victoria)As one of the lesser known foreigners in the league this season, de Silva was the most e� ective of them all. The left-arm

spinner who played six ODIs for Sri Lanka, bagged 23 wickets in 11 games to top the bowlers and scored 221 runs to aid Victoria to the top.

10. Mosharraf Hossain (Rupganj)He had to deal with competition in and out the � eld and also a one-match suspension. Mosharraf though marched

along strong and fought against all the odds, helping his side to end as the � fth team in the Super League. Along the way Mosharraf bagged 11 wickets in nine matches and made 258 runs with two half centuries.

11. Kamrul Islam Rabbi (Victoria)The right-arm pacer took 22 wickets to join Mashrafe as the leading wicket taker among the local bowlers. Kamrul has done

more than expected of him.

Emdadul Bashar (coach, Victoria)The season was the 10th consecutive one for Emdadul Bashar, with Victoria. Despite having a mediocre side Bashar has done wonders to make Victoria � nish top after the � rst phase.l

Abahani shocked, Mohammedan heldn Tribune Report

Arambagh Krira Sangha handed Abahani Limited a shocking 1-0 defeat in the Federation Cup at Bangabandhu National Stadium yesterday. The defeat will make it tough for the Sky Blues to reach the knockout stage.

Arambagh stunned the Sky Blues by taking the lead in the 25th minute through Mohammad Ab-dullah. Nigerian striker Kester Akon showed great skill to skip past two defenders before passing it forward to Abdullah, who swiftly sent the ball crashing into the near post.

Arambagh defender Akramuz-zaman Liton made a brilliant tackle inside the penalty area in the 34th minute to thwart a threatening Abahani attack.

Abahani’s Sunday Chizoba also came close to bringing parity but his free-kick from just outside the box � ew inches over the crossbar two minutes into the second half.

Ten minutes into the second half, Sunday outmuscled his marker to meet a � ne Mamun Mia cross but the Nigerian’s header went just wide. Abahani’s misery increased when they were reduced to 10 men after their defender Ariful Islam received

two yellow cards within � ve minutes.Earlier yesterday, Mohammed-

an Sporting Club kicked o� their Federation Cup campaign with a surprising 2-2 draw against Rah-matganj in the tournament opener at the same venue.

Against the run of play, Congolese forward Siyo Zunapio put Rahmat-ganj ahead with just four minutes into the clock after � ne work from Syed Rashed Turzo. Turzo found Zu-napio with a through pass from the right � ank and the Congolese striker

drifted into the box before slotting home into the near post.

Mohammedan were � nding it dif-� cult to equalise the margin as three of their shots ended up � ying over the bar in the � rst half while Shaha-dat Hossain Shahed went agonisingly close but his e� ort hit the woodwork.

Guinean forward Ismael Bang-oura also missed a great opportuni-ty to level things but he soon made amends in the 63rd minute when he smashed a rebounder home from six yards after Masuk Mia Jony’s initial shot was punched away by Rahmatganj goalkeeper Al Amin.

Five minutes later, the Black and Whites took the lead for the � rst time in the game through Sha-hed, who had no problems placing home into an unguarded net.

The delight however, did not last long as Zunapio bagged his second 10 minutes from time. The Congolese striker curved a delight-ful e� ort into the top right corner.l

BCB to probe poor umpiring n Tribune Report

Bangladesh Cricket Board president Nazmul Hasan yesterday informed that the board will investigate the poor umpiring issue along with the switching of venues and favourit-ism towards some clubs in the on-going Dhaka Premier League.

“I heard about such things in TV and newspapers. In fact, I talked about it [Thursday] and I think these things should not happen. The main problem is that there was a big chaos after Gazi Group [Cricketers’] game against Victoria [Sporting Club] was postponed.” said Nazmul.

“And secondly, Abahani were linked to be involved with poor umpiring. What happened is that the matter went to the ICC (Inter-national Cricket Council). They (ICC) are saying all the games played in the DPL are � xed, which is very alarming.

