21 March, 2014

Chaitra 7, 1420 Jamadiul Awal 19, 1435 Regd. No. DA 6238 Vol 1 No 357

FRIDAY, MARCH 21, 2014 | www.dhakatribune.com | SECOND EDITION

20 pages plus 32-page weekend supplement | Price: Tk10

Why so many rebels?

Dedicated local leaders, if not backed by party, find it hard to give up n Mohammad Al-Masum Molla For local political leaders, the upazila parishad elections come as stepping stones on multiple levels.

For some, the local elections are an opportunity to gain prominence for contesting national poll in future. For others, winning local body polls means crucial breakthrough for their businesses. Even if they lose out, they can put impressive displays of strength, especially among their supporters.

Although political parties are not allowed to directly nominate candidates for these local polls, their backings play key roles in the outcomes.

Then again, the absence of democratic practice within the major parties means that high commands often force their choices on the local leaders, cre-

ating a sense of deprivation among the grassroots ranks.

Eventually, many local leaders, better known as “rebels,” end up disobeying “discipline” and running against the party-backed candidates.

The fact that the “rebellions” go unpunished in most cases, also encourages local figures to repeat their “mistakes” of going against the party high command’s decisions in virtually every election.

In the three recently concluded phases of the upazila elections, the presence of a good number of rebel candidates has been a major headache for both the ruling Awami League and the BNP. In a significant number of upazilas, both parties have seen their vote banks get segregated and faced unexpected

results because of the presence of rebel candidates.

Out of the hundreds of rebel candidates in the upazilas that went into polls recently, only about 10-12 might have managed to triumph, but their presence in many upazilas had its toll in the election outcomes.

Compared to the first three phases of the upazila polls, the number of rebel candidates – from both Awami League and BNP – has come down significantly.

In the third phase, there were 79 and 60 rebel candidates from the Awami League and BNP respectively. In the second phase, the numbers were 57 and 51. In tomorrow’s fourth phase, the two tents have become neck-and-neck in terms of rebel candidates – Awami League 43 and BNP 44.  PAGE 2 COLUMN 2

REBELS IN FOURTH PHASE

AL

BNP

43 44

REASONS FOR REBELLION Unpunished disobedience encourages further rebellions Upazila polls stepping stone for contesting national poll Victory often means breakthrough for candidates’ businesses Rebel leaders blame central leaders for ignoring grassroots’ opinions

n Md Sanaul Islam Tipu

 PAGE 2 COLUMN 1

Global lender IMF will release the fifth tranche of the Extended Credit Facility in the first week of June with an aim to maintain local exchange rate stability, State Minister for Finance MA Mannan has said.

The International Monetary Fund was also keen on knowing whether the big development projects such as the Padma bridge were viable for the country, the minister told the Dhaka Tribune at his secretariat office yesterday after a meeting with the ECF review mission.

The proposed Padma bridge, the elevated expressway and the metro rail were part of the government’s six fasttrack priority development projects estimated to cost $15.5bn.

After the World Bank and some other major lenders pulled out in April 2012 bringing corruption conspiracy charges, the government decided to implement the bridge project with local funds.

“I told them [the IMF mission] that these major projects are our people’s dream, but are not economically feasible for the country right now,” the junior minister said.

According to Mannan, the IMF mission was “astonished” to see Bangladesh’s economic resilience despite the political unrest that took place from October to January.

He also said the IMF had been contemplating about introducing fresh debt limits for the low-income  PAGE 2 COLUMN 6

Rahman Rohan from n Reazur Chittagong

Bangladesh batsman Rubel Hossain is bowled out by Hong Kong bowler Nadeem Ahmed (not seen) during their World Twenty20 match at the Zahur Ahmed Chowdhury Stadium in Chittagong yesterday AP

Employees types

Organisations

Source

Bribe amount

Sanitary Inspectors

Local government organisation Health Department

retailers

Tk200-Tk400

Sanitary Inspectors

Local government organisation Health Department

Owners of bakeries, restaurants

Tk500-Tk1000

Field Officers

BSTI

Small and medium factories

Tk5000- Tk10,000

Field Officers

BSTI

Big Factories

Couldn’t be found

Employees

Customs houses related laboratories

Sample testing of imported goods

Tk1000- Tk1500

Employees

Customs Houses

Approval certificate after sample testing

Tk500- Tk800

TIB: Government officials take bribe to approve adulterated food n Tazlina Zamila Khan The Transparency International Bangladesh has said the government officials are heavily involved in taking bribes ranging from Tk500 to Tk10,000 from stakeholders in exchange for giving approval to adulterated foods.

The Bangladesh chapter of the Berlin-based NGO said this at a press conference titled “Ensuring Safe Food: Challenge of Good Governance and Solution” in the city’s Mohakhali yesterday.

According to the report, sanitary inspectors of the Health Department take Tk200Tk400 as bribe from retailers during inspection and Tk500-Tk 1000 every month from owners of bakeries and restaurants.

Also field officers of Bangladesh Stand-

ards and Testing Institution (BSTI) take Tk5000-Tk10000 as bribe while inspecting small and medium food factories.

Officials of customs houses take Tk500Tk1500 for sample testing of imported foods and issue approval certificates.

Executive Director of the TIB Iftekharuzzaman said: “We demand for formation of a safe food authority to reduce food adulteration. The culprits must be brought to book.”

“Food adulteration with poisonous chemicals has reached a dangerous proportion posing serious health hazards in the country. It is one of the major sectors of Bangladesh and 100% people are the victims of food adulteration,” he said.

“We will create a policy document and will sent it to the government soon.”  PAGE 2 COLUMN 2

INSIDE Business

B1 Bangladesh has been ranked 108th out of 160 countries in logistics performance index.

News

n Asif Showkat Kallol

Hong Kong humiliate Tigers for historic win

Murad sent to jail A Dhaka court yesterday sent detained Syed Nazmul Maksud alias Murad to jail in multiple cases including one filed for attempting to murder Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina in 1989.

Fourth Additional Metropolitan Session Judge AHM Habibur Rahman Bhuyian passed the order after police produced Murad before the court.

Assistant Public Prosecutor Mahfuzur Rahman Chowdhury said Murad was shown arrested in three cases – one for an attempt to murder Sheikh Hasina, another under Explosive Substance Act while the other for killing Motijheel Sangho Club officer Md Polash.

The case in connection with the murder of Polash was filed with the Motijheel police station in 1995.

Earlier Murad was brought back to Bangladesh on Wednesday with the help of Interpol from the United States.

CID sources said in response to a notice issued through Interpol, the

IMF wants to know the viability of major development projects

5 Farmgate Park in the capital has almost become an undesirable place for visitors as encroachment, illegal

structures and antisocial activities now rule the place.

World

8 European leaders yesterday debated economic sanctions against Russia for annexing Crimea as Ukraine tore up key ties with the Kremlin and planned evacuation of nationals from the peninsula.

A six over extra cover was the best way Hong Kong could have landed their historic win against Bangladesh in the World Twenty20 yesterday.

Hong Kong scampered to 114 with two balls and two wickets to spare to humiliate the home side at the Zahur Ahmed Chowdhury Stadium.

However, despite the shameful defeat, Bangladesh progressed to the second round because of better net run rate than Nepal.

It was probably the best moment of 40-year-old Munir Dar’s life when his 27 ball 36 helped Hong Kong stage the comeback after the Bangladesh bowlers had them reeling at 50 for 5.

Earlier, it was the spinning duo Nadeem Ahmed and Nizakat Khan who

shared seven wickets to set up the two-wicket win, their first against a Test playing nation.

Bangladesh’s embarrassing 108 not only enabled Hong Kong to win their first major game ever, but in the half way mark had also Nepal glued to the game as the latter would have gone through to the second round if Hong Kong achieved the target in 13.1 over.

More than losing Bangladesh’s fear was to not to let Hong Kong achieve the feat inside 13 over, and Mushfiqur  PAGE 2 COLUMN 4

2

DHAKA TRIBUNE

News

Friday, March 21, 2014

3 killed, 85 injured in separate incidents n Tribune Report At least three people were killed and 85 injured in separate incidents across the country yesterday. Over a dozen were held in these connections.

Our Chapainawabganj correspondent reports that a youth was killed in Balidanga of Nachole over a land dispute. The victim was Jasim Uddin, 30, of the same village.

Locals said Jasim had locked in an altercation with Khairul Islam and his wife Layli Begum, residents of Polsha Mission Bazar area. Khairul and his wife allegedly beat him up leaving him critically injured. Later he died on the way to a local hospital.

When contacted, Jasim Uddin, OC of Chapainawabganj police station, said they had arrested the couple on charge of murder. A case was filed.

Police recovered body of an old man from a cornfield in Doulatdiar area, 12 days after he went missing from home, reports our Chuadanga correspondent.

The deceased was Omar Ali, 70.

Liyakat Hossain, OC of Chuadanga police station, said Omar might had died from a heart attack while going to the field.

According to the report of our Gaibandha correspondent, a woman was killed following altercation over watering a field in Malibari union. The deceased was Shilpi Begum, 25, wife of Rafiqul Islam.

Balu Mia, caretaker of a water pump, attacked her as she tried to fetch water from his pump around 4pm without tak-

ing his permission, said Gopal Chandra, OC of Gaibandha sadar police station.

Police said at least 15 people were injured in a clash that broke out around 2pm between the trainers and the trainees of a vocational training centre in Unique area of Ashulia, reports our Ashulia correspondent.

Sources said the clash erupted as the trainees put up blockade on Baipail-Abdullahpur road over a bargain regarding sending the trainees abroad.

Upon information, police went to the spot and brought the situation under control around 2:30pm, said Sheikh Badrul Alam, OC of Asulia police station.

Our Brahmanbaria correspondent reports that at least 20 people were injured in a clash between two groups of villagers in Ashuganj area. Locals said the clash took place between supporters of Hazi Gafur Mia and Mizan Mia over land-related issues that lasted for around half an hour.

Golam Faruk, OC of Ashuganj police station, said police took the situation under control and additional police force had been deployed in the area.

In separate incidents of clashes in the district, at least 50 people were injured in Bhushor village of Pakshimul union.

A clash broke out between Faizullah and Samuj Ali over taking control of a water pump to water crops. Ali Arshad, OC of Sorail police station, said they had charged 22 rounds of rubber bullets and five rounds of teargas canisters to bring the situation under control.

Seven were held in this regard. l

Rawshan abstains from Ershad’s birthday celebration n Manik Miazee Jatiya Party chief HM Ershad, also special envoy to the prime minister, yesterday celebrated his 85th birthday surrounded by party activists when his wife and Leader of the Opposition Rawshan Ershad remained absent for unknown reasons.

Marking the day, two separate programmes were organised in the capital where Ershad exchanges views with party leaders – at Emanuell’s Convention

Centre, Gulshan and later at The Westin Dhaka in the evening, hosted by JaPa Secretary General Ruhul Amin Hawlader.

Rawshan and her followers were invited at the programmes.

Only Barrister Anisul Islam Mahmud and Ziauddin Bablu attended the programme from Rawshan’s side.

While contacted, her Private Secretary Golam Moshi told the Dhaka Tribune that he was not sure whether Rawshan would attend the programme. l

President Abdul Hamid joins a Doa Mahfil marking the first death anniversary of late president Zillur Rahman at Darbar Hall of Bangabhaban in the capital yesterday

Acting CEC suspends Rakibuddin’s PS n Mohammad Zakaria Acting chief election commissioner Abdul Mobarak has suspended AKM Mazharul Islam, the personal secretary of the CEC, for “ignoring” his responsibilities.

EC sources said the acting CEC had suspended him over previous altercation.

CEC Kazi Rakibuddin Ahmad is now in the USA. Sources also said Mazhar went to Cox’s Bazar with his family to attend a training programme on March 17-18 without informing Mobarak. After being informed, Mobarak asked the secretariat to suspend him immediately.

Murad sent to jail

TIB: Government officials

 PAGE 1 COLUMN 1

 PAGE 1 COLUMN 2

US police, FBI, and Homeland Security Services arrested Murad in Atlanta on February 2, 2012.

Personnel of Homeland Security Services first took Murad to Washington DC by a plane of Malaysian Airlines and then handed him over to CID on Wednesday.

Murad escaped to the USA four months after the Awami League assumed power in June 1996.

According to the case statement, on August 11, 1989, a gang of seven to eight armed youths in two engine-run three-wheelers got to the house of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman in Dhanmondi around 12:30am.

It says they fired bullets and hurled grenades at the house to kill Hasina who was there at the moment. None was injured in the attack.

In retaliation on-duty habilder Jahirul Haque and constable Zakir Hossain opened fire which made the attackers flee towards the east chanting slogans “Col Faruk Zindabad.”

In this connection, two cases were filed with Dhanmondi police station under the explosive acts and penal code.

The police initially submitted its final report in 1996 during the first tenure of the Awami League government.

After re-investigation, the CID submitted the charge sheet.

On February 20, 1997, then assistant superintendent of CID Khalek Uzzaman submitted charge-sheet in the cases against 16 accused including Murad, absconding Lt Col Khandaker Abdur Rashid, and executed Lt Col (retd) Syed Faruk Rahman and Maj (retd) Bazlul Huda.

The court framed the charges against the accused on July 16, 1997.

Of the accused, Sohel alias Freedom Sohel, Md Golam Sarwar alias Mamun and Joj Miah are now in jail, while Humayun Kabir, Mizanur Rahman, Khondoker Amirul Islam and Md Shajahan alias Balu are out on bail.

Five accused absconding from the beginning are Lt Col (retd) Khondoker Rashid, Jafor Ahmed alias Manik, Gazi Imam Hossain and Md Humayun Kabir.

The main accused of the case Lt Col Syed Farooq Rahman and Maj Bazlul Huda were hanged in Bangabandhu murder case on January 28, 2010. Two other accused – Gazi Liakat Hossain and Rezaul Islam Khan – have died.

Of the accused, Humayun, Rezaul and Liakat made confessional statement on September 23, 1996, before the court. l

Creating awareness among people is not enough rather the authorities have to act honestly, he maintained.

The report reveals that there is lack of manpower in the departments responsible for ensuring safe food. Only 78 sanitary inspectors among a total of 370 are working under 319 municipalities and 11 city corporations.

Also, 30 posts of the BSTI field officers under districts and divisional levels have remained vacant for a long time.

Around 4,500,000 people got affected in various diseases for adulterated food. The reason behind the problem is mentioned as limitation of current act and laws, lack of their im-

plementation, absence of proper monitoring and lack of accountability.

The report also blames lack of communication between department officials concerned. The TIB also points out that such a single organisation in not good enough to ensure safe food.

It says there is only one food court under Dhaka North City Corporation, which is not enough at all.

TIB Chairperson Sultana Kamal said: “The government is playing reluctant role in this case. We saw news of adulteration in different media against PRAN and BDFOOD. But the food produced by those companies is still being sold to markets.”

“The number of cases against the culprits is very low. People don’t have

Mazhar wanted to talk to Mobarak in this regard, but the acting CEC did not allow him.

Mazhar was present at the commission yesterday but did not do any official work, sources said.

Mazhar told the Dhaka Tribune: “I have got the letter about suspension.

The acting CEC suspended me for ignoring him.”

When asked, Election Commissioner Mohammad Abu Hafiz told the Dhaka Tribune that the acting CEC had the authority to make any administrative decision in the commission.

“I did not know the reason of suspending the official,” he also said. l

any idea who to put forward their complaints. Besides, people involved in food adulteration have money. So when anyone files a case it becomes difficult to fight against them,” she added.

About the report on wastage of money in quorum crisis during the ninth parliament Iftekharuzzaman said: “We can’t do any work without the permission of the government. The report is not unconstitutional. If anyone challenges us in this regard then it’s against the rule.”

“We are registered organisation of the government. Not a single money comes without the approval of government. Our audit report is open and any government officials can check it.” l

Boro procurement President, PM join starts from May 1 prayers for Zillur n Mohosinul Karim n Tribune Report The government has decided to procure 10 lakh tonnes of rice and 1,50,000 tonnes paddy in the current boro season.

The procurement will start from May 1.

Food Planning and Monitoring Committee, a cabinet-level committee, made the decision at a meeting held yesterday at the food ministry.

Finance Minister AMA Muhith, Agriculture Minister Matia Chowdhury, Disaster Management and Relief Minister Mofazzal Hossain Chowdhury Maya, and other top officials were present.

Food Minister Quamrul Islam who chaired the meeting said: “The committee has decided to set the price of rice at Tk31 per kg considering the production cost of rice which goes around Tk26.50 per kg this season. The production cost of per kg paddy was Tk17.50.”

He said paddy and wheat would be procured from the farmers directly. l

The UK visa application centre in Dhaka will move to new premises on Sunday.

The new location is Delta Life Tower, Plot 37, Road 45 in Gulshan North.

It has been made ready to a high specification to reflect the high standards that the UK government is determined to provide to UK visa applicants, said a British High Commission media release. The centre in Sylhet will also move to new premises by early May and VFS Global will continue to operate both centres. l

Hong Kong humiliate Tigers

 PAGE 1 COLUMN 3

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In many upazilas with rebel candidates, voters got confused over who to vote for. Eventually, the contestants from the rival parties came out on top because of this confusion.

Rezaul Karim Uzzal, recently expelled from the Awami League, went into the Ghior Upazila Parishad elections in Manikganj district in the third phase. He was asked who would take the blame if a party-backed candidate lose out because of the presence of a rebel candidate.

“The leaders, who select the candidates, should take the responsibility.

If the leaders fail to select competent candidates, the outcomes will not be favourable even if there is no rebel.

Acceptability among voters is the main thing.

"Those who do not have it will lose.

The rebel candidates are not responsible... A dedicated worker might temporarily decide to go against the party, but if he wins, he will eventually work in favour of the party. So, in the long run, it will benefit the party,” Uzzal said.

In reply to the same question, rebel BNP candidate Shahjahan Ali from Dhunat upazila of Bogra said: “[I decided to go against party decision] to teach those leaders, who selected the wrong candidate, a lesson.”

When asked why there were so many rebel candidates, Uzzal said: “It is not possible for a dedicated worker to give up his own field before the elections all of a sudden. It jeopardises his

Rahim did not hesitate at all to hand his best man Shakib al Hasan the ball upfront. Shakib had Waqas Barkat stumped in the second over, but Irfan Ahmed’s 28 ball 34, that had three fours and equal sixes, gave Hong Kong just the start they needed.

The momentum of the game shifted like a see-saw as Shakib struck twice in the 8th over before Al Amin and Mahmudullah also chipped in to send the minnows to back foot.

The crowd pressure and the inexperience was clear in Hong Kong’s approach which let Bangladesh come back in the game, but Munir and Nizakat added 33 runs for the sixth wicket to maintain the balance of the game.

With 26 required off 24, Munir struck two fours and a six off Farhad Reza to narrow the margin and effectively take the game away from Bangladesh.

Earlier, it was a batting scorecard that the whole of Bangladesh wouldn’t have ever imagined in their worst nightmare. Bangladesh, who romped to victories with 9 and 8 wickets in hand in the previous matches, had their middle-order tested for the first time in the tournament and they failed miserably to stand up against the disciplined Hong Kong bowlers.

The batsmen approached like 13year old kids and looked clueless in the middle. Despite losing wickets continuously, the hosts seemed content on going for big shots without any plan or what-so-ever and only ended up with

President Abdul Hamid yesterday joined a special prayer at the Darbar Hall of his office marking the first death anniversary of late president Zillur Rahman.

Bangabhaban officials and employees attended the event held after the Asr prayer, reports UNB. Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina also joined a milad and doa mahfil at the residence of Zillur Rahman at city’s Gulshan.

Deputy Leader of the House Syeda Sajeda Chowdhury, Commerce Minister Tofail Ahmed, PM’s Security Adviser Maj Gen (retd) Tariq Ahmed Siddique, AL Presidium Member Shahara Khatun, former deputy speaker Shawkat Ali, AL Publicity Secretary Hasan Mahmud, PM’s Special Assistant Mahbubul Hoque Shakil and people from all strata attended the milad held after Asr prayers.

Zillur Rahman, also a close aide of Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman and organiser of the Liberation War, died of old-age complications at Mount Elizabeth Hospital in Singapore on March 20 last year. l

UK visa application centre to relocate n UNB Japanese FM arrives

Why so many rebels?

political existence altogether.”

Joynal Abedin Chan, general secretary of Bogra district chapter BNP, said local leaders revolt when the party high command failed to evaluate them and select less popular candidates.

Rebel BNP candidate Abul Hashem Biswas Dudu from the Ghior upazila said he did not believe in the “rebel” status.

“Rebel candidates do not pose any problem. People lose because of their incompetency. We do politics for the party’s sake. Even if the rebel candidate wins, it does not hurt the party.”

BNP Joint Secretary General Barkatullah Bulu told the Dhaka Tribune that many rebel candidates realised only after losing in the polls that they were not as popular as they thought they were.

“Sometimes we embrace the rebels, sometimes we expel them. That gives out a wrong signal that going against party decision may get unpunished.

That is why there has been so many rebel candidates,” Bulu explained.

“In the three concluded phases, the presence of rebels had clear unfavourable impacts on the election outcomes,” he said.

Awami League Presidium member Kazi Zafarullah came down hard on the rebel candidates saying: “Everyone wants to stay close to power. Many rebel candidates think that becoming [upazila parishad] chairman is an easy way to becoming a millionaire. That is why many desperately try to win the elections.” l

PID

gloomy faces back to the hut.

After Tanwir Afzal handed Bangladesh a double blow in the first over, it was interesting to see how immature the Tigers, who literally play spin in domestic leagues the whole year round, were in facing the left-arm spinner Nadeem and leg spinner Nizakat.

With no runs on the board Tamim Iqbal, who chopped on to his stumps, was gifted a two-ball duck on his birthday before Sabbir Rahman was trapped lbw three balls later to silent the crowd.

However, Shakib and Anamul Haque showed no sign of bogging down as they slapped the balls on all corners of the ground to add 48 in five overs.

Mushfiq and Shakib continued the onslaught after Anamul (26) departed, but after putting on 34 runs, the partnership was broken which saw the Tigers fall like a house of cards. Ridiculous shot selection saw Bangladesh throw their last six wickets for just 23 runs.

Shakib’s short arm jab went straight to mid wicket and though Mushfiq showed extreme disappointment while his partner was walking back, but what he did six balls later was a crime itself. The skipper, who survived a dolly to the wicketkeeper, instead of taking up more responsibility got out trying to heave a wide ball and ended up top edging to extra cover.

