October 14, 2013

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Sohag Gazi opens new cricket history book Bangladesh-New Zealand first Test drawn Uddin Khan from n Minhaz Chittagong Sohag Gazi became the first man in the 136-year history of Test cricket to score a hundred and claim a hat-trick at the Zahur Ahmed Chowdhury Stadium in Chittagong yesterday.

The 22-year-old off-spinner trapped Corey Anderson LBW, had Bradley-John Watling caught behind and induced Doug Bracewell to snick a ball to the slips to claim the historic hat-trick, and take his tally of wickets in New Zealand’s second innings to six.

P13 MATCH REPORT New Zealand were healthily placed at 260/4 when Gazi stepped up after lunch, and were cut down to 260/7 three balls later.

A draw was duly anticipated after New Zealand made 469 in their first innings and Bangladesh replied with 501 on a newly-laid pitch that provided no assistance to the bowlers. The tourists declared their second innings at 2877, leaving Bangladesh a target of 256 runs in a minimum of 45 overs to win the Test.

Although the game was irresistibly heading towards a draw – and even Gazi’s feat could not alter that course – his  PAGE 2 COLUMN 1

Sohag Gazi, left, celebrates after his hat-trick with teamate Nasir Hossain during the fifth and final day of the first cricket Test match between Bangladesh and New Zealand at The Zahur Ahmed Chowdhury Stadium in Chittagong yesterday AFP

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EN ROUTE TO POLLS

AL forms election steering committee Pratim Bhattacharjee and n Partha Mohammad Al-MasumMolla The ruling Awami League has geared up its election preparations by forming a steering committee with party chief and Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina as its head.

The PM’s Adviser HT Imam has been made the co-chairman of the committee that also includes all the members of party’s central working committee and advisory council.

The steering body was formed at a meeting of the central working committee last night where Hasina asked the party leaders to make all-out preparations for the next parliamentary elections.

Hasina especially instructed General Secretary Syed Ashraful Islam to be more active in the party’s organisational activities, an Awami League leader said.

She also said the party would start selling nomination forms for the next election soon and the programme would be announced after holding the party’s parliamentary board meeting.

A party source told the Dhaka Tribune that the Awami League would finalise the list of its candidates for all constituencies before the Election Commission announce the election schedule.

In her opening speech at the meeting, Hasina also warned the main opposition BNP, asking it not to hinder the next election.

“The leader of the opposition said doomsday would come. We will do whatever necessary to protect people as we did in the past,” Hasina said at the meeting held at Ganabhaban.

She also gave hints that the ongoing session of parliament might continue after October 24.

Although the main opposition BNP is threatening to boycott the polls if it is held under Sheikh Hasina’s government, the ruling Awami League chief has already started seeking votes at rallies and programmes.

Hasina yesterday asked the party leaders and activists to focus on the next election. She also instructed them to be at the party’s central office on Bangabandhu Avenue and her office at Dhanmondi regularly, said meeting sources.

At the meeting Awami League Presidium member Abdul Latif Siddique said he was unwilling to contest in the next election but would obey the party chief’s decision whatever it was. He alleged that the party general secretary was very “meritorious and well-spoken but inactive.”

Latif also said the party’s organisational strength in and outside Dhaka was poor and needed to be improved soon.

Party’s Publicity Secretary Hasan Mahmud demanded announcement of regular programmes at district and upazila levels to cheer up the grassroots.  PAGE 2 COLUMN 3

EC: Preparations for elections complete n Mohammad Al-Masum Molla

The Election Commission claims to have completed preparations for holding the next general elections despite the uncertainty arising out of the two major political parties’ rigid stances about holding the polls.

“We have made all necessary measures to hold the election. The polls schedule will be announced at the right time,” Chief Election Commissioner Rakib Uddin Ahmed told journalists at the EC Secretariat yesterday.

Regarding the main opposition BNP’s threat to resist a one-sided election by forming resistance committees at every polling centre, he said the EC would ensure highest security for voters in case of any resistance.  PAGE 2 COLUMN 1

INSIDE News

3 Finance Minister AMA Muhith has assured development partners that major political parties would reach a consensus before the upcoming general elections.

4 Controversial recruitment at DMCH: Petitioners submit documents, decision after receiving full judgement 6 PM: Follow building code strictly

Op-Ed

11 Neither a cow nor a goat! A camel perhaps...

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DHAKA TRIBUNE

News

Monday, October 14, 2013

AL, BNP want to make most of puja-Eid holidays Pratim Bhattacharjee and n Partha Mohammad Al-MasumMolla

Leaders of major political parties are eyeing maximum utilisation of the Durga Puja and Eid-ul-Azha holidays for mass communication in their constituencies ahead of the next parliamentary elections.

Leaders of the ruling Awami League are aiming to persuade voters to ensure their support in the polls while leaders of the main opposition BNP work on mobilising public support in favour of their demand for a non-partisan interim government to oversee the election.

The political leaders believe that this will be the only long vacation before the elections, which have to be held between October 27 and January 24 next year as per the constitution.

A number of ruling party leaders told the Dhaka Tribune that most of their lawmakers and senior leaders had moved to their constituencies following directives from the high-ups as they considered the next election very important.

Taking the holidays as the last chance to gain public support for their demand, the BNP high command, on the other hand, has asked party leaders to go to their constituencies to launch campaigns and drum up enthusiasm about their post-Eid non-stop agitation programmes.

“We want to share the happiness of Puja and Eid with people. At the same time, we will conveythe message that the next election is very important for the existence of the country,” said Hasan Mahmud, publicity secretary of the Awami League.

“We will tell people what the situa-

tion would be if the opposition forces came to power and what it would be like if the pro-liberation forces came.

We will present a broad picture, portraying the government’s development work done in the past five years,” Hasan Mahmud, also the environment and forests minister, told the Dhaka Tribune yesterday.

Meanwhile, a number of senior BNP leaderssaidthe central leaders had already started campaigning in their constituencies.

“Apart from exchanging greetings, we will discuss justification of the upcoming agitation programmes to force the government to restore the non-party caretaker system for fair polls,” Organising Secretary Fazlul Haque Milon told the Dhaka Tribune.

Awami League’s Organising Secretary Khalid Mahmud Chowdhurysaid any social or religious gathering or festival, such as this Puja and Eid vacation,was very important to a political leader as it gavehim/her a huge opportunity to meet a large number of people.

The BNP leaders believe that it is not possible to isolate the capital from the rest of the country and paralyse it without the participation of the grassroots.

Syed Emran Saleh Prince, assistant publicity secretary of the BNP, said the high-ups had verbally asked the leaders and activists to launch campaignson the caretaker issueduring the Puja and Eid holidays.

“We are urging people to take part in our ongoing movement. We talk about the caretaker issue at the cattle markets or while exchanging Puja greetings,” he told the Dhaka Tribune yesterday. l

Bijaya Dashami today n Tribune Report

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina appreciates Durga Puja celebrations at the Dhakeshwari National Temple yesterday

‘Students apprehensive of Creative Question System in HSC’ n Mushfique Wadud

Creative Question System incorporates structural questions prepared in such way that invites students to attempt each question with a creative approach.

The system is a substitute for the students’ reliance on guidebooks and their power of cramming.

Introduced first to English subject in SSC exams in 2010, a total of 21 examinations of different subjects have so far been held following this system.

In HSC, students took four subjects’ tests under this system in 2013 while 12 such tests will be held following this method in the upcoming HSC exams.

Asked why they objected to it, many students said they were filled with apprehension that they won’t do well on the tests.

“Many of our teachers do not understand what type of questions will be asked for Mathematics under this system,” said Tawhidul Islam, an SSC examinee from city’s AK High School.

“How will we learn if our teachers do not know much about it?” he posed a question.

Schoolteachers were given only fourfive days training for the new system which is inadequate and teacher’s training for Mathematics subject was yet to be completed, said a source.

Talking to guardians, it was learnt that their kids were apprehensive of the new system.

“My daughter is afraid of it. I heard that this was a good system but students should have been briefed properly before its introduction,” said Abdus Salam, a guardian whose child studied in Tejgoan Government Girls’ High School.

Abu Sayeed Bhuiyan, headmaster of

Government Laboratory High School, told the Dhaka Tribune that teachers and students in his school welcomed the creative approach.

He, however, said some of his colleagues from rural areas had complained of difficulties facing them while coming to terms with the innovate method.

“Most teachers in Dhaka are qualified and they can accept any new teaching approach easily, but those from rural areas are struggling to get used to it,” he said.

The head teacher called for largescale training to make the system effective.

Examinations Specialist Robiul Kabir Chowdhury of the Education Ministry’s Bangladesh Examination Development unit ruled out that students were apprehensive of the new system.

He, on the other hand, laid blame on the teachers, saying: “Students have welcomed the system whereas teachers are failing to come to terms with it.”

Robiul pointed out that in school examinations teachers prepared questions in a traditional way which created problems. “I can assure students that they won’t do bad on math tests if the system is introduced,” he said, adding that it would rather facilitate increasing pass rate.

The Education Ministry official, however, emphasised a vigorous training for teachers to accommodate to the new system for bringing success.

Taslima Begum, chairman of Dhaka Board of Intermediate and Secondary Education, told the Dhaka Tribune, training was given to about 4,00,000 teachers and they also had plans to train more teachers in the future. l

Newly appointed High Court judges Md Shahinur Islam and Kashefa Hussain visit President Abdul Hamid at Bangabhaban yesterday PID

The newly introduced Creative Question System for examinations has sent a chill of apprehension down the spines of students including HSC and SSC examinees who are failing to come to terms with the innovative approach.

A sense of foreboding among examinees is attributed to this year’s fall in pass rate in Higher Secondary Certificate examinations (HSC), said students and teachers.

In recent times, the Secondary School Certificate examinees (SSC) have demonstrated against introduction of this system for the Mathematics subject in the upcoming SSC exams.

A parliament member reportedly took floor in the parliament session and spoke against introduction of the creative approach for mathematics without adequate training for teachers.

In 2010, when the new method debuted, experts and officials described it as one that would reduce students’ dependency on cramming and guidebooks.

They also said the creative approach would promote students’ creativity and innovation.

But very shortly, it seems to have lost its appeal and now has become a topic of debate.

Thousands of students said the newly introduced creative method instilled fear into them.

Talking to a number of students, guardians, teachers and concerned officials, the Dhaka Tribune found that inadequate training for teachers and lack of awareness programs were reasons to ruin the good system.

Sohag Gazi opens

Cattle market leasers collecting 'extra tax'

 PAGE 1 COLUMN 1

unique achievement gave Bangladesh fans something to be proud of, said captain Mushfiqur Rahim.

Gazi himself was happier with the glamorous bowling accomplishment than scoring his first Test hundred. “As I said before, I never plan when I bowl.

The only thing in my mind is to figure out the batsman at the other end and bowl in the right areas,” said the off-spinner.

Gazi became the second Bangladeshi to claim a Test hat-trick after Alok Kapali and the third person in the decade to take five wickets in an innings and score a hundred in the same match, after India’s Ashwin and compatriot Shakib Al Hasan.

“This was obviously a very good Test

match for me. It has made me believe I belong at this level,” he said.

Rare as Gazi’s performance is, it is not completely alien territory for the 22-year-old. In the National League last season against Khulna, he claimed seven wickets in the second innings – including a hat-trick – to go along with a century, to become the 13th player to take a hat-trick and make a hundred at the first-class level.

Asked if he thought of that occasion as he strolled in for the hat-trick ball yesterday, Gazi said: “I do remember the happenings of that game but to be honest my mind was blank today. That was in first class and today it happened in Test, so the two achievements are very different.” l

EC: Preparations for elections complete  PAGE 1 COLUMN 6

“As per the constitution, the 10th general elections will be held between October 25 and January 24 [next year] and during this period the incumbent government will be in office and parliament will also remain functional,” he said.

Ever since the scrapping of the caretaker government system, the ruling Awami League has said the next election would be held as per the constitution and under its arrangement while the main opposition BNP has kept demanding polls under a non-partisan interim administration.

The BNP chairperson also termed the EC spineless, worthless and subservient to the government and alleged that it was not able to hold a free and fair election.

Diplomats, citizens’ forumsand professional bodies have urged the two political parties to sit for talks over the polls-time government. The opposition

camp has already declared thatit would boycott and resist an election under the partisan government.

Althoughthe crisis is yet to be resolved, the CEC yesterday expressed hope that the political leaders wouldreach a consensus before the elections.

“There are many seasoned politicians in the political parties. They know and will understand the people’s pulse. They also know that people do not want to see confrontation –they rather want the transfer of power to take place in a peaceful way. So, we hope two major parties will come to a consensus and will assist us in conducting the election peacefully,” he said.

Asked if the commission would wait for a negotiation, Rakib Uddin said: “We have to work as per the constitution. It is not a matter of waiting. If the parties can reach an understanding,there will be no problem.” l

BSS

n Mohammad Jamil Khan The leasers of cattle markets were taking advantage of inadequate monitoring, and forcing buyers to pay extra tax (hasil) at 20 cattle markets of the capital, buyers and cattle traders have alleged.

According to government rates, the leaser can charge five percent of the total cost of the animal – as tax, which is later added in the revenue fund of the government. However, the leasers were allegedly collecting six to seven percent tax from the buyers, and were harassing those who were protesting the practice.

Jahirul Islam, a resident of Old Dhaka, said he bought a cow from the Armanitola cattle market for Tk75,000 (cow sell receipt no 117) and had to pay Tk4,000 to the leaser. According to the government rate, Jahirul’s tax should have been Tk3,750. Similar allegations were raised

We have to spend huge sums of money to get lease of the market and if we would not get some extra money, then how would we manage the expense? by holders of the receipts 213, 345, and 401 of the market.

Speaking about the claims, Mohammad Kausar, a counterman at the market, told the Dhaka Tribune: “We have to spend huge sums of money to get lease of the market and if we would not get some extra money, then how would we manage the expense?”

Sources said similar practice of charging extra was being carried out by the leasers of different cattle markets of Dhupkhola, Hazaribagh, Taltola, Agargaon and Uttara areas.

The buyers claimed that such irregularities were happening as law enforcers did not pay attention about the legal and procedural issues of the cattle markets.

However, Inspector General of Police (IGP) Hassan Mahmood Khandker said cattle were being sold across the country in a legal and peaceful way. Law enforcers have been deployed at every cattle market of the country, while Rapid Action Battalion members also kept the markets under watch, he said.

The IGP also denied allegations that extortion was taking place on the highways ahead of Eid, and said any law enforcer found guilty of wrongdoings will face stern action. The IGP made the comments yesterday while inspecting security arrangements at the Gabtoli cattle market. Dhaka Metropolitan Police Commissioner Benazir Ahmed was also present there at the time. l

The five-day-long Hindu festival of Durga Puja will come to an end today through the celebration of Bijaya Dashami, in which the main ritual is the immersion of Durga idols in rivers.

Devotees will bring out Bijaya Dashami processions carrying idols of the deity Durga and her children — Lakshmi, Saraswati, Kartik and Ganesha, and carry them to the riverbanks in the evening.

In the capital city processions will be brought out from the Dhakeshwari Temple at 3pm today and end at Waisghat in old town after parading through different city streets. Thousands of men, women and children are likely to join the traditional immersion rally.

Hindus believe Dashami is the day when Goddess Durga, accompanied by her children, leave earth and start for Kailash, her husband’s abode.

Meanwhile, across the country yesterday thousands gathered at the different puja mandaps to celebrate the Mahanabami puja. At puja mandaps Nabami Bhog comprising food and fruits were offered to Devi Durga and later were distributed among the devotees.

In the city prominent puja mandaps like Dhakeshwari Temple, Jagannath Hall of Dhaka University, Ramna Kali Mandir, Siddheswari Kali Mandir, and in the temples of Tanti Bazar, Shankhari Bazar and Bangla Bazar were crowded with devotees from walks of life.

Makeshift fairs were also held around the city along with voluntary blood donation, distribution of Prasad and Anjali offerings. l

Khaleda returns to Dhaka n Mohammad Al-Masum Molla

BNP Chairperson Khaleda Zia returned to Dhaka from Singapore last night.

She arrived at Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport at around 10pm on a Singapore Airlines flight, Syrul Kabir Khan, an official of the BNP chairperson’s press wing, told the Dhaka Tribune.

BNP acting secretary general Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir, Standing Committee member Khandakar Mosharraf Hossain, Vice Chairman Sadque Hossain Khoka, Joint Secretary General Ruhul Kabir Rizvi and other party leaders received Khaleda at the airport.

The former premier left Dhaka for Singapore on October 10 for her regular medical checkup. She had twice went to Singapore earlier this year, also for medical checkups. Khaleda’s Press Secretary Maruf Kamal Khan Sohel, Personal Secretary Saleh Ahmed and Khaleda’s younger brother Shamim Eskander’s wife Kaniz Fatema accompanied the leader during the trip. l

14 killed in India cyclone n AFP, New Delhi Fourteen people were killed in Cyclone Phailin which lashed India’s east coast over the weekend and caused widespread destruction.

“There are 13 deaths in Orissa and one death reported in Andhra Pradesh and so we have been able to... (keep) the death toll to a bare minimum,” vice chairman of the National Disaster Management Authority Marri Shashidhar Reddy told reporters.

Reddy said relief and rescue operations were in full swing after the cyclone made landfall on Saturday night, leaving a trail of destruction in the states of Orissa and Andhra Pradesh.

He told a press conference in New Delhi that 685km of roads have already been cleared of trees and other debris. l

AL forms election steering committee  PAGE 1 COLUMN 5

Organising Secretary AFM Bahauddin Nasim told the meeting that the party’s image had been tarnished because of the controversial activities of a few leaders.

Referring to the recent dissolution of many district committees, Nasim recommended taking action against the leaders who were doing this, said meeting sources.

Party’s Joint General Secretary Mahabub-Ul-Alam Hanif, who recently dissolved the Kushtia district committee, was asked by Hasina to resign as the PM’s special adviser at a meeting with the party’s grassroots leaders from Kushtiaon Wednesday.

But Hanif has not yet resigned. He said he wanted to talk to the prime minister.

JS session after Oct 24

Hasina yesterday said there was no problem in continuing parliament session “as it is not mentioned anywhere in the constitution that the session cannot continue after October 24.”

“Parliament can sit even a day before the announcement of the election schedule – if the president wants, he/ she can summon a session,” she told her party colleagues.

According to the constitution, the gap between two sessions cannot be more than 60 days.

BNP Chairperson Khaleda Zia has threatened to wage tough and nonstop movement after October 24 when, she claims, the parliament cannot continue.

The Business Advisory Committee of parliament in September said the

present session could continue up to October 24. However, senior ruling party lawmakers suggested continuing the session even after October 24.

On Saturday, the BNP claimed that the government’s plan to extend the parliament session was a conspiracy. It alleged that the government wanted to thwart the opposition’s movement and mislead people.

Regarding the opposition’s criticism of the Election Commission, the premier said the president had formed a search committee to appoint the election commissioners in consultation with leaders of all political parties, including the leader of the opposition.

“The 18-party backed candidates won the city corporation polls under this Election Commission. If you [BNP]

have so much popularity, why are you scared then?” Hasina said.

Under the new provisions in the constitution after the 15th amendment, the general election must be held between October 27 and January 24 next year. During this period, Sheikh Hasina’s government will continue to rule and parliament will not be dissolved.

The BNP is planning to gather its supporters on the streets and has announced a rally in the capital for October 25 to force the government to concede to its demand of amending the continuation and holding the election under a non-party interim government.

The ruling Awami League has also announced a rally for the same day in Dhaka to “counter BNP’s threat.” l

DHAKA TRIBUNE

News

3

Monday, October 14, 2013

Consensus at last moment: Muhith ‘Major parties will agree about election’ try was strong and good despite the pon Asif Showkat Kallol from litical unrest and shutdown.

Washington

Finance Minister AMA Muhith has assured development partners that major political parties would reach a consensus before the upcoming general elections.

Newly appointed World Bank Vice President for South Asia region Philippe Le Houérou, at a dinner party in Washington DC yesterday, asked Muhith how the government would manage the political risk over the economy, since main opposition BNP was not interested to go to polls due by mid-January under the present government.

“I assured Philippe Le Houérou there would be political consensus among two major parties about the process of general election in the last moment,” Muhith told the Dhaka Tribune yesterday.

Speaking to development partners and investors on the side lines of the World Bank and IMF board meeting, the minister and the central bank governor also dispelled their concerns about the possible impacts of political unrest on the country’s economy ahead of the general election.

Christian De Guzman, a senior analyst and the vice president at the Sovereign Ratings Group of the multinational credit rating agency Moody’s Investors Service, and Matt Robinson, the director of research at the sovereign research section of the company, asked Bangladesh Bank Governor Dr Atiur Rahman at South Asian World Bank office how the economic performance of the coun-

First joint working group meeting of BCIM likely in December n Sheikh ShahariarZaman The first joint working group meeting ofBangladesh-China-India-Myanmar (BCIM) economic corridor will be held in Kunming in December to translate academic discussionsinto a reality.

“We discussed the modalities of the economic corridor issue with a Chinese delegation today (Sunday),” Foreign Secretary Md Shahidu lHaque, who led the Bangladesh delegation, told the Dhaka Tribune.

The eight-member Chinese delegation led by Deputy Director General of International Department of National Development and Reform Commission Lin Dajian arrived in the city Saturday and the team is scheduled to leave for Myanmar today.

“We gave our inputs on the memorandum of understanding supplied by the Chinese side and we will continue to be engaged,” the secretary said.

The Chinese side had meeting with Indian officials and would also discuss the issue with Myanmar, Shahidul said.

It is the first time formal discussion at the official level started and it discussed about how future engagement at the government level would be held, he said.

“The Kunming meeting would be represented by senior working level officials of the four countries.”

The economic corridor initiative started in 1999 but it got its first major boost in May this year when Chinese and Indian prime ministers jointly declared that both of them agreed to construct the corridor converting long-standing academic discussions into a regional cooperation strategy.

The initiative was earlier an academic discussion under Track II diplomacy but now it is converted into Track I so that government officials are engaged in discussion.

Foreign Minister DipuMoni is scheduled to visit China after Eid and will have meetings with Chinese officials about BCIM and other issues.

The BCIM zone covers Yunnan province of China, Bihar, West Bengal and Northeast India, Myanmar and Bangladesh with an area of 1.65m square kilometers and a population of 400m.

China and India, the two major players in the region, are parties to the initiative and the success of it would largely depend on how they would react with each other.

“The objective of the BCIM is to have greater connectivity for more economic integration in the region as the corridor would stretch from Kolkata to Kunming through Bangladesh and Myanmar,” said another official of the foreign ministry. l

Governor Dr Atiur Rahman told the Dhaka Tribune that he had assured the Moody’s officials there would not be a big negative impact on the country’s economy despite any short term political instability.

The economy has recovered from the shock of the Rana Plaza collapse, and although the US has suspended GSP facilities to local garment exporters it would soon be regained after review by the US, he said.

“We have already taken different measures to mitigate labour unrest and improve work standards. As part of the measure the government has signed an agreement with Jica about projects that will finance the compliance of garment factories,” he added.

He also said garment exporters and the government would not worry about export earnings as $20bn worth of export offers would be shifted from China within next one-and-half year.

“We hope that some European Union and US export offers will definitely come to Bangladesh,” he said.

The governor also hoped there would be political understanding between the two major parties any time. “You see, BNP has not called for any shutdowns for a long time,” he pointed out.

Finance Minister Muhith said he had also asked Houérou for support in the projects for improving the country’s labour and professional skills so that Bangladesh could become competitive in the global arena. l

A mass of homebound people wait for a train at the Kamalapur Railway Station yesterday as their desired transport is not on time

MAHMUD HOSSAIN OPU

Gangs rob people in the guise of police Buyers happy with n cattle prices Ashif Islam Shaon

Robbery gangs are now employing diversionary tactics to fool people and rob them on highways setting up fake police check posts.

In the name of checking, the gangs stop vehicles on highways dressed as lawmen and commit crimes.

On Saturday night, detectives had arrested six members of such a robbery gang that making preparations to commit crimes by installing check post on highways wearing fake police inform and brandishing firearms.

“Acting on a tip-off, we arrested half of the gang members from a microbus bearing police tag at Shanir Akhra.

They were about to go to the highway with full preparations,” Joint Commissioner Monirul Islam of Detective Branch of police, said yesterday.

The arrestees were Julhas Hawlader, alias Saiful, 27, Moksedul Sarker, 30, Sohel Rana, 38, Jafar Ahmed, alias Hasmat, 30, Saiful Islam, 33, and Kabir Hossain, 35.

The gang members were carrying two sets of police uniforms, a wireless set, a pistol, two machetes and some sedatives, added the police official.

The arrests were made after carrying out raids and during primary interrogation, they admitted to committing robbery in the guise of police, Monirul said.

According to the joint commissioner, the crimes were being committed on Dhaka-Chittagong and Dhaka-Sylhet highways in such manner.

Acting on a tip-off, we arrested half of the gang members from a microbus bearing police tag at Shanir Akhra.

They were about to go to the highway with full preparations

The disguised robbers had with them police equipment such as handcuffs, indicators, stop signs and uniforms.

They admitted that while robbing a goods-laden truck, they stopped the vehicle first in the name of security check.

Later, they held the driver and helper hostage at gunpoint and drugged

MoU inked to relocate tanneries to Savar n Abu Bakar Siddique A memorandum of understanding (MoU) was signed in the capital yesterday to ensure relocation of Hazaribagh tanneries to Savar tannery estate by December next year.

While addressing the signing programme, Industries Minister Dilip Barua said government had taken the decision to relocate the tanneries to flourish the sector in an environment friendly manner as the tanneries were highly responsible for polluting the capital’s Buriganga River and posing threats to public health, Terming the MoU “historic,” the minister suggested the entrepreneurs to enhance investment in the sector and create market demand both at home and abroad.

Government had prioritised leather sector for the value it adds to the country’s economy through exporting, he added.

The move to relocate tanneries from the capital to Savar has remained suspended for a decade, due to disagreements between the authorities and tannery owners over who should bear the cost of the move.

According to a report of the Department of Environment some 22,000 cubic meters of raw and liquid waste from tannery units in Hazaribagh flow into the Buriganga, where the oxygen level is zero instead of the minimum six re-

quired for aquatic species.

More than 100 tonnes of solid waste, including dregs of finished leather, skins and chemical dust are disposed into the city.

Against the backdrop of health and environmental hazards, the High Court on the basis of a Public Interest Litigation, asked the government to relocate the tannery units from Dhaka to a proposed leather estate at Harindhara in Savar by February 28, 2010.

The government has sought an extension on the deadline on multiple occasions.

Yesterday the MoU was inked between Bangladesh Small and Cottage Industries Corporation (BSCIC), Bangladesh Tanners Association (BTA) and Bangladesh Finished Leather, Leather-goods and Footwear Exporters Association (BFLLFEA) signed the MoU. BSCIC Director Patit Pabon Baidya, BTA Chairman M Shahin Ahmed and BFLLFEA Chairman M Belal Hossain signed the MoU on behalf of their respective organisations at a ceremony organised by the Asia Foundation and South Asian Network of Economic Modeling (AFSANEM) at the Ruposhi Bangla Hotel.

The factories in Hazaribagh have been supplying raw materials for 58 years to Bangladeshi leather factories, which presently earn an estimated Tk55bn per year. l

them forcefully before transferring the goods to another truck.

“We investigated into such incidents in the last few years. A number of suspected traders of Polwel Super Market in the city’s Naya Paltan will be interrogated in connection with sale of police uniforms,” he said.

A DB official seeking anonymity told the Dhaka Tribune that there were only 40 shops in the super market on police headquarters’ list selling equipment to lawmen, but several other traders across the city were also involved in sale of such equipment illegally.

Yesterday, the detainees were shown arrest in a case filed with Jatrabari police station.

In another development, police arrested four members of a dope gang from Gabtoli in the capital yesterday.

The arrestees were Hossain, 32, Mintu Miah, 32, Mintu Hawlader, 30, and Lal Miah, 40.

The arrestees are the members of much-talked Imran Haji gang.

A large amount of sedatives used for doping were recovered from their possession.

A case was filed with Darussalam police station in this connection. l

Few staff attend Secretariat on eve of long holiday n Mohosinul Karim Despite being the last working day before the start of a long holiday for puja and eid, few people were around yesterday at the Secretariat, the centre of the country’s civil administration.

Most ministers, state ministers, secretaries and senior bureaucrats did not return to work yesterday after the twoday weekend.

According to the security section, about 40% to 45% of Secretariat staff were present yesterday.

According to ministry sources, most ministers and state ministers did not attend their offices yesterday as they were occupied with political programmes, or meeting with party activists and voters in their constituencies ahead of the next general elections.

A four-day official holiday for Durga Puja and Eid-ul-Azha begins today, followed by the weekend.

Meanwhile, most of the employees who showed up for work yesterday left by midday to return to their villages for the six-day long vacation.

Few others who did not plan to leave the city, remained in their offices only until 3pm, but they did not get much work done and requested visitors to come back next Monday.

