সুপারিশকৃত লিন্ক: নভেম্বর ২০১৭

মুক্তাঙ্গন-এ উপরোক্ত শিরোনামের নিয়মিত এই সিরিজটিতে থাকছে দেশী বিদেশী পত্রপত্রিকা, ব্লগ ও গবেষণাপত্র থেকে পাঠক সুপারিশকৃত ওয়েবলিন্কের তালিকা। কী ধরণের বিষয়বস্তুর উপর লিন্ক সুপারিশ করা যাবে তার কোনো নির্দিষ্ট নিয়ম, মানদণ্ড বা সময়কাল নেই। পুরো ইন্টারনেট থেকে যা কিছু গুরত্বপূর্ণ, জরুরি, মজার বা আগ্রহোদ্দীপক মনে করবেন পাঠকরা, তা-ই তাঁরা মন্তব্য আকারে উল্লেখ করতে পারেন এখানে।
ধন্যবাদ।

আজকের লিন্ক

এখানে থাকছে দেশী বিদেশী পত্রপত্রিকা, ব্লগ ও গবেষণাপত্র থেকে পাঠক সুপারিশকৃত ওয়েবলিন্কের তালিকা। পুরো ইন্টারনেট থেকে যা কিছু গুরত্বপূর্ণ, জরুরি, মজার বা আগ্রহোদ্দীপক মনে করবেন পাঠকরা, তা-ই সুপারিশ করুন এখানে। ধন্যবাদ।

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  1. মাসুদ করিম - ১ নভেম্বর ২০১৭ (১২:৫৮ অপরাহ্ণ)

    Manhattan Terror Attack Kills 8 and Injures 11

    A driver plowed a pickup truck down a crowded bike path along the Hudson River in Manhattan on Tuesday, killing eight people and injuring 11 before being shot by a police officer in what officials are calling the deadliest terrorist attack on New York City since Sept. 11, 2001.

    The rampage ended when the motorist — whom the police identified as Sayfullo Saipov, 29 — smashed into a school bus, jumped out of his truck and ran up and down the highway waving a pellet gun and paintball gun and shouting “Allahu akbar,” Arabic for “God is great,” before he was shot in the abdomen by the officer. He remained in critical condition on Tuesday evening.

    Mayor Bill de Blasio declared the rampage a terrorist attack and federal law enforcement authorities were leading the investigation. Investigators discovered handwritten notes in Arabic near the truck that indicated allegiance to the Islamic State, two law enforcement officials said. But investigators had not uncovered evidence of any direct or enabling ties between Mr. Saipov and ISIS and were treating the episode as a case of an “inspired” attacker, two counterterrorism officials said.

    Mr. de Blasio said at a news conference, “Based on information we have at this moment, this was an act of terror, and a particularly cowardly act of terror aimed at innocent civilians.”

    Five of the people killed were Argentine tourists who traveled to New York for a 30-year high school reunion celebration, said a senior official in Santa Fe Province, where they were from. The Argentine authorities said they were Hernán Mendoza, Diego Angelini, Alejandro Pagnucco, Ariel Erlij and Hernán Ferruchi. Martín Ludovico Marro, a sixth member of the group, was wounded. Belgian officials said one of those killed and three of the injured were from Belgium.

    Mr. Saipov came to the United States from Uzbekistan in 2010, and had a green card that allowed permanent legal residence. He had apparently lived in Paterson, N.J., and Tampa, Fla. An official said Mr. Saipov rented a truck from a Home Depot in Passaic, N.J., where a white Toyota minivan believed to be his was found parked.

    The truck came crashing to a stop near the corner of Chambers and West Streets by Stuyvesant High School. Sirus Minovi, 14, a freshman there who was hanging out with friends, said people scattered.

    “We heard people screaming, ‘gun’ ‘shooter’ and ‘run away,’” Sirus said. “We thought it was a Halloween prank.”

    He realized it was not a joke when he saw the man staggering through the intersection, waving guns and screaming words he could not make out. A passer-by approached the attacker, apparently trying to calm him, Sirus said, until the man realized the attacker had a gun. The man “put his hands up and was backing away,” Sirus said.

    Almost immediately, as investigators began to look into Mr. Saipov’s history, it became clear that he had been on the radar of federal authorities. Three officials said he had come to the federal authorities’ attention as a result of an unrelated investigation, but it was not clear whether that was because he was a friend, an associate or a family member of someone under scrutiny or because he himself had been the focus of an investigation.

    Over the last two years, a terrorism investigation by the F.B.I., the Department of Homeland Security, the New York Police Department and federal prosecutors in Brooklyn resulted in charges against five men from Uzbekistan and one from Kazakhstan of providing material support to ISIS. Several of the men have pleaded guilty. It is unclear whether Mr. Saipov was connected with that investigation.

    Martin Feely, a spokesman for the New York F.B.I. office, declined to comment on whether Mr. Saipov was known to the bureau.

    F.B.I. agents were expected to search Mr. Saipov’s home in Paterson, N.J., and his car on Tuesday night, a law enforcement official said. A phone, which was recovered at the scene of the attack, also would be searched, another official said.

    The attack unfolded as nearby schools were letting out on a Halloween afternoon. It ended five blocks north of the World Trade Center. The driver left a roughly mile-long crime scene: a tree-lined bike path strewn with bodies, mangled bicycles and bicycle parts, from wheels twisted like pretzels to a dislodged seat.

    Mr. Saipov, a slim, bearded man, was seen in videos running through traffic after the attack with a paintball gun in one hand and a pellet gun in the other. Six people died at the scene and two others died at a hospital, officials said. The authorities credited the officer who shot him with saving lives.