Mahmudullah made two before Farhad, Razzak and Rubel Hossain returned with ducks and when No 11 Al Amin holed out to long-on Bangladesh still had 3.3 overs to spare, but without any wicket. l

in Dhaka today

n Sheikh Shahariar Zaman Japanese Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida is scheduled to arrive in Dhaka today on a two-day visit to discuss bilateral relations, including trade and climate change issues.

Kishida will meet Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and Foreign Minister Abul Hasan Mahmud Ali to discuss ways to strengthen bilateral ties, a foreign ministry official said yesterday.

“The foreign ministers of Bangladesh and Japan will have formal talks on Saturday to discuss bilateral economic and trade relations, and how to increase cooperation in the international arena,” Ashud Ahmed, a director general of the ministry, told the Dhaka Tribune.

Climate change issues would also be discussed at the talks, Ashud said.

Another ministry official said in a broader context, the two ministers would discuss Bangladesh-Japan security cooperation, trade promotion and reforms in the UN Security Council.

Official development assistance would get prominence under economic and trade promotion, he said. In the security cooperation area, both sides were likely to discuss UN peacekeeping operations.

When contacted, Bangladesh envoy in Tokyo Masud bin Momen said: "Japan always provides unconditional loans and Dhaka expects to get more assistance from it."

Since 1971, Dhaka has received $11bn in assistance from Japan.l

IMF wants  PAGE 1 COLUMN 6

countries under the Debt Limits Fund Programme.

The IMF mission came to Dhaka on March 19 on an eight-day visit to examine the release of the fifth tranche of the credit facility.

The IMF Executive Board disbursed the fourth ECF tranche of $140.4m to Bangladesh last December. That brought the total disbursement under the arrangement to about $561.4m. l

DHAKA TRIBUNE

News

RANA PLAZA TRAGEDY

‘DNA tests could be decisive to identify bodies’ n Moniruzzaman Uzzal

technical adviser for the national DNA laboratory, said the process of handing over the bodies of Rana Plaza victims had been “totally wrong,” as only visual identification marks were used to verify relatives’ claims on more than 800 bodies.

Realisation of standard identification procedure would have ensured that no corpse was handed over without collecting DNA sample for archival purposes, Dr Akhteruzzaman said, adding that the administration failed to follow the “ideal rules,” as such a disaster was unprecedented in the country.

“I am sure several bodies were handed over without properly identifying them. Some of those were done intentionally or unknowingly. Besides,

The identities of over a hundred Rana Plaza collapse victims, who remain unidentified almost a year after the disaster, could be ascertained if necessary steps were taken by the government, speakers at a seminar said yesterday.

The identifications could be made by doing DNA tests of the family members of over 800 victims, whose bodies were claimed by relatives without providing any DNA sample, speakers added. The process would require around Tk50 lakh, as every DNA test costs Tk5,000.

Addressing a seminar on identifying Rana Plaza victims, Professor Dr Sharif Akhteruzzaman, national

an unscrupulous quarter had claimed some bodies to be of their relatives in order to bag Tk20,000 for burying each body,” he said.

Dr Akhteruzzaman added that a more elaborate and appropriate national disaster management plan was needed for collecting DNA samples from any future accident site.

Sources at the national DNA lab said 541 families gave 561 DNA samples for cross matching with the 322 unidentified victims, whose bone and teeth were collected as DNA samples.

A high-tech combined DNA index system (codex) software, provided by the US Federal Bureau of Investigation, was used to identify 200 Rana Plaza victims through DNA tests.

Among those identified, 149 were female and 51 were male, 10 DNA samples of the victims were matched with several relatives, while 112 remained unidentified.

Yesterday’s seminar, titled “DNA Profiling Technology in Mass Disaster Victim Identification: The Rana Plaza Experience,” was organised by Dhaka University’s biological science faculty at the botany department.

Chaired by biological science faculty Dean Professor Dr M Imdadul Hoque, the seminar’s chief guest was DU ProVice Chancellor (administration) Professor Shahid Akhter Hossain. Among others, Moniruzzaman Khondokar, chairman of biological science department, was present.

Further identification could be possible by collecting DNA samples from the buried bodies along with from those who claimed to be their relatives, and cross match it with the other people who had submitted samples in search of missing relatives earlier, Dr Akhteruzzaman said.

Asked whether the government would be formally asked to initiate further findings, Dr Akhteruzzaman said the DNA tests for Rana Plaza victims has not yet been officially finished, but added that a formal letter would be given to the government in the future.

The collapse of Rana Plaza on April 24 last year caused the deaths of at least 1,134 people and injured 2,515 more. l

Minister: Khaleda’s indictment not politically-motivated n Mohosinul Karim

Law Minister Anisul Huq yesterday claimed that framing charge against BNP Chairperson Khaleda Zia was not politically motivated.

Terming it sub-judice matter, the minister said: “I should not talk about a sub-judice issue. But, it is true that the court has framed charge against the BNP chief after hearing.”

He made the comment after Saudi Ambassador in Dhaka Abdullah Bin Nasser Al Basiri paid a courtesy call on him at the ministry.

The Anti-Corruption Commission filed two cases against Khaleda Zia and her sons Tarique Rahman and Arafat Rahman on charges of illegal transaction of fund of Zia Charitable Trust and Zia Orphanage Trust.

Anisul Huq said, “I do not see any political motive behind the cases as the investigation into the two cases started during the rule of the previous caretaker government. The cases were filed after completion of investigation.”

He added: “The cases were not lodged on political consideration. As an independent body, the ACC filed the cases and submitted the charge

sheet against Khaleda. The charge was framed against her on the basis of evidences and allegations. There is no relation with politics.”

“BNP claimed that it would be deliberately done with political motives.

They made the claims after the court had adjourned the cases 40 times.

The charge was framed in presence of Khaleda,” he added.

Regarding Khaleda Zia’s allegation of framing the charge without questioning her about her offence, the minister said, “I should not make any comment on any sub-judice matter. The lawyers of ACC can explain their position.”

About “contempt of court act” he said: “A draft of the proposed act was prepared earlier. But, finally the act was not passed. After consulting the stakeholders, we will take decision as to whether it is necessary or not. We will also take the proposal for amendment to the previous act into account, if necessary.”

He said though there is no contempt of court act right now in the country, some guidelines were given in the judgments on previous cases. “Contempt of court issues can be settled according to the judgments.” l

BNP: Charges framed against Khaleda, Tarique sans proper procedure n Mohammad Al-Masum Molla Charges have been framed against BNP Chairperson Khaleda Zia and its senior vice-chairman Tarique Rahman without following proper procedure, a top party leader says.

“In the politically motivated cases, charges have been framed against Begum Zia to weaken her mentally and humiliate politically. It is a part of government’s conspiracy. Proper procedure has not been followed for framing charges,” Ruhul Kabir Rizvi, joint secretary general of BNP, told a press briefing at the party’s Nayapaltan headquarters yesterday.

He came up with the reaction a day after Khaleda Zia along with her elder son Tarique Rahman and seven others was indicted in Zia Orphanage Trust and Zia Charitable Trust corruption cases filed by

the Anti-Corruption Commission.

Rizvi said they will fight legal battle and politically face the cases too. He, however, said they will announce programme later.

He claimed that the BNP chairperson was present in the court, but no proposal was placed for framing charges. “No hearing was held. Even she was not asked whether she was guilty.”

The BNP leader alleged that cases filed against Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and ruling party leaders were withdrawn, but false cases were filed against their leaders and activists.

“The government has been implementing various plans to divert people’s attention from the chaotic situation in the country and as part of it, cases were filed against Zia family, including Khaleda Zia.” l

Garment workers hold a demonstration, protesting the assault of two fellow factory workers, in front of the National Press Club yesterday MAHMUD HOSSAIN OPU

A minority Hindu farmer has alleged that the local lawmaker’s brotherin-law had evicted his family from their homestead and illegally taken possession of the place in Feni’s Sonagazi upazila.

Chittoronjon Nath, the victim, also claimed that Abu Naser, brother-in-law of Feni 3 constituency lawmaker Haji Rahim Ullah, was

threatening to kill the members of his family.

The victim added that he had filed a written complaint on Wednesday to the police superintendent, seeking remedy of the matter.

“Earlier on February 24, I signed an agreement with Naser for selling five-decimal land to him.

He agreed to buy the land for Tk2 lakh and he gave me Tk50,000 as advanced payment. Later on Monday,

Police: Ansar member might have been killed ‘accidentally’ n Mohammad Jamil Khan Investigators yesterday hinted that the Ansar member, who was killed at Moghbazar BTCL Colony on Thursday night, might have been shot ‘accidentally’ by armed criminals.

Police, quoting locals, said on Thursday night, a group of six criminals wearing helmets entered the colony at around 1:00am, and called for one Ahad, a staff of the colony who also owns an IPS (Instant Power Supply) distribution business, and then fired banks when they could not find him.

Three bullets fired by the criminals hit an Ansar member, Abdul Aleem, 28, who was on-duty at the colony, on the right side of his neck, chest and right hand.

“Later, he was rush to Dhaka Medical College Hospital (DMCH), where the on duty doctors declared him dead at around 1.30am. The body was sent to the hospital’s morgue for autopsy,” Moshiur Rahman, officer-in-charge of Ramna police station, told the Dhaka Tribune.

Aleem, son of late Mirja Fakir, hailed from Sagat of Gaibandha district. He was on duty at the T&T colony with another Ansar member Mostofa Kamal.

When asked, Moshiur said primarily they presume that the criminals had not entered the colony to kill the Ansar member as they were searching for Ahad.

“We have interrogated the three other Ansar officials, who were on-duty at the colony on that night, and Ahad. Investigation is underway and we hope that we would find a new lead after receiving the autopsy report,” Moshiur added.

Sources of BTCL colony said Ahad had a quarrel with his partner, Ramiz, a week ago inside the colony. The shooting incident took place soon after the incident. l

Defence of Nizami given one more day n Udisa Islam

On the third day of closing arguments yesterday, the defence of top war crimes suspect Motiur Rahman Nizami denied the charge related to intellectual killings saying that it was not clear.

After the whole day session, they pleaded to the tribunal for another day to place their submission on the legal part. The tribunal allowed them to place arguments on Sunday and asked the prosecution to place their submission, if there was any.

The defence began arguments on March 13, a day after the prosecution ended their submission – on the third day. The defence was earlier asked to complete arguments by yesterday.

Defence counsel Mizanul Islam yesterday said there was no description of any particular incident under charge 16 which is related to the killing of intellectuals in Dhaka just before the country’s independence. He also claimed that the charge framing process was incorrect.

He argued that the investigation

Witness identifies accused as ‘Qaisar Bahini’ chief in ’71 n Udisa Islam A new prosecution witness in the case against Syed Mohammad Qaisar in his deposition told the war crimes tribunal yesterday about the brutalities of “Qaisar Bahini” perpetrated in Habiganj during the 1971 Liberation War. Mohammad Ali Tipu, 64, was convener of the district’s unit of All-Party Resistance Council. “On April 12, we came to know that peace committees were formed in Dhaka, and also in Habiganj at the house of Syed Saifuddin, father of

the accused.”

The same month, Qaisar formed a group after his name. He described the atrocities that group had committed in Madpur and Katiara on April 27 and 28 when at least 15 unarmed civilians were killed. Local Awami League leaders Dr Salieh Ahmed and Hirendra Roy were killed on April 29 after torture by hanging them from a tree near the house of former chief justice Mahmud Hossain. After his deposition, the tribunal adjourned the session until Sunday for cross-examination. l

MP’s relative ‘illegally occupies’ minority homestead n Our correspondent, Feni

3

Friday, March 21, 2014

Naser came to my locality and illegally took possession of 93 decimal of my homestead and the nearby land by cutting trees in the area. He also erected a fence at the area,” the victim told reporters.

Saying that his family has been forced to take shelter in another house out of fear for their own lives, Chittoronjon added that the administration has kept mum over the issue, as the accused

was a relative of an influential lawmaker.

Feni Police Superintendent Poritosh Ghosh confirmed that he received the complaint, but said no action had been taken so far.

Meanwhile, Naser refuted the allegation and said he had taken possession of the land that he had bought.

Lawmaker Rahim Ullah also said he had no knowledge of the issue. l

BNP submits memoranda to DCs n Mohammad AL-Masum Molla The BNP submitted memorandums to the deputy commissioners across the country yesterday in protest at what it said “violence and vote rigging” in the Upazila Parishad elections.

Even though the party announced programme to lay siege to the DC offices across the country, they only submitted the memorandums to the deputy commissioners. BNP chairperson’s adviser Abdul Mannan along with some senior leaders handed over a memorandum to the deputy commissioner of Dhaka at 12:00 noon.

Party’s Joint Secretary General Ruhul Kabir Rizvi said their leaders and activists handed over memorandums to the DC offices across the country. l

officer in his report had not submitted any clue about the charge and also not the note of Rao Farman Ali, a former Pakistani army personnel blamed for masterminding the intellectuals’ killing.

Mizanul also said the journalist who had witnessed the reality of intellectual killings had not been included as a witness in the case. He mentioned that the charge was not clear enough.

He claimed that Nizami was innocent as the charges had not been related with him.

The defence counsel also claimed that the witness who the prosecution had placed to prove the charge was not reliable. “Every part of the deposition of the witness is false, not real.”

Nizami was indicted on May 28, 2012 on 16 counts of crimes against humanity including murder, rape, arson and incitement he had committed in Pabna and Dhaka.

Now the chief of Jamaat-e-Islami, Nizami had been the chief of Islami Chhatra Sangha, then students’ body of Jamaat. l

4

DHAKA TRIBUNE

News

Friday, March 21, 2014

Dhaka flags Teesta concern with Delhi n Sheikh Shahariar Zaman Bangladesh has flagged its concern over the drastic fall of Teesta water in recent months.

Foreign Secretary Md Shahidul Haque in the meeting with his Indian counterpart Sujatha Singh raised the issue yesterday.

Shahidul also paid courtesy calls on Indian External Affairs Minister Salman Khurshid and National Security Adviser Shiv Sankar Menon.

The foreign secretary went to India, his first visit as secretary, on March 19 on a four-day visit.

The water flow in Teesta dropped to one-third of its regular flow in the last couple of months putting partial irrigation system in the northern zone into great trouble.

Shahidul on Wednesday also raised the issue of drastic fall of flow of water of Teesta river to Bangladesh when he met Indian Water Resources Secretary.

The Indian foreign secretary on the issue of fall of Teesta water flow said that they were taking it very seriously and had already asked their technical people concerned to immediately look into it, said a press release.

She informed that they are in the process of building necessary domestic consensus for signing the Teesta agreement.

Bangladesh and India failed to sign Teesta agreement in 2011 over the strong resistance from West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee.

Both sides emphasized on taking enabling steps to enhance connectivity in the region and in this context, they expressed their commitment to expe-

dite the work of coastal shipping connectivity.

A delegation from India is expected to visit Bangladesh soon for this purpose.

About cooperation in power sector, the foreign secretaries underscored the need for putting in place the necessary infrastructure urgently for supplying additional 500MW of power to Bangladesh through the Bheramara-Baharampur grid inter-link and 100MW of power from Palatana power plant in Tripura.

Bangladesh signed agreement to purchase 500 megawatt of electricity from India for the next 20 years and also wants to import additional 500 megawatt and 100 megawatt from Palatana power plant.

About border killing, the Indian foreign secretary said that sustained efforts had significantly reduced the number of killing but even a single killing is regrettable.

She reiterated the commitment of the highest level of India to bring down the killings to zero.

The two secretaries vowed to work more closely for trade facilitation such as development of infrastructure, removal of non-tariff and para-tariff barriers and mutual recognition of standards and certificates.

Shahidul also met Indian Petroleum and Natural Gas Secretary of India and discussed issues of mutual interest and benefit and underscored the need for exploring new areas of cooperation for greater energy security between the two countries.

The foreign secretary went to India, his first visit, as secretary, on March 19 on a four-day visit. l

CERN DG RolfDieter Heuer due on April 7 n Tribune Report

Students of a private university gather on a road for a flashmob centring the ICC T20 World Cup at the capital’s Shyamoi area yesterday SYED ZAKIR HOSSAIN

ACC to quiz six top Petrobangla officials n Tribune Report

The Anti-Corruption Commission is set to quiz six high officials of state-run Petrobangla, including a managing director and a deputy managing director, in connection with its inquiry against Petrobangla Chairman Md Hossain Monsur on charge of acquiring illegal wealth.

The anti-graft body yesterday served notices to Barapukuria Coal

Mine Company Ltd Managing Director Md Aminuzzaman, Petrobangla Deputy Managing Director Firoz Khan, Project Director of Bibiyana Dhanua Gas Transmission Pipeline Project Mahmud Khan, Karnaphuli Gas Distribution Company Ltd General Manager (Admin) and Secretary Chowdhury Ahsan Habib, Manager (Admin) Abdullah Al Mamun, and Gas Transmission Company Ltd General Manager (HR) M Osman Faruk, asking them to appear

Abandoned girl living in inhumane state n Maria Salam Annu, a physically-challenged sevenyear-old girl who was left abandoned at Dhaka Medical College Hospital seven months ago, has been living in inhumane conditions though the authorities are informed about her.

The helpless girl had developed infectious wounds on her thigh when the Dhaka Tribune reporter visited her at the children’s ward yesterday afternoon.

“Such wounds have developed because her pampers have not been changed regularly,” said Hosne Ara, a female Ansar member.

The attendants of other patients claimed that her pampers had not been changed even after two days. They also said Annu was given bath once a week.

Replying to a query why Annu was not getting treatment for her wounds, Hashi Rani Das, an on-duty nurse at the ward, told the Dhaka Tribune: “We

asked special attendant Phoolbanu to take care of her and clean her time to time. But she cleans her whenever she gets the time.”

Annu’s bed seemed extremely dirty.

The bed sheet was not clean and littered with leftovers.

It was learnt that Annu is not fed properly. She is unable to eat herself because of her disability and most of the food given to her often goes waste.

A patient, who has been in a bed next to Annu, said he had been at the hospital for 17 days and did not see the girl bathed since.

However, Ansar member Rojina and Ahasania Mission staff member Nurnahar have been trying to feed and clean her whenever they get time. They are engaged in taking care of another abandoned boy named Siam.

Regarding the condition of the illfated girl, Deputy Director Mushfiqur Rahim of the hospital told the Dhaka Tribune that the authorities were

Dr Rolf-Dieter Heuer, director general of CERN, the European Organization for Nuclear Research will arrive in Dhaka on April 7, an education ministry press release said yesterday.

The press release said a preparation meeting was held regarding his arrival at the education ministry yesterday.

It said the CERN DG had been invited as the convocation speaker at the 48th convocation of Dhaka University scheduled to be held on April 7.

It said Dhaka University would confer the Doctor of Science (D.Sc.) upon Dr Rolf-Dieter Heuer. He would meet with eminent scientists, researchers, engineers, teachers and students on April 8 at Nabab Nawab Ali Chowdhury Senate Bhaban of the university.

Dr Rolf-Dieter Heuer would also pay a courtesy visit to the Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, Education Minister Nurul Islam Nahid and Foreign Minister A H Mahmud Ali, the press release added. l

aware of the condition of the girl.

He said: “We cannot let a child die in front of our eyes. We try our best to maintain the fundamental needs of the girl. But we are unable to monitor the situation all through the day.”

'We asked special attendant Phoolbanu to take care of her and clean her time to time.

But she cleans her whenever she gets the time' Annu was noticed by a Dhaka Tribune journalist when she went to the DMCH to visit Siam at the children’s ward.

Doctors said she might have been abandoned for disability.

The Dhaka Tribune contacted high officials of Centre for the Rehabilita-

tion of the Paralysed (CRP) and requested them to see if there was any possibility to assist the girl.

Sister Valerie Ann Taylor, founder and coordinator of the CRP, introduced Shariful Islam, country coordinator of Canada-funded IPODMCH project, with the Dhaka Tribune reporter and requested that the conversation be taken to him in this regard.

Shariful said: “Firstly, someone has to write to the director of the CRP about the girl and then we will take necessary steps after understanding the situation.”

Later on Wednesday, a Dhaka Tribune reporter sent an email to the CRP authorities requesting them to take required steps.

Yesterday, Goutam Basak, publication and communication officer of the organisation, said: “We have already forwarded the email to our top authorities. It will take a couple of days to get a decision in this regard.” l

before the commission at its Segunbagicha headquarters on March 30.

On March 9, ACC Deputy Director Ahsan Ali was assigned to investigate into alleged involvement of the Petrobangla chairman in accumulating illegal wealth through recruiting employees in 13 of its associate companies violating rules.

The allegation said the chairman in connivance with some of his associates appointed a good number of employ-

ees violating the company rules.

An ACC official said the commission has received documents from the company on all recruitments, tenders and details of development work done by Petrobangla and its 13 associate companies in the last four years.

“As soon as we finish analysing the documents, we will question the respective officials, including many from its high level for a furnished inquiry,” he added. l

EC publishes gazette of 48 women lawmakers n Mohammad Zakaria The Election Commission yesterday published the gazette of 48 reserved seats for women in the 10th parliament while two such seats for women were remaining vacant.

Sirazul Islam, acting secretary of EC, yesterday told reporters the remaining two were now open for all political parties representing the 10th parliament.

If the political parties recommended their nominees for the two seats, the number of contestants would be much more, and then voting would be held to pick up two women lawmakers, he added.

Earlier, the commission cancelled the candidature of Awami League nominee Sabiha Nahar Begum and Jatiya Party nominated candidate Khorshed Ara Haque for defaulting on telephone bills.

Sirazul, however, said the commission would announce reschedule for the two reserved seats by 21 working days after publishing the gazette as per the laws.

“Political parties have reserved seats for women in the parliament as per the proportion of how many seats they won for the House. But this case is something else. If more nominations are submitted for the two seats, voting would be the only solution,” he added.

The 10th parliament currently has 297 lawmakers from Awami League, Jatiya Party, Jatiya Party (JPManju), Jasad, Workers Party, Tarikat Fedaration, BNF and independent alliance.

According to the law, the new women lawmakers must take oath within three days after publishing the gazette notification. l

FOURTH PHASE UPAZILA POLLS

128 chairman candidates accused in different cases

WEATHER

Dry weather likely n UNB

n Mohammad Zakaria

Rain or thundershowers accompanied by temporary gusty wind is likely to occur at one or two places over Khulna, Barisal, Dhaka, Chittagong, Rangpur and Sylhet divisions until 6pm today.

Weather might remain mainly dry with temporary partly cloudy sky elsewhere over the country, Met Office said.