“But, what I learned is that the particular run out which was not given did not have any impact on the game as the batsman at the other end struck a six and a four. It (run out) would have hardly mat-tered in the context of the game,” he added.l

Abahani Limited’s Nigerian striker Sunday Chizoba (R) grapples for the ball with an Arambagh defender during their Federation Cup match at Bangabandhu National Stadium yesterday DHAKA TRIBUNE

Mohammedan 2-2 RahmatganjBangoura 63 Zunapio 4, 80Shahed 68

Abahani 0-1 Arambagh Abdullah 25

RESULTS

Dhaka Tribune Sports appointed Minhaz Uddin Khan and Mazhar Uddin as the selectors to pick their Dhaka Premier League XI. Soon they found out the pressure at-tached to such a job. Within 20 minutes however, Minhaz threatened to quit while Mazhar tried patiently to get his way. They understood what the national selectors

usually go through. Then they sought the expert opinion of Bangladesh opening batsman Tamim Iqbal, who thankfully had no issue of not being in the line-up and still advised us with some technical points. We also relied on statistics to form this XI, keeping in mind the league rules of including just one overseas player. Meanwhile, Mazhar and Minhaz have been retained as selectors to pick the Super League XI, a reward for doing their work peacefully and being communicative with each other.

Dhaka Tribune’s DPL XI

Sport 29D

T

Venezuela mid� elder Alejandro Guerra (R) and defender Oswaldo Vizcarrondo (L) defend against Uruguay defender Diego Godin (2L) during their Copa America Centenario match at Lincoln Financial Field on Thursday

REUTERS

SATURDAY, JUNE 11, 2016

DAY’S WATCHFOOTBALL

SONY SIX, SONY ESPN7:00 PM

Euro Cup 2016Albania v Switzerland

10:00 PMWales v Slovakia

1:00 AMEngland v Russia

SONY ESPN5:00 AM (Sunday)

Copa America Centenario 2016USA v Paraguay

7:00 AM (Sunday)Colombia v Costa Rica

CRICKET STAR SPORTS 1

4:00PMSri Lanka Tour of England

3rd Test, Day 3 TEN 1 HD1:00 PM

India Tour of Zimbabwe1st ODI

10:30 PMTri-Nation 2016 :4th ODISouth Africa v Australia

HOCKEY STAR SPORTS 2

7:00 PMFIH Men’s Hockey Champions

TrophyGermany v Belgium

9:00 PMIndia v Great Britan

11:00 PMAustralia v Korea

FORMULA ONE STAR SPORTS 4

10:55 PMFIA F1 World Championship

Qualifying : Montreal, Canada

TENNIS TEN 1

4:00 PMATP World Tour 250 2016

Mercedes Cup: SF

BASKETBALL SONY SIX7:00 AM

NBA season 2015/16 : Game 4Cleveland Cavaliers v Golden State

Warriors

GOLF TEN GOLF HD

4:00 PMEuropean Tour 2016Lyoness Open: Day 3

NEO SPORTS11:00 PM

PGA Tour 2016FedEx St Jude Classic

GROUP CTeam GP W D L GD PTS

Mexico 2 2 2 2 4 6

Venezuela 2 2 0 0 2 6

Uruguay 2 0 0 2 -3 0

Jamaica 2 0 0 2 -3 0

Venezuela 1-0 UruguayRondon 36

Mexico 2-0 JamaicaHernandez 18, Peralta 81

RESULTS

Suarez lays bare frustrationn Reuters

A Luis Suarez tantrum near the end of Thursday’s 1-0 defeat by Venezuela graphically summed up Uruguay’s frustration at a shock early exit from the Copa America Centenario.

The striker who scored 40 goals for Barcelona in the La Liga season banged the transparent, acrylic bench shelter with his � st after re-alising he was not the man chosen to go on as Uruguay’s last substi-tution in the 78th minute of the Group C match in Philadelphia.

“However, angry he gets, I’m not going to send on a player who could be at risk,” coach Oscar Tab-arez told a news conference of Suarez, who � gured on Uruguay’s match team list under the “I” col-umn for injured.

“There was no situation. It’s what I said yesterday (Wednesday), Luis is not � t to play, but it’s a thing for the

medics I was with him just now and he didn’t say anything to me.”

Tabarez’s plan was to have Su-arez, recovering from a thigh inju-ry, fully � t for the knockout phase but that was dashed by the team’s poor performances, not so much

against Mexico as Venezuela.Uruguay, record 15-times win-

ners of the world’s oldest interna-tional tournament, were among the pre-tournament favourites to lift the trophy in the centenary event in the United States.l

Uruguay tumble out as Mexico, Venezuela reach Copa quartersn AFP, Philadelphia

Uruguay were sent crashing out of the Copa America Centenario on Thursday as Venezuela and Mexico marched into the quarer-� nals.

