February 13, 2014

Falgun 1, 1420 Rabius Saani 12, 1435 Regd. No. DA 6238 Vol 1 No 321

THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 13, 2014 | www.dhakatribune.com | SECOND EDITION

Avenue T | EYE TO EYE AFFECTION

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8 | BARACK, FRANCOIS FRIENDSHIP

15 | A DREAM COME TRUE FOR RABBI

‘Earliest possible’ election on people’s minds 78% against continuation of hartal, blockade

According to DT opinion poll, 72% think the government should hold fresh election before end of its tenure wish to disclose their choice (8.9%). n Tribune Report This is the second Dhaka TribA significant majority of the respondents of a Dhaka Tribune opinion poll OPINION want a fresh parliamentary election “as POLL earliest possible.”

The opinion poll was conducted from January 14-16 and February 4-6 by research organisation Innovative Research and Consultancy Limited (IRC).

When asked whether the current government should hold a new election before the end of its term, 72% replied in the positive, with nearly 57% saying “as earliest possible.”

However, when asked whether they were satisfied with the January 5 election, only a touch over half of the respondents replied in the negative with 41% saying they were “very dissatisfied.” However, 42% respondents said they were satisfied with the January 5 election.

Around 49% of the people surveyed said hartal, blockade and violence should be immediately stopped.

Interestingly, just some of the recent surveys, the ruling Awami League and the opposition BNP commanded almost equal popular support in this Dhaka Tribune opinion poll as well – 35.6% said they would vote for the Awami League if there was an election right now while 34.8% said they would choose the BNP. Nearly one-fourth of the respondents either said they were undecided who to vote for (14.5%) or did not

DT

une-commissioned opinion poll conducted in about one and a half month period.

According to the first poll, conducted from December 14-22 last year that is before the 10th general election, 77% said the January 5 polls without the BNP would not be acceptable.

According to the latest poll, although 63.2% of the respondents believe that the caretaker government is the best authority for conducting election, about 56.1% said free and fair election was also possible under “all-party” arrangements.

Nearly half of the respondents believe that BNP should cater to the Awami League’s demand for cutting ties with Jamaat before going into a dialogue. A touch above one-third said they disagreed with the idea.

IRC interviewed 600 male and female adults over telephone. The respondents were selected randomly from a computer generated list with a 4% margin of error.

Nearly half of the people interviewed rated confrontational politics in the form of hartal, blockade and violence as the biggest issue for the country right now. On the other hand, around 41% said “holding free-fair election” was the most important issue.

More than three-fourth (78%) of the respondents rejected the idea that BNP should continue hartal and blockades as means of staging political protests in favour of their demand for a free, fair and credible national election. l

Nearly half want BNP to quit Jamaat

n Tribune Report

AL-BNP too close to call n Tribune Report An election right now will be too close to call for the ruling Awami League and the BNP, according to the recent opinion poll survey by the Dhaka Tribune.

In its first opinion poll survey in December last year, the BNP was marginally ahead in terms of popularity over the Awami League.

But the latest opinion poll found that the ruling Awami League was ahead of the BNP. At the latest survey, it was found that 35.6% respondents would vote for the Awami League and 34.8% for the BNP.  PAGE 2 COLUMN 4

56% think free poll possible under all-party govt n Tribune Report Just over 56% of the respondents surveyed in an opinion poll believe that it is possible to hold a free and fair election under an all-party government.

A total of 32.8% of them told the Dhaka Tribune survey that holding such was “definitely possible” while 23.3% just said “possible.” They think a free and fair election is possible under an all-party government, which would work as an interim authority during the poll.

Around 16% people opposed the idea strongly with the answer “defi-

No comment from US on allowing Tarique in

CUSTODIAL DEATH OF YOUTH

SI withdrawn, probe committee formed

n Kailash Sarkar

A sub-inspector of Pallabi police station was withdrawn and a probe committee was formed yesterday in connection with the alleged custodial death of a youth at the Irani camp in the capital.

Family members of Md Jony, 25, who died at Dhaka Medical College Hospital on February 9, claimed that Sub-Inspector Zahid Hossain had a personal feud with the deceased. They also alleged that Jony died because he was inhumanely tortured by police while he was in custody.

Agitated Irani camp residents had been protesting the death of Jony for the last two days.

Deputy Commissioner of Mirpur Division Imtiaz Ahmed told the Dhaka Tribune that SI Zahid was withdrawn as per the primary measures and a committee was formed to verify the allegations.

“Further measures will be taken  PAGE 2 COLUMN 5

INSIDE Business

B1 The interest rate spread crossed again the desired level of 5% - only after two months it stayed below the level.

News

5 Yaba smuggling from Chittagong to other places of the country has increased in the recent times, which has become a serious concern for law enforcement agencies.

nitely not possible” while 14% went with the “not possible” option. Fourteen percent people were not sure.

In reply to a supplementary question, however, most voters still rated the caretaker government system as the “best” one for holding a general election.

Over 63% of the respondents supported the caretaker government system as the “best method of holding the next general election” and over 16% went with the “all-party government.”

Again, 18.2% of the people picked an “elected government” as the right authority to hold the general election. l

Seventy-eight percent respondents of the latest Dhaka Tribune opinion poll rejected the idea of continued hartal and blockade and a plurality of voters want the BNP to quit the association of Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami.

A total of 46.8% voters agreed with Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s call to the BNP for severing ties with Jamaat for holding a dialogue to break the political deadlock.

Hasina urged the BNP to leave Jamaat to come to a political understanding through dialogue.

Asked if they want the BNP to leave Jamaat as suggested by the PM, 48.6% of the people surveyed said they agreed on this.

Of them, 34.3% said they “totally agree” with the idea while 14.3% said they “somewhat agree.”

On the other hand, 36.6% of the respondents opposed that the BNP should quit Jamaat – 10.3% of them “totally” disagreeing with Hasina’s proposal.

Asked if they favoured continuing hartal and blockade as a mode of protest for fair election, 47.3% people answered “I do not support it” while 30.7% said “I do not support it at all.”

Only 10.2% people said they “completely support” the idea. l

n Sheikh Shahariar Zaman

Nasir Hossain takes a stunning catch to dismiss Kumar Sangakara, but his effort was in vain as Bangladesh went down in the final ball of the match MUMIT M.

Brave Bangladesh fall two short Mahmood, n Raihan from Chittagong

In a nail biting finish, Sri Lanka defeated Bangladesh by two runs in the first international T20 match to be held at the Zahur Ahmed Chowdhury Stadium yesterday.

Winning the toss, Bangladesh captain Mashrafe bin Mortaza elected to field in the first game of the two match series and it was the skipper himself who gave his side the perfect start by bowling Tilakaratne Dilshan, who miscued a scoop shot, in the very first over.

Sri Lanka however, were quick to recover as Kusal Perera and Dinesh Chandimal put on 60 in quick time.

The second wicket partnership was broken by way of a spectacular catch by all-rounder Farhad Reza, who ran a few paces before leaping to snatch an attempted lofted on drive by Chandimal on the long on boundary.

The next wicket fell to another glorious catch as Shakib al Hasan, snared

Kumar Sangakkara with the first ball of his second over as the batsmen attempted to force the ball through mid-wicket only for Nasir Hossain, who ran about ten yards, to dive and take the chance.

Soon afterwards, debutant spinner Arafat Sunny got into the action and had Seekkuge Prassanna caught on the square leg boundary for four. Opener KusalPerera, however, continued to thrash the bowling and went on to an impressive 64 off 44 balls with seven fours and a six before holing out at long on. Smashing Arafat Sunny, Perera may well have expected six runs but EnamulHaque snatched the ball out of thin air just inches from the boundary rope before balancing himself on one foot in an acrobatic effort to send the opener packing.

Towards the end, number eight batsmen Nuwan Kulasekera struck 31 vital runs of just 21 balls to take the Sri Lankan total to 168/7. For Bangladesh, Arafat returned figures of 2/17, Shakib

had 2/27 and Mashrafe – who bowled the final over – 2/43.

Bangladesh were spirited in their chase and openers Tamim Iqbal (30) and Shamsur Rahman (22) put on 51 for the first wicket. Later on, Shakib also looked in good touch as he hammered 26 off 17 balls with two fours and a six to keep the Tigers up with the scoring rate.

The match went down to the wire with AnamulHaque carrying Bangladesh’s hopes with 29 required from the last two overs. The right hander played some fine shots to take 12 runs from the penultimate over bowled by Lasith Malinga, leaving 17 to get from the final over.

Anamul continued to lash out at Perera and collected three boundaries to leave Bangladesh needing 3 runs from the last ball to win. After a long consultation with his teammates, Perera delivered a high full toss – very close to a no-ball - which Anamul could only hit straight into the air for Perera to catch and give Sri Lanka a two run win. l

The US embassy in Dhaka has declined to make its current position clear on the issue of allowing in Tarique Rahman, senior vice-chairman of BNP. According to a cable sent in 2008 by the then US ambassador James Moriarty and leaked by the Wikileaks, Tarique had adversely affected US interests.

The then Dhaka mission of the United States had recommended Washington against allowing Tarique Rahman in the US. When contacted with the US embassy here to know the current position on allowing Tarique into the country, Press Officer Kelly S McCarthy said: “The Department of State does not comment on materials, including classified documents, which may have been leaked.”

On Tuesday, US Ambassador Dan W Mozena, after a meeting with BNP chief Khaleda Zia, also declined to

make any comment on the matter.

“I would never make a comment on allegation relating to supposed classified documents. No, I would never comment on that.

“If you pick one out of the air, you can have some very misleading conclusions because cables are flying back and forth on daily basis reflecting the thinking of the moment,” he said.

A US embassy wire in November 2008 said Tarique was guilty of “egregious political corruption” that had “serious adverse security effect on the US.” Tarique was feared to have affected the national interests to the US, especially in the stability of democratic institutions and foreign assistance goals.

However, no security warning was sought for the admittance of Tarique’s wife Zubaida Rahman, their daughter Zaima Rahman, and Tarique’s mother and BNP Chairperson Khaleda Zia.  PAGE 2 COLUMN 2

Two army, four BGB men killed in explosion n Tribune Report Two army personnel and four members of Border Guard Bangladesh were killed after a mortar shell went off accidentally during training in the firing range of Ghatail Cantonment in Tangail yesterday.

“It was an accidental explosion and the incident did not take place for procedural mistakes,” BGB Director General Major General Aziz Ahmed told reporters after visiting the spot.

General Aziz said one of the injured was in critical condition. “This unfortunate incident will be treated as a lesson for future trainings,” he added.

The men who died on the spot were Senior Warrant Officer Parvez of 20 East Bengal and Senior Warrant Officer Manzur of 4 East Bengal of the army.

The BGB men were Lance Naik Moham-

mad Ali, Sepoy Abu Sufiyan and Sepoy Ekram of 3 BGB battalion, according to an Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) press release.

The release said the army men were in charge of maintaining the firing range.

The injured who was in critical condition, Sepoy Md Mohammad Ali Zinah of Battalion 40, died yesterday night while undergoing treatment Intensive Care Unit at the Combined Military Hospital. Muhasin Reza, senior public relation officer of BGB confirmed the news through a press release last night.

The release also stated that the BGB DG has assured the investigation of the incident and the victims and their families will be compensated and provided assistant and supports properly.

At least 11 more army and BGB personnel were currently undergoing treatment. l

2

DHAKA TRIBUNE

News

Thursday, February 13, 2014

AL for future local body polls to be partisan Hasina asks Ashraf to take steps to that end n Emran Hossain Shaikh The Awami League wants future upazila parishad elections to be held among political parties like the national poll.

Prime Minister and Awami League President Sheikh Hasina instructed party’s General Secretary Syed Ashraful Islam to take initiatives towards that end, leaders in the party’s Working Committee told the Dhaka Tribune last night.

They said the premier had come up with such desire as more candidates from the ruling party were set to contest the upcoming upazila elections defying an order of the party high command.

The working committee meeting was held at Hasina’s official residence Ganabhaban last night.

Earlier, Hasina had directed the ministers and lawmakers from her party and its organising secretaries to ensure single candidate in each seat as the BNP had also decided to contest the upazila polls.

However, the Awami League lead-

ers failed to ensure single candidate in many upazilas.

Ashraf told the meeting that the difficulty in choosing single candidate for each upazila could be avoided if the polls were held among parties in which case the candidates would get the symbols of the parties they belonged to.

The rebel candidates would not get any favour if these polls were partisan, the leaders quoted Ashraf as saying.

A number of leaders supported Ashraf’s view.

During the last polls to city corporations and municipalities, Ashraf told the media that although the local body polls were non-partisan as per the electoral law, the mood in the poll areas had always been partisan, which proved that people wanted party candidates in these polls.

Sources said the AL Working Committee had approved dividing the Dhaka city unit of the party into two. It also decided to hold its meeting, which is now held once every two months, at least once a month.

EC orders ensuring minorities' security n Mohammad Zakaria The Election Commission has asked local administration to stay alert during the upcoming upazila parishad (UP) elections to prevent repeat of violence that took place across the country during last month’s parliamentary poll.

It also directed the administration to ensure voters' security, especially those from minority communities, in the first phase of the local polls next week.

The EC gave the directives yesterday during a meeting held to discuss law and order arrangements for the UP polls with returning officers, deputy commissioners, police chiefs, district election officers and representatives of law enforcement agencies.

The field officials assured the commission that there was little fear of violence in the local polls, as all political parties, including Awami League and BNP, were participating.

“Law enforcers informed the commission that there was no expectation of any kind of violence during the elections; voters can cast their votes without any fear,” Chief Election Com-

2 Rangs officials held for tax evasion attempt n Kailash Sarkar Two officials of Rangs Group were arrested by the airport customs for their alleged attempt of evading taxes at Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport yesterday.

Muhaiminul Ishaq, 38, assistant manager of Rangs, and another officer Abu Hena Sabbir, 37, were handed over to Airport police station after a case was filed against them in connection with tax evasion.

Shah Alam, officer-in-charge of Airport police station, told the Dhaka Tribune: “The Rangs officials were trying to escape the airport with 48 mobile sets, which were imported through the airport, without paying taxes worth Tk60,000.”

“The Rangs authorities told us that although the company had provided them with the amount, the two officials were trying to misappropriate the money by evading taxes,” the OC said.

Airport sources said the Rangs officials were handed over to the police last night after Customs Inspector Mohammad Mostofa filed a case against them in this connection.

The case statement says the Rangs officials were arrested with 48 mobile sets worth Tk14.4 lakh without paying taxes.

The customs official also mentioned that Tk60,000 in cash, equivalent to the tax amount, was also recovered from their possession.

The OC also confirmed that the amount which was seized from the possessions of the Rangs officials was provided by the Rangs authorities.

“The detainees will be produced before the court tomorrow [today] seeking remand order against them for interrogation,” the OC added. l

missioner Kazi Rakibuddin Ahmad told reporters after the meeting which was held at the National Economic Council complex in the capital.

“The law and order situation is far better at present,” Rakibuddin said, adding that the EC would gather more information on the situation at local-levels through its own officials.

The EC has also directed law enforcers to take legal action against local criminals and extortionists should they create any sort of anarchy during the elections, he said. Meanwhile, the army would be deployed for five days – from February 17 to 22 – in the first phase of the polls, the CEC said.

Regarding the publishing of personal information submitted by the poll candidates, he said the returning officers had the affidavits at their respective offices and anyone could view them.

Rakibuddin said the commission would post the candidates’ statements on its website soon.

On the issue of the much-awaited elections to the now bifurcated Dhaka City Corporation, Rakibuddin said, “All elections will be held in phases.” l

The meeting discussed the US embargo on using US funds for training the Rapid Action Battalion because of its “extrajudicial killings.”

A few leaders told the Dhaka Tribune that Hasina said there was no need for US funds to train the law enforcement agency.

“For RAB we do not need funds from those who kill terrorists while capturing them,” the leaders quoted Hasina as saying.

“The BNP government formed RAB and as the then leader of the opposition I criticised it, but many foreign diplomats in Dhaka at that time praised RAB’s activities as ‘pro-people.’ Why are they vocal against RAB now?” she said.

Hasina directed Cultural Affairs Minister Asaduzzaman Noor to arrange a gathering of three lakh people to sing the national anthem on the Independence Day to set a new Guinness record.

India now holds the record with 1.5 lakh people participating on January 25, 2012. l

The name tag and badge of one of the five army and BGB men who died in an explosion during a military exercise in Tangail yesterday.

Story on Page 1 DHAKA TRIBUNE

PM: Bangladesh will not be allowed to turn into a militants’ playground n Tribune Report Bangladesh will be prevented, by any means, from becoming a playground for militants and terrorists once again.

Saying that Bangladesh had been a country of militancy, terrorism and corruption under BNP-Jamaat rule, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina yesterday addressed the 34th National Rally of Ansar and VDP at the Ansar Academy at Shafipur, Gazipur.

She directed all the law enforcement agencies, including Bangladesh Ansar and VDP, and also urged countrymen, to remain alert to anti-democratic and communal forces pitted against the spirit of the Liberation War; BNP-Jamaat-Shibir and their cohorts could no longer destabilise the country, she asserted, reports UNB. The prime minister also asked Ansar and VDP members to discharge their sacred duties with the utmost courage, professional skill, neutrality, transparency and accountability.

“While discharging your duties, please behave decently with the peo-

ple, and also be compassionate to the hapless sections of society, especially women, children and the elderly,” she told the Asar & VDP members.

Hasina: BNP, Jamaate-Islami and Chhatra Shibir and their cohorts could no longer destabilise the country Listing various violent and destructive acts unleashed by what she said were militant and terrorist outfits of BNP-Jamaat, the Prime Minister said they carried out unprecedented attacks on individuals and destroyed the property of public and private organizations in the name of a movement.

“Railway tracks were viciously made their targets,” she said, adding that Ansar and VDP played a significant role in resisting acts of sabotage against the railways. In this regard, she noted

that two members of Ansar were killed and three others injured while on duty to protecting railway tracks.

Earlier, on her arrival at the Ansar Academy, the Prime Minister was received by State Minister for Home Affairs Asaduzzaman Khan Kamal, Home Secretary CQK Mushtaq Ahmed, Director General of Bangladesh Ansar, VDP Major General Md Nazim Uddin, and Commandant of Ansar Academy Dilip Kumar Biswas.

Riding in an open jeep, the Prime Minister inspected the smartly turnedout parade of Bangladesh Ansar and VDP, taking a salute.

Sheikh Hasina handed over the Bangladesh Ansar Medal to four Ansar members; the Bangladesh Ansar Medal to one (posthumously); the President’s Ansar Medal to seven; the Bangladesh VDP Medal to one; the President’s VDP Medal to four; the Bangladesh Ansar Services Medal to five; the Bangladesh Ansar Services Medal to nine (posthumously); and the President’s Ansar Services Medal to 49. l

Shibir man killed in ‘gunfight’ n Tarek Mahmud, Chittagong

An Islami Chhatra Shibir member has been killed and four others, including three policemen, have been injured in a “gunfight” in Satkania upazila of Chittagong on Wednesday morning.

The deceased Shibir member was identified as Jasim. The other injured Shibir member was identified as Rafique.

Satkania police station Officer-in-Charge Khaled Hossain said: “Acting on a tip off, police raided Keutia High School field around 11am.”

“The Shibir activists opened fire targeting the police,” he said.

In retaliation, police fired 15 rounds of bullets that triggered a gunfight leaving two police constables, Shahriar and Humayun, and an Ansar VDP personal Majnu injured.

Meanwhile, a light gun, a locally made gun and eight rounds of cartridges were recovered from the spot.

Chittagong Medical College Hospital police camp In-charge Sub-Inspector Johirul Islam said: “The injured Shibir members were taken to Chittagong Medical College Hospital where the duty doctor declared Jashim dead.” l

No doctor found during surprise visit 11 doped and looted n Moniruzzaman Uzzal The health ministry is set to suspend at least 13 doctors in Dhamrai and Saturia, after unannounced inspections at health facilities revealed the doctors’ practice of absence from their workplaces.

Two senior officials from the health ministry and the Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS), made a sudden inspection of the 50-bed Dhamrai upazila health complex at around 8:15am yesterday, only to find that none of the 38 doctors employed by the complex were present at the time.

Although there were 40 patients resident at the health complex, the inspection team found that both the upazila health and family welfare officer (UHFPO) and resident medical officer (RMO) were absent.

Only a head assistant of the health complex was present at the medical facility.

The team, comprising DGHS Director Dr Shah Newaz and Health Ministry Joint Secretary Basu Dev, waited until 9:15am and saw only three out of 38 doctors show up.

Another DGHS director reportedly made a similar visit to the Dhamrai complex recently to monitor the measles-rubella vaccination campaigns, where he found only five doctors present.

Sources said 11 doctors of the Dhamrai health complex are going to be suspended because of their unauthorised absence from work, while Dhamrai UHFPO Dr Anwarul Islam would also be withdrawn.

Dr Shah Newaz told the Dhaka Tribune: “It was a very unfortunate experience for us that out of 38, no doctor was found present. Dhamrai is not that far from Dhaka city. If the presence of doctors here is zero, then what can we expect in the remote areas?”

However, he added that the inspec-

No comment from US  PAGE 1 COLUMN 6

The cable from then then ambassador James Moriarty referred to Transparency International’s ranking to justify Bangladesh to have the most corrupted government four years in a row.

Moriarty referred to Tarique as a “notorious and widely feared” individual for “flagrantly and frequently demanding bribes” for government works.

“Tarique is a symbol of kleptocratic government and violent politics in Bangladesh. He managed to manipulate the judicial process and overcame a concerted effort of the caretaker government to block his bail.

“We believe Tarique has several passports, including a new one in which the UK issued him a visa in September. Another passport contains a five year multiple-entry B1/B2 visa

[issued May 11, 2005]. We suspect that passport is being held by the government,” Moriarty said.

The cable referred to several schemes of bribery from Siemens, Harbin Company, Monem Construction, a prosecution of murder case, and other embezzlement methods.

“The actions of Tarique has directly and irreparably undermined US businesses, resulting in many lost opportunities and threatened specific US mission goals.”

“Finally, his flagrant disregard for the rule of law has provided potent ground for terrorists to gain a foothold in Bangladesh while also exacerbating poverty and weakening democratic institutions.”

In short, much of what is wrong in Bangladesh can be blamed on Tarique and his cronies, the cable said. l

tion team found a different scene at the 31-bed Saturia upazila health complex in Manikganj yesterday, where almost all of its 11 doctors were present during a surprise visit.

The DGHS director commended the work of Saturia’s UHFPO, saying he would be considered for promotion to civil surgeon for his excellent work.

Meanwhile, two doctors were found to be absent at the union health sub-center of Saturia. Disguised as patients, the inspection team members contacted the absent doctors, who claimed to be on leave. However, no submitted applications for leave were found.

Asked about possible punitive measures, Dr Shah Newaz said at least 13 doctors would be suspended.

Earlier, the inspection team also made two unannounced visits to Mymensingh and Narsingdi, suspending 10 doctors for their unauthorised absence from their workplace. l

n Kailash Sarkar

AL-BNP

SI withdrawn following youth's custodial death

 PAGE 1 COLUMN 3

In the first survey last year, the BNP (37%) was ahead of the Awami League (36%).

According to the latest opinion poll, the Jatiya Party had only 3% popular support while the Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami 1.8%.

The previous survey said the JaPa would get 4.9% of the votes.

At the recent opinion poll, over 14% voters said they were undecided about whom they would support if the election is held right now and 1% voters said they would not vote.

Around 9% of the voters did not say anything about who they would vote for.

However, the undecided voters and those declining to disclose their support constitute 23.4%, which will be the deciding factor if any election is held right now. l

At least 11 people were admitted to Dhaka Medical College Hospital yesterday after they fell victim to “dope gangs” at different places in the capital.

“Dope gangs” are criminals operating in public transports to loot people by making them unconscious by poison or sedatives.

According to sources, the victims were admitted after they had been rescued by pedestrians and police. All of them had lost valuables in their possession.

Dr Al Amin of DMC Medicine Department said: “The condition of two were critical as they were poisoned and the rest were fed sedatives. All of them were drugged using food items.”

Of the victims, hotel employee Md Arif, 25, was rescued from Sadarghat Launch Terminal in the afternoon.

When Arif regained his consciousness last night, he said he was on his way to

 PAGE 1 COLUMN 1

according to the findings of the probe committee,” he added.

Md Shameem Ahmed, paternal uncle of the deceased, said Jony was SI Zahid’s driver, but left his job a year ago over an argument related to his salary.

When Shameem went to the police station, he found Jony in a critical condition because of alleged beatings by SI Zahid.

However, police claimed that Johnny was an addict, and he succumbed to injuries that he had received in a clash with some other youths of the neighbouring Rahmat camp.

Jony and seven others were detained by a team of police led by SI Zahid in the early hours of January 9 from

his brother’s house in Mirpur on a bus.

“I bought some biscuits on the bus and ate them and later, I found myself in the hospital,” said Arif adding that he had Tk2,060 in his pocket.

Tanmay, 20, a student of Bangla College, was rescued from Mirpur Section 10 in the evening. He was returning to his house in Mirpur Kazipara on a bus.

Auto-rickshaw driver Md Mustafizur Rahman, 35, was found at Sha Ali Mazar in Mirpur in critical condition. His wife Rahima Begum said the auto-rickshaw of her husband was stolen.

The other victims were Fakrul Islam, 70, rescued from Kuril; Kamal Pasha, 52, found at Mirpur Section 1; Zakir Hossain, 45, a resident of Gendaria rescued from Mirpur 1; bank official Md Hafiz Uddin and small trader Habibur Rahman, 20, both rescued from Gulistan; Billal Hossain, 36, rescued from Ramna.

Two other people had left the hospital after recovery. l

a bridal function.

Mohammad Ali, a brother-in-law of the deceased, told the Dhaka Tribune that there was no clash at the bridal function, but an argument was going on between Jony and a police informant. He claimed that police picked up the eight following the incident.

The autopsy report says the body bore injury marks at different places.

DC Imtiaz, meanwhile, said the people of Irani camp were angry with police as they had clamped down hard on the illegal drug business there.

When asked, the DC said he was not aware that Jony was once SI Zahid’s driver, and whether there was a personal feud between them. l

DHAKA TRIBUNE

News

Thursday, February 13, 2014

3

Central bank for use of forex reserve for Padma bridge Economists fear negative impact n Asif Showkat Kallol Bangladesh Bank has assured the Padma bridge project authorities of providing $2,035 million in the next four years through different packages to meet the need for foreign funds to construct the bridge.

Governor Dr Atiur Rahman gave the foreign contractors of the project the assurance through the Bridges Division at a meeting at the finance ministry early this month.

Economists, however, say the central bank has no authority to use the foreign reserve in the construction of the Padma bridge because the reserve is meant for the payment of imports.

They say the foreign exchange reserve will not comfort the government in future because of slide in remittance and raise in import bill. As a result, the position of balance payment might go down to a negative value.

They also predict that the dollar will become dearer because of the diversion of foreign reserve to the Padma bridge project.

Dr Atiur said the central bank was financially sound to supply the amount in phases from its own fund; otherwise, it would purchase foreign currency from the inter-bank market.

“If Bangladesh Bank fails to provide foreign currency from its own fund, it will buy foreign currency from commercial banks,” a recent letter of the governor sent to Finance Minister AMA Muhith reads.

The governor asked the finance min-

ister to take necessary measures according to the contracts between the Bridges Division and the foreign contractors.

The meeting on payment of foreign currency to foreign firms decided to avoid lingering of payment and that the Bangladesh Bank general manager would handle the payment issue.

The central bank suggested that the banks of these foreign firms should submit letters of comfort to Bangladesh Bank for payment approval. The Bridges Division will issue the letter of comfort to expedite the payments, the letter says.

In the current fiscal year, the government has allocated Tk4,886.40 crore to meet the demand for foreign currency for the construction of the Padma bridge.

According to the letter to the finance minister, the allocation of the foreign funds are: $200m in 2014, $700m in2015, $600m in 2016, $500m in 2017 and $100m in2018.

Dr AB Mirza Azizul Islam, then adviser to the last caretaker government, said the country’s balance of payment would face tremendous pressure in near future because of the government decision to use foreign reserve for the construction of the Padma bridge.

Decline in remittance and raise in import bills would definitely affect the reserve as well as balance of payment negatively, he said.

Zaid Bakht, research director of Bangladesh Institute of Development Studies, said the Bangladesh Bank had no authority to use the foreign reserve for constructing the Padma bridge as it was

deposited against import bills.

“How will the government manage the import bill when the fund is diverted to the Padma bridge project?” he said.

Zaid also said US dollar might become dearer in local market and as a result the import bill would be suddenly soaring high in future.

Talking to the Dhaka Tribune, Dr Khondaker Golam Moazzem, additional research director of the Centre for Policy Dialogue, questioned the step-by-step procedure of paying the foreign contractors – if they would be convinced about it.

The government would also be under tremendous pressure regarding maintaining the quality as the foreign donors were not involved in the financial and technical processes of the construction of the Padma bridge, he said.

Muhith last week gave hints – when textile millers sought assistance of foreign reserves to import capital machinery for new plants – that the government would use a portion of its foreign currency reserves for implementing the Padma bridge project.