Day and night temperature may remain nearly unchanged over the country.

The sun sets in the capital at 6:10pm today and rises at 6:01am tomorrow.

Country’s highest temperature 34.5 degree Celsius was recorded in Faridpur and lowest 17.0 degrees in Dinajpur and 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

33.3 30.0 33.0 30.7 33.5 33.6 31.7 32.5

22.5 20.4 18.4 17.2 22.3 22.7 17.7 23.2

PRAYER TIMES Fajar Sunrise Jumma Asr Magrib Esha

4:46am 6:01am 12:06pm 4:28pm 6:10pm 7:26pm

Source: IslamicFinder.org

Members of Dhaka Auto Rickshaw Workers’ Union form a human chain in front of the National Press Club in the capital yesterday, demanding an end to police harassment MAHMUD HOSSAIN OPU

The Election Commission has out and out failed to contain violence centring the upazila polls, SHUJAN, a platform of civil society members, has alleged.

It also came up with the allegation that of the 379 chairman candidates vying for the fourth phase upazila elections, 128 were accused in different cases including for murder.

The allegation came at a press conference held yesterday at the Dhaka Reporters’ Unity in the capital. The fourth phase of polls will be held on Sunday.

“The EC has so far failed to hold the upazila polls in a free and fair manner.

The law enforcers did not obey the commission’s order. They have worked as per the government instruction,” SHUJAN Secretary Badiul Alam Majumder said.

He added that the EC was silent

on taking action against violence that marked the last three phases.

“We are not any party’s agent. During the BNP tenure, it described us as agent of Awami League while the ruling party now compares us with Jamaat-e-Islami.”

In his address, former adviser to a caretaker government M Hafizuddin echoed Badiul.

He said the commission hardly exercised its authority to enforce law to ensure a peaceful atmosphere of election.

In the fourth phase polls, affidavits of 379 out of 388 candidates vying for the post of chairman have been uploaded on the EC’s website, SHUJAN says.

It adds that around 200 chairman candidates had their graduation while 62 did not pass school.

A total of 1,287 candidates are contesting the fourth phase upazila polls for the posts of chairman, vicechairman and female vice-chairman. l

75,000 pry, secondary teachers to get English language training n Mushfique Wadud A total of 75,000 primary and secondary school teachers will be given training on English language teaching so that they can make their students competent in English.

The government will provide the training under a project titled “English

in Action” where high quality trainers will conduct the training programme.

A two and half day training will be given to each of those 75,000 teachers initially and there will also be a follow up training, Siddiqur Rahman, the project director, told the Dhaka Tribune.

He said the government had initiated the project considering the poor

communication skills of the school children.

“Many students cannot communicate properly in English even after completing graduation. If the teaching is not good in the primary level, competency in any language is difficult.

Without a proper teaching method it is impossible to make students compe-

tent in a language,” he said.

The teachers would be trained in modern mythology to ensure that they would provide quality teaching, Siddiqur said, and added that the UK government was assisting in the project which will be completed by 2017.

Sources said some 8,500 teachers had already been given training and

the government was running the project worth Tk144 crore since 2009.

Siddiqur said they had visited some schools and already substantial changes were noticed in the schools where teachers were given the training. The students’ communication level would be improved to a great extent once the project was completed, he added. l

DHAKA TRIBUNE

News

5

Friday, March 21, 2014

Farmgate Park turning into a squatters’ den The park becomes safe haven for anti-social activities n Abu Hayat Mahmud The Farmgate Park in the capital has almost become an undesirable place for visitors as encroachment, illegal structures and antisocial activities now rule the place. It has apparently been turned into ‘a place to avoid’ as the authorities concerned have time and again failed to ensure that it remains a popular hangout for visitors.

A section of the floating population stay in illegal makeshift establishments built inside the park which becomes a safe haven for drug addicts, sex workers, muggers and petty criminals when it gets dark. Even during daytime, miscreants dominate the park, making it impossible for city dwellers to visit it alone as they fear they might get into trouble.

A number of visitors told this correspondent the park would soon resemble places like Suhrawardy Udyan, Chandrima Uddyan and Ramna Park, spots synonymous with antisocial and indecent acts.

“For long, the park was free from illegal establishments and immodest activities for example, that cause a public nuisance. It is only lately that

British Council to organise book reading competition n Tribune Report British Council and Daffodil Education Network (DEN) would organise a nationwide book reading competition in June, said a media statement yesterday.

The participants of the competition will read a book given by British Council and attend an assessment test.

The competition is designed to promote the reading habit among children and adults.

The participants will be divided into four parts where students of VI to VIII will be in group A, students of IX to X will be in group B, students of XI to XII will be in C while the adults will be in group D. The registration for the competition will start from April 1. Details information will be available in www.readingbd.org.

The registration will be closed on May 31 and the assessment test will be held on June 13.

The name of the winner will appear in the British Council website in June and prizes will be distributed through a ceremony.

The first winner from each group will get a laptop and other winners will get attractive prizes. Registration can be done in British Council and DEN offices. l

sex workers, drug addicts, hookers and muggers throng the place,” Sakib Hasan, a resident of Indira Road in Farmgate, told the Dhaka Tribune.

“If the situation continues to be so, I fear it will become like other similar parks in the city where people will hardly be interested in going,” he added.

A group of students studying at Tejgaon College echoed the same view, saying the park was a real turn-off because of the presence of sex workers and drug addicts.

Shamima Akhter, one of the many homeless people staying in makeshift habitations, said she was forced to live here as she had nowhere else to go. “I came here with my husband from a slum of Tejgaon and we have no other place to live.”

Another illegal inhabitant of the park named Saiful said: “No one charges us for staying here.”

Md Kabir Ahmed Bhuiyan, chief engineer at PWD (Public Works Department), said he was unaware of such illegal occupation of the park by impoverished people.

“I just heard it from you, we will take necessary steps against this,” he told this correspondent. l

A girl is seen involved in household chores at Farmgate Park in the city yesterday

Tazreen Fashions chairman’s ‘Power and gas connections to be bail cancelled delivered within 40 days’ n Md Sanaul Islam Tipu

A Dhaka court yesterday rejected the bail earlier granted to Tazreen Fashions Chairman Mahmuda Akhter Mita and ordered her to surrender to lower court within 15 days.

Dhaka District and Session Judge Abdul Majid passed the order following a petition filed by the prosecution in a case filed for a fire at their apparel factory on November 24, 2012, which claimed the lives of over 111 workers and 104 others were injured.

The court also issued a show cause notice to Dhaka Chief Judicial Magistrate Md Ismail Hossain and Senior Judicial Magistrate Tajul Islam for their procedural mistakes in dealing with the case before and directed them to respond to it within 15 days.

In line with the order, the court issued another show cause notice to Defense Counsel ATM Golam Gous of the case asking why Mahmuda’s bail should not be canceled.

On February 9, the court of Tazul

Islam send Mita and her husband Delwar Hossain, managing director of the garment factory, to jail rejecting their bail pleas when they surrendered before it.

On the following day, however, the court of Md Ismail Hossain granted a one-month conditional bail to Mita on Tk 20,000 bond and sent Delwar to jail upon bail petition anew.

On February 12, Public Prosecutor Khondoker Abdul Mannan filed a petition seeking cancellation of Mahmuda’s bail.

In the petition, the PP alluded that the accused had remained absconding for long, which proves her disobedient to the court and the accused could have threatened the victims’ families and the prosecution witnesses.

On December 31 last year, a year after the tragic fire, a court issued arrest warrants against both Mahmuda and Delwar following submitting charge sheet in the case on December 22 that year by the IO against them and 11 higher-level employees of the factory. l

n Abu Hayat Mahmud

The government is going to set up a first-way centre to provide power connections within 40 days after applications are submitted. Two compressor centres will also be set up to provide gas connections rapidly following submission of applications.

State Minister for Power, Energy and Mineral Resources Nasrul Hamid made the statement while addressing the inaugural function of REHAB Fair 2014 in the capital yesterday.

“People should not be waiting for long now to get power connections as we will soon set up a first-way centre comprised of the existing power-related organisations. Anyone will get a power connection within 40 days after submitting an application,” he said.

“As for providing gas connections, we will follow the same approach. Two compressor centres are being set up in Ashuganj and Elenga and will be completed by April. Once completed, gas

problem in the real estate sector will be resolved,” he added.

The Real Estate and Housing Association of Bangladesh (REHAB) is hosting the fair at the Bangabandhu International Conference Centre in Dhaka’s Agargaon. REHAB acting president Mukarram Hossain Khan presided over yesterday’s programme which was also attended by Rajuk officials.

REHAB leaders at the programme urged the state minister to reconsider the government-imposed condition which made it mandatory to use solar panels in every apartment. 3% of the power of every apartment will come from the panels.

“We have discussed about the issue of solar panels in the ministerial meeting to relax the condition,” Nasrul Hamid said.

Mentioning that there are dozens of illegal establishments in his constituency Keraniganj, the state minister said: “Rajdhani Unnayan Kartripakkha

(Rajuk) officials kept mum when those were being constructed but now they want to demolish those. This is not fair.”

“In such cases, I would urge Rajuk officials to take steps before construction begins. Steps shouldn’t be taken after construction is completed.”

Nasrul Hamid also urged the government to extend the Detailed Area Plan (DAP) for 50 years.

At present, Rajuk is implementing a satellite city named Jhilmil Residential Area in Keraniganj. Big housing companies like Priyo Prangan Housing Ltd, Navana Real Estate Ltd, Bangladesh Development Company Ltd and Bismillah Real Estate are implementing their residential projects without approval from Rajuk in Keraniganj.

Although the initial plan was to build the project on a 22,000-acre land, it is now being implemented on 381.11 acres because of Rajuk’s failure to acquire land from local influential landowners. l

CU Shah Amanat Hall yet to open n FM Mizanur Rahaman

Scholastica stages Tagore’s ‘Dakghor’ n Tribune Report Students of Scholastica staged Nobel laureate Rabindranath Tagore’s play “Dakghor” (The Post Office) on Monday and Tuesday at their senior section in capital’s Uttara.

The story of Dakghor revolves around a dying child, Amal, who yearns for freedom. He is confined indoor by his family physician. However, he makes a new world for himself through his imagination and curiosity. His only way of contact with the outside world is through his window.

The play is considered to be a poignant tribute to human spirit that gathers hope, even where there seems to be none.

Students of class V-IX delivered an exuberant performance at the STM Hall of the school with colourful set, costumes and props.

In his welcom speech, Principal of the school Brig Gen (Retd) Kaiser Ahmed, emphasised on the importance of extra-curricular activities for the sound development of students.

“For each performer this play has been a unique opportunity to enhance their learning experience and develop confidence, public-speaking and social skills,” he said.

Ekushey Padak winner and a renowned poet Asad Chowdhury marked the first day of the event as the chief geust while Professor Abdullah Abu Sayeed, founder of Bishwo Shahitto Kendro was present as the chief guest on the following day. l

ABU HAYAT MAHMUD

Students of Scholastica stage Nobel laureate Rabindranath Tagore’s play Dakghor on Tuesday

DHAKA TRIBUNE

BCL men trying to ‘occupy’ college canteen n Our Correspondent, Barisal Activists of Bangladesh Chhatra League, the students’ front of the ruling party Awami League, are allegedly putting pressure on the authority of Barisal Government Brojo Mohan College to keep college canteens closed, causing sufferings of teachers, students and employees.

Humayun Kabir, who leased the canteen seven years back, alleged that the BCL men wanted to re-take the lease and they are pressuring college authority into handing over the agreement to them.

College sources said tenure of the lease had expired on February this

year and since then the college authority had been trying to give lease of the canteen to a suitable person.

“I duly applied for extending lease as I need at least six months to arrange alternative sources of income.

“But the college authority, pressured by BCL activists, rejected my lease-extension prayer.

“They did not even give me time to remove my furniture and utensils before putting the canteen under lock and key on March 16,” he added.

Nurul Ambia Babu, who led the activists in locking the canteen, said it was not the BCL men, but the college authority which locked the canteen.

He said healthy foods were needed

for more than 2,500 students of the college and the previous leaser failed to provide the service properly.

“I am not taking the lease of the canteen. I am helping some people of our organisation so that they could get a lease contract and operate the canteen with new decorations and fresh menus,” Babu added.

Prof Kazi Nazrul Islam, vice principal of the college, acknowledged that college authourity locked the canteen for 15 days after rejecting lease renewal application of the previous leaser.

He said the canteen had yet not been leased out to anybody. Fresh leasing and opening of the canteen was now under process. l

Despite 60 days having passed after the fierce clash between the BCL and Islami Chhatra Shibir, the authorities of Chittagong University have yet to reopen its Shah Amanat Hall, causing an accommodation crisis for students who used to reside there.

Sources at the university said the students have to stay out of the campus, which is hampering their studies immensely.

The CU authorities closed Shah Amanat hall, one of the major student dormitories, on January 12 for an indefinite time following a clash that left Mamun Hossain, a fourth year student of Soil Science Department, dead.

As the hall has capacity to accommodate 632 students, nearly 1500 students used to stay at the dormitory.

Contacted, Professor Anwarul Azim Arif, the VC of the university, said there was pressure from higher level to give access the BCL activist to the dormitory. However, he assured of taking initiative to sit with both parties for reopening the dormitory to avert clash further.

Professor Dr Mohammed Abul Mansur, provost of Shah Amanat Hall,

said they made many efforts to reopen the dormitory considering the sufferings of the students. However, the move was in vain due to different complexities.

As the hall has capacity to accommodate 632 students, nearly 1500 students used to stay at the dormitory Mostafizur Rahman, president of CU unit Shibir, alleged that the authorities paid no heed to their repeated demand of giving permission to the only allotted students to the hall.

Sabbir Ahmed Chowdhury, a vice president of CU unit BCL, said the varsity authorities should open the hall anew taking into account the sufferings of the students.

The CU has six dormitories. Of those, Shibir has been dominating five dormitories, including the Shah Amanat Hall, for long while the BCL has only Shah Jalal Hall. l

MBA admission results of DU published n DU Correspondent Final Results of admission test into MBA (Evening) Programme under the Faculty of Business Studies of Dhaka University was published on Wednesday, March 19, 2014.

A press release signed by Director of Public Relation of Dhaka University Md Asharaf Ali Khan informed this to the

Dhaka Tribune.

The results of the test are available in the Dhaka University website i.e. www.du.ac.bd.

The selected candidates were advised to contact their respective departments and complete the admission procedures by April 3, 2014.

The admission test was held on March 7 this year. l

6

DHAKA TRIBUNE

Nation

Friday, March 21, 2014

Rajshahi strike makes commuters suffer n Our Correspondent, Rajshahi Thousands of commuters, especially who live in Rajshahi, suffered a lot yesterday because of a transport strike enforced by the Rajshahi Motor Workers’ Union.

The transport workers, however, withdrew the strike in the afternoon after the district administration released four transport workers, who were sentence to one-year imprisonment, for carrying sand illegally lifted from the Padma River.

Kamal Hossain Robi, president of Rajshahi Motor Workers’ Union, told the Dhaka Tribune that the administration had freed the detained workers at about 4pm and later the transport workers withdrew the strike.

Transport workers went on a strike for an indefinite period yesterday morning, protesting the imprisonment.

Local sources said over 100 transport

25 Bangladeshis rescued while being trafficked to India

n Our Correspondent, Satkhira

Members of Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB) rescued 25 Bangladeshis yesterday while they were being trafficked through the Tolugashi border of Satkhira.

Twelve of the rescued are male, nine female and four children – all hailing from different villages of Bagerhat, Khulna, Borguna and Jessore.

The rescued were handed over to Satkhira police station.

BGB officials said the human traffickers had realised huge sum of money from them by alluring them with assurance of better employment.

Contacted, Satkhira BGB-38 Battalion Company Commander Subedar Kabir Ahmed said upon receiving information, a petrol team of BGB had rescued them from pillar no 12 of the Tolugashi border of Satkhira.

However, the traffickers managed to escape the area sensing presence of BGB officials, he said.

A case was filed with Satkhira police station in this regard. l

Woman blames inlaws for acid attack

n Our Correspondent, Barisal

A woman yesterday filed a case with the acid violence prevention tribunal in Barisal, accusing her husband’s relatives of burning her with acid over a land dispute.

According to the case, Sabina Aktar of Umarer Par in Banaripara upazila, alleged that on the night of February 27, her in-laws entered her bedroom and poured acid on her, burning parts of her face and hand.

Suddenly awoken from sleep, Sabina said she tried to save herself by crying out, forcing the culprits to flee the scene.

Her husband, Bazlur Rahman, was in Dhaka at the time.

Sabina was rushed to nearby Nesarabad upazila health complex for primary treatment and then moved to Barisal Medical College Hospital. She was later referred to the burn unit of Dhaka Medical College Hospital for better treatment. In her complaint, Sabina said she lived with her three-year old daughter at her husband’s family home.

Her father-in-law, Habibur Rahman, presented her with a five katha (half an acre) land last year. After Habibur’s death, her in-laws allegedly started torturing her mentally and physically, demanding that she return the land.

After returning home from Dhaka, Sabina went to the tribunal with her medical reports, which show 15% of her body sustained burns from an inflammable liquid. She named her in-laws, Majnu Mia, Afjal Hossain and Mannan Master, as suspects.

After checking the medical certificates, Matiar Rahman, acting judge of the tribunal, ordered the officer in charge of Banaripara police station to investigate the case. l

workers brought out a procession from Rajshahi bus terminal, demanding release of their fellow workers.

During the demonstration, they also demanded ban on the movement of risky vehicles like CNG-run auto rickshaw and battery-run auto-rickshaw on highways.

During the strike, no vehicles left terminals or entered into the city, causing immense sufferings for the commuters.

Students of different educational institutions were the worst sufferers of the strike.

A commuter, who was standing at Rajshahi Bus Terminal for a bus, said it was an urgent for him to go to Naogaon for family affairs, but he could not do so because of non-availability of transport.

Kanij Fatema, 20, a student of Rajshahi University, who was waiting for a bus for two hours in Rail Gate area, finally started walking toward railway

station to catch a train.

She said nowadays transport workers called strike over trivial issues for their own interest and it should be stopped.

Deputy Commissioner, Rajshahi Mezbah Uddin Ahmed said considering suffering of commuters the district administration had decided to free the convicted workers.

A mobile court sent four truck drivers to jail on March 11 after awarding them one year’s imprisonment and fining them Tk30,000 each in Poba upazila of Rajshahi for carrying the sand.

After the verdict, transport workers of Rajshahi handed over a memorandum to deputy commissioner’s office, demanding release of the workers.

Later, they met the deputy commissioner on Wednesday and sought his intervention in the matter.

After not getting any positive result, the transport workers called the strike on Wednesday. l

A transport worker attempts to vandalise a battery-run auto-rickshaw at Amchattar of Rajshahi city yesterday

Magura doctors give 72 hours’ ultimatum to arrest attackers n Our Correspondent, Magura The doctors and employees of Magura Sadar Hospital yesterday gave authorities a 72-hour ultimatum to arrest the youths who had attacked the hospital’s doctor Rokokuzzaman.

The ultimatum came at a meeting of Bangladesh Medical Association (BMA) of Magura yesterday afternoon.

A procession was also brought out by the hospital doctors, nurses and employees at Magura Civil Surgeon

Office premises, demanding the arrest of the attackers.

According to Dr Tarifuzzaman, vice-president of Magura BMA, trader Shantash Kumar Datta sustained a cardiac arrest and was brought to the hospital emergency around 11pm Monday night. The trader was declared dead by the duty doctor but in the meantime cardiac consultant of the hospital Rokunuzzaman was informed and asked to come.

The cardiac consultant went

Manikchhari Chhatra League seeks protection n Our Correspondent, Khagrachhari Five Bangladesh Chhatra League leaders and activists of Manikchhari upazila unit in Khagrachhari yesterday sought protection, alleging that cadres of Rafikul Islam, a listed criminal, had been threatening them and their families to withdraw a case filed against him.

The Chhatra League activists made the allegation at a press conference in Manikchhari Bazar yesterday. They were injured in an attack by a group of criminals led by Rafikul on March 16. A case was filed and Rafikul was arrested in this connection.

The upazila unit Chhatra League

Organising Secretary Asadul Islam alleged that Abul Kalam, father of Rafikul, directly threatened him and his family to evict them from the village.

“We urge that punitive actions be taken against Rafikul and his father,” he said.

Hafez Ahmed, another injured, alleged that police were not taking action against Rafiqul’s cadres as they took bribes from the criminals.

Contacted, Officer-in-Charge of Manikchhari police station Keshob Chakraborty denied their negligence in handling the case.

“Police are trying their best to arrest the other criminals involved in the attack,” the OC said. l

ASI arrested in Pirojpur for circulating offensive pictures n Our Correspondent, Pirojpur An assistant sub-inspector of Baburhat police outpost in Pirojpur was arrested yesterday for capturing offensive pictures of a couple and spreading those through mobile phones.

Some local Awami League leaders were also accused on the offence.

Ramzan, a resident of Pirojpur Sadar upazila, as a complainant lodged the case with Nazipur police station against Assistant Sub-Inspector Abdur Rahman and some local Awami League leaders under the Pornography Control Act, 2012.

Officer-in-charge of the police station A Khaleque Hawlader said, “Abdur Rahman was arrested on Wednesday night. Today (Thursday) he was sent to jail after producing before a court.”

Police are trying to arrest the other

accused, Enamul Hossain, Saiful Islam, Yusuf Ali, Izabul Islam, Mamun Sheikh, Tuku, Dalim, Muzahidul Islam alias Zafar, he added.

According to a court statement, Ramzan with his girlfriend was heading to Paglabarir Mela area while the accused Awami League leaders stopped them near Noimtola bridge area on March 12.

Being informed by the Awami League leaders, the ASI came to the spot and took the couple to Rajlaksmi Foundation.

Reaching the foundation’ complex, Abdur took the two victims to a separate room and forcefully captured offensive pictures of them. Later on, he spread the pictures to other mobile phones.

On information, Ramzan’s mother Zulekha along with a teacher of SM Daruchunnesat Dakhil Madrassah Muzahidul Islam went to the spot and informed Nazipur police station about the matter.

Later, a team of police rushed to the spot and rescued the victims.

The Officer-in-charge said, “All of the accused, except Abdur Rahman are involved with Awami League.”

Pirojpur Court General Record Officer Komol Kanti said, “The judge Sottobroto Shikder ordered to send him to jail.” l

to the hospital as soon as possible but the youths who brought the trader attacked Rokunuzzaman, accusing him of coming late, Tarifuzzaman added.