The sources said the ministries will resume work as usual after Monday, as most people will be busy exchanging Eid greetings when offices reopen on Sunday. l

n Abu Bakar Siddique Buyers at the cattle markets in the capital are returning home happily as the prices are less than their expectation.

On the occasion of Eid-ul-Azha, one of the major religious festivals of Muslim community, it is always a big challenge for millions of middle income families to find sacrificial animals within their budgets. Prices at the cattle markets this year, however, have been significantly lower than those of last year’s.

The 20 cattle markets leased by the government for cattle-traders and buyers ahead of eid are flooded with cattle including oxen and goats. A large number of them are imported from India.

“I spent Tk41,000 to buy an ox. It took me Tk65,000 to buy an ox of the same size last year,” said Sajjad Hossain, a buyer at Banani cattle market.

Like him many other buyers were seen coming out of the market smiling with their sacrificial animals in tow.

Shariful Islam, bought four goats for the price of Tk25,000 at the Baridhara cattle market was returning with a

smile on his face. He told the Dhaka Tribune that the price of those animals would have been Tk40,000 last year.

However, Reazul Islam, a trader who came from Pabna with his 32 oxen, expressed his frustration over the low prices.

“Most traders will face huge losses unless the prices go up in the next three days,” he said. “If the trend continues and the prices keep falling, I will lose my working capital,” he added.

Outside most of the authorised cattle markets, unauthorised traders were seen on the streets with their animals, selling at a comparatively lower price.

Buyers were happy with the prices of sacrificial animals at the other markets as well. Abdul Jalil, one of the members of the Merul Badda cattle market leasing committee, said the supply of the animals was very good this year. “This has however, reduced the prices drastically,” he said.

Trading of sacrificial animals, cows and goats, has been taking place at 20 different makeshift markets across the city since October 12. It would run up to October 16, the day of festival. l

4

DHAKA TRIBUNE

News

Monday, October 14, 2013

Aduri to spend Eid in hospital, gets new clothes, shoes n Mohammad Jamil Khan Aduri, the 11-year-old girl who was rescued from a city dustbin in critical condition last month, will spend Eidul-Azha in hospital with her family.

Aduri’s condition is improving, and she is once again able to eat, talk and even play normally. She also has some new dresses, shoes and jewellery for Eid, thanks to well-wishers who were moved by the child’s ordeal working as a housemaid in the nation’s capital.

The horrific burn and cut marks on her face and body have started to heal, but ugly scars remain. The young girl loves to dress up, and every time she tries on a new outfit, she checks herself out in a small mirror.

Doctors treating Aduri at Dhaka Medical College Hospital’s one-stop crisis centre (OCC) said she was recovering well, both in body and mind.

She has also gained four kilos since being admitted nearly three weeks ago, when she weighed only 17kg and looked like a seven-year-old.

During a visit to the state-run hospital yesterday, Aduri exchanged greetings with this correspondent, and then went back to dressing up. She fondly tried on a pair of new earrings, an innocent act for which she was once reportedly tortured by her employer.

Aduri’s mother, Shafia Begum, said she was glad her daughter was safe, and they were looking forward to return home to Patuakhali.

“I thank all the people who helped her to survive,” Shafia told the Dhaka Tribune. “Now, I want to take my child back to our village and live there peacefully.”

A police officer on patrol rescued Aduri from a dustbin in the city’s Baridhara DOHS area on September 23. She was apparently dumped there after torture, and left for dead. l

ROYAL TIGER ENERGY DRINK

Apex court permits production n Tribune Report

Pedestrians yesterday, in order to cross the road near the Shanir Akhra point of the mayor Hanif flyover, risk their lives climbing the road reservation as there is no crossing facility built SYED ZAKIR HOSSAIN

CONTROVERSIAL RECRUITMENT AT DMCH

Petitioners submit documents, decision after receiving full judgement

RMG workers stage n Moniruzzaman Uzzal Authorities at the Dhaka Medical demo for wages College Hospital have begun collecting necessary documents from the n Tribune Report fourth-class employees, whose recruitWorkers of three readymade garment factories in Gazipur staged strikes and held demonstrations yesterday, demanding that their wages and festival bonuses be paid.

Police sources said workers of Parksin garments factory launched demonstrations around 8:30am. The situation came to normalcy after factory authorities assured the workers of paying the bonuses by Monday [today].

Meanwhile, workers of Tex Tech Sweater factory at Saydana Maleker Bari also staged protests in the morning, demanding salaries for the first 10 days of the ongoing month.

In Shirirchala area of Gazipur, over 200 workers of Hi Fashion Composite Textile Limited also staged demonstrations yesterday on the same issues and claimed that the factory authorities forced them to resign on October 8.

However, Factory Director Mahmudur Rahman denied the claims and said the workers were not given bonuses as they had voluntarily resigned. l

WEATHER

Slight fall in temperature likely n UNB Light to moderate rain or thundershowers accompanied by temporary gusty or squally wind is likely to occur at a few places over Dhaka, Rajshahi, Rangpur, Sylhet, Khulna, Barisal and Chittagong divisions until 6pm today.

Day and night temperature may fall slightly over the country.

The sun sets in the capital at 5:34pm today and rises at 5:56am tomorrow.

Country’s highest temperature 34.0 degree Celsius was recorded at Maijdee Court and lowest 23.5 degrees at Rangamati yesterday. Highest and lowest temperatures recorded in some major cities yesterday were: City

High

Low

Dhaka Chittagong Rajshahi Rangpur Khulna Barisal Sylhet Cox’s Bazar

32.2 31.4 33.1 28.4 32.5 32.0 32.6 32.4

25.8 25.6 25.3 25.8 26.2 25.8 24.6 25.0

ments were made valid following a recent High Court judgement which dismissed a health ministry directive to cancel the highly-controversial appointments.

Many of the recruits, who filed writ petitions challenging the health ministry directive, turned up at the DMCH director’s office yesterday to submit papers necessary for the appointment process.

Golam Mowla, who was recruited as an MLSS at the hospital in 2009, told the Dhaka Tribune that he had joined work at the time, but was unable to continue as the recruitment was can-

celed by the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare.

After four years of battle at the court, Mowla returned to DMCH yesterday with his appointment letter, medical certificate and writ documents – for submitting them to the authorities.

Many others like Mowla were seen to be in jubilant moods at the DMCH yesterday, as they waited to submit their respective documents.

Brigadier General Dr Mustafizur Rahman, director of DMCH, told the Dhaka Tribune that hospital authorities were yet to receive the full judgement of the High Court, but had received a certified copy from the lawyers where the High Court’s short judgement was written.

The authorities had received names of all the 287 individuals who filed a total of eight writs with the high court,

Dr Mustafizur said, adding that in the short judgment the high court judges declared the health ministry’s recruitment cancellation order illegal.

The DMCH director said the hospital was facing a massive shortage of fourth-class employees and needed more manpower as soon as possible.

“However we cannot appoint them just now. We are just keeping the documents from the writ petitioners, but we will take the final decision about them after getting the full judgment,” he said.

Asked about the other recruits who did not file writs with the court, Dr Mustafizur said: “I cannot make any decision about them. A total of 374 people had been given appointment letters, but 287 filed writ petition.”

It was learnt that the High Court last week upheld the DMCH authority’s de-

Shopkeepers, customers blame state of country n Syeda Samira Sadeque With only a few days left for Eid-ul-Azha, the festival spirit appeared to dampen for many upscale retailers as sales remained generally low compared to other years.

“Many customers just roam around, they don’t buy,” said Rakib, a salesman at Shadamon, a high-end clothing store in Bashundhara City.

A mother, who was window shopping with her daughter at the popular city mall, said they were not there to buy.

“No clothes for this Eid,” said Munni, a lawyer. “My daughter is here to see the colours and new clothes, but that is all.”

“This time my children and I have decided to only buy the cow,” she said, without giving a reason for not purchasing new clothes this eid.

Many other customers, meanwhile, seemed affected by the prices and the financial aspect of shopping.

“I just bought these three-quarter trousers, and my wife a saree last night,” Sajjadul Rahman, a bank employee, said

while shopping at Dorji Bari, a clothes shop.

“This eid, there were some financial constraints. And so, I could not shop the way I did during the previous eid,” he added.

Al Masud Khan, the shop manager, said: “There just seems to be fewer customers overall.”

Sisters Sadia and Nadia Islam, who were browsing at shop windows, pointed at the mannequins clad in salwarkameez sets adorned with stones and glitter, saying they wanted such outfits for eid.

“But things look very expensive this time,” said Sadia, a university student.

“It’s crossing our budget. We have been to Shopper’s World, Pink City and now at Bashundhara City, and this looks most promising.”

Many blamed the present state of the country for the dampened holiday spirit.

“Looking at the situation of the country, its economy, the political scenario, the state of the people and workers, it

is quite easy to tell why there are so few buyers. People in general are not very excited this time,” said Rana Ahmed, a salesman at Rishan, another clothing store.

Ahmed said sales were considerably lower this Eid-ul-Azha than in previous years.

Some customers voiced a similar opinion regarding the low number of shoppers, and the general gloom hanging in the air.

“As Muslims, the excitement for eid is always there, but the country’s current situation has, in a way, marred this delight,” said Nimmi Chowdhury, who bought a saree from Pink City, another shopping centre in the capital.

On the other hand, some shopkeepers said sales were usually better during Eidul-Fitr, the largest Muslim festival marking the end of Ramadan.

“In general, Eid-ul-Fitr is our profitmaking season, as it is a much bigger event,” said Mozammel, a salesman at Dash Fashion in Bashundhara City. l

At least 21 cattle traders became victims of dope gang, locally known as “Ogyan Party,” and the miscreants robbed them after making them unconscious allegedly using drugs with their supper in Chittagong city.

The victims alleged that the miscreants robbed about Tk350,000 from them at the Steel Mill Cattle Market in the port city.

The victims were admitted to Chittagong Medical College Hospital, said Sub-Inspector Jahirul Islam of the CMCH police outpost.

Rezaul Karim, a cattle trader who came from Chapainawabgonj, said he along with seven others, become senseless after eating their supper around 12:30pm.

Meanwhile, another cattle trader Jahid Sheikh,who came from Faridpur, also said he, along with 12 others, also became victims in the same way. However, the miscreants could not take any money because their money was kept to another businessman, he said. l

Impasse over price of power from Summit Group plant n Aminur Rahman Rasel The government and Summit Group could not reach an agreement over the price of power from the group’s bargemounted power plant in Khulna in a meeting yesterday as the government proposed to buy more electricity after the expiry of a 15-year old contract on Saturday.

“We discussed the issue on Sunday to continue purchasing the electricity. They said they would sell power at the current rate during the extended period but we asked them to revise it downward,” Power Secretary Monowar Islam told the Dhaka Tribune.

The secretary and his team would sit again with the owners of the power plant on October 20.

The meeting was held between the Power Division and Khulna Power

n Our Correspondent, Gazipur

4:40am 5:54am 11:45pm 3:57pm 5:35pm 6:50pm

Source: IslamicFinder.org

Cattle traders becoming victims of “Ogyan Party” n Tarek Mahmud, Chittagong

Company Ltd (KPCL), which is under Summit Group. Summit Group Chairman Muhammed Aziz Khan was present at the meeting.

KPCL is the first Independent Power Producer (IPP) of the country, established in 1997 under the Private Sector Power Generation Policy.

It owns and operates a 110 MW barge-mounted power plant that commenced its operation in October 1998 and supplies electricity to the national grid.

Nine generator sets are mounted on one barge and ten on the other. Each barge is approximately 91 meters long and 24 meters wide.

The plant consumes about 600 MT of Heavy Fuel Oil daily to generate 110 MW power by the 19 generators on the two barges, which are stationed in Khalishpur, Khulna. l

GCC master-role employees block highway in Tongi

PRAYER TIMES Fajar Sunrise Zohr Asr Magrib Esha

cision to recruit 287 fourth-class employees in the hospital, dismissing a health ministry directive to cancel the highly-controversial appointments.

The ministry earlier repealed the recruitment of 354 staffers against 171 vacancies, after a probe committee found evidence of corruption in the recruitment process.

The bench of Justice Md Rezaul Haque and Justice ABM Altaaf Hossain came up with the order following eight separate writ petitions against the ministry decision filed by some of the recruited employees.

Earlier, a probe committee, headed by health ministry’s Joint Secretary KBM Omar Faruq, found evidence of the recruitment scam and held the then DMCH director Brigadier General Bajle Quader and former DMCH deputy director Md Foyjullah responsible. l

The Royal Tiger Energy Drink can again go into production as the Appellate Division of the Supreme Court yesterday stayed a High Court order delivered on Thursday to stop its production for next three months.

Following a petition against the High Court (HC) order, Chamber Judge of the Appellate Division Justice Hasan Foez Siddique stayed the HC order for three weeks.

Lawyers Abdul Baset Majumdar and Fazle Nur Taposh pleaded for the company.

On Thursday, The HC bench of Justice Mirza Hussain Haider and Justice Khurshid Alam Sarkar ordered to cease the production and marketing of Royal Tiger Energy Drink for three months in response to a writ lodged by three lawyers.

It also issued a rule asking why the production and marketing of the drink should not be directed to stop.

The secretaries of commerce, food and home, deputy commissioner of Dhaka, BSTI chairman and AST Beverage Limited had been asked to respond by three weeks.

Saiful Alam, one of the petitioners, said the petition had been filed on the basis of a Bangla daily’s report which stated that the drink contained chemicals which were detrimental to health. l

Workers of GCC stage demonstrations demanding bonuses and salaries blocking the highway in Gazipur

DHAKA TRIBUNE

Over 400 workers on the master-role working in the Tongi regional office of Gazipur City Corporation blocked the Dhaka-Mymensingh Highway yesterday, demanding payment of their salary and Eid bonuses.

The agitated workers also vandalised vehicles during the agitation programme.

According to sources, the masterrole employees staged demonstrations as the authorities concerned earlier assured that their due salary for the

month of September and Eid bonus would be paid but there was no initiate taken till yesterday.

Around noon, the workers blockaded the highway and vandalised some vehicles.

However, after half an hour, the situation was normal as the city corporation councillor again assured the workers that their arrears would be paid.

The brief blockade resulted in long tailbacks on both side of the highway, leaving the homebound people to suffer during the Eid rush. l

DHAKA TRIBUNE

Long Form

Monday, October 14, 2013

5

The way forward for RMG

SYED ZAKIR HOSSAIN

A

n Mamun Rashid

For the sake of better and quality output, the owners themselves need to be more aware of keeping their workforce satisfied

fter the Rana Plaza incident that took more than eleven hundred lives, there was supposed to be a new awakening among all stakeholders in our apparel industry – be it the factory owners, exporters, government agencies, labour unions, development partners, and, more importantly, the buyers as well as the official agencies in the buying countries. We have seen some efforts taken from that direction too.

However, many local policy planners are still doubting the future of this industry segment as a whole. No, we don’t want these things to recur, we don’t want any more unwanted deaths, unprepared deaths, uncared and unattended “man-made” disasters in our manufacturing plants, especially in our most promising and competitive ready-made garment (RMG) sector.

No matter whether our labour is cheap or not, whether we do have “proven skills” or not, no civilised nation can afford to maintain its competitiveness on a sustainable basis in an irresponsible way. It speaks better neither for the industry nor for the country.

We have to fix our RMG sector. Be it an issue relating to human resources or industrial relations, labour standards or minimum wage, productivity or skill development, or safety and security of workers – Bangladesh has to address each one of these issues in order to maintain the competitiveness of our RMG sector in the global apparel “supply chain.”

The country entered the apparel export market in 1978 with only nine units and earned $0.069m. During the last three decades this sector has achieved a phenomenal growth due to continuous policy support from the government, and more importantly dynamism of the private sector entrepreneurs along with extremely hard-working but mostly civic workers.

Now, the number of RMG units is around 5,000 and the export earnings have exceeded $21.5bn with 145 countries using “made in Bangladesh” knit garments and 126 countries using products woven in Bangladesh.

Analysts are saying the apparel exports can be more than doubled by 2020.

Recent statistics tells us, 4 million workers are working in the RMG units, of whom around 80% are women.

RMG roughly covers 78% of the total export of the country and is the highest earning industry in the economy. 4 million men and women in more than 5000 factories, which is almost twothirds of the number of employees engaged in the manufacturing sector, constitute the real backbone of the Bangladeshi economy.

Against all these achievements, we just cannot overlook the major issues and problems facing the industry, especially the RMG workers. The common problems being encountered by the RMG workers are low wage, irregular payment, forceful overtime, poor working environment, physical and sexual harassment, termination, and more importantly, accidents and deaths for safety and security failures.

Low wages have traditionally been a major strength of Bangladesh’s labour-intensive apparel sector. The hourly wage rate in Bangladesh’s RMG sector is lower than those in China, Vietnam and Sri Lanka. Though the situation is improving, allegations remain that many owners do not pay the monthly wages and overtime bills to their workers in time and look after the welfare of the workers.

In some factories, the owners deliberately keep at least two months’ salary and overtime bills of the workers in arrears. The management does hiring and firing of workers randomly and retrenched workers, in most cases, are not paid their dues.

Furthermore, in the absence of weekly holiday in some factories the workers and their children are all being affected both mentally and physically.

Subsequent accidents have proven that many garment factories in Bangladesh have no minimum safety measures, not even the required number of fire extinguishers.

Many garment factories in Dhaka alone do not have emergency exits.

Most factories do not conduct the required monthly evacuation drills; those who do, do not have identified fire warden in their plants or production floors, meaning there are work overlapping among production managers re: fire drills and fire safety assurance.

These saw around 1500 deaths in garment factories across the country since 1990. Some of the victims were burnt alive and others died either from building collapse, suffocation or in stampede. The recent incidents in Ashulia and Savar has proven all these to be brutally true.

Most of the RMG factories do not have any special reproductive health care for female workers to safeguard the motherhood. Due to absence of such healthcare along with congested and suffocating working environment, the trend of producing physically disabled babies is reportedly increasing.

Thousands of buildings escape scrutiny because the building inspection system is as old and decrepit as the buildings themselves.

Many issues concerning the Bangladesh RMG sector surfaced from time to time, the first being the child labour issue. An influential US labour organisation forced the government and the Bangladesh Garments Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA) to address the child labour issue. They had to phase-out child labour from RMG units and create facilities for their rehabilitation and schooling. It’s pleasing to note that child labour is a bygone history in our apparel industry.

There is no denying that employers do enjoy upper hand in Bangladesh labour market where every third person is either unemployed or under-employed. But for the sake of better and quality output, the owners themselves need to be more aware of keeping their workforce satisfied by providing them with reasonable pay and ensuring other basic necessities.

It goes below the dignity of any nation if the outsiders always force its factory owners to comply with their own demand relating to better wages and freedom of associations for the workers and improved working conditions in the workplace.

Though labour is readily available and cheap, it comes at a cost. RMG industries are gradually facing shortages of skilled workers and lack of mid-level managers. Though BGMEA along with H&M, SIDA, TESCO, DFID, and Bangladesh Ministry of Commerce has taken initiatives of skill development, more such initiatives are required to meet the demand of the industry and to enhance the productivity of the industry; especially when the sector has started to feel the “pinch” of labour shortage.

The diversity of apparel industry is $500bn and the fast-increasing global market can be reached with more process-focused production system than the existing entrepreneur-driven

Taking that fighting spirit ahead, the RMG sector must formulate an equitable solution for all involved parties and ensure brighter future for the country as a whole

One may raise a valid question: why are there frequent fire incidents or building collapse in garment factories alone when there are hundreds of other factories across the country?

The answer is not that difficult to find. Most of the garment factories are housed in rented premises at commercial or residential areas.

These buildings have not been built to accommodate factories having all the safety measures. According to national labour studies, there are only a few inspectors for the entire industry – almost the same number as in the 1970s, when the industry first sprouted.

According to unofficial sources, most of the garment factories in Bangladesh lack proper industrial approval.

production system. Currently the main exports of the apparel industry are in the “production of tangible activities.”

The export revenue can increase with pre-production of intangible activities such as R&D, Design, and post-production intangible activities such as marketing, service, etc. To achieve this diversity, the owners need to focus on the mid-management with a sophisticated HR department specialised in apparel industry.

Infrastructural threats also need to be taken care of by the government and stakeholders. Capacity of Chittagong port, Dhaka-Chittagong fourlane highways, and dedicated garments village may also help the overall industry. Dedicated basic study about apparel industry in the school, college,

and more importantly university level may also create more awareness about this major foreign currency earning industry and also prevent any future accidents or untoward incidents.

The financial institutions or banks should assist the RMG entrepreneurs and professionals to adjust with the new and shifting global trade regime.

Entrepreneurs need low cost foreign currency funds to finance upgradation of plants and relocation; they need to adjust with changed international trade payment or settlement regime like open account trade, delivered duty paid, delivered at terminals, delivered at place or even delivered at the shelf in the superstores or even possible management of the shelf at the retailers’ end.

The owners as well as buyers also need to take responsibilities for the existing and future production plants with proper safety and security. The new factories should also ensure the green production system to create a healthy environment for the workers.

The buyers ethically cannot avoid the responsibilities of the workers’ life, simply by buying products at lower costs due to the extreme competition.

Bangladesh being the second largest apparel exporter is expected to play a major role in the global apparel market. With three decades of experience, supply of cheap labour, huge number of entrepreneurs emerging

culture needs to be changed.

There should be a listening culture in place, which will help to identify the opportunities as well as to foresee imminent crises. It’s high time that BGMEA thinks of an integrated communication strategy as well as of investing in capacity building of the related media people. Ad-hoc press conferences or reactions will not hold water in the long run.

The RMG sector in Bangladesh has come a long way, especially in the last two decades since 1990. The industry has crossed many hurdles to stay competitive. It has proved many predictions futile and wrong, and competed fiercely even after the abolition of quota and through global economic meltdown. The credit for that achievement goes to both entrepreneurs and labourers, and may be to the government too.

Taking that fighting spirit ahead, the RMG sector must formulate an equitable solution for all involved parties and ensure brighter future for the country as a whole. The near term reality for a country like Bangladesh remains to be competitive through cheap labour only, unless we can improve our infrastructure and fix the domestic economy dramatically as well as manage a shift in quality through better productivity and efficiency – more importantly by fixing the “managerial gap” in this sector.

Though labour is readily available and cheap, it comes at a cost.

RMG industries are gradually facing shortages of skilled workers and lack of mid managers

over the years, Bangladesh has established a structural competitiveness in the apparel industry, which is likely to sustain for the years to come as the structure of most developed countries has declined in the last five decades since the LTA (long term agreement regarding international trade in cotton textile) came into force in 1962.

With the export doubling in a decade, the Bangladeshi apparel industry requires support from stakeholders.

Entrepreneurs require investing more on the entrepreneurial skills development, improving the existing productivity, developing the living standard of workers and providing them a green, healthy work environment.

The stakeholders, policy makers, governments, buyers, donors and different development agency must cooperate with the entrepreneurs, policy makers, management and labourers to achieve this. This is about time we “walk the talk” regarding a separate and independent Apparel Development Board like BTRC, IDRA, BOI, BSEC or Bangladesh Bank. We are depending too much on BGMEA, an owner driven organisation.

In light of all these, we have to evaluate the situation judiciously and with clear responsibility. There is no way that the leaders of the RMG industry ignore the grievances of the workers.

They can no longer afford to refrain from investing in the welfare of their workers and workplace. They would have to immediately look into some critical issues.

A barrier to change in the Bangladeshi RMG industry is the lack of understanding of global pressures to improve labour standards among middle management. There is a need for rigorous training on industrial relations, human resource management, factory management, occupational hazard management, disaster management and continuity of business at the supervisory level to build more educated manpower instead of only skilled ones. More emphasis on gender issues is needed, as RMG sector middle management is predominantly female.

The absence of hard evidence about the links between implementing core labour standards and increased profitability makes it difficult to establish the business case in support of improved labour standards. Most of the RMG units in Bangladesh are owner driven rather than process driven. This

Some of the garment factory owners (especially in the export processing zones) have recognised the hard realities and are managing the transition well. Others have to take it or leave it.

These “others” also include workers, policy planners, and citizenry and may be buyers too, as mentioned earlier.

Now, coming back to the Tazreen or Rana Plaza incidents: though the BGMEA leaders along with few “top brass” in the government smelt the same old “conspiracy” behind the factory fire initially, soon they came to realise that they have to “fasten their own seat belts.” This was obviously a “breath of fresh air” for the stakeholders in the industry.

BGMEA has been seen taking some proactive measures to avoid “future surprises.” They must walk the talk now. They should start working with the development partners, most importantly the large buyers and sourcing agencies, to bring in “new standards” including the “green production environment” in this industry to avoid all possible surprises in future and ensure commitment to its success.

The Bangladeshi apparel industry has come a long way. As mentioned, it was not only for “cheap labour” or even “China plus one.” Entrepreneurship, work ethics, diversity, capacity and policy support also played a major role here. Buyers look for several types of garments from here in Bangladesh.

It is one of the few countries among the peers who are producing for the many brands like Target, Wal-Mart, Sears, K-Mart, TESCO, Sainsbury’s, American Eagle, Abercrombie & Fitch, H&M, GAP, NEXT, Marks & Spencer, Aeropostale, Wrangler, Lee, Nike, PUMA, Adidas, PVH, Tommy Hilfiger, CK, Timberland, ZARA, ESPIRIT, Polo Ralph Lauren and many more.

Despite the barriers and challenges, Bangladesh has been branded with the tag line of “yet, we deliver.” This is what will keep Bangladesh going.

But we have to behave; we all have to behave including a bit more of hand-holding from the large buyers and development partners in order to pass on few extra bucks to the workers with a bit of better living standards. l Mamun Rashid is a business professor and financial sector entrepreneur. This article is the excerpt of a keynote paper presented at BATEXPO 2013.

6 Singer Rumey freed on bail n Md Sanaul Islam Tipu

A Dhaka court granted bail for singer Arfin Rumey yesterday with his wife Ananya as the guarantor.

Dhaka Metropolitan Magistrate Anwar Sadat granted the bail for Rumey and his brother Yasin Roni.

Ananya had alleged that Rumey often tortured her for dowry and that the level of torture intensified after his second marriage.

The Magistrate granted the bail after Rumey’s first wife Ananya filed a bail petition through defense counsel mentioning that there was a misunderstanding between them, which has been dissolved.

Police arrested Rumey on Saturday, based on a complaint lodged by Ananya with Mohammadpur police station on Friday night.

Ananya had alleged that Rumey often tortured her for dowry and that the level of torture intensified after his second marriage. A Dhaka court sent Rumey and his brother to jail on Saturday rejecting their bail plea. l

DHAKA TRIBUNE

News

Monday, October 14, 2013

PM: Follow building code strictly Another victim dies CHITTAGONG MADRASA EXPLOSION

She emphasises setting up separate units in every forces including the Army, Navy and Air Force to respond to the disasters

n Tribune Desk Urging all concerned to strictly follow the building code in constructing any structure to avert possible damages and loss of lives in any disaster, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina yesterday emphasised setting up separate units in every forces including the Army, Navy and Air Force to respond to the disasters.

“We have associated every forces (Army, Navy, Air Force, BGB, RAB, Police and Ansar) in tackling disasters… there should be separate units in every force for tackling disasters as well as imparting proper training,” she said hoping to conduct such training in each and every institution in future, reports UNB. The PM was addressing a function, marking the ‘International Disaster Reduction Day’, at the Bangabandhu International Conference Center (BICC) in the city.

Organised by the Disaster Management and Relief Ministry, Social Wel-

fare Minister Enamul Haque Mostafa Shaheed and UN Resident Coordinator in Bangladesh Neal Walker spoke on the occasion as special guests.

Disaster Management and Relief Minister AH Mahmood Ali presided over the function while its Secretary Mesbah ul Alam gave the address of welcome.

The day is being observed in the country as elsewhere across the globe to raise awareness about how people are taking action to reduce their risk to disasters. This year’s of day is ‘Living with Disability and Disasters’.

Speaking as the chief guest, Hasina mentioned that there is a tendency among the country’s people not to follow the building code while making any infrastructure.

“I appeal to all to give special attention on following the building code as the people’s life is above everything,” she said. “We have experience of huge loss of lives and damages… we’ll have to abandon the mindset of construct-

ing a building by any means and thus earn from it.”

Referring to the Rana Plaza building collapse on April 24 this year in Savar, she said the members of Army, Navy, Police, BGB and RAB joining hands with the local people worked relentlessly to conduct the 21-day rescue operation, which was perhaps rare in the world.

The prime minister noted that it is not possible for the government alone to associate the physically challenged people in disaster preparedness and post- disaster management.

She said: “All men and women of the society would have to take equal responsibility to this end. Apart from ensuring their welfare, we’ll have to give special attention so they (physically challenged) are not affected in any kind of disaster.”

Hasina said Bangladesh already received international acclaim for its achievements in post-disaster management of cyclone and flood.

She said the physically challenged

people face more risk than others in case of any disaster “So, the association of physically challenged people in disaster risk reduction is indispensable,” The prime minister mentioned that Bangladesh every year faces various natural and human made disasters like cyclone, flood, drought, river erosion and landslide apart from the recent phenomenon of adverse impacts of climate change. She said: “The frequency of disasters and their intensity are gradually increasing, and also the extent of losses,” Hasina said that her government has already enacted the ‘Disaster Management Act-2012’ and formulated the ‘Cyclone shelter construction, maintenance and management policy-2011’.