Uruguay, the record 15-time Copa America champions, were eliminated in the group phase for the � rst time since 1997 after slumping to a shock 1-0 loss to Ven-ezuela in Philadelphia.

That result combined with Mex-ico’s 2-0 Group C win over Jamaica in Pasadena left the 2011 champi-

ons struggling to digest a humiliat-ing early exit.

“We never found the game we wanted and that cost us,” Uru-guay’s revered coach Oscar Tabarez said, adding that the ill-fated cam-paign should serve as a warning to his team as they now look ahead to the resumption of 2018 World Cup quali� ers.

“It’s been a very di� erent Copa America. I’ve never experienced something like this before.

“We knew it was going to be dif-� cult but this should be a wake-up

call before the World Cup quali� -ers,” Tabarez added.

Uruguay’s defeat also capped a miVenezuela’s winner came on 36 minutes, when mid� elder Alejan-dro Guerra cleverly spotted Uru-guay goalkeeper Fernando Mus-lera o� his line. Guerra unleashed a long-range e� ort from near the halfway line which the back-pedal-ling Muslera could only parry onto the bar before Salomon Rondon bundled in the rebound.

Venezuela’s advance to the last eight is the biggest shock of the

tournament so far.The Venezuelans are currently

bottom of South America’s 10-team round robin qualifying competi-tion for the 2018 World Cup; Uru-guay are on top of the standings.

Venezuela will now face Mexico in their � nal � rst round game to de-termine who � nishes top of Group C.

Mexico, who had beaten Uru-guay 3-1 in their opening game, meanwhile proved too powerful for Caribbean minnows Jamaica in front of an 83,263 crowd at the Pas-adena Rose Bowl. l

Uruguay's Luis Suarez (L) reacts during the Copa America Centenario match against Venezuela in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania on Thursday AFP

Carrick extends Man Utd contractn Reuters

Manchester United mid� elder Mi-chael Carrick has signed a one-year contract extension to June 2017, the Premier League club said on Thursday.

The 34-year-old has made more than 400 appearances for the club, winning � ve league titles, the Champions League and the FA Cup during his 10-year stay at Old Traf-ford. Carrick had sparked doubts about his future when he accompa-nied his children on to the pitch for the � nal game of the season at Old Tra� ord.

New United manager Mourinho felt Carrick deserved to be reward-ed with a new contract.

“Michael is a very intelligent mid� elder and a great reader of the game. I am pleased that he will be extending his contract,” Mourinho said.l

Downtime

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 11 represents P so � ll P every time the � gure 11 appears.You have two letters in the control grid to start you o� . Enter them in the appropriate squares in the main grid, then use your knowledge of words to work out which letters go in the missing squares.Some letters of the alphabet may not be used.As you get the letters, � ll in the other squares with the same number in the main grid, and the control grid. Check o� the list of alphabetical letters as you identify them.

ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ

CROSSWORD

ACROSS1 Custom (5)5 Bill of fare (4)8 Beginning (6)9 Poison (5)10 Stupefy (4)11 Bullock (5)12 Tree (3)15 Water grass (4)18 Building’s divisions (5)21 Flightless bird (3)22 Adverse fate (4)24 Stagger (4)25 Conscious of (5)28 Story in instalments (6)29 Floor coverings (4)30 Useless remains (5)

DOWN1 Here (6)2 Container (3)3 Rainbow goddess (4)4 Tinge (4)5 Niggard (5)6 Meal course (6)7 Rounded vase (3)13 Behold (2)14 Unassuming (6)16 Printers’ measure (2)17 Constraint (6)19 Burrowing animals (5)20 As stated (2)23 Servant (4)24 Spirit (3)26 Armed con� ict (3)27 Drink (3)

SUDOKU

30DT

SATURDAY, JUNE 11, 2016

n Mahmood Hossain

Peaky Blinders is a cooler and possibly sexier version of Boardwalk Empire. With the latest season three released on

Net� ix, you’ll be able to watch all three seasons from the � rst. The series revolves around late 19th century gangsters, the Romani Peaky Blinders, on the verge of 1920s Birmingham, England, post

World War I. The � ctional take on the Shelby brothers (the main characters), is a gripping one. It’ll make mob/ma� a fans want to put on a � at cap or newsboy hat with a razor blade attached. You’ll get

what that means once you’ve seen the show. But we wouldn’t ever condone such a thing, so keep your razors on your faces.