The Padma bridge is among the six projects that are under the direct supervision of the Fast Track Project Monitoring Committee headed by Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina. It is the country’s first project to require more than $2 billion.

The government decided to fund the project on its own after the World Bank had cancelled its $1.2bn loans in 2012 on grounds of a corruption conspiracy over the appointment of the supervisory consultant. l

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina decorates an Ansar-VDP member, who is also a freedom fighter, at the Shafipur Academy in Kaliakoir yesterday in recognition to their special contribution to the force PMO

‘Medical physics Ashraf: AL to complete 5-year tenure Ershad ‘warns’ renegades and biomed n Emran Hossain Shaikh n Manik Miazee engineering need strengthening’ n Arif Ahmed Bangladesh has yet to develop initiatives for the accreditation of educational and training programmes under the disciplines of medical physics and biomedical engineering, or for the certification of the students graduating from such programmes, speakers at a roundtable have said.

Medical physicists and biomedical engineers have to bear a massive responsibility while working, as even small mistakes by them could result in permanent damage or death for the patients, the discussants said.

The observations were made at a roundtable titled “Accreditation and certification issues in the field of medical physics and biomedical engineering” on Tuesday, jointly organised by the Dhaka University’s department of biomedical physics & technology and Bangladesh Medical Physics Association.

Speakers at the programme said most hospitals have recently been engaging sophisticated medical instruments, with several specialist hospitals procuring modern LINAC machines that deliver high-powered radiation beams for cancer therapy.

The use of instruments like CT scanner and PET scanner were increasing for the diagnosis of cancer and other diseases, they said, adding that nuclear medicine provided both therapy and diagnosis by using nuclear radiation in special ways.

Discussants at the roundtable called for the formation of an independent board under the leadership of Dhaka University with members including individual specialists, relevant associations, government and non-government organisations.

DU Pro-Vice Chancellor Prof Shahid Akhtar Hussain and science faculty Dean Prof M Yousuf Ali Molla were present as special guests at the roundtable, which was held at the Centre for Advanced Research in Sciences of Dhaka University. l

A senior ruling party leader yesterday said the next parliamentary elections would be held in due time at the completion of the present government’s five-year tenure.

“The tenure of our government is until January 28, 2019, and the next polls will be held within 90 days of that (date),” Awami League General Secretary Syed Ashraful Islam said while addressing a meeting of the party’s central working committee at Gana Bhaban, the prime minister’s official residence in the capital.

“Despite all the pressure, the (11th parliamentary) elections will be held according to the constitution,” Ashraful said in the presence of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, who chaired the meeting as party president.

The AL leader’s statement came amid demands of mid-term elections by the BNP-led alliance, and criticisms by western countries, including the United States, about last month’s gen-

eral elections, which were boycotted by major opposition parties.

Ashraful said AL had a majority in parliament to amend the constitution, but the party had no intention to do so.

“Many have been raising voices for bringing an amendment to the constitution, but they do not have representation in parliament. We do not have any intention to bring changes to the constitution,” he said, without explaining what kind of amendment was demanded.

Ashraful, who is also the LGRD minister, urged party leaders to assist the government and be part of its development activities.

“It is not possible for the government alone to execute all election pledges. So, you have to support the government,” he said.

He said the new government under Hasina’s leadership had started implementing its commitment to the people.

Ashraful also urged party leaders and activists to take the upcoming

upazila parishad (UP) polls seriously.

He said the AL chief had already handed over letters to grassroots leaders with instructions for choosing candidates for the local polls.

“There are some problems in choosing candidates, but our divisional organising secretaries are solving the problems with firmness,” he said.

He assured that the government would not interfere in the UP polls, which would be held in a free, fair and neutral manner.

Ashraf also claimed that AL practiced democracy in its internal bodies.

“The practice of democracy is continuing in our party activities. In future, we will execute ‘one man one vote’ in party activities,” he said.

Meanwhile, the AL spokesperson blasted the media for, what he claimed, printing “fake stories”.

Without specifying any names, he said some local newspapers published untrue reports, falsely quoting the international press, like the New York Times. l

War crimes trial closed but Yusuf not acquitted n Udisa Islam The International Crimes Tribunal yesterday formally closed the proceedings of the war crime cases against AKM Yusuf, who died in custody on Sunday, but said it did not mean that he had been acquitted from the charges.

The tribunal, formed to try charges of crimes against humanity committed during the 1971 Liberation War, also asked the jail authorities to submit a postmortem report on the death of the “Razakar founder” as soon as possible.

Yusuf, 88, died at the capital’s Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib Medical University Hospital on February 9.

Yesterday, the second International Crimes Tribunal was scheduled to hear closing

arguments in the cases against Yusuf.

However, during yesterday’s session, presiding judge Justice Obaidul Hassan passed the order for closing the trial. Justice Md Mozibur Rahman Miah and Judge Md Shahinur Islam, the two other members of the tribunal, were present at the court.

While closing the case, the tribunal specified that closing the case did not mean “posthumous acquittal” for Yusuf.

“We regret the accused’s sudden death has surely deprived not only him but the victims and sufferers, who with the aspiration of getting justice narrated the enormous pains and horror they sustained resulting from serious system crimes,” the tribunal said.

“Let the record and documents, forming part of the record, be preserved according to procedure,” the tribunal said in the order.

The presiding judge also said senior prosecutor Haidar Ali could not come up with a strong enough reason, backed by instances from anywhere around the world, for which the court could finish the hearing and deliver verdict in the cases.

During the morning session yesterday, Haidar Ali sought verdict in the trial against Yusuf citing the example of

former Serbian president Slobodan Milošević, whose case was also closed by a local court after he was found dead in 2006.

Haidar Ali went on to cite the International Court of Justice (ICJ), which, in 2007, declared the order passed by the Yugoslav court ineffective.

However, the cases against Milošević have never been concluded.

Senior lawyer Abdus Sobhan Tarafder, who was not a counsel of Yusuf, told the court that under the existing domestic legal system, a criminal case abated with the death of the accused under trial.

“There has been no instance of rendering full verdict in a case under such circumstances,” Tarafder said.

AKM Yusuf, senior nayeb-eameer of Jamaat-e-Islami, was charged for abetting, facilitating and substantially contributing the commission of offence of mass killing or genocide targeting the local Hindu religious group by the local Razakars in Bagerhat in 1971.

The two International Crimes Tribunals have so far pronounced verdicts against ten war criminals.

Death sentences were handed down to seven of them.

The tribunal handed down jail term till death to former Jamaat chief Golam Azam considering that he was 90 years old although most of the charges against him were proved. l

Jatiya Party Chairman HM Ershad yesterday issued a “warning” to a section of his party for participating in the January 5 elections without his consent.

The warning was given at a top-level party meeting in the capital’s Gulshan, at which 30 lawmakers out of 34 from the party were absent.

Pointing at those lawmakers present, Ershad said: “Do not break the bond for simple reasons. Otherwise, the Jatiya Party will move forward without you.”

Following the January 5 general elections, most of the lawmakers from the party have allegedly been avoiding their party chief. Ershad had called the elected and selected lawmakers, including its presidium members Anisul Islam Mahmud and Ziauddin Ahmed Bablu, to meet him several times but they were not responding, sources said.

The former military ruler said, however, that he would forgive them, and

asked them to return to the party.

During the meeting, Ershad refused to discuss the reasons behind his decision to boycott the general election and his position afterwards. He said: “Now I am thinking about those who withdrew their nominations to respect my order.”

Though Ershad boycotted the 10th parliamentary polls, the Jatiya Party emerged as the main opposition party in parliament, and its chairman was made the special envoy to the prime minister.

At the meeting, Ershad urged his supporters to further strengthen the party, before next month, by reorganising all the affiliates of the party at a council session.

Meanwhile, in a press release, signed by Ershad’s Press and Political Secretary Sunil Shuvo Roy, the party’s central committee Publicity Secretary Sultan Mahmud was announced as the new the office secretary of the party.

The decision was made after former office secretary Tajul Islam Chowdhury was appointed as chief whip of the main opposition party. l

4

DHAKA TRIBUNE

News

Thursday, February 13, 2014

Government starts hajj preparation for pilgrims

One killed in clash over solar energy connection n Our Correspondent, Sirajganj

Several agreements with Saudi Arabia authority in the offing The delegation that will visit Saudi n Mohosinul Karim Arabia will sign agreement on fixing up The government is making an all-out effort to make travel and easier for hajis next season.

Several agreements between the Saudi authority and Bangladesh would be signed on February 16 in this regard.

A five-member delegation of the Religious Affairs Ministry led by its Minister Principal Motiur Rahman and Secretary Kazi Habibul Awal will visit Saudi Arabia between February 14 and 22.

For the first time last year, the government had introduced two affordable hajj packages costing TK347,027 and Tk278,742 The minister will sign the hajj agreement fixing the numbers of Bangladeshi hajjis the authority would allow visas for performing hajj.

The delegation will fix the number by meeting with their Saudi counterpart.

Jahangir Alam, deputy secretary to the ministry’s hajj wing, told the Dhaka Tribune the ministry and Bangladesh hajj authority wanted to finish all procedures before March as the hajj packages would be announced this year within March 15.

the number of pilgrims, moyallem fees and ensuring facilities for Bangladeshi hajis.

Several agreements would be signed with General Car Syndicate and Medina Adilla Office to ensure the transport facilities of hajjis.

Agreement will also be signed with the United Air Office for management of Bangladeshi hajis at Saudi Airport.

The deputy secretary yesterday said Bangladesh would propose the Saudi authority for permission of at least 130,000 Bangladeshi hajis to perform hajj for the next season.

The proposed hajj packages would be sent to the cabinet for approval after signing agreements with Saudi Arabia.

Despite having approval of sending 110,000 hajis to Saudi Arabia, the government finally sent 87,854 for performing hajj last year as the Saudi authority requested Bangladesh to reduce the number of hajis by 20%.

According to the ministry officials, the number of interested hajis was also less than other years due to national election, political unrest and restriction imposed by the Saudi authority.

A total of 109,660 hajis had performed hajj in 2012.

For the first time last year, the government had introduced two affordable hajj packages costing TK347,027 and Tk278,742. The hajis have to pay for sacrifice (qurbani) separately. l

Chief justice WEATHER calls for unity to establish rule of law Weather likely to UNB remain unchanged nChief Justice M Muzammel Hossain yesterday urged everyone to work ton UNB gether to establish the rule of law and Weather may remain dry with temporary partly cloudy sky over the country until 6pm today.

Light to moderate fog might occur over the river basins of the country during midnight till morning, Met Office said. Night and day temperature may remain nearly unchanged over the country.

The sun sets in the capital at 5:52pm today and rises at 6:33am tomorrow.

Country’s highest temperature 29.8 degree Celsius was recorded in Sitakunda and Cox’s Bazar and lowest 10.2 degrees in Syedpur 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

27.4 28.0 26.4 25.0 27.5 27.6 27.8 29.8

16.8 21.4 11.3 11.4 16.0 16.5 15.0 20.4

PRAYER TIMES Fajar Sunrise Zohr Asr Magrib Esha

5:16am 6:32am 12:13am 4:16pm 5:52pm 7:09pm

ensure justice throughout all spheres in Bangladesh.

He made the remarks while speaking at the launch of a website for “Human Rights and Peace for Bangladesh,” (HRPB) at the Shafiur Rahman Auditorium of the Supreme Court Bar Association in Bhaban. The programme was chaired

by HRPB President Manzill Murshed.

The chief justice also said public interest litigations were immensely important in upholding the rule of law and human rights.

He lauded the HRPB for standing by the people, and hoped that the organisation would continue with its role in the future. Later on, he inaugurated www. hrpb.org.bd, the HRPB’s website. l

Two auto rickshaws carry mega phones as part of upazila polls campaign in Rajshahi's Mohonpur upazila yesterday

TAZREEN FIRE CASE

Public prosecutor seeks cancellation of Mita’s bail n Court Correspondent

The public prosecutor of the Tazreen Fashions factory fire case yesterday sought cancellation of the conditional bail awarded to the factory’s Chairman Mahmuda Akter Mita, also one of the prime accused.

PP Khondokar Abdul Mannan argued that since Mita had been absconding for a long time, she might once again try to go underground taking advantage of the conditional bail, which was awarded to her upon signing a Tk20,000 bond.

On February 11, the District and Ses-

sions Judge’s Court of Dhaka rejected a bail plea of Mita’s husband Delwar Hossain, managing director of Tazreen Fashions, sent him to jail and awarded conditional bail to Mita on grounds that one of her three kids was ailing.

The government pleader also argued that Mita had not been obedient to the court’s orders and apprehended that she might intimidate the prosecution witnesses and the families of victims, and influence the investigation officer using her riches.

Delwar and Mita are facing charges of committing “homicide by negligence” that had caused 111 deaths and

n Tribune Report Effective enforcement of the existing Copyright Act is urgently required to encourage innovation and creativity, said speakers at a workshop yesterday.

Speaking at a training workshop, organised for the Bangladesh Police by Bangladesh Copyright and IP Forum (BCIPF) and the Copyright Office of the cultural affairs ministry, the discussants said the people involved in the vicious cycle of piracy were not aware of the consequences of copyright violation.

Active involvement of the law en-

forcement agencies would reduce the piracy rate in the country and ensure proper evaluation of the citizens’ creative minds, they added.

Cultural Affairs Secretary Ranjit Kumar Biswas, the chief guest at the workshop, said: “Law enforcement agencies should be made more aware of the copyright situation in Bangladesh. It will generate awareness among the people. Public and private entities together should play their due role.”

BCIPF Trustee Board President Kazi Zahin Hasan, BCIPF Chief Executive ABM Hamidul Mishbah, Deputy Managing Director of Probashi Kallyan Bank & copyright specialist Md

TENDER NOTICE

visit our e-paper @ www.dhakatribune.com/epaper

1. Ministry/ Division 02 Agency 03 Procuring Entity Name 04 Source of Fund 05 Particular of Tender Re-Tender Date 34 10/2/2014

Source: IslamicFinder.org

35

10/2/2014

36

10/2/2014

Ministry of Environment and Forest, Bangladesh Forest Industries Development Corporation General Manager, BFIDC, Rubber Division, F-12, Chandgaon,R/A, Chaittagong.

Own Source Particulars Price of Tender Document Construction of semi pacca 750.00 (Non refundable) Office Building at Rangunia Rubber Estate, Chittagong Construction of semi pacca 750.00 (Non refundable) Rest House at Rangunia Rubber Estate, Chittagong Construction of Semi pacca 750.00 (Non refundable) Manager Banglo at Rangunia Rubber Estate, Chittagong.

Open Tendering Method (OTM) 1) Bangladeshi 2) Must have previous experience of the same work.

15/03/2014 Upto 12-0 Noon

Earnest Money 60,000.00 60,000.00 60,000.00

06 Procurement Method 07 Qualification of Tenderer 08 last Date, & Time of Selling Tender Document 09 Tender Submission 16/3/2014 Upto 12-0 Noon.

Date & Tine 10 Tender Opening Date 16/3/2014 at 12-30Noon. & Time 11 Name and Address a) General Manager, BFIDC, Rubber Division, F-12, Chandgaong, of the Office selling of R/A, Chittagong. tender documents b) Dy. Commissioner, Chittagong. c) Dy. General Manager, BFIDC, FIDCO, Furniture Complex, Kalurghat, Chittagong.

13 Name and Address BFIDC, Rubber Division, F-12, Chandgaon, R/A, Chittagong. of the Office Opening of Tender documents 14. Special Instructions. 1) In case the tender could not be received and opened on the day mentioned above for reasons beyond control, the same will be received and opened on the next working day at the same time and venue.

2) The procuring Entity also reserves the right to accept or reject any or all the tenders without assigning any reason whatsoever.

3) This tender will be conducted as per the Public Procurement Rules-2008.

4) Detail information and other description about the tender has described in the schedule.

GD-20/14 (7″x3c)

injured 104 others in a factory fire on November 24, 2012.

Investigation Officer AKM Mohosinuz Zaman Khan, also a CID inspector, pressed charges against 13, including the couple, on December 22 last year, more than a year after the devastating factory fire.

The prosecution said it would produce a total of 104 witnesses in the case.

Both Delwar and Mita had been on the run since the industrial disaster, one of the deadliest in the country’s history, until recently when they had surrendered before the court. l

‘Enforce copyright to encourage innovation and creativty’

BANGLADESH FOREST INDUSTRIES DEVELOPMENT CORPORATION RUBBER DIVISION F-12, CHANDGAON, R/A, CHITTAGONG bfidcrubberctg@gmail.com

The fastest growing English daily

DHAKA TRIBUNE

(Md. Saiful Islam) General Manager BFIDC, Rubber Division, Chittagong.

Manzurur Rahman, Deputy Registrar of Copyright Office Zohra Begum and Consultant to Business Software Alliance Iftekhar Taher Tanvir were present in the workshop.

BCIPF Chief Executive Mishbah said: “Frequent practice of software piracy cheats our innovators and creators. Piracy restrains their enthusiasm too. Law enforcement agencies should come forward to control the software piracy situation accordingly.”

Representatives from the Bangladesh Police, as well as officials from government agencies and the Copyright Office participated in the training workshop. l

A man was killed in a clash that took place over solar energy connection at Ghorjan village under Chohali upazila in Sirajganj on Tuesday night.

Officer-in-Charge of Chohali police station Shamsul Haq said there had been a dispute between Akbar Ali and Abdus Salam Bepari, who were neighbours, for long, over solar energy connection.

Former union parishad member Ramjan Ali called an arbitration meeting on Tuesday evening to mitigate the dispute, but he failed to settle the issue.

Later, altercations took place between the neighbour families, which later turned into a clash, leaving three people injured.

On receiving information, police rushed to the spot and brought the situation under control.

Police arrested Swapan Mia, 22, son of Mokaddes Ali, and Badsha Mia, 24, son of Abdu Salam Bepari from the spot.

Akbar Ali, 40, son of Keramat Ali Meer of the village died on the way to the hospital while two others injured were admitted to Chohali upazila Health Complex in critical conditions.

The body was sent to Sirajganj Sadar Hospital morgue for autopsy yesterday.

The arrestees were produced before the court and the court ordered to send them to jail.

Nurjahan Begum Rani, wife of the deceased, lodged a case with the Chohali police station. l

bKash donates Tk30 lakh to Bishwo Shahitto Kendro n Tribune Report The mobile financial service provider, bKash Limited, has provided financial support for the Bishwo Shahitto Kendro to procure around 34,000 books to facilitate its nationwide book-reading programme. bKash Chief Executive Kamal Quadir yesterday handed over a cheque of Tk30lakh to the Bishwo Shahitto Kendro (BSK) to carry out its programme for around 45,000 students in 460 schools.

Prof Abdullah Abu Sayeed, Bishwo Shahitto Kendro (BSK) president and chief executive, received the donation from bKash at a programme yesterday in the capital.

Prof Sayeed said 10-12 students would be able to read each book every year and the procurement of 34,000 books would help promote the BSK initiative. bKash Chief Executive Kamal Quadir said: “We are very happy to associate ourselves with the BSK which is doing a fantastic job in promoting reading habits and enlightenment and disseminating progressive ideas among students.”l

DHAKA TRIBUNE

News

5

Thursday, February 14, 2014

Dismal health service for Barisal children Four jailed for life for Only 55 doctors in public hospitals treating 4.3 million children n Anisur Rahman Swapan, Barisal Children living in Barisal region are being denied the proper healthcare services, with only 55 health officials appointed for treating almost 4.3 million children living in 41 upazilas under the six districts of Barisal division.

Fifty of these doctors – most of whom are non-pediatrician interns – work at Barisal’s Sher-e-Bangla Medical College Hospital (SBMCH), while other hospitals and health complexes in the region have only five pediatricians working as junior consultants.

Local health sector sources said Barisal division has 4,299,622 children of up to 15 years of age.

With the exception of the SBMCH, only 18 out of 41 upazila health complexes and district headquarter-level

general hospitals had the sanctioned posts of junior consultants for the treatment of children, although 13 of those facilities had their posts vacant.

The rest of the medical facilities had no post for pediatricians at all.

The 100-bed Pirojpur and Barguna Sadar General Hospitals also did not have any separate post for pediatric doctors, Divisional Health Director Dr Shamsul Haque admitted.

He said local medical facilities with over 50-plus bed capacity had separate posts for pediatricians, but only five of such 18 hospitals currently had doctors for children.

Vacancies in pediatrician posts included four out of sanctioned five posts in Bhola, one out of two posts in Pirojpur, all three posts in Barguna, two out of three posts in Patuakhali, one out of

two posts in Jhalakathi, and two out of three posts in Barisal.

The 500-bed SBMCH reportedly has three children’s wards with 114beds, with around 50 doctors including non-pediatrician interns serving children at the indoor and the outdoor wards of the hospital.

Dr MR Talukdar Mujib, head of pediatrics department at the SBMCH, said the lack of pediatricians on the grassroots-level forced the hospital to treat a large number of patients with only limited beds, manpower, equipment and infrastructure.

The SBMCH had 64 beds for children and 50 more beds for neonatal babies in three wards, he added.

Dr Syed Zahid Hossain, a former principal of the SBMC and a former head of

the SBMCH pediatric department, said children mostly suffered from diseases like acute respiratory infection, pneumonia, diarrhea, anemia, hemophilia, leukemia, tetanus, measles, congenital heart disease, spinal bifida, thalasemia and diabetes insipidus.

Most of these diseases could be prevented and treated at grassroots-level hospitals and health complexes if pediatricians were appointed and other infrastructural supports provided, Dr Zahid said.

Anwar Zahid, a local health rights activist, stressed on creating new posts and filling the vacant posts of pediatricians in the grassroots-level medical facilities, as well as ensuring sufficient logistic and infrastructural supports at the hospitals to create a healthy future generation. l

kidnapping minor boy n Tarek Mahmud, Chittagong A Chittagong court yesterday sentenced life in prison to four persons and fined Tk50,000 each for kidnapping a nine-year-old boy from the district’s Sitakunda upazila in 2011 and for demanding ransom.

The Judge of Women and Children Oppression Repression Tribunal 2 Md Zakir Hossain gave the verdict, said MA Naser, prosecutor of the tribunal.

The convicts are Abdur Razzak, Mohammad Nasir, Eshak alias Gias Uddin and Mohammad Jafor.

Of the convicts, Razzak and Nasir are in prison while two others are on the run.

The prosecutor said as the charges against the accused were proved beyond any doubt before the court so, the court pronounced the verdict under

section 8 of Women and Children Oppression Repression Act-2000 (amended in 2003).

According to the prosecution, the accused kidnapped Sadman Jaman Sami, son of Abddul Motaleb, of Middle Jahanabad of Madam Bibirhat area in Sitakunda, on March 25, 2011 and took the victim to a remote hilly area of the upazila. Later, the kidnappers demanded Tk50 lakh from the victim’s father.

On the following day, a case was lodged with Sitakunda police station in this connection while police rescued Sami from the area.

Police submitted a charge sheet against the four accused on July 19, in 2011 while the court framed the charges against them on July 4, 2012.

The court gave the verdict after listening to the testimonies of 11 prosecution witnesses. l

JnU students want recovery of grabbed dormitories n Mohammad Jamil Khan Jagannath University (JnU) students staged protests yesterday, demanding the recovery of nine residential halls of the university that have been occupied by land grabbers for the last two decades.

Hundreds of students, led by Bangladesh Chhatra League’s JnU unit President FM Shariful Islam and Secretary Shirajul Islam, brought out a procession from the university campus at around 11am and marched through different streets of Old Dhaka.

The necessary documents are passed through different departments of the government, only for the process to be restarted when it reaches the final stage Later, the students staged a sit-in programme in front of the campus’ liberation war sculpture, as well as blockading the Ray Saheb Bazar intersection for an hour that caused disruption in traffic movement in the area.

Addressing the sit-in, BCL President Shariful said it was disappointing to see that land grabbers had become public representatives.

“Haji Selim [lawmaker from Dhaka 7 constituency], who was a day-labourer of Sadarghat terminal, now earns a huge sum of money by forming a criminal group. He also grabbed a university

hall and built a market there, leaving the students in worse condition,” Shariful added.

BCL Secretary Shirajul alleged that the university authority had utterly failed to ensure a single dormitory for the students during the nine years since the Jagannath College had been transformed into a university.

The students are also scheduled to continue their demonstrations in front of the JnU main gate at 9am today.

According to university administration, the JnU has so far been able to recover three (Habibur Rahman, Bani Bhaban and Dhupkhola field) of the 12 grabbed residential halls.

ATM Shafiqur Rahman, former member secretary of the university’s hall recovery and building committee, told the Dhaka Tribune that the recovery of dormitories had stopped because of the lack of cooperation from government officials.

The necessary documents are passed through different departments of the government, only for the process to be restarted when it reaches the final stage, Shafiqur said, adding that such practices were caused by the lack of cooperation among department officials.

Mohammad Kamal Hossain Sarker, estate officer of JnU, said he did not have clear knowledge about the recovery process and would be able to say details after learning more about the issue.

However, JnU Vice-Chancellor Prof Dr Mijanur Rahman said: “We have already contacted the land ministry to solve the dormitory problem of the students and we hope that we would be able to do so shortly.” l

Four of a family killed in road crash n Our Correspondent, Sylhet Four family members were killed and two others injured as a truck collided with a CNG-run auto-rickshaw in Pachmile area under Gopalganj upazila in Sylhet yesterday.

The deceased were identified as Humayun, 35, his wife Salma Begum, 32, their son Raihan, 11, and Humayun’s mother Lal Banu, 65.

Sources said a truck had collided with a CNG-run auto-rickshaw in the

area on the Sylhet-Jakiganj road at 12:30pm, killing Humayun on the spot and injuring the others.

The injured were sent to Osmani Medical College Hospital where the three died.

Following the incident, locals blocked the road in the area.

On information, police went to the spot and brought the situation under control.

UNO Asadul Haque and OC AKM Fazlul Haque Shibly visited the spot. l

A girl buys flowers from a shop in the city’s Banani yesterday on the eve of Pahela Falgun, the first day of Bengali month Falgun

Yaba trucks causing new headache n Tarek Mahmud, Chittagong

Yaba smuggling from Chittagong to other places of the country has increased in the recent times, which has become a serious concern for law enforcement agencies.

Police said Yaba peddlers, especially those who are running the illegal business from Cox’s Bazar and Chittagong districts, are using goods-laden vehicles to hide Yaba pills and dodge law enforcers.

The drug peddlers particularly use these vehicles, especially trucks, as it is easier to hide Yaba amidst all the goods inside, said the sources, seeking anonymity.

A team of Detective Branch of Chittagong Metropolitan Police nabbed a truck driver, Osman Gani, 23, hailing from Teknaf upazila of Cox’s Bazar, with 2,200 pieces of Yaba pills,

“To avoid getting caught, the Teknaf based peddlers use the truck drivers in exchange of large amounts of money,” he said.

The ADC said several thousand goods-laden trucks are running on the Chittagong-Cox’s Bazar and Dhaka-Chittagong routes regularly, adding that it was difficult to find out the trucks carrying the drug items without any specific information.

Banaz Kumar Majumdar, additional commissioner (crime and prevention) of the CMP, said, “We have increased our surveillance over the trucks which are entering into the city from northern part of Chittagong division.”

According to Directorate of Narcotic Control, around 50 Yaba factories are running at Mongdu in Myanmar, which is close to Teknaf and about 90% of the smuggled Yaba are entering into the country crossing Naf river. l

Girl dies after falling from rooftop n FM Mizanur Rahaman, CU Correspondent

A minor girl died after falling from the roof of a two-storied building at Chawkbazar area in the port city Chittagong yesterday.

The deceased was identified as Purnima Akhtar, 10, daughter of Md Karim in Chandmia Masjid area under Chawkbazar police station. She was a class three student of Bangabandhu Primary School.

Nayek Abdul Bashar of Chittagong Medical College (CMCH) police outpost said; “The girl fell from the rooftop at 5:20pm while she was playing there.”

Later, she was sent to the CMCH where doctors on duty declared her dead. l

Collaboration among researchers a must to combat infectious diseases

Founding anniversary of NUB marked

n Tribune Report

The 11th founding anniversary of Northern University Bangladesh was celebrated on its Khulna campus yesterday.

Chairman of the NUB trust Dr Abu Yusuf Abdullah inaugurated the celebration by cutting a cake at a function.

The event was also attended by DIG of Khulna range Sheikh Monir Uz Zaman, Judge of Khulna Sessions’ Court GM Salauddin, former treasurer of Khulna University Mazharul Hannan and Director of Health, Khulna Dr Mamun Parvez.

This event was presided over by Academic and Administrative Coordinator Dr Anwarul Karim.

In his speech, he said, “In the education sector, the role of private universities is well recognised. Northern University Bangladesh has successfully created a sound academic atmosphere for the students, creating skilled generations for the bright future ahead”. l

from Nizam Road area on Tuesday evening.

On the previous day, another team of the DB nabbed truck driver Nurul Islam alias Jibon, 35, of Teknaf, with 3,000 pieces of Yaba tablets from the city’s Laldighi area. The seized items were worth about Tk11 lakh, said the DB sources.