Mentioning that her government has also formulated the National Disaster Management Plan 2010-2015, she said an agreement has been signed for exchange of information and extending cooperation among the SAARC countries in disaster risk management. l

n Tushar Hayat, Chittagong Another injured from the Jamiatul Uloom Al-Islamia Lalkhan Bazar Madrasa explosion on October 7 succumbed to his injuries at the Dhaka Medical College Hospital yesterday, raising the death toll to three in the incident.

The deceased, one Mohammed Nurun Nabi, 25, was a diploma engineer from Chittagong Polytechnic Institute and a resident of Chittagong city’s Port Colony.

Mohammed Shahidullah, additional deputy commissioner at the north zone of the Chittagong Metropolitan Police, said Nabi died at the DMCH burn unit around 5pm.

On October 7, a massive explosion rocked the madrasa run by Mufti Izharul Islam Chowdhury, senior nayeb-eameer of Hefazat at Lalkhan Bazar, leaving at least five people critically injured.

Three cases were filed, accusing 12 individuals, including Mufti Izhar, in connection with the explosion.

Of the injured, one Habibur Rahman succumbed to his injuries on October 8, while another Zubair Ahmed died on October 9 at the Chittagong Medical College Hospital. l

Government forming torture squad: Rizvi n Mohammad Al-Masum Molla Ruhul Kabir Rizvi, joint secretary general of the main opposition BNP, alleged that the government was forming a “torture squad” to foil the opposition’s movement after Eid-ul-Adha to introduce provision for non-party interim government in the constitution.

“We came to know from different sources and news is also flying in the air that a torture squad has been formed led by a high rank official of police loyal to the government. The aim of the squad is to repress the opposition leaders and activists to foil our movement,” he said.

“Not only that, we are have also heard that this squad might turn into a killing squad,” added Rizvi while addressing a press briefing at party’s Nayapaltan headquarters in the capital yesterday.

Rizvi claimed that being alienated from the mass, the government was now opting for various heinous strategies to repress the opposition party.

“The government is daydreaming to cling to power by holding election under its own arrangement. People of the country will give a bitter reply to it for hatching such heinous conspiracy by taking to the streets,” he hoped.

Issuing a note of warning, Rizvi said if the government did not insert provision for non-partisan interim government in the constitution during the current session, vigorous movement would be waged after Eid-ul-Adha.

Meanwhile, at another programme, party’s standing committee member Rafiqul Islam Miah said as per constitution there was no scope for continuing the parliament session after October 24.

“As per Article 123(3) (A) and Article 123(3) (B), there is no scope to continue the parliament session after October 24, however, the government is saying that it would continue. If the government continues the session after October 24, it will be a violation of the constitution,” he said.

The BNP leader called upon its party leaders and activists to take to the streets after October 24 to restore the non-party caretaker administration in the constitution to oversee the next parliamentary polls.

Addressing a discussion organised

by Free Thinkers Forum at the National Press Club, he said: “It is not possible to realise the demand sitting in an air conditioned room. So all of us have to take to the streets and stay there until the demand is met.” l

Buyers busy buying cutting equipment ahead of the Eid-ul-Azha at the capital’s karwan Bazar area

Nirmul Committee frustrated over verdict against Alim n

Tribune Report

Ekatturer Ghatak Dalal Nirmul Committee yesterday expressed frustration over the latest verdict by International Crimes Tribunal against Abdul Alim that awarded him “imprisonment until death considering old age, illness, and physical disability”.

The organisation which has long been demanding war criminals’ highest punishment urged the government to appeal against the verdict saying the war criminals should be punished bearing in mind their horrendous crimes against humanity and genocide which they committed during the Liberation War, not consider-

ing their age, says a press release.

The Nirmul Committee has prepared a list of demands at the executive committee’s meeting led by its President Justice Mohammad Ghulam Rabbani.

“The war criminals who were finally produced on deck after 42 years of independence are all old aged. If they are graced for old age this trial actually bears no meaning,” the press release said.

The examples of gracing and showing humanity for the war criminals, despite strong witnesses and full-proof evidences against them will misguide the society and there will be a boost in crime in effect, the release said.

“And, none of the accused of war

crimes has sought the tribunal’s mercy so far. We do not understand why the tribunal showed softness for them,” it said.

The organisation’s leaders also cited the verdict against former Jamaat chief Ghulam Azam by International Crimes Tribunal-1, who was found guilty on all five charges the prosecution stacked against him for masterminding crimes against humanity, genocide and other wartime offences in 1971, but was sentenced to 90 years in prison.

Its Executive President Shahriar Kabir, Vice-President Shaheed Jaya, Shyamoli Nasrin Chowdhury, Prof Muntasir Mamun, sculptor Ferdousi Priyabhashini were present at the meeting. l

Court summons Inqilab editor

n Tribune Report

A Dhaka Court yesterday summoned the daily Inqilab editor and four others in a defamation case filed by the Diamond World Managing Director Dilip Kumer Agarwal.

Dhaka Metropolitan Magistrate Md Mahbubur Rahman passed the order after recording the plaintiff ’s statement.

The accused are AMM Bahauddin, editor and publisher of the bangla daily, chairman of Kaderiya Publication and Production Limited, Abdul Kader, marketing director of the daily, Md Alamgir, adviser of the daily and a staff reporter of the daily.

Plaintiff Joynul Abedin Mezbah told the Dhaka Tribune: “The Inqilab published a false and fake news about the Diamond World on October 2.”

The plaintiff also claimed that the news was published without any ground and documents that was defamatory to him and his organisation, adding that his organisation had to incur a total of Tk500m taka losses because of the false report. l

Syed Md Ismail passes away

n Tribune Desk

A group of primary school teachers lie down in front of the “Shikha Chironton” as part of their indefinite hunger strike programme, demanding regularisation of their job NASHIRUL ISLAM

Alhajj Syed Md Ismail, founding president of Songbadpotro Hawkers’ Kollyan Bohumukhi Somobai Samity Ltd, died in a hospital in the country on Saturday. He was 87.

Ismail left behind his wife, a son, three daughters and a host of relatives and well-wishers. He was buried at the Jurain graveyard after namaz-e-janaza.

President of the Samity Alhajj Md Ishaq, Secretary Md Alauddin, President of Dhaka Songbadpotro Bohumukhi Somobai Samity Ltd Mostofa Kamal, and Secretary Md Muslim Mia expressed grief over his death.

His well-wishers are requested to pray for the salvation of the departed soul. l

DHAKA TRIBUNE

Two arrested with VoIP equipment in Barisal n Our Correspondent, Barisal Rapid Action Battalion arrested two youths involved with illegal VoIP business yesterday afternoon at a house of BIP Branch road area in Barisal.

The arrestees are Imran Hossen Akash, who passed diploma in computer science from Infra Polytechnic Institute Barisal in 2013, and his associate Shariful Islam, who came from Mymensingh to join the business last month.

Captain Abul Bashar, company commander of Rab 8, said tracking huge number of mobile phone calls from a certain point from different numbers, a team of Rab led by him raided the area.

After monitoring the calls Rab confirmed that the calls were coming from the second floor of Rashida Niloy of the road, he said.

Searching the house, Rab recovered and seized 4 VoIP machines, two computers, and 600 SIMs of Banglalink and

Tele talk mobile phones and made the arrests, the commander added.

In primary interrogation, Imran confessed that he used 600 SIMs in those machines regularly.

Through those machines he had been making average call of 18,000 minutes per day in last 24 days, evading huge amount of government revenues, Imran said, adding that his Facebook-friend Aratel alias Sumon offered him to start the business by investing Tk200,000 per month and to become a partner of the Asia Link, Dhaka.

Then he collected Chinese made four VoIP machines at the rate of Tk160,000 from the Microtel of Dhaka through Sumon, he said.

A section of Bangladeshi people contact with their relatives and friends through the VoIP at a reduced rate and thus he evades government revenue worth Tk50,000 per day, Imran acknowledged. l

ACC to file case against Rajuk official n Tribune Report The Anti-Corruption Commission has decided to file a case against Salma Sultana, an official of design approval branch at Rajdhani Unnayan Katripaksha, for concealing information about her wealth of around Tk10m.

The commission, in its general meeting approved filing of the case since the official have not disclosed property of Tk9.23m while submitting her wealth statement to the ACC, Public Relations Officer of ACC Pranab Kumar Bhattacharya said.

After preliminary inquiry, the commission found evidence that the official has concealed undisclosed income on the name of herself and her children and thus the commission has approved filing the case, he said.

He also said the commission is expecting to have more undisclosed money acquired by the official, but since the commission has evidences on around Tk10m, the case would be filed with the amount.

ACC Deputy Director Harunur Rashid is assigned to file the case under section 26 (2) and 27 (1) of Anti-Corruption Commission Act 2004. l

DHAKA TRIBUNE

Nation

7

Monday, October 14, 2013

One killed for protesting harassment of sisters n Our Correspondent, Magura

20 injured, 50 houses damaged as tornado hits Satkhira n Tribune Desk

A gang of stalkers allegedly killed a man as he protested her two sister’s harassment in Magura yesterday.

Witnesses said five stalkers— Shuzan, Mofiz, Imran, Nayan and Shaddam— made an attack with sharp weapons on Rokon Mollah, 50, while he was returning home from his agricultural land in the morning.

Rokon’s younger brother Fazlur Rahman, their sisters Munni and Laboni also came under attack as they went to rescue him after listening his screaming for help.

Locals, sent Rokon to Magura Sadar Hospital where he died around 9:30am in the morning.

Munni, Laboni and Fazlur Rahman were also admitted at the same hospital.

Locals said the five stalkers were used to stalking Munni, a college student, and her younger Laboni, a student of class eight, for a long time.

Rokon protested against the stalkers last few days ago, and the gang made the attack to take revenge, added locals.

Jahangir Alam, officer-in-charge of Magura police station, admitted the incident, but no case was filed till evening. l

At least 20 people were injured and over 50 houses damaged as a violent storm swept over five villages in Devhata uapzila of the district yesterday morning.

Upazila Nirbhai Officer Tariqul Islam said the tornado hit Panchpota, Kora Rahimpur, Sakhipur, Makhri and Bhatshala village around 9am and lasted for a few minutes, leaving 20 people injured.

Among the injured, 17 people were rushed to Sakhipur health complex.

The tornado uprooted a large number of trees and damaged crops on vast tracts of land.

UNO Tariqul Islam visited the spot. l

Sale gains peak in cattle markets in Gaibandha n Tribune Desk With only one day left to Eid-ul-Azha, the second largest religious festival of the Muslims in the country, trading of sacrificial animals has reached its peak in Gaibandha district.

According to sources, traditional and makeshift cattle markets have been set up in different open spaces including school grounds and market areas in the district.

While visiting five cattle markets, traders expressed content over the supply of cattle like bulls, goats and oxen, however, they said selling prices of the cattle were comparatively lower compared to last year, reports BSS. A cow weighing 100 kg was being sold at Tk26,000 while the same was sold at Tk30,000 last year, said Bakhtiar Ahmed, a cattle trader.

A goat weighing 15 kg was being sold at Tk6,000 , the kind of which was sold at Tk7,000 last year, he said.

Some of the traders in Gaibandha are transferring cattle to the prominent cattle markets in Dhaka and other districts across the country, with a hope to earn more profit.

A number of fake currency detectors had been installed in the major cattle markets to check any kind of deception in the selling of sacrificial animals, said police super M Shajid Hussain.

Deputy Commissioner of Gaibandha district Dr Quazi Anwarul Haque said the district administration had taken up adequate measures to run the business of sacrificial animals smoothly this year, reports BSS. l

Special measures taken to check leather trafficking n Tribune Desk

Hapless women sitting in front of their house damaged in a violent storm which swept over five villages in Devhata uapzila in Satkhira yesterday

Fishermen violating ban on hilsa netting 25kg hilsa seized in Noakhali, 8 fined in Bhola for defying ban n Tribune Report Fishermen are reportedly violating the government-imposed 11-day ban on netting hilsa fish, with separate drives seizing illegally caught hilsa and slapping fines on fishermen who were in violation of the restrictions.

In Noakhali, a joint drive by the Noakhali district fisheries office and upazila administration managed to seize around 25kg of hilsa and jatka fish (hilsa fry) at Maijdee Bazar yesterday.

District Fisheries officer Bilkis Tahmina however informed that the traders, who were selling the fish illegally, managed to flee the scene.

Anyone found guilty of catching mother hilsa and/or jatka would be punished with up to two years in prison or a fine of Tk5,000, said the Noakhali district fisheries officer Bilkis Tahmina.

An 11-day ban imposed by the government on the netting, selling, marketing and importing of hilsa fish – came into effect yesterday, aiming to boost hilsa production by ensuring safe spawning and protecting mother hilsas.

Elsewhere in Bhola, a mobile court fined eight fishermen Tk5,000 each, on charges of catching mother hilsa on the Meghna River in Manpura upazila.

Police said the eight fishermen were held while catching mother hilsa in the river in the morning. Two trawlers along with 250 hilsas and 1,100 metres of current nets were also seized, reports UNB. Later, a mobile court, led by Upazila Nirbahi Officer Abdullah Al Baki, slapped the fine on them for defying the ban on the catching of mother hilsa.

The fishermen who were fined are Nur Mohammad, 24, Mohammad Jewel, 24, Mohammad Sahabuddin, 46, Mohammad Kamal, 28, Mohammad Samsuddin, 26, Mohammad Rafijal Majhi, 48, Moslehuddin, 46, and Mohammad Malek Majhi, 38.

The mobile court also destroyed the current nets at Hazirhat Bazar.

Meanwhile, the fishing restriction has made lives harder for at least 26,000 fishermen of Chandpur, who have no other alternative occupation and have not received any relief from

NEWS IN BRIEF Two poachers held with two deer in Sundarbans Officials of forest department arrested two poachers along with two deer from Haldikhali canal in the Sundarbans under Chandpai Range in Mongla upazila on Saturday. The arrestees were identified as Sheikh Munsur Ali, 48, of Perikhali village of Rampal upazila, and Manik Sheikh, 26, son of Azad Sheikh of Gobindapur village of the same upazila. M Amir Hossain Chowdhury, divisional forest officer of the Eastern Division of the Sundarbans, said a patrol team of forest department halted a boat in the canal in the morning and recovered two deer – one injured and another slaughtered – after searching the boat. Later, the team arrested two poachers when they tried to flee the scene. A case was filed under Wildlife Protection Act. – UNB

DHAKA TRIBUNE

against them. The injured – Ismile Hossain, 25, Khodaza Begum, 35, and Jakir Hossain, 45, is now undergoing treatment at a local clinic. Officer-in-charge of Sonaimuri police station Abdus Samad said no one had filed case in this connection. “If anybody files case in this regard, we will look into the matter,” he said. – Our Correspondent

Minor drowns in Brahmanbaria A minor was killed as a boat capsized in Titas river at Nabinagar upazila of the district yesterday afternoon. Sources said an engine driven boat capsized in Madrasaghat area of the river around 11:45am and Habil Akhtar, 2, daughter of Jahirul Islam of Khariyala village, drowned. Later, the body was recovered from the river, he added. Banglanews

Robbery at a Noakhali house

Housewife beaten to death in Sylhet

A gang of armed robbers looted valuable worth about Tk300,000 from a house at Mawtola village under Sonaimuri upazila in Noakhali yesterday. Family members said the gang of robbers numbering about 15 stormed into the house after breaking collapsible gate. They later looted Tk90,000 in cash, four tolas of gold ornaments and seven mobile phone sets keeping the house residences hostage at gun point and fled the scene safely with the booties. The robbers also injured three residence of the house as they tried to put up resistance

A housewife was beaten to death allegedly by her husband at Jatua village in Chhatak upazila of the district on Saturday. The victim was identified as Asma Begum, 32, wife of Hushiar Ali of Zatua village and daughter of Dhum Ali of Rowli vilalge of the upazila.

Locals said Asma Asma Begum, 32, wife of Hushiar Ali of Zatua village and daughter of Dhum Ali of Rowli vilalge of the upazila locked into altercation with her husband on Wednesday night. At one stage, Hushier hit Asma in her abdomen, leaving her seriously injured. Rescued by locals, she was

taken to Sylhet Osmani Medical College Hospital where she died from her injuries early Saturday. – UNB

Youth hacked to death in Magura A youth was hacked to death by his rivals following previous enmity at Kuchaimora village in Sadar upazila on Saturday night.

The deceased was identified as Polash Mollah, 27, son of Shawkat Mollah of the village. Police said there was a longstanding enmity between two groups of villagers over establishing supremacy in the area.

As a sequel to the enmity, opponent group abducted Polash from his home around 10pm. Later, local people found his hacked body in a field near his house and informed police. On information, police recovered the body and sent it to the hospital morgue for autopsy. A case was filed with Magura police station in this connection. – UNB

16 gamblers jailed in Jamalpur A mobile court in Jamalpur yesterday sentenced 16 gamblers to six months imprisonment each on the charge of gambling.

Police said acting on secret information, a police team raided the house of one Ashraf at village Daripara under Jamalpur sadar upazila on Saturday night and arrested the 16 gamblers from the spot. Later, the mobile court led by magistrate Md. Shafiqur Rahman handed down the verdict. – BSS

the government.

Local fishermen alleged that the authorities had imposed a ban during full moon, which was the right time for catching hilsa.

Chandpur District Fisheries Officer Roton Datta however said the ban was effective during the full moon in the Bangla month of Ashwin according to the Fish Protection and Conservation of Fish Act. The restriction aims to protect mother hilsa and achieve the target production of 16,000 tonnes, Roton also said.

Dr Anisur Rahman, a hilsa specialist at Chandpur Fish Research Institute, said mother hilsa could lay between 300,000 and 2m eggs during hilsa reproduction season.

Abdullah Al Hassan, a fisheries officer at Noakhali, said swarms of mother fish move to Meghna, as well as other rivers and estuaries to lay eggs during the breeding season. “It is extremely important that fishermen do not catch fish during this time,” he added.

A source at the fisheries department

in Noakhali said the administration had asked the local office of Power Development Board and Rural Electrification Board to disconnect power connection to all ice factories, which are used for preserving fish, until the restriction was lifted.

The fisheries department has taken elaborate preparations to make effective the ban, which was imposed on the coastal districts.

Officials are campaigning with megaphones, leaflets and by organising exhibitions to create awareness on the importance of the ban, which is slated to finish on October 23.

Through the move, the government is expecting to prevent roughly 15m mother hilsas from being caught prematurely and millions of eggs from being destroyed. Around 7,000km stretch of spawning grounds across the coastal belt had been marked, on which the netting ban would be effective.

Coastguards, navy and other departments remain vigilant during the ban period to check potential breaches of the order. l

District administration of Rajshahi has taken special measures to “check trafficking” of rawhide of sacrificial animals out of the country through the frontiers.

“We have taken all sorts of preventive measures to make sure of resisting the possible rawhide trafficking to the neighboring country,” said Mejbah Uddin Chowdhury, deputy commissioner of Rajshahi, reports BSS. He said the district administration had already organised meetings with the concerned departments, including Border Guard Bangladesh and Rapid Action Battalion.

Local BGB authorities have assured that they would keep their border outposts on high alert in this regard.

Lieutenant Colonel Nazrul Islam, commanding officer of 37 BGB Battalion, said he had already asked all the border outposts to check the trafficking at any means.

Besides, all the highway check-posts were also kept on alert.

Meanwhile, businessmen are apprehending that the leather of sacrificial animals will be smuggled out to the nearby country after Eid-ul-Azha.

Every year, some businessmen smuggle out leather of sacrificial beasts out of the country to do brisk business, they alleged.

The businessmen said they had invested a huge amount of money in leather business, but they could not make enough profit during the Eid season as some seasonal businessmen procure the item paying high price and traffic the same to India through different channels.

They alleged that the seasonal businessmen set up stores in border areas of Rajshahi and Chapainawabganj districts.

One leather businessman, Asaduzzaman, said the seasonal businessmen have built a syndicate and their agents are going to different areas of the districts and assuring people of giving high prices.

He said the government would have to incur a huge revenue loss if the trafficking were not stopped. l

8 American found hanged in Egypt police cell: security n AFP, Cairo An American found hanged in his police cell in the Suez Canal city of Ismailiya on Sunday was believed to have committed suicide, Egyptian security officials said.

They said the body of James Henry, 55, who told authorities he was a “retired officer”, was found at noon at Ismailiya Awal police station.

The US embassy in Cairo confirmed “that a US citizen prisoner in Ismailiya died from an apparent suicide.”

“The embassy is in contact with authorities regarding the case and continues to provide all consular services,” an embassy official told AFP. Egyptian officials said Henry had been detained in August for violating a curfew imposed because of the latest wave of political unrest sweeping the country.

He was stopped on the road between El-Arish and Rafah in North Sinai and told authorities he was on his way to the neighbouring Gaza Strip.

Officials told AFP that a US embassy delegation had visited Henry in his cell last week. His death comes a day after he was told that authorities were extending his preventative detention by another 30 days. l

DHAKA TRIBUNE

International

Monday, October 14, 2013

Iran rejects West’s demand to ship out uranium stockpiles n Reuters, Dubai Iran on Sunday rejected the West’s demand to send sensitive nuclear material out of the country but signalled flexibility on other aspects of its atomic activities that worry world powers, ahead of renewed negotiations this week.

Talks about Iran’s nuclear programme, due to start in Geneva on Tuesday, will be the first since the election of Iranian President Hassan Rouhani, who has tried to improve relations with the West to pave a way for lifting economic sanctions.

Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi’s comments on Sunday may disappoint Western officials, who want Iran to ship out uranium enriched to a fissile concentration of 20 percent, a short technical step away from weapons-grade material.

However, Araqchi, who will join the talks in Switzerland, was less hardline about other areas of uranium enrichment, which Tehran says is for peaceful purposes but the West fears may be aimed at developing nu-

clear weapons capability.

“Of course we will negotiate regarding the form, amount, and various levels of (uranium) enrichment, but the shipping of materials out of the country is our red line,” he was quoted as saying on state television’s website.

In meetings over the last two years, Western negotiators have demanded that Iran suspend 20-percent enrichment, send some of its existing uranium stockpiles abroad and shutter the Fordow production site buried deep inside a mountain south of Tehran, where most higher-grade enrichment work is done.

In return, they offered to lift sanctions on trade in gold, precious metals and petrochemicals. Iran, which wants an easing of stringent oil and banking sanctions, dismissed that offer in meetings earlier this year. It says it is enriching uranium to 20% to fuel a medical research reactor in Tehran.

Araqchi did not specify the 20-percent material but his comments implied that Tehran might re-

fuse at least this part of the powers’ demands.

Israel Suspicious

Since the Islamic Republic started producing 20-percent enriched uranium in 2010 it has produced more than the 240-250kg of uranium gas needed for a bomb, which Israel has suggested it sees as a “red line” for possible military action against Iran.

But Iran has kept its 20-percent stockpile below this figure by converting some of the gas into oxide powder for reactor fuel.

Iran says its nuclear programme is a project to generate electricity.

The United States and its allies have imposed wide-ranging sanctions on Iran’s banking, energy and shipping sectors to persuade it to curb the programme.

Iran has amassed stocks of lowand medium-enriched uranium gas - 6.8 metric tons and 186 kg respectively - that experts say would be enough for several bombs if processed further to weapons-grade material.l

PAINTING MOSCOW

Bodies of victims lie under plastic sheets after they were recovered from a cliff near the twon of Santa Teresa, Cuzco province, Peru AP

Peru truck crash kills 51 n AFP, Lima

At least 51 people were killed when a truck fell off a cliff in southeastern Peru, local officials said Saturday, updating a previous toll count.

The crash was the third such incident nationwide this month, all occurring in the southern Andean region of the country and killing a total of 80 people.

“During rescue operations, we found two more bodies,” Fedia Castro, mayor of La Convencion province where the crash took place, was quoted as saying by the Andina official news agency.

Local prosecutor Juan Carlos Valverde said none of the truck’s occupants survived. A previous toll had put the number of dead at 49.

The victims included at least 12 children, and officials were investigating

whether the driver, who died with his wife and children, was drunk at the time of the accident.

People often travel by truck in the region due to a shortage of buses, Castro said. The truck tumbled 300metres in a remote area near the town of Suyucuyo and was carrying revelers.

Deadly crashes are commonplace in Peru, where poorly maintained roads zigzag up and down the towering Andes.

Worsening the problem, drivers are often inexperienced and buses are known to break down frequently.

In the last week, two other deadly crashes in southern Peru took 19 and 10 lives, respectively.

More than 4,000 people were killed in traffic accidents in 2012, according to official statistics. l

After Kenya mall attack, children’s traumas fester n AP, Nairobi

Brazilian artist Eduardo Kobra gives final touches to a huge mural on a building in central Moscow

Kerry in London for Iran, Syria talks n AFP, London US Secretary of State John Kerry is in London on Sunday and Monday for talks on Iran with EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton, and on Syria with peace envoy Lakhdar Brahimi.

Kerry flew into London on Sunday from Kabul, at the end of a 10-day trip around Asia.

He was due to have lunch with Ashton on Sunday behind closed doors to discuss Iran’s nuclear programme, a State Department official told reporters travelling with Kerry.

The lunch comes ahead of fresh talks between world powers and Iran, amid raised hopes of a less hardline approach from the Islamic republic’s new president. The two-day meeting in Geneva, starting Tuesday, will be the first such negotiations since Hassan Rouhani, a reputed moderate, took office in August.

There are increased hopes of a diplomatic resolution to the decade-long standoff following Rouhani’s pledges to engage with the major powers in order to secure a lifting of sanctions.

Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif will negotiate with Ashton and the so-called P5+1 group of the United States, Britain, China, France and Russia plus Germany.

The US is sending Wendy Sherman, the under secretary of state for political affairs. On Monday morning, Kerry was to meet Brahimi, the United Nations-Arab League envoy on Syria. They were also due to speak to press, the State Department said.

Their talks will likely revolve around preparations for long-stalled so-called “Geneva-2” peace talks aimed at finding a political solution to the conflict in Syria.l

AFP

Police break up Shia rally in Bahrain n AFP, Dubai Anti-riot police in Bahrain used buckshot, sound grenades and tear gas on Saturday to disperse hundreds of Shia protesters trying to march on an iconic square in Manama, witnesses said.

The demonstrators were trying to reach Pearl Square, the focus of Shialed protests in 2011, after the funeral of a Shia detainee who died in hospital in the capital on Friday.

The witnesses said several protesters were injured when the security forces intervened, although they were unable to give a specific number.

Demonstrators chanted slogans against the authorities in the Sunni-ruled kingdom, which has a Shia majority.

Pearl Square was the epicentre of

Bahrain protestors clash with riot police

the 2011 Arab-Spring-inspired protests against the ruling al-Khalifa dynasty.

Bahraini Shias continue to demonstrate in villages outside the capital and frequently clash with police.

In August, King Hamad decreed stiffer penalties for “terror acts.”

These include a minimum 10-year jail term for an attempted bombing. If such attacks cause casualties, the sentence can be life imprisonment or the death penalty.

At least 89 people have been killed since the protests began two-and-ahalf years ago, according to the International Federation for Human Rights.

Strategically located across the Gulf from Shia Iran, Bahrain is home to the US Navy’s Fifth Fleet and is an offshore financial and services centre for its oilrich Arab neighbours. l

AFP

Afghan in uniform shoots at US soldiers n Reuters, Kabul The so-called “insider attack” in Paktika province is the fourth in less than a month and is likely to strain already tense ties between coalition troops and their allies, with most foreign troops scheduled to withdraw by the end of next year.

A Reuters tally shows Sunday’s incident was the tenth this year, and took the death toll of foreign personnel to 15.

“A man wearing an Afghan army uniform shot at Americans in Sharana city (the provincial capital) near the governor’s office,” said an Afghan official, adding that two soldiers had been hit by the gunfire.

The NATO-led coalition confirmed one soldier had been shot by a man in security forces uniform, but did not comment on his nationality or whether the Afghan was wearing an army uniform.

Insider attacks threaten to further undermine waning support for the war among Western nations sending troops to Afghanistan.

A similar flurry of attacks last year prompted the NATO-led force to briefly suspend all joint activities and take steps to curb interaction between foreign and Afghan troops.

That has cut down the number of incidents, but some soldiers say the measures have further eroded the hard-won trust painstakingly nurtured between the allies over more than 12 years of war.

Late on Saturday, US Secretary of State John Kerry and Afghan President Hamid Karzai announced they had reached preliminary agreement on a bilateral security pact that now depends on the approval of Afghanistan’s tribal leaders.l

When the shooting began at the Nairobi mall, Cynthia Carpino and her husband hid in the parking lot. But their one-year-old daughter wouldn’t stop crying. To muffle her cries, her father placed his hand over her mouth so hard she almost suffocated. Little Azzurra fainted in his arms, and three weeks later she’s still not right.

“Now when I try to put a sweater on her, and it goes over her mouth, she starts screaming and screaming,” says Carpino. “I know this is because of what happened at the mall. But I don’t know what to do about it.”