Brilliantly played by Cillian Murphy, Tommy Shelby, a former WWI veteran and Sergeant Major, is the feared and respected leader of the gang. He, and his ambitious and dangerous crew, naturally catch the attention of chief inspector Chester Campbell (played by Sam Neill), who is a detective in the Royal Irish Constabulary from Belfast. Winston Churchill personally puts Campbell in charge of bringing down the the uprising in Birmingham and take down the Peaky Blinders and their illegal activities. This is where the fun begins.

The show is wonderfully shot, giving the cinematography credit where it’s due. In addition, the magni� cent and raw emotional performances by the actors only heightens the show’s popularity. Based on a true environment of the late 1800s, the Peaky Blinders were a stylish bunch, a lovely nod to the impeccable bespoke suits they wore on a regular. Bravo to the costume team behind the

show as well. As the Shelbys continue their dominance in expanding their criminal empire to the south (London) and north of England, the show really captures the essence of this period drama. The suspension of belief is quite limited because the direction of the show portrays something very close to a non-� ctional story.

The show writer Steven Knight, also an executive producer, was quoted saying he had never seen a single episode of Boardwalk Empire or The Wire – two of the best television series of all-time. He said that looking at other people’s work would distract the genuine or original take on something new; it would inevitably in� uence his own work one way or another. Well, Mr Knight, a job well done. But once you’re done with this show, we recommend you check out the other mentioned shows in this article. That goes to you, the readers, and Mr Knight himself. And you are welcome, we’ve provided you a recommendation that is worthy of a binge. Just remember to take short breaks in between each episode. l

n Mahmood Hossain

London Has Fallen is a terribly good � lm. It’s so bad that it’s good. Call it a guilty pleasure, if you will. The sequel to Olympus Has Fallen is cut from the same fabric

as the original Die Hard movies, starring Bruce Willis in his prime. Gerrard Butler, the hero of this � lm and Secret Service agent, can be seen mimicking the character of the iconic John McClane from Die Hard. London Has Fallen may

Time to binge on blinders

From Olympus to Englandnot be as good as the franchise starring Willis, but it brings the whole popcorn movie enjoyment to its audience.

Just turn your brain o� for about an hour and 40 minutes

and enjoy the show. Plenty of explosions, gun � ghts, plot holes and stereotypical, unoriginal bad guys. So what makes this movie so fun to watch? Simple. It’s senseless action. This time around, the action is shifted into the city of London, as Mike Banning (Butler) is seen once again protecting

president Benjamin Asher (palyed by Aaron Eckhart)

against terror attacks. The most ridiculous set-up is

seeing how miraculously these terrorists in� ltrated the British government’s law enforcement within a span of only two years.

Don’t worry, that wasn’t a spoiler. You really can’t � nd a spoiler talking about this movie if you’re life depended on it. However, at many points of the � lm, you’ll start asking yourself, “what it be so di� cult to come up with something a bit more intriguing to the script?” Of course not! It’s the sequel to an already mindless action movie. And that’s just it, ladies and gentlemen. London Has Fallen is not a great movie, and that’s being nice. Although, it is de� nitely a movie worth watching at home on Blu-Ray or some kind of streaming service. No one is going to blame you for watching a clichéd, overdone action � ick. Put it on for some background noise while

you clean your room, if you want. Again, this

a solid action � ick, do not expect

anything else from it. l

31D

TSATURDAY, JUNE 11, 2016

Showtime

Final tribute to Alin Reuters

Hundreds of people gathered out-side Muhammad Ali's boyhood home in Kentucky and elsewhere along a funeral procession route yesterday to celebrate the boxing champion who jolted America with

his showmanship and won admira-tion as a man of principle. Ali died a week ago at age 74 as one of the most respected men in the US.

A hearse embarked on a route through Louisville, Kentucky; it was to end at Cave Hill National Cemetery with a private burial.

Thousands of people were ex-pected to � ll the KFC Yum Center for a memorial featuring eulogies by former US President Bill Clinton and comedian Billy Crystal.

Pallbearers will include actor Will Smith and former heavy-weight champ Lennox Lewis. l

Back Page32DT

SATURDAY, JUNE 11, 2016

UNSTEADY DREAMS OF A NEW INTERNATIONAL PAGE 16

THE ROYAL SILK CITY PAGE 22

TIME TO BINGE ON BLINDERS PAGE 31

An end to life as they know itBandarban’s indigenous people struggle as their slash-and-burn agro methods are no longer e� ective

n Nure Alam Durjoy, back from Thanchi, Bandarban

Rui Moun, an 85-year-old living in the remote hills of Bandarban, has known hardship throughout her life.