During preliminary interrogation, the arrestee confessed to DB men that they used to carry goods from one place to another across the country while also transporting Yaba pills on the side, said Babul Akhter, additional deputy commissioner of the DB in the CMP. ADC Babul said a syndicate of truck drivers, who were hailing from Taknaf, is involved with carrying Yaba, adding that the DB had found some names of the Yaba peddling syndicate from the truck drivers.

SYED ZAKIR HOSSAIN

n Tribune Report

Dr Abu Yusuf Abdullah, chairman of Northern University Bangladesh trust cuts a cake, marking the 11th anniversary of the university DHAKA TRIBUNE

Participants at two international conferences held in the capital this week called for greater collaboration amongst researchers and institutions in the Asia-Pacific region to combat infectious diseases.

Hosted by the ICDDR, B, over 350 participants, including researchers, government health officials and representatives from academic and other public and private institutions, from 16 countries attended the 16th conference on emerging infectious diseases (EID) in the Pacific Rim, which was followed by the 48th US-Japan Cooperative Medical Sciences Program (CMSP) conference on cholera and other bacterial enteric infections.

The conferences were formally

launched on Sunday through a joint inaugural session, with State Minister for Health Zahid Maleque as the chief guest. US Ambassador Dan W Mozena and Japanese Ambassador Shiro Sadoshima were present as special guests.

In his inaugural speech, Zahid Maleque said the topics of the conferences were of great importance to Bangladesh in the context of understanding the causes of emerging and re-emerging infections, and preventing diseases through the development and use of vaccines.

The EID conference, which concluded on Tuesday, highlighted infectious diseases such as drug-resistant tuberculosis, childhood pneumonia and visceral leishmaniasis (kala-azar).

Participants shared their research

findings from the Pacific Rim region on antimicrobial drug resistance in bacterial and parasitic diseases. They also underscored the need to disseminate scientific and public health information on the diseases to fellow researchers and policymakers, and identify areas of research that need more support.

The second conference, which ends today, brought together members of the US-Japan CMSP panels on acute respiratory infections, cholera and other bacterial enteric infections, parasitic diseases, TB and leprosy. The panels meet annually to expand cooperative research efforts in medical sciences, concentrating on health problems in Southeast Asia.

Both events were co-sponsored by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and Incepta Vaccine Ltd. l

6

DHAKA TRIBUNE

Mob kills robber n Our correspondent, Noakhali A man, suspected of being a robber, was lynched in Rajjakpur- Satbaria village in Badolcoat union in Chatkhil upazila of the district yesterday.

The deceased could not be immediately identified.

Md Ibrahim Khalil, officer-in-charge of Chatkhil police station, said a gang of robbers, numbering between 10 to 12, entered a house by breaking down the collapsible gate, and tied up the family with ropes.

After hearing screaming, the villagers went to the scene and tried to detain the robbers. The robbers left the house and tried to escape.

At one stage, villagers caught and beat one of the robbers.

Police arrived and rescued the robber, who was in a critical condition, rushing him to Chatkhil Upazila Health Complex, where he died.

The body was sent to Noakhali Medical College Hospital for autopsy.

Two cases were filed in connection with the incident. l

Nation

Illegal sand lifting goes unabated in Kushtia n Our Correspondent, Kushtia Some ruling party men are lifting sand from the Padma and Gorai rivers at 21 spots in five upazilas of Kushtia district, defying the law.

The 21 spots are located in different areas of Sadar, Bheramara, Mirpur, Kumarkhali and Khoksha upazilas.

According to sources, in connivance with a section of dishonest officials of the BIWTA and local influential people, the party men are illegally lifting sand, depriving the government of earning huge revenue.

The district administration

keep updated throughout the day http://dhakatribune.com

tives for reclaiming the spots.

The High Court recently cancelled the writs and ordered the concerned upazila administrations to take control of the spots.

Later, the petitioners filed appeals with the Supreme Court.

Anwarul Haque Masum, who claims himself as legal lease-holder of a spot, said; “I am the only person who has taken permission from the BIWTA for lifting 30 lakh cubic feet sand.”

When asked how much time would be needed for lifting the sand, he did not reply. The DC said the spots would be given lease after settling the writs. l

could not float tender due to writs filed with the High Court by the influential people.

Taking advantage of the situation, huge quantity of sand is being lifted illegally and sold in those upazilas.

The district administration called lease for the last time in 2008.

Deputy Commissioner (DC) Syed Belal Hossain sent several letters to the authorities seeking intervention for settling the writs immediately.

Sources said criminals and the influential groups were threatening the DC as he had taken initia-

Father jailed, son fined for applying chemicals to bananas n Our Correspondent, Lalmonirhat A mobile court jailed a man and fined his son for allegedly using toxic chemicals for ripening bananas at Durakuti village in Lalmonirhat sadar upazila on Tuesday evening.

In a special drive, the mobile court, led by Executive Magistrate Aktarunnesa, caught Mahir Uddin, 58, and his son Jahangir Alam, 18, red handed while applying toxic chemicals to bananas, and delivered the sentence on the spot in presence of police.

Mahir Uddin was jailed for six months and Jahangir Alam was fined Tk1,000.

In another drive, two drug peddlers named Belal Hossain, 38, and Abdul Quddus, 38, were jailed by the same mobile court at the same place on Tuesday evening.

Belal Hossain was jailed for six months, while Abdul Quddus was jailed for seven months.

Both of them are residents of Durakuti village and they had been allegedly using contraband Indian drugs phensedyl and hemp since long. l

The Physics Olympiad for school and college students was held at Rajshahi University (RU) yesterday.

Physics Club of the university organised the function at Kazi Nazrul Islam Auditorium at 9am on the campus.

Scientist and Prof Emeritus Arun Kumar Boshak of Physics department inaugurated the opening ceremony as the chief guest.

The round began with an hour-long examination at the auditorium at 9:30am.

A total of 200 students from 12 colleges and 15 schools of Rajshahi division sat for the examination.

Government of the People’s Republic of Bangladesh Office of the executive Engineer, Education Engineering Department, Ministry of Education, Rajshahi Zone Rajshahi.

Invitation for tenders (IFT) 01 02 03

Ministry / Division Agency Procuring Entity Name

04 05 06

Procuring Entity Code.

Procuring Entity District.

Invitation for

07 Invitation Ref. No. 08 Date KEY INFORMATION 09 Procuring Method FUNDING INFORMATION 12 Project Code 13 Name of Project 14 15 16 17 18 19 20

Farmers stage demonstrations in Rangpur yesterday, demanding fair prices for potatoes

n Our Correspondent, Jhenaidah Farmers in six upazilas in Jhenaidha are expecting a bumper crop of Boro paddy in this year, despite the losses caused by the recent cold spell.

The cold spell, which continued until late January, damaged significant numbers of Boro saplings in the area.

Ahmed Ali, a farmer from Maharajpuar under Kaliganj upazila, said he had resumed planting Boro seeds on his five bighas of land.

During the early period of the

A total of 55 competitors were selected for the National Olympiad in three categories.

The number of winners were 8 in ‘A’ category (Class 7-8), 25 in ‘B’ (Class 9-10) and 22 in ‘C’ (Class 11-12).

“The winners of the divisional round will participate in the final round which will be held at Dhaka University on February 28,” Prof Abdullah Shams Bin Tarique coordinator of the programme said.

Among others, Prof Somnath Bhattyacharjee and Prof Rejaul Islam, Chairmen of Physics and Applied Physics and Engineering departments respectively addressed the programme. l

produce 3.13 lakh tones of paddy in six upazilas under the district, by planting high-yielding varieties of Boro paddy on a total of 81,310 hectares of land – including 2,994 hectares planted with hybrid varieties.

In the last season, farmers produced 3,12,755 tons of paddy on 81,275 hectares of land.

“As the losses caused by the cold foggy spell are now being recovered, the farmers are expecting a bumper yield of the Boro rice this season” said Joynul Abedin, deputy director of the DAE in Jhenaidah. l

season, Boro harvests were greatly affected when the mercury dropped to 11-12 degrees Celsius in Jhenaidha, plunging farmers into uncertainty.

Naresh Chandra Mandal, a farmer from Sailkupa upazila, said he was planting Boro seeds on his five decimals of land for the second time this season, as the saplings planted earlier were damaged by the low temperatures and severe foggy weather.

Sources at the Department of Agriculture Extension (DAE) in Jhenaidah said, the DAE had set a target to

GOVERNMENT OF THE PEOPLE’S REPUBLIC OF BANGLADESH OFFICE OF THE DIVISIONAL RAILWAY MANAGER, BANGLADESH RAILWAY, PAKSEY

Invitation For Tenders

1 2 3 4 5 6

Ministry/Division Agency Procuring Entity Name Procuring Entity Code Procuring Entity District Invitation For

7 8

Invitation reference No Invitation for Tender No

Ministry of Railway Bangladesh Railway Divisional Railway Manager, Paksey, Pabna Not used at present Pabna 1.Group “A” At ARZ station:-Re-construction of top surface of platform as per plan.

2.Group “B” At STU:-Thorough repairs to SSAE/ Electric office, toilet, septic tank, sock well, sanitary & other works.

184-W/RJHI/Tender Notice/2013-14 20/Rev/PXC/2013-14 Dated. 05/02/2014.

21

23 24 25 26

Revenue (GOB).

PARTICULAR INFORMAITON 12/02/2014 Date

Time

12 Tender Last Selling Date & Time 13 Tender Closing Date & Time 14 Tender Opening Date & Time Name & Address of the office(s) 15 Selling Tender Document (Principle) Selling Tender Document (Others)

03/03/2014 04/03/2014 04/03/2014

Up to 13.00 Hrs. Up to 12.00 Hrs. At 12.30 Hrs.

Receiving Tender Document Opening Tender Document

Divisional Engineer/II, Paksey, Pabna.

Divisional Engineer/Lalmonirhat Asst. Executive Engineer/Rajshahi Asst. Executive Engineer/In-charge/Saidpur office.

Divisional Engineer/II, Paksey, Pabna.

Divisional Engineer/II, Paksey, Pabna.

INFORMATION FOR TENDER 16 Eligibility of Tenderer 17 Time of Completion of Works 18 Price Tender Document 19 Amount of Tender Security

As stated in the tender document.

90 (Ninety) days.

Tk.600/- for group “A”& Tk.450/- for group “B” (Non Refundable).

Tk. 28000/- for group “A” & Tk. 13000/- for group “B” in favour of FA & CAO/W/RJHI in the shape of Bank draft/ pay order (MICR instrument) from any schedule Bank.

PROCURING ENTITY DETAILS 20 Name of Official inviting tender.

21 Designation of Official inviting tender 22 Address of Official inviting 23 Contact details of Official inviting Tender 24 The procuring entity reserves the right to reject all tenders.

RPRD No. 3719 GC-9/14(9x3c)

Pankaj Kumar saha.

Divisional Railway Manager/Paksey, Pabna.

27 28 29 30 31

Bangladesh Railway, Paksey, Pabna Mobile No. 01711-691592

Divisional Engineer/II For Divisional Railway Manager, Bangladesh Railway, Paksey

Opening Tender Document (Place) Place/Date Time of Pre-Tender Meeting (Optional)

INFORMATION FOR TENDER 22 Eligibility of Tenderer

Open Tender Method.

11 Tender publication date

Name & Address of the office(s) Selling Tender Document (Principal) Selling Tender Document (Others)

Receiving Tender Document

KEY INFORMATION 9 Procurement Method FUNDING INFORMATON 10 Budget and Source of Funds

Tender No. Tender Package Name Tender Publication Date Tender Last Selling Date Tender Closing Date & Time Tender Opening Date & Time

DHAKA TRIBUNE

Farmers expect bumper Boro crop

Physics Olympiad held at Rajshahi University n RU Correspondent

Thursday, February 13, 2014

32

Brief Description of Works Brief Description of Related Services Price of Tender Document (Tk)

: Ministry of Education (MOE) : Education Engineering Department (EED) : Executive Engineer, Education Engineering Department, Rajshahi Zone, Rjashahi : Not used at present. : Rajshahi/chapai Nawabgonj. : Repair & Maintenance work of Selected Non-govt. Institution’s under Revenue Budget. (Code: 5974) : 17/XEN/EED/RAJ/Non-Gov.Rev/Repair/2013-14/24. : 10.02.2014 : Limited Tendering Method (LTM) : 5974 : Repair & maintenance work of Non-govt. Institution’s Under Revenue Budget. : 17 : 01-Non-govt. Rep Rev Budget. : 16.02.2014 : 04.03.2014(During office hours). : Upto 01.00 P.M on 05.03.2014 (Tender may also be submitted before the closing date). : 3.00 P.M on 05.03.2014 : : Office of the Executive Engineer, Education Engineering Deparment, Rajshahi Zone, Rajshahi. : Office of the Deputy Commissioner, Rajshahi/Chapai Nawabgonj.

Office of the Superintendent of Police, Rajshahi/Chapai Nawabgonj.

Assistant Engineer, Education Engineering Department, Rajshahi/ Chapai Nawabgonj. : Office of the Executive Engineer, Education Engineering Department, Rajshahi Zone, Rajshahi Office of the Deputy Commissioner, Rajshahi/Chapai Nawabgonj.

Office of the Superintendent of Police, Rajshahi/Chapai Nawabgonj.

Assistant Engineer, Education Engineering Department, Rajshahi/Chapai Nawabgonj. : Office of the Executive Engineer, Education Engineering Department, Rajshahi Zone, Rajshahi. : No Applicable

a) Enlisted A-1 & A-2 (A-2 only under Rajshahi Division) Category Contractor of Education Engineering Department who have paid renewal fee for the financial year 2013-14. b) Valid Trade license (up-to date) c) Vat Registration Certificate d) Up-to date income Tax clearance Certificate e) Tender Document may be Purchased by the Contractor or his Authorized Representative on producing original up to date license book. f) Rate quoted by the tenderer if found more than 5% (Five percent) less or above, than the Estimated cost, the tender will be summarily rejected without assigning any reason. In the case of tie, the successful contractor may be selected through lottery. g) Satisfying the other criterion laid down in the tender schedule. : Civil Sanitary and electrical works. : Not applicable :

For lot 1 to 29 Tk. 500/- (Five hundred) & for lot 30 to 33 tk. 750/- (Seven hundred & fifty) Non-refundable.

Lot Identification of Lots No. 01 Biraldoh sayed korm Ali Shah-(R) Siniour Fazil Madrasha 02 Varra High School.

03 Maherohondi High School 04 Taherpur Bishabiddaloy Collage.

05 Nondonpur Mohila Dakhil Madrasha 06 Chobbish Nagor High School & Collage.

07 Rajabarihat High School.

08 Mohishalbari Secondary Girls School.

09 Aai Hai High School 10 Anowara Fahim Ziauddin Pailot Girls High 11 Vatopara Girls High School.

12 Kakonhat High School 13 Digram High School 14 Talonda Lolit Mohon Degree Collage 15 Soronjay Girls High School 16 Munumala High School 17 Kismot Milli Bai Lateral High School 18 Pranpur Girls High School 19 Talonda A.M High School 20 Jumarpara Girls High School 21 Mirjapur High School 22 Duboil High School.

23 BRG Technical & B.M Collage 24 Sonai Chondi High School 25 Verandi High School 26 Lebudanga High School 27 Baroipara High School 28 Taherpur Rivervew Gils High School 29 Shercol Shimla High School 30 Mohongonj High School 31 Sayed Moyejuddin Girls High School 32 Balgacha High School 33 Amnura K.M. High School PROCURING ENTITY DETAILS: Name of Official Inviting Tender Designation of Official Inviting Tender Address of Official Inviting Tender

Location Puthia, Rajshahi Puthia Rajshahi Boalia, Rajshahi Bagmara, Rajshahi Bagmara, Rajshahi Godagari, Rajshahi Godagari, Rajshahi Godagari, Rajshahi Godagari, Rajshahi Godagari, Rjashahi Godarari, Rajshahi Godagari, Rajshai Godagari, Rajshahi Tanore, Rajshahi Tanore, Rajshahi Tanore, Rajshahi Tanore, Rajshahi Tanore, Rajshahi Tanore, Rajshahi Tanore, Rajshahi Tanore, Rajshahi Tanore, Rajshahi Charghat, Rajshai Nachole, Chapai Nawabgonj Nachole, Chapai Nawabgonj Gomostapur, Chapai Nawabgonj Bholahat Chapai Nawabgonj Bagmara, Rajshahi Bagmara, Rajshahi Bagmara, Rajshahi Bagmara, Rajshahi Bagmara, Rajshahi Sadar, Chapai, Nawabgonj

S.M Abul Kalam Azad.

Executive Engineer.

Office of the Executive Engineer, Education Engineering Department, Rajshahi Zone, Rajshahi Contact details of Official Inviting Tender Phone & Fax No. 0721-775133, EMail-xeneedraj@gmail.com The procuring entity reserves the right to accept or reject any or all tenders without assigning any reason whatsoever.

GC-10/14 (18x3)

(S.M. Abu Kalam Azad) Executive Engineer, Education Engineering Department, Rajshahi Zone, Rajshahi.

DHAKA TRIBUNE

Juris

7

Thursday, February 13, 2014

Gunslingers, beware

JURIS QUOTE

The century old Arms Act, 1878 needs immediate amendment n Raju Mollah The Arms Act, 1878, enacted during the British rule, was intended to disarm the entire nation. Surprisingly, even after 42 years of independence, the law considers swords, daggers, spear, bows and arrows as arms. The rigors of the Arms Act, 1878 and the concerned rules continue to make it difficult for law-abiding citizens to possess firearms for self-defence, whereas terrorists, dacoits, robbers, criminal gangs and other anti-social or anti-national elements are not only using civilian weapons but also possess bombs, hand grenades, sten guns and commit heinous crimes against the society and the state.

Arms and ammunition

According to the law, arms include firearms, bayonets, swords, daggers, spears and machinery for manufacturing arms, and ammunition refers to any explosive material that is gunflint, gun-words, percussion-caps, all parts of ammunition and all machinery for manufacturing ammunition, but does not include lead and sulphur.

LAW CARTOON

Unlicensed manufacture, conversion and sale of firearms prohibited

The law prohibits manufacture, convertion, sale or possesion of any arms and ammunition without licence. If any person sells or buys any arms or ammunition, he must inform the district magistrate or the officer in charge of the nearest police station about the sale and the buyer’s name and address. However, a sale of arms and ammunition by agent of a licence-holder is not illegal.

Unlicensed importation and exportation prohibited

No person shall bring or take any arms, ammunition or military stores into or out of Bangladesh except under a licence and in the manner and to the extent permitted by such licence. However, the government may regulate the transportation of arms or ammunition over the whole of Bangladesh through notification in official gazette.

Unlicensed possession of firearms prohibited

No person shall possess any firearms or ammunition, except under a licence and in the manner and to the extent permitted by such licence.

BIG STOCK

OFFENCES RELATED TO ARMS AND PUNISHMENTS Section 19

Offence   

Going armed without licence is prohibited

According to this act, no person shall go armed without licence. If any person goes armed without licence, he may be disarmed by any magistrate or police officer. When a person is found going about with a pistol, gun, or sword, it will be presumed that he carried it with the intention of using it.

   

Arrest of persons carrying guns

According to the law, if any person is found carrying any arms, ammunition, whether covered by a licence or not, under suspicious circumstances that the arms can be used for any unlawful purpose, any person may without warrant arrest him and take such arms from him.

    

Aged 25 years or more Police verification report A filled in gun licence form Payment of required fees Submission of necessary documents eg annual income, income tax return, notarised declaration with regard to present arms status of the applicant

Manufacture, convertion, sale or possesion of any arms and ammunition without licence Failing to give notice as required by the law Importing or exporting any arms, ammunition or military stores without licence Transporting any arms, ammunition or military stores in contravention of the law Going armed without licence Keeping in possession or under control any arms, ammunition without licence Failing to deposit arms, ammunition or military stores, as required by the law

Imprisonment for life or any other rigorous imprisonment not less than seven years

19A

If any person commits any offence in respect of a pistol, revolver, rifle or other firearms

Imprisonment for a term not less than ten years

20

If any person conceals or attempts to conceal any arms or ammunition

Imprisonment for a term not less than ten years

20A

If any person goes armed with pistol, revolver, rifle in contravention of the provisions of this act and commits murder

Death penalty or with transportation for life which may extend to fourteen years

21

If any person violates the condition of license or omits to do any acts

Imprisonment for a term which may extend to six months or with fine which may extend to Tk500 or with both

How to get a gun licence in Bangladesh

A person can apply to the concerned deputy commissioner for getting an arms licence or renewal of any gun licence he/ she already has. For getting a gun licence a person has to fulfill the following requirements:

Punishment

23

If any person violates any rule made under this act and no penalty Imprisonment for a term which may extend to one month is provided in this act or with fine which may extend to Tk200 or with both

CARTOON BY RIO SHUVO

NOTICE BOARD Send us queries for

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Dhaka Tribune

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

Restriction on movement with arms and cancellation of licence

be cancelled by the officer by whom the licence was granted, or a magistrate, or a judge for security of public peace. l

The government may impose restriction on movement with arms of any person due to public interest. Any licence may

Raju Mollah is an advocate at Dhaka judges court and author of several law books.

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Landmark court case on GM crops opens in Australia n Reuters Two neighbouring farmers, a field of canola and a gust of wind are at the centre of a landmark court case in Australia that could have consequences for the controversial growing of genetically modified crops in the country.

Steve Marsh is suing former childhood friend Michael Baxter after harvested seed heads from Baxter’s genetically modified canola crop blew onto Marsh’s farm in the state of Western Australia, court documents said, contaminating land used for his organic oat and wheat crops.

Marsh, stripped of his organic certification and export licence for his oats, is claiming unspecified damages for loss of income in the civil negligence case, which opens on Monday in the West Australian Supreme Court.

It is the first time in Australia one farmer has sued another for negligence over contamination of organic crops by genetically modified organisms (GMO) and will set a precedent for future cases, lawyers said.

“People around the world are going to be looking at this,” said Michael Blakeney, a law professor at the University of Western Australia who does advisory work for the United Nations Food and Agricultural Organization. “It is testing whether a GM crops farmer has a duty of care to a neighbour that is growing organic crops not to contaminate them.”

Baxter bought the seeds from Monsanto, the world’s largest seed company.

After getting legal advice, Marsh opted not to sue the US firm because of a non-liability contract Monsanto signs with all farmers who buy its seeds, said Scott Kinnear, director of the Safe Food Foundation, an organic farming advocacy group collecting donations to help fund Marsh’s suit.

The case is likely to lead to regulations outlining boundaries between farms producing genetically modified crops and organic farms, lawyers and agribusiness experts said, potentially reducing the land available for cultivation.

It could also change Australia’s unique zero tolerance status for contamination of organic crops, they said.

Unlike the US, the European Union and Japan, which allow trace amounts of GMO in organic foods in acknowledgement

based group is collecting money for Marsh’s other expenses, such as payments to experts and travel costs.

Marsh’s lawsuit alleges that harvested seed heads from Monsanto’s laboratory-created Roundup Ready canola seed blew from Baxter’s property across a dirt lane and over a boundary fence in November 2010, re-germinating on Marsh’s land in January 2011.

Canola is grown for its seed, which is crushed for the oil used in margarine, cooking oils, salad oils and edible oil blends.

After an inspection by the National Association for Sustainable Agriculture Australia (NASAA), a certifying agency for the government-backed regulator Standards Australia, Marsh lost organic status for produce from 70% of his farm.

“This is nothing more than anti-GM publicity,” said PGA Western Grain growers chairman John Snooke, who is also acting as a spokesman for Baxter. “Michael and PGA of Western Australia both believe in the farmers right to choose what he grows.”

GMO scenario in the US

BIG STOCK

of contamination by wind or pollen transfer, Australia maintains a zero threshold.

“If the organic people don’t win the case, there will be a lot of pressure brought to bear for a change to the organic standard and that might remove some of the difficulties of co-existence,” said Joe Lederman, managing principle at Food Legal, a Melbourne law firm specialising in food and agribusiness, which has represented both businesses and farmers in the past.

Ill wind

Kojonup, a wheat and sheep district some 250 km south of the West Australia state capital Perth, is a quiet, tight-knit community of farmers. But the case brought by Marsh, 49,

is splitting loyalties in the pastoral area where many farmers have turned to cutting-edge GMO production.

GMO critics say the spread of genetically modified crops hurts the environment, most notably by fostering herbicide-resistant weeds, and that food made with the crops can harm humans.

However, the proponents of GM crops say that the crops are proven safe and proper use of the chemicals associated with the crops by farmers can mitigate environmental problems.

Marsh’s decision to sue Baxter, 48, has garnered support from celebrity chefs and gardeners. Law firm Slater and Gordon is working pro bono, on the basis the case has broad public interest.

“We believe it’s his right to be able to farm GM-free and have a degree of protection,” said Kinnear, whose Melbourne-

In the United States, where more biotech crops are grown than anywhere else in the world, rising cases of contamination by GMO crops led the Organic Seed Growers and Trade Association to last week issue new guidelines and protective practices for organic growers.

Those cases have centered around the issue of intellectual property and involved Monsanto directly, rather than the farmer v farmer negligence issue in the Australian case.

Monsanto has routinely sued US farmers who it says intentionally plant its biotech seeds without paying for the technology.

As those cases have increased in number, the US organic association sought pre-emptive protection for farmers whose fields were inadvertently contaminated with crops containing the company’s genetic modifications.

But legal action by the association to try to force Monsanto to issue a “blanket covenant” to promise not to sue for inadvertent contamination was rejected last month by the US Supreme Court, allowing the company to continue to bring lawsuits on a case-by-case basis. l

8

DHAKA TRIBUNE

International

Thursday, February 13, 2014

Ethnic cleansing of CAR’s Muslims alleged n Agencies Anti-Balaka fighters in the Central African Republic are trying to “ethnically cleanse Muslims,” Amnesty International, the UK-based rights organisation, says in a report that cites first-hand testimonies from victims of the violence in the country’s northwest.

The result of the violent attacks is “a Muslim exodus of historic proportions,” Joanne Mariner, senior crisis response adviser for Amnesty International, says in the report.

The report, published on Tuesday, also criticises the international community’s response to the crisis, noting that the peacekeeping troops have been reluctant to challenge mostly Christian anti-Balaka fighters, and have been slow to protect

the Muslim minority.

The report details witness testimonies included that of a boy named Abdul Rahman who told the group that anti-Balaka fighters demanded the Muslim passengers to get out of a lorry he was travelling in on January 14, and then killed six members of his family, including three women and a toddler.

The UN on Tuesday accused Christian fighters who armed themselves to retaliate against Muslim rebels of contributing to a “climate of complete impunity.”

Muslims have accused the French and African peacekeepers of failing to disarm the fighters at the same time they have been actively disarming the mostly Muslim Seleka rebels, who deposed President Francois Bozize in March last year. l

C Africa leader wants to ‘go to war’ against anti-balaka militias n AFP, Mbaiki

A man holds a knife to his throat claiming that he is looking for Muslims to cut off their heads in the 5th district of Bangui

UN launches huge food airlift to Central Africa

UN chief warns CAR could break up

n AFP, Bangui

n Agencies

The UN food agency on Wednesday launched one of its largest-ever emergency food airlifts, flying in supplies to the Central African Republic.

The World Food Programme’s first cargo aircraft, loaded with 80 tonnes of rice, landed in the capital Bangui in the early afternoon, WFP spokesman Alexis Masciarelli told AFP. He said there will be 24 daily supply drops to the city, but admitted it was still not enough to meet the desperate need in the conflict-torn country.

“This is a rather exceptional operation, our biggest emergency air operation in a long time, bigger than for Syria and the Philippines,” Masciarelli said.

But he added that the operation “would not definitively solve the problem” in CAR, where 1.3 million people – more than a quarter of the country’s population – is in need of food assistance.

The WFP says a total of 1,800 tonnes of rice will be flown in from Douala in

Belgium set to give children right-to-die

n

AFP, Brussels

Belgium faced fresh protests Wednesday as its parliament prepared to extend a ground-breaking euthanasia law to terminally-ill children, only the second nation to allow minors the right to die.

After months of public debate over the ethical issues at stake, surveys show Belgians broadly in support of the move to widen the 2002 euthanasia law to children faced with “unbearable physical suffering,” in a vote Thursday.

But days after the Catholic church staged “a day of fasting and prayer” in protest, some 160 pediatricians Wednesday petitioned lawmakers to postpone the vote on the grounds it was both ill-prepared and unnecessary.

“Pain can be eased nowadays, there’s been huge progress in palliative care,” said Nadine Francotte, a cancer specialist in the city of Liege who signed the petition. l

Cameroon, enough for just 150,000 people.

Aid is most desperately needed in camps where more than 800,000 have sought refuge from the sectarian violence that has erupted in the country.

The humanitarian situation in the CAR has deteriorated since a coup in March 2013 led by the mostly Muslim Seleka rebels plunged the country into chaos and led to an outbreak of sectarian attacks between the mostly Muslim ex-rebels and vigilantes from predominantly Christian rural areas.

Amnesty International on Wednesday reported that “ethnic cleansing” was being carried out against Muslim civilians in the majority Christian nation, and that international peacekeepers have been unable to stop it.