    “He was Johnny-on-the-spot and he takes the guy down,” a city official said.

    Coming five months after a car rammed into pedestrians in Times Square, killing one, Tuesday’s attack again highlighted the danger of a vehicle attack on busy city streets. The Times Square attack was not an act of terrorism. But both events brought to mind the terrorist attack last year in Nice, France, in which a cargo truck killed scores of people celebrating Bastille Day.

    The episodes also evoked calls from terrorist magazines, including in an edition of Rumiyah, a magazine used by ISIS, for attackers to mow down pedestrians with trucks, continue the attacks with a knife or a gun and claim responsibility by shouting or leaving leaflets.

    Students in Halloween costumes streamed out of nearby schools after lockdowns were lifted and huddled with parents. Their faces, once painted for the holiday, were streaked with tears.

    Emily, 12, a seventh-grader at I.S. 289 whose father asked that her last name not be used, had been walking on her usual route home when other students turned and ran in the other direction.

    “All the kids were screaming, ‘Run!’, ‘Gun!’ ‘Run inside,’” she said, still wearing cat ears. She said mothers pushing strollers and children in costumes ran in a herd back toward the school.

    President Trump responded to the attack on Twitter: “In NYC, looks like another attack by a very sick and deranged person. Law enforcement is following this closely. NOT IN THE U.S.A.!”

    Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo cautioned at a news conference, “There’s no evidence that suggests a wider plot or a wider scheme.” In the aftermath, city and state law enforcement agencies increased security at high-profile locations.

    Terrorism analysts noted that on Monday a French pro-ISIS media unit, known as the Centre Mediatique An-Nur, put out a specific threat for Halloween, mentioning the date on a banner spread on the encrypted app Telegram and on ISIS-affiliated Twitter accounts.

    Mr. Saipov wove a deadly path on a stretch usually bustling with commuters, runners and cyclists, drawn by the downtown offices nearby or the shimmering river.

    He turned onto the bike path alongside the West Side Highway at Houston Street just after 3 p.m. and sped south, striking numerous pedestrians and cyclists, many of them in the back, the authorities said. People scattered and dived to the asphalt.

    The truck, labeled with a sign saying, “Rent me starting at $19,” rammed into the bus near Chambers Street. The bus serves two schools in Lower Manhattan and transports students with special needs. Two adults and two children on the bus were injured, the authorities said.

  2. মাসুদ করিম - ১৩ নভেম্বর ২০১৭ (৮:৪০ পূর্বাহ্ণ)

    Hariri warns Lebanon faces Arab sanctions risk, to return in days

    Saad al-Hariri warned on Sunday Lebanon was at risk of Gulf Arab sanctions because of the Shi‘ite group Hezbollah’s regional meddling and said he would return to Lebanon within days to affirm he had resigned as the country’s prime minister.

    In a television interview, the Saudi-allied Hariri held out the possibility he could yet rescind his resignation if Hezbollah agreed to stay out of regional conflicts such as Yemen, his first public comments since he read out his resignation on television from Riyadh eight days ago.

    He indicated the livelihoods of hundreds of thousands of Lebanese in the Gulf could be at risk, as well as trade, vital to the stability of the Lebanese economy.

    Hariri said his resignation was intended as a “positive shock” to his country, which he saw in danger.

    Top Lebanese government officials and senior sources close to Hariri believe Saudi Arabia coerced Hariri into resigning and has put him under effective house arrest since he flew to Saudi Arabia over a week ago.

    Ahead of his interview, Lebanese President Michel Aoun said Hariri’s movements were being restricted in Saudi Arabia, the first time the Lebanese authorities have publicly declared their belief that Riyadh is holding him against his will.

    Hariri said he was a free man.

    The resignation and its aftermath have thrust Lebanon back to the forefront of the conflict between Sunni Saudi Arabia and Shi‘ite Iran. Aoun refused to accept Hariri’s resignation unless he tendered it in person in Lebanon.

    HARIRI SAYS CAN TRAVEL “TOMORROW” IF HE WANTS

    Hariri, who has not returned to Lebanon since he declared his shock resignation, said he stepped down for the sake of the Lebanese national interest, repeatedly saying the country must stick by a policy of “disassociation” from regional conflict.

    “I am freely in the Kingdom, and if I want to travel tomorrow, I will travel,” Hariri said of his presence in Saudi Arabia. He said he would return to Lebanon within two or three days.

    When he resigned on Nov. 4, he said he feared assassination. His father, a long-serving former prime minister, was killed by a bomb in 2005. Hariri said he must be sure his security had not been penetrated before returning.

    Hariri’s eyes welled up with tears at one point in the interview. Asked by the interviewer if he would take more questions, Hariri said no because he was tired.

    “We know there are American sanctions (targeting Hezbollah), but (do) we add to them also Arab sanctions? What is our interest (in that) as Lebanese, because we see today interventions in Yemen and Bahrain by Iran and Hezbollah,” said Hariri. He added: “Disassociation is the foundation of Lebanon’s interest. Where do we export our goods, is it not to the Arab states? Where do our sons work …?”

    “We must work to preserve this interest, and this interest was threatened, so for this reason I did what I did,” he said.

    He singled out Yemen, where a Saudi-led alliance is bogged down in a war with Iran-allied Houthi rebels, asking what a Lebanese group was doing there, in reference to Hezbollah.

    Saudi Arabia has accused Hezbollah of a role in firing a ballistic missile from Yemen towards Riyadh earlier this month.