Nor do other parents whose children were caught in the Westgate Mall horror on September 21 in which 67 people were killed. The parents are now struggling to help their traumatized children at the same time that they themselves are grappling with signs of distress.

The attackers struck on a Saturday afternoon, a time when families flock to the mall. At least 1,000 people were inside the four-story complex, including many children. Couples pushed strollers through marbled floors that would soon turn red with blood. Mothers with toddlers in tow loaded groceries into shopping carts at the supermarket, the same carts which would be used hours later as gurneys to evacuate the dead.

When the assault started, parents threw themselves over their children to shield them, but they could not block out the sights and sounds. Now the psychological toll is becoming apparent. Girls draw pictures of grenades and

machine guns. Kids who once played hide-and-seek are “playing Westgate,” impersonating the terrorists. Yet some children who were directly in the line of fire are showing few, if any, symptoms, creating a confusing array of responses, sometimes within the same household.

Cynthia Carpino, a Kenyan, and her Italian husband, Livio, had just parked their car and were pushing their two-seater pram up the ramp leading to the mall’s rooftop terrace. When the shooting erupted, Cynthia grabbed her 12-day-old baby while her husband held Azzurra. They ran in separate directions.

Cynthia slipped under a parked car, the baby cradled in her arm.

Frightened shoppers tried to squeeze in after her. The terrorists spotted them and sprayed the car, until the young mother was surrounded by a buffer of corpses. The car began leaking water, drenching her. Her baby began to cry.

“Whenever they heard a baby cry, they would throw a grenade. Then you didn’t hear the cries anymore,” said Carpino. Terrified that she might be spotted, Carpino opened her shirt and tried to get her baby to nurse under the chassis of the car. Each time the infant whimpered, she shoved its face into her chest, smothering the sound.

The family survived, but now find themselves in different worlds. Livio Carpino has gone back to his job as pilot for Kenya Airways, while his wife is afraid to leave the house. Even though both her children were smothered, her baby appears unaffected, while Azzurra struggles with tasks as simple as getting dressed.l

WORLD WATCH Egyptian military plane crashes

Bronze Henry Moore sculpture stolen in Scotland

Killer arrested in New York child murder case

Giraffe celebrates turning one with cake at Ohio zoo

Security officials say a Soviet-made MiG-21 fighter jet belonging to the Egyptian air force has crashed while on a training mission near the ancient city of Luxor in the south. The officials say the pilot bailed out and parachuted safely to the ground before the plane crashed in a rural area outside of Luxor, setting several houses on fire. Initial reports indicated there were no casualties but the officials later revised that and said one villager had died in the crash and three were injured.

New York police said Saturday they have arrested a man who confessed to sexually abusing and murdering a little girl found stuffed in a picnic cooler 22 years ago.

Local media identified the suspect, Conrado Juarez of the Bronx, as a cousin of the four-year-old victim, who was named for the first time as Anjelica Castillo. Police said Juarez, 52, was arrested late Friday near the restaurant where he was working in Manhattan, and has been charged with second-degree murder. New York police chief Ray Kelly said Juarez had confessed to the crime.

Thieves have stolen a valuable bronze sculpture by Henry Moore from an open-air park in Scotland. “Standing Figure,” created in 1950, was one of four Moore works in Glenkiln Sculpture Park, near Shawhead. Police said Sunday that the piece has a “high value” and are appealing for information from the public.

Moore, who died in 1986, was one of Britain’s best-known 20th-century artists and thieves have targeted his works over the years.

Lulu the giraffe is celebrating her first birthday with a special cake at the Cincinnati Zoo. Lulu was born October 12 of last year with an audience on social media closely following regular updates. Ever since, she’s been a big draw at the zoo.

The name Lulu is Swahili for “precious.”

She was named in a public contest that saw more than 5,000 submissions Lulu began the birthday celebrations early by enjoying a cake with her parents, Tessa and Kimba. The cake was made of frozen gelatin, pureed produce, bamboo stalks and other vegetation.

DHAKA TRIBUNE

International

9

Monday, October 14, 2013

91 killed in temple stampede in India

WAR OF THE WINDS

Stampede was triggered by rumours that the bridge might collapse after being hit by a heavy vehicle ples especially in northern India. state, he added. n AFP, Bhopal India has a long history of deadly Arya said the stampede was trig-

Indian men struggle with umbrellas in heavy winds and rain caused by cyclone Phailin as they walk past an overturned roadside stand in Ranchi in Jharkhand state on Sunday. Cyclone Phailin left a trail of destruction along India's east coast and at least 14 people dead after the biggest evacuation in the country's history helped minimise casualties AFP

Philippines spots new typhoon after 19th howler n AP, Manila A typhoon blew out of the northern Philippines on Sunday after leaving 13 people dead, but officials remained on alert after another howler was spotted in the Pacific.

Typhoon Nari also flooded farmlands and destroyed thousands of houses in provinces north of Manila before blowing away in the South China Sea. In Bulacan province’s San Miguel town, the sun shone on villages where floodwaters that reached up to roof-level had receded, allowing residents to return from emergency shelters to clean up, wash muddied belongings and repair damaged houses.

Government forecasters said the new typhoon would likely spare the country if it does not veer away from its current course Eduardo del Rosario, who heads the government’s disaster-response agency, said police officers, military personnel and local officials would remain on alert after forecasters spotted another typhoon, named Wipha, more than 1,300km east of the northern Philippines.

Government forecasters said the new typhoon would likely spare the country if it does not veer away from its current course. Nari was the 19th of more than 20 storms expected to batter the Philippines this year. l

Malala says she’s no Western puppet n AFP, London Malala Yousafzai hit back at claims that she has become a figure of the West, insisting she was proud to be a Pakistani.

The 16-year-old, who was shot by the Taliban for championing girls’ right to an education, claimed she retained the support of people in her homeland, and reiterated her desire to enter Pakistani politics.

The activist was shot in the head on her school bus on October 9 last year for speaking out against the Taliban.

She was flown for specialist care in Britain, where she has continued her education, while she has been feted and honoured in the West.

On Thursday, she won the European Union’s prestigious Sakharov human rights prize, while US President Barack Obama welcomed her to the White House on Friday.

Asked in a BBC television interview broadcast Sunday about some people in Pakistan thinking she was a “figure of the West” and “a Westerner now,” she said: “My father says that education is neither Eastern or Western. Education is education: it’s the right of everyone.

“The thing is that the people of Pakistan have supported me. They don’t think of me as Western. I am a daughter of Pakistan and I am proud that I am a Pakistani.

“On the day when I was shot, and on the next day, people raised the banners of ‘I am Malala’. They did not say ‘I am Taliban’.

“They support me and they are encouraging me to move forward and to continue my campaign for girls’ education.”

She highlighted the problem of education in the midst of the Syrian conflict.

“We want to help every child in every country that we can,” she said.

“We will start from Pakistan and Afghanistan and Syria now, especially because they are suffering the most and they are on the top that need our help.

“Later on in my life I want to do politics and I want to become a leader and to bring the change in Pakistan.

“I want to be a politician in Pakistan because I don’t want to be a politician in a country which is already developed.” l

Malala Yousafzai

More than 90 people were killed Sunday in a stampede near a Hindu temple in India, as of 8pm BDT when this report was filed.

“The death toll has risen to 91 and 10 others are in a critical condition,” Deputy Police Inspector DK Arya told AFP after the tragedy in the Datia district of central Madhya Pradesh state.

“More than 100 others have been injured” in the disaster in the Datia district of central Madhya Pradesh

gered by rumours that it might collapse after being hit by a heavy vehicle.

“There were rumours that the bridge could collapse after the tractor hit it,” he said.

“Many people are feared to have fallen into the river and are unaccounted for.”

Hindus are celebrating the end of the Navaratri festival, dedicated to the worship of the Hindu god Durga, which draws millions of worshippers to tem-

Iraq Kurd chief ready to hit militants in Syria, Iraq n AFP, Arbil Iraqi Kurdistan is prepared to strike militants anywhere, including neighbouring Syria, but the Kurds must avoid being drawn into its civil war, the autonomous region’s president Massud Barzani told AFP. Barzani’s remarks came after militants carried out a late-September attack on a security service headquarters in the Kurdish region’s capital Arbil, killing seven people – a rare occurrence in an area usually spared the violence plaguing other parts of Iraq.

“We will not hesitate in directing strikes (against) the terrorist criminals in any place,” Barzani said in an exclusive interview with AFP, when asked about the possibility of Kurdish action against militants in Iraq or Syria.

“Our duty is to protect the Kurds if we are able,” he said.

However, the long-time Kurdish leader made a distinction between that and being drawn into Syria’s bloody civil war, which he said the Kurds must try to avoid.

“Our opinion is that the Kurds must stand at the same distance” from all parties in the conflict, so “the Kurdish people are not forced into a war” from which they will gain nothing, Barzani said.

But Syrian Kurdish forces have already been drawn into the fighting, clashing with jihadist groups fighting President Bashar al-Assad’s troops,

who want to secure a land corridor connecting them to Iraq.

The violence has pushed tens of thousands of Syrian Kurds across the border, seeking refuge in Iraqi Kurdistan.

Moreover, Barzani has previously threatened to intervene in the Syrian conflict to protect Kurdish civilians, although officials have since backtracked on his remarks.

Barzani also said in the interview that Iraqi Kurdistan had provided military training to Syrian Kurds so they could defend their communities – the first public acknowledgement that this was done.

“A number of young (men) were trained, but truly not with the aim of entering the war,” Barzani said.

In claiming the September 29 attack in Arbil, which killed seven security force personnel and wounded more than 60 people, Al-Qaeda front group the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant also pointed to Syria.

The group said the attack on the Kurdish asayesh security service headquarters with suicide bombers, gunfire and car bombs was in response to Barzani’s alleged willingness to provide support to the government in Baghdad and to Kurdish forces battling jihadists in Syria.

The attack was the first of its kind to hit Arbil since May 2007, when a truck bomb exploded near the same headquarters, killing 14 people and wounding more than 80. l

stampedes at religious festivals, with at 36 people trampled to death back in February as pilgrims headed home from the Kumbh Mela religious festival on the banks of the river Ganges.

Some 102 Hindu devotees were killed in a stampede in January 2011 in the state of Kerala while 224 pilgrims died in September 2008 as thousands of worshippers rushed to reach a 15th-century hill-top temple in the northern town of Jodhpur.l

Syrian regime shelling kills 11 in south n AP, Beirut Tank shells fired by Syrian government forces slammed into a building in a southern city, killing at least 11 people there, including women and children, activists said Sunday.

The attack was part of the latest push by President Bashar Assad’s troops to recapture land lost to rebels in the southern province and city of Daraa, the birthplace of Syria’s uprising. It was there in 2011 that several youths were arrested for scrawling graffiti calling for Assad’s downfall.

The British-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, which relies on a network of activists on the ground, said at least four women and three children, including a baby, were among those killed in the attack late Saturday.

Syria’s official news agency said that rebels fired mortars toward a government building in Daraa, but offered no further details.

Videos posted on social networking sites by opposition activists showed bodies of the victims on the floor of a darkened room. A pro-rebel activist in a nearby town, who identified himself as Abu Musab, said the civilians were killed in crossfire during a battle in the city center.

The building they were in took a direct hit after Syrian forces fired tank shells toward rebels holed up near it, said Abu Musab, speaking to the AP on Skype. He declined to use his real name, citing concerns for his safety. l

Israel suspends building supplies to Gaza New York Comic Con vendors evolve n as events proliferate AFP, Jerusalem

Israel on Sunday froze shipments of building materials to the Gaza Strip after discovering an alleged “terror tunnel” into the Jewish state from the adjoining territory, a defence official said.

“Due to security reasons, (the army) decided to stop for now the transfer of building materials into Gaza,” Guy Inbar told AFP. Inbar, spokesman for the Israeli defence ministry unit responsible for civilian affairs in the Palestinian territories, did not say how long the ban would remain in force.

Last month Israel permitted delivery of cement and steel for use by the private sector into the Gaza Strip for the first time since 2007, when Israel banned their transfer fearing that Gaza’s militant Hamas rulers would use

construction materials to fortify its positions and build tunnels for militant attacks on the Jewish state.

Israeli officials said on Sunday that a sophisticated tunnel running 450metres into Israel and intended as a springboard for militant attacks had been uncovered by troops.

“I want to congratulate the army for exposing the Gaza terror tunnel,” Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told the weekly cabinet meeting on Sunday. “It is part of our offensive policy against terror, both in prevention and intelligence, proactive activity, reactive activity.”

The army did not immediately publish details of the tunnel, but the head of the Israeli local council where it was found said that he had been taken inside for an inspection.

“This tunnel, which looks like the New York subway, is apparently in-

Vietnam firework factory blast toll reaches 24 n AFP, Hanoi Vietnamese police on Sunday raised the death toll from a blast at a fireworks factory to 24 blaming other explosives also stored at the site for the accident which also left many injured.

“At least 24 people were killed – we have identified 16 bodies,” Phu Tho policeman Pham Quang Minh told AFP, raising the number of dead from 21 in Saturday’s incident.

Minh said more than 20 people had been injured, lower than the near-100 initially reported to have been hurt in the explosion at a military complex in northern Vietnam. “According to a preliminary investigation, some explosives self-ignited in storage, which caused a fire and further explosions at the site,” he said, adding both fireworks and other explosives were stored at the Z121 military facility.

Plumes of black smoke billowed from the complex, around 120km north of Hanoi, as fireworks exploded uncontrollably for several hours on Saturday before the blaze was contained.

The explosion prompted the evacuation of some 2,000 people living near the area, most of whom had returned

by Sunday. Minister of Defence Phung Quang Thanh visited the area late Saturday, calling for urgent assistance for the victims’ families.

In the hours after the explosion local hospitals were swamped with victims, some with horrific burns. The most critical cases were moved to a specialist burns centre on the outskirts of Hanoi.

In 2010, fireworks being prepared at Hanoi’s My Dinh stadium for use in the city’s 1,000th anniversary celebrations exploded, killing three foreigners and one Vietnamese national. l

tended to kidnap soldiers or for some other kind of terrorist attack,” Haim Yelin told army radio.

“It is impressively executed, with concrete supports.”

Israeli news website Ynet said that the tunnel was equipped with railway tracks and lighting, and quoted chief military spokesman Yoav Mordechai as calling it “one of the most advanced terror tunnels to be uncovered in recent years.”

Yelin denied media reports that the tunnel was aimed at attacking an Israeli village or kibbutz or that it was to be used to set off explosives under a kindergarten.

“This tunnel penetrates into the state of Israel 300-400metres from the border with the Gaza Strip,” he said.

“It is situated 2.5km from any of the kibbutzim and moshavim (collective villages) in the area.” l

Thailand finds 13 dead suspected Myanmar migrants n AP, Bangkok Thai police say the bodies of 13 people believed to be migrants from Myanmar seeking work have been found off southern Thailand’s Andaman Sea coast.

Lt Col Nirat Chuayjit said Sunday that marine police in Ranong province had recovered the bodies of 12 men and one woman, whom they believe were on a boat that broke up in bad weather on Wednesday as they sought to travel illegally to Thailand.

Thailand hosts hundreds of thousands of migrants from neighbouring Myanmar who are willing to take menial jobs at low pay. They can register to work legally under strict conditions, but many also labor illegally. Nirat said it was unknown how many people from the boat might be missing or survived, but that such boats normally carry about 30 people.l

n Reuters, New York This year’s New York Comic Con might not look that different from years past: costumed fans, panels of pop culture luminaries and a sprawling floor of vendors and artists.

But for the companies that attend this pop culture convention and others like it nationwide, there have been significant changes over the years.

The proliferation of such events, the explosion of social media and the overwhelming size of the gatherings are forcing companies to change their own approaches to meeting, engaging and hooking new and old fans.

From niche meetings for fans, comic cons have become sprawling affairs.

New York Comic Con at the Javits Center expects to attract more than 120,000 fans to the four-day event that ends on Sunday, a steep rise from the first edition of the con, in 2006, which drew 33,000 people.

The event occupies a space equivalent to more than three football fields and includes a massive exhibitors floor. Last year’s event featured everything from standards such as T-shirts and graphic novels to vampire teeth, corsets and even bed sheets.

“There’s so much when you walk on that floor it’s information overload,” said Christopher “mink” Morrison, founder of Twistory Entertainment Studios, which produces film, magazines, graphic novels and videogames.

Faced with the need to cut through the increased noise at the events, Twistory set up two giant iPads rising 10 feet on which their artists can draw fans can play the company’s new game, “Belle’s War.” The so-called Padzillas engage the fans and pose questions, giving Twistory the chance to draw fans further in.

“I don’t think in today’s day and age you leave anything off the table if you are an entertainer,” Morrison said.

Impact of social media

A fan dressed as the Joker from the Batman comic and movie series poses for a photograph at New York’s Comic-Con convention REUTERS Cons have grown in several ways. There are simply more of them now. In addition to the massive San Diego show, usually in July, and the New York show, there are cons for everything from horror to anime, everywhere from St. Louis to Salt Lake City.

It means companies have to choose carefully which to attend. Even a great con might not make the cut, said Jim Babcock, senior director of marketing at Adult Swim, a late-night programming block airing on Cartoon Network.

New York Comic Con is “a great place to meet with the hard-corest of our fans,” Babcock said, noting that Adult Swim has also been going to San Diego Comic Con for at least 15 years.

A convention too near San Diego or New York in timing might not be viable because the company would not have time to put together another presentation so quickly, he said.

Timing also matters in other ways. If Adult Swim does not have anything new slated for the next quarter or so, the con probably will not be a fit, Babcock said.

One of the biggest changes, though, has

been the rise of social media. Disclosures that were once exclusive to comic con fans now get spread around the world on Twitter in seconds. Videos of panels can pop up on YouTube before sessions are over.

But there are advantages, too. For Voltron, the robot cartoon classic of the mid-80s, social media have provided a new avenue to reach fans.

Jeremy Corray, Voltron’s creative director, said crafting a personal experience for fans is essential.

One group of fans have role-played Voltron’s main characters on Twitter - sort of like fan fiction, 140 characters at a time.

To reward those ardent fans, said Corray, “I am going to give them an as-yet-unproduced Voltron Force season 2 script and have members do a live reading at the panel followed by a live Tweet session where they act out the script.”

Still, for all the change, some things remain constant. There is at least one classic strategy that Voltron - and plenty of other companies - will be trotting out, Corray notes.

“Two words: free prizes.” l

10 DHAKA TRIBUNE

Editorial

Monday, October 14, 2013

Letters to

www.dhakatribune.com

the Editor

LETTER OF THE DAY

Why are the primary teachers less paid?

October 10

Shohag and Mominul hope for the future

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e would like to congratulate Mominul Haque and Shohag Gazi on their outstanding performances.

They both have been stars of the show with Shohag Gazi being the first cricketer in history to have scored a ton and taken a hat-trick in the same test. This is an unprecedented event in the long history of test cricket. Gazi is the first inductee to this hall of fame and he will remain there as long as Test cricket will be played. Understandably, he was the man of the match.

Mominul’s maiden total In a drawn match that of 181 was also very mature Bangladesh could have and was a display of attackwon, these two young ing batting under pressure. men are positives to He was the main reason take for Bangladeshi why Bangladesh was able cricket fans, and it is to surpass a substantial first performances such as innings target of 469. Unlike these that make our many occasions in the past, cricket so special for us when the batsmen have failed to rise up to the occasion, he refused to crumble and stood firm while maintaining a healthy scoring rate. In any other game, he would have had a strong case for the man of the match award.

The rest of the team did a fine job, and the overall performance was credible, if not spectacular. In a drawn match that Bangladesh could have won, these two young men are positives to take for Bangladeshi cricket fans, and it is performances such as these that make our cricket so special for us.

We hope that the team will build on this performance and we will emerge victorious in our home series.

Digital Bangladesh in earnest

I

t is encouraging to see an increasing number of farmers and traders use the internet to sell their cattle, and is the kind of innovation that Bangladesh needs.

Online cattle-buying allows traders and sellers to communicate with each other directly, without contending with middlemen.

Though this is a fairly new initiative, as it only began last year, it has already shown signs of growth.

More new traders and sellers have come on board to begin trading, and advertisements for online sales have climbed as well. The public demand for online cattle Online cattle-buying buying has increased, and allows traders and with good reason. sellers to communicate It is far easier to buy catwith each other tle from the comfort of one’s directly, without home, provided one has accontending with cess to the internet, without middlemen the hassle of travelling to the market and bringing the cattle home. And to ensure that buyers get the animal they want, the traders and farmers have provided full descriptions and photographs of their cattle, which will, once bought, be delivered to their homes.

The private sector has taken a lead on this, and the government has wisely let the market run without any intervention. This is the kind of initiative that will help build the Digital Bangladesh of the PM’s dreams.

This is an opportunity that will help our economy grow, and we hope to see more such schemes taking root.

CROSSWORD

We, the primary school teachers of Bangladesh, work more but are paid less. Why should we let this go on? Do we work less than other job-holders? Are we less competent than other classes of civil servants? Don’t we pay any contributions to nation-building?

We have to work like the police to maintain discipline among our students. Like the judges to establish justice among our students. Like the sweepers to maintain cleanliness in our school campus.

We work like fathers to bring up our students so they don’t feel the need for their fathers during school hours, and like mothers to take care of them.

We work like doctors to give them primary treatment in case of any injury during play hour. Like engineers to structure their tender minds. Like architects to design their future lives, and like a light-house to direct them onto the right path of their lives.

We work like friends, philosophers, and guides for our kids. After all, we teach them manners, modesty, and etiquette. Though we care for the nation a lot, in return, we are the least cared for.

Primary teachers are on a strike country-wide demanding their pay scale and post-upgrade for a couple of days. But barely any newspaper is highlighting this issue on its front pages. No one has published an editorial post yet, or come forward to write a column justifying their demands.

We would like to remind the nation that if we, the primary school teachers of Bangladesh, are pushed back now, our beloved Bangladesh will fall behind in the near future.

Haider Jahan

SQC verdict leak: More evidence

October 7 This leak reminds me of a popular folk tale: There was a thug in an otherwise peaceful village. The thug made the lives of the villagers miserable with his different thuggish activities.

At long last, he was caught by the Divine hand. He fell very seriously ill, and the doctors declared he had no option but to die soon. The thug called the villagers and begged forgiveness for all his misdeeds and injustices.

He then fervently requested them to hoist his body atop a bamboo pole and display it in the village centre! This might ease his punishment in the Hereafter.

The innocent villagers took pity on him and did accordingly, after he breathed his last. But soon, the police came, hauled off the villagers and put them behind bars, for desecrating a dead body! :) Wali

DOWN 1 Dissolves (5) 2 United (3) 3 Play for time (5) 4 Metal (3) 5 Arbitrator (7) 6 Uncovered (4) 7 Large volume (4) 11 Advise strongly (4) 12 Refractory (7) 14 Object of worship (4) 16 Big (5) 17 Henhouse (5) 18 Couple (4) 19 Bound (4) 21 Make a mistake (3) 22 Necessary information (3)

October 8

Atisha Rahbar LTE and 4G are not the same thing. LTE is better than 3G but not actually 4G. No country in the world has 4G as they are still researching on it.

Shafin Abdullah Can 512kbps unlimited be converted to 1mbps?

The rate will stay the same.

Akash Mahmud More to the point, how many of you are satisfied with WIMAX bandwidth?

October 6

Ronald Rony Mondal Ohhh my gosh!!

Mahbub Alam Now everyone is more concerned about garment workers but is there any organisation in the country to look at the workers of DPDC, who are forced to do their jobs at the cost of their lives? They work without protection in situations of great danger. Human rights organisations in our country should take up the matter with the authority to save them.

Md Nurur Rahman Safety first, always.

Davina Rogers We saw all these wires when we were in Old Dhaka; quite amazing.

Km Hulaki Hello there. The same situation here in Kathmandu.

Shammi Huda Shocking!!

Shamma Raghib About time.

From smoking Kalashnikovs to sporting glory October 7 Yeah, it’s true, but the fact is that most of the players are not from Afghanistan.

Tapos Jubaer

Sakhawat Husain I feel this chap is probably from the local area cable TV operator/ISP (Internet Service Provider), not DPDC. Mahmud Hossain Opu Sakhawat Hussain: He is a DPDC worker.

Sakhawat Husain Mahmud Hossain Opu: Thanks for the update. I am guessing you know him personally. Please do ask him to be careful and not take such risk.

CALVIN AND HOBBES

PEANUTS

CODE-CRACKER ACROSS 1 Maximum (4) 5 Mechanical man (5) 8 Tempt (6) 9 Incline (4) 10 Spirit (3) 12 Venerate (6) 13 Precious metal (6) 15 Vendor (6) 18 Well-mannered (6) 20 Beverage (3) 21 Therefore (4) 23 Rims (6) 24 Indian monetary unit (5) 25 Torn (4)

Banglalion permitted to launch high-speed LTE

DPDC electrician working on live wires without safety precautions

YESTERDAY’S SOLUTIONS Crossword

Sudoku

DHAKA TRIBUNE

Op-Ed

11

Monday, October 14, 2013

Libya jihadists share ideals, not ties, with al-Qaeda n Imed Lamloum

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Neither a cow nor a goat!

A camel perhaps...

“I

n Towheed Feroze t’s that time of the year when the line, “apnigorunakhashi?” (Are you a goat or a cow?), becomes well-used in everyday conversation. Eid ul-Azha turns the whole country into an abattoir with meat-eating becoming the favourite pastime and the actual religious significance getting lost under the competition of animal buying and slaughtering.

This writer is not devoutly religious but when, in apparently civilised settings, people rather casually hint to the number of animals they had sacrificed in the name of religion, he often wonders if this festival has evolved into an animal-cutting exhibition.

The writer also feels that the answer to the question, whether one is cutting a cow or a goat, reflects on someone’s financial ability.

In an age when flaunting is done with fervid passion, saying “three cows, two goats” boastfully hardly creates any moral scruples!

Once again, this society cares very little for morality now. Oh! They speak of it in volumes, especially at public gatherings but do the opposite in real life.

Bertrand Russell was not wrong when he said: “We have two kinds of moralities, one which we preach but do not practice, and the other which we practice but do not preach.”

Right, the interesting thing is that the man who sacrifices so many

animals becomes the talk of his area.

If he is the only one with the money, then all glory is showered on him for being such a generous man in killing so many animals.

If there is another person who wants the crown for the man who sacrifices the most and earns the highest blessings then there is a bit of a problem. Good news for the sellers though, because two competing buffoons never bargain, as that would lower their status in front of others.

Therefore, any outrageous amount demanded is accepted.

often from the deserts of Rajasthan, though this part is never publicised.

After all, that is not the land of the believers, right?

Sometimes the camel is from some other Middle-East nation, but who cares if it’s old; plus, it’s a reject from the desert good carrying fleet and the meat is inedible.

Bengalis, not used to seeing camels being slaughtered, will come from farflung areas to see the animal fall under the knife. For some time after Eid, there will be an assortment of tales relating to the camel; some true, most apocryphal.

For several days after Eid, meat-based feasts will rule until one day we become fed-up and crave some daalbhat and deshi style mashed potato with chilies. By this time the blood pressure has hit the roof Problem is this glory which comes with the slaughter is ephemeral like everything in life. One year later, most people forget who became the winner in sacrificing animals the year last.

So, the competition begins once more with renewed vigour!

Even better if one party gets hold of a camel!

Camels are seen in Saudi Arabia and, since that country is the land of the Holy Kaba, there must be more “soab” (benediction) if a camel is slaughtered.

Believe me, there is an ingrained belief among many that everything in Saudi Arabia is beyond reproach and, therefore, holy.

Of course, camels are sold here

One day, the camel killing, if it’s the first in the area, will be part of urban or rural legend.

Say for instance the man who took the trouble to buy and slaughter the camel is called Jahangir; in due time, his name will probably transform into Camel Jahangir or Uut Jahangir.

Obviously, if our man Jahangir sacrifices twenty goats he would never want to be referred to as Chagol or Khashi Jahangir. That would be so demeaning! But can’t deny Uut Jahangir has an air of nobility about it.

It surely conjures up images of the oasis, desert, large khanjars (daggers) and Ali Baba. For some, there is also a vague image of a svelte Arabian dancer with her face covered in veil and the

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navel exposed. Must say, all these elements create a heady picture.

Post slaughter, there will be distribution. Best parts of the meat will be kept while the rest will be given away.

However, in some cases, there is so much meat that getting rid of it becomes a task. In bloodied kurtas and pyjamas, we will rush around the city, handing out meat packets to relatives.

Once more, the amount handed out is almost always determined by the status of the relative.

The richer ones get the bigger pieces and the not so well-heeled ones get the usual packets. For the latter, drivers do the meat delivery!

Sorry, no offence, but this is a common ritual. Not saying there aren’t exceptions.

For several days after Eid, meatbased feasts will rule until one day we become fed-up and crave some daalbhat and deshi style mashed potato with chilies. By this time the blood pressure has hit the roof!

Of late, the city corporation has become prompt in cleaning the dustbins replete with animal remains that can’t be eaten and hopefully this year they will be swift in their action.