Amnesty said it had documented at least 200 killings of Muslim civilians by the mostly Christian anti-balaka (“anti-machete”) militia.

“Anti-balaka militias are carrying out violent attacks in an effort to ethnically cleanse Muslims in the Central African Republic,” said Joane Mariner,

The world-famous Rijksmuseum is teaming up with two other Amsterdam institutions to exhibit around 30 “giant” Golden Age paintings, similar to Rembrandt’s “The Night Watch,” together for the first time.

“These are the biggest group portraits of the 17th century, literally giant paintings,” Amsterdam Museum director Paul Spies told AFP of the permanent exhibition to be completed by the end of the year.

The Rijksmuseum, home to the world’s finest collection of Dutch Old Masters, and the Amsterdam Museum will supply the paintings while the Hermitage Amsterdam will provide a vast room for the works to go on display.

“Some of these paintings are around eight metres (over 25 feet) wide,” said Hermitage director Cathelijne Broers, adding: “An enormous room was necessary and we had one available in the Hermitage building.”

The Hermitage Amsterdam was built in the 17th century when the Dutch dominated world trade and were flush with cash to spend

UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has said there is “a distinct risk” the Central African Republic could end up divided as a result of sectarian violence and called for an international force to combat escalating atrocities.

Ban raised the possibility of the country being divided into Christian and Muslim regions for the first time late on Tuesday and said the global response was not matching the gravity of the situation, the Associated Press news agency reported.

“Both Muslims and Christians have been murdered and forced to flee their homes,” Ban said. “The sectarian brutality is changing the country’s demography. The de facto partition of the CAR is a distinct risk.”

He urged the international community to support an African Union force and said that other nations should contribute troops to help stabilise the country.

“We cannot just continue to say ‘never again’. This, we have said so many times,” Ban said. “We must act

concertedly and now to avoid continued atrocities on a massive scale.”

More than 1,000 people have been killed and nearly one million forced from their homes in CAR since December in violence pitting Christians and Muslims against each other.

Warning the situation was worsening, Ban announced he was sending Edmond Mulet, assistant secretary general for peacekeeping, to the country to consult with the African Union about transforming its force there into a UN peacekeeping contingent.

Activists in CAR have long called for a UN force, believing that it will be better-equipped and include a police contingent that could help better secure the capital Bangui.

Ban also called on the European Union to accelerate the deployment of a promised military operation, and said he spoke to French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius and asked him to consider sending more troops.

France has sent 1,600 soldiers to its former colony to bolster the nearly 6,000 peacekeepers from African nations. l

Barack and Francois in show of ‘bonhomie’ at White House n Reuters, Washington There were no “freedom fries” or any other remembrances from strained Franco-American ties in the past. Instead, it was dry-aged beef and plenty of “bonhomie” as President Barack Obama gave a lavish welcome to French President Francois Hollande.

Obama went out of his way to welcome Hollande at the White House on Tuesday, saying a few words in passable French, teasing the Frenchman for his formality and toying with the notion that US ties with France are as close as they are with old ally Britain.

“It is always a pleasure to host Francois,” Obama said at a joint news conference after wishing reporters good afternoon in French.

At a G8 summit at Camp David two years ago, Obama noted with a smile, “I was trying to make the summit casual, and Francois in true French style

‘Giants’ of Dutch Golden Age to be united for first time n AFP, Amsterdam

senior crisis response adviser at Amnesty International.

“The result is a Muslim exodus of historic proportions.”

French Minister of Defence JeanYves Le Drian travelled to Bangui Wednesday to meet with French forces before holding talks with Central African transitional president Catherine Samba Panza.

The previous day in Brazzaville, Le Drian had railed against the militias plaguing the region and said that international forces were prepared to end their abuses “by force if necessary.”

“We need all the militias that carry out abuses, that commit murder, to stop,” he said.

It marks a shift in tone from France that reflects increasing concern about marauding Christian militias operating with impunity in Bangui and beyond.

On Monday, General Francisco Soriano, commander of Operation Sangaris, described the anti-balaka as “the principal enemies of peace” in the country, who should be treated as “bandits.” l

AFP

on paintings, many of them as vast as they are self-aggrandising. The paintings are also hugely symbolic, paid for by the powerful guilds, militias or city officials they portray and displayed in official buildings where they would impress or intimidate visitors. The museums describe the paintings to be exhibited as “classmates” of “The Night Watch,” which will remain the Rijksmuseum’s centrepiece.

A more modestly sized – roughly one-metre square – fragment from Rembrandt’s “The Anatomy Lesson of Dr. Deijman,” repeatedly cut down during its history, will go on display at the Hermitage.

The selection of paintings to be exhibited has not yet been finalised, but will include works by Nicolaes Eliasz and Adriaen Backer, organisers said. “Moving these works is a real logistical challenge, the paintings will have to enter the building through holes that we will make in the roof,” said Spies.

“They certainly won’t fit in through the doors!” The museums hope the permanent exhibition will open towards the end of November. l

US President Barack Obama (L) and French President Francois Hollande share a toast during a State Dinner in honor of Hollande at the White House REUTERS

the US-French alliance dating back more than two centuries “has never been stronger.”

Still, it was a noted difference from a decade ago when the Iraq war strained relations between the two countries, a time when “freedom fries” replaced French fries as a popular side dish in some American eateries.

“Let’s just say that we’ve come a long way from ‘freedom fries,’” said a senior Obama administration official.

Indeed, the menu for the state dinner featuring 350 guests in a heated tent on the White House South Lawn later on Tuesday included dry-aged rib eye beef and American wines.

During his toast before the meal, Hollande joked about the two countries’ affection for each other.

“We love Americans, although we don’t always say so. And you love the French, but you’re sometimes too shy to say so,” he quipped. l

The new president of the restive Central African Republic, Catherine Samba Panza, said Wednesday she wants to “go to war” against self-defence militias known as anti-balaka, for their lynchings and violence especially targeting Muslim civilians.

“We are going to go to war against the anti-balaka,” she said in the town of Mbaiki, south of the capital Bangui, during a visit by French Defence Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian, whose country has deployed troops to Central Africa to quell sectarian bloodshed.

“They think that because I’m a woman I’m weak. But now the anti-balaka who want to kill will themselves be hunted,” she said. l

Rwanda genocide survivors call ICTR acquittals ‘outrageous’ n AFP, Kigali A Rwandan genocide survivors’ association on Wednesday condemned as “outrageous” a decision by an international tribunal to acquit on appeal two ex-army officers of charges related to the 1994 killings.

The UN-backed International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR) on Tuesday acquitted a Rwandan ex-paramilitary police chief and another former top officer of charges related to the genocide.

“It is a denial of justice,” Jean-Pierre Dusingizemungu, the head of Ibuka, the genocide survivors’ association, told AFP. “These are men who planned the massacre of our people. Now the ICTR has outrageously allowed them to walk scot-free,” Egide Nkuranga, the deputy head of Ibuka told the New Times.

General Augustin Ndindiliyimana was acquitted on the grounds that he did not have effective authority over the subordinates for whose abuses he had been sentenced. l

South African election rally ends in violence n AFP. Johannesburg South Africa’s heated election campaign escalated into violence Wednesday, as Johannesburg police fired rubber bullets and stun grenades to stop armed supporters of the ruling ANC from attacking an opposition rally. African National Congress activists hurled Molotov cocktails and bricks at police and members of the Democratic Alliance (DA) who held a march for jobs near the ANC’s headquarters in the city centre.

Police responded with force and formed a human barrier between supporters of the rival parties and arrested four people for public violence.

“The march was fairly peaceful until our members were pelted with stones and petrol bombs” from the ANC side, said police spokesperson Katlego Mogale. l

showed up in a necktie. We tried to get him to take it off.”

Hollande was equally effusive, referring to “Mr. President, dear Barack.”

The chumminess was not unexpected coming from two leaders who tend to see issues from the same leftward view. Obama went so far as to say that

Russia says will veto Syria aid resolution n Reuters, Moscow

UN resumes evacuations from Syria’s Homs

Egypt’s Sisi heads to Moscow for talks n Agencies

n Agencies

Russia said on Wednesday it would veto a UN resolution on humanitarian aid access in Syria in its current form, denouncing the draft as an effort to lay a foundation for military strikes against President Bashar al-Assad’s government. Moscow had already dismissed the Western-Arab draft debated in the Security Council on Tuesday as a non-starter, but a senior diplomat’s unequivocal condemnation indicated Russia would seek major changes before dropping its opposition.

“Its whole purpose and aim is to create grounds for future military action against the Syrian government if some demands it includes are not met,” Deputy Foreign Minister Gennady Gatilov said of the draft, according to state-run news agency RIA. “It is unacceptable to us in the form in which it is now being prepared, and we, of course, will not let it through.”

Since the civil war began in Syria in 2011, Russia and China have vetoed three Western-backed Security Council resolutions condemning Assad’s government and threatening it with sanctions. l

Operations to evacuate civilians from besieged parts of the city of Homs and deliver aid have resumed after being suspended for a day, the provincial governor said.

“At 11:00 am (09:00 GMT), food aid was able to enter the Old City of Homs,” Talal Barazi told AFP news agency.

“The vehicles that are taking in the aid will bring out a number of civilians, including 20 Christians from the Bustan al-Diwan neighbourhood,” he added.

The Syrian Red Crescent said earlier on Wednesday that a group of families from Bustan al-Diwan had requested evacuation but no safe route out had yet been found for them.

Humanitarian operations targeting besieged neighbourhoods of the Old City of Homs began on Friday, after the UN mediated an agreement and a ceasefire between the government and opposition.

Since then, more than 1,150 people have been evacuated, many suffering malnutrition after surviving on little

Egypt’s military chief Abdel Fattah el-Sisi has left for an official visit to Russia to discuss bilateral cooperation with the Kremlin, the Associated Press news agency reported. Sisi and Nabil Fahmy, Egypt’s foreign minister, will hold “2+2” talks with their Russian counterparts on a two-day trip that started on Wednesday, military spokesman Colonel Ahmed Ali said in a statement. The trip comes “in response to the historic visit of the Russian defence and foreign ministers to Cairo” last November, the army statement said.

Russia’s top diplomat Sergei Lavrov and defence minister Sergei Shoigu visited Cairo for two days in mid-November to discuss weapons sales as well as political and economic ties. That visit came amid tension between Egypt and its longtime ally the United States, which has suspended some of its military aid to Cairo after Sisi toppled former president, Mohammed Morsi, in July.

Since Morsi was overthrown, the military-installed government has been waging a deadly crackdown on his supporters that has left more than 1,400 people dead according to rights group Amnesty international and thousands of others jailed. l

more than olives and wild plants after food supplies dwindled during a siege of more than 18 months.

Aid is also being taken into the besieged districts, which are under rebel control, including food parcels and wheat provided by the World Food Programme.

On Tuesday, Barazi said operations had been suspended due to unspecified “logistical difficulties.”

An estimated 3,000 people had been trapped in parts of the central city of Homs, much of which has been devastated by ongoing violence between rebels and the army.

Humanitarian groups have welcomed the operations, but the UN expressed concern on Tuesday about the fate of hundreds of men and boys taken for questioning by authorities after being evacuated.

A spokeswoman for the UN’s refugee agency UNHCR said 336 male evacuees aged between 15 and 55 had been taken in for questioning.

A total of 42 were released, but the remainder were still in the hands of the authorities, she said. l

DHAKA TRIBUNE

International

Afghanistan halts suspected conservation of Buddhas n Reuters, Kabul Afghanistan has halted conservation work at a site once occupied by ancient Buddhastatues destroyed by the Taliban because the team involved is suspected of secretly trying to rebuild one of the statue’s feet, the United Nations said.

Any attempt to rebuild the statues without official permission could lead to the site losing its World Heritage status.

The Taliban’s supreme leader, Mullah Mohammad Omar, decreed in early 2001 that two ancient giant Buddhastatues in the valley in Bamiyan province were un-Islamic and ordered they be destroyed. They were blown up with dynamite the next month.

The German wing of the International Council on Monuments and Sites (ICOMOS) had been working alongside the United Nations in the valley, aiming to reinforce the cliff into which the Buddha statues were carved.

But the work was halted after a team from the UN cultural agency UNESCO visited the site in December and found pillars built into the rock looked suspiciously like feet, according to a UNESCO official.

“These pillars are the controversial issue ... Questions were raised concerning their design, that they resembled somehow the feet or the legs,” said UNESCO’s Brendan Cassar.

Cassar said the pillars were never meant to look like part of the original statue and his office was unaware of their design when the work started.

“That should have been cleared not just by us, but the government and potentially the World Heritage Committee.”

The Ministry of Culture and Information had ordered that the work be stopped. The ICOMOS office in Afghanistan referred queries to its office in Germany which did not respond to email requests for comment. Telephone calls also went unanswered.

The destruction of the Bamiyan Buddhas in 2001 shocked the world and drew attention to the hardline rule of theTaliban.

Afghan Hazara youth play football in front of destroyed Buddha statues at Bamiyan, some 200 kilometres (124 miles) northwest of Kabul Six months later, the Taliban’s al Qaeda allies launched the Sept. 11 attacks on the United States. US-backed Afghan forces ousted the Taliban weeks later.

Since then, there have been proposals for the statues to be rebuilt but the government has yet to settle on a plan.

A Taiwan official visiting China said Wednesday the two sides were “actively discussing” setting up liaison offices, a day after they held their first government-to-government talks since splitting 65 years ago.

Taiwan’s top official overseeing China policy, Wang Yu-chi, urged more efforts to build stable relations.

Observers say liaison bureaux on either side of the Taiwan Strait could serve some of the functions of diplomatic missions.

“The purpose of setting up mutual offices is purely to serve the people on both sides of the strait,” Wang told university students in the eastern city of Nanjing.

“Although setting up mutual offices is a bit sensitive politically, they should be neutral in nature,” he added.

Wang also praised Taiwan’s democratic form of government and highlighted the role of a free media.

Chinese authorities refused to accredit some media outlets – including Taipei-based Apple Daily and the US government-funded Radio Free Asia – to cover his visit.

Wang and his Chinese counterpart Zhang Zhijun held talks for around two hours on Tuesday in an occasion which yielded little in terms of concrete agreements but was laden with symbolism.

The meeting was the result of years of gradual efforts to improve political

The government’s director of historical monuments said he was in favour of rebuilding the statues if the World Heritage Committee (WHC) approved of a design.

“The WHC has not approved but the government of Afghanistan has requested to rebuild the statue,” the di-

On Wednesday, Wang also visited the tomb of revolutionary leader Sun Yat-sen in Nanjing and paid tribute to the man revered by both sides.

“In future, the most important issue is that both sides of the strait should face reality, pragmatically confront and solve problems so as to build longterm, stable cross-strait relations,” he said after leaving Sun’s mausoleum.

Sun is widely recognised as the father of the Chinese revolution that established a republic early last century after thousands of years of dynastic rule. He was also the leader of the Kuomintang, or Nationalist, party which now governs Taiwan.

After they lost China’s civil war – which cost millions of lives – to Mao Zedong’s communists in 1949, two million supporters of then Kuomintang leader Chiang Kai-shek fled to Taiwan.

The island and the mainland have been governed separately ever since, both claiming to be the true government of China and only re-establishing contact in the 1990s through quasi-official organisations.

The state-backed China Daily newspaper on Wednesday appeared to temper expectations arising from the meeting.

“The meeting will go down in history less because of what Wang and Zhang discussed, but because of the very fact that they met,” the newspaper said in an editorial. l

rector, Abdul Ahad Abassi, told Reuters at his office in Kabul.

“If the WHC accepts this request then we will proceed.”

The controversial work had taken place over two weeks in an eastern niche, where the smaller, 38 metre (124 foot), statue once stood overlooking

AFP

the valley. Its larger companion, to the west, towered 55 metres (180 feet) over the ancient Silk Route.

Abassi said he hoped the statues could be rebuilt with old fragments.

“We’ll put the original pieces in their place and maybe use some fillings for those that have vanished.” l

Thai court rejects bid to nullify election n Agencies Thailand’s opposition has lost a legal bid to nullify a controversial election, in a boost to Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra’s crisis-hit administration.

The kingdom’s Constitutional Court on Wednesday declined to consider the Democrat Party’s petition to annul the February 2 vote and disband Shinawatra’s party, citing insufficient grounds.

“This case is over,” the head of the opposition’s legal team, Wiratana Kalayasiri, told the Agence France-Presse news agency. “But if the government does anything wrong again, we will make another complaint.”

Shinawatra had called the election in an attempt to assuage opposition demonstrators, who have staged more than three months of mass street protests seeking her resignation.

The Democrats boycotted the vote, saying it would not end a political crisis stretching back to a military coup in 2006 that ousted Shinawatra’s elder brother, Thaksin Shinawatra, as premier.

Voting was also cancelled in some areas because of disruptions caused by anti-government protestors, who want Yingluck to stand down to make way for an unelected “People’s Council” that would enact anti-corruption reforms. l

Kerry heads to Asia amid tensions n AFP, Washington US Secretary of State John Kerry left Wednesday on a whirlwind Asia trip set to be dominated by regional tensions over China’s territorial ambitions and fears for a US citizen jailed in North Korea.

Kerry was first heading to Seoul for talks on North Korea, after Pyongyang for the second time scrapped an invitation to a special US envoy to visit for

discussions on the fate of jailed US tour operator Kenneth Bae. The top US diplomat will arrive Thursday, a day after North and South Korean officials sat down for their highest level talks for years ahead of a planned reunion of family members divided by the Korean War. Frictions with the North will top the agenda as Seoul and Washington also prepare for joint military drills which have been denounced by Pyongyang. l

US academic ‘angry’ after book on Hindus pulped in India

Gunmen kill nine at Pakistani policeman’s home as peace talks n AFP, Delhi American scholar Wendy Doniger said proceed

n

Reuters, Islamabad

Gunmen tossed hand grenades into the house of a slain Pakistani police officer on Wednesday, police said, killing nine men in an attack coinciding with peace talks between the government and Pakistan Taliban militants.

There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the early morning assault on the house on the outskirts of the northwestern city of Peshawar.

On Tuesday, attackers hurled grenades into a Peshawar cinema, killing 13.

The peace talks between government representatives and Taliban are taking place in the capital Islamabad. l

US condemns Afghan move to release detainees n Agencies

Koreas seek better China, Taiwan discussing ties at rare highlevel talks liaison offices ties on the back of a strong economic n Reuters, Seoul n AFP, Nanjing relationship.

North and South Korea held their first high-level talks in seven years on their fortified border on Wednesday, exploring ways to improve ties while the South and the United States geared up for military exercises that have angered the North.

The meeting was set up with unusual speed and great secrecy at the North’s suggestion last week, the latest example of conflicting signals coming from North Korea that included an abrupt cancellation of an invitation for a US envoy to visit.

The two sides met at the Panmunjom truce village on the border with no pre-arranged agenda and discussed a range of issues including reunions of families separated during their 1950-53 Korean War, a South Korean official said.

The North has demanded that the South and the United States scrap the military exercises, due to start later this month, but both sides have plenty of incentives to seek a deal that could break their long stalemate. “For the North, if it comes back with an accomplishment in terms of improved South-North ties, it will mean a better atmosphere for Kim Jong Un to visit China and a justification to pursue high-level talks with the United States,” said Cheong Seong-chang, an expert at the Sejong Institute outside Seoul.

North Korean leader Kim is believed to be seeking a visit to China, the North’s greatest ally and main benefactor, to reinforce his legitimacy as leader. In his early 30s, Kim took power when his father died suddenly in 2011. l

9

Thursday, February 13, 2014

she was “angry and disappointed” that all copies of her latest book on Hinduism will be pulped in India after a legal row that has ignited fears about free speech.

Her publisher Penguin agreed on Monday to withdraw the 2009 book “The Hindus: An Alternative History” to settle a court battle with an activist group which took offence to the depiction of the religion.

“I was of course angry and disappointed to see this happen and I am deeply troubled by what it foretells for free speech in India in the present, and steadily worsening, political climate,” she wrote in an email statement sent to AFP on Tuesday.

Doniger, 74, wrote in her statement

that as a “publisher’s daughter, I particularly wince at the knowledge that the existing books (unless they are bought out quickly by people intrigued by all the brouhaha) will be pulped.”

The Shiksha Bachao Andolan Committee, a group of Hindu academics, filed civil and criminal suits in a New Delhi court claiming the book contained factual errors and parts of it misrepresented Hindu mythology.

Other writers and champions of free speech have widely criticised Penguin’s decision to cave into pressure and reach a settlement, rather than fight the case and seek to challenge any lower court ruling on appeal.

“The agreement by the publisher to withdraw it is like putting a contract out on free expression,” wrote commentator Pratap Bhanu Mehta in an

opinion piece in The Indian Express newspaper.

Penguin India has not responded to repeated requests for comment, but Doninger sprang to the defence of the publisher, which is part of the publishing giant Penguin Random House.

“Penguin India took this book on knowing that it would stir anger in the Hindutva ranks, and they defended it in the courts for four years, both as a civil and as a criminal suit,” she wrote.

The mutual agreement between the publisher and the activist group does not impose any legal binding on any other Indian publisher that wishes to publish Doniger’s book in India, lawyers say.

Many authors and artists practise self-censorship in religiously diverse India. l

US forces in Afghanistan on Tuesday condemned a decision by the Afghan government to move forward with plans to release additional detainees that the US believes pose a continuing threat to security.

The detainees in question are among 650 held at Bagram prison north of Kabul, whom Afghan authorities have marked for release on grounds of insufficient proof to prosecute them.

“United States Forces-Afghanistan has learned that 65 dangerous individuals from a group of 88 detainees under dispute have been ordered released from the Afghan National Detention Facility at Parwan,” the US military force said in a statement.

“The release of these detainees is a major step backward for the rule of law in Afghanistan,” it said.

“Some previously-released individuals have already returned to the fight, and this subsequent release will allow dangerous insurgents back into Afghan cities and villages.”

The detainees have become another issue fueling tension in US-Afghan ties, as foreign troops present in Afghanistan since 2001 steadily withdraw.

Washington objects to freeing a total of 88 prisoners it regards as a threat to security.

President Barack Obama’s administration has been pressing President Hamid Karzai to sign a bilateral security pact that would allow some US forces to remain in Afghanistan beyond a deadline at the end of this year. But there has been little sign of him complying.

James Clapper, the US director of national intelligence, has said that he did not expect the Afghan President to sign the much-delayed deal.

Last month, US officials objected to Afghanistan after the government directed the Afghan Review Board, a government body, to release 37 of the 88 detainees. l

Magnitude 6.8 earthquake strikes China’s Xinjiang n AFP, Beijing A strong and shallow 6.8-magnitude earthquake struck China’s far western region of Xinjiang on Wednesday, but in a sparsely populated area, the US Geological Survey said.

The tremor was only 12.5 kilometres (eight miles) deep but hit about 270 kilometres east-southeast of Hotan, the USGS said, in an extremely remote area.

China’s Earthquake Networks Centre gave the magnitude of the afternoon quake as 7.3. Another tremor of magnitude 5.7 struck five minutes later, five kilometres deep, followed by a series of aftershocks of up to 4.2 magnitude, it said.

“We were at the office at the time and felt strong shaking, the windows were rattling,” a reporter in Keriya county near the epicentre told state broadcaster CCTV, adding that few people lived in the mountainous area and there were no reports yet of casualties or damage.

CCTV reported that Hotan was not seriously affected, while several people in the city told AFP they felt less than a minute of shaking. l

Australian father held over 12-year-old daughter’s ‘marriage’

n AFP, Sydney

The father of a 12-year-old girl was arrested in Australia on Wednesday after allegedly marrying her off to a Muslim man 14 years her senior.

Child abuse detectives charged the 61-year-old with being an accessory before the fact of having sexual intercourse with a child and procuring a child under 14 years for unlawful sexual activity.

It follows a Pakistan-born Muslim cleric being charged Tuesday with conducting the illegal marriage and the arrest last week of the “husband” – a Lebanese national – on 25 child sex offences.

The father, reportedly an Australian who converted to Islam, was refused bail in a court at Raymond Terrace, north of Sydney, while the 26-year-old Lebanese also remains in custody.

Magistrate Caled Franklin said it appeared the 61-year-old did not believe he had done anything wrong.

“Even if the allegations against him are proved he believes there is nothing wrong with the behaviour alleged,” said the magistrate, according to the Newcastle Herald. l

10

DHAKA TRIBUNE

Editorial

Letters to

www.dhakatribune.com

the Editor

LETTER OF THE DAY

People for fresh polls

Putting students first

A

February 10

significant majority of voters would like new elections to be held either as soon as possible or within the year.

Dhaka Tribune’s latest nationwide opinion poll findings show that 57% want a fair, fully participatory election as soon as possible, with an additional almost 13% wanting fresh elections within the year. Fewer than 30% are in favour of the government remaining in office through its five year term.

The poll suggests that the January 5 election has not settled the doubts expressed by voters in the national opinion poll conducted in December by Dhaka Tribune prior to the election.

In that survey, 77% of the public said they considered an election without the BNP would be unacceptable, and this number is roughly in line with the proportion calling today for new elections as soon as possible or within the year.

A majority of people have expressed dissatisfaction with the January 5 election. Over two in five said they were highly dissatisfied and consider that holding a new, inclusive election is the most important issue facing the country at this moment.

We believe the government should listen to the people’s desire for a fresh inclusive election. The opinion poll makes clear this would be in line with what people want and suggests that a new election would be very competitive. Declared voting intentions in the new poll remain closely split between the AL and BNP at 35.6% and 34.8% support, respectively.

The government should keep to its pre-election commitment to hold new, inclusive elections as early as practicable, and the BNP should co-operate in enabling peaceful and good faith dialogue to help make this happen.

A few weeks back, ago, students were made to line up by the roads in many places across the country to receive the new ministers and MPs, and reports were published in dailies highlighting the students’ exhaustion and hunger as they stood there for hours. Actions such as this put the new government, MPs and ministers in a negative light. The incumbent government has to issue an order from the education ministry to guarantee that students are not used in this way to receive new ministers and MPs. Our education minister however, has said that this order will not apply for the president or the prime minister. This is ridiculous. The students’ concerns should be placed first, and students should not be used in this manner.

Tuli

Bring new life to our rivers

The government should hold new, inclusive elections as early as practicable, and the BNP should co-operate in enabling peaceful and good faith dialogue to make this happen

Rajshahi University gun wielders given immunity February 5 LaughingMan Chhatra League has all the rights to bear arms and defend their birthright to rule. They are above normal civilians/serfs. They are the elite class and are above any judgement. Joy Bangla.

Wali The gun-toting goons ought to be charge sheeted in an arms case! That’s the charge which carries heavy punishment. The police mustn’t leave any stone unturned to arrest them pronto. This is a good opportunity for the new home minister to display his mettle and prove that he has zero tolerance in matters of law and order. The government should never lose sight of the fact that its credibility and acceptability lie in good governance alone, after climbing to power through a farcical election; reasons notwithstanding.

Be Heard

End violence in politics

D

Thursday, February 13, 2014

haka Tribune’s new national opinion survey shows that the vast majority of people do not want to see any further disruption brought about by violent blockades and hartals.

An overwhelming 78% of voters make clear that they do not support hartals and blockades as a mode of protest for free and fair elections, with less than one in five expressing support.

This is an important finding, as the same survey also shows that most voters do want new participatory elections as soon as possible, and that they are evenly split between AL and BNP. Thus, the poll’s findings make clear that, regardless of political preference and even if they support the BNP, most people are completely against political violence, and that this cuts across political lines.

Indeed, nearly half of voters questioned say that stopping hartals/ blockades and violence is the most important issue facing the country at this moment.

The BNP must draw the lesson that peaceful means of pressing their case for elections will be more popular with the electorate, than a reversion to the intransigence and violence seen in the past year.

With a significant majority supporting the party’s call for fresh elections and with voter preference roughly equal with that of the AL, there is no cause for the BNP to advance its agenda through violent means. Indeed the logical inference would be that to do so would be counterproductive.

Write to us at: Dhaka Tribune FR Tower, 8/C Panthapath Sukrabad, Dhaka-1207 Email us at: letters@dhakatribune.com Send us your Op-Ed articles: opinion@dhakatribune.com Visit our website: www.dhakatribune.com Come join our Facebook community: https://www.facebook.com/DhakaTribune

February 5 So much has been written on this subject for many, many years, but the destruction of the water system goes on unabated! I suppose the media can never stop writing on the subject as it’s immensely vital for the population.

The perpetrators come in two groups.

Group one is the industrialists and land grabbers (the influential moneyed lot) and group two are the poor who are completely ignorant of the effects of their actions and the use of the water system in this country. The latter are sometimes despondent about the fact that the first group doesn’t even live near the highly polluted areas and doesn’t care, while this second group does live there, and has little to no way of avoiding the first group’s wrongful actions.

Solutions? Deal with the industrialists and land grabbers with a stern hand of the law and offer them support to minimise environmental impact. Maxmimise education and also support of alternative sources of water-related needs, ie clean drinking and bathing water and proper/ regular refuse collection/disposal facility, for the poor.