However, the wife of the dead, Lipika Datta alleged that the doctor came around 2am and her husband had died because of negligence of the doctor.

When contacted, Rokunuzzman denied the allegation and said he had gone to the hospital just after he was informed over the phone. l

DHAKA TRIBUNE

Barisal citizens block roads demanding completion of repair works n Our Correspondent, Barisal Residents of Barisal city yesterday blocked the road from Amanatganj Water Tank area to Mahabaj Shafi Miar Pul, demanding completion of repair works of the city roads.

Ebaidul Huq, one of the residents of the area, said the roads remained under repair works since the city corporation election was held on June 15, 2013, causing immense sufferings to

the commuters and many accidents in the area.

The agitators also held a sitin programme and warned that if steps to complete the repair works were not taken within next four working days, they would go for tougher movement.

Mainul Huq and Yunus Mia, two ward councillors of Barisal city, said they would talk to the mayor regarding the public demands. l

DHAKA TRIBUNE

Long Form

7

Friday, March 21, 2014

Big guns Photograph of Dacca (Dhaka) taken in the 1880s, from an album ‘Architectural Views of Dacca’, containing 13 prints by Johnston and Hoffman. ... This photograph presents a general view looking across the market place in Dhaka. In the centre of the image is an old brass-cannon of native manufacture, found in the Buriganga riverbed. On the left is the chief mosque in the city WIKI

n Tim Steel Somewhere beneath the old city of Dhaka, presumably close to the Buriganga, if not beneath its murky waters, there is a large mass of decaying iron.

The subcontinent of India, became, it seems, addicted to the making of massive guns between the 16th and 18th centuries. Almost as if they joined, very early, in what we now believe to be the American school of life that works on the premise of, “biggest is best,” a philosophy so widely practiced in their automotive industry that the rest of the world rapidly gave up competing on the size front.

The world has long been impressed by these early ironworks, reflecting the very apparent awe that Lindsay felt for the ‘Dacca’ gun

The big gun of “Dacca,” receives a significant attention from the journal of Robert Lindsay, the Collector of Sylhet in the late 18th century, which offers us some very revealing insights into contemporary life, and the internal politics of the East India Company.

India has a remarkable record of significant iron working from an early age, and after the development of cannon by the Chinese in the 11th century, which were known, by them, as “fire lances,” the manufacture of cannon became fairly widespread in the subcontinent. Of course, Bangladesh, in particular, was to become a major international source of the saltpetre essential in the manufacture of gunpowder...indeed, the contract that the east India Company received to supply to British Navy was, throughout the 18th and 19th centuries an important source of revenue.

But guns the size of that which we have every reason to believe lies, still beneath Dhaka, were rare.

So rare, that Lindsay’s description of life in Dhaka in the late 1770s, which could be said to be, besides descriptions of hunting wild boar with spears, and the occasional leopard and tiger, which, however, he, “was not fond of attacking without firearms,” to be dominated by the big gun.

“Dacca,” he observed in his journal, “has nothing curious to boast of, or to attract attention of a stranger, excepting a remarkable piece of ordnance.”

It was thirty six foot long, made of hammered iron, being an immense tube comprising fourteen bars of metal hammered together, with rings of iron driven over, and hammered down to a smooth surface, “so its appearance was very good, although its proportions were faulty.”

“By its side lay a stone ball, which fitted the calibre; the strongest man in the place could only with difficulty raise it to his knee. Had this ball been made of metal it would have weighed 400 pounds.”

The gun itself he estimated to have weighed nearly 65,000 pounds, or around 30 tons.

No doubt, Lindsay’s low opinion of the skills of local people were shared by most of the British at the time, and prejudice was allowed to overcome the evidence of eyes, but it is clear that the gun which so much impressed him, was a challenge to him.

“The natives,” he writes, “are totally unacquainted with mechanics,” and he reports himself, and his colleague and friend, John Cowe, a veteran of, “the American War,” bewildered about, “how they contrive to manufacture this unwieldy gun.”

A prejudice that, even today, seems not to be rare amongst westerners viewing Bangladeshis. Although it does have to be said that many Bangladeshis, too, seem to share this opinion!

In the late 1770s, the gun was “located on an island opposite the town of Dacca” in the waters of the Buriganga. But Lindsay and Cowe, so impressed by the weapon, observing that the waters of the river were gradually encroaching upon the island, developed a scheme to rescue it, mount it on a boat, and send it to Calcutta.

Cannon, Mehrangarh Fort, Jodhpur, Rajasthan, India

Big guns were, it appears, something of a speciality of 17th century India, with Thanjavur, in modern India, identified as a major centre for such advanced manufacturing skills

Their work postings, however, including Lindsay’s to sylhet, apparently overcame their ambitions with the gun. In 1780, he reports, the island, and the gun, were finally engulfed by the waters, and sank. And there, it seems, it lies, still, somewhere deep in the alluvium. With its weight, it will not have travelled far!

Such big guns were, it appears, something of a speciality of 17th century India, with Thanjavur, in modern India, identified as a major centre for such advanced manufacturing skills.

These unusual, forge welded cannon, as distinct from the casting process more commonly used around the world, have also been found at Nurwar, Mushirabad, Bishnupur, Bijapur, Gulbarga and Thanjavur itself.

The manufacturing process of these guns is believed to be identical to that of the forging of other ancient iron artefacts found in the subcontinent, such as the famous Iron Pillar of Delhi. That artefact was originally believed to, possibly, date back to the early first millennium BCE, although more recently, that belief has been questioned. But, whatever

WIKI

the truth, there is little doubt that such ironworking skills date back a considerable period.

The world has long been impressed by these early ironworks, reflecting the very apparent awe that Lindsay felt for the “Dacca” gun.

And the fact that the origin of such craft skills was probably in what is believed to have been the world’s earliest industrialised civilisation, that of the Ganges basin, much of which, we need to remind ourselves, lies in the lands of Bangladesh, should continue to be a source of pride in the unquestionable achievements of the ancestors of the peoples of Bangladesh.

It may be that, some day, the opportunity may arise to recover this monumental artefact, until then, it is only possible, taking pride in the fact that, at one time, Dhaka enjoyed a place amongst the Big Guns of ancient military craftsmanship. l

8

DHAKA TRIBUNE

World

Friday, March 21, 2014

EU takes aim at Russia economy as Kiev plans Crimea pullout

Putin’s Crimea takeover sends shivers across ex-Soviets n AFP, Moscow

n AFP, Kiev European leaders were on Thursday to debate biting economic sanctions against Russia for its annexation of Crimea as Ukraine tore up key ties with the Kremlin and drew up plans to evacuate its nationals from the rebel peninsula.

The European Union is under intense pressure to find a credible response to an explosive security crisis on the 28-nation bloc’s eastern frontier that NATO chief Anders Fogh Rasmussen on Wednesday called “the gravest threat to European security and stability since the end of the Cold War.” But the Kremlin has warned repeatedly that it would strike back hard if confronted with a new wave of Western punitive measures that EU nations – their energy and financial sectors intertwined with Russia’s – would keenly prefer to avoid.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel said EU leaders would widen the list of people targeted by travel bans and asset freezes and warned of economic sanctions if the crisis escalates.

The EU Council “will make clear that we are ready at any time to apply thirdphase measures in the event of a further worsening of the situation,” she said, adding that “it will, without a doubt, be a question of economic sanctions.”

Russian President Vladimir Putin will also find himself on the diplomatic defensive in Moscow when he hosts United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon amid a chorus of global condemnation of his aggressive Ukrainian approach.

But world anger has done little to halt unchallenged Russian military advances that prompted Kiev’s new Western-backed government to acknowledge preparing a Crimean evacu-

The Crimean parliament bearing the new sign reading ‘State council of Crimean Republic’ in central Simferopol on March 18 ation plan for thousands of its soldiers and families.

Tensions eased somewhat in the region on Thursday when acting president Oleksandr Turchynov announced the release by Crimean militias of Ukranian navy chief Sergiy Gayduk.

Turchynov had threatened the Crimean authorities with “an adequate response... of a technical and technological nature” unless they immediately released Gayduk and several others seized during the storming of Ukraine’s naval headquarters in the port of Sevastopol on Wednesday.

But Ukrainian lawmakers still adopt-

Scores of Syrian rebels flee into Lebanon after ambush First UN Aid trucks cross from Turkey to Syria Several UN aid trucks crossed the Turkish border into Syria for the first time on Thursday, a Reuters witness said, a step which aid officials hope will pave the way for greater humanitarian access to the country’s most desperate areas.

The trucks, mostly from the UN World Food Programme, crossed at the Nusaybin border post and were destined for the Kurdish city of Qamishli in Syria, officials said.

n Reuters, Tripoli Dozens of wounded Syrian rebels crossed over a river into Lebanon on Thursday after government soldiers ambushed them as they tried to flee a besieged area, Lebanese medical sources said.

The ambush was part of a campaign by the Syrian army and allied militias to secure towns and villages along the

Lebanese border as well as a highway from the capital Damascus to the coast that is vulnerable to rebel attack.

The rebels were fleeing the area of al-Hosn in Homs province, which the Syrian army has surrounded, the medical sources said. Syrian state television said soldiers had killed 11 rebels to escape al-Hosn.

The sources said that 41 wounded rebels were taken into a hospital in north Lebanon. A further eight were carried in dead or succumbed to their wounds after managing to escape Syria into Wadi Khaled, said the medical sources - a hospital employee and a medic who requested anonymity.

As the fighters fled, Syrian army shells hit villages in Wadi Khaled, Lebanon’s National News Agency said.

The Syrian army campaign has accelerated a deterioration in Lebanon’s security and stability, raising local sectarian tensions as thousands of refugees flood into the country. Lebanese frontier towns have been used by rebels to recuperate but have also been attacked by Syrian helicopters and rocket attacks. l

ed an emotional if entirely symbolic declaration saying they “will never cease to fight for the liberation of Crimea as long and painful as this can be.”

The march by Russian troops and pro-Kremlin militias across the mostly Russian-speaking region roughly the size of Belgium has been unhalting since the day Putin first won the right to use force against his ex-Soviet neighbour following the February 22 fall there of a Moscow-backed regime.

“Our major concern right now is whether he will go beyond Crimea, whether Russia will intervene in the eastern parts,” NATO chief Rasmussen

AFP

also conceded on Wednesday.

Kiev has responded by seeking protection from Western powers and planning on Friday to sign the political portion of a broad EU Association Agreement whose rejection in November by Ukraine’s pro-Kremlin president Viktor Yanukovych sparked the protests that eventually led to his fall.

Ukraine on Wednesday also announced plans to withdraw from the Moscow-led Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) alliance that replaced the Soviet Union and to slap visas on Russians who sought entry to their country. l

It is December 2019 and Russian strongman Vladimir Putin is flying to Oslo to receive the Nobel Peace Prize for his bold moves in standing up to the US and establishing a new world order.

“Even in its sleep the world does not forget that Russia can turn the entire planet into radioactive ash, not only the United States,” reads a new satirical short story by Belarussian writer Sergei Ostrovtsov. The piece, titled “A Nobel for Putin,” was published online as waves of concern spread across countries of the former USSR over Moscow’s seizure of Ukraine’s peninsula of Crimea.

Putin’s pledge to protect compatriots beyond his country’s borders and his readiness to revisit history has reopened old wounds in the Baltic nations and even troubled the Kremlin’s traditional allies.

Many of the post-Soviet countries have sizeable Russian-speaking populations and are struggling with festering territorial disputes and separatist claims of their own. “All the former Soviet countries have artificial borders,” said Konstantin Kalachev, head of the Political Expert Group.

“A precedent for redrawing borders has been created.”

Following an uprising that ousted Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych last month, Putin sent troops to Russian-speaking Crimea, citing concern for compatriots.

On Tuesday, he signed a treaty making the peninsula part of Russian territory, saying Nikita Khrushchev’s decision to give it to Ukraine when it was part of the Soviet Union in 1954 was a mistake.

Allies tense up -

The significance of Russia’s absorption of Crimea has not been lost on the fellow Slavic nation of Belarus whose

Venezuela arrests two opposition mayors n AFP, Caracas Venezuela upped pressure on the opposition Wednesday after weeks of protests, arresting two mayors including one in the town where they started and seeking a probe of a prominent anti-government lawmaker.

Authorities said the death toll from the protests rose to at least 30 after a policeman died trying to break up a protest in the western city of San Cristobal, where the demos began February 4.

They later spread to Caracas and many other cities, although they are now losing intensity.

But after days of relative calm, students called for more protests Thursday in a show of solidarity with the mayors.

President Nicolas Maduro’s government has been the target of daily protests fueled by public anger over violent crime, inflation, shortages of such basic goods as toilet paper and further stoked by often heavy-handed police tactics. l

A police helicopter drops water on a forest fire on Runstboden mountain in the western Austrian village of Absam March 20. Police and fire fighters have been battling the fire since it broke on Thursday. The cause the the blaze is still unknown REUTERS

Poor diagnosis driving global multidrug-resistant TB, WHO warns n Reuters, London Half am people fell sick with dangerous superbug strains of tuberculosis (TB) in 2012, but fewer than one in four were diagnosed, putting the rest at risk of dying due to the wrong medicines or no treatment at all.

Latest data from the World Health Organisation (WHO), which says drug-resistant TB is a “global health security risk,” showed a third of the estimated 9m people who contract TB in any form each year do not get the care they need.

This has led to drug resistance spreading around the world at an alarming rate and has given rise to incurable strains of the bacterial infection - known as totally drug-resistant TB - which cannot be treated with any known medicines.

“Earlier and faster diagnosis of all forms of TB is vital,” said WHO director general Margaret Chan as the UN health agency published new TB data on Thursday. “It improves the chances of people getting the right treatment and being cured, and it helps stop spread of drug-resistant disease.”

Last year the WHO called for multidrug-resistant tuberculosis (MDR-TB) to be recognised as a public health crisis. It says the contagious, deadly superbug forms of the disease carry “grave consequences for those affected.”

Treating even regular TB is a long process. Patients need to take a cocktail of antibiotics for six months and many fail to complete the treatment.

cities of Gomel, Mogilyov and Vitebsk were once part of the republic of Soviet Russia under the USSR. Since the start of the crisis, the country’s authoritarian leader Alexander Lukashenko has been manoeuvering to hedge his bets and remain on good terms with Moscow, agreeing to station additional Russian fighter jets in his country.

But just like Ukraine, Belarus in 1994 signed the so-called Budapest memorandum, renouncing its military nuclear capability in exchange for security guarantees from Russia, the United States and Britain.

“Where can we, poor Belarussians, hide from such a ‘friend?’,” said former Belarussian lawmaker and political analyst Andrei Klimov, referring to Russia.

The attitude of even close allies within the former USSR has been of extreme caution.

The energy-rich Central Asian nation of Kazakhstan acknowledged the results of the referendum in Crimea, where a majority of the population voted to split from Ukraine and join Russia, but President Nursultan Nazarbayev has not so far made any public comments on Moscow’s takeover of the peninsula.

President Serzh Sarkisian of Armenia, which last year said it would join Moscow-led customs union, agreed that people have a right to self-determination but stopped short of endorsing Russia’s takeover of Crimea.

Many analysts said the seizure of the peninsula dealt a huge blow to Moscow’s ties with ex-Soviet allies.

In 2011, Putin unveiled a grand plan to build on the experience of the European Union and integrate post-Soviet states into a economic zone on the basis of Moscow’s customs union together with Kazakhstan and Belarus. l

This in turn has fuelled the emergence of drug-resistant TB - a manmade problem that has grown in the past decade because people sick with

The headquarters of the World Health Organization (WHO) are seen in Geneva, Switzerland AP

regular TB were either being given the wrong medicines or wrong doses or did not complete their treatment.

Hurdles

Experts say one of the major hurdles to tackling drug-resistant strains effectively is that so many patients who have contracted them do not know it and so continue with the wrong treatments or are not treated at all.

Some of the poorest and most illequipped countries have only one central laboratory, which often has limited capacity to diagnose MDR-TB. In other cases, patient samples have to be sent to other countries for testing.

Traditional diagnostic tests can take more than two months to get results, leaving a dangerous gap in which the patient is not getting the right treatment and is putting others at risk of catching the contagious disease.

The WHO says up to 2m people worldwide may be infected with drug-resistant TB by 2015.

Newer, speedier diagnostic tests have been developed in recent years, but the problem has been getting the technology and know-how to the countries where they are needed most.

However, Chan cited encouraging signs from an international project known as EXPAND-TB (Expanding Access to New Diagnostics for TB),

financed by UNITAID, which has helped to triple the number of MDRTB cases diagnosed in participating countries.

In 2009, UNITAID backed the EXPAND project with $87m to new TB diagnostic technologies in 27 low- and middle-income countries, which together account for around 40% of the global MDR-TB burden.

A highly contagious and deadly pneumonialike illness of unknown cause was becoming a worldwide health threat “The gap in access to TB diagnostics and care is far from filled, but it is narrowing,” said Mario Raviglione, director of WHO’s global TB programme.

“Increased capacity and reduced prices mean that we can reach more people.”

UNITAID was launched in 2006 by the governments of Britain, Brazil, Chile, France and Norway to give sustainable funding for the fight against HIV/AIDS, malaria and tuberculosis.

About 70% of its funds come from a levy on airline tickets. l

Unidentified illness kills 23 in Guinea

n AFP, Conakry

A mysterious illness has killed at least 23 people in southern Guinea in six weeks, but the disease has yet to be positively identified, the health ministry announced Thursday.

“A feverish sickness whose first symptoms were observed on February 9 has claimed at least 23 lives, including that of the director of the Macenta district hospital and three staff, out of a total of 36 cases,” said Sakoba Keita, the doctor in charge of the ministry’s preventive wing.

“The administrative district of Gueckedou is the worst affected, with 13 deaths for 19 cases,” Keita added, noting that “the illness is characterised by fever, diarrhoea, vomiting, and bleeding in the cases of some patients.”

Medical experts have been sent to the district to try to identify the highly contagious disease, whose symptoms are similar to those caused by Lassa fever, yellow fever and Ebola.

About 30 test samples have been sent to France for analysis, with results expected “within 48 hours,” the doctor said, adding that further samples are due to be examined at the Pasteur Institute in the Senegalese capital Dakar.

Protective measures have been taken on the spot, including quarantine for each of the patients, as well as individual and collective measures affecting the local population. l

World

Possible lead in the search for MH370

Australia said Thursday that objects possibly related to the missing Malaysia Airlines jet have DHAKA TRIBUNE been spotted in satellite images from the southern Indian Ocean

9

Friday, March 21, 2014

KAZAKHSTAN

Malaysian jet MH370 search called off for today; weather hits efforts Beijing

Satellite data had previously suggested that the last known possible position of MH370 was somewhere on two possible arcs

Malaysia Airlines Boeing 777, carrying 227 passengers and 12 crew vanished after veering off course on March 8

CHINA

How MH370 went missing on March 8 l 12:41am: Malaysia Airlines Flight

Lost contact with Malaysian civilian radar at 01:30 am

INDIA

Approximate last position tracked by military radar Satellite 35,800 km above sea level

Approximate original flight plan

INDIAN OCEAN

MALAYSIA

Departed Kuala Lumpur 00:41 am March 8

INDONESIA

Possible routes assessed by US National Transportation Safety Board

AUSTRALIA Perth 2,500 km

Four long-range surveillance planes have been diverted to search the area

MH370 departs from Kuala Lumpur International Airport and is due to land in Beijing at 0630 the same day. l 1:07am: After take-off and ascent, the plane sends its last ACARS transmission, which gives engine maintenance data to the ground. The system is later deactivated. l 1:19am: Someone in the cockpit says “All right, good night” to Malaysian air traffic control. They were the last words heard from Flight MH370. l 1:21am: The plane drops off air traffic control screens as its transponder is switched off. The Civil Aviation Authority of Vietnam says the plane failed to check in

n Agencies An air search in the southern Indian Ocean for possible objects from the missing Malaysia Airlines plane described as the “best lead” so far ended for the day without success Thursday but will resume in the morning, Australian rescue officials said.

The four planes were checking to see if two large objects spotted in satellite imagery bobbing in the remote ocean were debris from Fight 370 that

as scheduled at 0121 with air traffic control in Ho Chi Minh City. Malaysian authorities believe that someone on board shut off the plane’s communications systems and turned it sharply to the west. l 2:15am: Malaysian military radar plots Flight MH370 at a point south of Phuket island in the Strait of Malacca, hundreds of miles west of its last known location. l 8:11am: The last signal received from the plane. The final communication placed the plane somewhere in one of two corridors: a northern arc stretching from northern Thailand to Kazakhstan, or a southern one stretching from Indonesia to the vast southern Indian Ocean.

disappeared March 8 with 239 people on board.

One of the objects was 24 meters (almost 80 feet) in length and the other was 5 meters (15 feet). There could be other objects in the area, a four-hour flight from Australia’s southwestern coast, said John Young, manager of the Australian Maritime Safety Authority’s emergency response division.

“This is a lead, it’s probably the best lead we have right now,” Young said.

He cautioned that the objects could be

seaborne debris along a shipping route where containers can fall off cargo vessels, although the larger object is longer than a container.

A statement from the authority said the four planes searched an area of 23,000 square kilometers (8,800 square miles) about 2,500 kilometers (1,550 miles) southwest of Perth on Thursday without success.

“The search will continue on Friday,” it said.

News that possible plane parts had been found marked a new phase in the emotional roller coaster for distraught relatives of the passengers, who have criticized Malaysia harshly for not releasing timely information about the plane. While they still hope their loved ones will somehow be found, they acknowledged that news of the possible debris could mean the plane plunged into the ocean.

“If it turns out that it is truly MH370 then we will accept that fate,” said Selamat Bin Omar, the father of a Malaysian passenger on the jet, which carried mostly Chinese and Malaysian nationals.

But he cautioned that relatives still “do not yet know for sure whether this is indeed MH370 or something else. Therefore we are still waiting for further notice from the Australian government.” l

Sources: MalaysiaAirlines/Malaysia govt/Australia govt

AAP: We will win 100 Lok Sabha seats n Agencies, India Noting they were “missing” anti-corruption crusader Anna Hazare, Aam Aadmi Party leader Sanjay Singh yesterday said that had he been associated with the party it would have achieved its target easily.

“The party is missing Hazare... Had he been with us, we would have easily achieved our target,” Singh, a core committee member of AAP, told PTI in an interview.