As for this writer, a goat is the animal to go under the knife. Obviously, people around him are not thrilled.

“Kiptashangbadik” (miser journalist) they say, and are possibly thinking, what divine blessing can one expect with such a small sacrifice? l Towheed Feroze is a journalist currently working in the development sector.

bu Anas al-Libi, captured in a daring US raid, was once in Osama bin Laden’s inner circle, but appears to have had few ties to Libya’s new generation of jihadists.

Islamists inspired by al-Qaeda’s war on the West have flourished in chaotic post-Kadhafi Libya, but evince little interest in the core group founded by bin Laden in the 1990s, which has been decimated by arrests and US drone strikes in the decade-long War on Terror.

But in a measure of the limited success of that campaign, young militants now wave the black banner of radical Islam in war zones from Mali to Syria, while Libi appears to have lived the quiet life of a retiree in Tripoli, with little if any involvement in his country’s growing jihad.

His story traces the arc of al-Qaeda’s decades-long struggle and growth from a small group of embittered exiles to an ideology seized upon by militants locked in conflicts across the Muslim world.

Like many Libyan jihadists, Abu Anas al-Libi – whose real name is Nazih Abdul Hamed al-Raghie – was hounded out of his native country during Moamer Kadhafi’s brutal crackdown on Islamists in the 1990s.

The computer expert was welcomed with open arms by bin Laden’s fledgling group, then based in Sudan, and according to a US indictment helped plan al-Qaeda’s first major attack – the bombing of embassies in Kenya and Tanzania, which killed more than 200 people.

After more than a decade on the run, Libi and other former al-Qaeda operatives returned to Libya after the outbreak of the 2011 uprising against Kadhafi.

But in a measure of the limited success of that campaign, young militants now wave the black banner of radical Islam in war zones from Mali to Syria

As veterans of conflicts in Afghanistan and elsewhere, they enjoyed a certain notoriety among the younger generation of Islamist rebels, and some established camps and recruited new fighters.

A few still operate training camps for Libyans and foreigners alike who hope to join the war in Syria, a diplomat posted in the eastern city of Benghazi said on condition of anonymity.

And yet many analysts believe Libya’s Islamist militias have taken on a life of their own, refusing to formally ally themselves with al-Qaeda because they see themselves more powerful than the group.

Ansar al-Sharia, for example, which is believed to have launched the

September 11, 2012 attack on the US mission in Benghazi, killing a US ambassador and three other Americans, has no apparent links to al-Qaeda’s core in Pakistan and Afghanistan.

“There are several groups that share a broad ideological affinity with al-Qaeda insofar as they advocate a state based on Islamic law and nurture hostility against the West,” said Claudia Gazzini, a Libya analyst with the Brussels-based International Crisis Group.

Libi is reportedly being held aboard a US naval ship in the Mediterranean, where he is being interrogated about alQaeda’s future plans in Libya

“There is also evidence that individuals who in the past had contacts with senior al-Qaeda operatives are in Libya today. But none of this alone indicates that these individuals and groups are currently direct affiliates of the organisation.”

Jihadists, but not al-Qaeda

Since the fall and slaying of Kadhafi in October 2011 Libya has been the scene of several bombings and other attacks on Western targets and Libyan security forces.

“Certainly, there are al-Qaeda sympathisers in Libya, as there are elsewhere, even in the United States, but there are no al-Qaeda jihadists in Libya,” said Fraj Najem, a Tripoli-based analyst.

“There is no concrete evidence of an al-Qaeda presence in Libya.”

As far as Libi is concerned, Najem insists he ceased all al-Qaeda related activities after his return, an assertion backed by family members and others close to Libi, who insist he led a quiet life, rarely venturing out except to attend prayers at a nearby mosque.

Amor Bushaala, an analyst based in Benghazi, widely seen as a haven for Islamists, points out that while eastern Libya has seen scores of attacks claimed by Islamists, none have been attributed to al-Qaeda.

Observers have however pointed to apparent links between Libyan groups and al-Qaeda offshoots operating across North Africa, including Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM) and the Signatories in Blood founded by former AQIM leader Mokhtar Belmokhtar.

Libi is reportedly being held aboard a US naval ship in the Mediterranean, where he is being interrogated about al-Qaeda’s future plans in Libya and elsewhere.

And yet, two decades after joining bin Laden’s surprisingly resilient movement, he may have very little to say. l This article has been syndicated from AFP.

Selling Bangladeshi eco-tourism n Ziaul Haque Howlader

S

triking a balance between environmental protection and economic benefit has been a crucial issue in the question of sustainable tourism.

Eco-tourism has drawn much attention of world leaders. International Eco-tourism Society defines eco-tourism as: “Responsible travel to natural areas that conserves the environment and improves the welfare of local people.”

For vigorous eco-tourism marketing for the benefit of all sharers, there is a need for interaction among the local community groups and leaders and the local authorities The Australian Commission on National Eco-tourism Strategy calls it: “Nature-based tourism that involves education and interpretation of the natural environment and is managed to be ecologically sustainable.” Over-development of tourism causes damage.

On the other hand, eco-tourism strives to minimise the adverse effects of hotels, trails, and other infrastructure by using either recycled materials or plentifully-available local building materials, renewable sources of energy,

recycling and safe disposal of waste and garbage, and environmentally and culturally sensitive architectural design.

For the minimisation of a negative impact of tourism on our ecosystem, we need to regulate the numbers and mode of behaviour of tourists.

Eco-tourism is not only “greener” but also less culturally intrusive and exploitative than conventional tourism.

Whereas prostitution, black markets and drugs often are by-products of mass tourism, eco-tourism strives to be culturally respectful and have a minimal effect on both the natural environment and the human population of a host country.

This is not easy, especially since eco-tourism often involves travel to remote areas where small and isolated communities have had little experience interacting with foreigners.

Eco-tourism in Bangladesh

Eco-tourism has long been emphasised in the tourism planning process in Bangladesh. The government has enacted laws to ensure pollution-free environment and these are being implemented by the Department of Environment.

These are the Environment Policy 1992 and Bangladesh Environment Protection Law 1995. These reflect the government’s keen interest and high priority to create

a clean and green environment and eco-tourism development in the country.

Bangladesh sincerely believes that eco-tourism marketing and conservation of bio-diversity are complementary to each other and together make tourism and conservation activities sustainable if a synergy through proper management can be developed.

Eco-tourism can bring improved income and living standards for local people. It can revitalise local culture, especially traditional crafts and customs. It can stimulate the rural economy by creating demand for agricultural products and, through infrastructure development projects, it can inject capital into rural areas. So for vigorous eco-tourism marketing for the benefit of all sharers, there is a need for interaction among the local community groups and leaders and the local authorities.

Earlier in Bangladesh, tourism activity was centred at the beaches and some other attractive areas. But of late, this idea has been changed. Conservation of nature and culture is the most important theme of all planned tourism development.

There is vast potential to develop and promote ecotourism here. The single largest mangrove forest of the world, the Sundarbans, is the gold mine for eco-tourism and pride of Bangladesh.

Furthermore, other eco-tourism products include tea plantations in greater Sylhet, hilly green areas of Hill Tract districts, sandy beaches at Cox’s Bazar and Kuakata, rivers, lakes, forests and wildlife, glorious tribal life and the simple lifestyle of the village people. These tourism products have tremendous demand in the tourism markets of the world.

We need to continuously endeavour to integrate our eco-tourism resources through planning, management and appropriate use, based on some basic principles such as optimum multiple use of the resources, maximum sustainable use and conservation and development of natural resources.

When we promote and sell our tourist products (for example, the Sundarbans, the Hilly Districts, Cox’s Bazar) we have to make sure that the resources, such as the forests with their numerous varieties of trees, plants, herbs and their animals, are not destroyed or over-exploited.

Marketing of eco-tourism

Clearly, promotion and advertising play a very significant role in establishing an eco-product in the marketplace. Bangladesh Parjatan Corporation and Bangladesh Tourism Board are carrying out different promotional activ-

ities for eco-tourism. Brochures and other promotional materials are being distributed abroad through all foreign missions of Bangladesh.

Participation in international tourism fairs, publication of features and advertisements in trade journals would also enable the country to promote its eco-tourism products.

Eco-tourism demands a more holistic approach to travel, one in which participants strive to respect, learn about and benefit both the local environment and local communities. For development of eco-tourism in Bangladesh, it needs well-trained, multilingual guides with skills in natural and cultural history, environmental interpretation, ethical principles and effective communication.

We need eco-tourism projects to help educate members of the surrounding communities, and schoolchildren of the host communities. Although tourism often is superficially hailed as a tool for building international understanding and world peace, we understand this does not happen automatically. We all need to work hard for eco-tourism development. l Ziaul Haque Howlader is the Deputy Manager of Bangladesh Parjatan Corporation. He can be reached at ziabpc@gmail.com.

12

DHAKA TRIBUNE

Entertainment

Music industry marks Eid and Durga Puja with new albums n Entertainment Desk The music industry offers a double bonus for musiclovers this season since Eid-ul-Azha and Durga Puja, two major festivals for Muslims and Hindus respectively, are knocking on the door at the same time.

Prominent and promising singers and bands have been releasing audio albums over the last two weeks and music stores all over the country are very busy

dealing with the customers.

Most of the albums have been already released under different banners while a few albums will hit the market today and tomorrow.

G-series and Agniveena have launched a total of twenty albums from different categories of music in the Eid market. The repertoire of G-series and its sister-concern Agniveena features mixed band album “Jubo,” “Ar Tomake” by Topu, “Ja Icche Ta” by Pop-

n Entertainment Desk DRAMA

7:10pmHBO

10:00pm Star Plus

10:25pm Fox Movies Premium

10:30pm Colors

Rock Of Ages The Book Of Eli

Yeh Rishta Kya Kehlata Hain Uttaran

COMEDY

MISC

11:00am Star World

3:00pm TLC

10:00pm Comedy Central

8:30pm AXN

Welcome To The Family Yes Dear

PUJA SPECIAL SHOWS ON TV

Single-episode play Lukochuri will be aired on Desh TV at 9:45pm tonight. The drama revolves around a couple who loves to do break conventions. With this notion, they plan for a long drive on the night of their wedding. With a placard saying ‘just married’ on the back of the car, they head for an adventure. But, on the way their car hit a lady and injures her seriously. The story turns to a different angle when the guy discovers that he had a relation with the lady long time ago. Tisha, Nisho and Tania Hossain are the lead actors of the play written by Akash Hossain khan and directed by Imel Haque.

Single-episode play Rajdugi Brishtite Golpo features Bidya Sinha Mim and Majnun Mijan in the lead roles. Written by Mahmud Didar and directed by Hasan Morshed, the play will be aired on Banglavision at 9:05pm tonight. Here, the protagonist Rajdugi works in a village Hindu grave where he checks the death certificates of dead bodies and then buries them. One day, some unknown people drop a dead body near the burial place and escape as soon they see Rajdugi. He discovers a beautiful young woman with evidences of murder in her body. He, somehow, falls for her and prays with all his devotion to the lord to resurrect the lady.

Priyanka stands up for girls

ON TV MOVIES

py, “Haway Shona Jay” by Rokan Shahrier, “Brishti Tomay Dilam” by Rajan Saha featuring various artists, “Cholre Kabar Jiarote” by Md Khaled Hossain, “Othocho” by Rajeeb, “Autograph-Photograph” by Saju, “Kokhono Phul Kokhono Shishir” by Rakhee, “Koster Bhirey” by Rudro Pankaz, “Prothoma” by Rana Sheikh and many more.

Laser Vision has released eight albums presenting different genres of music. One of the company’s biggest albums for this occasion is Samina Chowdhury’s latest solo album “Cholo Bachi.” The songs have been composed by two great musician brothers Naquib Khan & Shahbaz Khan Pilu. Moreover, Laser Vision recently released the audio album of the most anticipating film of the year, “Purnodoirgho Premkahani.”

Kollol Sarwar’s “Phire Ashchhi,” Dr Samir Kawal and his group’s “Kurbani,” various artiste’s “Pitch Love Devotion,” Priyanka Gope and Mamun Jahid’s duet album “Kanta Nite Keu Keno Ashe Na,” Nirjo Habib’s “Nishshongota” and Faizur Milton’s first solo album “Hobei Bhalo Thaka” have been released under the banner.

On the other hand, under the banner of Impress Audio Vision, Nazrul singer Ferdous Ara launched an album featuring her “best” songs titled “Amar Shera.”

CD choice releases Arfin Rumey’s “Ore Piya,” Selim Ahmed’s “Jabo Bhalobeshe,” Elias Hossain’s “Na Bola Kotha–2,” and mixed albums “Obak Prem,” “Hridoy Jure” and “Nil Akash Chhuye.”

Second solo album by Lutfur Hasan, “Ekla Agontuk,” has been released under the banner of Eagle Music.

Mixed albums “Shopno Chhoa” and “Ontorale,” Shafiq Tuhin and Labonyo’s duet album “Ebong Bhalobasha” have also released under the same banner.

ME Label has released “360 by Various Artists” which is a collaboration album comprising of songs from Bengali (Bangladeshi and Indian) musicians all over the world. It includes songs by Shami Sattar (Canada) featuring Anila (USA), Armeen Musa (USA), Bappa Mazumder featuring Mouli (USA), Simin (Australia), Hamza Jahangir (USA), BIM (USA), Anushree Gupta (Kolkata) and Dhaka-based artistes Elita, Sandhi, Ashique M Fahim, Jomeedar VS Chairman, Jon Kabir and Prithwi Raj. Shohortoli’s second album “Opor Prishtha Droshtobyo” has been also released under the banner of ME Label. l

Monday, October 14, 2013

What Not To Wear So You Think You Can Dance

It was a special Friday for the students of Holy Mother School in suburban Mumbai, who got to meet their screen idol Priyanka Chopra on the occasion of International Girl Child Day. The star was welcomed with pomp as students jostled to catch a glimpse of the actor.

“I love children. I feel that they are the closest to god. Thank you for inspiring me to turn mediocre into special,” Priyanka said at the event.

For the occasion, Priyanka chose to go floral and formal. She was dressed in a floral print blazer, though her skin-fitting top seemed a tad too revealing for the girl child cause.

The actor has been promoting the importance of educating girls through several NGOs,

campaigns and associations.

All the students of Holy Mother School were enthused to meet the star and welcomed her with a decorated white board that read, “We welcome Priyanka Chopra on International Girl Child Day.” Priyanka spent a lot of time interacting with the students and also entertaining them.

She presented an impromptu act based on her character in “Barfi!” and spoke of the importance of educating girls. She revealed to the students that her father used to call her Mini, lovingly.

Later, Priyanka happily posed with all the students of the school and emphasising the importance of education said, “Getting involved in the fieldwork and spreading the message is important.” l

Marvel Comics to release new Miracleman and Gaiman stories n Entertainment Desk

Neil Gaiman and Mark Buckingham will finally get to finish their Miracleman run, aborted back when Eclipse Comics went out of business.

They’ll get to do it, as it turns out, after the book’s run wraps for a second time, as the publisher announced at New York Comic Con that they will begin publishing it over again.

Starting this January, Marvel will begin publishing the legendary run of “Miracleman” by the original creators that began in Warrior Magazine and continued under now defunct publisher Eclipse Comics.

“Miracleman-4 The wait is over,” says Editor In Chief Axel Alonso.

“Marvel will finally be bringing these timeless, ground-breaking stories to a whole new generation of reader.”

“We’ve been working with the ‘Miracleman’ artists to obtain original artwork or photostats in every instance possible, and then applying the same painstaking restoration methods and rigorous quality standards that are utilized on the Marvel Masterworks line.

The Marvel Special Projects team has even been developing some new techniques specifically for this project. These ‘Miracleman’ issues will receive the most advanced restoration possible to ensure the most authentic reading experience,” says SVP of Marvel Publishing David Gabriel. “The art is crisp, clear, and looks as good – if not better than the day it was published! Also, the stories are being completely relettered to meet today’s standards.” “‘Miracleman-3’ the tragedy of Miracleman was that we published two issues, wrote three and a half – and then it all stopped,” Gaiman said, in an interview with Marvel.com. “And Miracleman 25 has been sitting in the darkness – nobody has seen it. It was drawn, it was written, and it was lettered over 20 years ago.”

“I love the idea that I will get to finish this story,” added Gaiman.l

Written by Brindaban Das and directed by Bipul Pal, single-episode play Chanchaler Batasha will be aired on Maasranga TV at 8:00pm tonight. The comedy centres around Chanchal who is very popular to his villagers for making delicious Batasha, a traditional sweetmeat. The other Batasha makers envy Chanchal and conspire against him. The story moves forward with an array of hilarious incident around Chanchal. The cast of the play includes Chanchal Chowdhury, Shahnaz Khushi, Moushumi Hamid, Shamapti Mashuk and more.

Miss Universe apologises to India over Taj photoshoot n Entertainment Desk Organisers of Miss Universe extended their “deepest apologies” to India over a photo shoot at the Taj Mahal that triggered a police case and accusations that she disrespected the famed monument to love.

Reigning Miss Universe Olivia Culpo, a 21-year-old American from Rhode Island, visited the Islamic mausoleum on last Sunday during a 10-day tour of India.

During her time at the World Heritage site, she posed for cameras with branded shoes and sat on the Diana Seat, a marble ledge named after the late British princess who visited in 1992.

Acting on a complaint from the site’s caretaker, police filed a case because any advertising or promotional work is banned at the site.

“The Miss Universe Organization would like to extend its deepest apologies to the people of India for the incident involving the reigning Miss Universe,” said a statement sent to AFP. It said Culpo was making a video diary for fans. “As part of these videos, we sometimes incorporate sponsors into these shoots,” it said, adding the footage was not meant for commercial purposes.

“We sincerely apologise for any unintentional harm our indiscretion and insensitivity may have caused,” it added.

Indian-born fashion designer Sanjana Jon, who accompanied Miss Universe to the site, has also been booked for an alleged breach of the Ancient Monuments and Archaeological Sites and Remains Act.

They are likely to face a fine if found guilty, officials say.

Taj caretaker Munazzar Ali earlier this week said Culpo’s behaviour amounted to “disrespect and insult”.

“The sandals from a bag she carried were taken and placed on the Diana Seat for shooting pictures, which is not permitted by the ASI (Archaeological Survey of India). It also amounts to disrespect and insult,” he said.l

Did you know?

The match between Bangladesh and New Zealand equalises the record of producing most sixes (27) in a Test match with Pakistan v India in 2006.

Sport

Gazi roars in drawn Test Uddin Khan n Minhaz from Chittagong A draw was always on the cards after both Bangladesh and New Zealand fared well with the bat in their first innings, but Tigers off-spinner Sohag Gazi’s six-wicket haul - including a hattrick – lit up the last day of the game at the Zahur Ahmed Chowdhury Stadium yesterday.

After playing a scintillating knock of 101 not out the previous day, it was once again the Gazi show at the port city as the 22-year-old did what no one ever has in 136 years of Test cricket. Gazi is now the only cricketer to have a hundred, a five-wicket haul or more and a hat-trick in the same match.

New Zealand resumed the final day well placed at 117 for 1 before losing both overnight batsmen, Peter Fulton (59) and Kane Williamson (74), to Gazi in the first session. At lunch, the visitors were cruising at 218 for 3 and leading by 186 runs, but Gazi was not done yet.

After cleaning up Kiwi skipper Brendon McCullum, he claimed a historic hat-trick in his next over. Corey Anderson (8) was plumb in front as he tried to work the ball away for a single, Watling snicked the next ball to the keeper and Doug Bracewell’s edge next ball popped up off the keepers pads for Shakib Al Hasan to complete a brilliant right handed catch. It was Gazi’s second sixwicket haul and first international hattrick in only his seventh Test.

Former captain Ross Taylor, who was at the other end for the hat-trick, remained unbeaten on 54 as the visitors declared at 287/7, to set Bangladesh a highly improbable 256 in 46 overs and in three hours to win the match.

Bangladesh were content to see out time and openers Anamul Haque and Tamim Iqbal put on 39 before the former was dismissed for 18. This allowed talented debutant Marshal Ayub to spend some time in the middle and he partnered Tamim in a 60 run second wicket stand.

Surviving two dropped catches, Tamim was out for 46 playing a poor shot to a wide delivery, before Marshal was trapped LBW by Ish Sodhi to a ball he offered no shot to leave Bangladesh 101/3. In a last ditch effort, McCullum set a close field for the new batsmen,

1,500 youngsters to play Pioneer League this year n Raihan Mahmood

A total of 1,500 U-16 footballers passed the age-level test to be declared eligible to play in the next edition of the Pioneer League, which starts in the capital at the end of the month.

The Pioneer League Committee of Bangladesh Football Federation completed a three week scrutiny of the players yesterday and verified the ages of about 3,000 footballers. After a thorough testing process, the above mentioned players of 70 clubs were declared fit to play in the Pioneer League. The players’ registration process has also been completed.

The tournament will be played in 10 fields across the capital.

The Dhaka City Corporation signed a ten-year contract with Bangladesh Football Federation to sponsor the Pioneer Football League. The DCC agreed to provide Tk2.5m for the first year and increase the amount 10% every year for the contracted period for the competition, which is regarded as a breeding ground for future professional footballers.

Khilgaon Football Academy and Matuiyal Udayan Sangsad featured in the last edition’s final where Khilgaon prevailed 5-4 on tiebreaker. Champions Khilgaon Football Academy received Tk one lakh as prize money while runnersup Matuiyal Udayan Sangsad pocketed Tk 50, 000. Both the teams were promoted to the third division also. l

Monday, October 14, 2013

14 Ivorians beat Senegal comfortably

14 Vettel wins Japan thriller, world title on hold

DHAKA TRIBUNE

13

15 Djokovic wins Shanghai Masters thriller

HISTORY IN THE MAKING Gazi to Anderson, OUT, plumb in front! Gazi slides this onto middle from around the wicket and Anderson shuffled across on the crease to work it away. He missed and paid the price

Gazi to Watling, OUT, Watling is the new man in and out he goes! Propped forward first ball and was taken aback by the bounce, a thin edge as he tried to get the bat out of the way. It reared into Mushfiq’s throat area, but he somehow managed to take the ball after a couple of bobbles

but an Shakib Al Hasan – who has been struggling for runs – was undaunted and proceeded to hit out lustily.

The star all-rounder reached 50 from just 39 balls as he struck three sixes and four fours and remained not out at the end, along with first innings centurion Mominul Haque, who calmly proceeded to 22 not out as the Tigers finished the match with the scoreboard reading 173/3.

Sohag Gazi, who scored a century and claimed eight wickets, was named man-of-the-match in the drawn game. l

Gazi at a glance NZ 1st innings 32-6-79-2

Bangladesh 1st innings 101 not out off 161 balls (4X10), (6X3)

New Zealand 2nd innings 26-4-77-6 (Including a hat-trick)

Bangladesh 2nd innings Did not bat

Scorecard, 1st Test New Zealand 1st innings: 469 (K Williamson 114, BJ Watling 103, P Fulton 73, Abdur Razzak 3-147) Bangladesh 1st innings 501 (Mominul Haque 181, Sohag Gazi 101 not out, D Bracewell 3-96, C Anderson 2-34) New Zealand 2nd innings (overnight 117-1) P Fulton lbw b Gazi 59 H Rutherford lbw b Nasir 32 K Williamson c Anamul b Gazi 74 R Taylor not out 54 B McCullum b Gazi 22 C Anderson lbw b Gazi 8 BJ Watling c Rahim b Gazi 0 D Bracewell c Shakib b Gazi 0 I Sodhi not out 22 Extras: (b11, lb4, nb1) 16 Total (for 7 wickets dec, 90 overs) 287 Fall of wickets: 1-48, 2-149, 3-200, 4-250, 5-260, 6-260, 7-260 Bowling: Razzak 32-5-116-0, Rubel 6-0-210 (nb1), Gazi 26-4-77-6, Shakib 9-1-19-0, Nasir 9-4-20-1, Robiul 4-1-9-0, Mominul 4-0-10-0 Bangladesh 2nd innings Tamim Iqbal c Williamson b Martin Anamul Haque c Anderson b Martin Marshall Ayub lbw b Sodhi Mominul Haque not out Shakib Al Hasan not out Extras: (b2, nb4)

46 18 31 22 50 6

Total (for 3 wickets, 48.2 overs)

173

Fall of wickets: 1-39, 2-99, 3-101 Bowling: Boult 4-1-9-0, Bracewell 5-0-14-0, Anderson 2-2-0-0, Williamson 10-3-24-0, Martin 16-4-62-2 (nb4), Sodhi 10.2-1-57-1, Taylor 1-0-5-0

Gazi to Bracewell, OUT, hat-trick! And what a ball again! This is a beauty of an arm ball which skids away from Bracewell who is stuck on the crease as he prods at it, gets a thin edge which actually clips Mushfiq’s pad and pops high in the air only for Shakib at first slip to dive forward and take the catch one-handed centimetres off the ground in a brilliant effort

Man of the Match: Sohag Gazi Result: Match drawn

Mumit M

Mushfiq disappointed with draw Uddin Khan n Minhaz from Chittagong The overall effort by the team in the first Test against New Zealand will allow Bangladesh be on the front foot in the second Test said the side’s skipper Mushfiqur Rahim.

Though the game ended as a draw the wicketkeeper-batsman believes the achievements in the game will keep his team morally boosted in the next game in Dhaka.

However, Mushfiq was not satisfied with the draw as he said, “We are disappointed to have had to settle for a draw. It was an opportunity, and if the wicket was any different, it would have been a different ball game for our spinners. “We could have lost, but at the same time we could have used our full strength. Credit goes to them also, they played well,” said Mushfiq to the media the Zahur Ahmed Chowdhury Stadium yesterday.

Top-order batsman Mominul Haque’s 181 and Sohag Gazi’s unbeaten

101in the first innings followed by the six wickets and a hat-trick by Gazi were the highlights of the Chittagong Test, but Mushfiq wants to look beyond personal achievements.

“Mominul and Gazi talk less, and work more. But we want to look at our overall result. The culture that we want to develop is of winning or drawing, and not focusing on individual performances.

“I must talk about Gazi. He gave us that lead in the first innings which was crucial. I have seen him hit around before, but he batted very smartly in this innings. He controlled himself according to the set fields. He added 100-odd with Robiul Islam. It was a matured innings. Also Mominul and Marshal,” said Mushfiqur.

Bangladesh has a history where the side gets a flying start to a series but things deteriorate in successive matches. Have the Tigers started thinking on the issue already, Mushfiq said, “We have had good starts and then a collapse in the second innings or not to do well in the second Test. Our players are more matured, and our targets are much better now.” l

Hundred and 5-for in a Test for Bangladesh Player

Bat

Bowl

Opposition

Ground

Date

Shakib al Hasan

144

6/82

Pakistan

Dhaka

17 Dec 2011

Sohag Gazi

101*

6/77

New Zealand

Chittagong

9 Oct 2013

Tigers retain same squad n Shishir Hoque The Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) yesterday announced an unchanged 14-man squad for the second Test of the twomatch series against New Zealand. The last Test of the series is scheduled at the Sher-e-Bangla National Cricket Stadium in Mirpur from October 21. Nonetheless, there is a chance that pace bowler Al-Amin Hossain, who received his first call for national duty in Chittagong but was eventually not included in the playing eleven, might replace Robiul Islam who bowled a total of 17 overs in the first match without taking a wicket.

SQUAD: Mushfiqur Rahim (Captain), Mahmud Ullah (Vice Captain), Anamul Haque, Tamim Iqbal, Shakib Al Hasan, Nasir Hossain, Abdur Razzak, Sohag Gazi, Rubel Hossain, Muminul Hoque, Marshall Ayub, Robiul Islam, Naeem Islam, Al Amin Hossain. l

Razib wins and loses n Shishir Hoque Bangladesh Grandmaster Enamul Hossain Razib returned to the winning ways after beating Mongolian WGM Nakhbayeva Gulishkhan in the 5th round of the Indonesia Open Chess Championship being held at Grand Shahid Jaya Hotel in Jakarta yesterday. Earlier in the evening, Razib lost against IM Emmanuel Senador of Philippines in the 4th round. Razib now has 2.5 points going into the 6th round. l

BCB forms fixing tribunal n Mazhar Uddin

The fifth elected body of Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) headed by Nazmul Hasan announced that they have formed a tribunal to investigate the match fixing scandal in the Bangladesh Premier League at the first board meeting of the executive members after the ad-hoc committee was dissolved at the Sher-eBangla National stadium yesterday.

Nazmul said that they had finalized the tribunal and would send it to the ICC today but refrained from naming the members of the tribunal until world cricket’s governing body approved the make-up.

“We have finalized the tribunal and will send it to the ICC tomorrow and we will inform you (the media) after that is done,” said Nazmul.

It was learnt that Justice Abdur Rashid will head the 10-member disciplinary panel that will deal with match fixing allegation in the Bangladesh Premier League. The National Sports Council (NSC) on November 27 formed a 13-member ad-hoc executive committee led by Nazmul Hasan to hold the election as the BCB’s elected committee tenure expired on November 26.