Akhtar Shah

Hasina: Not all of them were Chhatra League

February 5 Students who violated laws and committed crimes should be punished. Why on earth did the agitating demonstrators lock all the academic and administrative buildings and keep the proctor and some other teachers confined inside their offices? Who gave them the right to confine people? Gun wielding “students” who attack other students must be punished.

Zman7

Tamim resigns from vice-captaincy February 9

Good. He is not performing well, and he doesn’t seem to correct his mistakes that he made over and over again. An extra burden of vice captaincy would cause even more pressure.

Ahammed Imran Hassan

The freedom fighters of 2013 February 5 This is the most befitting title of an op-ed on a befitting day, written by the most befitting person, none other than a valiant freedom fighter! The narratives are strikingly similar to today as that of 1971. Back then we had the Pakistani invaders killing the freedom fighters with zeal. And now we find the new generation of freedom fighters having to suffer at the hands of religious zealots and their cohorts in politics. What an amazing similarity! Before, we were looked at as “agent provocateurs” and today, these young people are being branded as “atheists.” Could history repeat in any different manner? Unfortunately, no. But adequate caution must be exercised so that we never get to see another equivalent of December 14. :-( WaliulHaqueKhondker

Khaleda seeks UN intervention to stop ‘forced disappearance, killings’ February 5

The former opposition leader is truly barking up the wrong tree. The party in power is not taking any notice of any foreign powers or any other international bodies/ groups.

Either KZ is kidding herself or she and her cohorts know something that others don’t.

If the latter be the case, thus far her party’s strategy has drawn a complete “blank.”

Aksha

CALVIN AND HOBBES

Nearly half of voters questioned in the opinion survey say that stopping hartals/ blockades and violence is the most important issue facing the country at this moment

PEANUTS

CROSSWORD

SUDOKU ACROSS 1 Meal (6) 5 Domestic animal (3) 7 Wall painting (5) 8 Quickness of perception (6) 10 Thickness (3) 12 Part of a shoe (4) 13 Take nourishment (3) 14 Scheme (4) 16 Finest quality (4) 17 Digit (3) 18 Strong taste (4) 20 Spinning toy (3) 23 In truth (6) 24 Entity (5) 25 Gratuity (3) 26 Walk as an infant (6)

DOWN 1 Bellow (4) 2 Temporary stops (6) 3 Separate metal from ore (5) 4 Melody (4) 5 Headwear (3) 6 Everyone (3) 9 Water-filled trench around castle (4) 11 Japanese monetary unit (3) 14 Body of water (4) 15 Traditional story (6) 16 Sporting item (3) 17 Dance (5) 18 Tinge (4) 19 Timber-dressing tool (4) 21 Kimono sash (3) 22 Vigour (3)

YESTERDAY’S SOLUTIONS Crossword

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

Sudoku

DHAKA TRIBUNE

Op-Ed

11

Thursday, February 13, 2014

Governance is the challenge n Syed Ishtiaque Reza

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Is she tired of all the advice?

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H

AFP

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R

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Y

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BNP must be prepared

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n Mamun Rashid

NP chairperson Khaleda Zia and her colleagues must be fed up with the whole “knowledge donation” campaign going on for them. Newspaper articles, editorials, post-editorials, commentaries, talk shows, civil society-led seminars and meetings – all are telling them what went wrong, what the BNP should have done, what they could have avoided.

While most of these discussions feel that BNP was history in Bangladesh, a few still believe that after some cleaning up, planning, and an inclusive election, the BNP has a fair chance of coming back.

This is Bangladesh. We are seeing many meant-to-be civil society members, economists, journalists, and teachers who are quite vocal about a participatory election, and hopeful about the BNP’s comeback. Even individuals who reportedly tried to woo India for the BNP and expected to find a place in Khaleda Zia’s nation-building plan are fast to shift.

I met a few young BNP hardcores the other day. They still felt that some of their senior leaders betrayed the chairperson, and that their senior vice chairman was not in touch with the right people in the party and was failing to show leadership. They felt the chairperson herself was averse to risk.

A few of them felt that BNP had outsourced too much to Jamaat for the anti-government movement. More importantly, they still felt that it was India who gave all the incentive and support for the Awami League to hold a barely-participatory election and stay in power.

More importantly, the civil society remained almost indifferent.

Civil society in Bangladesh is losing energy. Old citizens are getting older, and younger ones don’t have the conviction. I can bet we won’t see another Justice Habibur Rahman, Rehman Sobhan, Sir Fazle Hasan Abed, Professor

The opportunity will come soon. The BNP must be prepared – not only to win the election, but to take this nation to greater heights They are confident that India has to bow down to a devastating movement launched by Bangladeshis, and come to terms with Bangladesh, especially its nationalist force. How will this movement be organised? They didn’t have a definitive answer. They said the chairperson thought something would come out, that the AL itself would create an opportunity through their misrule and indifference towards democracy and rule of law.

I still feel that the BNP didn’t lose out because of the campaign against war criminals and the violence committed by Jamaat. It was more due to the AL being able to use the media, utilise the police administration, and the election commission in its favour.

Yunus, Akbar Ali Khan, Abdullah Abu Sayeed, or Sultana Kamal emerging soon. The leading political parties know full well how to win or marginalise these emerging and vocal civil society entrants.

The rise of the middle class, the creation of increasing numbers of wealthy pockets within the parties, the large beneficiaries of misrule – none are helping to forge a strong anti-government agitation. There is too much money in too many hands. Saying yes to the “good life” is working as a barrier to launching strong agitation movements that would force the government to reverse their tracks, no matter who says what.

There is an increasingly hostile India,

an unsure US, and a gain-oriented China. Global powers can no longer dictate the terms for national governments.

The BNP has to be on its own, doing all the right jobs, holding party council meetings, reorganising the party, inducting new blood into party leadership, staying away from Jamaat and gradually reducing dependence on them, and creating synergy with a broader spectrum of citizenry. It desperately needs to strengthen its relationship with Indian citizens, media, and opposition parties. This must happen soon.

I strongly feel that with an engulfing India, the AL becoming almost a one-party ruler, and pervasive corruption, the opportunity will come soon. The BNP must be prepared this time – not only to win the election, but to take this nation to greater heights of success, with clear visibility about the destination.

We need democracy to flourish, the economy to prosper, for courts to champion the causes of the marginalised, for the youth to find encouragement, and most importantly, for Bangladesh to find a respectable position among other nations. The number of well-wishers of Bangladesh is increasing. Many want us to succeed. The world cannot afford a failing Bangladesh. l Mamun Rashid is a business professor and financial sector entrepreneur.

good government out of a bad election.” “The best government from the worst election.” That was the essence of the high profile political gossip in the city last week. It was even said in a television talk show.

Yes, the government has the opportunity to deliver. After prolonged and violent political unrest across the country, Sheikh Hasina finally held an election on January 5. More than one month has already passed, and there will surely be mixed reports about the good and bad results over the last month.

We can recall what the prime minister said at her first cabinet meeting.

She warned ministers that they would be fired if she got any corruption report.

Corruption is surely a menace in Bangladesh, and we need to remain extra cautious. But the prime minister could have actually also said that punishment was waiting if there was a failure to deliver on the benchmark set every three months.

Still, there is time to set goals and targets, and those targets should be realistic and achievable in the shortest time possible. As the opposition is weakest at the moment, and the representation in parliament is one-sided, there is only one challenge for Sheikh Hasina – governance. Her only real option is also the same – governance.

She can set a quarterly target, and after every quarter, the targets can be reviewed. If any member of the cabinet fails to achieve the set benchmark, he or she may not be given the right to remain in the cabinet.

Hasina proved that with determination, targets can be fulfilled. When she took over power through largely participatory election in 2009, the electricity shortage was at a critical level, as neither the BNP-Jamaat government, nor the army-backed caretaker government took any positive step towards formulating a comprehensive strategy to deal with the energy crisis, which had made the lives of 160 million people of Bangladesh miserable.

Hours of load sheddings were very common. Industries suffered, agricultural output touched a record low, and exports almost came to a halt because of electricity shortages. Without electricity, economic stability is always a far cry.

After forming the government in 2009, Sheikh Hasina attached the highest priority to this issue, and today, the country is nearly out of the load shedding problem.

She faced criticism from various quarters over the quick rental system.

But the reality was that the wheels of the economy kept moving because the power sector moved. At least industrialists and businessmen can feel the change.

Hasina’s government also went for the development of infrastructure.

A number of new roads and flyovers were constructed in Dhaka and Chittagong. New roads, culverts, and bridges were completed in various parts of the country. Yet, her party miserably failed in five city corporation elections. The reason was clear, people got development, but they were deprived of governance.

A number of issues antagonised people. These include the atrocities of Chhatra League, Juba League, some AL MPs, as well as the overall law and order situation.

Her party miserably failed in five city corporation elections.

The reason was clear Now, it is hoped that she would look at these issues. She has already given a signal that she wants to deliver better.

Some of the ministers who drew too much controversy were not given portfolios. New faces were given new responsibilities. This was welcomed.

But it is seen that some of the new faces within this short period started drawing public criticism for their activities.

This is the time for her to give a fresh look at some of the pressing issues. State-owned public entities are incurring losses in billions. Will she go for any concrete action to reduce the losses?

A number of options are before her.

She can go for advertising a transparent, merit-based recruitment drive for hiring chief executives and other members to run the state-owned enterprises (SOEs). She can also think of privatising the units which are not in a state to run further.

Bangladesh is faced with a serious governance challenge, primarily manifested through the continuing complexity of feuding politics. The political parties are discredited because of their actions, the bureaucracy is demoralised because of bad governance, and society is divided along political lines.

Because of confrontational politics, the youth are losing hope in the Bangladeshi dream. The country’s educational institutions are in shambles, and the youth are frustrated.

It is time to rethink the country’s direction. Sometimes a crisis is also an opportunity for change. A bold step towards a minimum level of governance can change Bangladesh from within.

Bangladesh does not have the luxury of time. Its future depends on such rethinking. A frank and open mind at the top of government can really give Bangladesh a new look. l Syed Ishtiaque Reza is Director of News, Ekattor Television.

An alarming trade n William Hague

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n January this year, China made history by destroying, for the first time, a huge stockpile of confiscated ivory in the city of Dongguan. Six tonnes were pulverised in crushing machines, demonstrating very publicly China’s commitment to fighting for our natural environment. I know a similar event is being planned in Hong Kong.

Now, more than ever, is the time for such bold moves. Between 2007 and 2012, rhino poaching increased 5,000%, only 3,500 tigers remain in the wild, and Central Africa has lost two-thirds of its elephants since 2004.

In the long run, our efforts could stop this dreadful trade and save endangered animals

The scale of destruction is terrifying.

Poaching is no longer just an occasional and opportunist crime, but a serious criminal industry linked to some extremely dangerous groups.

African countries know only too well the damage that poaching does to their societies and the effect it has on the species that are traded illegally, elephants and rhinos most devastat-

ingly of all. The numbers of animals killed by poachers are increasing at an alarming rate, and once gone, these species are gone forever.

But the illegal trade in these animals is not just an environmental tragedy. The profits of poaching can potentially fund and sustain the armed groups threatening Africa, and contribute to the networks threatening societies across the world.

Fighting over animals drives conflict in Africa, the profits from poaching sustain global organised crime networks, the loss of these species destroys tourism and keeps societies in poverty. And all of this creates a cycle of instability.

In an interconnected world, we all suffer when one country suffers. We rely on stability in Africa for access to food and natural resources, and to deny terrorist groups the space to operate. It is in our interests to help those at the front line of the poaching crisis, in Africa, Asia, and elsewhere, to prevail.

The good news is that the international community working together can defeat these ruthless groups. That is why this week in London I will be chairing a conference aimed at tackling the trade in illegal wildlife products with attendance from governments across the world. We need a global effort to end poaching.

We are working with the world’s most influential conservation organ-

Only 3,500 tigers remain in the wild isations, supported by the Prince of Wales and the Duke of Cambridge. And we have taken a number of actions over recent weeks, from committing £10 million to tackle the trade, to safeguarding the future of our Wildlife Crime Unit and working with Interpol and the World Customs Organisation to locate traffickers.

I look forward to seeing tangible

SYED ZAKIR HOSSAIN

outcomes from our conference this week, and a declaration afterwards that we can all get behind. This will be a high level political commitment aimed at strengthening law enforcement, reducing demand, and supporting the development of sustainable livelihoods for those affected by wildlife crime.

Asian countries have taken impor-

tant steps in this area, and together we must build on the work already underway. Today we may be destroying ivory stockpiles but in the long run, our efforts could stop this dreadful trade and save endangered animals for future generations. l William Hague is the British Foreign Secretary.

12

DHAKA TRIBUNE

Entertainment

Thursday, February 13, 2014

Celebrated Violence! on at Dhaka Art Center n Hasan Mansoor Chatak

On February 11, the premiere show of Akash Koto Dure was launched at the Jamuna Blockbuster cinema hall. The film features both veteran and debut actors. Rajjak is a prominent actor and had a significant role to play in the film while Mostafa and Fariya, both are new faces in the film industry to debut on the silver screen QUAMRUL ABEDIN

Manush opens DU annual theatre festival n Shadma Malik The 8th Annual Theatre Festival of the Department of Theatre and Performance Studies inaugurated on February 11 at the TSC auditorium of the University of Dhaka. The four day festival will continue until February 14. WB Yates’ Kathleen Nee Hulian and Henry Geon’s Farce of The Devil’s will be staged today at 6:30pm at the TSC auditorium, The inaugural ceremony opened with releasing of sky lanterns by the Vice-chancellor of University of Dhaka, Professor AAMS Arefin Siddique and students of DU.

A scene from Manush

To mark the month of the language movement, the festival began through staging of Munier Chowdhury’s play Manush. The production was a tribute to Munier Chowdhury, the martyred intellectual who was a teacher of Dhaka University.

The story centers on the Hindu-Muslim riot in 1947. A distressed Muslim family searches for their lost son in the backdrop of religious violence in the Indian subcontinent. In the meantime, their youngest son falls sick and loses consciousness. Parents and siblings together try to save the boy, but they see no hope. All of a sudden, a young Hindu doctor appears and calls himself a Manush (human being). He upholds his humanity and treats the infant, who recovers rapidly. The riot becomes more aggressive on its protest mission to wipe out all the Hindus.

The Muslim indebted to the Hindu doctor saves his life.

Every year, Department of Theatre and Performance Studies brings fresh ideas to expand their productions in the festival. There is always a wide range of costume designs, sound and lighting which brings spark to the DHAKA TRIBUNE festival. l

ON TV MOVIE 7:30pmStar Movies The Artist

9:00pmFox Movies Premium The Simpsons Movie

In the recent day, violence and mayhem has become an intricate part of the lifestyle, to the denizen of the country. It feels like everyone is trapped in an endless cycle of bloodshed. Experiencing violence on daily basis embeds paranoia inside regular citizens. The creative minds, such as that of an artist is also affected by this havoc. The acceptance of violence is visible everywhere. A visual artist is not excluded from this milieu. Some artists, who are constantly living in and observing these situations have worked together to bring a live art exhibition.

Curating based group art exhibition Celebrated Violence! is curated by Wakilur Rahman and Kehkasha Sabah. The contemporary exhibition is going on at the Dhaka Art Centre and will end on February 14.

A total of eleven artists, Shisir Bhattachajee, Nisar Hossain, Mustafa Zaman, Abdul Halim Chanchal, Farzana Ahmed Urmi, Javed Jalil, Jihan Karim, Moon Rahman, Ripon Saha and Sharad Das participated in the two parted exhibition which combines a wide-range of artists, from art teacher to art enthusiastic housewives.

In the second part of the exhibition, a series of vibrant artworks by Anisuzzaman Sohel was displayed under the title Neural Correlets at the Dhaka Art Summit.

At the opening, an interactive art event by Nisar Hossain featured a demonstration of barbecue fiesta of a human body and then the barbecued body piece was served to the spectators.

The event shows that the horror of terrorism

DRAMA 8:00pm Star Plus Veera

9:30pm Zee Cinema

Dalaal

COMEDY 11:00am Comedy Central Ridiculousness

8:30pm Star World Suburgatory

MISC 11:30am Vh1

Brit Awards 2014

8:45 Travel XP

Best From The Rest Artworks by Jihan Karim

Valentine’s Day event at Regency

Falgun is the first month of the season Spring, the king of all six seasons. The first of Falgun is known as Pohela Falgun and is marked with a colourful celebration of the advent of Spring. It symbolizes the festival of colour, coherence of heart and a refreshing start of life. Here is what the TV channels present on the ocassion of Falgun

On the occasion of the celebrated day of love, Valentine’s Day, a live music session with performances of local musicians will be showcased to sway the audience into a romantic mood. The event will take place on the rooftop restaurant of the popular Regency hotel at 6:30pm and end at 10:30pm. Various other arrangements will be available for a romantic night out with your loves ones.

Regency will greet every couple with a complementary heart-shaped cake on the table at the rooftop garden restaurant. The guests will enjoy Regency’s Valentine’s Day special buffet dinner, raffle draw and many more.

The event also includes complimentary framed photographs taken by a professional photographer as mementoes of the evening at the Dhaka Regency.

Celebrating first Falgun, the first day of the springtime, a telefilm named Tumi Bosonte Esho will be aired on ATN Bangla at 11:20 am. The drama features a popular star cast that includes Apurbo, Richi Solaiman, Bonna Mirza and Shahin Khan. The telefilm is written by Iraz Ahmed and directed by Chayanika Chowdhury. Shompa and Rashed were once in a relationship, but they had split a long time back. When they bump into each other on a public place, they realise that the passion between them has not diminished. Although they are at present happy with their own lives, they reminisce about the shared golden days.

A lifestyle programme Shondorjer Kotha will air at 9:05pm today. Anchored by Nova, the show has been produced by Rehana Raha. An emerging actor of the showbiz world, Sohana Saba will talk and give advice about makeover for the season spring. Sohana Saba is known for her performance in both big and small screens.

The versatile actor is also an accomplished dancer.

Depp’s low-key wedding with the Rolling Stones as his band n Entertainment Desk Telefilm Alo Phul O Bhalobashar Golpo will air today at 7:50pm on Maasranga TV. Written by Mesbah Uddin Sumon and directed by Habib Masud, the telefilm hosts a star cast that includes Tisha, Afran Nisho, Jhuna Chowdhury, Zebunnesa Zaman, Bakar Bokul, and Shongita Chowdhury among others. Sumon is a regular customer of a popular coffee shop. His visits become more frequent when a pretty waitress catches his attention. He falls in love with her and starts to go there everyday to see Ovi, the waitress. One day, he musters enough courage to ask for her number and is met with rejection. Heartbroken, he stops visiting the shop. All of a sudden, he gives into temptation and goes back there. On a table, he finds a paper with a number scrawled across. He could hardly contain his delight and calls her. Thus, a relationship is forged between the two.

Meanwhile, Ovi’s parents are inclined towards marrying her off to an expatriate.

Single-episode play Bashonti Bala starring Badhan and Nisho will be aired on Channel 9 at 10pm on the Pohela phalgun.

Shobha and Shihab are a happily married couple with a cute child. On the first day of Bangla month Phalgun, Shobha wears a yellow saree to surprise Shihab, as soon he comes back home from office. While waiting for her husband, she passes her time browsing Facebook and she gets fixated on seeing the account with a photo of her ex-husband Abir. She goes down the memory lane to when she first met Abir on the occassion of Pohela Phalgun. However, when Shobha sends a message to the person with Abir’s photograph as his profile pictire, he replies that he is not Abir. A confused Shobha becomes desperate to know more about this man.

and violence is becoming normal to people as they are exposed to these heinous and terrifying incidents on a regular basis.

Eminent artist and art faculty Shisir Bhattachajee participated in the exhibition with his sole artwork titled Daag Tamasha.

The acrylic painting on canvas is mostly done with the inspiration from the stream of life. Art faculty Nisar Hossain’s series of artworks titled A Diary from Hell is combined with interactive sound installations. Mustafa Zaman, editor of the art magazine Depart participated in the section titled Art Sentenced. The exhibition features photo installation with text, object and depicts a human’s life as a sentence – cleverly framed as a delectable product in a market environment.

Abdul Halim Chanchal’s series of artworks titled CMG Inhaler Campaign is inspired by Ahmed Sofa’s poem Seal Macher Kachlot. The bold artworks portrayed intrinsic meaning of the poem with irony.

Waqilur Rahman, curator of the exhibition said: “The curating based art exhibition is not a common event here. The project is not formulated by pre-planned assignments to the artists, rather we, the curators collect artworks from the artists matching the theme.’’

While Kekasha Sabah, another curator of the project verifies the intention behind selecting Dhaka Art Center as the venue as it attracts various types of audience. All the participating artists will be present at the exhibition venue on February 13 for a tete-a-tete with the spectators, to make the exhibition vibrant. l

Hollywood star Johnny Depp reportedly wants legendary band The Rolling Stones to perform at his wedding to Amber Heard. The 50-year-old actor, who is yet to set a date for the nuptials, has apparently asked his friend and the band’s guitarist Keith Richards to play at the couple’s wedding, reported Contactmusic.

Depp, who met Heard, 27, on the set of their film The Rum Diary in 2011 reportedly proposed to her on the Christmas Eve last year. Their engagement was only revealed last month but Johnny Depp and Amber Heard are already planning their wedding. The couple is set to tie the knot in a small ceremony on his private island in the Bahamas with a barbecue afterwards.

Johnny, 50, and bisexual Amber’s relationship has not always been smooth, and she initially ended their romance after deciding she wanted to be single. However, Johnny was undeterred and sent her a personally-penned poem and a bouquet of roses every day for a month to convince her to give him another chance.

A source said in late 2012: ‘Johnny didn’t give up - he missed her so much over the summer. They both love literature and the way he tried to win her back totally worked.’

Indeed they cemented their romance on the private island.

The insider added: “Once they flew for a romantic break [in the Bahamas], they were back on as a couple.

Johnny’s the type to fall hard and he’s vowed not to let a girl like Amber, who’s beautiful and intelligent, slip through his fingers.’ Johnny is also said to have named a beach on his private island, Little Hall’s Pond, in honour of his girlfriend, calling it Amber’s Cove. l

Did you know?

Arsenal have picked up 99 red cards under Arsene Wenger, with the highest in that tally against Man United (9)

Sport

0 3 1 DAYS TO GO

Total (for seven wickets, 20 overs) 168 Fall of wickets 1-7, 2-61, 3-77, 4-87, 5-116, 6-120, 7-164 Bowling Mortaza 4-0-43-2, Gazi 3-0-29-0, Rubel 4-0-27-0, Shakib 4-0-27-2, Sunny 3-0-17-2 (w1), Reza 2-0-18-0 30 22 58 26 16 0 7 0 7

Total (for seven wickets, 20 overs) 166 Fall of wickets 1-52, 2-64, 3-107, 4-132, 5-134, 6-158, 7-166 Bowling Malinga 4-0-34-1, Kulasekara 4-029-2, Senanayake 3-0-21-0, Mendis 4-0-29-1, T. Perera 4-0-42-2, Prasanna 1-0-6-0 Sri Lanka won by two runs

Bangladesh’s Shakib al Hasan screams in frustration after being bowled in their T20 match against Sri Lanka at ZACS yesterday

‘We were always going to win’ It was man-of-the-match Kusal Perera’s 64 off 44 balls at the start of the Sri Lankan innings that proved to be the difference as visitors’ total of 168/7 was two runs too many for Bangladesh at the Zahur Ahmed Chowdhury Stadium yesterday and afterwards, the opener told the press that he never doubted the final result.

“We were always going to win the match. We don’t want to think about the losing side,” said Perera.

Nonetheless, the match went right down to the wire as Anamul struck 14 runs off the first five balls of the final over to leave Bangladesh needing three to win off the last ball. Perera was just one of several Sri Lankans to surround bowler, Thisara Perera, before the final delivery and speaking of the huddle,

Liza and Shirin share lead WIM Shamima Akter Liza defeated Samiha Sharmin Shimmi in the 6th round of the Sultana Kamal 34th National Women Chess Championship yesterday. She joined Sharmin Sultana at the top of the table with five points at the chess federation hall-room. In joint second place are WFM Nazrana Khan Eva, WFM Zakia Sultana and WFM Tanima Parveen with four points each. In the day’s other matches, Eva beat Zakia, Rani Hamid defeated Dilara Jahan Nupur, Jahanara Haque Runu beat Hamida Rahman and Mahmuda Hoque Chowdhury Moly drew with Kiswara Shajrin Evana. l

DHAKA TRIBUNE

14 Chelsea title

15 Marsh leads

bid stumbles in draw

13

recovery for Australia

Thriller at ZACS

SCORECARD Sri Lanka K Perera c Anamul b Sunny 64 T Dilshan b Mortaza 0 D Chandimal c Reza b Shakib 18 K Sangakkara c Nasir b Shakib 11 S Prasanna c Nasir b Sunny 4 A Mathews run out 11 T Perera not out 19 N Kulasekara c Shamsur b Mortaza 31 S Senanayake not out 0 Extras: (lb7, w3) 10

Bangladesh Tamim Iqbal c Mathews b T. Perera Shamsur Rahman c and b Mendis Anamul Haque c and b T Perera Shakib Al Hasan b Kulasekara Nasir Hossain c T Perera b Malinga Mithun Ali c Mathews b Kulasekara Farhad Reza run out Sohag Gazi not out Extras: (b1, lb4, w1, nb1)

Thursday, February 13, 2014

the opening batsmen said, “Well it’s a team game, and we can’t forget the fast bowler in the last ball. He bowled two balls, two boundaries, we had to ask him something before the last ball.

That’s how the game goes.”

Despite a good showing with the bat, Kusal Perera felt that his side should have score 10-15 runs more but credited the Bangladesh side, especially the bowlers. “This is not an easy bowling attack. All the T20 sides they are really good especially Bangladesh, they like the T20 format,” he said.

The aggressive left hander started his innings cautiously but proceeded to hammer the bowling after getting his eye in. Explaining his approach, Perera said, “First thing I took some calculated risks in the first few overs and then tried to bat till the end, that is my normal strategy. So normally

I am always attacking so naturally I am going to attack the ball. If they are bowling my strength I will always attack.”

The 23-year old Perera has built up quite a reputation in his short international career and has been likened to the great Sanath Jayasuriya, but the youngster was quick to play down any such comparisons.

“All the guys comparing me with Sanath, but I am not going to copy him because you can’t copy him always. He is a legend. I am Kusal and not Sanath so I don’t compare myself to him,” he said.

The hard hitting opener, who is known for his powerful hitting, has played 19 ODIs and nine T20s for his country but has yet to win a Test cap, which he says is one of his ambitions. l

Mohun Bagan, East Bengal interested to play in Dhaka I-League clubs Mohun Bagan and East Bengal are keen to play in Dhaka after Bangladesh Premier League side Sheikh Jamal Dhanmondi Club’s impressive display in the ongoing 118th IFA Shield.

The officials of Kolkata giants showed interest and gave a proposal to Sheikh Jamal DC president Manjur Kader, who is currently with the team in Kolkata, to organise a tournament in Dhaka.

“A Mohun Bagan official said to me that they are interested to play a tour-

nament in Dhaka. But I don’t want to think about it right now. Now my only concentration is to focus on winning the final and win the IFA Shield,” said Manjur Kader over phone.

It was learnt that the Sheikh Jamal DC president also passed the information to Bangladesh Football Federation (BFF) president Kazi Salahuddin.

After losing to Kolkata’s Mohammedan Sporting Club in their tournament opener Sheikh Jamal DC beat Mohun Bagan, East Bengal and United Sikkim to storm into the final of the fourth oldest club cup competition in the world. l

MUMIT M

Plenty of adrenaline poured in the first T20 international at the Zahur Ahmed Chowdhury Stadium, Chittagong where Bangladesh came close to T20 victory over a major Test playing nation. Till date, Bangladesh’s 32-match statistics show the Tigers have won nine times, twice against West Indies and Zimbabwe.

Bangladesh is still to register a win against Australia, India, New Zealand, Pakistan, South Africa and Sri Lanka in the latest edition of the game and it was almost attained yesterday. Though Bangladesh lost the game, it had all the ingredients to call it a thriller - number of spectacular efforts, vibrant gallery and of course lot of tensions.

The crowd was at their feet when Bangladesh captain Mashrafe bin Mortaza dislodged the woodwork of Tillakaratne Dilshan in the very first over. The 17000+ crowd will relish the memory of three stunning catches grabbed by Farhad Reza, Nasir Hossain and Anamul Haque. Farhad’s one may be graded a little down, but it would be difficult to rank the efforts of Nasir and Anamul and put more marks on one. Nasir’s aerial diving effort to oust Sangakkara and Anamul’s one footed balancing act to send Kusal Perera back will be memorised for a long time.

Shakib, Nasir dismissals turning points: Mashrafe Bangladesh fell just two runs short of winning the first T20 against Sri Lanka yesterday at the Zahur Ahmed Chowdhury Stadium yesterday, and captain Mashrafe Mortaza thought the critical points of the chase were the dismissals of Shakib al Hasan and Nasir Hossain.

Bangladesh started well with openers Tamim Iqbal and Shamsur Rahman putting on 51 in six overs. After their dismissal, Shakib struck a quick fire 26 before being bowled in the 14th over before Nasir – who has a reputation for finishing chases – fell in the 17th with 37 runs still to get.