    In order for him to go back on his resignation, Hariri said the “the diassociation (policy)” must be respected and regional interventions by Hezbollah halted.

    “Lebanon cannot bear them,” he said.

    Hezbollah is Lebanon’s most powerful group thanks to a powerful arsenal. It has deployed fighters to Syria in support of President Bashar al-Assad. The group denies a role in the fighting in Yemen but is fiercely supportive of the Houthis in its statements.
    AOUN SAYS CONTACT WITH HARIRI RESTRICTED

    Hariri’s resignation from abroad and the week of silence that followed has destabilized his country, where Sunni, Shi‘ite, Christian and Druze factions fought a civil war from 1975-1990, often backed by rival powers around the region.

    After Hariri announced his resignation, Saudi Arabia accused Lebanon of declaring war against it because of Hezbollah. The Hezbollah leader on Friday said it was Saudi Arabia that had declared war on Lebanon.

    Western countries including the United States and France have reiterated their long-standing policy of support for the Lebanese government since the Saudi declaration that the Beirut government was a hostile party.

    Before Hariri’s interview, Aoun said Hariri’s situation in Saudi Arabia threw doubt over anything that he had said or would say, and his statements could not be considered as an expression of his full free will.

    Aoun said Hariri was living in “mysterious circumstances” in Riyadh which had “reached the degree of restricting (his) freedom” and “imposing conditions on his residency and on contact with him even by members of his family”.

    Saudi Arabia has denied Hariri is being held against his will or that he had been forced to resign. It has advised its citizens not to visit Lebanon and those there to leave as soon as possible.

  3. মাসুদ করিম - ১৫ নভেম্বর ২০১৭ (৭:২৭ অপরাহ্ণ)

    Art project transforms historic Indian fishing dock

    Indian fishermen unload their morning catch as sari-clad women carrying buckets on their heads walk past street art that has transformed one of Mumbai’s oldest fishing docks into an exhibition space.

    Thirty artists from around the world have given the bustling 142-year-old Sassoon Dock, home to Mumbai’s traditional Koli fishing community, a colourful makeover as part of the St+art Urban Art Festival.

    “The artworks range from mixed media to graffiti to street-art styles to installations, from using paints to wood to fishing objects,” Arjun Bahl, co-founder and festival director, told AFP.

    Exhibits include large portraits of Koli fisherfolk — believed to be Mumbai’s original inhabitants and whose goddess “Mumbadevi” lends her name to the city — and brightly painted murals representing women from the community.

    One installation, entitled “Parfum Sassoon”, alludes to the dock’s notoriously pungent fishy smell while another has a clear environmental message with its depiction of plastic bottles floating through the ocean.

    The Sassoon Dock project is part of the seventh edition of the St+art Urban Art Festival which aims to make art accessible to everyone by transforming a public space.

    “The whole idea was to bring art to a certain sect of the community who usually don’t interact with art,” explains Bahl, as dock workers push trolleys loaded with fish and boats bob gently in the harbour.

    Sassoon Dock was built in 1875 and is home to one of Mumbai’s largest fish markets. It is situated in the district of Colaba, in the southern tip of India’s financial capital.

    The exhibition, which is free to view, opened to the public on November 11 and runs until December 30. It will also feature screenings, talks and tours.

    Another feature of the festival is a giant, multi-coloured mural on the nearby Churchgate railway station showing India’s independence movement leader Mahatma Gandhi stepping down from a train.

    It was painted by popular Brazilian street artist Eduardo Kobra.

  4. মাসুদ করিম - ১৭ নভেম্বর ২০১৭ (১০:৪১ পূর্বাহ্ণ)

    Ancient skull from China may rewrite the origins of our species

    The origins of our species might need a rethink. An analysis of an ancient skull from China suggests it is eerily similar to the earliest known fossils of our species –found in Morocco, some 10,000 kilometres to the west. The skull hints that modern humans aren’t solely descended from African ancestors, as is generally thought.

    Most anthropologists believe, based on fossil evidence, that our species arose in Africa around 200,000 years ago. What’s more, genetic studies of modern humans indicate that we are all descended from a single population that left Africa within the last 120,000 years and spread around the world. This African group is the source of all modern human genes, barring a few gained by interbreeding with other species like Neanderthals.

    However, the Dali skull may not fit this story. Discovered in China’s Shaanxi Province in 1978, it is remarkably complete, preserving both the face and the brain case. A study published in April concluded the skull is about 260,000 years old.

    When researchers first described the Dali skull in 1979, they assumed it belonged to Homo erectus. This hominin species arrived in South-East Asia 1.8 million years ago and probably disappeared from the region by about 140,000 years ago. That fits with the standard story.

    But by 1981, Xinzhi Wu at the Chinese Academy of Sciences in Beijing had noticed that the Dali skull’s face had many features in common with our species, Homo sapiens.

  5. মাসুদ করিম - ১৭ নভেম্বর ২০১৭ (১:৩৭ অপরাহ্ণ)

    Big nations losing faith in South Asia regional entity

    Eminent economist Prof Rehman Sobhan observed on Thursday that larger members of the South Asia are losing faith in the regional entity and looking for alternative groupings.
    “The very idea of a South Asian community is receding,” he said while delivering a keynote speech in a special session in memory of Saman Kelegama on the last day of 10th South Asia Economic Summit (SAES X) in Kathmandu, the capital of Nepal.