Meanwhile the ad-hoc committee held their last meeting at the Sher-e-Bangla National Stadium where several of the present executive committee members were present, having been elected in the recent election.

“We had a meeting with the old adhoc committee before we handed over the responsibility to the new committee.

“Earlier, there were 13 members in the ad-hoc committee and now we have 26 members in the new committee which will provide more opportunity to share the responsibility and work. This is better since there is a lot of work to do,” said Nazmul.

Five executive members- Enayet Hossain, Afzalur Rahman Sinha and Shafiul Alam Chowdhury Nadel were not present for personal reasons while Akram Khan and AZM Nasir were performing their duty in Chittagong where Bangladesh is playing a Test match against New Zealand. Nazmul said they would choose the two BCB vice-presidents after Eid and also the director from NSC, since Nazmul becoming president has left the position open.

“At the next meeting, we will come up with a process for appointing the two vice-presidents. I was told, after going through the constitution, that the executive members will determine the process that needs to be followed in this regard,” said Nazmul.

The first elected president went on to hint that Gazi Ashraf Hossain, who was defeated for a directorship position by Khaled Mahmud at the category C level, stood a good chance of gaining the spot of director from the NSC. “Everyone has a chance to come from NSC in my place provided he is a counselor, including Lipu. Before Eid, we did not want to take this major decision but I will ask him to continue his duties as he is the organizing secretary of the ongoing home series against New Zealand,” said the president. l

14

DHAKA TRIBUNE

Sport

Monday, October 14, 2013

Del Bosque wants more despite Belarus win n AFP, Madrid Spain manager Vicente del Bosque was far from happy with his side’s display despite the fact that they moved to within just a point of sealing qualification for next year’s World Cup with a 2-1 win over Belarus on Friday.

Second-half goals from Xavi and Alvaro Negredo put the hosts in command before a late consolation from Sergei Kornilenko halved the deficit for Belarus. Spain’s build-up play was slow and predictable throughout and Del Bosque is looking for more, particularly in the wide areas, when they host Georgia in their final qualifier on Tuesday.

“The game followed the guide we expected beforehand. All of our opponents play like this,” he said.

“We didn’t have penetration in our play, but the most important thing is that we won and we are close to the objective. We made the changes that we needed in the second-half to have more penetration on the wings. Once the first goal went in though, we began to conserve what we had which is very dangerous. I think we need to go looking for more goals.”

The former Real Madrid boss had sprung two major surprises in his starting line-up by handing Michu his debut ahead of Negredo up front and replacing World Cup and European Championship winning captain Iker Casillas with Victor Valdes in goal.

Michu hadn’t even been in Del Bosque’s original squad and had been called in as a late replacement for the injured David Villa. However, the 62-year-old insisted the Swansea City forward had earned his place with his effort in training despite his largely ineffective showing before being replaced by Negredo on 55 minutes.

Casillas, meanwhile, finally paid for his lack of match action at club level with his place in the national team.

However, Del Bosque refused to confirm that Valdes will continue to start as long as Casillas is not number one at the Santiago Bernabeu. l

Ivory Coast's forward Didier Drogba (C) and teammates celebrate after goal during their World Cup 2014 African zone qualifying matchagainst Senegal at the Felix Houphouet-Boigny stadium in Abidjan on Saturday

Ivorians beat Senegal comfortably n Reuters Didier Drogba set the tone with an early penalty as the Ivory Coast beat Senegal 3-1 at home on Saturday in the first leg of their African World Cup playoff to move a step closer to a third successive finals appearance.

Drogba converted the fifth-minute spot kick, which was followed by an own goal from Lamine Sane nine minutes later and then a breakaway effort from Salomon Kalou just after the break in Abidjan.

Senegal’s Papiss Cisse pulled one

Vettel wins Japan thriller, world title on hold n AFP, Suzuka Red Bull’s Sebastian Vettel stormed to a fourth victory in five years at the Japanese Grand Prix Sunday but will have to wait to celebrate a fourth successive Formula One world title.

Vettel reeled in his departing teammate Mark Webber in the closing stages as well as Lotus driver Romain Grosjean, who wound up third for Lotus after a flying start at Suzuka.

But Fernando Alonso’s fourth place means Vettel’s celebrations stay on ice at least until India in two weeks, despite the German’s career-best run of five straight race wins.

Webber began the race on pole for the first time this year but Grosjean’s scorching start from fourth saw the Frenchman sneak into turn one ahead of the Australian.

Both men had their chances but ultimately Vettel proved too strong and, after roaring past Grosjean on the home

straight on lap 41, went in front when Webber pitted for the third time and was never seriously threatened thereafter.

Webber’s three-stop strategy cost him and, although he finally passed a determined Grosjean with two laps of the 53 left, it was too late to catch his team-mate and claim a first victory of the year in his last season in F1.

Vettel, on the brink of becoming only the third man to win four Formula One titles in a row after Michael Schumacher and Juan Manuel Fangio, now holds a 90-point lead over Ferrari’s Alonso with 100 available from the last four races.

His coronation a virtual foregone conclusion, Vettel had a hair-raising start, clipping Lewis Hamilton in the squeeze and leaving the Briton’s Mercedes with a shredded right rear tyre and floor damage which forced his retirement early in the race.

Alonso drove an aggressive race to finish fourth after starting from eighth place, with Kimi Raikkonen, another former world champion, fifth for Lotus ahead of Sauber’s Nico Hulkenberg. l

back five minutes into stoppage time with the last kick of the game.

Although Drogba continued his talismanic influence on the Ivorians, who qualified for the previous two World Cups in Germany in 2006 and South Africa in 2010, Italian-based midfielder Gervinho was central to all the home goals. He was brought down by Cheikh Kouyate to earn the penalty and then Sane contrived to turn Gervinho’s probing ball into his own net.

Five minutes after halftime, Gervinho slipped a perfectly-weighted pass between two defenders to allow Kalou to run away and tuck the ball home.

But the Ivorians collapsed to the turf

Japanese GP results 1. Vettel (GER/Red Bull) 2. Webber (AUS/Red Bull) 3. Grosjean (FRA/Lotus) 4. Alonso (ESP/Ferrari) 5. Raikkonen (FIN/ Renault) 6. Hulkenberg (GER/Sauber) 7. Gutierrez (MEX/Sauber) 8. Rosberg (GER/Mercedes) 9. Button (GBR/McLaren) 10. Massa (BRA/Ferrari) 11. Di Resta (GBR/Force India) 12. Vergne (FRA/Toro Rosso) 13. Ricciardo (AUS/Toro Rosso) 14. Sutil (GER/Force India) 15. Perez (MEX/McLaren) 16. Maldonado (VEN/Williams) 17. Bottas (FIN/Williams) 18. Charles Pic (FRA/Caterham) 19. Chilton (GBR/Marussia)

1:26:49.301sec at 7.129 at 9.910 at 45.605 at 47.325 at 51.615 at 1:11.630 at 1:12.023 at 1:20.821 at 1:29.263 at 1:38.572 at 1 lap at 1 lap at 1 lap at 1 lap at 1 lap at 1 lap at 1 lap at 1 lap

Overall standings Drivers 1. Sebastian Vettel (GER) 297 pts, 2. Fernando Alonso (ESP) 207, 3. Kimi Raikkonen (FIN) 177, 4. Lewis Hamilton (GBR) 161, 5. Mark Webber (AUS) 148, 6. Nico Rosberg (GER) 126, 7. Felipe Massa (BRA) 90, 8. Romain Grosjean (FRA) 87, 9. Jenson Button (GBR) 60, 10. Nico Hulkenberg (GER) 39, 11. Paul di Resta (GBR) 36, 12. Adrian Sutil (GER) 26, 13. Sergio Perez (MEX) 23, 14. Daniel Ricciardo (AUS) 18, 15.

Jean-Eric Vergne (FRA) 13, 16. Esteban Gutierrez (MEX) 6, 17. Pastor Maldonado (VEN) 1 Constructors 1. Red Bull Racing 445 pts, 2. Scuderia Ferrari 297, 3. Mercedes AMG Petronas Formula One Team 287, 4. Lotus 264, 5. McLaren Mercedes 83, 6. Force India 62, 7. Sauber 45, 8. Scuderia Toro Rosso 31, 9. Williams 1

touch of the first half. Pitroipa sneaked between two static defenders to head home a cross from left winger Jean-Noel Lingani two minutes after Algeria’s Rais Mbolhi had saved Bance’s first penalty.

Burkina Faso’s Djakaridja Kone put the hosts back in front in the 65th when he intercepted the ball in midfield before striding out wide on the left and tucking the ball across Mbolhi into the far corner of the net.

But their advantage was again shortlived as Medjani rose above the defence to head home a corner four minutes later. Saturday’s match was the first of five African World Cup playoff first legs over the next four days. l

at the final whistle after sloppy defending allowed Cisse to sneak in at the back post and convert a cross as the referee was about to blow the final whistle, in a rare highlight for the visitors .

Burkina Faso striker Aristide Bance fired home a controversial penalty four minutes from time to secure a 3-2 away win over Algeria in the first leg of their African World Cup playoff in Ouagadougou on Saturday.

Bance had a first-half spot kick saved but bravely stepped up to score in the 86th minute and hand the Burkinabe a slender lead for the return leg in Blida on Nov. 19 which will decide who gets a place at next year’s finals in Brazil.

The penalty was awarded for handball on the advice of the linesman but television replays showed defender Essaid Belkalem clearly had his arms tucked behind his back and blocked the shot with his chest.

Algeria had twice come from behind to level the score in the second half through Sofiane Feghouli and Carl Medjani and will be bitter about not coming away with a draw as they squandered several other good chances after the break.

Feghouli tucked away a right-foot finish inside the area in the 50th minute after Jonathan Pitroipa had given Burkina Faso the lead with the last

Neymar hits out after win over South Korea n AFP, Seoul

We’ll hold our nerve: Lampard

Brazil star Neymar said he feared injury against an uncompromising South Korea after firing the visitors to a 2-0 friendly win with a trademark free-kick on Saturday.

The Barcelona forward curled his shot past Korean goalie Jung SungRyong just before half-time, with Chelsea’s Oscar getting the visitors’ second shortly after the break.

Neymar, 21, had been in doubt for the game after a heavy fall in training, and he was hit with some tough challenges and constant close marking in front of a near-capacity crowd.

The Brazilian threw up his hands in exasperation and had a few testy moments, even getting into a shoving match near the team benches late in the first half.

But the young idol had the last laugh at Seoul World Cup Stadium when he thumped his strike over the wall and to the right of Jung, who got a hand to the ball but could not keep it out. l

n AFP, London Frank Lampard is confident England will keep their composure against Poland at Wembley on Tuesday and secure a place at next year’s World

Cup finals.

England head into the game top of European qualifying zone Group H following Friday’s 4-1 win over Montenegro at Wembley.

But to seal their place at Brazil 2014 they must beat Poland, assuming closest group rivals Ukraine, as widely forecast, defeat minnows San Marino.

Poland themselves can no longer qualify but Lampard knows from painful experience there is no such thing as an England international at Wembley where the opposition have ‘nothing to play for’.

It was a similar story in November 2007 when Croatia arrived with only their pride at stake.

However, the visitors’ 3-2 win denied England a place at Euro 2008 and the result also ended Steve McClaren’s reign as England manager, with the now

Hazard and co help Wilmots prove critics wrong n AFP, Brussels

The Red Bull crews congratulate Red Bull Formula One driver Sebastian Vettel of Germany from the pit wall after he crossed the finish line to win the Japanese F1 Grand Prix at the Suzuka circuit yesterday REUTERS

AFP

Belgium’s impressive 2-1 win over Croatia on Friday which assured them of their first appearance at a World Cup finals since 2002 would have been especially satisfying for their young coach Marc Wilmots.

The 44-year-old – who appeared at four World Cups though he failed to play in the 1990 edition – was not universally welcomed when he was appointed in June 2012 after an undistinguished time at both Belgian side St Truiden and then Bundesliga outfit Schalke 04 where he had shone as a player and won the 1997 Uefa Cup beating Inter Milan.

Pundits, fans and even members of the federation were sceptical he could turn the fortunes round of the ‘Red Devils’, whose glory days when they reached the 1986 World Cup semi-finals, where they fell prey to the

magical talents of Diego Maradonna, were a distant memory.

However, now with a young generation of immensely talented players such as Chelsea playmaker Eden Hazard, and his clubmate Romelu Lukaku, though, he is on loan at Everton, and when fit Manchester City central defender and captain Vincent Kompany as well as Atletico Madrid goakeeper Thibault Courtois they look like they could go far in Brazil next year.

“Without a doubt in terms of pure talent this squad is stronger than the one that reached the semi-finals in 1986,” said former Belgian international right-back Georges Heylens, capped over 50 times and who played in the 1970 World Cup in Mexico.

Wilmots, capped 80 times, is credited with not only giving the young group confidence in themselves as well as enjoying a close relationship with his players but also at the same time being capable of instilling discipline to the squad. l

Derby County boss dubbed the ‘wally in the brolly’ after sheltering under an umbrella during a rain-soaked night in north London.

“I try not to think about that night too much,” Chelsea favourite Lampard, who scored against Croatia, said following the win over Montenegro.

“You remember the bad nights as much as the good ones.”

In June, England held Brazil to a 2-2 draw in a friendly international at Rio’s iconic Maracana Stadium and Lampard, who will be 36 by the time of next year’s World Cup, would love nothing more than to play there again. “Brazil is one of the homes of football,” Lampard said.

“We believe we are the home of football, but you have to admire their history (Brazil have won the World Cup a record five times) and the flamboyance they have over there. “We played there in the summer and you could feel the magic around the place.

“If you are playing for your country you want to be at the World Cup there and that’s why it’s a huge game on Tuesday. “There is a lot of desire. Me and Stevie (Gerrard) have been here a long time and I think that is pushing us on. l

Australia in touch with Hiddink over Socceroos job n Reuters, Sydney Australia have made tentative contact with Dutchman Guus Hiddink about the national team coaching job left vacant by the sacking of Holger Osieck, Football Federation Australia (FFA) chief executive David Gallop said on Sunday.

Osieck was sacked after Australia were hammered by France in Paris on Friday, the second time in a month they had lost 6-0 after a similar humbling at the hands of Brazil in Brasilia.

“There’s often conversations and it’s fair to say that some feelers have been put out, but nothing more than that at the moment,” he said in an interview posted on the FFA website (www.footballaustralia.com.au/). “We need to start the process of looking for a new national team coach,” he added.

“We want that to be done reasonably quickly. Ideally, we would want someone in place for the next time the Socceroos play in Australia, which is in November.” l

DHAKA TRIBUNE

Quick Bytes

Jimmy ready to answer National hockey forward Russell Mahmud Jimmy received an official show-cause order from the Bangladesh Hockey Federation yesterday. The hockey federation has asked Jimmy to answer a total of ten causes regarding his and the national team’s performance in the recently concluded Asia Cup Hockey within 10 days, and the player appeared to be upset by the development. “We have seen that the coaches and the captains are asked to explain the causes of the failure in the past. Now the coaches and the captain are warned whether the players are served with show-cause letters. I will submit my answers after Eid-ul- Azha,” he said. Jimmy - along with goalkeeper Zahid Hossain, midfielder Qamruzzaman Rana and defender Imran Hasan Pintu - were served with showcause notices after a probe committee report that pinpointed specific wrong doings against them. The players under scrutiny are presently contemplating submitting a letter to the president of the hockey federation, on top of answering the charges leveled against them.

– RM

Nadal tips Del Potro for Grand Slam glory World number one Rafael Nadal has tipped Juan Martin del Potro for more Grand Slam glory after he was handed a tennis lesson by the Argentine in their Shanghai Masters semi-final on Saturday.

The 25-year-old prevailed 6-2, 6-4 against the shell-shocked Spaniard in a devastating display of power hitting to set up a final against top seed Novak Djokovic.

And Nadal, who returned to the top of the rankings this week after a stunning season, said if Del Potro could repeat the form he showed in their Shanghai battle, he could smash the monopoly of the “Big Four” on the majors. The giant Argentine, who beat Federer in the 2009 US Open final, is the only player since 2005 to win a Grand Slam aside from Nadal, Federer, Djokovic and Andy Murray, but he has not reached another final since. “If he plays similar to this level, for sure he’s one of the biggest candidates to win a Grand Slam tournament. He’s able to do it. I’m sure he will win more,” said Nadal, who has won 13 major titles, just four behind Federer’s record of 17. “It is true that the last three years he played well, but he didn’t arrive to this level. So it is great to see him play again at this very, very high level. At the end it is good to have players who have the potential to play at this unbelievable level.” Del Potro himself, who qualified for next month’s World Tour Finals in London with his victory, said to improve from his current ranking of number five would be tough. “Not many players have the chance to beat them (the top players),” he said. “I always believe in myself. I always believe in my game. It could be my biggest challenge of my career, getting closer to the top positions.

– AFP

Clemente signs 2-year contract to coach Libya Former Spain coach Javier Clemente signed a two year contract with the Libyan Football Federation in Tripoli on Saturday to coach the national side. The 63-year-old, who coached Spain from 1992-98, replaces Abdelhafidh al-Rabich who stepped down after Libya were eliminated from the 2014 World Cup. Libyan federation president Anouar al-Tachani refused to reveal how much Clemente would be paid as he bids to guide the Libyans to the 2015 Africa Cup of Nations being hosted by Morocco. Clemente, who also coached Serbia and Cameroon, called on Saturday for the support of the clubs, the fans and the press in order to make his task easier to achieve. As well as his international experience, Clemente has coached big Spanish clubs including Athletic Bilbao and Atletico Madrid and was also briefly in charge of Sporting Gijon last year in the top flight. Libya will host the 2017 Africa Cup of Nations.

–AFP

Pizzi replaces injured Danny for Portugal Espanyol striker Pizzi was on Saturday called into the Portugal squad to replace injured Danny for their concluding World Cup qualifier against Luxembourg on Tuesday. Danny, who plays his club football with Zenit Saint-Petersburg in Russia, is suffering from a right thigh injury.

Portugal are already without suspended Real Madrid duo Cristiano Ronaldo and Pepe for Tuesday’s match. Portugal are three points behind Group F leaders Russia and have a hugely inferior goal difference meaning they can only realistically make the finals in Brazil next year via the play-offs. Russia go to Azerbaijan in their final qualifier. Portugal’s challenge was undermined on Friday when they conceded an 85th-minute equaliser to Israel in a 1-1 draw in Lisbon.

–AFP

Sport

Monday, October 14, 2013

McCullum content with the result Uddin Khan n Minhaz from Chittagong New Zealand captain Brendon McCullum was a happy man to see his team draw the first Test against Bangladesh and looked forward to carry the good form as the series progresses.

Asked whether the Black Caps were pushing for a result McCullum’s response was a positive one.

“Yeah there was definitely push from us that you probably noticed, the way we batted just before lunch and straight after the lunch. We had set a target in mind. For us it was about the overs knowing that our seamers would be able to bowl six or top eight overs.

We didn’t want to leave ourselves too many overs. In the end we were happy with 250 off 46. Ideally we would have loved to have a few more overs,” said the New Zealand captain in the post match conference at the Zahur Ahmed Chowdhury Stadium yesterday.

He appeared unfazed over the hattrick of Sohag Gazi. “It was okay in the end, whether you are three down or seven down, we had a score in mind with overs in mind and we got that, regardless of how many wickets we lost,

but we don’t take anything away from him, he has bowled very well, but we had achieved our aim,” said McCullum.

The New Zealand captain attributed the good preparations behind them.

“Look we had a good preparation in Sri Lanka, so we had a far better preparation this time around then last time around. From our point of view in the last five days we had a good head out, lot of guys had a good run on the field and had an opportunity to get bat in hand. I think we played well and at the end of the day a draw was a fair result,” he opined.

The New Zealand skipper termed the pitch as a tough one. “Yeah it’s always a tough one, because you are cautious if you still need enough runs, on a wicket like that it was also hard to generate strike rate. When we saw, players trying to go after the bowling, some of the balls kept low, and a couple turned and made it difficult for us,” thought McCullum.

At the end it was all positive for him.

“I think we played some good cricket, I think our batting was certainly positive, to win the toss and put 460 against a good spin line up that was really positive, the second innings was positive as well. We can improve on our fielding, we were a bit patchy, but the seamers were outstanding, spinners got better as we went on.” l

Ponting had doubts over Clarke captaincy n Reuters, Sydney Ricky Ponting once harboured doubts over the suitability of Michael Clarke to succeed him as captain of Australia.

Ponting, who stood down after nine years in the post in 2011, said the concerns over his successor-designate and vice captain - who he called “Pup” - had prevented him from considering resigning earlier.

“It wasn’t that he was disruptive or treacherous and publicly he said all the right things,” Ponting said in an extract from his autobiography, “At The Close Of Play”, serialised in the Herald Sun newspaper.

“But he had never been one to get too involved in planning sessions or debriefs at the end of a day’s play, or to volunteer to take on any of the captain’s

workload.

“More than once, (coach) Tim Nielsen and I had encouraged him to take on more of a leadership role within the group, but when Pup was down on form or if he had a problem away from cricket, he’d go into his shell.

“I knew he was an excellent thinker on the game, but for a long time I was concerned that he wouldn’t be able to handle the huge variety of ‘little things’ that go with being Australian captain.”

Those feelings had been compounded by the way Clarke distanced himself from the team as he became more and more involved in a celebrity lifestyle off the field.

“Pup remained a good trainer and we could all see that he loved playing for Australia and was determined to do well,” Ponting recalled. l

15 ICC launches world championship to preserve Tests n AFP, Abu Dhabi

Bangladesh captain Mushfiqur Rahim (L) and New Zealand captain Brendon McCullum (R) talk during the presentation ceremony at the ZACS in Chittagong yesterday AFP

Cricket’s governing body launched the World Test Championship 2017 on Saturday aimed at preserving the primacy of the longer format of the game.

The International Cricket Council (ICC) said the inaugural championship will be hosted by England and will feature the top four teams in the ICC Test rankings, with a total prize money of $10 million at stake.

“The objective of the championship is to preserve the primacy of Tests and to preserve the future of all formats of the game,” ICC chief executive David Richardson said at the launch on the sidelines of the Pakistan-South Africa two-Test series starting on Monday.

The attractions of Test cricket have faced serious competition in recent years from the Twenty20 phenomenon.

South Africa captain Graeme Smith said: “It’s fantastic to have a pathway clearly identified for the ICC World Test Championship and to know that the top four teams will have a chance to battle it out to be crowned the ultimate champions. Ashes winners England are number two, India are at three, Australia are fourth and the West Indies fifth. Pakistan and Sri Lanka are ranked sixth and seventh respectively.

Pakistan captain Misbah-ul-Haq added: “Test cricket is a journey and it’s the pinnacle of our game. It will add even more context to all the bi-lateral series that the Test sides play and ultimately gives each team a chance to be world champions in Test cricket.”

“The championship will add value to Test cricket, interest in which is dying because of Twenty20.” l

All-round Australia down India in 1st ODI n Agencies

Brief Score

George Bailey’s Australia fired the opening salvo in the seven-match One-Day International (ODI) series against India with 72-run win over India in the first game at Pune. With an all-round performance, the visitors took a 1-0 lead over the hosts.

After the batsmen had done a good job to post a total in excess of 300, the bowlers did exceptionally well to get the better of the strong Indian batting line-up.

Mitchell Johnson provided a fired up start and the others followed suit to eke out a disciplined performance. James Faulkner was the pick of the bowlers while the likes of Clint McKay and Shane Watson chipped in with valuable contributions to take their side to a win.

Johnson gave his skipper enough reasons to believe that this wicket had something for the team bowling second as he managed to bowl consistently at more than 150 kmph. Clint McKay, from the

Australia 304 for 8 in 50 overs (Aaron Finch 72, Bailey 85; Yuvraj 2 for 34, Ashwin 2 for 55) beat India 232 in 49.4 overs (Rohit 42, Kohli 61; Faulkner 3 for 47, Watson 2 for 31) by 72 runs.

Man of the Match: George Bailey other end kept a tight line and length to not give away easy runs. Rohit Sharma broke the shackles after India’s slow start when he unleashed an exquisite square drive to score the first boundary of the innings. He then offers an outside chance and gets away in the next over when an outside edge just about manages to beat wicketkeeper Brad Haddin to run away to the third man boundary.

Bailey gave Johnson just three overs in the first spell and brought on Faulkner in his place. Faulkner got one back immediately by sending him back to the pavilion off the very next delivery. Faulkner was

clearly pumped up and ended up poking the wicketkeeper in the eye in the postwicket celebrations. Haddin struggled to recover from the mishap and a delivery later, he asked to leave the field. Phil Hughes took his place as Virat Kohli walked out to the middle at the fall of Dhawan’s wicket.

Yuvraj Singh was a bit lucky to get away with a slightly mis-timed pull shot that travelled past the mid-wicekt boundary despite taking a top-edge off his bat.

Johnson was back to test the left-hander with his pace and bounce.

Kohli, in the meantime, brought up his half-century. It was a kind of day when Kohli had to toil hard for his runs and had to play a matured role as the Australians were hardly giving anything away on the field.

India’s chase was virtually brought to an end in the 41st over when McKay squared up Dhoni with a ball that pitched on middle and off and left Dhoni to go on to hit the off-stump. l

Rock-steady South Africa face unpredictable Pakistan n AFP, Abu Dhabi World number one South Africa will hold most of the aces against an erratic and unpredictable Pakistan when the teams open a two-Test series from Monday.

Graeme Smith’s Proteas have dominated the five-day format and are unbeaten in a Test series (away from home) since losing to Sri Lanka 2-0 in 2006.

Their record against sub-continent teams is particularly impressive as they have lost only four out of their last 20 Tests against such opposition, doing so just once in an away series.

South Africa have beaten Pakistan in 11 of their 21 Tests, losing only three and

drawing the remaining seven.

Pakistan’s only series win came way back in 2003, on home ground.

Smith’s men routed Pakistan 3-0 when the two teams met in South Africa earlier this year, exposing their rivals’ fragile batting through pacemen Dale Steyn (20 wickets) and Vernon Philander (15).

Even the dusty and dry pitches and high temperatures of the United Arab Emirates, where Pakistan have been forced to play their home matches since the 2009 terror attack on a Sri Lankan team bus, hold no fears for the South Africans.

The South Africans are using icevests to beat the UAE heat and Smith

Stosur rallies past Bouchard to claim Japan Open title n Reuters Australia’s Sam Stosur fought back from a set down to claim the Japan Open for a second time on Sunday and deny Canadian teenager Eugenie Bouchard her first WTA title.

The former U.S. Open champion beat her 19-year-old opponent 3-6 7-5 6-2 in Osaka to clinch the $250,000 hard court title, with her second of the year ensuring she has won more than once in a season for the first time.

The Australian wore down Bouchard with some booming forehands into an open court after pushing the Canadian out wide with a clever kick serve.

It was a fifth career title for the world number 20 and second in Osaka following a 2009 success.

The fifth seeded Bouchard began her first WTA final confidently, breaking her 29-year-old opponent three times en route to taking the set 6-2.

The second set looked to be heading for a tiebreak at 5-5 but third seed Stosur stepped up her game, breaking the Canadian as she won seven of the next eight points to seal it 7-5.

Bouchard held serve to open the deciding set but Stosur again went on a run, claiming the next four games to open up a lead she would not relinquish to seal victory in two hours and 13 minutes.

“Eugenie was playing really well today. I just had to stick it out in the second set, and I’m pretty happy with how things went in the third,” Stosur said in an on court interview. l

hoped they will also handle the threat of Pakistani spinners, especially Saeed Ajmal, like they did here in 2010.

They drew a two-Test series in the UAE in 2010, with Jacques Kallis hitting successive hundreds, AB de Villiers notching South Africa’s then-highest score of 278 not out, and Smith and Hashim Amla also scoring centuries.

They blunted Ajmal so well that Pakistan were forced to leave out the ace spinner after he got only three wickets in the first Test in Dubai.

Smith, who returns to international cricket following an ankle injury in March, believes his side are ready for all possibilities. l

Novak Djokovic celebrates with the winners trophy after defeating Juan Martin Del Potro during their men's singles final at the Shanghai Masters in Shanghai yesterday AFP

Struggling Federer Djokovic wins Shanghai splits with coach Masters thriller Annacone Nadal, who re-claimed the top ranking n AFP, Paris n AFP, Shanghai this week from Djokovic.

Roger Federer split with coach Paul Annacone on Saturday as the 17-time Grand Slam title winner attempted to pull his career out of its worrying tailspin.

Former world number one Federer, now at seven in the rankings, revealed that he was calling time on his relationship with Annacone, who guided Pete Sampras during the American’s glory years. “After a terrific three and a half years working together, Paul and I have decided to move on to the next chapter in our professional lives,” Federer wrote on www.rogerfederer.com.

“After numerous conversations culminating at the end of our most recent training block, we felt like this was the best time and path for both of us. l

Novak Djokovic overcame a fierce challenge from Juan Martin del Potro Sunday to defend his Shanghai Masters title with a 6-1, 3-6, 7-6 (7/3) victory, bringing the Argentine down to earth after his heroics against Rafael Nadal.

