Bangladesh’s Mominul looks to emulate South African AB de Villiers in India Test

• With the India series knocking on the door, Bangladesh batsman Mominul Haque has set his sight on South African skipper AB de Villiers’ record of 12 consecutive scores of 50 or above in Test matches.

LATED STORIThe hosts trained at Fatullah’s Khan Shaheb Osman Ali Stadium for the second straight day on Monday. Mominul spoke to the journalists after the practice.

The Tigers’ top-order batsman went past Indian batting great Sachin Tendulkar’r record of 10 half-centuries during the last Test against Pakistan last month.
 
He is sitting beside West Indies legend Sir Viv Richards, Gautum Gambhir and Virender Sehwag.
 
The 23-year old, however, is reluctant to compare himself with de Villiers.
 
“I’m not even near him. You know of his mastery in all formats. I don’t think I am his competitor.”
 
De Villiers built his record from November 2012 to February 2014.
 
Bangladesh will take on India in a one-off Test starting from Wednesday in Fatullah. 
 
Mominul, who averages 60 in 14 matches with four centuries and nine half-centuries, said he wanted to reach the milestone to please the fans.
 
“I am not really thinking about beside whom I’ll sit… I will just try to meet the expectations of the people and my target.”
 
The left-hander has a string of scores of at least 50 since October 2013 in 11 Tests.
 
He has established himself as a ‘Test specialist’ with the fantastic run in the most prestigious form of the game after failing to shine in other formats.
 
Mominul, however, is willing to make amends and show his talent in ODIs and T20Is as well.
 
“I will get better chances if I do well. If I think too much about it, I risk losing everything.”

 So far the classy batsman failed to score a fifty only in his third Test, against Zimbabwe in Harare, when he scored 23 and 29. After that his run-scoring spree began.
 
But Mominul is aware of India’s bowling line-up that includes the world-class attack of spinners Harbhajan Singh and Ravichandran Ashwin. 
 
“They are both quality spinners. One (Harbhajan) has played for a long time. (Ashwin) has been doing well.”
 
The spin attack is backed by a formidable pace unit that consists of Ishant Sharma, Umesh Yadav, Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Varun Aaron.
 
Mominul is eager to further his experience by going up against the two-time ODI World Champions’ spinners

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Mashrafe urges Bangladesh to remain ‘realistic’ about chances in the India Test

 

Bangladesh ODI captain Mashrafe Bin Mortaza has said the home side should first think about a draw against India in the one-off Test and be ‘realistic’.

The match will start on Wednesday at Fatullah’s Khan Shaheb Osman Ali Stadium.

“(We) have to bat very well. But just batting well does not win Tests, only helps draw them. Wickets and strategies should be built with that in mind,” Mashrafe told bdnews24.com on Monday.

“I think a draw will be a pretty good result.”

“I keep saying we might face the opposite consequences if we go for too much in Tests right now. As batting is our strength in Test, we should focus on that.”

Mashrafe, who does not feature in the Test, is reluctant to label the mentality of going for a draw as negative.

“We will definitely play to win. But we have to be realistic. When we will have the sure-fire ability to take 20 wickets, we will plan according to that.

“(But) in reality if we can score 450 or 500 and if bowlers can bowl in the right areas to restrict their (India) batsmen, we can manage a draw. If that effort creates an opportunity to win, that will be even better.”

Mashrafe believes Bangladesh will someday start winning Tests on a regular basis. The Tigers’ rise in ODIs has given the 31-year old hope.

“We used to once lose all matches badly in ODIs. We started to fight back a bit and fought harder later.

“Then we started winning some matches. Now we win regularly. We will develop similarly in Tests.

“So I am saying losing by trying to win won’t help now. Rather by drawing regularly we will learn to win some day. And we will keep winning.”

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We have learnt enough to execute plan, deliver: Kohli

 

Even as Indian Test skipper Virat Kohli on Sunday asserted that one continues to learn with every game, he insisted that his players have acquired enough knowledge to execute plans and deliver results.