    “Today the member governments of SAARC (South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation), particularly its larger members, appear to have lost faith in the regional entity which brought them together and are looking towards alternative regional grouping both within and beyond South Asia,” he added.
    Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka are the members of the SAARC.
    Pointing out that the current move away from SAARC is not a new phenomenon, the senior economist urged the civil society leaders in the region to be proactive to keep the idea of South Asia alive.
    To keep the idea alive, the chairman of the Centre for Policy Dialogue (CPD) also suggested sustainable engagement going beyond research skills.
    “In my view, the idea of South Asia can only be kept alive if it remains embedded in your professional concerns and institutional priorities,” he told the audience.
    In this connection, he also recalled late Kelegama’s commitment and contribution to moving the agenda of regional cooperation and integration.
    Kelegama, an eminent Sri Lankan economist and active civil society leader in South Asia, died in June this year.
    Against the backdrop, the SAES X concluded Thursday evening in Kathmandu with a call to the leaders of the regional countries to act positively on making the regional integration process a success and effective.
    Participants in the three-day summit also argued that rationale for regional integration is stronger now for inclusive and sustainable development and greater welfare of the people in the region.
    At the closing session of the summit on Thursday evening, speakers also added that challenges like the impact of climate change can’t be dealt with by any country alone and it requires regional cooperation.
    Kathmandu-based South Asia Watch on Trade, Economics and Environment (SAWTEE), in association with National Planning Commission and the Ministry of Commerce of the Government of Nepal organised the three-day summit.
    Dr Posh Raj Pandey, chairman of the SAWTEE, made concluding remarks in the closing session.
    The 11th summit will take place in Pakistan at the end of next year.
    Earlier in the morning, a plenary session took place to discuss the potential role of SAARC observers in regional integration process.
    Dr Debapriya Bhattacharya, distinguished fellow of CPD, moderated the session where some of the discussants expressed grave concern over ongoing Rohingya crisis and influx of Rohingya people into Bangladesh from Myanmar.
    They cautioned that Rohingya crisis may cause new kind of problem and terror across the region.
    “Bangladesh is facing huge problem due to Rohingya crisis,” said Mr Bhattacharya.
    “Rohingya crisis will not only impact Bangladesh but also the whole region,” said Dr Najma Afzal, a member of the provincial assembly of Punjab in Pakistan.

  6. মাসুদ করিম - ২১ নভেম্বর ২০১৭ (১১:০৯ পূর্বাহ্ণ)

    Scientists discover cool exoplanet near to Earth

    Astronomers have found an Earth-sized planet with mild temperatures that’s also relatively close to our Solar System.

    The properties of this newly discovered planet – called Ross 128 b – make it a target in the search for life elsewhere in the cosmos, reports BBC.

    At just 11 light-years away, it’s the second closest exoplanet of its kind to Earth.

    The closest one, known as Proxima b, may be less hospitable for life.

    The new world was discovered by a team using the High Accuracy Radial velocity Planet Searcher (Harps) instrument at the La Silla Observatory in Chile.

    Ross 128 b orbits 20 times closer to its star than the Earth orbits the Sun. But because its parent star – a red dwarf – is much smaller and dimmer than our yellow sun, it receives only a little more solar radiation than our own planet.

    Consequently, it is expected to have a surface temperature close to that on Earth.

    Co-discoverer Nicola Astudillo-Defru from the Geneva Observatory in Switzerland said the find was the result of more than a decade of intensive monitoring using the Harps instrument.

    In the search for habitable worlds beyond our Solar System, astronomers generally look for low-mass, rocky and temperate planets much like our own.

    But these are comparatively difficult to detect; most of the 3,500 known exoplanets are so-called Hot Jupiters – huge gas giants orbiting very close to their parent stars that likely don’t have suitable conditions for life.

    Of the smaller contingent of Earth-sized planets, the vast majority orbit so-called red dwarf stars – the most common. These stars are dim, which makes it easier to detect low-mass planets when they pass in front, blocking out a portion of their sunlight.

    But these stars may not create the best conditions for sustaining life on orbiting planets. They are often more active than our own Sun – meaning they emit large flares that would batter any nearby worlds with harmful radiation.

    Proxima b, the closest temperate exoplanet to us, orbits just such an active star.

    However, Ross 128 b is the ‘quietest’ nearby star to host a temperate exoplanet.

    Astronomers often talk about a “habitable zone” around a star – it’s the range of distances where temperatures allow water to remain liquid on the surface of a planet. Where the habitable zone is depends on the star itself: red dwarfs are dimmer and therefore cooler than the Sun, so their habitable zones are shifted closer in than the equivalent zone around our star.

    There’s still uncertainty about whether Ross 128 b is within the habitable zone, but scientists say that with temperatures of between -60 and +20°C, it can be considered temperate.

  7. মাসুদ করিম - ২১ নভেম্বর ২০১৭ (৪:২৭ অপরাহ্ণ)