“Shakib and Nasir’s dismissals made a lot of difference because we could not accelerate, when it was probably the right time at that stage. Nasir’s dismissal was just bad timing for us. It showed how things can go the other way,” said Mashrafe, adding, “We are very disappointed to lose such a game to the number 1 ranked team in the world. Everyone is upset, but we will take good points out of this game.”

The 30-year old signaled out Bangladesh’s fielding, which was impressive and three good catches were held.

“We were always a good fielding side, and today we had some really good ones out there. We took some great

catches, and those have more of an effect in Twenty20s than Tests or ODIs. We dropped a few catches in the Test series, so it was a good way to bounce back,” he said.

He went on to praise Anamul Haque, who struck his maiden ODI fifty, 58 off 45 balls, to keep Bangladesh in the game to the very end. “The platform was ready for us. The batsman were set and the bowler was under pressure. I think luck betrayed us in the end. But credit to Bijoy (Anamul) for bouncing back so well after missing out on the Test matches. He took the side closest to victory.

“We were equal with Sri Lanka and that one ball in the end made the difference. Anamul was hitting it well by that time, as we had seen the previous two balls when he hit two very good shots over cover. The last ball was unfortunate, the timing wasn’t there. It could have taken a top edge and gone behind the keeper but he hit it with the face of the bat,” he said.

Summing up, Mashrafe said, “I would still say we played well. Sunny bowled well, and Mithun probably had to play that shot. It was a good mix for us but to win T20 games, there has to be two bowlers and three batsmen doing the job, or three bowlers and two batsmen. We can still take a lot from the match.” l

There were a large group of Sri Lankan expatriates in the stands who were out cheered by their local opponents throughout the match. However the last laugh belonged to the Sri Lankan supporters.

Probably the brilliant catches taken by the Bangladeshis spurred the visitors as they also showed “Hum Kissise Kum Nahin” when Angelo Mathews pulled out a stunning catch running back to send Tamim Iqbal back. Thisara Perera’s short one found Tamim’s leading edge only to see the Sri Lankan captain run back and stretch at full lengths to hold on to the catch.

Bangladesh’s run chase also went through few ups and downs and it came down to the wire in the last over. With 17 needed in the last over, 21-year-old Anamul clobbered three superb boundaries off Thisara to take the home side on the edge of a memorable victory. The right-handed was well set in the middle and with three needed off the last ball it was anyone’s game.

However, the controversial last ball full-toss, which nine out of ten times would be sent over the ropes, was top edged for a comfortable catch by the bowler himself. The thousands inside the stadium chanted “no-ball, no-ball” and the win for a moment was delayed as the umpires reconfirmed the deliver. In the end it was the visitors who left the field smiling with the narrow win.l

KKR retain Shakib for $450,000 Indian Premier League (IPL) franchise Kolkata Knight Riders retained the service of Bangladesh’s leading all-rounder Shakib al Hasan as the south paw was scooped by KKR for $450000 during the players’ auction for the seventh edition held in Bangalore yesterday.

Shakib’s auction began from his base price $160880 and two teams KKR and Delhi Daredevils – fought to secure his service. Daredevils eventually stepped aside after Shakib’s price went up by 279percent of his base price.

“It is a big opportunity for a cricketer to get a call from IPL and it is the same with me. Playing in these kind of big tournaments helps one gain experience. I have the experience of winning the tournament for them (KKR), the focus will be on the title this time too,” said Shakib, who will be representing KKR for the third season, yesterday.

The left-handed all-rounder played 15 matches, scoring 120 runs and picking 23 wickets, for KKR and also put in a major contribution behind their title winning season in 2012.

However, the other three Bangladeshi cricketers – Tamim Iqbal, Mahmudullah and Sohag Gazi – went unsold on the day and will be up for grab once again in the second phase of the auction today. l

Walton becomes NCL sponsor Walton for the third consecutive season became the title sponsor of the ongoing National Cricket League. Walton signed a MoU with the Bangladesh Cricket Board at a press conference yesterday.

Two rounds have already been played in the 15th edition of the firstclass tournament and Walton will provide sponsor money for the remaining five rounds.

“It is never too late. Walton with its limited fund has tried to be with different sports in Bangladesh. We have been with cricket for many years now but it is of pride to be with the longer format as this is the format which produces

cricketers,” said SM Zahid Hasan, director of Policy and HRM, Walton.

The prize money distribution was also announced. The champions will get Tk2m while the runners-up will bag Tk1m. Man of the Tournament will be awarded with Tk100,000 while the highest run scorer and wicket taker will get Tk75,000 each. Besides that the winning side in every match will be given Tk75,000 along with the Man of the Match of Tk15000.

“The BCB is thankful to Walton for showing support. The NCL has produced cricketers like Marshal Ayub and Shamsur Rahman who are a part of the national team and I believe it will give the country many more cricketers in the upcoming years,” said Kazi Inam, chairman of the BCB marketing and

commercial committee.

“The tournament started without a title sponsor but Walton gave importance to the tournament and made a prompt decision. It will be great if we can rope in long-term sponsors rather than for a season only. We are in talks with Walton regarding that and hopefully we will reach a decision soon,” he informed.

The third round matches will begin today with table toppers Dhaka division facing Sylhet at Khulna’s Sheikh Abu Naser Stadium. Rangpur will host defending champions and joint leaders Rajshahi. Second placed Dhaka Metropolis and Barisal will play at Fatullah while Khulna and Chittagong will meet at Bogra’s Shahid Chandu Stadium. l

Bangladesh’s Anamul Haque guides the ball while Sri Lankan wicket-keeper Kumar Sangakkara looks on during their first T20 match at Zahur Ahmed Chowdhury Stadium yesterday MUMIT M

DHAKA TRIBUNE

Sport

Marsh leads recovery for Australia

QUICK BYTES

Shooters to visit Kuwait

Two BKSP shooters Shahjalal Sadman and Mehnaz Akter are expected to leave Dhaka for Kuwait on February 27 to take part in the 3rd Asian Youth Training Camp. The camp is scheduled to be held from March 1-7 in Kuwait city. National Shooting Federation coach Lavly Chowdhury Akhi will accompany the duo.

–Tribune Desk

Armanitola Government High School outplayed Satirpara Institution of Narsingdi 14-1 in the First Security Islami Bank National School Hockey Tournament at the Maulana Bhashani Hockey Stadium yesterday. Meanwhile in the other matches Joy Gobinda High School of Narayanganj earned a hardfought 3-2 victory over Paysa High School, Munshiganj, while Narayanganj High School drew with West End High School at the same venue.

–Tribune Desk

Comatose Schumacher hit by lung infection

Former Pakistan captain turned politician Imran Khan Tuesday lashed out at the country’s newly reappointed cricket chief, alleging he was being rewarded for helping the ruling party commit fraud in last year’s general elections. Najam Sethi, a prominent journalist who was also appointed as interim chief minister of the Punjab province during last year’s election campaign, was reinstated as Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) chairman on Monday by Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif. His predecessor Zaka Ashraf was removed on charges of not running the board properly. But Khan said that Sethi was being rewarded for helping to rig the result of the May elections, in which his Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaaf (PTI) party won 35 of the 272 seats in the national parliament. The PTI has launched legal challenges concerning the result in hundreds of constituencies at the national and provincial levels.

–AFP

Becker breezes through to book Nishikori clash

Cypriot wildcard Marcos Baghdatis, Croatian Ivo Karlovic and Germany’s Benjamin Becker eased to straightsets victories on Tuesday to book second-round matches with seeded players at the $647,000 ATP US Indoor Championship. Becker saved all three break points that he faced in beating Slovakia’s Lukas Lacko 6-3, 6-2 and advanced to a second-round clash with defending champion and top seed Kei Nishikori of Japan. Nishikori, who like the other top-four seeds received a first-round bye, defends his Memphis crown after helping Japan beat Canada in the first round of the Davis Cup earlier this month.

–AFP

DAY’S WATCH Sony Six NBA 2013-14 7:00AM Houston v Washington 9:30AM Pepsi IPL 2014 Player Auctions Day 2 3:30AM (Friday) New Zealand v India 2nd Test: Day 1 Star Sports 4 4:00PM Sochi 2014 Winter Olympic Games Day 6 Star Sports HD1 8:30PM Hockey India League Ten Cricket 2:30PM South Africa v Australia 1st Test, Day 2

Australia's batsman Shaun Marsh celebrates his century on the first day of their Test match against South Africa at Centurion Park in Pretoria, South Africa, yesterday AP

No hard feelings over coaching snub: Younis Pakistani fast-bowling legend Waqar Younis insisted Wednesday he had no hard feelings about being overlooked as national coach and threw his weight behind Moin Khan.

The 42-year-old was shortlisted alongside Khan to replace Australian Dav Whatmore, whose contract ended last month, but the exwicketkeeper was given the nod by the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) on Tuesday.

That dashed Younis’s hopes for a second stint as coach after a succesful tenure from March 2010 to September 2011.

But Younis, feared in his playing days for his vicious inswinging yorkers that sent stumps cartwheeling, said he had no complaints.

“These are difficult times for Pakistan cricket and instead of crying over anything we should support the new coach and try our best to lift Pakistan cricket,” he told AFP. “I accept the decision with openness and hope that we all move forward for the betterment of Pakistan cricket which has seen huge turmoil in the last few years, not seen before in its history,” said Younis, who played 87 Tests and 262 one-day internationals.

He said the game in cricket-mad Pakistan could ill afford turmoil of the

kind that has rocked the PCB in the last 12 months.

The board has been embroiled in legal wrangling since May last year, when the Islamabad high court suspended then-chairman Zaka Ashraf over doubts about the election that chose him.

Ashraf was reinstated by an appeals bench in January. Veteran journalist Najam Sethi served as caretaker chairman in the interim period.

On Monday Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, patron of the PCB, removed Ashraf again and reappointed Sethi.

Younis said it was time for the saga to end.

“All these matters hurt Pakistan cricket badly and this is the only game which is saved for the fans so it is imperative that we must solve the problems quickly,” he said.

Younis also said Khan, who has been initially appointed for this month’s Asia Cup and next month’s World Twenty20, should have been given a longer contract.

“I think it is unjust to give him just two tours,” said Younis. “I don’t think even Khan would like this short tenure because for stability a coach needs longer time.”

A PCB committee said it would review Khan’s performance as Pakistan have a long period without matches after April, and the coach’s tenure could be extended. l

Late call-up Shaun Marsh scored an unbeaten century in his first test in two years to lead a middle-order recovery as Australia closed at 297 for four on the first day of the first test against South Africa on Wednesday.

Marsh, who arrived only on Sunday as an emergency replacement for the injured Shane Watson, was on 122 not out from 232 balls, and will resume at SuperSport Park on Thursday with Steven Smith, unbeaten on 91. The pair put on an unbroken fifth-wicket partnership of 199 to steady the tourists, who had been 98-4 just after lunch.

Marsh, beset by injury problems and a lack of runs over the past year, was something of a gamble by the Australian selectors, but after offering a difficult catch on 12, he saw off South Africa’s vaunted attack on a piping hot day.

It was his second test century, after his first on debut against Sri Lanka in 2011.

Smith provided ample backing, matching Marsh with 12 fours in his innings.

The pair pushed the run rate up considerably after an uneasy start for the tourists, who were 83 for three at lunch and then lost captain Michael Clarke soon after.

Clarke was caught at deep fine leg off a short delivery from Dale Steyn for 23

Australia, first innings C Rogers c Duminy b Morkel D Warner b Steyn A Doolan c Peterson b McLaren S Marsh not out M Clarke c Philander b Steyn S Smith not out Extras (b4, lb7, nb1, w6) Total (4 wkts, 90 overs)

4 12 27 122 23 91 18 297

Fall of wickets 1-15, 2-24, 3-72, 4-98 Bowling Steyn 20-4-54-2, Philander 16-2-55-0, Morkel 18-5-56-1 (1w), McLaren 16-453-1 (1nb, 1w), Peterson 10-0-34-0, Duminy 10-1-34-0 Match situation Australia are 297 for four in the first innings as the much-anticipated clash between the highly rated batsman and bowler went Steyn’s way. But it was one of few highlights for the quicks on a fast track.

Early on it looked as if South African captain Graeme Smith had made the right decision by asking Australia to bat, but by the end of the day that was in the balance. He had admitted at the toss he was uncertain. l

Pakistan on Tuesday appointed former captain Moin Khan as the head coach of the national team, replacing Australian Dav Whatmore whose two-year contract expired last month.

Khan, 42, was shortlisted along with another former captain and ex-coach Waqar Younis by a four-man committee which included former captain Javed Miandad, Intikhab Alam and Wasim Akram earlier this week.

The decision came after a lengthy management committee meeting under the chairmanship of Najam Sethi who replaced Zaka Ashraf on Monday.

The decision came as a blow to Younis who was regarded as favourite to regain the post he left in 2011 but Ashraf’s sacking led to him not being selected.

Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) chief operating officer Subhan Ahmed told reporters Khan will coach the team for this month’s Asia Cup and next month’s World Twenty20 – both to be held in Bangladesh.

“Khan has been appointed head coach on the recommendations of the coach committee and since we have no cricket until October this year we will review his contract after the two tours,” said Ahmed, the fourth member of the coach committee. Khan said his top priority is to help the team defend the Asia Cup title it won in 2012.

“It’s a big honour to coach the team,” Khan told AFP. “It’s a also a big responsibility and I would like the fans to support me. l

LIST OF PLAYERS SOLD ON FIRST DAY 1. MUMBAI INDIANS Rohit Sharma*, Lasith Malinga* Harbhajan Singh*, Ambati Rayudu*, Kieron Pollard*, Michael Hussey, Corey Anderson, Pragyan Ojha, Zaheer Khan, Josh Hazlewood 2. CHENNAI SUPER KINGS MS Dhoni*, Ravindra Jadeja*, Ravichandran Ashwin*, Dwayne Bravo*, Suresh Raina*, Faf Du Plessis, Dwayne Smith, Brendon McCullum, Ashish Nehra, Mohit Sharma, Ben Hilfenhaus, Samuel Badree, Matt Henry

3. RAJASTHAN ROYALS Shane Watson*, James Faulkner* Stuart Binny*, Ajinkya Rahane*, Sanju Samson*, Steven Smith, Brad Hodge, Tim Southee, Abhishek Nayar, Kane Richardson, Ben Cutting 4. SUNRISERS HYDERABAD Shikhar Dhawan*, Dale Steyn*, David Warner, Amit Mishra, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Aaron Finch, Darren Sammy, Ishant Sharma, Irfan Pathan, Moises Henriques, Jason Holder, Venugopal Rao, Brendan Taylor

5. ROYAL CHALLENGERS BANGALORE Virat Kohli*, Chris Gayle*, AB De Villiers*, Yuvraj Singh, Mitchell Starc, Albie Morkel, Varun Aaron, Ashok Dinda, Parthiv Patel, Muttiah Muralitharan, Ravi Rampaul, Nic Maddinson 6. KOLKATA KNIGHT RIDERS Gautam Gambhir*, Sunil Narine*, Jacques Kallis, Robin Uthappa, Piyush Chawla, Yusuf Pathan, Shakib Al Hasan, Morne Morkel, Vinay Kumar, Umesh Yadav

7. KINGS XI PUNJAB Manan Vohra*, David Miller*, Mitchell Johnson, Glenn Maxwell, George Bailey, Virender Sehwag, Wriddhiman Saha, Shaun Marsh, Cheteshwar Pujara, Lakshmipathy Balaji, Thisara Perera, Parvinder Awana 8. DELHI DAREDEVILS Dinesh Karthik, K Pietersen, Murali Vijay, Shami, Nathan Coulter-Nile, Quinton De Kock, Manoj Tiwary, Jaydev Unadkat, Jean-Paul Duminy, Rahul Sharma, Laxmi Ratan Shukla, James Neesham, Saurabh Tiwary

* Refers to the player retained prior to the auction

Yuvraj, Karthik big winners at IPL auction Flamboyant all-rounder Yuvraj Singh was the surprise recipient of a windfall at the IPL players’ auction, fetching a record bid of Rs14 crore from the Royal Challengers Bangalore while Dinesh Karthik also clinched a mind-boggling Rs12.5 crore purse from Delhi Daredevils here on Wednesday.

Both Yuvraj and Karthik, who are not even regular members of the Indian team, triggered stunning bidding wars among the franchises to set a new record in earnings in the cash-rich league. They surpassed the Rs11.04 crore that was bid on Gautam Gambhir in 2011, the highest till now.

Controversial batsman Kevin Pietersen, whose England career came to an abrupt end after a disastrous Ashes campaign earlier this month, fetched a

huge Rs9 crore purse, bought by Delhi Daredevils, the franchise he played for last season.

Upcoming New Zealand all-rounder Corey Anderson, who scored the fastest ODI century smashing a 36-ball ton to breach the record set by Shahid Afridi in 1996, expectedly got a decent package of Rs4.5 crore with the Mumbai Indians though there was strong buzz of him emerging as the highest paid from this auction.

Australian pacer Mitchell Johnson (Rs 6.5 crore, Kings XI Punjab), allrounder Glenn Maxwell (Rs 6 crore, Kings XI Punjab), Indian opener Murali Vijay (Rs 5 crore, Delhi Daredevils), South African all-rounder Jacques Kallis (Rs 5.5 crore, Kolkata Knight Riders), Robin Uthappa (Rs 5 crore, KKR), West Indian batsman Dwayne Smith (Rs 4.5 crore, Chennai Super Kings),

Amit Mishra (Rs 4.25 crore, Sunrisers Hyderabad) and Aaron Finch (Rs 4 crore, SRH) were some of the players who triggered intense bidding in the auction.

“It’s a grand affair and every edition IPL has grown bigger. The seventh edition would be no exception, it will be grander and more entertaining for fans and franchises,” IPL Chairman Ranjib Biswal said before the start of the starstudded auction where Bollywood actors and business tycoons were present.

Actress Preity Zinta, co-owner of Kings XI Punjab, Juhi Chawla, coowner of Kolkata Knight Riders, businessman Vijay Mallya, Nita Ambani (Mumbai Indians), cricketers Rahul Dravid (Rajasthan Royals), Anil Kumble (Mumbai Indians) were among the celebrities present at the auction which was beamed live. l

A dream come true for Rabbi It was fourth – not third - time lucky for Fazle Rabbi. Since January 3, Fantasy Premier League (FPL) officials have been trying to reach this young Bangladeshi to give news that is too good to be true, both for Fazle and other FPL players in Bangladesh.

The second-year RUET student has outclassed 3,176,644 players from all over the globe to win the second quarterly prize of Fantasy Premier League this season and after four consecutive e-mails and failing to receive several phonecalls from the UK, Fazle finally came to know his dream has been knocking on his door for more than one month on February 6.

“I was literally shocked for 4-5 minutes when I opened the e-mail. It was something I can’t explain using any phrase. I have achieved some prizes in Bangladesh this season but the thought that I would be one of the title contenders in the global league was out of my imagination. It was more than just a dream.”

Along with a VIP trip for two to a Barclays Premier League match, the prize also includes travel, two nights’ accommodation including breakfast and two match tickets to a match featuring a team of his

choice.Fazle is a die-hard Arsenal fan and is expected to tour London to fulfill his dream and watch the English Premier League match between Arsenal and Manchester City on March 29.

Fazle Rabbi’s team Da Dreamers came out first with a massive 802 points in the second quarter, beating second-placed Australian opponent Adam Andrijic, Scottish Ryan Kershaw and English Steve Faulkner on the way. He has now a total of 1,647 points (after gameweek 25) and is ranked 161 in the global league and 1st among the Bangladeshi managers.

The 22-year old also clinched the half-yearly title in Fantasy Football Players of Bangladesh (FFPB) league along with two monthly victories in November and December.

Fazle explained how he got into the game.

“It was back in 2011 during the winter transfer window. I was bit curious when I found the fantasy premier league in their official site and signed up there but didn’t understand much as there was no one to help.

“I started to take this seriously when I joined FFPB as the prizes really caught my attention. Then I really determined to win something for myself, for my country. It was not a good start and after three months of

frustration, I, finally, won the monthly prize in November from where I started to be convinced that I could make my dream a reality,” he said.

The fairy tale of a future mechanical engineer just geared up. He leapfrogged ShadmanHaque at the very end of gameweek 18 to move to the top of the FFPB points table and clinched the half-yearly prize. Rabbi started the New Year as the top Bangladeshi manager.

“I want to express my heartiest gratitude to FFPB admins and members for guiding this long way without whom it would never be possible. I hope more Bangladeshis will participate in such competition and bring more prizes and glory for the country in future,” he said.

When Jahid Hassan and Quamrul Hassan, two of the first names to shoot Bangladesh to international fame in fantasy football, created the Facebook group Fantasy Football Players of Bangladesh with fellow experts Ehsan Haque and Arifin Satej, they had a dream that Bangladeshis will make winning such contests a habit. After Ishtiaque Amin won the inaugural Premier League Exchange Game last year, Fazle’s achievement this time around gives us every reason to live that dream as well, no? l

Mahmud Hossain Opu

Imran Khan criticises cricket chief appointment

Moin Khan appointed Pakistan coach

SCORECARD, DAY 1

School hockey

Formula One legend Michael Schumacher, who is still lying in a coma in a French hospital, has contracted a lung infection, the German newspaper Bild reported Wednesday. The effects on the fragile state of health of the 45-year-old were unknown, it said, without citing sources. Schumacher’s spokeswoman, Sabine Kehm, told the newspaper: “We are not commenting on speculation.” Schumacher has been in a coma since his December 29 ski accident, when he badly injured his head, causing serious swelling of the brain.

–AFP

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Thursday, February 13, 2014

16

DHAKA TRIBUNE

3 get life for killing n Bangabandhu murder case witness

Back Page

Thursday, February 13, 2014

Formation of River Commission on cards

High Court acquits one given life imprisonment earlier

n Nazmus Sakib The High Court yesterday sentenced three convicts to life term imprisonment for killing Air Commodore (retd) Ghulam Rabbani who was a prosecution witness in the Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman murder case.

The court acquitted an accused who had been earlier given life imprisonment and ordered the trial court to give a fresh verdict in light with the High Court’s observations.

On April 7, 2005, a speedy trial tribunal gave life imprisonment to Selim, Sohel and Hashem and five years’ jail to Humayun and Naser In the landmark verdict that hanged war criminal Abdul Quader Molla, Justice Surendra Kumar Sinha said life imprisonment meant staying in jail until death; the popular thinking that it meant serving only 30 years was a misconception of law.

Those sentenced to life term are Humayun Kabir Chowdhury, former security officer of the Korean Export Processing Zone (KEPZ), Abu Naser Chowdhury, former general manager of KEPZ, and Md Selim. The lower court had also given them life sentence.

The High Court acquitted Abdul Malek Sohel and ordered the lower court to deliver fresh judgement regarding Saiful Islam.

The bench of Justice M Enayetur Rahim and Justice Akram Hossain Chowdhury also ordered all the four except Sohel to surrender within six weeks from the date of receiving copies of the verdict or the order.

Justice Enayet, who pronounced the

ruling, said observations on the case would be found in the full text of the verdict. Before pronouncing the judgment, he said investigation and prosecution of the case should have been better.

The High Court said the convicts would also have to pay Tk50,000 as fines, in default of which they would have to serve five more years in jail.

Attorney General Mahbubey Alam, deputy attorney generals Khandaker Diliruzzaman and Mosharaf Hossain Sardaer and Assistant Attorney General Gazi Mamunur Rashid were present when the verdict was pronounced.

Rabbani was an aide-de-camp of slain president Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman and a witness in the killing of national four leaders in Dhaka Central Jail.

A gang of armed criminals shot Rabbani, also former MD of KEPZ and former DG of the Shipping Department, in the throat by intercepting his microbus at Muradpur in Chittagong when he was going to the KEPZ on April 11, 2004.

AKM Emtajul Islam, former KEPZ site engineer, filed an attempt of murder case with Panchlaish police station that night.

Rabbani succumbed to his injuries at Bumrungrad Hospital in Bangkok on April 24 that year. The case was then turned into a murder case.

On April 7, 2005, a speedy trial tribunal gave life imprisonment to Selim, Sohel and Hashem and five years’ jail to Humayun and Naser. However, it acquitted Saiful and Mansur.

Hashem was acquitted from the case later through a High Court judgment. The other convicts appealed against the lower court verdict in 2005 while Emtajul Islam, the informant of the case, filed two revision cases with the High Court, seeking enhancement of punishment to Naser and Saiful.

The bench led by Justice Enayet yesterday delivered the verdict on the appeals and revision cases. l

Mohosinul Karim

The government is set to form the National River Protection Commission, seven months after passing the National River Protection Commission Act in the parliament on July 14, 2013.

A proposal to appoint former rural development and cooperative secretary Dr Mihir Kanti Mojumder as the first chairman of the commission was sent to the Prime Minister’s Office from the public administration ministry on Tuesday.

According to the shipping ministry, the commission will function in specific eight events including protecting the rivers from encroachment and water contamination, resisting and removing illegal construction from across the river embankments, recovering the navigability of the rivers and ensuring multiple uses of the water bodies. The commission will suggest the government to take steps in this regard.

The members of the commission would also be appointed if the proposal got the go-ahead of the prime minister, the officials of the ministry said.

Fouzia Nahar, joint secretary to the shipping ministry had been already made the commission’s member secretary.

Contacted, Shipping Secretary Syed Monjurul Islam said formation of the commission was under process.

“We have sent the names of proposed chairman and members to the public administration ministry to appoint them according to the recommendation of the search committee. The ministry has sent it to the Prime Minister’s Office for approval,” he added.

The secretary said the commission would be formed comprising a chairman, a woman member and three members and it would function under the Shipping Ministry as a statutory body.

“The members of the commission will be appointed for three years.”

The experts of public administration, law, human rights, river management or engineering, river survey and environment would be prioritised for the post of chairman and members.

Of the five members, one would be appointed as full timer and the rest honourary.

The formation of the commission is expected to help the government to recover the rivers from grabbing and save the river water from contamination. l

Visitors gather in front of different book stalls on Bangla Academy premises yesterday

Book Fair to put on Falgun colours n Ahmed Zayeef

Amar Ekushe Book Fair is waiting to welcome a large number of visitors today on the occasion of Pahela Falgun, the first day of spring.

88

new books published A M A R E K U S H E Y B O O K FA I R 2 0 1 4

As the following day is Valentine’s Day, the mela is expected to see a huge crowd.

Publishers also expect good sales on these occasions.

Hundreds of young boys and girls, dressed in traditional clothes, usually in yellows and oranges, usually throng the Institute of Arts premises on the Dhaka university campus in the morning on Pahela Falgun.

They take part in the “Boshonto Boron” festivities welcoming spring.

These crowds then move on to the

n Syed Samiul Basher Anik

Workers paint the International Mother Language Institute in the capital’s Shegunbagicha yesterday. The building is usually repainted only to observe February 21, the International Mother Language Day SYED ZAKIR HOSSAIN

50,000 Bangladeshi SIM cards in Myanmar n Our Correspondent, Cox’s Bazar

About 50,000 SIM cards of Bangladeshi mobile phone operators are allegedly being used in criminal activities across the border at Myanmar’s Arakkan region, sources said.

The unregistered SIM cards from Grameenphone, Robi, Citycell and Airtel are being used by people involved in

book fair, resulting in a surge of people.

The fair will open at noon today, 3 hours earlier than usual to celebrate the day. Security measures will be beefed up to tackle the flow of visitors at the premises.

Shaheda Khatun, member secretary of the fair committee, told Dhaka Tribune; “Discussion and the cultural programme will be held focusing the day.”

The publishers have taken initiatives to welcome the thousands of book lovers on the days. Some have put an extra effort to make their stalls attractive.

The interior and exterior of some 20 stalls were decorated to catch the attention of the visitors with colours and different font styles on the nameplates.

The wide space in the fairgrounds inside the Bangla Academy and the extended part at Suhrawardy Udyan help them in making their stalls attractive, the publishers said.

Osman Gani, president of Bangladesh Gayan O Srijonsil Samity said;

“We are expecting a huge crowd like in the previous years.”

On the 12th day of the fair yesterday, a good number of visitors were seen strolling inside the premises. No disturbances have been reported so far.

For the first time “Little Magazine Chottor” was seen crowded.

Monirul Islam, salesman of Shirdara, a stall belonging to the little magazine said; ”A good number of visitors are visiting the stalls.”

A total of 88 new books were published yesterday, including Hasan Azizul Haques “Socrates” from Ittadi Grontho Prokash, Belal Ahmeds “Bhalobashi Tomake” from Jatio Grontho Kendro, Taslima Nasreen’s “Roktopathhin Bisram Chai” from Nondita Prokash.

A total of 28 new books were unveiled at Nazrul Manch of Bangle Academy premises.

A discussion titled “Nobojagorone Mohammod Rowshon Ali Chowdhury” was held at the central stage of the fair where Israil khan presented the key note paper. l

ACC seeks info on wealth of State Minister Mannan Khan, MP Enamul Haque

Four abducted tourists rescued n Our Correspondent, Cox’s Bazar Police and Rapid Action Battalion in a combined drive rescued four Bangladeshi tourists at Cox’s Bazar early yesterday, five hours after the tourists were kidnapped by a group of miscreants.