She says struggle is a constant companion for most of the indige-nous people who live on jhum cul-tivation, a slash-and-burn method of agriculture, on the little patch-es of arable land available on the steep hills.

But the present food crisis is noth-ing like she has ever seen before, Rui Mon tells the Dhaka Tribune.

The octogenarian breaks down in tears and says she wishes she could die to end the su� ering.

It was not always this bad, she says. Thirty years back, the Jhum people grew di� erent varieties of crops on the highlands of Thanchi in Bandarban.

But di� erent reasons – most-ly man-made, but also some weather-related – have triggered a collapse in the jhum harvesting practices handed down from gen-eration to generation.

Jhum farmers said the small ara-ble spaces in the hills are only suita-ble for jhum cultivation once every four years. Following each round of multi-crop cultivation, the land needs to be left alone for at least four years so that jungle weeds, herbs and shrubs grow naturally.

Then the wild vegetation needs to burned to make the land ready for the next round of cultivation.

Usually farmers grow crops like rice, sesame, pepper, ginger, tur-meric, pumpkin, corn etc on a sin-gle piece of land.

Although this had been the rou-tine practice for hundreds of years, people can no longer follow this cy-cle any more.

When the Dhaka Tribune visit-ed the remote areas of Thanchi re-

cently, the jhum farmers said there were too many mouths to feed now and too little land available for meeting the demands.

In the remote areas where there is no awareness about family plan-ning, a population boom coupled with limited cultivable space have made the food crisis more compli-cated, the highlanders said.

People can no longer wait four years to grow crops on the same piece of land. The second round of

harvest must come within two and a half years, or the families face starvation.

“In the past, we had food to eat and plenty of work available. We also caught � sh in the Shankha Riv-er,” 85-year-old Rui Moun told the Dhaka Tribune while sitting in her home at Young Noung Para village under Remakree union.

Those were a di� erent time when people in the hills could also go hunting small deers, Samba

deers, and wild boars and hens in the forest, she said.

Back then, Rui Moun said she could go Bangalee vendors in the nearby bazars and exchange one Hari – or around 4kg – of rice for one Hari of dried shrimp.

But those golden days are long gone. Now people hardly had any rice that they could exchange.

Nirandra Tripura, a 32-year-old resident of Kesapru Para, said the alarming drop in rice production means that food is becoming more and more scarce each day.

Thirty-seven households in Ke-sapru Para are facing starvation after excessive rain damaged the jhum crops there last year.

The situation is the same for people in Usamoung Karbari Para, one of the locals named Ao Ma Ching told the Dhaka Tribune.

“Crops from jhum cultivation has not been satisfactory in the re-cent years. Even if a little bit grows, rats and pigs eat them,” said Rengui Murong of Loyakree Para.

“Bad weather and frequent rounds of cultivation on the same land mean we cannot get a good harvest,” he added.

On the remote hills, there was simply not enough arable land where the Jhum people could grow their crops, Rengui said.

Chankran Mro, of the same vil-lage, said the people now had no choice but to leave it to their own fate and hope for the best.

When the only way of livelihood they have known their entire lives seem to be disappearing fast, hope is the last straw they can cling onto. l

Rui Moun, an 85-year-old in Thanchi's Young Noung Para village, tells the Dhaka Tribune that the food crisis in the remote hills makes her wish she could die to end the su� ering NURE ALAM DURJOY

FOODCRISISCHT

‹‹Worshipers and well-wishers take photographs as the casket with the body of the late boxing champion Muhammad Ali is brought for his janaza in Louisville, Kentucky yesterday REUTERS

Editor: Zafar Sobhan, Published and Printed by Kazi Anis Ahmed on behalf of 2A Media Limited at Dainik Shakaler Khabar Publications Limited, 153/7, Tejgaon Industrial Area, Dhaka-1208. Editorial, News & Commercial O� ce: FR Tower, 8/C Panthapath, Shukrabad, Dhaka 1207. Phone: 9132093-94, Advertising: 9132155, Circulation: 9132282, Fax: News-9132192, e-mail: news@dhakatribune.com, info@dhakatribune.com, Website: www.dhakatribune.com