"We learn about the game all the time, even when we are watching it on TV. But I don't think we need to play with a mindset of playing to learn. We have played long enough now and know what we want to achieve as a unit," Kohli told mediapersons here on the eve of the team's departure for Bangladesh.
 
India are scheduled to play a one-off Test match and three One-Day Internationals (ODIs) against Bangladesh with the tour beginning with the five-day match on June 10.
 
"We all have played enough to know how to execute plans. So now we really want to achieve rather than go out of a match thinking what we have learnt from it," asserted the stylish batsman.
 
Talking about his own experience as a captain, Kohli said he learnt a lot during his stint as the skipper in Australia after Mahendra Singh Dhoni retired from Tests midway in the tour Down Under.
 
"Test match is different ball game where you need to plan for the whole day unlike ODIs or T20 where you plan for short span of time. You need to manage the bowlers, manage the workload along with planning for the batsmen.
 
"I have learnt a lot in different situations in Australia, and then we have guys like Rohit Sharma, Ishant Sharma and R. Ashwin who are experienced and that will certainly help us in recognizing what we need to do," added Kohli.

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Russia Wields Aid and Ideology Against West to Fight Sanctions

WASHINGTON — The war in Ukraine that has pitted Russia against the West is being waged not just with tanks, artillery and troops. Increasingly, Moscow has brought to bear different kinds of weapons, according to American and European officials: money, ideology and disinformation.

Even as the Obama administration and its European allies try to counter Russia’s military intervention across its border, they have found themselves struggling at home against what they see as a concerted drive by Moscow to leverage its economic power, finance European political parties and movements, and spread alternative accounts of the conflict.

Continue reading the main story

The Kremlin’s goal seems to be to sow division, destabilize the European Union and possibly fracture what until now has been a relatively unified, if sometimes fragile, consensus against Russian aggression. At the very least, if Russia can peel off even a single member of the European Union, it could in theory prevent the renewal later this month of economic sanctions that are scheduled to expire absent the unanimous agreement of all member states.

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Two escaped killers still on the loose; New York officials offer $100,000 reward

Baffled New York state officials announced a $100,000 reward Sunday for the capture of two killers who used power tools to pull off an escape worthy of Hollywood from a maximum-security prison near the Canadian border.
That's $50,000 for information leading to the arrest of each fugitive: Richard Matt, 48, who kidnapped a man, beat him to death and dismembered him in 1997, and David Sweat, 34, who killed a sheriff's deputy in 2002.
Their escape from the Clinton Correctional Facility in Dannemora, about 20 miles south of the border, was discovered Saturday. As of Sunday, hundreds of investigators and search officials had been mobilized to piece together how the inmates got the tools to escape, where they might be and where they are going.
Gov. Andrew Cuomo said the pair could be “literally anywhere across the state” or in Canada and urged residents to be on the lookout.
“These are dangerous individuals. These are killers, they are murderers. There has never been a question about the crime they committed, and they are now on the loose,” Cuomo said in a conference call Sunday.
Matt and Sweat are believed to be the first inmates to successfully escape from the maximum-security portion of the facility since the prison was built in the mid-1800s, according to Cuomo.
The pair broke out with a brazenness evocative of “The Shawshank Redemption.” They placed dummies in their beds so guards would think they were sleeping while they used their tools to carve a path — literally, at points — through the belly of the prison.
Although the investigation is still in its early stages, all tools in the prison appear to be accounted for, leading officials to wonder whether perhaps a contractor had lost or left behind some equipment, said Anthony J. Annucci, acting commissioner for the state's prison system.
“It's speculation at this point,” Annucci said on the conference call, adding that he had asked the state’s prison officials to take extra precautions since the escape.
Cuomo said officials also were investigating whether any contractors doing various projects at the prison may have had connections to either prisoner and helped them.
“This is the first escape, and we want to make sure it’s the last escape” from the Clinton facility, Cuomo said.
This was not Matt's first time eluding law enforcement. He reportedly escaped an Erie County jail in 1986 by climbing over a fence. After killing William Rickerson in 1997, he fled to Mexico, where he killed another man in a fight outside a bar, according to the Buffalo News.
After serving time in a Mexican prison, the newspaper reported, Matt was extradited to New York. He was convicted of several charges related to Rickerson’s murder in 2008 and sentenced to 25 years to life.
Sweat pleaded guilty to murdering Broome County sheriff's Deputy Kevin J. Tarsia in 2002 and received a sentence of life without parole. The deputy had confronted Sweat and two other men after a burglary across the border in Pennsylvania, and Sweat and another suspect reportedly opened fire.
Tarsia's brother, Steven, said this weekend that finding out his brother's killer had escaped “turns your world upside down all over again.”
Steven Tarsia told the Associated Press that a couple of days ago he couldn't remember the names of the men responsible for his brother's death.