The law enforcers also arrested four people in this connection.

Cox’s Bazar sadar police station Officer-in-Charge Jasim Uddin said a group of muggers kidnapped the four tourists in the Medical College area around 10pm on Tuesday. The rescued tourists are Ronju Howladar, 22, Saddam Howladar, 22, Samrat Bepari, 22, and Abdullah, 25.

On information, police and RAB conducted a drive and rescued the four around 3am. They also arrested Karim, 32, Hafez Aman Ullah, 27, Osman Sorwar Rana, 23, and Nur Mohammad, 28, and recovered two cartridges from the spot.

Ronju Howladar later filed a case with the Sadar police station in this regard. l

MAHMUD HOSSAIN OPU

smuggling arms and illegal Yabba tablets, sources living near the border said.

Criminals and citizens of Myanmar are reportedly using Bangladeshi mobile networks to establish communication with the whole world, posing a threat to Bangladesh, the sources added.

Bangladeshi mobile companies were aware of the matter and have extended their networks to a vast area inside Myan-

mar to earn extra revenue, they claimed.

A customer care official at Robi, on condition of anonymity, told the Dhaka Tribune that about 50,000 illegal SIM cards of various Bangladeshi companies were providing services in Myanmar.

Captain Lt Col Abuzer Al Zahid of Teknaf 42 Border Guard Bangladesh confirmed the availability of Bangladeshi mobile networks inside Myan-

mar territory.

“The matter is concerning,” he told the Dhaka Tribune, promising to inform his higher authorities about it.

While talking to the Dhaka Tribune, Cox’s Bazar Deputy Commissioner Mohammad Ruhul Amin also admitted the use of illegal SIMs, saying steps would be taken to ensure border security and prevent smuggling. l

The Anti-Corruption Commission yesterday sought information from several government and private offices about the accumulated wealth of former state minister for housing and public works Abdul Mannan Khan and Rajshahi 4 lawmaker Enamul Haque, an official said.

He said the commission investigation officers had sent the notices separately to seven organisations, including Rajdhani Unnayan Kartipakkha (RAJUK), Dhaka City Corporation (DCC), Bangladesh Road Transport Authority (BRTA), Dhaka Stock Exchange (DSE) and Real Estate and Housing Association of Bangladesh (REHAB), asking them to provide information on the assets and properties of the Awami League leaders.

The ACC on January 22 assigned its deputy director M Nasir Uddin to investigate allegations of illegally acquired wealth and property by Abdul Mannan Khan and assigned deputy director Jatan Kumer Ray to investigate the wealth of lawmaker Enamul Haque.

According to commission notices, REHAB was asked to provide documents on flat and houses owned by the two leaders and their families, DSE was asked to provide documents on shares transacted by the leaders

and their families, BRTA was asked to provide lists of transports and vehicles owned by the former ministers and their family members, Dhaka Zilla Sub Registrar Office was asked to provide the documents on the plots owned by the former ministers and families and Bangladesh Post Office was asked to provide documents on their saving certificates while RAJUK and DCC was asked to provide documents on the residential buildings, plot and businesses belonging to the two Awami League leaders.

After the Election Commission published the wealth statements submitted by candidates last month ahead of the 10th parliamentary polls, media reports highlighted large discrepancies between the information they had provided for the 9th general elections in 2008.

According to an analysis by Shushashoner Jonno Nagorik, the wealth statements of poll candidates in the parliamentary elections show an increase of up to 32,985% in their income.

According to the affidavits submitted to the Election Commission, the incomes of ministers increased by 243% and their wealth by 247%, while the income of state ministers increased by 464% and their wealth by 459%. l

Cop injured during poll duty dies n Mohammad Jamil Khan

A police constable, who had sustained burn injuries in a petrol bomb attack while discharging poll duty on the night before the 10th parliamentary polls at Laxmipur, succumbed to his injuries at Dhaka Medical College Hospital early yesterday.

“M Imam Uddin, 48, a constable of Laxmipur sadar police station, died at the Intensive Care Unit of the Burn and Plastic

Surgery Unit at the DMCH around 1:30am,” Oyhed Morshed, on duty doctor of the unit, told the Dhaka Tribune.

Imam was suffering from diabetics and heart diseases and 30% burn injuries because of the petrol bomb attack, the doctor said, adding that all the complications made his condition critical.

Officer-in-Charge of Ramganj police station M Lokman Hossain said Imam came under the petrol bomb attack by the activists of

the then opposition alliance around 9pm on January 4, at Kumartola Government Primary School polling centre.

A case was filed with the police station against 17 named and 200 unnamed people in this connection, Lokman said, adding that four of the accused were in jail and the case would be turned into a murder case.

Imam’s body was handed over to his family following an autopsy. Victim’s wife Ayesha Khatun received the body and took

it to Noakhali.

Ayesha’s cousin Shirajul Islam said Imram left three daughters – elder one, Esha Khatun Sathi, was married, the second one Amena Khatun, 13, a student of class three at Noakhali Union High School and the youngest Tamanna Islam Urmi, 6, a class one student of the same school.

According to the DMCH burn unit, around 13 victims of the election violence were still undergoing treatment. l

Editor: Zafar Sobhan, Published and Printed by Kazi Anis Ahmed on behalf of 2A Media Limited at Dainik Shakaler Khabar Publications Limited, 153/7, Tejgaon Industrial Area, Dhaka-1208. Editorial, News & Commercial Office: FR Tower, 8/C Panthapath, Shukrabad, Dhaka 1207.

Phone: 9132093-94, Advertising: 9132155, Circulation: 9132282, Fax: News-9132192, e-mail: news@dhakatribune.com, info@dhakatribune.com, Website: www.dhakatribune.com

Continue to the Business section...

Business

B3 NCCBL fund tops DSE gainers on cash dividend

B4 Republicans offer

condition-free US debt ceiling hike

THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 13, 2014 www.dhakatribune.com/business

Interest rate spread rises above 5% 23 banks fail to cut the rate below the desired level n Kayes Sohel The interest rate spread crossed again the desired level of 5% - only after two months it stayed below the level.

The gap between average lending and deposit rates of 55 commercial and specialised banks went up to 5.06% in December last from 4.97% in November and 4.95% in October, after coming down from 5.01% in September last year, according to latest Bangladesh Bank figures.

“The excess liquidity in the money market did not help much in reducing the lending rates,” said a senior official of Bangladesh Bank.

Bankers, however, argued that the banks having high administrative cost could not reduce the spread.

Twenty three commercial and specialised banks have failed to bring down interest rate spread to the level as Bangladesh Bank desires.

They were maintaining returns at higher rates despite majority of the 55 banks operating in the country reduced the lending rates, contributing to push down the overall spread below the level.

Bankers, however, disagreed with the method of calculating the spread as they requested the central bank to set a definition in accordance with the reality.

They said the present spread does not reflect the true picture as the definition has not been set yet.

Among the private commercial banks, BRAC Bank maintains highest spread of 9.28% and, among the foreign banks, Standard Chartered has

TOP TEN BANKS’ INTEREST SPREAD AS OF DECEMBER 2013

n Tribune Report

Source: BB the highest at 10.27%.

Bangladesh Development Bank maintains the lowest spread of negative 0.45%, followed by NRB Bank, one of the new banks, which has 0.47% spread.

Among the state-owned banks, Rupali Bank has the highest spread of 5.34%.

Among the 39 private commercial banks, the spread in 16 are still above 5%. Among the nine foreign commercial banks, the spread in six is above the limit. These are: Standard Chartered Bank, Habib Bank, Citibank NA, Commercial Bank of Ceylone, Woori Bank and HSBC. Managing Director and Chief Execu-

tive Officer of Eastern Bank Limited Ali Reza Iftekhar said the present spread scenario does not reflect the true picture as the definition of spread is yet to be set.

“We have already talked with the central bank several times to make it up and the central bank has agreed to set a new definition in line with the reality,” he said.

However, both the lending and deposit rates are gradually coming down, as “we are cutting down the rates, said Iftekhar, also the chairman of Association of Bankers Bangladesh (ABB).

Most of the banks have already brought down their average lend-

Tofail hopes to get back GSP unless US refuses on 'political grounds'

ing rate due to lower credit demand caused by the recent political turmoil.

They also lowered the spread by cutting the deposit rate.

However, many banks have failed to bring down the spread because of their higher administrative cost.

A banker said the central bank does not consider the return on other investments like government securities, but it is now calculating net interest margin to gauge spread.

He said the banks generally compute their spread as the difference between their cost of funds and return on investment, generally known as earnings. l

Commerce Minister Tofail Ahmed yesterday said Bangladesh would get back trade preferences in the US market under the GSP scheme if it is not considered from the political point of view.

“If the decision isn’t taken on political consideration, we’ll get back the GSP,” he told journalists at his Secretariat office, following an inter-ministerial meeting.

He hoped to overcome the problems in implementing the GSP Action Plan prescribed by the US administration

by March. “If the political issues are added to the GSP revival process, we’ll never be able to fulfill the conditions,” he said.

Tofail made the observation a day after clearing of US’s position, saying Bangladesh did not make any sufficient progress in improving labour standards to justify the GSP revival.

He said Bangladesh will send the United States the progress report on implementation of the Action Plan by April 15 to win back the generalised system of presences (GSP).

He repeated that Bangladesh had already ensured 13 of the 16 conditions set by the US authorities for GSP facility while the remaining three would be fulfilled by March 30. “We hope the US will revive GSP for Bangladesh soon.”

The minister said the government would soon appoint 200 officials to inspect factories, while the process to

prepare workers’ database was also in the final stage.

About the alleged harassment of workers in 19 factories, the minister said the actions would be taken very soon to fix the problems and the revision of amended labour law was at the final stage to allow trade unionism in the export processing zones (EPZs).

Besides, he hoped that Trade and Investment Cooperation Forum Agreement (TICFA)with the US would help expand bilateral trade and commerce.

US said Bangladesh had not made sufficient progress in improving labour standards The meeting was convened after the US Department ofLabor saidBangladesh had not made sufficient progress in improving labour standards for the revival of the duty-free trade benefits.

The progress of Bangladesh is “not enough” for regaining the GSP in the US, the Labor Department told a Senate hearing on Wednesday.

“Bangladesh needs to work harder,” said Eric Biel, acting associate deputy undersecretary for international affairs in the bureau of international labor affairs. l

SOEs not to be sold out Student loan on cards to buy laptops n Tribune Report

Industries Minister Amir Hossain Amu yesterday said the government will not sell out any state-owned enterprises under any circumstances for the sake of the greater interest of the country.

“We’ve no plan to sell the existing state-owned industries,” he categorically told a meeting with a delegation from the Bangladesh Sugar Mills Workers and Employees Federation at his ministry in Dhaka.

He said the government has been working relentlessly for establishing a sustainable industrial development for the future generation, which will require huge amount of land.

The minister’s announcement, however, runs counter to the plan of immediate past regime of the Awami League-led alliance government to lease out the unused land of the SOEs. In September last year, the commission planned to lease out 1,700 acres of unused land belonging to 39 SOEs. It estimated that the total area of unused land in the 150 industrial units could be more than 5,000 acres – equivalent to 14 times of Dhaka EPZ having 361 acres of land or enough to accommodate over 6,000 industrial plots of Dhaka EPZ standard.

The commission in its earlier survey identified 1,288 acres of unused land of 39 out of 150 industrial units, of which six were found in full operation, nine partially and the rest remain closed.

In the second phase, 400 acres of land was identified, making the total unused land of 1,700 acres.

An 11-member committee, headed by Executive Chairman of Board of Investment Syed A Samad, was also formed to deal with the issue.

The committee members include chairman of Privatisation Commission, governor of Bangladesh Bank, Prime Minister’s principal secretary, and secretaries to finance division, textile and jute, commerce and industries ministries.

Earlier, the commission had proposed to set up 257 industrial units through leasing out the unused or additional land. According to the plan, the government will lease out the public lands to the private entrepreneurs initially for 35 years.

If the government leases out five acres of land to one industrial unit, about 257 new industrial units could be set up on 1,700 acres, the commission said in its proposal.

The new industrial units will see more than Tk5,000 crore in investment in the next two years if the average investment per unit is Tk20 crore, the commission said.

If each industrial unit creates employment for 200 persons, a total of 50,000 jobs may be generated, the commission estimated. The commission also said if the proposal is implemented, scope for more industrialisation will be created without affecting the existing SOEs. l

DSE elects 4 new directors n Tribune Report Dhaka Stock Exchange (DSE) yesterday elected four new directors to its board from six contestants. This is the first election after demutualisation of the stock exchange.

The elected directors are Shakil Rizvi of Shakil Rizvi Stock, Khwaja Ghulam Rasul of Khwaja Equity Services, Mohammad Shahjahan of Jahan Securities and Sharif Anwar Hossain of Shahidullah Securi-

ties. Of the total 242 votes, 217 were cast. Rizvi bagged highest number of 184 votes, followed by Shahjahan 152, Rasul 147 and Hossain 140.

Chairman of the DSE will be elected at the annual general meeting (AGM) scheduled for today.

The new board will be comprised of 13 members – four from its existing shareholders, seven from independent directors, DSE chief executive officer and one from strategic investor – according to the Demutualisation Act 2013. l

n Muhammad Zahidul Islam

The government plans to offer a special loan for the university students to help them buy laptops of their likings.

The plan is likely to be implemented in association with a commercial bank and a state-run lending agency while Information and Communication Technology (ICT) Division and the respective university authorities would act as the guarantors.

“Rupali Bank, a public-limited commercial bank and Palli Karma Sahayak Foundation (PKSF) have already agreed on the proposal,” state minister for ICT division Zunaid Ahmed Palak made the disclosure while talking to the Dhaka Tribune yesterday.

“We are also trying to engage some local and international donor agencies to support the program as our plan is to turn our whole students as a modern working force, equipping them with the latest ICT-related technologies.’’

Declining to share more details about the duration of the loan repayment, he said: “It is an ongoing process

Ticfa working group on GSP underway n Tribune Business Desk The United States is planning to create a “Ticfa Working Group on GSP/Labour Affairs” to provide an ongoing, formal mechanism for Bangladesh and US to address labour concerns.

“As agreed by the government of Bangladesh in the meeting following the Ticfa signing in late November 2013, we plan to create a Ticfa Working Group on GSP/ Labour Affairs…,” said Lewis Karesh, Assistant United States Trade Representative for Labour, office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR).

The USTR official also said they envision Ticfa as the key coordinating mechanism for bilateral, government-to-government efforts on the GSP Action Plan, reports UNB. He made the remark while making his statement at a hearing to examine the prospects for democratic reconciliation and workers’ rights in Bangladesh held at the US Senate Committee on Foreign Relations in Washington on Tuesday.

In terms of US’s broader economic engagement with Bangladesh, in late January, the United States-Bangladesh Trade and Investment Cooperation Forum Agreement (Ticfa) entered into force.

The US wants to hold the first Ticfa Council meeting in Dhaka later this spring, said Karesh, who oversees trade and labour issues for USTR. l

Government plans loan for university students to help them afford laptop computers MAHMUD HOSSAIN OPU

and we are going to implement our plan shortly.”

Earlier, the then ICT ministry had undertaken a plan for disbursing loans among 80,000 university students to help buy their laptops.

The then ministry had also formed a committee on the specialised loans for laptops and fixed terms of reference to recommend the method of disbursing the loan, which will finally have to be approved by Finance Minister AMA

Muhith and Bangladesh Bank Governor Dr. Atiur Rahman.

ICT Secretary Nazrul Islam Khan had undertaken an initiative and held series of meetings with the central bank governor and with the chairman of University Grants Commission (UGC) to discuss the matter.

Later on, the then ICT ministry also arranged a seminar on “Credit towards Laptop for University Students.”

Currently, there are 12.5 lakh university students across the country, and out of them, only 250,000 students have laptops, according University Grants Commission.

Managing Director of BRAC Bank Syed Mahmudur Rahman said: “It might cost around Tk3,500 crore for providing loans among the students having no computer.

If the central bank gives us loan with 5% interest rate, we can disburse it among them in between 7%-8% rate.

State Minister Zunaid Ahmed Palak also said: “We are also planning to reduce the internet bandwidth price and a declaration will be made shortly in this regard.” l

Muhith: Political division a big barrier to economic growth n Tribune Report The political division is a major hindrance to the economic growth of Bangladesh now, said Finance Minister AMA Muhith.

He was inaugurating a four-day textile and garment machinery fair at Bangabandhu International Conference Centre in Dhaka yesterday.

“The division among the parties is creating obstruction to the growth as months of political unrest has slowed the economy. However, there is some normalcy after the national polls,” finance minister said at the opening of the 11th Dhaka International Textile and Garment Machinery Exhibition.

On the garment sector, AMA Muhith said: “We are facing some troublesabout the safety issue in factories and trying to fix them.”

Due to the scarcity of lands, industrial expansion is being disrupted, he said, adding the government has placed importance on introducing sufficient economic zones for setting up factories.

State Minister for Textiles and Jute Mirza Azam, Bangladesh Textile Mills Association (BTMA)president Jahangir Alamin, vice president Mannan Mia and FBCCI president Kazi Akramud-

din Ahmed, among others, were also present.

“In the beginning, the country’s readymade garment sector was completely dependent on the imported yarn and accessories, but 60% of the demand is Ministry of Textiles and Jute met locally,” said Kazi Akramuddin Ahmed, president of Federation of Bangladesh Chambers of Commerce and Industry.

He said Bangladesh could achieve 8% GDP growth, if the environment was business-friendly.

BTMA president said the knitwear factories get 80-85% of raw materials from local sources at present while the woven garments receive 35-40%.

“The primary textile sector’s contribution to the apparel factories continues to increase steadily, saving a significant amount of foreign currencies,” Jahangir Alam said while speaking at the function.

BTMA in association with Chan Chao International Company Ltd and Yorkers Trade and Marketing Servicesis organising the exhibition.

Chan Chao International Company Ltd is exhibition organising corporation based in Taipei, Taiwan while Yorkers Trade and Marketing Services is of Hong Kong.

The fair which will end on Saturday is displaying the latest versions of capital machinery and technology for Bangladesh’s textile and garment industries.

'The division among the parties is creating obstruction to the growth as months of political unrest has slowed the economy.

However, there is some normalcy after the national polls'

Some 850 exhibitors from 31 countries will display “the state-of-the-art textile and garment machinery as well as spare parts and equipment.

The technologies to be displayed are related with spinning, weaving, knitting, dyeing-printing and textiles finishing etc. l

B2

Stock

DHAKA TRIBUNE

Stocks end flat

DSE key features February 12, 2014

n Tribune Report

Turnover (Volume)

Stocks ended flat yesterday after three-day drop. The market began on happy note in the morning as the main index climbed almost 50 points, but profit booking particularly on banks and non-banking financial institutions chipped away early gains at the close.

The benchmark DSEX saw fractional gain of 0.3 points to 4,763, pulling up by mainly power and pharmaceuticals issues. The Shariah based DSEX index gained 6 points or 0.6% lower to 996. The blue chip comprising index DS30 rose 11 points or 0.7% to 1,693. The Chittagong Stock Exchange Selective Category Index, CSCX, ended at 9,364 with a marginal rise of 5 points.

The total turnover at DSE dipped to Tk572 crore, which was 16.7% higher over the previous session.

But the market breadth was negative as out of 294 issues traded, 94 closed positive, 170 declined and 30 remained unchanged.

“A parade of group of optimistic buyers has joined the stock market cashing in on hopes of revived economic and improving market confidence,” said Lanka Bangla Securities in its market analysis. However, it said, the market turnover reckoned around only Tk572 crore, indicating that the buy pressure is yet to put forth stronger bull in market.

It added that traders may be keen to move swiftly, but with excess liquidity of Tk90,100 crore in the banking system, investors can afford to be picky with potential lower interest rate in the economy.

4763.71105

DSE Shariah Index :

(+) 0.01% (+) 0.59%

▲

DSE - 30 Index :

1693.43574

(+) 0.64%

▲

CSE All Share Index:

14767.5767

(+) 0.02%

▲

CSE - 30 Index :

12540.0100

(+) 0.20%

9363.9432

DSE LOSERS Company PrimeFin. 1st MF-A Savar Refractories-Z 3rd ICB M F-A Rahima Food -Z S. Alam CR Steel -A GSP Finance-A Sun Life Insurance-N Padma Islami Life*-N B I F C -A Prime Bank-A

Closing (% change) -9.13 -8.47 -6.52 -6.47 -5.92 -5.30 -4.73 -4.26 -4.21 -3.88

CSE LOSERS Company Eastern InsurA PrimeFin. 1st MF-A S. Alam CR Steel -A B I F C -A Samorita Hospital -A Imam Button -Z Prime Insur -A GSP Finance-A Appollo Ispat CL -N Apex Footwear-A

Closing (% change) -9.07 -8.71 -6.78 -6.19 -5.79 -5.62 -4.04 -3.93 -3.82 -3.77

ANALYST

Average (% change) -6.50 -6.33 -6.06 -4.46 -4.60 -5.07 -1.98 -4.80 -2.85 -2.40 Average (% change) -9.07 -6.41 -5.91 -5.28 -5.82 -7.22 -4.04 -4.27 -2.34 -2.36

Closing average 22.43 56.20 206.67 62.12 40.26 27.16 76.14 91.25 18.75 25.23

Closing average 40.10 22.34 40.14 18.28 91.07 8.35 38.00 27.14 30.85 517.50

(+) 0.05%

Closing

Closing

Bank NBFI Investment Engineering Food & Allied Fuel & Power Jute Textile Pharma & Chemical Paper & Packaging Service Leather Ceramic Cement Information Technology General Insurance Life Insurance Telecom Travel & Leisure Miscellaneous Debenture

Traded Issues

294

Issue Gain (Avg. Price Basis)

112

Issue Loss (Avg. Price Basis)

178

Unchanged Issue (Avg. Price Basis)

4

Market Capital Equity (Billion. Tk.)

2,288.37

Market Capital Equity (Billion US$)

27.74

451.13

Turnover (Volume)

9,846,925

Number of Contract

16,085

Traded Issues

235

Issue Gain (Avg. Price Basis)

81

Issue Loss (Avg. Price Basis)

150 3 2,162.94

▲

Market Capital Equity (Billion. Tk.)

▲

Market Capital Equity (Billion US$)

26.22

Daily high

Turnover in million

Daily low 21.80 56.20 205.00 60.00 39.30 26.00 70.50 85.00 18.00 23.50

Turnover in million

Daily low

40.10 23.40 41.10 19.10 91.10 8.40 38.00 28.00 32.00 519.00

40.10 21.90 39.90 18.20 91.00 8.30 38.00 26.50 30.10 510.00

Latest EPS

23.294 0.003 0.062 7.485 14.060 16.628 74.647 66.969 2.241 19.210

0.008 0.759 1.525 0.101 0.137 0.017 0.038 0.671 15.340 0.621

DSE Million Taka 521.25 310.24 144.93 427.98 378.95 1035.79 1.05 432.68 900.41 0.37 21.51 114.45 91.01 171.73 75.66 127.52 304.19 481.71 79.23 102.08 1.30

% change 9.11 5.42 2.53 7.48 6.62 18.10 0.02 7.56 15.73 0.01 0.38 2.00 1.59 3.00 1.32 2.23 5.31 8.42 1.38 1.78 0.02

Million Taka 56.15 20.11 6.28 46.89 27.26 43.52 39.97 64.53 1.80 2.24 7.86 7.04 12.63 11.43 3.69 9.89 61.72 12.69 20.78 0.01

CSE

% change 12.30 4.41 1.37 10.27 5.97 9.53 0.00 8.76 14.14 0.39 0.49 1.72 1.54 2.77 2.50 0.81 2.17 13.52 2.78 4.55 0.00

Million Taka 577.40 330.35 151.21 474.87 406.21 1079.31 1.05 472.65 964.94 2.17 23.75 122.31 98.05 184.36 87.09 131.20 314.08 543.43 91.92 122.86 1.31

14.13 8.72 6.16 5.88 4.92 4.87 4.52 4.51 3.67 3.40

CSE GAINERS Company NCCBL Mutual Fund-1-A 7th ICB M F-A BD Submarine Cable-A 6th ICB M F-A National Life I -A 8th ICB M F-A Apex Tannery -A MBL 1st M. F.-A Delta Brac HFCL-A Olympic Ind. -A

Closing (% change) 16.84 16.12 8.64 7.26 6.53 6.25 5.99 5.41 4.25 3.86

Average (% change) 16.29 7.66 3.99 7.08 3.93 4.49 3.20 3.12 2.79 3.04 Average (% change) 16.32 16.12 7.70 7.28 3.34 7.81 3.97 5.54 4.13 3.94

Closing average 10.78 210.73 850.73 9.08 6.35 338.14 166.00 852.59 39.40 102.93

Closing average 11.05 85.00 211.82 64.97 335.63 69.00 166.95 7.81 71.08 200.33

Closing 10.50 217.00 871.50 9.00 6.40 342.60 168.90 859.70 39.50 103.50

Closing 11.10 85.00 217.60 65.00 346.00 68.00 169.80 7.80 71.10 201.60

Daily high 13.00 217.10 876.40 9.30 6.50 345.60 172.50 863.70 39.90 104.90

Daily high 11.30 85.00 217.80 66.00 346.00 70.00 172.00 7.90 75.00 205.00

Daily low 10.40 182.10 800.00 8.50 6.10 300.00 162.10 825.00 34.50 100.10

Daily low 11.00 85.00 203.00 59.50 330.00 68.00 162.50 7.70 67.50 197.00

Turnover in million 31.244 389.769 47.475 0.118 5.184 20.415 59.858 11.851 6.818 10.808

Turnover in million 0.033 0.043 46.062 0.104 0.856 0.069 3.890 0.055 0.320 16.966

Latest EPS 1.03 3.28 43.13 -2.58 0.62 12.46 4.86 52.75 2.30 5.33

Latest EPS 1.03 13.84 3.28 6.54 12.46 8.32 4.86 1.48 3.46 6.90

Latest PE 10.5 64.2 19.7 -ve 10.2 27.1 34.2 16.2 17.1 19.3

Latest PE 10.7 6.1 64.6 9.9 26.9 8.3 34.4 5.3 20.5 29.0

Latest EPS

NCCBLMF1: The Trustee of the fund has declared 10% cash dividend for the year ended on December 31, 2013. Record date: 24.02.2014. The fund has reported net profit of Tk. 111,225,788.00 and earnings per unit (EPU) of Tk. 1.0251 for the year ended on December 31, 2013.

USMANIAGL: The Company has further informed that the 27th AGM of the Company will now be held on March 07, 2014 at 10:30 AM at Registered Office of the Company at Kalurghat I/A, Chandgaon, Chittagong.

Other information of the AGM will remain unchanged.

GSPFINANCE: BSEC has regretted its inability to consider the application of GSP Finance Company (Bangladesh) Ltd. for is-

suance of rights shares as the Company has failed to comply with the Commission's Notification No. SEC/CMRRCD/2006-158/134/ Admin/44 dated August 7, 2012 regarding Corporate Governance Guidelines concerning appointment of required number of independent directors. Moreover, the explanation of the Company regarding dissimilarity between 'opening cash and cash equivalents' & 'closing cash and cash equivalents' for the year ended on December 31, 2010 and for the year ended on December 31, 2009 respectively is not convincing. As such, financial statements have not been prepared as per International Accounting Standards (IAS).

DACCADYE: BSEC has regretted its inability to consider the application of The Dacca

Dyeing & Manufacturing Company Ltd. for extension of time to submit rights share offer document as well as the rights offer as the Company has failed to comply with the prior requirements of rights issue as per rule 3(f) & 3(g) of the Securities and Exchange Commission (Rights Issue) Rules, 2006.

RIGHT SHARE: ARAMITCEM: Subscription 23.03.2014 to 17.04.2014. Record date for entitlement of rights share: 09.01.2014.

RUPALILIFE- Subscription 06.04.2014 to 05.05.2014. Record date for entitlement of rights share: 16.01.2014. BRACBANK: Subscription 20.04.2014 to 15.05.2014.

Record date for entitlement of rights share: 10.02.2014. GENNEXT: Subscription 18.03.2014 to 09.04.2014, Record date: 25.02.2014.

Latest PE

1.00 0.60 23.74 -1.00 1.16 1.34 0.00 1.10 0.13 0.56

22.4 93.7 8.7 -ve 34.7 20.3 83.0 144.2 45.1

Latest PE

2.60 1.00 1.16 0.13 2.74 -2.58 2.36 1.34 1.52 28.27

Total

NCCBL Mutual Fund-1-A BD Submarine Cable-A Linde (BD) Ltd. -A Imam Button -Z Prime Bank 1st MF-A National Life I -A Apex Tannery -A Bata Shoe Ltd. -A H.R. Textile -A Rupali Life Insur.-A

Closing (% change)

News from trade server

15.4 22.3 34.6 140.6 33.2 -ve 16.1 20.3 20.3 18.3

A parade of group of optimistic buyers has joined the stock market cashing in on hopes of revived economic and improving market confidence

SECTORAL TURNOVER SUMMARY Sector

112,761

Turnover (Million Taka)

23.30 56.20 205.10 67.50 41.90 27.90 79.00 95.50 19.50 26.00

40.10 22.00 39.90 18.20 91.10 8.40 38.00 26.90 30.20 510.00

101,051,984

Unchanged Issue (Avg. Price Basis)

Daily high

21.90 56.20 205.00 60.70 39.70 26.80 74.60 90.00 18.20 24.80

5,724.01

CSE key features February 12, 2014

▲

996.60307

CSE Selected Index :

Company

Number of Contract

Daily capital market highlights DSE Broad Index :

DSE GAINERS

Turnover (Million Taka)

IDLC Investment said tri-session long losing streak prompted a morning hype, aiding DSEX to climb back over 4,800 points. However, as sales pressure continued, eventually DSEX trailed back and closed flat at 4,764 points.