    প্রয়াত প্রিয়রঞ্জন দাশমুন্সী

    প্রয়াত প্রাক্তন কেন্দ্রীয় মন্ত্রী ও কংগ্রেসের বর্ষীয়ান নেতা প্রিয়রঞ্জন দাশমুন্সী। ২০০৮ সাল থেকে তিনি কোমায় আচ্ছন্ন হয়ে দিল্লির অ্যাপোলো হাসপাতালে ভর্তি ছিলেন। মৃত্যুর সময় তাঁর পাশে ছিলেন স্ত্রী দীপা দাশমুন্সী এবং ছেলে মিছিল। গত একমাস ধরে তাঁর অবস্থা সঙ্কটজনক ছিল বলে হাসপাতাল সূত্রে জানা গিয়েছে। সোমবার দুপুর ১২টা ১০ মিনিটে শেষ নিঃশ্বাস ত্যাগ করেন তিনি। মৃত্যুকালে তাঁর বয়স হয়েছিল ৭২ বছর।
    ১৯৯৯ ও ২০০৪ সালে পরপর ২ বার রায়গঞ্জ কেন্দ্র থেকে জিতে প্রিয়রঞ্জন দাশমুন্সী সাংসদ ও পরবর্তীকালে কেন্দ্রীয় মন্ত্রী হন। ২০০৮ সালের অক্টোবরে কালিয়াগঞ্জে নিজের আদি বাড়িতে তিনি মারাত্মক অসুস্থ হয়ে পড়েন। তৎকালীন প্রধানমন্ত্রী মনমোহন সিংয়ের উদ্যোগে তাঁকে বিশেষ বিমানে করে দিল্লির এইমসে ভর্তি করা হয়। মস্তিষ্কে অতিমাত্রায় রক্তক্ষরণের ফলে তিনি কোমায় চলে যান। কিছুদিন পরেই এইমসের পক্ষ থেকে প্রিয়রঞ্জন দাশমুন্সীকে বাড়িতে নিয়ে যাওয়ার অনুমতি দেওয়া হলেও তাঁকে দিল্লির অ্যাপোলোতে ভর্তি করা হয়। মৃত্যুর শেষদিন পর্যন্ত তিনি ওখানেই চিকিৎসাধীন ছিলেন। সম্প্রতি তাঁর ফুসফুসে সংক্রমণের কারণে গত একমাস ধরে তাঁর অবস্থা সঙ্কটজনক ছিল। অবশেষে ৯ বছরের লড়াই শেষ করে সোমবার মারা গেলেন ভারতীয় ফুটবল ফেডারেশনের প্রাক্তন সভাপতি।

    প্রিয়রঞ্জন দাশমুন্সীর মৃত্যুতে শোকপ্রকাশ করেছেন প্রধানমন্ত্রী নরেন্দ্র মোদি। তিনি টুইট করে বলেন, ‘প্রিয়রঞ্জন দাশমুন্সী একজন জনপ্রিয় ও অভিজ্ঞতাসম্পন্ন রাজনৈতিক ব্যক্তিত্ব ছিলেন।ভারতীয় ফুটবলের প্রচারে তাঁর কৃতিত্ব অপরিসীম। তাঁর মৃত্যুতে আমরা গভীর শোকাহত। তাঁর পরিবারের প্রতি আমার সমবেদনা রয়েছে।’ কংগ্রেস সূত্রে জানা গিয়েছে, বিকেল ৩টে নাগাদ প্রিয়রঞ্জনের দেহ জাতীয় কংগ্রেসের সদর দফতর ২৪ আকবর রোডে নিয়ে যাওয়া হবে। দলের শীর্ষ নেতৃত্বরা সেখানেই অন্তিম শ্রদ্ধা জানাবেন প্রয়াত নেতাকে।মুখ্যমন্ত্রী মমতা বন্দোপাধ্যায় প্রিয়রঞ্জন দাশমুন্সীর মৃত্যুতে শোকপ্রকাশ করে বলেন, ‘বাংলার রাজনীতিতে জনপ্রিয় ব্যক্তিত্ব ছিলেন।তাঁর মৃত্যুতে গভীরভাবে শোকাহত। ২০০৮-এ যদি অসুস্থ হয়ে না পড়তেন, তবে বাংলার জন্য অনেক কিছু করতে পারতেন। তাঁর পরিবার-পরিজনকে জানাই আমার সমবেদনা।’