Del Potro came into the final against the top seed brimming with confidence after his semi-final demolition of the Spanish world number one but was immediately on the back foot in breezy conditions at the Qizhong Tennis Center.

The 26-year-old Serb established an iron grip on the first set with a double break, dictating the play and not allowing the sixth seed to produce the thundering groundstrokes that dispatched

But the Argentine, who won last week’s Japan Open, got his act together at the start of the second set, breaking at his first opportunity in a bizarre game in which his Serb opponent appeared to have trouble keeping his balance.

Djokovic engineered a golden opportunity to break back, earning three break points in the seventh game but former US Open champion Del Potro upped his game to win five consecutive points for a hold and levelled the match by taking the second set 6-3.

Djokovic, who was holding serve more easily than his opponent as the set wore on, held his nerve to win the tie-break with his third match point.l

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DHAKA TRIBUNE

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Monday, October 14, 2013

Illegal cattle markets mushrooming Most city cattle markets

in the hands of AL men Ruling party leaders and city corporation officials involved in the syndicate gate Moitree Sangha market for Tk4.5 Abu Hayat Mahmud n Tk10,000.

In some cases, they collect Following the nod, syndicate memlakh and party activist Zahidul Islam, lection goes to local ruling party leadn Mohammad Jamil Khan ers, another to city corporation officials bers started contacting cattle traders toll according to the legal cattle market Awami League men in an unholy nexus brother of local AL leader Toriqul Islam Illegal cattle markets have sprung up across the city though the government is up against such markets meant for sale of sacrificial animals prior to Eid ul-Azha.

A section of people in collusion with slick politicos are behind setting up of these makeshift markets in a bid to make a fast buck.

Sources in Dhaka Metropolitan Police said this year at least 13 illegal cattle markets had already mushroomed across the capital along with 20 legal cattle markets including the permanent one at Gabtoli.

Some corrupt city corporation officials with the blessings of ruling party leaders allegedly set up these illegal cattle markets every year, sources alleged.

Visiting different places on Sunday, the Dhaka Tribune found that illegal cattle markets had already come into being in some places of the capital, and in some places, preparations were underway to open the market.

It was found that cattle were being brought in the open of Environment Directorate, Neuroscience Institute, Information Commission, Atomic Energy Commission, Directorate of Technical Education, National Science Museum, University Grants Commission, Shyampur, Dholaipur City Corporation staff quarter, Dholaipar and Tantibazar area.

Even cows and goats were also seen to have been gathered in front of the main gate of Islamic Foundation.

Apart from these, preparation is underway to set up illegal markets beside Mogbazar Dilu Road, New Elephant Road, Agriculture University, Janatabagh of Rayerbagh and in some places of Uttara and Sutrapur.

The financial transactions of around Tk500m take place in the illegal cattle markets every year.

The amount of money is divided among three groups of people, sources said, adding that one portion of the col-

and the rest to law enforcers.

Prior to opening the illegal markets, local leaders manage to get the nod of Dhaka North and Dhaka South City Corporations.

Seeking anonymity, a local leader of Sutrapur area told the Dhaka Tribune that once they got the temporary permission for a day or two, they were in safe zone.

“To get permission, we went to our minister’s office for whom we campaign during his electioneering. The minister got us the city corporation’s approval by making a phone call to the authority,” said the leader.

over cellphone to bring their cattle to their makeshift cattle market, he said, adding that sometimes they forced cattle truck into bringing its cattle to their market.

The illegal cattle markets will cause the government to lose a huge sum of revenues from cattle markets.

Members of law enforcement agencies were also found patrolling the market to ensure security.

The organisers of cattle markets collect toll from buyers in these cattle markets as per animal size and sale price.

The toll varies from Tk500 to

rate which is 5% on the cattle price.

About illegal cattle markets, Benazir Ahmed, commissioner of Dhaka Metropolitan Police, said they had already asked two city corporation officials not to allow any illegal cattle markets in the capital.

Letters had already been issued to the officials and action will be taken against those found involved in any kind of irregularities, he added.

Mohammad Fasiullah, chief state officer of Dhaka North City Corporation, told the Dhaka Tribune, “We have come to know about some irregularities and those will be dealt with sternly.” l

An illegal cattle market of sacrificial animals being operated at the park beside National Institute of Traumatology Orthopaedics and Rehabilitation, also known as Pongu Hospital, in the capital. The photo taken yesterday evening shows arrays of makeshift bamboo fences at the market set up without any authorisation from the city corporation NASHIRUL ISLAM

are allegedly controlling the cattle markets in the capital city of Dhaka to make a quick buck ahead of the Eid-ul-Azha.

Dhaka South City Corporation (DSCC) and Dhaka North City Corporation (DNCC) have set up 19 makeshift cattle markets apart from the biggest permanent cattle market at Gabtoli in the city before the Eid-ul-Azha.

Earlier, during the tender invitation those Awami League men threatened the DSCC officials concerned with dire consequence if they sold schedules to others.

Even though DSCC and DNCC authorities leased out each market to one person the reality is a syndicate of ruling party men has taken control of all the cattle markets in the city.

DSCC and DNCC invited tenders for its 19 makshift cattle markets in August on the occasion of the upcoming Eidul-Azha.

DSCC this year leased out 10 temporary cattle markets for about Tk61m while DNCC awarded its nine markets for about Tk50m.

On top of that, the largest permanent cattle market at Gabtoli was earlier leased out by the DNCC in April for one year for about Tk 81m including VAT. The officials of both the city corporations in return for anonymity said Jubo League, Swechchasebak League, Chhatra League and other wings of the ruling party syndicates ruled the roost in the cattle markets ahead of Eid-ulAzha over the past four years.

Armanitola playgroud is the largest cattle market of the DSCC. Awami League President of the ward no 69 of DSCC Elias Rashid was awarded the market for TK 40m.

AL President of ward no 26 Nazimuddin Ahmed Nazu got Khilgaon Meradia Bazar cattle market for Tk2.7m, AL Joint Secretary of ward no 81 Kazi Kamrul Ahmed Khilgaon Rail-

Jigatola-Hazaribagh haat.

General Secretaty of Muslim Friends Club Abu Motaleb was awarded Rahmatganj playground, Zamir Ali Golapbag Haat, Mohammad Shamsuzzoha Dhupkhola East and Club field (Shamsuzzoha is the general secretary of the club), Hazi Rubel Miah Postagola Haat, Shohid Uddin Ahmed Balur Math which is adjoining to Brothers Union Club while Rashidul Haque Bhuian Sadek Hossain got Khoka playground.

In DNCC, Jubo League leader Mahbubur Rahman was awarded Uttara Azampur Primary School playground and its adjoining area for Tk7.2m and former Chhatra League leader Md Farid Ahmed Baridhara Bypass Road Hatt and another ruling party leader won Khilkhet Haat.

Mohammad Aslam got the free space adjoining to Banani Rail Station, Khokon Mridha was allocated the free space of Mirpur Eastern Housing.

The open space of Agargaon slum was awarded to Mozibor Rahman Khan.

When contacted chief estate officers of both DSCC and DNCC denied the allegation of syndication and said they leased out those markets to the highest bidders.

DSCC Chief Estate Officer Khalid Ahmed told the Dhaka Tribune that DSCC leased out 9 makeshift cattle markets to the highest bidders.

“As we received the lowest bidding for the Armanitola playground at Nayabazar Haat and Moradia Bazar of Khilgaon we reinvited the tender for those two grounds,” he said.

DNCC Chief Estate Officer Md Fasiullah echoed him saying: “Every cattle market of DNCC has been leased out through open tender.”

“Allegation of political consideration in leasing out the cattle markets is baseless,” he added. l

Grameen Bank women directors to JS body gives nod to national be dismissed after new law: Muhith broadcast policy Showkat Kallol, from n Asif Washington DC Finance Minister AMA Muhith said the nine “pro-Yunus” women directors of Grameen Bank would lose their positions once parliament approved the Grameen Bank Law 2013 bill.

“Professor Yunus used to select the women directors as per his choice and there have been no elections in the Grameen Bank in the 30 years since its inception,” the finance minister told the Dhaka Tribune yesterday in Washington.

He also said a new election, under a new set of rules, would be held for the GB board within a short time after the law was passed in parliament.

“Grameen Bank board is currently non-functional because of Professor Yunus’ strong influence over the bank, despite the government’s stake and its three members,” he said.

The finance minister also expressed his dissatisfaction with the activities of the chairman of the Grameen Bank Commission saying he did not complete his job of submittinga complete report on Grameen Bank,rather only submitted a synopsis.

“Commission Chairman Mamun-urRashid wants two more months to complete the report on the relation between the Grameen Bank and 54 associated organisations,” he said.

“The bank will now be under direct control of the central bank, to give the authorities more powers over the microcredit organisation,” he added.

But he said the government was not bringing any major changes in Grameen Bank’s structure. The ownership structure would remain the same with the borrower-shareholders owning 75% and the government 25%.

The number of government-appointed directors in the 12-member board would also remain three as it is now but quorumwould be made from three members instead of four.

The quorum would be increased phase by phase, he added.

“We will never accept the proposals— it is part of the government’s scheme to take over the bank,” Tahsina Khatun, a member of Grameen Bank board, told the Dhaka Tribune over phone yesterday.

She said every item in the draft election rule was against the interests of the bank – and was, therefore, unnecessary.

“The existing rules have served us well over the years, and we will stick with them,” she said, adding that if outsiders were brought in to conduct elections it would only create chaos.

Tahsina said the government had targeted the elected directors as the current nine members had been very vocal against any state intervention since Prof Yunus stepped down as managing director in 2011 and had managed to block all the authorities’ plans.

“We are real borrowers of the bank.

If the government dismisses the nine women directorsit will spell disaster for the bank. The meetingswould be held even without the women directors, as

the quorum can be met by three members of the government,” she said.

The finance minister said the appointment of a permanent managing director for the bank was of utmost importance now.

“The government is taking steps to have the High Court petition, which has stalled the process of appointing the managing director, withdrawn so that it can appoint the next chief executive,” he said.

“Once the injunction is withdrawn, we will appoint the MD. The main reason [behind the delay] is Prof Yunus, because he wants one of his own people as MD,” he added.

He also said a panel had proposed appointing deputy commissioners to oversee the elections for nine borrower-director posts in the 12 member Grameen Bank board.

At present, the government appoints three of the directors, including the chairman of the microcredit organisation’s board, while the remaining nine members, all of whom are women borrowers, are elected from grassroots level through a three-tier election system.

But a committee, formed in April by the finance ministry, suggested a two-tier system. In the first tier, the borrower-shareholders of each of the nine constituencies would elect a 15-member electoral body.

The finance minister said the members of the nine electoral bodies would then decide among themselves who would be serving as directors. l

n Kamran Reza Chowdhury A parliamentary watchdog yesterday consented in principle to the contents of the first ever guidelines for the private TV and radio stations, though in August 2011 it objected to the proposed national broadcast policy for some of the “controversial” sections.

The parliamentary standing committee on information ministry, at its meeting, criticised TV talk-show participants for “not giving their opinions” on the policy, and decided on inviting them to a future meeting for getting their feedback on the “almost final” policy, before the ministry implemented it ahead of the general elections.

According to the broadcast policy, the TV channels should not air any programme the authorities consider “ridiculing or defaming or attacking to any religion and generating hate for any faiths.” The policy will also ban the leak of any “secret” information, which may “jeopardise state security.”

After implementation, the TV stations will no longer be able to broadcast programmes ridiculing or disrespecting the members of the armed forces or law enforcement agencies or the persons tasked to award punishment to the public servants.

“The standing committee has okayed the national broadcast policy in principle and decided to invite the stakeholders to its next meeting for their opinion before its finalisation,” Hasanul Haq Inu,

the information minister and committee member, told the Dhaka Tribune after the meeting at the parliament building.

He said implementation of the policy would ensure discipline in the broadcast industry.

Shahriar Alam, a committee member, told the Dhaka Tribune:”The talk-show participants did not submit their opinion on the national broadcast policy uploaded to the ministry website for peo-

TV stations will no longer be able to broadcast programmes ridiculing or disrespecting the members of the armed forces or law enforcement agencies ple’s feedback. They want to criticise the government in the TV channels, refraining from submitting their opinion to the government.”

He said the standing committee meeting would take place within seven days after the Eid vacation, and the ministry would be asked to embody the suggestions of the stakeholders in the policy to the possible extent.

At least 18 private TV channels are operating in Bangladesh, with more channels in the pipeline. At least eight private radio stations and 14 community radiosalso operate across Bangladesh.

The ruling party leaders and activists, following its debacle in the five city corporation polls, alleged to the prime minister that the late-night TV talk-show was

one of the causes behind the defeats of the Awami League-backed candidates.

Awami League MP Mustaque Ahmed Ruhi on Thursday asked parliament whether the government would regulate the talk-show in the TV stations. In reply, Inu told the House that the talkshow would come into a discipline after the implementation of the national broadcast policy.

The policy will authorise the government to form a commission to settle the people’s complaints on telecast of “unjust” and “unfair” items and the programmes that lead to “unwarranted infringement of privacy.”

The chief of the commission would be selected by a search committee formed by the information ministry. The President will appoint the chairman and the required number of members.

On receiving complaints, the commission will serve show-cause notice to the alleged TV stations for any violation of the broadcast policy and send the report to the government for necessary actions.

The commission can even recommend the government to cancel the telecast licenses of any TV stations for specific violations of the law.The commission will also be the right body to decide on any issue not covered by the national broadcast policy.

Until the formation of the commission, the government will work on behalf of the commission, and its decision will prevail for any disagreement between the advertisers and TV stations. l

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B2 Teletalk passes one year of 3G

B3 Batexpo bags $58m spot orders

MONDAY, OCTOBER 14, 2013

Business www.dhakatribune.com/business

Rush to bank for cash n Kayes Sohel People rushed to banks for cash withdrawal at the eleventh hour yesterday, the last day of general banking before the Puja and Eid vacation.

Banks spent frantic time to deal to with the higher demand for cash from the customers who flocked to the cash counters to withdraw money for festival expenditure.

However, the inter-bank call money rate remained at around 9% yesterday – a slight rise from Thursday’s 8% as most banks were maintaining enough liquidity to deal with cash withdrawal pressure.

On Wednesday, the rate was 7.2%. The call money rate was 10% before Eid-ul-Azha last year.

“It was a busy day,” said NCC Bank Executive Vice President Ashim Kumar Saha.

Banks were loaded with customers, mostly relatives of remittance earners, and people were seen standing in queue for more than half an hour to complete their banking

Customers throng to banks to draw cash ahead of long vacation needs at the branches.

The country received $186m as remittances between October 01 and October 04

RAJIB DHAR

from Bangladeshi nationals working abroad, according to the central bank statistics.

Normally before any festival, transaction

of funds increases and this time too there is no exception, Saha said.

The bottom line is that the call money rate remained at single-digit, indicating that banks have adequate funds, he said.

“I deal with 25% to 30% higher customers than any normal day,” said Aminur Alam, an executive of a cash counter at the Motijheel branch of Dhaka Bank.

The scene was the same in almost all the bank branches in Motijheel area.

Elsewhere in Dhaka, the bank branches also witnessed huge withdrawal pressure, but the crowd started reducing since noon.

Bankers said the ATM booths of different banks would also be refilled adequately so the card holders could withdraw cash as and when necessary.

Flagging private sector borrowing in the run up to the general election due January next has led to swell huge surplus fund of the country’s commercial banks for more than a year. l

Local tourism dashed due to political fears Well-off ones to enjoy Eid vacation abroad ga Puja, biggest religious festival for Hindu n Kayes Sohel community, and Eid, a religious festival for Apprehensions over political turmoil after Eid-ul-Azha due Wednesday have dashed the hopes of many people in spending holidays in the country’s popular tourist spots.

It could not, however, prevent the section of well-off holidaymakers from travelling abroad, particularly neighbouring ones, as most of the air tickets have already been sold out.

Political situation have put most holidaymakers off visiting the country’s tourists spots while affluent ones diverted their tourist destination outside of the country, said Hasan Mansur, president of Tour Operators Association of Bangladesh.

The people have got an opportunity of a long vacation this year on account of Dur-

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Muslim community.

During this time when tourism business peaks up, local tour operators and hoteliers feel the pinch of political uncertainty as they hardly find any viable business option.

“The situation is very bad in the local tourism industry,” said Abul Quasem, Chittagong Hotel Owners’ Association.

He said his resort expected more than 50% fall in booking this season. “Fear of political turmoil in the run up to the general election has resulted in a lull in the tourism industry.”

The country’s travel and tourism sector raked in Tk182.5bn, making up 2.2% of Bangladesh’s GDP (gross domestic product) in 2011, according to a study by World Travel &

Tourism Council.

During the last Eid-ul-Fitr, hotelier witnessed cancellation of booking order by both foreign and local visitors to avoid the political chaos being apprehended to take place after the vacation. “This time we hardly receive any booking order,” said Shaymal Barua, general manger of Diamond Palace Guest House, Chittagong. “It is very hard to offset the operational cost.”

Around 200 hotels, motels and guest houses with an accommodation capacity of 40,000 at Cox’s Bazar, the world’s longest sea beach, usually remain booked 30 days ahead of Eid holiday.

“Even after cutting rates by many hoteliers aimed to lure visitors with all-inclusive packages, dormitories remain vacant,” said Barua.

Tour operators said Bangladeshis prefer

to spend holiday in Southeast Asia, followed

by Europe and the US. But most of them are going to India, Thailand, Malaysia, Nepal, Bhutan and Singapore.

Fakhrul Islam, owner of Dhaka Travel and Tours, said maximum tickets of all airlines had already been sold out. “Domestic political violence does not deter the well-off holiday makers from going abroad.”

Tareq Moretaza, chief executive of Tour Plus, said the country’s political uncertainty has forced the well-off people to divert their tourism destination to the neighbouring countries.

The country has around 350 tour operators employing more than 30,000 people directly and indirectly. Of them, about 60 organise outbound tours, according an official of staterun Bangladesh Parjatan Corporation. l

2

DHAKA TRIBUNE

Business

MONDAY, OCTOBER 14, 2013

Teletalk passes one year of 3G

EDF loan limit raises to $12m

The operator attracts over 550,000 broadband subscribers with n Tribune Report its coverage of 18 districts n Muhammad Zahidul Islam The state-owned mobile phone operator Teletalk attracted over 1,500 3G customers daily on an average over last one year since it launched the high-speed broadband service on October 14, 2012.

Although the problem was with the network frequency, the 3G customers of the operator have enjoyed making video calls, watching mobile TV, downloading at fastest speed, streaming and video conferencing.

Teletalk officials said they had to work hard throughout the year to establish market base for the third generation mobile broadband service in the country.

“That was a tough time for us to create market for 3G. It (market) is ready now,” Md Mujibur Rahman, managing director of Teletalk, told the Dhaka Tribune.

He said the operator has now more than 550,000 3G customers across the country and all of them are active subscribers.

The Teletalk MD added the operator is now providing 4,000-5,000 connections every day, most of which are 3G. By the end of this September, the operator’s total subscribers stood at more than 2.4m and the number is expected to exceed 5m by June next year.

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasin formally inaugurated Teletalk’s 3G service one year ago on a test commercial basis, making the staterun operator first in launching the service in Bangladesh.

After the launch, the service covered only

some parts of the capital Dhaka.

Later, all divisional cities were brought under the network in a few months. Teletalk’s 3G currently reaches as many as 18 districts of the country.

“We are gradually moving to cover the whole country with our mobile broadband network,” articulated Mujibur Rahman.

Teletalk’s total BTS number has already crossed 3,000 with 10-15 being set up every day now, improving the operator’s network coverage significantly.

Since Teletalk’s 3G service is still in the test commercial run, it has not taken 3G licence yet.

According to the guideline, the operator will require to pay Tk100m as 3G licence fee and Tk160bn for 10 Megahertz spectrum.

This spectrum price was set as the auction held in early September.

“The operator will pay the licence fee be-

fore the deadline of October 23 (this month).

But it won’t be able to deposit the spectrum fee within the stipulated time, which we already informed the government,” said Teletalk boss.

“The government and the regulator (BTRC) will decide on the issue. If we are allowed, we can make the payment in instalments. Otherwise, the government will have to pay the fee.”

Mujibur said Teletalk’s upgraded service is increasing revenue income and profit earning. In the fiscal year 2012-2013, Teletalk’s operating profit rose to Tk1.17bn from Tk650m in the previous year, showed the operator’s data.

Its total revenue stood at Tk6.62bn in the fiscal 2012-13 from Tk3.57bn in 2011-2012 and Tk2.26bn in 2010-2011.

The revenue is expected to exceed Tk10bn by the current fiscal year, said Mujibur Rahman. l

Field Fresh to make foray into Bangladesh n Kayes Sohel Field Fresh Food, a joint venture food and beverage company of Sunil Mittal-led Bharti Enterprises and US-based Del Monte Pacific, will make a foray into Bangladesh.

The company is evaluating options for entering into Bangladesh with equal partnership between the two companies.

‘We are expanding our product range. We will enter the snacks category with our dried fruit offerings’

“Over the next two quarters, we would have potential local partners in Bangladesh,” said Yogesh Bellani, chief operating officer, Field Fresh Foods, reports an Indian newspaper.

At present, Field Fresh Foods sells Del Monte branded products in India and Nepal directly to consumers and in eight markets across the Asia Pacific through the business-to-business channel.

“We are expanding our product range. We will enter the snacks category with our dried fruit offerings,” said Bellani.

Del Monte, which entered India in 2007, offered in India includes fruit drinks, packaged fruits, ketchups and sauces and the Italian range of gourmet pasta, pasta sauces and olive oil.

“Initially, we would launch seven products in the Chinese category for direct consumer sales,” said Bellani. These include sauces like red chilli, green chilli vinegar, schezwan, etc. It will also launch products like swandwitch spreads and cheesy snack dips soon.

In the Indian snack market, Del Monte

takes on the likes of PepsiCo, ITC, Haldirams, Britannia and Parle.

Del Monte’s health snack products would include packaged fruits (apricot, mango and papaya), dried fruits and dried fruit prunes.

Field Fresh Foods has a production facility at Hosur (near Bangalore) and has third-party arrangements with local producers in the northern part of India. More than 30% of its products are sourced from the third-party partners.

Field Fresh sells fresh and canned fruit, penne pasta, snack dressing, mango pulp, tomato paste, jalapeno, fruit cocktail and whole corn kernels to more than 2,000 hotels, restaurants and bakeries in India. l

The limit of foreign currency financing from the Export Development Fund (EDF) has been enhanced to US$12m, said a Bangladesh Bank circular issued yesterday.

Earlier, the limit for an authorised dealer bank against their financing of input procurement for manufacturer-exporter and BTMA member mill was $10m or respective permissible entitlement, whichever is lower.

The central bank also decided that EDF loans will be available also to member mills of the Bangladesh Plastic Goods Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BPGMEA), making bulk import of raw materials for local deliveries of garment accessories to manufacturer-exporters against inland back-toback LCs in foreign exchange.

An EDF loan to an AD against their foreign currency financing of input imports for a BPGMEA member mill shall not exceed the value realised in foreign exchange against inland back to back LCs over the past twelve months or $500,000, whichever is lower. l

UCB organises expatriates fair n Tribune Business Desk United Commercial Bank (UCB) organised a “Probashi Mela” or expatriates fair at all of its main branches on Friday last.

It was intended to enable the non-resident Bangladeshis and clients to get the bank’s services and information on transfer of remittance, said a press release.

The function was formally inaugurated at the bank’s Anowara branch in Chittagong for all branches throughout the country.

“All possible hospitality services were arranged for the consumers and visitors along with a teleconferencing booth to talk with the relatives abroad,” the bank said.

UCB Executive Committee Chairman Saifuzzaman Chowdhury MP, Managing Director Muhammad Ali and AMD Mirza Rafiqur Rahman, among others, were present at the opening ceremony. l

NCC Bank opens new branch at Pahartali Chowmuhani n Tribune Business Desk NCC Bank Ltd launched a branch at Pahartali Chowmuhani, Rawozan in Chittagong.

The bank’s chairman Md Nurun Newaz Salim formally inaugurated the 98th branch with online facility, said a press release.

Managing director and CEO Mohammed Nurul Amin presided over the inaugural function also attended by Audit Committee chairman Md Amirul Islam.

Additional managing director Golam Hafiz Ahmed, deputy managing directors Swapan Kumar Das, TM Faruque Chowdhury and Akhtar Hamid Khan were also present. l

DHAKA TRIBUNE

Business

MONDAY, OCTOBER 14, 2013

3

Batexpo bags $58m spot orders

Hamid, Hasina invite Norwegian investment

n Ibrahim Hossain Ovi

n Tribune Business Desk

The apparel exporters received spot orders worth over US$58m from the 24th Bangladesh Apparel and Textile Exposition (Batexpo) 2013 concluded in Dhaka on Saturday.

The orders include stock lot sales of $1.34m, a senior executive of BGMEA said yesterday.

The 3-day show, however, bagged 5% less orders than the previous year’s order of $62m.

A total of 136 foreign buyers from 34 countries and 2,556 buyers’ representatives visited the Batexpo 2013, while around 159 buyers and 2,846 representatives from foreign and local buyers visited the show last year.

Around 80 stalls, including 20 by foreign apparel makers, were set up at this year’s show to display products.

The Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA) organises the exposition every year to promote apparel products and attract the buyers to expand the market for Bangladesh’s RMG across the world.

“The spot orders and stock lot sales were more than the expected level. It is an election year,” BGMEA Vice President Shahidullah Azim told the Dhaka Tribune yesterday.

The spot orders and participation were lesser due to fear of political unrest ahead of the national election, he added.

He said Eid and Puja vacation also cast negative impact as the middlemen went on leave to enjoy the vacation.

“It was the worst Batexpo in my twelve years experience,” said a BGMEA director.

“We couldn’t achieve our target due to political instability.”

He said the spot and stock lot orders went down this year compared to the previous year, but they have got some new buyers this year, which offers a ray of hope for the next year.

We did not get our desired response from the buyers as most of the Indian and Sri Lankan buyers went on vacation to enjoy Durga Puja, said Md Tasrik Imam, senior marketing executive of Montrims Limited. He said they would get some more response from the show if the show was scheduled after the Eid vacation.

“We’ve got poor response as the representatives of buying houses are busy ahead of Eid-ul Azha and pre-winter shipment,” said Md Mahbub Hosain, a merchandiser of Galpex Limited, which displayed stock lot for sale. l

President Abdul Hamid yesterday urged Norwegian entrepreneurs to invest in Bangladesh’s potential sectors, saying a congenial atmosphere is prevailing in the country for investment.

He said this when outgoing ambassador of Norway to Bangladesh Ragne Birte Lund made a farewell call on him at Bangabhaban, reports UNB. Abdul Hamid recalled with appreciation the development assistance of Norway to Bangladesh since its birth in areas like rural development, primary and non-formal education, primary health care, private sector development, human rights and democracy.

The outgoing Norwegian envoy apprised the President that her country is looking for some areas of Bangladesh like ship-building where Norwegian cooperation can be carried out. Norway is one of the largest investors in certain areas of Bangladesh, she said.

Meanwhile, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina invited the Norwegian business people to come up with more investment in IT, telecommunication, power generation, oil, gas and mineral exploration and tourism taking advantage of the liberal investment policy of Bangladesh.

She stated this when the outgoing Norwegian Ambassador to Bangladesh made a separate farewell call on the Prime Minister at her official residence Ganobhaban on the same day.

Briefing reporters after the meeting, PM’s press secretary Abul Kalam Azad said the Prime Minister requested the outgoing envoy to work for encouraging the Norwegian business people to come up with more investment in different sectors of Bangladesh.

Hasina expressed satisfaction over the existing relations between Norway and Bangladesh and stressed further strengthening the ties in various fields.

Ambassador Ragne Birte said Norway wants to see Bangladesh as a happy, prosperous and developed country. l

Two people seen sitting at a stall at Batexpo 2013 in Dhaka yesterday on the concluding day of the three-day event MAHMUD HOSSAIN OPU

GP brings 3G to Chittagong and Sylhet

n Tribune Report

Cash incentive for frozen food export rises to 10% n Tribune Report The cash incentive to frozen food exports has been increased by 2.5 percentage point to 10% to give a cushion to the exporters for the fiscal year 2013-14.

Bangladesh Bank issued a circular yesterday, in accordance with a government decision, asking the commercial banks to facilitate the exporters with the new rate of cash incentive instead of existing 7.5%.

On July 7, the central bank had issued a circular stating the shrimp exporters to get 7.5% cash incentive against their export while incentives for other fish were withdrawn for the FY 2013-14. Earlier, the Ministry of Finance (MoF) had decided to increase the cash incentive for frozen food sector, except hilsha and white fish, for the fiscal year 2013-14.

In the first quarter of the current fiscal, frozen food exports registered substantial rise by about 48% to US$191m compared to $129.5m

of the same period last year due to increase in shrimp prices in the global market.

Meanwhile, frozen foods exports recorded 9% fall to $544m in 2012-13 fiscal year as fish production fell due to disease in prawn.