“With prices cooling down a bit and investors eyeing on upcoming corporate declarations, turnover made a comeback,” IDLC said.

Among the major sectors, pharmaceuticals and power went up by 1.59% and 1.25% respectively.

Grameenphone, lone listed company in the telecommunications sector, closed flat after rally in the previous session riding on its dividend declaration. The banks and non-banking financial institutions continued to decline for the second consecutive session.

Zenith Investment said market healed from its temporary illness, raising total turnover volume and indexes. “It was not a very significant growth, as investors targeted some particular stocks and showed great amount of interest on those respective stocks, while the overall market showed mixed performance.”

Fuel and power, and pharmaceuticals dominated top turnover list and captured more than 18% and 15% respectively of the total turnover. Square Pharmaceuticals, the country’s top pharmaceutical company, continued to top turnover leaders for the fourth consecutive session with shares worth almost Tk42crore changing hands, followed by Bangladesh Submarine Cable Company, Meghna Petroleum and Lanka Bangla Finance. l

Thursday, February 13, 2014

% change 9.34 5.34 2.45 7.68 6.57 17.46 0.02 7.65 15.61 0.04 0.38 1.98 1.59 2.98 1.41 2.12 5.08 8.79 1.49 1.99 0.02

Prepared exclusively for Dhaka Tribune by Business Information Automation Service Line (BIASL), on the basis of information collected from daily stock quotations and audited reports of the listed companies. High level of caution has been taken to collect and present the above information and data. The publisher will not take any responsibility if any body uses this information and data for his/her investment decision. For any query please email to biasl@bol-online.com or call 01552153562 or go to www.biasl.net

DSE TURNOVER LEADERS Company Square Pharma -A BD Submarine Cable-A Meghna Petroleum -A Olympic Ind. -A Jamuna Oil -A Padma Oil Co. -A LankaBangla Fin. -A

Grameenphone-A Renata Ltd. -A AFC AgroBiotech-N

RAK Ceramics-A Sun Life Insurance-N Active Fine Chem.-A S Purbanchol Power-N Delta Life Insu. -A Padma Islami Life*-N Southeast Bank-A Orion Pharma-N Apex Tannery -A G Next Fashions-A CSE TURNOVER LEADERS Company BD Submarine Cable-A

Square Pharma -A AFC AgroBiotech-N Olympic Ind. -A Grameenphone-A Appollo Ispat CL -N BSC-A Meghna Petroleum -A UCBL - A UNITED AIR-A Aftab Auto.-A Padma Oil Co. -A National Bank - B LankaBangla Fin. -A aamra technologies-A BEXIMCO Ltd. -A G Next Fashions-A Mozaffar H.Spinning-N Bengal Windsor-A RAK Ceramics-A

Volume shares 1,590,568 1,849,649 1,123,685 1,403,918 958,015 456,105 1,835,635 441,800 88,588 1,221,000

1,211,344 980,375 773,875 990,130 263,500 733,880 2,897,472 1,000,980 360,600 1,814,490

Volume shares

217,459 83,155 297,000 84,688 75,200 497,200 24,210 37,156 379,842 612,485 102,812 25,300 631,627 115,300 203,645 228,195 217,640 166,000 109,600 98,763

Value in million 422.19 389.77 328.12 279.81 225.64 154.08 132.26 91.94 85.24 80.52

74.67 74.65 74.01 70.16 69.43 66.97 66.14 64.85 59.86 59.26

Value in million

46.06 22.08 19.39 16.97 15.66 15.34 11.40 10.85 10.78 9.73 9.69 8.57 8.48 8.31 8.26 7.74 7.10 6.33 6.14 6.07

% of total turnover 7.38 6.81 5.73 4.89 3.94 2.69 2.31 1.61 1.49 1.41

1.30 1.30 1.29 1.23 1.21 1.17 1.16 1.13 1.05 1.04

% of total turnover

10.23 4.90 4.31 3.77 3.48 3.41 2.53 2.41 2.39 2.16 2.15 1.90 1.88 1.85 1.84 1.72 1.58 1.41 1.36 1.35

Daily closing 266.80 217.00 291.70 200.30 235.90 335.80 71.10 207.40 956.20 64.00

61.30 74.60 95.20 70.40 262.40 90.00 22.80 64.40 168.90 32.40

Daily closing

217.60 267.10 62.90 201.60 207.50 30.20 472.80 292.80 28.10 15.80 93.60 336.50 13.20 71.30 40.00 33.70 32.50 37.80 55.60 61.50

Price change 2.73 8.72 2.86 3.35 1.51 0.81 -1.66 -0.91 1.90 -1.54

Daily opening 259.70 199.60 283.60 193.80 232.40 333.10 72.30 209.30 938.40 65.00

Price change

Daily opening

0.00 -4.73 2.26 -1.26 -0.23 -4.26 1.33 -1.08 4.52 1.57

8.64 2.89 -2.18 3.86 -0.29 -3.82 2.05 3.46 -1.06 -0.63 -0.53 0.90 -2.22 -1.38 -0.74 -1.17 1.56 2.44 -2.46 1.32

61.30 78.30 93.10 71.30 263.00 94.00 22.50 65.10 161.60 31.90

200.30 259.60 64.30 194.10 208.10 31.40 463.30 283.00 28.40 15.90 94.10 333.50 13.50 72.30 40.30 34.10 32.00 36.90 57.00 60.70

Daily high 270.00 217.10 294.60 201.70 238.00 344.00 73.30 210.70 979.00 69.50

62.30 79.00 97.00 72.30 267.00 95.50 23.50 65.70 172.50 33.20

Daily high

217.80 267.90 68.80 205.00 210.00 32.00 475.00 293.60 29.10 16.10 95.90 342.80 13.70 73.00 41.30 34.50 33.30 38.80 60.70 62.00

Daily low 240.00 182.10 259.00 177.00 228.00 332.60 67.00 207.00 900.00 62.70

Daily average 265.43 210.73 292.00 199.31 235.53 337.83 72.05 208.11 962.25 65.95

Daily low

Daily average

55.30 70.50 90.30 66.00 262.00 85.00 20.30 58.60 162.10 30.00

203.00 261.50 62.00 197.00 207.00 30.10 462.50 288.00 27.90 15.80 93.00 335.00 13.10 71.00 39.30 33.60 31.90 37.00 55.20 60.50

61.64 76.14 95.64 70.86 263.50 91.25 22.83 64.78 166.00 32.66

211.82 265.49 65.28 200.33 208.20 30.85 470.95 292.06 28.37 15.89 94.25 338.70 13.43 72.10 40.57 33.93 32.64 38.12 56.06 61.42

DHAKA TRIBUNE

Business

NCCBL fund tops DSE gainers on cash dividend

H&M to open first store in India in 2014

n Tahmidur Rahman

Hennes & Mauritz will open its first store in India this year, it said on Wednesday, as the world’s second-biggest fashion retailer becomes the latest to take advantage of the opening of Asia’s third-largest economy to foreign operators.

H&M, which said last year it plans to spend around 100m euros on an initial 50 stores in India, received final approval in December from the Indian government to invest in the country.

“We are very excited to open our first store in India. It is one of the most exciting countries in the world right now, with so much potential,” H&M CEO KarlJohan Persson said in a statement.

H&M has not yet decided where the first store will be opened and is looking at several big cities and locations, but can act fast now it has government approval, a spokeswoman said.

Units of NCCBL Mutual Fund 1st saw a price hike of 14.1% at Dhaka Stock Exchange yesterday – a day after disclosure of 10% cash dividend.

The price of each of the unit closed at Tk10.5 after ranging between Tk10.4 and Tk13, creating opportunity for some investors to take profit.

According to the disclosure, the fund units have a net asset value of Tk11.91 per share, which is still higher than the current market price.

During yesterday’s trading session, units worth Tk3.1 crore changed hands at the DSE. The fund roughly represents 3% of the entire mutual fund industry that makes up only 1.64% of the total market capital.

The asset of the closed-end fund,

managed by LR Global, has been allocated around 63% in public, 8% in private and the remaining 29% kept in the form of cash and others till January 30.

The fund’s asset allocation in the secondary market was mostly on large cap stocks (74%) while 25% on mid cap stocks and only one percent on small cap stocks, LR Global said in its fund fact sheet.

Top sector allocation was in Pharmaceuticals and Chemical with a weight of 9.1% while fuel and power sector being the second with a weight of 7.7%.

The fund is scheduled to be redeemed on 2022, the year when unit holders will be paid out the net asset value at redemption deducting a portion of the value as redemption cost. l

n Reuters

The Swedish retailer has almost tripled store numbers over the past decade to over 3,100 outlets in 53 countries, but it has lagged bigger rival Inditex in expanding in fast-growing emerging markets.

H&M still makes about 80% of sales in Europe, while Inditex, with over 6,000 stores in 86 countries, makes about 20% of sales in Asian economies versus 6% for H&M. H&M said last month it planned to open 375 new stores worldwide in 2014, including 80-90 in China. It also plans to enter Australia and the Philippines this year.

A flurry of international retailers, including Swedish budget furniture chain IKEA, are looking to expand into India after its government moved in 2012 to allow foreign firms to set up whollyowned subsidiaries in the country. Inditex is already in India through a joint venture. l

Wall St’s best-kept secret may be earnings growth

Fed chief comments support dollar n Reuters, New York in Asia Investors can’t blame the stock market’s bumpy ride so far this year on S&P n AFP, Tokyo 500 earnings, which could end the reThe dollar edged down against the yen in Asia Wednesday after climbing in New York in response to the new Federal Reserve chief’s pledge to maintain the bank’s monetary policy, while US lawmakers agreed to raise the debt ceiling.

In morning Tokyo trade, the greenback bought 102.57 yen, compared with 102.64 yen late in New York, while the euro dipped to $1.3631 and 139.84 yen against $1.3638 and 139.99 yen in US trading.

In her first testimony since taking the Fed chair on February 1, Janet Yellen said the US economy is expected to grow this year and next at a moderate pace, despite some recent poor data that has sparked fears of a slowdown.

Yellen told Congress she expects to continue predecessor Ben Bernanke’s plan to gradually wind down the bondbuying scheme and keep interest rates low until there was a significant improvement in the jobs market, which she said was still shaky.

She added that Fed policymakers were still comfortable with their forecasts of moderate growth this year and next, despite the poor job creation figures of the past two months, which she said might have been caused by severe winter weather.

The Federal Open Market Committee, the Fed’s policy-making body which meets next month, could consider a pause in the stimulus tapering if economic conditions show a significant deterioration, Yellen said.

Credit Agricole said “we expect a further US dollar rebound today as traders acknowledge an ongoing reduction in Fed policy accommodation in coming months”.

It added that Yellen’s comments “suggested recent data provided little scope for altering current tapering speed”. l

porting period with the best quarterly growth in more than two years.

Results haven’t done much to prop up the overall market, but analysts said that the numbers should relieve worries that last year’s big rally came without much gain in profit growth.

Investors turned their focus in recent weeks to volatile emerging markets and less stimulus from the Federal Reserve. At the same time, fourth-quarter earnings growth has clocked in at 9.5% above year-ago results, better than the 7.6% expected when the period began.

Notably, companies that surprised investors with better-than-expected results in terms of both revenue and profits reaped a reward: Their stock prices jumped.

On average, those that beat on both metrics are up 2.1% in the five days that followed their results, according to Bank of America Merrill Lynch research, while those that missed on both are down 5.6% in that time. That gulf is the biggest seen since the fourth quarter of 2008.

Consumer discretionary stocks had the biggest gap between the gainers like Netflix Inc, which rose 20% in the five days following its results, and losers like Amazon.com Inc, which fell 12% in a similar period.

In all, 68% of S&P 500 companies’ results are beating analysts’ expectations on earnings, above the 63% longterm average, while 66% are exceeding forecasts on revenue, which would be the best “beat rate” since the second quarter of 2011, Thomson Reuters data showed.

“The percentage of companies beating on EPS, on sales and on EPS and sales – all of those metrics - are above average.

That’s a pretty positive sign,” said Dan Suzuki, US equity strategist at Bank of America Merrill Lynch in New York.

If the pattern of big swings for

B3

Thursday, February 13, 2014

Digilearn and Evolysis ink deal to provide training n Tribune Business Desk Digilearn, a sub process of Digicon Global Services Limited, has signed an agreement with Evolysis Ltd, Aptis business partner of British Council on Tuesday.

The agreement is going to ensure effective training delivery to the prospective candidates of customer service industry along with extensive session on corporate communication with globally recognised assessment test Aptis which would ensure maintaining organisations’ standards in terms of English proficiency, said a press release yesterday.

The signing ceremony was held at DGSL’s Rajuk Trade Centre premises.

Wahid Sharif, MD of Digicon Global Services Limited signed the agreement on behalf of Digilearn while Associate Professor of IBA, Dr Md Ridhwanul Haq was the signatory on behalf of Evolysis. l

Reckitt Benckiser says emerging markets crimp profits n AFP, London

consumer discretionary companies’ stocks holds, it implies more volatility for those that have not yet reported, including Kohl’s Corp, Gap Inc and Lowe’s Companies, Inc, as well as other retailers that struggled through the most competitive holiday shopping season for the U.S. industry since the recession.

Solid results, even if overlooked

With results in from about 70% of S&P 500 companies, the group is on track for the best earnings growth since the third quarter of 2011, Thomson Reuters data showed.

Revenue growth at 1.1% is still expected to lag the third quarter, but the percentage of companies beating analysts’ forecasts is the best in more than two years.

Those are sound results for a stock

market that has been turbulent this year, with the Standard & Poor’s 500 index posting a 3.6% loss in January and slipping 1.6% so far in 2014.

That downturn follows the S&P 500’s 30% gain last year, when earnings rose just 6.1%. Valuations increased sharply because of the price gains, with the S&P 500’s forward four-quarter priceto-earnings ratio now at 15.1, compared with 13.1 at the start of 2013, according to Thomson Reuters data.

“A lot of people have begun to wonder about the sustainability of the rally because it was driven so much by multiple expansion rather than earnings, and that’s entirely accurate,” said Dan Greenhaus, chief strategist at BTIG LLC in New York.

But “earnings are going up - earnings are accelerating,” he said.

Many investors were expecting prof-

it growth to pick up in 2014, thanks to a more robust US economy, with doubledigit earnings growth projected for the third and fourth quarters.

On some levels, earnings have done well once again by exceeding expectations. Outlooks for the fourth quarter were the most negative of any period since at least 1996, when Thomson Reuters began tracking this data.

The earnings season, to some degree, has been overshadowed by the rout in emerging markets, which prompted a selloff in stocks in the United States and other developed economies.

Financials have had the most positive earnings surprises, with results from insurers like the Travelers Companies, Inc and Allstate Corp among those in that sector that have beaten expectations by the biggest margins. l

British household goods firm Reckitt Benckiser reported on Wednesday that profits dipped last year amid slowing demand in emerging markets.

Earnings after taxation dipped by 4.5% to £1.74bn ($2.87bn, 2.09bn euros) in 2013.

That compared with £1.82bn in 2012, Reckitt said in a results statement.

Pre-tax profits eased 2.6% to £2.31bn last year, although total revenues climbed almost five percent to £10.04bn.

Chief executive Rakesh Kapoor said in an earnings statement that the group was helped by its so-called powerbrand products.

“We are pleased with the continued strength of our ... Europe and North America performance,” he said.

“And while emerging markets continue to slow, we delivered very strong results in India and China.”

Reckitt’s top-selling brands include household cleaner Cillit Bang, Durex condoms and Nurofen/Nureflex pain relief tablets.

“Market conditions are more challenging now than at the beginning of last year, particularly in some emerging markets,” added Kapoor.

“However, we have confidence that our pipeline of innovations, powerbrand (product) roll-outs and brand investments will deliver another year of high quality growth.”

The group had announced in October that it would undertake a strategic review of its drugs division, Reckitt Benckiser Pharmaceuticals (RBP). It said on Wednesday that it will provide an update on the review this year. l

Kamal Quadir, CEO of bKash Limited seen handing over books to Abdullah Abu Sayeed, founder chairperson and chief executive of Bishwo Shahitto Kendro at a simple ceremony held at the Bishwo Shahitto Kendro Auditorium in the city for facilitating its 'Nation-Wide Enrichment Programme,' a book reading programme for the students of class 6 to 10

City Bank recently handed out the prizes to the winners of its Facebook-based ‘Find the Clue’ contest through an informal ceremony held at the City Bank Centre

'Boshonto Offer' from ACI Pure Atta hit on the market which will able the consumers be getting 15 gram ACI Pure Turmeric free with every 2 kg pack of ACI Pure Atta. The offer was inaugurated by Syed Alamgir, executive director of ACI Consumer Brands and Anup Kumar Saha, business director of ACI Foods and Flour are seen

Premier wellness brand VLCC on Tuesday signaled its commitment to the Bangladesh market by formally inaugurating its 2nd slimming, beauty and ditness Centre at Dhanmondi in Dhaka. VLCC founder and mentor, Vandana Luthra inaugurated the new centre

The formal inauguration of Trust Bank Securities Limited (TBSL) was held on Feb 6 at its head office in Dhaka. The chairperson of TBSL Major General Ashraf Abdullah Yussuf was present in the inaugural ceremony as chief guest

RFL recently arranged a two day-long annual dealer conference. More than five thousand dealers along with high officials of RFL were present on the conference arranged at RFL Industrial Park at Kaligonj in Gazipur

B4

DHAKA TRIBUNE

Back Page

Thursday, February 13, 2014

Republicans offer condition-free US debt ceiling hike n Reuters The US House of Representatives narrowly approved a one-year extension of federal borrowing authority on Tuesday after Republicans caved into President Barack Obama’s demands to allow a debt limit increase without any conditions.

The 221-201 vote, carried mainly by Democrats, marked a dramatic shift from the confrontational fiscal tactics House Republicans have used over the past three years, culminating in last October’s 16-day government shutdown.

It came after House Republicans repudiated House Speaker John Boehner’s latest plan to link an increase in the $17.2tn borrowing cap to a repeal of planned cuts to military pensions. Although Boehner called his decision to advance a “clean” debt limit a “disappointing moment,” it sets aside a difficult and divisive issue until after the 2014 congressional elections in November, allowing Republicans to focus their campaign efforts on the rocky launch of Obama’s healthcare reform law.

The White House hailed the House vote as “a positive step in moving away from the political brinkmanship that’s a needless drag on our economy.”

Democrats provided most of the “yes” votes on the debt limit increase, which was hastily attached to a measure renaming an air traffic control center in Nashua, New Hampshire. There were 193 Democrats who voted yes, versus just 28 Republicans, who wanted to pin blame on Obama’s refusal to negotiate.

“He will not engage in our long-term spending problem,” Boehner told reporters earlier on Tuesday. “So let his party give him the debt ceiling increase that he wants.”

The Democratic-controlled Senate was likely to begin consideration of the measure later yesterday. But Republican Senator Ted Cruz, a conservative Tea Party favorite, said on Tuesday night he would insist on a 60-vote threshold for the debt ceiling measure to pass the Senate. That would mean at least five Republicans would need to join the Democrats, who control 55 votes, for the measure to pass the chamber.

Senate Republican Whip John Cornyn said earlier on Tuesday there were “probably not” five Republican votes in the Senate for a clean debt ceiling increase. But Senator Dick Durbin, the second-ranking Democrat in the chamber, voiced optimism there would be 60 yes votes if needed.

Senate passage this week would buy financial markets considerable breathing room before February 27, when the US Treasury expects to exhaust existing borrowing capacity, putting federal payments at risk.

Without an increase in the statutory debt limit, the US government would soon default on some of its obligations and have to shut down some programs, a historic move that would likely cause market turmoil.

US stocks reacted mildly to news of the House Republican decision to drop any conditions on the debt limit. Wall Street stocks rose for a fourth session as traders focused most of their atten-

A man walks past the Capitol Building in Washington tion on Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen’s first congressional testimony.

“It was a minor worry that an agreement wouldn’t come. It’s not a big plus (for the market), but I’m glad this happened,” said John Manley, chief equity strategist at Wells Fargo Funds Management in New York. As stocks rose, bond prices retreated.

Modest demands

Republicans used the debt limit with great effectiveness in 2011 to gain budget concessions, when a bitter standoff

Fed to emerging markets: Think on your policy shortcomings

Oil prices up on winter demand, Yellen testimony

n Reuters, Washington

Oil prices rose in Asian trading hours Wednesday due to strong winter demand and expectations that new Federal Reserve head Janet Yellen will not shake up US monetary policy.

“The cold weather continues to come into play here with a fall in distillate supplies,” said Desmond Chua, an analyst at CMC Markets in Singapore.

“Investors seem to like the certainty and confidence of new Fed Chief Janet Yellen,” he added.

New York’s main contract, West Texas Intermediate for March, was up 42 cents at $100.36 in midday Asian trading, while Brent North Sea crude was eight cents higher at $108.76.

Yellen, in her first public comments as Fed chair after taking the helm of the US central bank on February 1, stressed little deviation from the current strategy of the policy-setting Federal Open Market Committee.

“I expect a great deal of continuity in the FOMC’s approach to monetary policy,” she told the Financial Services Committee of the US House of Representatives on Tuesday. l

The US Federal Reserve on Tuesday acknowledged it likely triggered a financial market sell-off in the developing world, but said policies in countries such as Turkey, Brazil and India made them especially vulnerable to external shocks.

The Fed said in a report to Congress that the “stresses that arose in the middle of last year appeared to be triggered to a significant degree by Federal Reserve communications.”

In mid-2013, the US central bank said it could soon start winding down a bond-buying stimulus program, sending stocks, bonds and currencies plunging across many emerging markets.

The announcement stoked global tensions over potentially destabilizing shifts in international money flow, as when India’s central bank chief fretted that the United States should be more aware of how its policies affect the world.

In its report, however, the Fed pointed a finger back at some developing countries, saying they need to look

in the mirror when assessing why their markets took a big hit.

Fed analysts built an index measuring economic vulnerability across 15 major emerging markets. They found Turkey was the most vulnerable, followed

by Brazil and then India. Indonesia and South Africa followed in the ranks of the most vulnerable. The index was based on six factors, including current account balances and foreign currency reserves relative to economic output.

The Fed analysis found that the most vulnerable countries tended to experience the biggest currency depreciations as well as larger increases in interest rates for government borrowing.

“This evidence is consistent with the view that reducing the extent of economic vulnerabilities is important if (emerging market economies) are to become more resilient to shocks,” the Fed said.

The analysis highlighted how some developing economies have made strides to reduce their vulnerabilities.

China, for example, was listed as one of the least vulnerable countries. l

n AFP, Singapore

led to a deal calling for $2.1tn in cuts to US discretionary spending over a decade. The fight also cost the United States its top-tier credit rating from Standard & Poor’s.

But the wrenching two-week government shutdown and debt limit battle last October sapped the party’s enthusiasm for another major showdown.

Instead of seeking big cuts to the Social Security and Medicare benefit programs that Republicans blame for pushing up US debt, Boehner floated

REUTERS

more modest proposed concessions, such as ordering approval of the Canada-to-Texas Keystone XL oil pipeline and changes to Obamacare insurance provisions.

But they too failed to gain enough Republican support to overcome objections from Democrats.

The final plan to repeal cost-ofliving cuts for non-disabled military retirees was doomed from the start, lawmakers said, as many conservatives objected to linking veterans to the debt ceiling, to cost offsets and other issues.

Many simply wanted the big deficit reduction achieved in the past.

“If there’s something attached to the debt ceiling, it should be addressing the underlying problem, which is, we’re spending too much money,” said Representative Jim Jordan, a conservative Republican from Ohio.

The episode showed Boehner still has difficulty exerting control over his fractious caucus, in which conservatives backed by the Tea Party movement hold considerable sway.

“Republicans can’t unite behind one plan. And so as long as we do that, we’ll not be influencing the outcomes of issues like this,” said Republican Representative Kevin Brady of Texas.

Conservative groups that egged on Republicans in the October shutdown fight over Obamacare funding urged members to vote against the debt limit increase.

Some Republicans wanted the debt limit issue behind them so they can focus on more productive issues such as next year’s annual spending bills and bashing Obama’s healthcare law, which they have repeatedly tried to repeal.

Republican House leaders led off a news conference on Tuesday with five lawmakers complaining about the latest Obamacare mandate delay for medium-sized companies.

In a somewhat cryptic sign that Boehner himself may be relieved to put the debt limit behind him, he walked out of the news conference singing the opening words to “Zip-a-Dee DooDah,” the marquee song from the 1946 Disney film “Song of the South.” l

Microsoft denies global censorship of China-related searches n Reuters

Microsoft Corp denied on Wednesday it was omitting websites from its Bing search engine results for users outside China after a Chinese rights group said the US firm was censoring material the government deems politically sensitive.

GreatFire.org, a China-based freedom of speech advocacy group, said in a statement on Tuesday that Bing was filtering out both English and Chinese language search results for terms such as “Dalai Lama”, the exiled Tibetan spiritual leader whom Beijing brands as a violenceseeking separatist, charges he denies.

Microsoft, responding to the rights group’s allegations, said a system fault had removed some search results for users outside China. The company has in the past come under fire for censoring the Chinese version of internet phone and messaging software Skype.

“Due to an error in our system, we triggered an incorrect results removal notification for some searches noted in the report but the results themselves are and were unaltered outside of China,” Stefan Weitz, senior director for Bing, said in a statement emailed to Reuters on Wednesday.

Weitz did not say if the error had been fixed and Microsoft officials in Beijing declined to elaborate.

Due to an error in our system, we triggered an incorrect results removal notification for some searches noted in the report but the results themselves are and were unaltered outside of China Microsoft sent a shortened version of the statement to China-based media organisations which omitted all reference to GreatFire.org and did not address the allegations.

“There were too many points in the original statement,” a China-based Microsoft spokeswoman told Reuters.

Reuters reporters found that Bing omitted several websites that showed up on the search engine of rival Google Inc when they searched for “Dalai

Lama” in Chinese from Singapore. The English-language search results on both engines were similar.

China’s ruling Communist Party sees censorship as key to maintaining its grip on power, recognizing that social media offers a platform for citizens to air grievances and criticism of the government, a potential trigger for social unrest.

This censorship often means foreign Internet companies must tread a careful path in China to exploit business opportunities without compromising a carefully nurtured image as champions of open societies and free speech.

All internet firms operating in China comply with the government’s web censorship requirements.

Microsoft has made no secret of its aim to build a bigger presence in China, a market where its software is widely used but rarely paid for.

Microsoft was criticized for censoring the Chinese version of Skype, which it ran jointly with Hong Kong-based TOM Group. In November, Microsoft said it had formed a new joint venture with Guangming Founder, and advocacy group GreatFire.org said Skype in China was no longer being censored. l

Record tumble in Japan machinery orders casts doubt on Abenomics n Reuters Japan’s core machinery orders suffered a steep drop in December and companies expect more declines in the January-March quarter, a worrying sign for capital spending seen as key to cementing a recovery in the world’s third-largest economy.

The 15.7% decline in orders, a leading indicator of capital expenditure, was much worse than a projected 4.1% decline and was the largest since comparable data available from 2005.

Companies surveyed by the Cabinet Office forecast that core orders, which is a highly volatile data series, will fall 2.9% in January-March, which would be the first drop in four quarters.

The data could fuel skepticism of Prime Minister Shinzo Abe reflationary policies, known as “Abenomics”, which has combined a massive injection of fiscal and monetary expansionary to

DILBERT

A South Korea Air Force aerobatic team the Black Eagles flies in formation during the Singapore Air Show on Tuesday. Asia's top aerospace and defence show opens in Singapore, with major global arms makers seeking to cash in on rising military spending in China and elsewhere as territorial disputes escalate in the region AFP

pull the economy out of a decades-long slump. A central plan of Abenomics is to spur capital spending to create a virtuous cycle of job creation, higher wages and consumer spending. “Companies are turning cautions before the sales tax hike,” said Yasuo Yamamoto, senior economist at Mizuho Research Institute.

“Capex could contract in April-June as well. If capex doesn’t recover in the second half of year, there will be expectations for the government and the BOJ to respond.” The weak orders data raises doubts that a freeze in business investment is thawing, which would hurt efforts to conquer 15 years of persistent deflation and foster sustained growth.

Capital spending has been anemic for years, with Japanese firms hesitant to boost investment on plants and equipment, because of a deep-rooted view that Japan would remain mired in deflation and sustained economic recovery is far from assured. l