Claiming that AAP would won 100 seats in the Lok Sabha polls, Singh said the party has so far declared candidates for 287 seats and will contest in all seats in Uttar Pradesh, Delhi, Maharashtra, Haryana, Punjab, Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh.

Asked about supporting any other party after the polls, Singh said, except BJP and Congress, his party would support any party which would promise bringing in the Jan Lokpal Bill.

“Both BJP and Congress have fielded corrupt and criminal elements in polls... At this time only AAP is an alternative before the people,” he said.

Alleging that both Congress and BJP were worried due to their exposure by AAP, Singh said that due to this they were deliberately targeting and attacking AAP workers.

“Attack on Manish Sisodia in Gujarat and Kumar Vishwas in Amethi are examples,” he added. l

Taliban suicide attack on Afghan police station kills 11

n Reuters

Taliban fighters killed at least 11 people and wounded 22 in a suicide bomb attack and gunbattle at a police station in Afghanistan’s eastern Jalalabad city early on Thursday morning, according to police and health officials.

The attack in one of Afghanistan’s main cities comes ahead of a presidential election on April 5, and demonstrated the insurgents determination to disrupt the vote.

The assault began with two explosions just before dawn targeting the police station and a nearby square, close to compounds used by international organizations including the United Nations.

The initial attack was carried out by two suicide bombers, one of them driving a three-wheeler vehicle.

The NATO-led force in Afghanistan sent helicopter gunships to support Afghan security forces as a fire fight raged for over three hours before they were able to clear the area of the remaining militants.

Police said they shot dead six Taliban, and all of them wore suicide vests.

“From today’s attack in Jalalabad so far, we have received 11 dead bodies and 22 wounded,” the head of the provincial hospital, Humayoun Zahir, told Reuters. A police district chief was among the dead, according to Fazel Ahmad Shirzad, police chief for Nangahar province. The wounded included an Afghan assigned to a security detail for UN staff and the offices of a local radio and television broadcaster were also damaged in the attack, according to a security source. l

Indian politicians linked to riots to contest polls n AFP, New Delhi Two members of India’s main opposition Hindu nationalist party, who face criminal charges for inciting religious riots that killed 50 people last August, will stand in next month’s general election.

Hukum Singh and Sanjeev Baliyan will contest seats for the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in electorally crucial Uttar Pradesh state, where the August riots forced 50,000 Muslims to flee to refugee camps.

The pair were named in the latest list of BJP candidates released at the

weekend – and highlighted in a national newspaper on Thursday – for the elections to be held in April and May in the world’s biggest democracy.

The BJP’s prime ministerial candidate Narendra Modi, tipped to win the election, has been campaigning on a platform of reviving the flagging economy to benefit all religions, and steering clear of a Hindu nationalist agenda.

Modi, a popular but divisive figure, has been dogged by suggestions he failed to stop anti-Muslim riots in 2002 in the western state of Gujarat, where he was chief minister. The riots left more than 1,000 people, mostly Mus-

lims, dead.

Singh, a member of the Uttar Pradesh state assembly, and Baliyan, a doctor, face preliminary charges for inciting last year’s riots between Hindus and Muslims in the Muzaffarnagar district of Uttar Pradesh.

Local political leaders have been accused of encouraging the violence to polarise the state along religious lines, which in theory would make Hindus more likely to back the BJP. Singh, who will contest from the district of Kairana, defended his candidacy and called the police investigation a political conspiracy. l

Advani to contest from Gandhinagar seat in Gujarat n Agencies BJP patriarch LK Advani on Thursday evening agreed to contest from Gandhinagar and not Bhopal, reportedly his choice, after making his party’s leaders make a beeline for his house and let him have his way.

The 86-year-old leader had deployed his most powerful weapon — silence — after the Hindu nationalist party decided on Wednesday that he would defend his Lok Sabha seat in Gujarat.

“It is the unanimous view of the party that the choice of where to contest from should be left to (LK) Advaniji himself,” Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) chief Rajnath Singh said in a statement, barely hours before Advani settled the issue.

Earlier, BJP prime ministerial candidate Narendra Modi, senior leaders Sushma Swaraj, Arun Jaitley and M Venkaiah Naidu met Advani at his Prithiviraj Road residence.

Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) chief Mohan Bhagwat also spoke to him.

“He has not made a single statement.

Media is creating an impression that he is upset. This is not true,” Naidu said.

Inidan youth look on from a building as former Indian football team captain and Trinamool Congress candidate for the Darjeeling constituency Baichung Bhutia attends a political rally at Batasi village some 30 kms from Siliguri on March 20 AFP The crisis blew over for the Hindu nationalist party after giving it a nasty reminder of infighting which had hurt its electoral prospects in 2009.

This is yet another instance of Ad-

vani being seen to have given his party the cold shoulder treatment following Modi’s rise.

In June last year, he had skipped the party’s Goa conclave. l

EU sees big gaps in nuclear talks but Iran ‘committed’ to deal n Reuters, Vienna Positions between Iran and world powers diverge widely in some areas but Iranian negotiators seem “very committed” to reach an agreement on the country’s disputed nuclear programme, a senior EU official said in an email seen by Reuters on Thursday.

Russia, one of the six major powers seeking to persuade Iran to scale back its contested atomic activities to deny it any nuclear bomb breakout capability, separately said the two sides were “far apart” on the issue of uranium enrichment.

The remarks underlined the uphill task confronting negotiators, who aim to hammer out a final settlement of the decade-old dispute over the nature and scope of Iran’s nuclear programme in the next four months.

In a video message to mark the Iranian new year holiday Nowruz, US President Barack Obama said there is a chance to reach a nuclear deal with Iran if it takes verifiable steps to assure the West the programme is for peaceful purposes only.

“I’m under no illusions. This will be difficult,” Obama said. “But I’m committed to diplomacy because I believe there is the basis for a practical solution.”

The brief email from European Union official Helga Schmid to senior officials of EU member states was written after a meeting between Iran and the United States,France, Germany, China, Russia and Britain in Vienna on Tuesday and Wednesday.

Schmid is the deputy of EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton, who is coordinating talks with Iran on behalf of the six nations. Tehran says its nuclear programme is peaceful but the West fears it may be aimed at developing the capability to make atomic

bombs and wants it curtailed.

In this week’s talks, Iran and the powers locked horns over the future of a planned Iranian nuclear reactor with the potential to produce plutonium for bombs, and theUnited States warned that «hard work» would be needed to overcome differences when the sides reconvene on April 7.

This line was echoed in Schmid’s email. “Since we are at an early stage of the final and comprehensive negotiations, we still have a lot of work ahead of us. On some areas, positions differ widely,” it said.

“However, the impression is that the Iranian negotiators remain very committed to reach a comprehensive solution within the agreed 6-month period,” Schmid added.

She was referring to a late July deadline for a long-term deal agreed in an interim accord struck in November.

The meeting in Vienna was the second in a series that the six nations hope will produce a verifiable settlement, ensuring Iran›s nuclear programme is oriented to peaceful purposes only, and lay to rest the risk of a new Middle East war.

The next meeting of chief negotiators has been set for April 7-9, also in the Austrian capital. Expert-level talks will be held before then, officials say.

The over-arching goal is to transcend mutual mistrust and give the West confidence that Iran will not be able to produce atomic bombs while Tehran - in return - would win full relief from economic and financial sanctions.

Iran denies that its declared civilian atomic energy programme is a front for developing the means to make nuclear weapons. But its restrictions on UN inspections and Western intelligence about bomb-relevant research have raised concerns. l

Bahrain and Pakistanagree six cooperation deals n Agencies

Indian fishermen are silhouetted on their boat at the Sangam - the confluence of rivers Ganga, Yamuna and mythical Saraswati - in Allahabad on March 19 AFP

Pakistan and Bahrain on Tuesday signed six documents relating to mutual cooperation in various sectors during the visit of Bahrian’s King Sheikh Hamad bin Isa bin Salman Al-Khalifa to Pakistan.

King Al-Khalifa – who is on a threeday official visit to hold talks with Pakistani leadership on bilateral, regional and international matters of mutual interest – and Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif witnessed the signing ceremony in Islamabad.

The agreements include, establishment of joint ministerial commission for bilateral cooperation, agreement for promotion and protection of investment, cooperation in food security, air services agreement, cooperation between interior ministries and cooperation in the fields of power and water.

Earlier during meeting with the King, Premier Nawaz Sharif said that Pakistan and Bahrain enjoy close and

cordial relations based on mutual trust and understanding.

The prime minister said that Pakistan provides better investment environment and Bahraini investors should take this opportunity for best returns.

“We would welcome Bahraini investments in mega projects in the field of energy, downstream oil industry, port development, mining and minerals, infrastructure, banking and financial sectors,” PM Sharif said.

The prime minister also hosted a dinner in honor of the King of Bahrain and the visiting delegation at the PM House. Earlier, the King was warmly received by Prime Minister Sharif upon his and his cabinet members’ arrival in the country at the Nur Khan Airbase.

Services chiefs and Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif were also present on the occasion.

A smartly turned-out contingent of the three services presented a salute to King Hamad, who is visiting Pakistan on the invitation of Prime Minister Sharif. l

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DHAKA TRIBUNE

Editorial

Letters to

www.dhakatribune.com

Keep flow of Rana Plaza compensation moving

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e welcome the Rana Plaza Coordination Committee’s announcement that it will be processing claims and payments for injured victims and families of the over 1,100 people killed in the Rana Plaza disaster, from Monday next week.

This should allow initial payments by the Rana Plaza Donors Trust Fund to be made ahead of the one year anniversary of the disaster on April 24.

This fund is run by the stakeholders who signed the Rana Plaza Compensation Arrangement last year. The arrangement was set up to provide a coordinated framework to compensate the injured workers and dependents of the over 1,100 killed, according to ILO standards.

It is important that the Donors Trust Fund, which is based on entirely voluntary contributions, is supported by as many brands and stakeholders as possible.

The clothes retailer Primark, which is one of the four brands which signed the Arrangement, has this week agreed to pay a further $1m into the fund and has promised to pay a further $9m directly to the families of 580 workers who worked at its supplier in Rana Plaza, to add to the $2m it has already given in short-term financial support.

We hope this move will encourage further donations into the Trust Fund. There are at least 20 other brands linked to factories at Rana Plaza who are not signatories to the Arrangement.

They can all help workers by making voluntary contributions into the Fund.

The Donors Trust Fund, which is based entirely voluntary contributions, should be supported by as many brands and stakeholders as possible.

Modernise utility bill payment systems

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ystems for the payment of utility bills are unnecessarily complicated and cumbersome and need reform.

Despite the existence of online payment services and the country’s large bank network, many utility bills are arbitrarily required to be paid over the counter at a fixed number of local branches.

As well as making life needlessly difficult for consumers, this slows the cash flow for utilities themselves by lumbering them with an inefficient revenue collection system.

In the case of gas bills the system is especially antiquated with bills typically being recorded in a book and payments needing to be handwritten and stamped by clerks. To make matters worse, this is only made available at one or two branches, leading to long queues at payment centres.

Such bottlenecks are not just inefficient for revenue collection, but also create incentives for some users to shirk payments altogether.

Fortunately there are ample technological solutions available to this problem. Online payment services are available from banks and mobile payment systems are already being utilised by the Dhaka Electric Supply Company.

The government should require regulators to ensure that online and mobile payment facilities are across all utilities and that it becomes possible for payment services to be made available at all bank branches for users who prefer to pay in person.

Modernising payment systems is not only straightforward easy to implement technically, but will pay for itself by saving consumers time and ensuring more timely revenue collection by utility companies.

Friday, March 21, 2014

the Editor

LETTER OF THE DAY

No creditable changes in education March 17

No classes were held over 8 months in several schools and colleges due to public exams, weekly holidays and other holidays. This includes one-and-a-half months for the SSC exam and another month-and-half for the HSC exam, and a month for the JSC public exam. Moreover all schools in the town of Rajshahi have no classes on fee collection days every month.

Subjects like physical education, career education, information and communication technology, and arts and crafts were added to the curriculum. Moreover, Finance and Banking are now compulsory subjects under commerce, both at the SSC and HSC levels. Yet, little attention has been paid to recruiting quality teachers for these subjects. A few days ago, the principal of a divisional college here said they could not find a lecturer for finance and banking, and had to hire a university student to teach those subjects.

The government claims they have achieved quality education, yet we continue to see scenarios such as this. When will our government step up to make changes that matter?

Mawduda Hasnin

Is the worst yet to come?

March 16

Power tariff hiked March 14

Mahmudul Islam Will it ever be possible to lower the tariff?

Everything is getting intolerably pricey.

Someone As I’ve argued earlier, I support the power tariff hikes, both in principle and practice, even (or especially) in our specific circumstances. However, the ruling party’s record in this area is very mixed, and rather unsatisfactory. Repeated raises in the price of power during the past few years have not been vindicated by a commensurate improvement, over time, in building vital new capacity, or ensuring sustainable, sufficient power generation and delivery to adequately fulfill burgeoning consumer demand.

Far from being used to effect new private investment in the power sector, building new infrastructure and capacity, generating savings, achieving higher efficiency, and eventually serving more consumers at competitive prices, the ruling party’s power sector policies have proved pretty feckless. They have caused more instability and harm than the fair prices and superior services that consumers expect. Pity how, were these necessary price hikes handled competently, more of us would have less to complain about.

Sam History often repeats itself and it is well said that the past is prologue. The learned ambassador knows Bangladesh very well as does his scholarly wife. The BNP and others are no saints by any stretch. Yet, the fact remains that only the Awami League has been on record officially as desiring a one party state as part of its platform once, and having accomplished it via BAKSAL. I was hoping that Ambassador Milam would have been more upfront and mention it. Let’s not forget that some of the very people who instituted BAKSAL in 1974-75 are at the helm of the ruling regime now. My challenge to AL supporters is to defend their regime on its own historical merit instead of coming up with some sort of “but they were worse” argument when faced with the truth about BAKSAL history.

Mohammad Munshi I think it is somewhat naive to think that the BNP would have been given any space had they contested in the January 5 elections as the party would have likely continued its boycott of parliament or been forced out by the AL. The BNP made the right decision not to legitimise a farcical election process by their participation.

Third phase upazila polls underway March 15

I don’t want my vote to spoil. You think I will cast a vote to a culprit?? :-( No way. And there’s no need to cast a vote because without my vote, definitely some idiot will end up winning the poll and occupying that chair.

Md Easir Arafat Siddik

600 likely landing spots for missing MH370 March 16

Surely we can discount all the landing spots in Bangladesh. We are too densely populated for someone not to notice if a plane landed there!

Nabila Binte Zahur

‘No government intervention in UZ poll’ March 16

To make the claim he does about the government’s non-interference in the latest round of UZ polls, Mr Imam must be living in an alternate reality.

Ronnie

Be Heard 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:

Liberation War minister: Jamaat to be banned by June March 15 on the Jamaat-e-Islami issue.

One We’ll believe it when it happens. Meantime, everybody in his party should stop lecturing the BNP

Vikram Khan Clearly not on top of the priority list.

opinion@dhakatribune.com Visit our website: www.dhakatribune.com Come join our Facebook community: https://www.facebook.com/DhakaTribune

CALVIN AND HOBBES

Modernising payment systems will save consumers time and ensure more timely revenue collection by utility companies

PEANUTS

CROSSWORD

SUDOKU ACROSS 1 Thoroughfare (6) 5 Favourite (3) 7 Limb (3) 8 Gain by effort (6) 11 Wrongdoing (3) 12 Raised platform (5) 14 Country (4) 16 Corolla leaf (5) 18 Very hard mineral (5) 20 Back of the neck (4) 21 Farm birds (5) 23 Spoil (3) 24 Prison official (6) 27 Narrow beam (3) 28 Make lace (3) 29 Without sound (6)

DOWN 1 Mineral spring (3) 2 Rodent (3) 3 Obliteration (7) 4 Send out (4) 5 Spanish monetary unit (6) 6 Confused state (6) 9 Swarm (4) 10 40 winks (3) 13 Army rank (7) 14 Allow (6) 15 Rue (6) 17 Church recess (4) 19 Tree (3) 22 Hindu garment (4) 25 Stain (3) 26 Groove (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

Friday, March 21, 2014

Is India on the way to Modi-fication? n Uday Sankar Das

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We need an environment that nurtures good business

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How to be pro-business

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n Zafar Sobhan

t is a common complaint in Bangladesh that the parliament is made up of businessmen and that their rise to positions of power in the political world has created a government that is beholden to business interests. If only.

I agree that it is important that big business not exert undue pressure and influence on the polity to the detriment of the national interest, but in reality I see little evidence for this fear.

Frankly, I can think of few places in the world where it is so frustrating and thankless to do business and where the government has done less to ensure and protect the business climate and the well-being of the business community.

And this goes for every government we have had in Bangladesh, even the ones which made a big noise about the transformative powers of private enterprise, by which we have come to mean state-supported private enterprise.

For all our putative market-orientation, Bangladesh remains an officious rule-bound bureaucracy where the government delights in placing obstacles in the path of growth and development and remains allergic to innovative and creative thinking. That remains the problem, regardless of what our policy orientation is supposed to be.

Like they say, if you’re going to play the game, then you got to learn to play it right.

It is not just the dull and torpid thinking and shambles of regulations

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and policies that are ill-suited to the current times at best, utterly paralysing at worst, it is also how little has been done to ease the business environment, how little real effective planning has gone into creating a functional, dynamic economy or at the very least in creating a conducive environment for it.

At every level, Bangladesh remains a notably challenging country in which to conduct business, with pitfalls for the unwary round every corner.

considered how we can nurture and develop the creativity and innovative thinking we will need to move forward in the 21st century.

Take the RMG industry.

For all the talk of garment factory owners now dominating public life, what has the government actually done to ease the burden on the manufacturers?

Equally crucially, has it ever offered a better location than the current environs of Dhaka where the industry

The government delights in placing obstacles in the path of growth and development and remains allergic to innovative and creative thinking

From enforcement of laws to enforcement of contracts, electricity supply to supply chains, red-tape to turn-around times, I haven’t noticed the government do much for big business, or small, for that matter.

If businessmen have bought the government, I have to say they have received a pretty poor pay-off from their investment.

Nor has any government’s longterm planning really focused much about what to do to encourage new business and industry, beyond piecemeal projects that offer incremental benefit but lack the big picture vision that we need.

Much less has any government ever

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is currently housed in conditions that are advantageous to no one?

This should have been done a long time ago. The government should have set up industrial parks, special economic zones, export corridors, pick the vehicle of your choice, and moved the 4 million strong industry out of Dhaka and its surrounding areas decades ago.

Now, with two brand-led stakeholder safety initiatives, the Accord on Fire and Building Safety in Bangladesh and the Alliance for Bangladesh Worker Safety on the ground and the closure of some factories a looming reality, it is better late than never.

It is inevitable that a number of the

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Schools or pigeonholes? n Ekram Kabir

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y heart sinks every time I go with my son to his school in the morning. His school is two six-storey buildings that house a few apartments in a 20-foot neighbourhood lane. These buildings were built as dwellings for the families who bought them. When I leave my boy at the entrance, I see a huge backpack-full of books and copies that make him a hunchback. He limps as he enters the gate.

In the morning, a legion of cars assemble in front of the small entrance, creating a havoc for other commuters. It’s worse when the school breaks off. The narrow lane is clogged with cars and rickshaws at a standstill.

The same lane has another school in a short distance.

When my son comes out, I ask him: “You’re sweating; what were you doing?”

“I was playing, papa,” he replies.

“What were you playing?” I ask.

“Well, we were only running around on the roof,” he says.

This is the reality in most schools, especially English-medium ones, in the cities of Dhaka and Chittagong.

Apartments have been turned into schools, bedrooms into classrooms, dining rooms into teachers’ lounges and rooftops into playgrounds. Some of them, of course, do have some space, such as courtyards, inside their campuses for the students to play some indoor-type games and sports.

They can, at best, play basketball, badminton, futsal, etc.

A handful of schools have normal playgrounds where the students can play a whole range of games and sports. The government-run schools and colleges have all the facilities for the students to grow up in a proper atmosphere. The city planners had long ago earmarked some places in every neighbourhood for educational institutions. The places they selected were all for government andBangla medium schools.

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We failed to foresee that the population in our cities, especially of Dhaka, would multiply in a geometric progression. We also couldn’t foresee that the need for educational institutions would also increase incalculably. There was still time to plan for the upcoming institutional when these English-medium schools were evolving in Bangladesh. We could have easily planned for and kept some spaces for future educational institutions.

I’ve been to a few cities where schools have been planned and built on the basis of neighbourhood development. In those cities, students of one neighbourhood don’t feel the need for going to any school in another neighbourhood. As far as standards and quality are concerned, all schools are equally good, and the students all go to their schools on foot.

On the other hand, schools in our cities vary in quality, which is why parents want their children to study in better ones. And that’s why we

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factories will be found to be non-compliant. There are many others who would be in compliance but would also welcome a change of location to a well-regulated and well-supplied environment with suitable benefits and incentives and support.

On a broader level, the government really needs to think not just about relocating the RMG industry, but about industrial policy as a whole, specifically about the infrastructure and energy needs of business and how to minimise and manage the resulting environmental fallout.

Equally important is the decentralisation of industry and development in general. Development around the country continues to remain uneven, and industrial development more so.

Any realistic plan for the future of the country needs to incorporate a plan to move businesses and industries outside of Dhaka to areas where they can boost employment and opportunity and serve as a hub or incubator for growth and development in the region.

But it has to be done right, on attractive terms. Not only do the incentives have to be tangible, but the whole enabling environment for the maximisation of growth needs to be provided. In the long-run, in terms of the employment and wealth generated it will prove a worthwhile investment.

That’s the kind of bold pro-business policy I’d like to see from our parliament and government of businessmen. Let’s start with RMG. l Zafar Sobhan is the Editor, Dhaka Tribune.

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see them travelling from Jatrabari to Uttara, Gulshan to Uttara, from Bashundhara to Dhanmondi, and so on. This creates immense pressure on our city traffic. When these schools want to hold any events, such as annual sports or a cultural event, they hire a big field or an auditorium outside their premises. This too is a once-a-year phenomenon.

But the effect of these schools being in small spaces is enormous. First, we’re depriving our children from growing up in a proper environment.

Secondly, their psychological growth is being hampered. Due to this deprivation of games and sports, our children are turning out to be a PC and cellphone-bound bunch.

The lack of this facility in schools is having an impact on their behaviour.

They spend most of their time in their schools and they pick up almost all aspects of their behaviour there.