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Modi receives Bangladesh Award of Liberation War Honour for Vajpayee

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi has received the Award of Liberation War Honour in Bangladesh on behalf of former prime minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee.

President Md Abdul Hamid handed the award over to Modi at Bangabhaban in Dhaka on Sunday.

Vajpayee played an active role as the chief of Bharatiya Jana Sangha in Bangladesh’s Liberation War against Pakistan in 1971.

In an editorial published in the ‘Organiser’, he had welcomed the proclamation of Bangladesh’s independence by Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman.

He had urged the Indian government to acknowledge the then Bangladesh government and help the freedom fighters.

BJS staged a mass Styagraha from Aug 1 to 11 and demonstrated in front of the Indian Parliament on Aug 12, demanding government’s support for Bangladesh’s independence. 

The citation for Vajpayee said the people of Bangladesh will never forget his role in Bangladesh’s independence and India-Bangladesh relationship.

During the award ceremony, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina said 'it would be great to have Vajpayee in our midst'.

She also took the opportunity to describe Modi as 'Vajpayee's able successor and a great friend of Bangladesh as Vajpayee.'

"In 1971, when the entire Bangladesh, under the leadership of Bangabandhu, waged the War of Liberation against the occupation forces, we were fortunate to have India beside us.

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Indian Prime Minister Modi in Bangladesh on maiden state visit

A red carpet has been rolled out for Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi who has arrived in Dhaka on a two-day state visit, his first to Bangladesh after assuming power.

Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina welcomed him near the VVIP Tarmac of the Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport after the special air force flight ‘Rajdoot’ touched down at 10:08am on Saturday.
A child presented him a bouquet.
Accompanied by Bangladesh Prime MInister Sheikh Hasina , Modi proceeded towards the makeshift "Saluting  Dais".
A smartly turned out contingent drawn from Bangladesh Army, Navy and Air Force gave a guard of honour and state salute to Modi.
"Leaving for Bangladesh. This visit is going to strengthen the bond between our nations, benefitting people of our countries and our region," Modi tweeted before leaving for Dhaka.
India’s Foreign Secretary S Jaishankar has termed the visit ‘historic’ and said it will “completely settle boundary with Bangladesh”.
“We have solved many issues and our relations have reached to a historic height,” Bangladesh Foreign Minister AH Mahmood Ali has said.
Apart from Ali, Finance Minister AMA Muhith, Industries Minister Amir Hossain Amu, Commerce Minister Tofail Ahmed, Agriculture Minister Matia Chowdhury, Health Minister Mohammed Nasim, and State Minister for Home Asaduzzaman Khan Kamal were among other top officials at the airport.
Prime Minister Hasina introduced them to Modi. The Indian prime minister also introduced his entourage members to Sheikh Hasina.
A 21-gun salute heralded the arrival of the Indian Prime Minister when he alighted from the Indian air force jet at 10.25 am.
The two heads of the governments acknowledged the salute and inspected the guard of honour.
The national anthems of the two countries were played on the occasion.
Modi is now driving straight to the National Memorial at Savar to pay his respects to the martyrs of Bangladesh’s Liberation War against Pakistan.
He will visit Bangabandhu Memorial Museum at Dhanmondi 32 to pay homage to the Father of the Nation Sheikh Mujibur Rahman.
Modi's delegation will stay at Pan Pacific Sonargoan Dhaka Hotel during the visit.
West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, who came on Friday night, will meet him at the hotel at about 3:15pm.
Modi will then leave for the Prime Minister’s Office for discussions with Hasina at about 4:15pm.
Both leaders will witness the exchange of instrument of ratification of Land Boundary Agreement, and signing of MoUs, agreements and exchanges of different documents.
Hasina will host a dinner on Saturday night at the hotel.
On Sunday morning, the Indian leader will begin the day with prayers at Dhakeshwari National Temple at 8:45am. Then he will visit the Ramkrishna Mission.
After 10am, he will come to the Indian High Commission’s New Chancery Complex at Baridhara to attend High Commission’s programmes.
Then he will go back to his hotel before leaving for Bangabhaban to meet President Md Abdul Hamid.
He will receive the Award of Liberation War Honour on behalf of former Indian Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee and attend a private lunch hosted by the president.
Leader of the Opposition Raushon Ershad will call on him at his hotel suite at about 3:10pm, before he delivers a public speech at Bangabandhu International Conference Centre at 6:30pm.
However, sources said some political leaders including BNP Chairperson Khaleda Zia will also call on Modi before his public speech.
But the meetings have not yet been included in his official itinerary.
He has a free slot between 3:30pm and 6:20pm, according to the tentative schedule.
He will leave Dhaka at about 8:10pm on Sunday and will be seen off by Prime Minister Hasina at the VVIP Tarmac.