“It will help the frozen food exporters to reach the export target,” said an executive of Bangladesh Frozen Food Exporters Association. The government has set a frozen food export target of $578.77m for the current fiscal year. l

Grameenphone launched the third generation mobile broadband service in some selected areas of Chittagong and Sylhet on commercial basis.

Colourful rallies were brought out in the both divisional cities on Saturday on the occasion.

In Sylhet, Mayor Ariful Huq Chowdhury inaugurated the rally. The brand ambassadors of the operator also visited different institutions and offices in the city.

Mirabazar, Zindabazar, Chouhatta, Amberkhana, Karimullah Market, Porjoton and Airport areas of Sylhet have been brought under the Grameenphone’s 3G coverage. In Chittagong, Agrabad area has got the first 3G coverage of Grameenphone.

The officials said the remaining parts of both cities will be covered by this year.

Earlier, Grameenphone inaugurated the service in Baridhara, Dhaka. l

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Hard road to world domination for Chinese firms n AFP, Beijing In the global contest for business Chinese brands struggle to rival big Western and Japanese names, but some are now looking to reinvent their identities to overcome image and political hurdles.

The world’s second largest economy does not have a single one of the world’s top 100 brands, as compiled by marketing consultancy Interbrand.

And according to a survey by HD Trade Services, 94% of Americans are unable to name a single Chinese brand, with a third saying they would not buy one they knew to be Chinese.

“Brand China has many problems - transparency, ethical practices, treatment of employees, the quality of the products,” Richard Edelman, head of public relations giant Edelman told a World Economic Forum meeting in Dalian.

“And unfortunately the China reputation for companies is too much overshadowed by reputation of government.”

Chinese phone security company NQ Mobile dealt with the problem by effectively presenting itself as an American firm.

It created an entirely new headquarters in the Lone Star state, listed on Wall Street, has an American co-CEO brought over from US banking giant Citigroup, and its English

website proclaims: “Made in Dallas, Texas”.

Henry Lin, the group’s founder, told AFP: “All our employees in the US are American people ... the consumer will feel it’s a US company.

“We divided the global market in two parts, developing countries, for which the headquarters is Beijing ... and developed countries, with a headquarters in Dallas.

“If you can be successful in the US, you would be successful in western Europe, Japan, Australia.”

‘ Our motivation is commercial, if we ever do anything on the behalf of the Chinese government that would be corporate suicide, we’ll lose 70% of our revenues, it would be foolish’ Others are simply buying foreign firms, as decades of inward investment into China begins to move in the other direction.

Last month a $7.1bn takeover by Shuanghui International was agreed by shareholders of US pork giant Smithfield Foods, the biggest ever Chinese acquisition of a US company.

Chinese car manufacturer Geely bought out Sweden’s Volvo, while its rival Chery created a new brand, Qoros, in partnership with an Israeli group.

Most symbolically, electronics group Le-

novo took over the PC arm of venerable US computer firm IBM in 2005, and went on to become the world’s biggest PC maker.

“Corporate suicide” But others prefer to stick with their own name, such as the world’s top fridge maker Haier, or telecoms giant Huawei - which has been described as one of the world’s most controversial companies.

It generates 67% of its sales from outside China, and last year was listed among the top five companies in the world for numbers of patents.

But despite marketing its flagship smartphone as the world’s slimmest, it struggles to compete with South Korea’s Samsung and Apple of the US - and faces accusations that it could be a spy agency masquerading as a commercial enterprise.

The US Congress last year ordered Huawei be excluded from public contracts, and Australia has banned the firm from providing its broadband networks.

Huawei’s vice president Scott Sykes told AFP such moves were down to protectionism and fear of China.

“We’ve been in business for 26 years, we operate in 140 countries ... and there has never been a security issue of any kind, in all that time and all these places,” he said.

“We were accused of the potential for doing that, but nobody has ever proved that. l

Nobel economists: Masters of theory, if not of practice n AFP, Stockholm Winning the Nobel Prize for Economics brings great prestige, but there is no guarantee the recipient will win over policymakers, the real practitioners of the dismal science.

The award, officially Sveriges Riksbank Prize in Economic Sciences in Memory of Alfred Nobel, will be awarded today at 11 GMT in Stockholm.

It will close a Nobel season marked by awards in physics to the fathers of the Higgs boson and a peace prize to the UN-backed Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemicals Weapons.

As usual, American economists dominate the list of favourites, just as they have dominated the roster of laureates over the past 10 years, with 17 out of the 20 recipients, who are often awarded in groups, coming from the US side of the Atlantic.

After the 2012 economics prize acknowledged game theory, a somewhat ancillary field, it is possible that this year it will return to the core concerns of the economic science.

Favourites include Robert Barro of Harvard and Paul Romer of New York University, who have both done work on growth.

Also on the list of serious contenders are finance specialists such as the University of Chicago’s Eugene Fama and Kenneth French

of Dartmouth College.

Behavioural finance, too, would get a nod if the prize went to Andrei Shleifer of Harvard, Robert Vishny of the University of Chicago and Robert Shiller of Yale.

It’s all up to six Swedish university professors.

“The Nobel Prize in Economics is recognised as the pinnacle of intellectual achievement in economics,” said Avner Offer, an economics historian at Oxford University.

However, the winners do not necessarily become key advisors to important policy-makers. Some do not even aspire to that position.

“Not all of economic research that was awarded the Nobel is applicable by policy-makers,” said Jan Haeggstroem, chief economist at Swedish lender Handelsbanken.

“Or it is for very specific problems, like the research on the functioning of markets.”

He was referring to 2012 laureates Lloyd Shapley of UCLA and Stanford’s Alvin Roth, who studied theories of supply and demand in a theoretical marriage market While their models can predict the optimal matches among small groups of men and women, they have little to say about creating jobs for millions or keeping inflation down.

Government leaders interested in more

conventional issues are more likely to read works by 2010 laureates Peter Diamond of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dale Mortensen of Northwestern University and Christopher Pissarides of the London School of Economics.

Their work on the labour market is authoritative, but even a Nobel win was not enough to give Diamond a seat at the Federal Reserve, the US central bank.

Picked by US President Barack Obama for the Fed’s board of governors, Diamond was eventually turned away by Republican opposition.

“Unquestionably Nobel is a major honour.

Yet being a Nobel recipient does not mean one is qualified for every conceivable position,” said US Senator Richard Shelby, one of the main opponents to Diamond’s appointment.

Some in Europe may now regret not heeding 2011 laureate Christopher Sims, a macroeconomist from Princeton.

As early as 1999, Sims criticised the euro zone, saying “the European Monetary Union has the appearance of an attempt to create a central bank and a monetary unit that have no corresponding fiscal authority behind them.”

The Greek crisis would prove him right 11 years later. l

International Monetary Fund (IMF) Managing Director Chris Washington, DC. The ministers and governors are attending

IMF, World B n AFP, Washington

its

The IMF and the World Bank held annual meetings this week in Washington under a cloud of financial constraints and questions about their legitimacy as bulwarks of the global economy.

The 188-nation sibling institutions will turn 70 next year in a global economy less and less dominated by the United States and Europe, as Brazil, China, India and other emerging-market economies muscle their way onto center stage.

With all eyes fixed this week on the US budget crisis, the grand reception of the world’s finance leaders in the US capital spared the International Monetary Fund another uncomfortable debate on the damaging effects of the austerity it imposes, particularly in the eurozone.

But the IMF’s imbalanced representation once again was glaringly clear: the emerging economies have complained for years that their relatively small voting rights in the institution insufficiently reflect their real power in the world economy.

China, the world’s second-largest economy, has only slightly more weight than Italy at the IMF, which has been headed by a European since

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DHAKA TRIBUNE

Business

MONDAY, OCTOBER 14, 2013

IMF wants central banks to oversee markets with government supervision n Reuters, Berlin

stine Lagarde (2nd-L) and (International Monetary and Financial Committee) IMFC Chairman Tharman Shanmugaratnam (2nd-R) participate in the IMFC meeting in g the IMF/World Bank Spring Meetings in Washington AFP

Bank seek new legitimacy

creation in 1944.

A governance reform has been in the works r three years but its implementation has been ocked by the effective veto of the United States.

MF Managing Director Christine Lagarde could ly display her impotence in deploring once ain that a “major member” had not yet apoved the 2010 reform.

But on Friday, she hammered home the point ying “we must be even more representative and rror these shifts” - while still having no way to ist the arm of the IMF’s largest stakeholder.

“That is clearly a longstanding problem,” said cob Kirkegaard of the Peterson Institute for Inrnational Economics in Washington. The IMF s out of date,” he said. “It’s basically a credibiliproblem and it’s going to get worse over time.”

The big emerging BRICS economies - Brazil, ussia, India, China and South Africa - brimming th impatience, have launched their counter-ofnsive: the creation of their own monetary fund.

The BRICS fund is expected to be finalized 2014, Brazilian central bank chief Alexandre mbini said Friday.

The stagnant reform process underscores “the epened democratic deficit of the institution

5

and the need for a profound transformation of the Fund,” Argentina’s finance minister, Hernan Lorenzino, said Saturday.

Even Austria’s National Bank Governor Ewald Nowotny, speaking as a representative of Austria, Turkey and six central and eastern European countries, said they were “disappointed about the slow progress of the reform.”

The countries “consider it important - not least for the legitimacy and credibility of the IMF - that the quota and governance reform is implemented within the agreed timeframe,” he added.

Despite criticisms, the IMF still is a crucial crisis-fighter. Currently involved in four rescue programs in the eurozone, it remains at the center of the global economic network for its role as guardian of budget orthodoxy.

World Bank: more pressing challenges The World Bank, the behemoth of development, is facing more pressing challenges.

Since taking the helm of the institution in July 2012, Bank President Jim Yong Kim has steered it toward the goal of ending extreme poverty by 2030 and a vast internal restructuring to fight compartmentalization and a “culture of fear” among staff.

“A development institution can’t operate effectively when its clients are confused” by its organization, he said. Ivory Coast Prime Minister Daniel Kablan Duncan said it was “courageous for them to look at things as they are,” pointing to certain “weights” on the Bank.

The anti-poverty bank is facing new competition in the development sphere, including from the private sector, China and foundations, which threaten to reduce its key turf in Africa.

And, in the coming months, it will be asking its member nations to donate to the International Development Association, the Bank’s fund for the poorest countries.

Kim, a physician, announced a diet budget for the Bank, seeking to trim the institution’s annual operating budget by $400m to $4.6bn in three years.

Budgets for travel and facilities will be reduced, and the Bank’s 10,000-strong worldwide workforce will not be spared.

The Bank will “strategically review our staffing,” Kim said, in remarks likely to rattle staff.

This new broad strategy received explicit support from the United States on Friday, but may spark opposition from some other member countries. l

Central banks should be independent in setting monetary policy but they should also be tasked with monitoring financial market stability under political supervision, the International Monetary Fund’s (IMF) chief economist said.

Olivier Blanchard also told Handelsblatt newspaper’s Friday edition that Germany should take on a stronger role in Europe and needed to invest more rather than focus on saving. “If there is one lesson to be learned from the crisis, it must be: it’s not enough to keep an eye on monetary stability. We must also look at the stability of the financial system,” Blanchard was quoted as saying. “(Central bank) independence should be tiered. Classical monetary policy must remain independent. The control of the financial markets by the central bank, however, should be put under some kind of political supervision.”

Blanchard reiterated his call to raise inflation targets to 4% from the current roughly 2%, saying that would create space to cut interest rates during crises. The European Central Bank (ECB) should consider ways to lower credit costs for small and medium enterprises.

Blanchard said he was concerned that European countries would drag their feet on structural reforms as confidence grew that the worst was over in the euro zone sovereign debt crisis.

“You hear it more and more: ‘we have reformed enough, now we are seeing results.

Spare us new demands’. That worries me,” he said. “We need further structural reforms if we want to reach an acceptable level of employment. Even Germany, which is not going through a jobs crisis, is not exactly growing impressively.”

He said Germany, the euro zone’s largest economy, should see Europe more as an insurance scheme than a transfer system and many wished Germany would take a stronger role in Europe.

“Sometimes the fire is at your neighbor’s house, sometimes it’s in your own house. I wish the focus was more on the question: how can we strengthen the euro?” Blanchard said, adding that meant banking union should be completed.

Blanchard did not rule out further debt relief for Greece, the country where the euro zone crisis first broke out.

“The IMF has agreed with the Europeans that the debt level will be below 110% (of GDP) in 2022,” he said. “We will have to see how we will get there.”

IMF chief Christine Lagarde, speaking at the IMF and World Bank’s autumn meeting on Thursday, said she had “no doubt” European authorities would stick by their commitments to give Greece additional debt relief if it meets fiscal targets set under its bailout program. l

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UK court to hear evidence ahead of landmark Libor ruling n Reuters, London

A worker rides his bicycle past piles of steel coils for export at a port in Yingkou, Liaoning province

China’s September export growth in surprise slide n Reuters, Beijing China’s export growth fizzled in September to post a surprise fall as sales to Southeast Asia tumbled, data showed, a disappointing break to a recent run of indicators that had signaled its economy gaining strength.

China’s exports dropped 0.3% in September from a year earlier, the Customs Administration said on Saturday, sharply confounding market expectations for a rise of 6%, and marking the worst performance in three months.

Imports fared better, rising 7.4% in September from a year ago, better than forecasts for a 7% increase, shrinking China’s monthly trade surplus to $15.2bn.

Analysts said weak exports underscored worries about flagging global demand, which may crumble further in coming months - especially in emerging markets - when tighter US monetary policy pushes investors away from developing economies.

Indeed, the data showed Chinese exports to Southeast Asia, China’s fastest-growing export market in the past year, dived to a 17-month low in September. Capital outflows from the region on bets that the US central bank will cut its bond purchases had hit demand, said Louis Kuijs, an economist at RBS in Hong Kong.

“Looking ahead, export data may be quite weak in the coming months,” Kuijs said, adding that financial turmoil in several emerging markets had dragged on global demand.

The dismal exports performance comes after the world’s No 2 economy showed encour-

aging signs of stabilization, having fought a slowdown that lasted in 12 of 14 quarters.

Trade, factory production and the services sector all picked up in the past two months.

Attention now turns to China’s third-quarter gross domestic product data and other figures for September due next week.

The median forecast of 21 economists in a Reuters poll showed economic growth is expected to quicken to 7.8% in the third quarter from a year ago, up from 7.5% in the previous three months.

In the face of China’s unsteady economic recovery, Beijing has repeatedly expressed confidence that the country can still achieve its 2013 growth target of 7.5% “Developed economies have shown signs of recovery but they are still unstable. The global economic situation is still complicated,” Zheng Yuesheng, a spokesman for the customs office, told a media briefing on Saturday.

Albeit patchy, the rebound in the global economy helped lift China’s total trade growth to 6% in the third quarter, from 4.3% the previous three months, Zheng said.

A breakdown of the data showed exports to Europe, the second-biggest buyer of Chinese good after the United States, South Korea, Taiwan, and Australia all fell last month.

Shipments to Taiwan struck a 17-month low while those to Australia posted their worst growth in three months.

Japan was the lone bright spot, registering

REUTERS

growth for Chinese exporters for the first time in eight months. Sales to the United States cooled, even though the monthly value of exports were at their highest in over a year.

Liu Li-Gang and Zhou Hao, economists at ANZ Bank, said China’s sliding export sales were also a result of a rising yuan.

They said activity was further hurt by the Mid-Autumn festival, which fell in the middle of September this year, reducing the number of working days in the month compared with 2012.

“The strong renminbi has eroded China’s export competitiveness,” ANZ Bank said in a note. It said there were risks that China’s economic growth may miss market forecasts this year, but predicted 2013 growth would hit 7.6%.

The yuan, which hit a record high of 6.1090 to the dollar on August 12, has gained 5.7% against 60 other currencies since January, data from the Bank of International Settlements showed, outstripping a 3% rise in the dollar.

In the face of China’s unsteady economic recovery, Beijing has repeatedly expressed confidence that the country can still achieve its 2013 growth target of 7.5%.

Central Bank Deputy Governor Yi Gang was quoted as saying this week in Washington that China’s annual economic growth this year could hit about 7.6%.

Analysts have long warned that a recovery in China’s economy may be fragile and brief, especially if Chinese leaders stick to plans for financial reforms, including curbing extravagant investment, which would hurt growth in the near term. l

A British court will this week consider whether attempted manipulation of the benchmark interest rate Libor can invalidate loans and other deals or show that banks mis-sold products that were based upon the rate.

The Court of Appeal will begin tomorrow, a 3-day hearing examining two separate cases brought by clients against Barclays and Deutsche Bank. It is expected to hand down a landmark ruling later in the year, according to sources familiar with the cases.

If the decision goes against the banks, it could open the door to many more cases being brought against the industry by companies citing Libor manipulation, opening banks up to compensation claims worth billions of pounds.

The London interbank offered rate (Libor) is used to price over $300 trillion of financial contracts around the world.

“To unwind all Libor-linked derivative contracts would be financial Armageddon,” said Abhishek Sachdev, managing director of Vedanta Hedging, which advises companies on interest rate hedging products.

In previous legal rulings judges have stopped short of saying Libor is relevant to all claims against banks but said it could be used in cases where contracts have been linked specifically to the benchmark.

Barclays is being sued for up to 70m pounds ($112m) by Guardian Care Homes, a UK residential care home operator, which alleges the bank mis-sold it interest rate hedging products that were based upon Libor.

The case has been delayed until April 2014 so the appeal decision can be heard.

It started out as a complaint about the alleged mis-selling of interest rate swaps but a judge ruled last October that it could be amended to include claims of fraudulent misrepresentation connected to Libor manipulation.

Barclays said the case has no merit because Guardian Care Homes had sufficient understanding of the products to make its own judgment over whether to enter into the agreements.

“The addition of a claim based on what happened with Libor does not change the bank’s view. This business had a suite of advisors and a lot of financial experience and skill in-house,” it said on Friday.

Barclays last year paid a $450m to settle allegations it manipulated Libor, and UBS and Royal Bank of Scotland have been fined for manipulating Libor. Deutsche is among several other banks under investigation.

Deutsche Bank last year sued Indian property firm Unitech for the repayment of a $150m loan made in 2007 by a consortium of lenders and for the repayment of $11m owed for a related interest-rate swap.

But Unitech counter-sued, saying the loan and swap deal were linked to Libor interest rates, which at the time were being manipulated by some banks.

A UK court last month said Unitech must repay the loan, but said the dispute over the related swap should go to trial. l

Business US soon to overtake Russia as top oil producer DHAKA TRIBUNE

n Reuters, London The United States will become the world’s largest oil producer next year - overtaking Russia - thanks to its shale oil boom which has transformed the global energy landscape, the West’s energy watchdog said on Friday.

The prediction comes only days after estimates by the US government showed the United States, the world’s largest oil consumer, has ceded its ranking as top global oil importer to China, thanks to the shale revolution cutting import needs.

“The United States’ place in the driver’s seat of growth is also a throwback to decades past,” the International Energy Agency said in its monthly report.

The US resurgence as an oil producer is already reshuffling the cards in the game of world energy diplomacy, playing it a new hand in relations with long-term ally and top OPEC producer Saudi Arabia.

Major producers such as Russia are now forced to invest billions of dollars into new pipelines towards Asia as they can no longer rely on demand from the West, and have to deal with increasingly assertive Beijing.

“With output of more than 10 million barrels per day for the last two quarters, its highest in decades, the nation is set to become the largest non OPEC liquids producer by the second quarter of 2014, overtaking

Russia. And that’s not even counting biofuels and refinery gains,” the IEA said.

The agency, the Paris-based energy arm of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) estimated that US liquids production will average 11 million bpd in 2014 versus 10.86 million in Russia.

The spike in US production will allow total non OPEC supply to grow by an average of 1.7 million barrels per day in 2014, peaking at 1.9 million in the second quarter, the highest annual growth since the 1970s, the IEA said.

That robust growth will compensate for disruptions to Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries’ production and provides a cushion for oil prices, which otherwise could have spiked much higher than the current $110 a barrel.

OPEC crude supplies slipped to below 30 million bpd for the first time in almost two years, led by steep drops in Libyan and Iraqi exports due to unrest and terminal repairs, and despite Saudi Arabian output topping 10 million bpd for a third month running.

The IEA said that growth in non-OPEC production was so strong that it further reduced its estimates for demand for OPEC crude next year by an average of 100,000 bpd to 29 million bpd - effectively 1 million bpd below current pumping levels.

The IEA left its global oil demand growth forecast for 2014 broadly unchanged at 1.1

A pumpjack drills for oil in the Monterey Shale, California

MONDAY, OCTOBER 14, 2013

million bpd, an increase of 1.2%, saying the macroeconomic backdrop was improving.

“European demand data have surprised on the upside recently amid reports that the euro zone’s recession ended in the second quarter of 2013 and signs of improvement in business confidence,” it said.

But it added that it saw significant downside risks due to the budget standoff in the United States and currency depreciation in many emerging market economies.

The IEA also said few observers expected sanctions on Iran’s oil and finance sector to be eased anytime soon, despite a friendlier rhetoric from Tehran.

“Rather, most expect that turning the clock back on sanctions will be a drawn out process based on tangible diplomatic progress with regard to the issues at hand, which many still view as a remote prospect,” it added.

The IEA estimated Iran’s crude oil production had declined by 100,000 in September to 2.58 million bpd. Oil imports from Iran rebounded by 180,000 to 1.17 million thanks to higher purchases from China and India.

It said preliminary data indicated China lifted imports from Iran to a four month high of 555,000 bpd, India increased them to 265,000 bpd, highest since January 2013, and Pakistan imported first oil from Iran since January 2011. l

REUTERS

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World top bankers warn of dire consequences if US defaults n Reuters, Washington Three of the world’s most powerful bankers warned of terrible consequences if the United States defaults on its debt, with Deutsche Bank chief executive Anshu Jain claiming default would be “utterly catastrophic.”

“This would be a very rapidly spreading, fatal disease,” Jain said on Saturday at a conference hosted by the Institute of International Finance in Washington.

“I have no recommendations for this audience ... about putting band aids on a gaping wound,” he said.

Jain, JPMorgan Chase chief executive Jamie Dimon and Baudouin Prot, chairman of BNP Paribas, said a default would have dramatic consequences on the value of U.S. debt and the dollar, and likely would plunge the world into another recession.

The US Treasury Department has said it expects to max out its borrowing authority next week and won’t be able to prioritize payments on U.S. debt over obligations like Social Security.

Lawmakers have seemed at an impasse over raising the debt limit. Democrats want to re-open federal agencies, which have been partially closed since funding ran out on October 1, and Republicans insist any debt ceiling deal includes plans to cut government spending.

Dimon and other top executives from major US financial firms met with President Barack Obama and with lawmakers last week to urge them to deal with both issues.

On Saturday, Dimon said banks are already spending “huge amounts” of money preparing for the possibility of a default, which he said would threaten the global recovery after the 2007-2009 financial crisis.

“We need global growth,” he said. “We are on the verge of getting it. Please let’s not shoot ourselves in the foot.”

Dimon also defended JPMorgan against critics who say the bank has become too big to manage. It has come under scrutiny from numerous regulators and on Friday reported its first quarterly loss since Dimon took over, due to more than $7 billion in legal expenses. l

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Mecca gold sales down 50% ahead of haj Arab Spring economic hardships responsible for slowdown n Reuters, Mecca Economic hardships brought about by Arab Spring uprisings have taken a toll on jewellery retail trade in Saudi Arabia’s Muslim holy city of Mecca, slashing gold sales by more than half compared to the same period last year, retailers said.

Visitors from Arab countries traditionally buy jewellery during the annual Muslim haj pilgrimage, often taking home necklaces, rings and bracelets to loved ones.

Figures were not immediately available on the value of gold sales, but traders say the haj season is traditionally the busiest for dozens of shops just outside the Grand Mosque, Islam’s holiest site, whose windows glitter with bracelets, necklaces, rings, earrings, lockets and chains.

Residents say up to 2 million pilgrims from outside Saudi Arabia usually spend the first few days looking for gifts and souvenirs to take home before the haj rituals start.

While restaurants and food stalls near the Grand Mosque remain busy, gold stores remained empty, with shopkeepers looking bored, flicking through magazines and playing with mobile phones.

“Gold sales have really taken a hit, I would say the market is down by more than 50% compared to the last haj season,” Mohammed al-Himms, store manager at MS jewellery outside Mecca’s Grand Mosque, told Reuters.

About 40 percent of his business was with Egyptian pilgrims, who had for long been some of his main customers, he said, adding, “But now because they have been affected by the Arab Spring they don’t have any extra money to spend on gold.”

Mohammed Abduallah, branch manager at Thabit Gold and Jewellery, another shop outside the Grand Mosque, said cheap-

Muslim pilgrims (left) shop at a jewelry store ahead of the annual haj pilgrimage, in the holy city of Mecca er world gold prices this year had failed to translate into retail sales.

“Gold is considered a luxury and even with the prices being lower, people from these Arab Spring countries don’t have enough income to spend at our stores,” he said.

Bullion prices in the Mecca retail markets this year are around 160 riyals per gram compared to around 200 riyals last year.

On the world market, spot gold was down 1.5% at $1,266.80 on Friday, having earlier fallen as much as 1.8% to its lowest since July 10 at $1,262.14 an ounce. Other retailers in the market attributed the drop in sales to construction work to expand the holy mosque grounds.

Pilgrims’ lodgings have been moved from the market and barriers placed around some of the entrances making it difficult for visi-

REUTERS

tors to reach the area, they said.

“So we get less people coming here,” said Jalal al-Amiri, shop manager at Al-Romaizan retail gold store near the Grand Mosque.

Saudi Arabia’s religious authorities had also approved a request by the government to reduce the number of pilgrims to Mecca this year due to the Grand Mosque expansion work. l

Walmart divorce highlights pitfalls of business in India n AFP, New Delhi The divorce between US giant Walmart and its Indian partner, the latest in a string of foreign corporate alliances to founder, will have a further “chill effect” on vitally needed foreign investment, analysts say.

Citing restrictive foreign investment rules, the world’s biggest retailer scrapped a partnership last week with Indian telecom heavyweight Bharti Enterprises and suspended plans to open supermarkets which could have tapped a potential market of 1.2 billion shoppers.

Foreign investors are already spooked by worries over a number of issues: pervasive corruption, red tape, stop-start efforts to open up Asia’s third-largest economy, tax battles, decade-low growth and a weak currency, analysts say.

Strict regulations for outside firms include a requirement to source 30% of goods from small industry - a deal-breaker for Walmart, which said the goal was impossible to meet.

“This will have more of a chill effect,” Saloni Nangia, president of management consultancy

firm Technopak, told AFP. “From a destination perspective, foreign firms want to be in India. But from a policy and doing-business perspective, it’s different,” she said.

“The government needs to make this country investment-friendly. So far it’s been pure posturing.”

The Walmart-Bharti break up is one of a long saga of unhappy endings to marriages between foreign and Indian partners, Nangia noted.

“It can be mismatched expectations to blame, disappointing returns, government vacillation on implementing policies, legal and regulatory concerns, ambiguities about what can be achieved - sometimes a mix of elements,” she said.

Walmart president Scott Price said the company would “continue to advocate for investment conditions” that would allow it to invest in multi-brand retail while it focused on its wholesale operations in India.

Many foreign firms had high hopes of India’s liberalisation drive and voiced strong interest in entering the country.

But those plans have soured in the face of failure to improve infrastructure, long approval

delays, bureaucratic hurdles and graft -- which has its tentacles in all sectors of the economy.

“No company can operate without greasing a palm here or shelling out unaccounted amounts there,” said The Economic Times in an editorial.

That issue has become increasingly crucial, especially in the United States, where laws like the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act are making it tougher for India to absorb foreign direct investment (FDI).

“Corruption is one of the most significant challenges adversely affecting the Indian economy,” Toby Latta, head of Control Risks in Asia-Pacific, told AFP. Walmart’s woes in India go beyond sourcing troubles, with Indian authorities probing whether a loan by the retailer to Bharti broke foreign investment rules. Both firms deny wrongdoing.

Walmart is also under US scrutiny over its overseas operations amid bribery allegations -- which it rejects - in Mexico, Brazil, China and India.

“This scrutiny by their home countries is a big deal for foreign companies,” Alina Arora, a partner at Luthra and Luthra Law Offices, told AFP.

Alleged corruption led to Norway’s phone giant Telenor snapping ties last year with Indian partner Unitech after India’s Supreme Court revoked 122 mobile licences following charges they were illegally issued.

UAE mobile operator Etisalat closed its India business and split from local ally, DB Group in a decision also stemming from the ruling, and accused its ex-partner of “fraud”- a charge DB rejects.

While Telenor, which took a $720m writedown, has pursued its operations in India, Etisalat said it would only reconsider re-entry when there is “greater legal and regulatory certainty”.

Also last year Italian carmaker Fiat ended a distribution pact with Indian vehicle giant Tata Motors which said the joint venture was not generating expected sales.

Automotive major Mahindra & Mahindra has seen three global vehicle partnerships go sour with Ford, Renault and most recently in January with US engine maker Navistar International.

“The Indian market has not expanded as we originally expected,” Navistar president Troy Clarke said at the time. l