We still have time to make a turnaround. The number of these

ith the first phase of the elections to the lower house of the Indian Parliament— the Lok Sabha just a few weeks away, the political arena in the country is getting heated by the day, more so after and because the chief minister of Gujarat state — Narendra Modi — was declared as the prime ministerial candidate of the BJP-led alliance NDA in July last year.

The development projects undertaken by the Modi-government in his home state have proved to be highly successful. There is a general feeling that Modi’s success as an administrator in the state could be replicated at the centre despite his controversial and much criticised role in Godra carnage.

There has been a surge in support for the BJP-led alliance since July, 2013 and wherever one goes, the political discussion centres around the electoral prospects of this alliance in the face of various corruption scandals seen during the incumbent government under Congress-led alliance UPA. However, given the political scenario of India and its diverse political agenda, the result is far from being a foregone conclusion.

Although the popularity of the Congress-led UPA government is on the wane, and it seems certain that their share of seats in the 543-seat Lok Sabha would plummet, a recent poll, held after Modi was declared as the PM candidate of the opposition alliance, shows that this alliance, if an election were to be held today, would not be able to muster enough seats to form a government on its own; nor would the present ruling alliance UPA. Both these alliances would have to woo the support of regional parties to come to power.

In Tamil Nadu, Chief Minister Jayalalitha’s AIADMK is riding on a great popularity after the state government took some positive steps to help the poor. M Karunanidhi’s DMK which is an ally of Congress in UPA is in a sorry state of affairs with wrangling within the party, and also there is a power struggle as to who will eventually succeed the aging Karunanidhi.

It is thought that Jayalalitha’s AIADMK will sweep the state in the coming elections, which has nearly 40 Lok Sabha seats. The Congress supremo Sonia Gandhi, however, has been trying to rope in film idol Rajnikanth, who is hugely popular in Tamil Nadu, into her fold in her mission to dent the ever increasing popularity of Jayalalitha.

Uttar Pradesh has the largest number of seats in any state in India, numbering over 80. Although the state is now governed by Mulayam Singh Yadav’s Samajwadi Party, with his son Akhilesh in the chief minister’s seat, events in Mujaffarnagar and the way the state is being governed have resulted in a sharp decline in the party’s popularity.

This has been cashed in by former Chief Minister Mayawati and her Bahujan Samajwadi Party (BSP). It is thought that the minority vote in this state, would, as a result, swing to the BSP. Election observers firmly believe that BSP would emerge as the party with the largest number of seats in this populous state.

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In West Bengal, although the perception is that Mamata Banerjee’s Trinamul Congress has started to lose its popularity after more than two years in power, recent local election results give a totally different impression. Of the 42 Lok Sabha seats in the state, Congress Party looks to be the biggest loser with its share of seats expected to be halved to 3.

Trinamul Congress is expected to increase its share of seats to more than 20 and may even bag up to 30 seats, according to some observers, mainly at the expense of Congress, with the Left Front bagging the rest.

There is a feeling that Modi’s success as an administrator in the state could be replicated at the centre

A new scenario that is emerging is the formation of a third front where left parties are trying to forge a tie with some regional parties to form, what they describe as “an anti-fascist, anti-communal parties force.” This is another way of saying that they wish to form a front away from the Congress Party and the BJP. If such a force could be stitched, then the political scene would take a different shape. But with so many prime ministerial candidates there and with parties supporting so different ideologies and thoughts, it is becoming difficult, even at this late stage, to get such a front off the ground.

Who would be the next prime minister of India after the elections is a question that is becoming extremely difficult to answer. The election campaign is being spearheaded by the highly successful regional administrator Narendra Modi for the NDA and the young, charismatic leader Rahul Gandhi for the UPA. With oratory skills still regarded a yardstick in crowd-pulling, Narendra Modi finds himself miles ahead of Rahul Gandhi in drawing crowds to their election rallies.

Can Narendra Modi turn his popularity into votes and seats, and become the next prime minister of India?

Would India see yet another hung parliament and strong horse-trading after the elections for the UPA to cling on to power?

Would it be possible for Mamata Banerjee, Jayalalitha, and Mayawati to emerge as the kingmakers and have a prime minister of their choice by bending the elbows of the bigger parties?

In the meantime, the focus is squarely on Narendra Modi who is travelling the length and breadth of the country, addressing huge public meetings in an effort to, as one analyst observed, bring about a Modi-fication in India. l Uday Sankar Das is a senior journalist who worked for BBC World Service Radio in London, and is presently based in Chittagong.

I

F

private schools will increase. Now that Dhaka and Chittagong have become saturated, they are likely to grow in other divisional and district towns. For those cities and towns, we have ample scope to plan and develop them.

Due to this deprivation of games and sports, our children are turning out to be a PC and cellphone-bound bunch

We can at least turn the schools that will be built in the future into proper places for growing up.

We still have time to turn them into proper schools, rather than pigeonholes. l Ekram Kabir is a Dhaka Tribune columnist and Executive Editor of Natunbarta.com.

E

12

DHAKA TRIBUNE

Entertainment

Friday, March 21, 2014

Jaya Ahsan plays antagonist in Chhaya n Entertainment Desk Single episode play titled Chhaya featuring Jaya Ahsan in a negative role will be aired tonight on Maasranga TV at 12:02am.

Written and directed by Nuzhat Alvi Ahmed, the cast of the pause-less drama also includes Sajal, Shahed, Tariqe Anam and many others.

The mystery fiction centers on a careless and rough young man played by Sajal. His father owns a reputed company and when the father tries to handover the company’s management to his son, Sajal denies as he wants to lead a carefree life. Then the company’s management is handed to a smart and beautiful lady played by Jaya Ahsan. Subsequently Sajal’s father gets murdered mysteriously and Sajal becomes serious about the business. Sajal grows a passionate feeling on Jaya as she also expresses her attention towards him. Sajal proposes Jaya to marry.

At first she shows reluctance but agrees later and they plan to wed discreetly in a court.

But, the mysterious lady doesn’t come on the wedding day at the spot. After that Sajal gets to know that Jaya with other miscreants of the office technically snatched the ownership of the company and also killed his father. l

Audience enthralled through the environmental play Juddhopuran In a systematic execution of Bengali pro-liberations, a huge number of people were killed including academics, journalists, physicians, lawyers, literatures, artists and engineers during the Bangladesh liberation war of 1971 by the Pakistan Army and their local collaborators, most notably the extreme right wing militia groups. After 42 years of the independence, the martyrs become figuratively alive in an environmental play to share their inner thought and emotion with the contemporary denizens of the country who sometimes practice the costly freedom in a featherbrained way and did not get chance to experience the horrifying execution scenery of the liberation war.

Poribesh Theatre brought in stage a pioneering environmental play Juddhopuran in cooperation with Theatre and Film Affairs Department of Bangladesh Shilpakala Academy for the first time in the country on March 19 at the historic Mirpur Jalladkhana where

the incidents of mass execution occurred during the Liberation War. The interactive play opened with eleven characters portraying the martyrs of the liberation war welcoming the bare foot audience garbed in black hooded-gowns. In a horrific environment, they offered the audiences a drink and then started telling their appalling stories. Sometimes holding the audiences’ hands and with direct gestures expressed how they were executed by the Pakistani Army and local collaborators. One martyr’s story doesn’t match the other’s, but all the stories ended the same way, all the martyrs were executed at the notorious Mirpur Jallad Khana. Liberation War Museum provided the stories with fact to the producing theatre troupe and they in turn portrayed each tale with accuracy.

Mirpur Jallada Khana is a commemorative place cared by Liberation War Museum. It has an oval space in its center where the troupe staged a unified story of mass execution. After the shorter duration of play, which lasts for about twenty minutes, the characters

urges the audience to rethink about their contribution to the country and practice freedom by bringing a better future for the country.

Environmental theatre is a new branch of theatre which aims to intensify audience awareness of theatre by eliminating the distinction between the audience and the actors’ space and Environment Theatre brings the new theatre in stage. Anisul Haque Barun, the idea generator and director of the play Said: “At one of my visits to Mirpur Jollad Khana, I was wondering how it will be if the martyrs suddenly came alive and started to talk with us and share their feelings and emotions. Subsequently, I generated the idea of the play and consulted with BSA director general Liakat Ali Lucky. He fully supported the idea and advised us to start the rehearsal for the play. In a conventional theatre, the audience can feel only two senses while in the environmental play we designed, they are able to feel all five senses and it is an occasion to break the boundary between the audience and the characters.” l

TODAY IN DHAKA Film

Enders Game Avatar 3D Aakash Koto Dure Thor: The Dark World 3D The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug in 3D , Frozen in 3D Agnee Time: 10am - 10pm Star Cineplex, Bashundhara City

QUAMRUL ABEDIN

n Hasan Mansoor Chatak

Nrityanchal has organised a solo dance evening today at 6:30pm at the Studio Theatre Hall of Bangladesh Shilpakala Academy. Dance artist Monira Parveen from Nrityanchal will perform at the programme. Right now, she is doing her under graduation in Kathak at Rabindra Bharati University

Robocop, Gravity Captain Phillips, Elysium Time: 12:30pm – 9:30pm Blockbuster Cinemas Jamuna Future Park

Palbasha’s new album hits the market

Exhibition

Sculpture Exhibition

By Hamiduzzaman Khan Time: 10am – 8pm Athena Gallery of Fine Arts, Progoti Shoroni, Uttar Badda

n Entertainment Desk Promising singer Palbasha Siddique lends her voice on the music direction and composition of Partha Barua for her latest solo album titled Jante Chao Jodi. The album has been launched in the market on March 18 at the conference room of G-series.

The album was unveiled by the CEO of G-series Nazmul Haque Bhuiya, Partha Barua and popular singer Topu.

The album contains eight songs: Gachher Onubhuti, Din Ki Amar Hobe, Hothat Porichoy, Jante Chay, Duto Shalik, Rater Shathe, Tapur Tupur and Life of Life. The songs are written by Rana, Atique, TI Antar and Palbasha herself. For the first time, Partha Barua gave music direction to an album. l

Soil and Spirit

By Samar Majumder Time: 3pm – 8pm Dhaka Art Center (DAC) House-60, Road-7A Dhanmondi R/A Neel Megher Kabbo

By Mahbubul Haque Time: 8am – 11:59pm Bronia Cafe & Gallery Richamond Concord (2nd Floor) 68, Gulshan Avenue, Gulshan-1 I Bow My Head to You in Deep Obeisance

By Shahid Kabir Time: 12pm – 8pm Bengal Shilpalaya, House 42, Road 16 (New) / 27 (old), Dhanmondi

ON TV

‘Ranbir is a

DRAMA 9:30pm Sony Nandini

Better Actor than

11:00pm Star Plus Veera

MISC

Shah Rukh’

11:30am TLC

Ultimate Shopper

7:30pm Star Wprld Band Dharok will perform live today at 3pm on Desh TV’s Priyojoner Gaan

Koffee With Karan

The Incredibles gets a sequel n Entertainment Desk Disney have announced two sequels are in the making: The Incredibles 2 and Cars 3. The director Brad Bird is writing its sequel a n d that the original film will be re-released in 3D, as will Pixar kitchen caper Ratatouille.

In 2007, Bird told Slashfilm about what could be expected from an Incredibles sequel: “I have pieces of things that I would love to see in a sequel, but I haven’t got them all together yet, and I certainly wouldn’t want to come out there with something that is less than the original.”

The Incredibles, released in 2004, told the story of Bob and Helen Parr, a suburban couple and parents to three children who had long ago left their superpowers behind.

Faced with a mid-life crisis, Bob, formerly

Mr Incredible, began to pull superhero stunts late at night with his old superhero friend, Lucius Best, whose alias was Frozo.

However, the whole Parr family had to embrace their su-

perpowers when the world’s safety was put under threat.

More than a decade later, The Incredibles 2 may see how the new generation of superheroes, including baby Dash, who was still discovering the extent of his powers, are getting on. The original film took more than $631m at the global box office and won two Oscars: for Best Animated Feature and Best Sound Editing. l

n

Entertainment Desk

Bollywood megastar Kajol firmly maintains that Ranbir Kapoor is a better actor than her all-time favourite, Shah Rukh Khan.

And Kajol really doesn’t care what people will speculate about her friendship with SRK. In fact, Kajol was her typical candid self on Koffee with Karan where she shared a couch with cousin Ayan Mukerji. When

K Jo asked her why she’s never played the village belle or other such non-glam roles she fired back with a laugh, “That’s because I always felt I looked rich!”

Kajol also refuses to be trapped in speculation on her husband Ajay’s supposed roving eye. Her explanation on her marriage is, “So far so good. Of course we have our rocky moments and very often we agree to disagree. But that’s all about it.” According to the grapevine, Ajay has somewhat sobered up since his children are growing up now and he feels more responsible and answerable as a father and husband. l

Telefilm Pholaphol Sundor Ekta Bou will be aired on Channel-i today at 2:40pm

Did you know?

Tamim Iqbal yesterday becomes the second Bangladeshi after Mushfiqur Rahim to be out for duck on birthday

Sport

Friday, March 21, 2014

14 RVP leads United

into last eight, Dortmund through

14 Ronaldinho

misses penalty, scores another

‘The defeat not alarming’ n

Bangladesh opener Tamim Iqbal is bowled for a duck against Hong Kong at ZACS, Chittagong yesterday CRICINFO

Bangladesh’s humiliating defeat against ICC associate member Hong Kong by two wickets yesterday at Chittagong was not ‘alarming’ for Bangladesh skipper Mushfiqur Rahim. While the cricket pundits are thinking that the defeat will shake Bangladesh’s confidence needed to face the big guns in the Super 10 round, Mushfiqur thinks the loss has showed the hosts of the ICC World Twenty20 the good sides.

“There is a good side to it [defeat].

We could have been slightly unprepared against the big teams if we had won all the three games [in first round] easily. Everyone had a bit of practice, though they didn’t score. This is proof that we have to work harder,” said

Mushfiq at the post-match conference yesterday.

Despite the loss, Bangladesh managed to move into the second phase of the tournament but with a guiltiness of letting down the nation’s expectation.

GROUP A

Team Mat Won Lost Net RR Bangladesh 3 2 1 4 +1.466 Nepal 3 2 1 4 +0.933 Afghanistan 3 1 2 2 -0.981 Hong Kong 3 1 2 2 -1.455

“This is a very bad feeling. I could never expect such a poor batting performance from our team. But having said that, anything can happen in a Twenty20 game. This puts us witch chance against all four big teams. If we play to our potential, we can win any day,” said the 25-year-old.

Bangladesh had lost the game against Hong Kong after they went allout with only 108 runs on the scorecard. Only four batsmen from the Bangladesh line-up managed to reach double figures with Shakib al Hasan scoring the highest 34. Mushfiq found Tamim’s dismissal unlucky while stated Shakib had failed to carry his responsibility of putting up a competitive score as a set batsman.

Middle-order batsman Nasir Hossain was there unbeaten with 14 runs but his approach never showed that he went to put some runs on the board.

However, Mushfiq thought, “Nasir hasn’t been performing up to his potential. He didn’t have a batsman at the other end to support him at that stage.

He could have batted naturally in the last three or four overs. He was having problem timing the ball so he was unlucky. The full blame is on the top and middle-order.” l

Enhanced India clash Nepal scripts perfect ending with powerful Pakistan n It was the much awaited match of the World T20 Championship when archrivals India will take on Pakistan as the tournament will raise its curtain for the super ten stage at the Sher-e-Bangla National Stadium today.

An India- Pakistan match means a breathtaking, full of action and competitive match with the whole world glued on to their TV sets and the platform of World T20 will certainly add extra attention for the supporters for an intense battle.

However India has a hundred percent success rate against their opponent in the World T20, winning all the three matches against Pakistan–India beat their archrivals in the inaugural World T20 final in 2007 in South Africa in the final.

Pakistan have featured in two finals, winning the 2009 title in England and losing the 2007 final to India in South Africa. They entered the semi-finals in the West Indies in 2010 and also reached the semi-finals in 2012, but hosts Sri Lanka halted their progress.

Pakistan recently beat India in the Asia Cup. Though it was a fifty over tournament, the win will certainly boost the morale of the side with the hero Shahid Afridi in terrific form.

But the return of Indian skipper MS Dhoni will see a different Indian. With Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma, Shikhar Dhawan and Suersh Raina with the bat and Ravichandran Ashwin, Amit Mishra along with Ravindra Jadeja in the spin department, India are an improved side. Mohammad Shami and Bhuvneshwar Kumar will be leading the pace attack.

India has a hundred percent success rate against Pakistan in the World T20, winning all the three matches On the other hand, Pakistan looks a balanced unit with a few all-rounders in their line up. Skipper Mohammad Hafeez, the leading all-rounder in the shortest format of the game, is in prime form and along with Shahid Afridi and Shoiab Malik, give Pakistan a strong side.

The spin bowling department will be headed by Saeed Ajmal, the number three ranked bowler in the shortest format, while the fast bowling has struggled for wickets in recent times.

As recently as the Asia Cup, they took all ten wickets only once, against Afghanistan. Pakistan were tested by the absence of Mohammad Irfan, and they have gambled on Umar Gul to bear the strike bowler’s burden. l

It was a perfect display in all departments –batting, bowling and fielding – that enabled Nepal to script a memorable ending to their fairy tale run in the World Twenty20 yesterday. In their ultimate Group A match, Nepal beat Afghanistan by nine runs to land their second win in the tournament at the Zahur Ahmed Chowdhury Stadium.

The “YESSSS” from the few Nepalese journalists present at the Press Box and the celebration from the players on the field was enough to explain what the win meant to the nation.

Nepal stood second in the table with four points via run rate as Bangladesh, who also won two, qualified from the group. The first round of the tournament was a big platform for the

ICC Associate members and Nepal has certainly took the best out of their opportunity. They registered their first win in their maiden major tournament against Hong Kong before playing

BRIEF SCORE Nepal 141 for 5 in 20 overs S Khakurel 56, S Vesawkar 37; S Zadran 2-17, M Ashraf 1-14

Afghanistan 132 for 8 in 20 overs A Stanikzai 49, Shafiqullah 36; J Mukhia 3-18, S Kami 2-32) Nepal won by 9 runs against a Test nation (Bangladesh) for the first time. To finish the tournament on a high Nepal had something else planned too as they ended their sixmatch losing streak against Afghanistan which also kept a mathematical equation of progressing into the second round. Hong Kong needed to chase down 109 in 13.2 overs, but since that wasn’t achieved Nepal’s chance of going forward also vanished.

Nepal posted a fighting 141 for five after been sent in to bat and followed it by controlled bowling and superb catching to restrict the Afghans to 132 for eight. After two quiet matches

Classic rivalry set to be renewed Playing only five T20s since the last edition of the tournament and the lack of exposure for the Indian fast bowlers before going in to the all important match against Pakistan, Indian skipper MS Dhoni is looking up to his fast bowlers to deliver. While the Pakistan skipper will be relying on his all-rounders – of which they have four – to give an added advantage for his side.

“If you talk about international T20s, our fast bowlers have not played much. But they have spent a lot of time in the IPL where the conditions are a bit similar so I think to some extent that will help. Overall when it comes to contribution, we would want to bowl well with the new ball. If we can get one-two wickets with the new ball, it is considered a good start,” said Dhoni.

With Pakistan having a few all rounders, the 32 year old added that any side having with such a line up would be difficult for the opposition.

“The more all-rounders you have the more difficult it becomes for the opposition. The reason being if you have players who players can bat and bowl, and if they are proper allrounders - they may be spinning or fast bowling all-rounders - still they add to the strength of the team which means

Mohammed Hafeez

MS Dhoni

you have the option of playing with more than five bowlers if you want to, and still have the same batting and bowling strength. It always adds on. I feel some of the sides are blessed when it comes to having all rounders who can bat and bowl,” he said.

Dhoni praised fast bowler Umar Gul and spinner Saeed Ajmal and informed

that both the bowlers are good at the death and haveconsistently performed well for Pakistan.

However, the Indian skipper who had some controversial allegations regarding match fixings recently, informed being part of an Indian team means that there are plenty of things that go around and the skipper only

looks to focus on his game.

“What is happening around me?

Tell me. You have to keep your focus.

Especially when you are part of the Indian cricket team, there are plenty of things that go around you, so irrespective of whether you are doing well or not so well on the field, so I think it is a big part and parcel of Indian cricket. I think most of the players are quite used to it,” said Dhoni.

On the other hand Pakistan skipper Mohammed Hafeez informed that they are not looking at the stats and looking forward to give their best, “We don’t want to look at the stats, what happened in past is something we can’t change and looking forward to give our best,” said Hafeez.

Shahid Afridi, who was the hero against India in the Asia Cup, hitting two sixes in the last over of the match to clinch a superb win, will play a vital role said Hafeez.

“I think he is in a good form and it is always an advantage. No doubt he will play a vital role and he is in a good frame of mind and as a senior player you will always want him to see in action and he is ready for the challenges and look up for it,” he said.

Meanwhile both skippers said that the India-Pakistan battle has always been intense and competitive and they are looking forward to get the upper hand by winning the first match of the tournament. l

with the bat, opener Subash Khakurel slammed 56 and Sharad Vesawkar made 37 in their 76-run fourth wicket partnership after Nepal slipped to 53-3 following a 13-ball 22 from Malla.

The top four Afghan batsmen returned for scores less than seven as it was only Shafiqullah (36) and Ashgar Stanikzai (49) who showed some resistance. With 24 needed from six balls, Stanikzai took 16 off the first four, including three fours from the cow corner, before he holed out to long-on to give 18-year-old Sompal Kami his second wicket in the game and seal Nepal’s win.

Meanwhile there was plenty of support for the Nepal team as fans from Europe and UK flew in to watch their nation play in the big stage.

42-year-old Sanjay Chalise who lives London said, “I always dreamt of Nepal playing in the World Cup and when we finally got through the Qualifiers in November. I started making arrangements to come to watch Nepal’s game.

I missed the first match as I was stuck at Doha transit.”

Utsav Sigdel, a 24-year-old student from Maryland, USA, was in Chittagong to watch all the matches and said, “Nepal is making history and I wanted to be a part of it.”