 

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Indian Prime Minister Modi pays respects to Bangladesh Liberation War martyrs

He went to the National Memorial at Savar around 11:25am on Saturday.
Housing and Public Works Minister Mosharraf Hossain, Liberation War Affairs Minister AKM Mozammel Huq, local MP Enamur Rahman and Dhaka Deputy Commissioner Tofazzal Hossain Miah were among others who welcomed the Indian prime minister.
Modi then placed a wreath on the base of the memorial.
A smartly turned out contingent drawn from Bangladesh Army, Navy and Air Force gave him a guard of honour there.
He then signed the visitors book and planted a ‘Uday Padma’ at the sapling point of the memorial.
The motorcade of the Indian prime minister started for Bangabandhu Memorial Museum at Dhanmondi 32 to pay homage to the Father of the Nation Sheikh Mujibur Rahman.
He arrived at the Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport in Dhaka at 10:08am and will stay at Pan Pacific Sonargoan Dhaka Hotel during the visit.
West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, who came on Friday night, will meet him at the hotel at about 3:15pm.
Modi will then leave for the Prime Minister’s Office for discussions with Hasina at about 4:15pm.
Both leaders will witness the exchange of instrument of ratification of Land Boundary Agreement, and signing of MoUs, agreements and exchanges of different documents.
Hasina will host a dinner on Saturday night at the hotel.
On Sunday morning, the Indian leader will begin the day with prayers at Dhakeshwari National Temple at 8:45am. Then he will visit the Ramkrishna Mission.
After 10am, he will come to the Indian High Commission’s New Chancery Complex at Baridhara to attend High Commission’s programmes.
Then he will go back to his hotel before leaving for Bangabhaban to meet President Md Abdul Hamid.
He will receive the Award of Liberation War Honour on behalf of former Indian Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee and attend a private lunch hosted by the president.
Leader of the Opposition Raushon Ershad will call on him at his hotel suite at about 3:10pm, before he delivers a public speech at Bangabandhu International Conference Centre at 6:30pm.
However, sources said some political leaders including BNP Chairperson Khaleda Zia will also call on Modi before his public speech.
But the meetings have not yet been included in his official itinerary.
He has a free slot between 3:30pm and 6:20pm, according to the tentative schedule.
He will leave Dhaka at about 8:10pm on Sunday and will be seen off by Prime Minister Hasina at the VVIP Tarmac.

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Labourer dies of electrocution in Jessore

• 

A construction worker has died after being electrocuted during work in a building at Jessore’s Benapole area.

The deceased Rajib Hossain, 25, hailed from Rajshahi.

Benapole port station’s OC Apurba Hasan said, the incident happened on Monday night at Gatiparha village in Benapole.