    চিরজীবন্ত

    তিনি প্রদেশ সভাপতি। কংগ্রেসের মিছিল। পোশাক খুব স্মার্ট নয়, সেদিন লম্বা ‌সাদা ফুলহাতা শার্ট, ধুতি, কেডস। হাতে একটা কঞ্চি। মিছিলের সামনে থেকে পিছিয়ে যাচ্ছেন, লক্ষ্য রাখছেন, আজেবাজে স্লোগান না হয়, অসভ্যতা না হয়। গোলমেলে দুই অত্যুৎসাহীকে কঞ্চির বাড়িও মারলেন। দিন কয়েক পরে ফোনে জিজ্ঞেস করলাম, ‘‌হাতে কঞ্চি নিয়ে শাসন করছেন পিসিসি প্রেসিডেন্ট, কখনও দেখিনি তো এরকম।’ উত্তরটা মনে আছে। ‘‌আমি অসভ্যতা পছন্দ করি না। আর, দেখলি তো, যাদের মারলাম, তারা মাথা নিচু করে মেনে নিল। তোরা মানবি না, ওরা আমাকে লিডার মানে।’‌ সেই প্রিয়রঞ্জন দাসমুন্সি আর নেই।
    এত জাঁদরেল কংগ্রেস নেতা, সত্তর দশকে দলে উদ্ধত বাহুবলী অনেক, এই একজন কখনও মারপিটের রাজনীতি করেননি। অনেক পরে, জানলাম দেখলাম, দুই মারপিট–‌খ্যাত, খুনের দায়ে অভিযুক্ত নেতা তাঁর ঘনিষ্ঠ হয়ে গেছেন। ওই সময় একদিন, আমহার্স্ট স্ট্রিটে আজকাল অফিসে এসেছে। সরাসরি বললাম, ‘‌প্রিয়দা, তুমি এতটা পাল্টে গেলে?‌ এদের নিয়ে চলছ?‌’‌ তাৎক্ষণিক জবাব, ‘‌ঠিক। চলছি। কী করব, কংগ্রেসে টিকে থাকতে গেলে এমন লোকেদেরও সঙ্গে নিতে হচ্ছে। সরি। কিন্তু কিছু করার নেই। এজন্য ঘরের মধ্যে দুটো খারাপ কথা বলতে পারিস, যদি চাস।’‌ বলা হয়নি। পাশ–‌কাটানো উত্তর নয়। নিজের অবস্থানকে নির্ভুল বোঝানোর চেষ্টা নয়। কী বলব, ভাল লাগল।‌ সেই প্রিয়রঞ্জন দাসমুন্সি আর নেই।
    কংগ্রেস ছেড়ে গেছে তখন। তবু সুব্রত মুখার্জির সঙ্গে সম্পর্ক অটুট। মাঝেমধ্যেই শুনি, তিক্ততা হচ্ছে। জিজ্ঞেস করলাম, ‘‌সুব্রতর সঙ্গে তোমার সম্পর্ক এখন ঠিক কীরকম ‌প্রিয়দা?’‌‌ চমৎকার উত্তর। ‘‌চাঁদের মতো ব্যাপার। আমাদের সম্পর্কে কখনও শুক্লপক্ষ, কখনও কৃষ্ণপক্ষ। তবে, মাসে পঁচিশ দিন শুক্লপক্ষ!‌’‌ সত্তর দশকের শুরু থেকেই দুর্দান্ত ছাত্রনেতা, যুবনেতা। যেহেতু ছাত্র ফেডারেশন করতাম, রাজনৈতিক মিল ছিল না। এই উটকো সাংবাদিকের সঙ্গে প্রথম আলাপ ১৯৬৬ সালে, মালদায় অল বেঙ্গল ইন্টার কলেজ ডিবেট করতে গিয়ে। বয়সে কিছু বড়। প্রথমবার এই অধম ফার্স্ট, প্রিয়দা সেকেন্ড। দ্বিতীয়বার, ১৯৬৭ সালে, ফার্স্ট–‌সেকেন্ড পাল্টাপাল্টি হয়ে গেল। বলার কথা এই, ১৯৬৬ সালে সেই রাতে আড্ডা মারতে মারতে বলেছিল, ‘‌বাচ্চা বলে তোকে ফার্স্ট করেছে, সামনের বছর তোর বয়স অনেক বেড়ে যাবে, আমার বাড়বে না, ফার্স্ট হবই’। সেই টগবগে, প্রাণবন্ত রসিক প্রিয়রঞ্জন দাসমুন্সি আর নেই।
    একটা সময় এল, যখন এমন জনপ্রিয় প্রিয়রঞ্জন রাজনীতিতে কোণঠাসা, অল ইন্ডিয়া ফুটবল ফেডারেশনের কর্তা। এই ফুটবল–‌প্রেম নিয়ে কটাক্ষ করে লিখেছিলাম ছোট্ট সম্পাদকীয়। ফোন, ‘‌পলিটিক্স–‌এ কাজ নেই বলে ফুটবল করছি?‌ তুই, তোরা ভালবাসতে পারিস, আর আমি পারি না ফুটবলকে ভালবাসতে?‌’‌ কিছুদিন পর, দেশের মাটিতে নেহরু কাপ চ্যাম্পিয়ন হল ভারত। টেলিভিশনে দেখলাম, এআইএফএফ সভাপতি তথা কেন্দ্রীয় মন্ত্রী, সাধারণ সমর্থকের মতো নাচছে!‌ সেদিন মনে মনে মেনে নিলাম, হ্যাঁ, ফুটবলপ্রেমী হওয়ার যোগ্যতা এই মানুষটার আছে একশোয় একশো। সেই প্রিয়রঞ্জন দাসমুন্সি আর নেই।
    ১৯৭৭। ইন্দিরার দল ছেড়েছেন। উত্ত্যক্ত করছিলেন সঞ্জয় গান্ধী। দক্ষিণ কলকাতা লোকসভা থেকে জগজীবন রামের কংগ্রেস ফর ডেমোক্র‌্যাসি–‌র প্রার্থী প্রিয়রঞ্জন। হেরেছিলেন। জয়ী জনতা দলের দিলীপ চক্রবর্তী। কিন্তু, দুর্দান্ত বক্তৃতা শোনা গিয়েছিল জনসভায়। একটা কথা জীবনে ভুলব না। ‘‌ইন্দিরা গান্ধীকে দেখে কংগ্রেসে আসিনি, সঞ্জয় গান্ধীর অসভ্যতায় কংগ্রেস ছেড়ে যাব না। কংগ্রেসি ছিলাম, আছি, থাকব।’ সন্দেহ নেই, বাংলার‌ সর্বকালের অন্যতম শ্রেষ্ঠ বক্তা। সেই প্রিয়রঞ্জন আর নেই।
    পার্লামেন্টে গেছেন, প্রথম দিকে ইংরেজিতে চোস্ত ছিল না, হিন্দিতেও না। দু’‌বছরের চেষ্টায় সব তৈরি করে নিল। কলকাতায় একটা সেমিনারে প্রিয়দার ইংরেজি শুনে মুগ্ধ। বললাম, কী করে পারলে?‌ উত্তর:‌ ‘‌চেষ্টা করলে সব পারা যায়। উত্তমকুমারের ইংরেজি উচ্চারণ নিয়ে নাক–‌উঁচু লোকেরা ঠাট্টা করত। পরে কী হল?‌ শিখে নিয়েছিল। উত্তমদা বলত, সবাই তো উৎপল দত্তর মতো ইংরেজি বলতে পারবে না, কিন্তু চেষ্টা করলে কিছুটা পারা যায়। উত্তমদার কথাটা মনে রেখেছিলাম। তাই পারছি। কিছুটা হচ্ছে, তবে আরও ভাল করতে হবে।’‌ সেই প্রিয়রঞ্জন দাসমুন্সি আর নেই।
    আজকের ভারতবর্ষে প্রিয়রঞ্জনের কথা বারবার মনে পড়তে বাধ্য। সাম্প্রদায়িকতার বিরুদ্ধে আপসহীন যোদ্ধা। যখন চরম সাম্প্রদায়িক অসহিষ্ণুতার বিরুদ্ধে ঐক্যবদ্ধ লড়াই করার চেষ্টা চলছে, কেউ আসছেন, কেউ ঢোঁক গিলছেন, প্রিয়দার আওয়াজ জরুরি ছিল। কোনও নামী মানুষের মৃত্যুতে একটা কথা বলাই হয়, অপূরণীয় ক্ষতি হয়ে গেল। না। হয়ে গেল নয়, হয়ে গেছে, ৯ বছর আগে। প্রাণবন্ত মানুষটার এই ৯টা বছর প্রাপ্য ছিল না। ৯ বছর আগে থেকেই নেই। তবু। ২০ নভেম্বর দুপুর থেকে আবার জীবন্ত হয়ে গেছেন প্রিয়রঞ্জন দাসমুন্সি। মৃত্যুর পরেও মানুষ যাঁকে ভোলে না, তিনিই তো চিরজীবন্ত।