Binod Bikram Simkhada and Biswas Hamal also arrived in the port city all the way from England to watch Nepal play. “It is a lifetime opportunity to watch Nepal play in World Cup,” said Simkhada, who spent around £1000 to make the trip. l

DHAKA TRIBUNE

13

15 Bangladesh beat

Iran 3-1 in Asian Games Qualifiers

SCORECARD Bangladesh innings Tamim Iqbal b Afzal 0 Anamul Haque b Nadeem 26 Sabbir Rahman lbw b Afzal 2 Shakib Al Hasan c Nizakat b Irfan 34 Mushfiqur Rahim c Munir b Nizakat 23 Nasir Hossain not out 14 Mahmudullah b Nadeem 2 Farhad Reza c Atkinson b Nizakat 0 Abdur Razzak c Atkinson b Nizakat 0 Rubel Hossain b Nadeem 0 Al-Amin Hossain c Babar b Nadeem 1 Extras (lb 1, w 5) 6 Total (all out; 16.3 overs) 108 FoW: 1-0, 2-3, 3-51, 4-85, 5-89, 6-96, 7-101, 8-101, 9-102, 10-108. Afzal 4-024-2, Haseeb 2-0-16-0, Nadeem 3.3-0-21-4, Irfan 2-0-17-1, Ehsan 1-0-100, Nizakat 4-0-19-3,

Hong Kong innings Waqas Barkat st Mushfiq b Shakib 0 Irfan Ahmed lbw b Shakib 34 JJ Atkinson lbw b Shakib 7 MS Chapman b Mahmudullah 5 Babar Hayat c Mushfiq b Al-Amin 1 Nizakat Khan c sub b Mahmudullah 12 Munir Dar lbw b Razzak 36 Tanwir Afzal b Sabbir 0 Haseeb Amjad not out 12 Nadeem Ahmed not out 2 Extras (lb 2, w 3) 5 Total (8 wickets; 19.4 overs)114 FoW: 1-10, 2-44, 3-47, 4-50, 5-50, 6-83, 7-100, 8-100. Al-Amin 4-0-26-1, Shakib 4-0-9-3, Razzak 3.4-1-31-1, Mahmudullah 4-0-13-2, Reza 2-0-23-0, Rubel 1-0-7-0, Sabbir 1-0-3-1, Hong Kong won by 2 wickets

Pakistan women beat Bangladesh Pakistan women’s team defeated Bangladesh women by five runs in a World Twenty20 warm-up match at the BKSP 3 ground in Savar yesterday. Pakistan were bowled out for 81 runs in 19.5 overs. In reply, Bangladesh only managed to put a total of 76 for 6.

Nahida Khan and skipper Sana Mir scored 30 and 18 respectively for Pakisatn. In reply, three out of top four Bangladesh batsmen returned to pavilion without scoring. Opener Ayasha Rahman scored innings’ highest 28 off 45 balls. Wicketkeeper Nuzhat and Fargana added 21 and 14 respectively but couldn’t reach the target. l

BRIEF SCORE Pakistan 81 all out in 19.5 overs Nahida 30, Sana Mir 18; Salma 3-11, Jahanara 2-11

Bangladesh 76-6 in 20 overs Ayasha 28, Nuzhat 21; A Iqbal 3-8, Anam Amin 2-6 Pakistan women won by 5 runs

14

DHAKA TRIBUNE

'I can still make Spain WC squad' Chelsea striker Fernando Torres has not given up on making Spain’s World Cup squad and will work hard to convince coach Vicente del Bosque he deserves a place with the defending champions in Brazil. Torres, who turns 30 on Thursday, faces stiff competition from the likes of Diego Costa, Alvaro Negredo, Fernando Llorente and David Villa, but believes if Chelsea have a successful end to the season and he plays an important role, he can secure a place in Del Bosque’s final 23-man group.

–Reuters

Sport

Friday, March 21, 2014

Knicks kick off Jackson era Carmelo Anthony scored 34 points and Amare Stoudemire tallied 21 as the resurgent New York Knicks opened the Phil Jackson era with their seventhstraight win on Wednesday. Jackson got his first look at the Knicks in just his second day on the job and they didn’t disappoint their new president as they beat the first-place Indiana Pacers 92-86. The 68-year-old Jackson received a standing ovation at Madison Square Garden during the pre-game introductions and it just got better from there for the crowd of 19,812.

–AFP

Pistorius to sell home for legal fees Oscar Pistorius plans to sell the upmarket Pretoria house where he shot dead his girlfriend last year to cover the legal fees for his murder trial, his lawyer said Thursday. “It has become necessary to sell Mr Pistorius’s home in the Silver Woods Country Estate in Pretoria in order for him to raise the necessary funds to cover his increasing legal costs,” the 27-year-old’s lawyer Brian Webber said in a statement. “This is due to the unexpected extension of the trial beyond the initial three-week period for which it was originally set down.”

–AFP

Moyes defiant after Man United fightback Embattled Manchester United manager David Moyes insisted that he was not under pressure after his side’s stirring comeback against Greek champions Olympiakos took them into the Champions League quarter-finals.

Moyes enjoyed a rare night of success at Old Trafford on Wednesday as United overturned a 2-0 deficit from the first leg of their last 16 tie with a 3-0 victory built around a Robin van Persie hat-trick.

With United 18 points off the lead and 12 points shy of the top four in the Premier League after a chastening 3-0 loss to Liverpool on Sunday, Moyes’s position has come under scrutiny.

“I’m not feeling any pressure from inside the club,” he told reporters.

“It’s coming from you people. We know the job we have to do. It’s probably bigger than what I thought when I first came to the club. There are stories of this player falling out, or that one falling out, but it’s rubbish. People are looking for reasons why we are not doing well, but it is only because we have not been playing well.”

United had never previously overturned a two-goal deficit in the Champions League knockout phase, but Moyes

was unwilling to describe their success as a potential watershed moment.

“People will probably think it’s a turning point in people’s careers, but I didn’t see it like that because the club don’t see it like that,” said the Scot.

“I see myself here for a long time. I think we know we have a lot of work to do, but it’s a great result and we want to stay in the competition.”

Van Persie was stretchered off in the dying stages after taking a blow to the back of his knee, but Moyes played down the extent of the injury, saying it was “hopefully not too bad”.

He also paid tribute to 40-year-old midfielder Ryan Giggs, who showcased a magnificent range of passing, including raking passes in the build-up to both of his side’s first two goals.

“It’s incredible, the amount of games he’s played in the Champions League,” Moyes said.

“He was fantastic – the passes he made for the two goals, his general football. He’s a freak.”

United will learn the identity of their quarter-final opponents on Friday and while their domestic travails make them unlikely candidates to win the tournament, Moyes believes that they could go all the way. l

Manchester United's Robin van Persie scores from the spot against Olympiakos during their Champions League match at Old Trafford in Manchester on Wednesday

RVP leads United into last eight Van Persie hits hattrick against Olympiakos, Dortmund edge spirited Zenit on aggregate Robin van Persie scored a sensational hat-trick as Manchester United beat Olympiakos 3-0 to progress to the Champions League quarter-finals on Wednesday, while Borussia Dortmund joined them in the last eight.

Under-pressure United manager David Moyes saw his side produce a much-improved performance from Sunday’s 3-0 home defeat to Liverpool, and Van Persie made the difference as the ailing Premier League champions overcame a 2-0 first-leg deficit to go through.

There was less drama in Germany, where last season’s beaten finalists Dortmund lost 2-1 at home to Zenit St Petersburg but progressed 5-4 on aggregate.

United had only previously come back from a first-leg defeat to win a Champions League tie once before, against Roma in the 2007 quarterfinals, and the listless nature of their recent displays would have done little to inspire confidence among the home fans at Old Trafford.

However, a Wayne Rooney header that came back off the post set the tone before the three-time European champions were awarded a penalty midway through the first half when Jose Holebas barged into the back of Van Persie.

The Dutchman confidently beat Ro-

berto from the spot, and the Spanish goalkeeper then did well to save from a Patrice Evra header.

But United levelled the tie on aggregate in first-half stoppage time

RESULTS

Man United

3 0

Olympiakos

1 2

Zenit

Van Persie 25-pen, 45+1, 52 Man Utd win 3-2 on aggregate

Dortmund

Kehl 38 Hulk 16, Rondon 73 Dortmund win 5-4 on aggregate

when Rooney’s low cross was lashed home first-time by Van Persie, and he then scored the decisive third goal, and completed his hat-trick, by curling home a free-kick in the 52nd minute.

Pele memorabilia up for pre-Cup auction

Roger Federer attends the Moet & Chandon "Tiny Tennis" With Roger Federer at Club 50 at Viceroy Miami Florida on Wednesday AFP

A Brazilian football fan hopes to net thousands of dollars from the auction of Pele memorabilia, including the shirt the legend wore for his last appearance in a Brazil shirt, media reported Wednesday.

The fan, 38-year-old Marcos Batista, is selling off around 100 items he has collected over 30 years, including stamps commemorating Pele’s 1,000th goal, figurines, picture albums and comics.

The shirt’s list price is 4,000 reais ($1700) . The asking price for the ‘King Pele’ poster is 3,000 reais, Folha de Sao Paulo reported. l

Moyes will be delighted that his side held on, although there were plenty of nerves, and Evra picked up a yellow card that rules him out of the first leg of their quarter-final while Van Persie went off with an injury late on.

At the Westfalenstadion, PierreEmerick Aubameyang missed a glorious chance to put Dortmund in front before Brazilian forward Hulk put Zenit ahead with a trademark 30-yard piledriver that swerved through the air.

Having lost the first leg 4-2 in Russia, Zenit still needed to score twice more without reply to go through, but Jurgen Klopp’s side levelled on the night when captain Sebastian Kehl headed home a Marcel Schmelzer cross before the interval. l

The Miami Masters offered up a pair of off-court surprises Wednesday as Juan Martin del Potro withdrew and Wimbledon champion Andy Murray split with coach Ivan Lendl.

The loss of eighth seed del Potro, still suffering with the left wrist injury that has compromised his season, could deliver a box-office blow to the event with plenty of South American supporters in the Miami area.

“I still feel pain in my left wrist and I don’t feel competitive to go on court,” Del Potro said. “It’s a pity because this is a special tournament for me since there are many Latin fans and Argentines in particular.

“In the next few days I will visit my doctor again to determine the following steps.”

German lucky loser Benjamin Becker replaced del Potro in the draw,

6-4, 6-4 while Adrian Mannarino of France beat Russian veteran Nikolay Davydenko, the 2008 champion, 6-4, 7-5.

Spain’s Albert Montanes defeated Michel Przysiezny of Poland 5-7, 7-6 (7/5), 6-3.

In a WTA women’s field led by defending champion Serena Williams, China’s Peng Shuai defeated Czech Karolina Pliskova 7-5, 6-0.

American Vania King blanked Spaniard Estrella Cabeza Candela 6-0, 6-0 while Swede Rebecca Peterson eliminated Germany’s Mona Barthel who retired with a stomach complaint while trailing, 6-4, 4-2.

American Lauren Davis, who reached the fourth round last week in Indian Wells, advanced over China’s Zhang Shuai 6-2, 6-3.

Austrian Patricia Mayr-Achlietner beat Italian Karin Knapp 3-6, 6-1, 6-4 and Argentine Paula Ormaechea stopped Katarzyna Piter of Poland 7-6 (7/0), 6-1. l

‘Moaning’ fans dampen Dortmund delight Borussia Dortmund’s scrappy Champions League triumph over Zenit St Petersburg was good news for a team struggling for form on the domestic front but “moaning” from a successspoilt home support has left many players fuming.

Last season’s runners-up reached this year’s quarter-finals after a 2-1 home loss against the Russians on Wednesday gave Dortmund a 5-4 aggregate victory but the lacklustre performance received a muted response in the often noisy stadium.

“I really do not like this. Every time we lost possession you could hear moans in the crowd,” midfielder Kevin Grosskreutz told reporters.

“We do not need moans, we need support. Afterwards you can whistle but during the game we need the support.”

Injuries to key players throughout the season have been a constant thorn in the side of Juergen Klopp’s squad and as the coach struggles to stick to a settled lineup, negativity from the stands has done little to help team morale.

“Some in the team are really affected by this,” captain Sebastian Kehl said. “A home game should be a positive experience and not feel as if we have committed some sort of crime.”

Home fans are likely to expect an even more cautious approach by their team in the last eight with European heavyweights such as Bayern Munich, Real Madrid and Barcelona lying in wait as Dortmund’s injury list grows.l

'Ronaldo is ‘a beast’ but Real should fear Messi' Cristiano Ronaldo is “a beast” but Real Madrid should fear four-time World Player of the Year Lionel Messi, Barcelona full-back Jordi Alba warned on Wednesday ahead of Sunday’s crucial Clasico.

“I think they are two of the best players in the world but out of the two of them I’ll go with Leo,” Alba said when asked which of the two players should be feared more during Sunday’s game at the Santiago Bernabeu.

“I don’t just say that now because I am in the same team, I thought that when I was at Valencia,” added Alba, who moved to Barcelona from the Mestalla in 2012.

Del Potro, Murray provide off-court drama which has all seeds given byes into the second round.

Del Potro has been troubled by the wrist since injuring it in his opening match at the Australian Open three days after winning the Sydney title in early January. The former US Open champion has tried to play but with little success, winning one round at Melbourne and reaching a Rotterdam quarter-final before retiring in the first round of Dubai against India’s Somdev Devverman.

Murray called it quits with Lendl after a two-year partnership, with a joint statement on Murray’s website announcing the move.

Murray prepares to defend his Miami crown as he continues to return from back surgery.

With seeds absent, Wednesday was reserved for lesser lights fighting for spots in the second round.

Australian Matthew Ebden began with a defeat of Pole Lukasz Kubot 4-6,

REUTERS

“I think Cristiano, you have to be honest, he’s a beast, he’s a very important player for Real Madrid. When Madrid are not at their best he always pulls through,” the 24-year-old said.

“But we have Leo and other players and I think we are more of a team than a bunch of individuals.”

Ronaldo, a two-time World Player of the Year, has scored 41 times in 37 appearances for Madrid this season, including a double in Tuesday’s 3-1 win against Schalke 04 which secured Real Madrid’s place in the Champions League quarter-finals.

Messi overtook Paulino Alcantara to become Barcelona’s all-time leading scorer by netting a hat-trick during the Catalan giants’ 7-0 rout of Osasuna in

La Liga on Sunday.

The three goals brought Messi’s career tally for Barcelona to 371 in all games, breaking the club record of 369 held by Alcantara since 1927.

Leaders Real host Barcelona on Sunday night, when a win would stretch their lead over the defending champions to seven points and deal a severe blow to Barcelona’s chances of a fifth title in six years.

Barca are third with 66 points, a point behind second-placed Atletico Madrid.

“Madrid are a really good team. This year they are playing at a great level.

It is going to be a very difficult match, very complicated, at their ground,” said Alba. l

Ronaldinho misses penalty, scores another as Mineiro held

Ronaldinho of Brazil's Atletico Mineiro celebrates after scoring a penalty against Paraguay's Nacional during their Copa Libertadores match in Belo Horizonte on Wednesday REUTERS

Ronaldinho missed one penalty but converted another within five minutes of each other as holders Atletico Mineiro were held to a 1-1 home draw by Paraguay’s Nacional in the Libertadores Cup on Wednesday.

The former World Player of the Year’s first attempt was saved by Nacional goalkeeper Ignacio Don with a spectacular dive to his right in the 13th minute.

The 33-year-old was given another chance five minutes later, this time following a handball, and made no mistake as he chose the opposite corner and put the ball out of Don’s reach.

However, he was upstaged when Marco Riveros equalised for the rank outsiders by chipping a majestic free kick over the Mineiro wall eight minutes before halftime.

Mineiro, unbeaten after four games, stayed top of Group Four on eight points, three ahead of their opponents who are second. Gremio, also unbeaten, scored a stoppage time equaliser to draw 1-1 at Newell’s Old Boys in Group Six as they stayed top.

Gremio looked down and out until Rhodolfo came to their rescue when he headed a dramatic equaliser in the 91st minute to silence the crowd at the Marcelo Bielsa stadium. Flamengo completed a winless evening for Brazilian teams when they sank to a 1-0 defeat at 3,600 metres above sea level in La Paz against Bolivar, leaving the 1981 winners bottom of Group Seven on four points.

Mexico’s Leon (seven points) went top of the group by beating Ecuadorean champions Emelec 3-0, with Matias Britos, Jose Vazquez, from a penalty, and Carlos Pena sharing the goals. l

DHAKA TRIBUNE

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Eight star Jamal set new goal record

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Marquez, Lorenzo begin season under injury cloud Marc Marquez, the youngest ever MotoGP world champion, and twotime title winner Jorge Lorenzo go into Sunday’s season-opener having spent more time in doctors’ surgeries than on the track this winter. Marquez made history in 2013, marking his rookie year with a maiden world crown at the age of 20. But the flamboyant Spaniard suffered a broken right leg while dirt-biking just six weeks ago and admits he is nowhere near 100 percent for the opening race under the Qatar floodlights on Sunday. Marquez’s accident in his native Spain meant he missed two of the winter’s three tests having set the fastest times in the opening session in Malaysia on his all-conquering Honda.

–AFP

England call-up depends on who you play for: Johnson Sunderland winger Adam Johnson believes he has missed out on an England call-up because he does not play for one of the top clubs in the Premier League. The 26-year-old has 12 England caps but was a notable absentee from a 30-man squad named by manager Roy Hodgson for a recent friendly against Denmark and has not played for his country since an August 2012 friendly against Italy. He moved to Sunderland from Manchester City days after that last cap and has not been called up by Hodgson since then despite becoming a key player for his struggling club in their battle against relegation. “I think a lot of people saw me as almost a certainty (for England) but if you look at the last squad it was almost all top eight bar (Cardiff’s Steven) Caulker, who wasn’t meant to be in it but for (Phil) Jagielka’s injury,” Johnson told the Guardian newspaper on Thursday.

–Reuters

Red Bull lodge Ricciardo appeal Red Bull on Thursday officially lodged their appeal against Daniel Ricciardo’s disqualification from second place in Sunday’s Australian Grand Prix, motorsport’s governing body the FIA confirmed. The Formula One champions’ protest arrived at FIA’s Paris headquarters shortly before the 96 hour deadline of 1300GMT. Red Bull had made it plain ever since Ricciardo lost his his runner-up spot to Nico Rosberg in the Melbourne stewards room on a technical infringement that they would challenge the ruling.

Ricciardo’s fate now lies in the hands of the FIA’s appeals board which will sit in the next few weeks.

–AFP

Uganda runners allege sex abuse A group of top Ugandan women runners have accused a national athletics coach of systematic sexual harassment and abuse ahead of last week’s Africa Cross-country Championships, a report said Thursday. The Daily Monitor newspaper said the female runners spent a month at a training camp preparing for the competition, but were subjected to late-night visits and demands for sexual favours. “He would wake up in the middle of the night and come to our room,” an unnamed female runner was quoted as saying by the paper. “He threatened to chase us from camp if we ever said anything or turned him down."

–AFP

An action from the match between Bangladesh and Iran during their group B match of the Islami Bank Asian Games Hockey Qualifiers at the Maulana Bhashani National Hockey Stadium yesterday COURTESY

ISLAMI BANK ASIAN GAMES HOCKEY QUALIFIERS

Bangladesh beat Iran 3-1 Bangladesh staged a superb comeback to beat Iran 3-1 and top group B of the Islami Bank Asian Games Hockey Qualifiers in the last match of the group stage at the Maulana Bhashani National Hockey Stadium yesterday.

With the forwards continuing to waste chances, Iran rocked Bangladesh with a goal in the dying minutes of the first half. They also continued to pile pressure with quick counter attacks and their inability in the penalty corners helped Bangladesh to regroup.

However Bangladesh dominated the scenario but lacked finishing touch and returned to the dressing room during the interval with a heavy heart.

However Bangladesh returned to pitch firing on all cylinders and put on a superb show to score three goals and finishing at the top of the table with nine points. Bangladesh will face Sri Lanka in the pre-deciders on Saturday.

If Bangladesh wins, they will play in

Five a side football tourney begins The Bangladesh phase of the Standard Chartered Trophy Road to Anfied, a five-a-side football competition, will kick off at the M Mansur Ali National Handball Stadium today.

A total of 13 teams, split into four groups, are taking part in the twoday tournament. All the group stage matches will be held today, while the knockout games including the final, will take place tomorrow.

The 13 teams are- Standard Chartered Bank (SCB) Green, Chevron, Ispahani, Bangla Trac, Kop, Grameenphone, SCB Blue, Epyllion, Anfield Road, Unilever-pool, Centenary, Lanka Bangla and Bangladesh Sports Journalists’ Association (BSJA). The champions will get a chance to play and represent Bangladesh in a tournament named Standard Chartered Trophy finals on May 13, 2014 at Anfield, the home ground of English Premier League side Liverpool FC, with 15 other teams from across the world. The winning team will also watch an English Premier League match live at Anfield. l

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the 1st place decider against the winner of the Oman-Singapore match. If Bangladesh loses, the team will be pitted in the 3rd place decider. Bangladesh’s Asian Games slot is also ensured.

The brave approach of Iranian defenders in countering the penalty corners of Bangladesh drag and flick specialist Mamunur Rahman Chayan saw Bangladesh score only one from the nine they had.

Iran took the lead in the 26th minute as Abbasi Reza’a fierce hit from the left flank was padded off by Bangladesh goalie Ashim Gope but unmarked Taheridad Navid pushed the rebound into the post.

Bangladesh equalized in the 55th minute off their seventh penalty corner. Puskor Khisha Mimo’s push was stopped by Sarwar Hossain and Mamunur Rahman Chayan dragged the ball into the post. Bangladesh went up in the 57th minute after midfielder Romman Sarker ran down the left flank and cut the ball to Puskor Khisha Mimo

The two day Walton Smartphone National Roller Speed Skating starts today at the Bangabandhu National Stadium premises today. A total of 350 skaters from 29 teams across the country will participate in the event. Deputy minister for youth and sports Arif Khan Joy will inaugurate the meet as the chief guest.

in the Bangladesh Premier League history since its inception in 2006-07 season. On seven occasions, the result was struck on seven goals but the eight was not scored. Jamal wrote the new history scoring eight yesterday.

In the one way traffic, Emeka Darlington found the net in the 9, 21, 37 and 53 minutes with the third one scored off a penalty. Onrushing defender Linkon was brought down by Baridhara defender Khalekuzzaman and Emeka completed the third and his personal second hat-rick in the ongoing league.

After Emeka Darlington, it was Wedson Anelseme who tore the Baridhara defence apart with 35, 63, 77 minute strikes.

Skipper Mamunul Islam added the local flavour in the goal festival as he scored the record breaking goal with a precise left footed placed shot in the 87 minute of the match. Uttar Baridhara have six points from nine matches. l

Paras looks ahead The two wins for Nepal – against Afghanistan and Hong Kong - in their maiden appearance in the ICC World Twenty20 - will have a huge impact on the country’s cricket in the future believes the side’s skipper Paras Khadka.