He told bdnews24.com, the work continued till night since it was not finished during the day.

 “Unaware of the electric wires, Rajib got entangled with the live wire and was electrocuted, according to the locals.”

He died on the spot, said the OC.

The body has been sent to the Jessore Medical College Hospital morgue.

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BSTI gives Maggi, four other noodles clean chit, says no ingredients in them above harmful levels

 

Bangladesh’s food testing authority has found no ingredients above harmful levels in five brands of noodles including Nestle’s Maggi.

“We have tested noodles of five companies including Maggi,” Bangladesh Standards and Testing Institute (BSTI)’s certification wing director, Kamal Prasad Das, said on Tuesday.

“We did not find any ingredients in them above harmful levels.”

The other four brands tested are New Zealand Dairy’s ‘Doodles’, Kallol Thai Food’s ‘Mama’, Ifad Multi Product’s ‘Ifad Eggy’ and  ‘Mister’ marketed by Pran Group’s concern Natore Agro.

BSTI Assistant Director Golam Baqui had earlier said the products were tested ‘regularly’ in Bangladesh, but this test was initiated after ‘dangerous level of lead’ was found in instant noodles, manufactured by Nestle in India.

Many Indian states have stopped marketing of the Maggi brand of noodles and subjected them to fresh tests after allegations that they contained dangerous levels of lead and mono-sodium glutamate.

Food safety inspectors in the northern Indian state of Uttar Pradesh sued Nestle on Monday.

At the end of April, the state’s Food and Drug Administration ordered recalled of 200,000 packs of noodles, after a spot check pointed to higher than normal levels of monosodium glutamate (MSG), a flavour enhancer, and of lead 17 times above the permissible limit.

Food Safety Standards Authority of India has taken up the case on Monday and said they have ordered collection of samples from all over the country for more testing.

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Sharapova knocked out of French Open

 

Defending champion Maria Sharapova was sent packing from the French Open at the fourth-round stage on Monday, losing in straight sets to Lucie Safarova of the Czech Republic.

Safarova, the 13th seed, won 7-6 (7/3), 6-4 to progress to a first ever quarter-final at Roland Garros, where she will face Garbine Muguruza after the Spaniard saw off Flavia Pennetta.
Sharapova, who also won the clay-court Grand Slam event in 2012 and was the beaten finalist in 2013, had been forced to wait until Monday morning for her clash with Safarova, which had been postponed on Sunday due to the rain in the French capital.
But on a bright Paris morning the Russian second seed, who was looking to become the first woman to successfully defend the French Open title since Justine Henin in 2007, was punished for an erratic display from beginning to end.
Sharapova was broken in her second service game, and although she soon broke back, Safarova claimed the opening set in the tiebreak on Court Philippe Chatrier.
Breaks were again exchanged in the second set but Sharapova found herself serving to stay in the match at 5-4 down, and while she saved one match point she could not save the second that came her opponent's way.
"I had a few small openings but I wasn't able to keep up my level. She was more consistent and aggressive, created the angles and that was the difference," said Sharapova who had been battling a heavy cold all week.
"It was a tough day at the office."
The Czech had not won any of her last four meetings with Sharapova since triumphing in their first ever clash in Madrid in 2010 and will now face Muguruza on Tuesday after the Spanish 21st seed breezed past Pennetta.
Muguruza won 6-3, 6-4 on Court Suzanne Lenglen to reach the last eight at Roland Garros for the second year in succession.
Twelve months ago Muguruza was knocked out in three sets by Sharapova having defeated Serena Williams in the second round.
The exit of the reigning champion leaves just two of the top six seeds left going into the quarter-finals.
Number one seed Williams, who is looking for a 20th Grand Slam crown at the event she won in 2002 and 2013, was due in action later on Monday against compatriot Sloane Stephens.
Czech fourth seed Petra Kvitova, last year's Wimbledon champion, was due to meet Swiss 23rd seed Timea Bacsinszky with the winner going on to meet either Andreea Mitu of Romania or Belgium's Alison Van Uytvanck.

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