  8. মাসুদ করিম - ২২ নভেম্বর ২০১৭ (৬:১৯ অপরাহ্ণ)

    How media-shy, mysterious Chinese business heavyweight Ye Jianming came to global attention

    For someone who regularly hobnobs with the upper echelons of the international political and business elite and chairs a large conglomerate, Ye Jianming has had unusually little direct interaction with the media.

    There is no official account of how 40 year-old Ye made his first pot of gold to help him set up his Shanghai-based business empire which straddles the energy and financial services sectors. An internet search offers up different versions of his life story.

    One account, by Chinese news portal Depth-paper, said the former wood-products trader and guesthouse operator earned his first fortune by helping to extricate a Hong Kong businessman from financial strife, buying his portfolio of real estate on the cheap.

    Another version by Fortune magazine said that after a brief stint in his home province of Fujian as a forestry department enforcement officer, Ye bought, through an auction, oil assets the government had confiscated from Xiamen’s smuggling kingpin, Lai Changxing, using loans from state banks, as well as money from investors in Hong Kong and Fujian.

    The magazine last year ranked Ye second in its “40 Under 40” list of the world’s most influential young people, two spots ahead of French president Emmanuel Macron.

    Ye’s recent meetings with business heavyweights include the chairman of French energy giant Total and the chairman of Portugal’s largest savings and pension fund manager Montepio in September, according to the website of CEFC China Energy.

    A 2016 Fortune interview described Ye as a “mysterious tycoon” and “a rare powerful private player aligned with the Chinese government”.

    An adviser to CEFC had said that apart from Fortune, Ye has never given a media interview, adding the Fortune account “is not entirely correct” and that there is no official account of the early part of his life story.

    Ye is listed as CEFC’s founder and chairman, but doesn’t appear anywhere on the shareholders list. Instead, the company is split between five shareholders who are all senior executives within its corporate structure, according to regulatory filings by its subsidiaries.

    Despite his shyness towards the media, Ye has built a reputation as a stern supporter of President Xi Jinping’s “Belt and Road” investment and trade initiative.

    Late last month, he held “in-depth exchanges” with Shanghai’s Fudan University chancellor Jiao Yang about the initiative. CEFC and Fudan agreed to build an “international high-end think tank dedicated to the [initiative] and global governance … to facilitate national strategies,” a CEFC statement said.

    In Hong Kong, Ye is a “special consultant” to the New People’s Party, whose chairwoman Regina Ip Lau Suk-yee also co-chairs of Hong Kong’s Maritime Silk Road Society.

    After building up a business empire which turned over 263 billion yuan (US$39 billion) in revenue in 2015, 60 per cent from trading petroleum products, CEFC embarked on an overseas shopping spree.

    Its biggest deal to date is the US$9 billion purchase two months ago of a 14.16 per cent stake in Russia’s Rosneft, the world’s largest listed oil producer, chaired by Igor Sechin, a close ally of Russian President Vladimir Putin. The deal was financed primarily by state banks in Russia and China.

    Ye and Sechin met in August and the two firms signed a “framework agreement” for “comprehensive strategic collaboration”.

    Rosneft subsequently struck a deal to supply 11 million to 13 million tonnes of crude oil annually from next year to CEFC, pending final approval by Rosneft’s board, a CEFC spokesman told the Post earlier this month.

    This was followed up by a November 11 agreement during the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation meeting in Da Nang, Vietnam, on the planned construction of a “world-class” petrochemicals plant in Yangpu, Hainan province. No details about the investment and production scale were announced.

    Before that, CEFC had spent at least US$1.7 billion since 2015 buying energy-related businesses in Romania, the United Arab Emirates, Russia and Chad, plus another US$1.2 billion buying financial services firms in the Czech Republic and the US.

    কীভাবে ফোর্বসের তালিকায় ঢুকে পড়লেন এই বাঙালি?

    এবার এক বাঙালিও ঢুকে পড়লেন ফোর্বস ম্যগাজিনের তালিকায়। প্রতিবছরই অনূর্ধ্ব ৩০ প্রতিভাশালী ব্যক্তিদের একটি করে তালিকা বের করে ফোর্বস ম্যাগাজিন। সেই তালিকায় এক সময়ে স্থান পেয়েছেন মালালা ইউসুফজাই, মার্ক জুকারবার্গ। এবার সেই তালিকায় ঢুকে পড়লেন এক বাঙালি। তাঁর নাম তীর্থক সাহা। যদিও তিনি কলকাতার বাসিন্দা নন। আগাগোড়া দিল্লির এই বাসিন্দা বছরের ফোর্বস পত্রিকার তালিকায় ৩০ জনের মধ্যে প্রবেশ করেছেন। ইলেকট্রিক্যাল ইঞ্জিনিয়ারিংয়ের ছাত্র তীর্থক, বর্তমানে আমেরিকার ইন্ডিয়ানা প্রদেশে বসবাস করেন। তিনি কাজ করেন একটি সংস্থায়, সেই সংস্থার তৈরি বিদ্যুতে আমেরিকার মোট ১১টি প্রদেশে আলো জ্বলে। এত কম বয়সেই এই মারাত্মক কাজ করে ফেলার জন্য তাঁকে ফোর্বসের তালিকায় স্থান দেওয়া হয়েছে বলে শোনা যাচ্ছে।
    তীর্থকের বাবা মা সরকারি দপ্তরের সামান্য কর্মী ছিলেন। ছোটবেলা থেকেই তীর্থকের বিজ্ঞানের প্রতি ছিল বিশেষ আগ্রহ। সেই আগ্রহের কারণেই তিনি চেয়েছিলেন বড় হয়ে অ্যাস্ট্রোফিজিস্ক পড়তে। কিন্তু দিল্লি বিশ্ববিদ্যালয়ে ভর্তি হওয়ার মতো নম্বর না থাকায় সেই সুযোগ হয়নি। এরপরেই ইলেকট্রিক্যাল ইঞ্জিনিয়ারিং নিয়ে পড়াশোনা শুরু করেন তীর্থক। ২০১৩ সালে চলে যান আমেরিকায়। এরপরেই স্বপ্নের যাত্রা শুরু হয়। তাঁর ওয়েবসাইটে বিদ্যুৎ প্রকল্প নিয়ে নানা বিষয়ের বিস্তারিত আলোচনাও করা রয়েছে। সেই আলোচনাতেও বোঝা যায়, কতা সামাজিক ভাবনা থেকে কাজ করে চলেছেন তীর্থক।

  9. মাসুদ করিম - ৩০ নভেম্বর ২০১৭ (১:১০ অপরাহ্ণ)

    War criminal dies after ‘taking poison’ in court

    A Bosnian Croat wartime commander died after swallowing what he said was poison in a UN war crimes courtroom on Wednesday after losing an appeal against a 20-year prison sentence, Croatian state TV said.

    Slobodan Praljak, 72, died in hospital in the Hague after he was seen drinking from a flask or glass as a UN judge read out the ruling against him and five other suspects, state TV reported, citing unnamed sources.

    The apparent courtroom suicide, which was broadcast on a video feed, came in the final minutes of the last judgment at the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia (ICTY), which closes next month.

    “I just drank poison,” he said. “I am not a war criminal. I oppose this conviction.”

    After gulping down the drink, Praljak sat back down and slumped in his chair, a lawyer who was in the courtroom at the time said, reports Reuters.

    UN court representatives and Dutch hospital officials declined to comment on his condition.

    Croatian General Marinko Kresic, speaking earlier on Croatian TV, said he had spoken to the wife of another defendant, Milivoje Petkovic, who was in The Hague. “She confirmed that he drank the poison and that he is in a very grave health condition,” he said.

    The presiding Judge Carmel Agius suspended the hearings and paramedics raced to the courtroom, which was declared a crime scene by Dutch authorities. As forensic investigation got underway, the courtroom was sealed off, and the public was instructed to leave.

    “Don’t take away the glass,” Agius said, instructing the guards to lower blinds and block a glass-partition separating the court from the public.

    In the chaotic moments that followed, guards and paramedics raced in and out of the courtroom. Ambulances were seen leaving the tribunal, but there was no official confirmation of Praljak’s condition.

    A reading of the judgment, which was also deciding on charges against five other suspects, resumed more than two hours after Praljak said he had poisoned himself.

    ”The Dutch authorities have already commenced an investigation into what happened this morning,” he said.

    The incident upstaged the appeals ruling, which was important for Croatia, where parliament was suspended so lawmakers could follow the reading of the verdict.

    The court upheld convictions of Praljak and five other Bosnian Croats: Jadranko Prlic, the political leader of the Croatian province of Bosnia, along with military and police figures Bruno Stojic, Milivoj Petrovic, Valentin Coric and Berislav Pusic.

    Judges upheld findings that there was a criminal conspiracy that included the regime of neighbor Croatia under then-President Franjo Tudjman with the goal of “ethnic cleansing of the Muslim population” of parts of Bosnia to ensure Croatian domination.

    The defendants on Wednesday received sentences ranging from 10 to 25 years. The decision cannot be appealed.

    The chairman of Bosnia’s inter-ethnic presidency, Dragan Covic, a Croat, said: “He showed before the whole world what kind of sacrifice he is ready to make to prove that he is not a war criminal.”

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