However the 26-year-old captain believes they will need to start fresh from the achievements to push cricket in his country forward.

“The two wins in this tournament means a lot to us. Like I said before the tournament – we came here to compete. We have always tried to win every game that we have played for our country. It will always give us a great boost moving forward and push us to do better as well as have great impact on the youngsters who are coming up and wants to take cricket,” said Paras to the media after their historical win yesterday.

“This was the first time we qualified

and managed to win two games. So it is a great achievement by itself which we are taking back home. But now the real journey begins. We have to do the home work and start again from the beginning and put the structure right back home and try to produce better results in future,” he added.

The win was Nepal’s first in Twenty20 against Afghanistan which came after had successfully put an all-round effort in the field, including two spectacular catches.

“I think we should forget the catches. The main thing is we have won the match. We are pretty pleased. We have always been trying to push ourselves to do better. We have been playing against Afghanistan for a very long time and they are a very good team and we know that. So to beat them you have to take every chances and score a decent amount of runs and back it up by good bowling. So we managed to do all the three today. So it is like when you do things right there are moments – the key moments and we managed to grab those chances,” said Paras. l

Hong Kong over the moon n The two-wicket win over a Test playing nation in the World Twenty20 yesterday is Hong Kong’s biggest achievement in their cricket history. Their first ever win over a major team couldn’t have come in a better way for the Associate member and their captain Jamie Atkinson said it was a dream come true.

“Just absolutely over the moon to beat Bangladesh in their home ground and in front of a very big crowd is just fantastic sort of stuff. Associate teams dream of and its come true today, very proud of all the players,” said Jamie at the post match conference yesterday.

“I am sure there will be a lot of people following Hong Kong, been getting a lot of messages throughout the tournament, lot of support from back home,” he said before adding, “I am sure there will be a few celebrations tonight back in Hong Kong, just the significance of the victory against a Test nation, is just fantastic, and a dream come true.”

The big crowd was a new thing for

In a press conference held at the BNS conference room yesterday, Ahmed Asif Hasan, the general secretary of the skating federation presented the meet to the press. A.F.M. Iqbal bin Anwar Dawn, the additional director of Walton, Zahid Hasan, the executive director of Walton and Zobera Rahman Linu, the sports ambassador were also present on the occasion. l

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who coolly placed the ball into the net with a soft push.

Sheikh Md. Nannu sealed the fate of the match with a superb reverse hit in the 70th minute after Puskor Khisha Mimo paved the way for him with a neat angular pass from the midfield.

Coach Naveed Alam said it was a bad day for the team. “In the first half, nothing went in our way, but the second half was different and the results of the hard work was visible.

I hope Bangladesh would continue the tempo in the next matches,” said Naveed.

Meanwhile, in the first match of the day, Singapore routed Hong Kong China 6-0 to finish second in the group.

Abdul Wahab M. Fauzi (8 min), Noor Shah Silas Abdul (12 min), Zul Kepli Nur Ashik’s ( 29 minute), Alias Muhammad Ashraf (41 min Yuhari Mohammed Sabri (44 min) and Salim Muhammad Haseef (54 min) scored the goals. Hong Kong’s consolation was scored by Arif Ali in the 14 minute. l

Sheikh Jamal’s prowess proved too much for newcomers Uttar Baridhara as the IFA Shield runners-up set the new record of winning in the Bangladesh Premier League with a 8-0 victory in the last match of the Nitol-Tata Bangladesh Premier League at the Bangabandhu National Stadium yesterday.

The architectures of the rout were Nigerian forward Emeka Darlington who scored four and Haitian marksman Wedson Anselme who netted thrice. The record breaking goal was netted by Jamal skipper Mamunul Islam. The record can be dubbed as the icing on the cake as Jamal finished the first phase of the league on top with 21 points, two points ahead of second placed Dhaka Abahani.

No team has ever scored eight goals

Hong Kong and the pressure almost took the worst out of them, but the captain said he had briefed his team prior the match and said, “We told them that there will likely to be lot of noise when Bangladesh score boundaries, I asked them to concentrate in our own game and just enjoy the atmosphere because we won’t

The significance of the victory against a Test nation, is just fantastic, and a dream come true, says Hong Kong skipper have an opportunity to play in front of such a big crowd, and it was really great.”

Meanwhile, star of the match Nadeem Ahmed said, “We just stuck to our basics and not did any other stuff.

Keep it very simple, let them make mistakes, we won’t make mistakes, that’s what our plan was.” The left-arm spinner also said the couple wickets in Nizakat’s over gave them the belief they can stage a turnaround. l

Nepal skipper Paras Khadka takes a brilliant catch to dismiss Afghanistan batsman Nawroz Mangal during their first round group A match yesterday RAJIB DHAR

Walton National Roller Salauddin to coach Singapore Speed Skating starts today

DAY’S WATCH Sony Six

15

Friday, March 21, 2014

Officials of Walton and Skating Federation in the press conference at BNS conference room yesterday COURTESY

Former Bangladesh fielding coach Mohammad Salauddin, who also worked as the assistant coach to the national team in the recent home series against Sri Lanka, is set to join as the head coach of ICC Associate nation Singapore.

Salauddin confirmed to the Dhaka Tribune yesterday he would be joining the side from April 1.

“My initial duty will be to prepare the Singapore team for the 2014 ACC Trophy Elite and for ICC World Cup Qualifier Division Four. At the same time, I will also work on strategies for the developing teams in Singapore,” informed Salauddin.

Salauddin also shared his frustration over not being able to work for Bangladesh cricket on a long-term basis. He had played a vital role in keeping the Tigers’ fielding & spin bowling department in good shape in the 2010-11 season, but his contract was not extended by the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB). It was after a gap of around three-years that the BCB called up Salauddin to join as the assistant coach for the Sri Lanka series

in January.

“It is really frustrating for not being able to work for Bangladesh. It would never have been frustrating if say the national side had a very high profile coach like Dav Whatmore or Jammie Siddons. But I believe the coach’s that the side has seen in the recent times are mediocre and Bangladesh has enough of the same level coaches but unfortunately who are going unused,” said Salauddin.

Salauddin is currently coaching the National University of Malaysia (UKM) cricket team. He informed he wants to leave the Malaysian job, but the University is not accepting his resignation.

“They want me to stay with the team (UKM). I have been granted leave for three months from the university for my job with Singapore,” informed Salauddin.

The 2014 ACC Trophy Elite is a cricket tournament formed by ACC (Asian Cricket Council).

It gives the Associate and Affiliate members of the ACC the experience of international one-day cricket and also helps form an essential part of regional rankings. l

Bangladesh shopping malls to close early for World T20

n

Authorities in Bangladesh have asked businesses, shopping malls and markets to shut down during the evening to save electricity in the wake of Wednesday’s power outage during a World Twenty20 match in Sylhet.

The qualifying group B match between Ireland and the United Arab Emirates plunged into darkness twice due to power failure at the Sylhet Stadium.

“They have been told to close their shutters after 8 p.m. (1400 GMT) to save electricity so that people can watch matches on televisions,” Monowar Islam, secretary of Ministry of Power, Energy and Mineral Resources, told Reuters on Thursday. Authorities also asked people to cut the use of air conditioners, water pumps, micro-ovens and other home appliances during the evening, the peak hours for the cricket.

Last week, Bangladesh stopped supplying gas to six major fertilizer factories out of seven in order to divert gas supply to power plants and ensure an uninterrupted electricity supply for the tournament. l

16

DHAKA TRIBUNE

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Friday, March 21, 2014

SC sets criteria for HC to grant anticipatory bail n Nazmus Sakib The Appellate Division has laid down a set of criteria for the High Court to dispose of anticipatory bail pleas.

One of the principles suggests that instead of relying on any generalised pretension the High Court should satisfy itself that the reasons behind an arrest are assigned credibly and with sufficient clarity.

The High Court should also specify its reasons for considering magistrates or lower court judges concerned biased as alleged by a bail-seeker, the Supreme Court said in its verdict that cancelled the High Court order granting a six-week anticipatory bail to BNP Standing Committee member Khandaker Mosharraf Hossain in a money laundering case.

On February 24, the five member Supreme Court bench led by Chief Justice Md Muzammel Hossain cancelled the bail granted by High Court bench of Justice Naima Haider and Justice Zafar Ahmed.

The full text of the verdict comprising the Supreme Court’s observations and the criteria was published recently.

The Supreme Court says the High Court should not grant bail to a person on grounds that the petitioner has a “political threshold.”

The High Court cannot also grant bail to a petitioner in a non-bailable case when the lower court concerned is “competent enough” to issue the bail, says the apex court.

“Effect of the accused’s freedom on the investigation process must not be allowed to float on obfuscation,” it says.

The HC must scrutinise the first information report (FIR) with expected diligence and should ordinarily be unwilling to grant anticipatory bail where the allegations are of heinous nature.

If the case primarily discloses an offence, the High Court should not verify any claim of the petitioner that the allegations are cooked up as such claims can only be determined through investigation.

The top court says the interest of the victim in particular and the society at large must be taken into account by the High Court for considering an anticipatory bail plea.

If the bail application satisfies these guidelines, the High Court should dispose of the application instantaneously by grating anticipatory bail, not normally exceeding four weeks, and

the bail should not be in effect if charge sheet in the case is submitted, the verdict says.

The High Court is also directed to ask the lower court not to refer back to its bail order when the petitioner goes back to the lower court for further bail.

“Khandaker Mosharraf assorted that the service, transfer, promotion of the Magistrates are regulated by the government, a claim that has no relevance with the truth, whether legally or factually, rather those are in the hands of the High Court, and as such bail petitioners’ political assimilation cannot ipso facto ignite any apprehension of unfairness or impropriety,” says the judgement.

Expressing dismay, the apex court says the High Court bench did not

elaborate the reason why it was satisfied that Mosharraf had feared arrest. “It goes without saying that the High Court Division has visibly failed to appreciate the exigency associated with the allegation and its ramification. Money laundering can wreak havoc on national economy,” says the verdict.

It says although the High Court has the jurisdiction to grant anticipatory bail in exceptionally deserving cases, it “in a sense usurped the discretion meant to be set apart for the lower courts.”

Although the High Court judges were constitutionally bound, they pitiably failed to follow the guidelines set by the top court in a number of cases on pre-arrest bail, the Supreme Court observes. l

Girl succumbs to sexual assault injuries n Our correspondent, Noakhali A teenager who was sexually assaulted succumbed to her injuries after two days in Noakhali yesterday.

The deceased Josna Begum, 17, hailed from Char Kalmi village under Companiganj upazila of the district.

Victim’s parents said Belayet Hossain of Gangcil village had been disturbing her over phone. Some six miscreants forcibly abducted her last Monday around 7pm, they said, adding that they searched but could not find her anywhere in the village.

Md Forkan Uddin, a village police, found her body lying beside a canal the next morning and rushed her to the Companiganj Upazila Health Complex. As her condition deteriorated, she was transferred to Noakhali Medical College Hospital where she succumbed to her injuries.

The body was sent to the morgue for an autopsy. Family members of Josna claimed that she was raped and killed.

However, Dr Morjina Faruk, a gynaecologist of the hospital, said three pieces of bloody clothes were found inside her uterus, but they did not find any symptom of rape.

Sajidur Rahaman, officer-in-charge of Companiganj police station, said a case would be filed following the autopsy report. l

Separate pay scale for BB, SOBs soon n BSS Finance Minister Abul Maal Abdul Muhith yesterday said the government would soon announce separate pay scale for the employees of Bangladesh Bank and four state-owned banks.

Speaking at the annual conference of Janata Bank Ltd at a city hotel, the minister said after receiving the law ministry’s approval, the finance ministry was working to issue the final notification on separate pay scale.

On November 14 last year, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina approved a draft on the separate pay scale for bank employees.

State Minister for Finance MA Mannan, Janata Bank Chairman Prof Abul Barkat, its Chief Executive Officer SM Aminur Rahman, and directors and managers of different branches of the bank also spoke on the occasion. l

MP Badi submits wealth statement n Tribune Report Legislator of the ruling Awami League from Cox’s Bazar 4 constituency Abdur Rahman Badi yesterday submitted his wealth statement to the Anti-Corruption Commission in response to a notice served to him.

ACC Deputy Director Ahsan Ali, also the investigation officer of the allegation, told the Dhaka Tribune that the lawmaker submitted the statement on his movable and immovable properties to ACC Secretary Faizur Rahman Chowdhury.

Following the allegation, Ahsan Ali inquired into the matter in January and submitted a report and later the ACC issued the notice to the lawmaker to track down the dramatic rise in his wealth.

The official said local people were unaware of the import-export business of Badi, by which he earned a huge amount of money. The inquiry also found that the lawmaker had huge money in different bank accounts and huge amount of land and businesses in Cox’s Bazar and Chittagong, which is inconsistent with the source of his income. l

Khushwant Singh dies at 99 n Tribune Report Noted writer and journalist Khushwant Singh passed away at the age of 99 yesterday.

“He was fine and passed away peacefully at home on Thursday,” his daughter Mala Singh said, reports Times of India.

The body was cremated at Lodhi crematorium in the presence of political stalwarts such as LK Advani, Farooq Abdullah and Salman Khurshid.

Khushwant Singh was the editor of Hindustan Times and the National Herald, throughout the 1970s and 1980s

A mobile court raids a factory producing fake rice saline at Babubazar in the capital yesterday

Poultry leaders urge immediate shutdown of toxic feed manufacturing factories n

Tribune Report

Poultry leaders in the country have urged immediate shutdown of factories in the city’s Hazaribagh that are producing toxic feed using tannery waste.

Feed Industries Association Bangladesh (FIAB), Breeders’ Association of Bangladesh (BAB) and Bangladesh Poultry Industries Coordination Committee (BPICC) have also called for exemplary punishment against people involved in the dangerous act.

In a joint statement, FIAB, BAB and BPICC leaders said toxic poultry feed was being marketed in Dhaka, Gazipur, Mymensingh, Narsingdi, Munshiganj, Narayanganj and also in other parts of the country offering attractive package and price.

They said despite continuous calling for closure of such factories, little progress was made. The leaders, however,

praised a mobile court drive against food adulteration conducted by RAB 4 yesterday. During the drive, law enforcers arrested one from Hazaribagh and fined him Tk two lakh and a threemonth jail term in case of failure to pay the amount.

The convener of BPICC and president of the World’s Poultry Science Association (Bangladesh office) Moshiur Rahman said tannery waste contain a number of toxic and heavy metals like chromium and lead that might cause life-threatening diseases like cancer, liver cirrhosis and kidney damage.

“The recent drive is undoubtedly a positive initiative of the government which proves commitment towards public health, food security and people’s lives”, he said.

FIAB secretary Fazle Rahim Khan Shahriar said Bangladesh is producing high-quality poultry feed that meets international standards.

“We are using high-protein ingredients like corn, soya, rice polish, meat, bone meal and many other additives imported from foreign countries. We are passing a challenging time at present as demand for these ingredients has grown in the international market.

A group of greedy traders, however, are engaged in making money by fooling innocent farmers. This is not only a threat to the poultry industry but also a threat to healthy life”, said Shahriar.

According to Abul Hossain, a Professor of Chemistry at the University of Dhaka, for human beings, tolerance to chromium is only 0.5-2 mg but chicken that consume toxic feed and the eggs those lay contain chromium which is hundred and even thousand times higher than what is tolerable.

Experts say people eating such chicken or eggs may develop cancer or other diseases related to liver and kidney. l

DU BCL men feud, six injured n DU Correspondent

At least six Chhatra League activists of Dhaka University received minor injuries while a clash took place between Shahidullaha Hall and Amar Ekushay Hall unit BCL activists yesterday noon.

Witness said the incident aroused on Wednesday centering a trivial issue while Kajol, a fourth year honours student of Shahidullaha Hall, beat Shaykot, a first year student of Amar Ekushay hall when they were stepping stairs at Karzon Hall.

Following the incident, Shaykot called his hall mates and beat Kajol indiscriminately. After then senior BCL leaders of the two halls including hall presidents and general secretaries de-

cided to settle the matter vocally and arranged a meeting yesterday at Karzon Hall area. , While the meeting was going on, at one stage one of the BCL activists of Shahidullaha hall engaged in a quarrel with Mahmudul hasan Miraz , general secretary of Amar Ekushay hall unit.

As an unrest situation created between the two hall activists, BCL leaders Fazlul Haque hall unit came to resolve the matter. Then the three groups locked horns with each other.

Tutul of Fazlul Haque hall, Miraz and Tanvir of Amar Ekushay hall and three others who could not be identified got injured at the incident.

DU proctorial team along with the BCL DU unit president and general sec-

retary rushed to the spot and pacified the situation.

The injured were taken to Dhaka Medical College for primary treatment and everyone was released after treatment.

While talking to DU Acting Proctor Amjad Ali told the Dhaka Tribune: ‘‘The students got excited from a misunderstanding but we took the situation under control. We will form an investigation committee in this regard and punishment will be given to the responsible”.

Omar Sharif, BCL DU unit general secretary told DT that it happened because of a misunderstanding between the seniors and juniors, but it was not worthy to be mentioned.

However he denied the involvement of any BCL activists in the incident. l

MAHMUD HOSSAIN OPU

Singh was best known for his trenchant secularism, humor and an abiding love of poetry.

Born on February 2, 1915 in Hadali, now in Pakistan, Singh wrote classics such as “Train to Pakistan,” “I Shall Not Hear the Nightingale” and “Delhi.”

Singh came into prominence after India got independence from Britain in 1947. He was a lawyer-turned-diplomat-turned-writer.

His autobiography “Truth, Love and a Little Malice” was published by Penguin Books in 2002.

He was the editor of several literary and news magazines including the Illustrated Weekly of India and two newspapers the Hindustan Times and the National Herald, throughout the 1970s and 1980s.

In 2007, he was awarded the Padma Vibhushan. l

Hasina bashes her party MP in parliament n Kamran Reza Chowdhury A ruling party MP pulled back in parliament yesterday after facing fire from the prime minister for proposing to turn a health institute into a medical college and name it after her.

While tabling a proposal, Awami League’s Habibur Rahman Mollah said the mother and child institute in Matuail that fell under his constituency, should be upgraded into a full-fledged medical college because the existing facility could not serve properly.

“I also demand naming the proposed medical college after jononetri [people’s leader] Sheikh Hasina,” Habibur said in the presence of Sheikh Hasina, who turned up at the House after the Meghreb prayer recess.

Independent MP Hazi Mohammad Selim, also a former Awami League lawmaker, Nobi Newaz and Nazrul Islam Babu supported Habibur’s proposal.

The leader of the house then called Habibur and said: “Why should this be made a medical college and why after me? Why have you brought a proposal like this? Go and withdraw the proposal,” she said, infuriated.

A nervous-looking Habibur Rahman then went back to his seat.

Before State minister for Health Zahid Maleque could say anything about the proposal in accordance to rules, Sheikh Hasina instructed Whip Sha-

hiduzzaman Sarker to convey to the House that she wanted the proposal withdrawn.

“The institute should not be turned into a medical college. I urge the honourable member to withdraw his proposal,” said Zahid Maleque who responded to the demand in absence of Health Minister Mohammad Nasim.

According to rules, Deputy Speaker Fazle Rabbi Miah, who was chairing the sitting, gave floor to Habibur Rahman Mollah again to say whether he would withdraw the proposal.

“I demanded turning the institute into a medical college; but it should not be done. It should be strengthened as an institute. I withdraw my proposal,” said Habibur.

“I also proposed naming the medical college after Sheikh Hasina. I withdraw this proposal as well,” he said, amid mild desk thumping by some front bench MPs. Hasina then called whips Shahiduzzaman Sarker and Atiur Rahman Atik to her desk and inquired why many MPs had not been present.

At least 10 MPs skipped the house yesterday. “Keep me informed why they are absent,” Hasina instructed.

At the beginning of the day’s sitting at 5:26pm – 26 minutes behind scheduled – only 70 MPs were present.

After Meghreb prayer recess, 90 MPs turned up. l

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B4 Page says US online spy-

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ing threatens democracy

FRIDAY, MARCH 21, 2014 www.dhakatribune.com/business

Bangladesh bad performer in trade facilitation The country slips from 79th to 108th in four years, says new World Bank report n Kayes Sohel Logistics quality and competence

LOGISTICS PERFORMANCE INDEX OVER THE YEARS

Bangladesh has been ranked 108th out of 160 countries in logistics performance index (LPI), according to a new World Bank report released yesterday.

Out of top 10 low-income countries, Bangladesh emerged as a worst performer in providing efficiency in trading goods, according to the report titled “Connecting to Compete 2014: Trade Logistics in the Global Economy.”

Among South Asian nations, Bangladesh is above Bhutan that was placed in 143, but below India that was ranked 54th, followed by Pakistan 72nd, the Maldives 82nd, Sri Lanka 89th and Nepal 105th.

Bangladesh was not included in the 2012 LPI, but stood at 79 in 2010, much above South Asian countries. The WB Group’s International Trade Unit has prepared the LPI about every two years since 2007.

Policy Research Institute executive director Ahsan H Mansur said Bangladesh is improving in some areas of trade facilitation but not enough commensurate with the volume of growth in trade. “That’s why we are falling behind other countries.”

Bangladesh scored low on a number of dimensions in trade – including customs performance, infrastructure quality and timeliness of shipments – that have been recognised as important to development.

It was now placed in 138th in customs performance against 90 in 2010, 138th in infrastructure against 72nd, 80th in international shipments against 61st, 122nd in tracking and tracing against 92nd and 75th in timeliness against 70th.

96

LPI

Customs

90

108

Rank 2010 155 countries

Tracking and tracing

79

LPI

92

Customs

138

Infrastructure

138

Logistics quality and competence

Timeliness

70

93

Tracking and tracing 122 Timeliness

Infrastructure

72

Fall in Rank

75

Rank 2014 160 countries

LPI

-29 Customs

-48

Infrastructure

-66

Logistics quality and competence

3

However, it has made insignificant improvement in logistics quality and competence to 93rd from 96th during the time.

In the 2014 LPI report, Germany showed the world’s best overall logistics performance. Somalia had the lowest score.

“The gap between the countries that perform best and worst in trade logistics is still quite large, despite a slow convergence since 2007,” said the report.

This gap persists because of the complexity of logistics-related reforms and investment in developing countries, and despite the almost universal recognition that poor supply-chain efficiency is the main barrier to trade integration in the modern world, it said.

“The LPI is trying to capture a rather complex reality: attributes of the

Timeliness Tracking and tracing

-5

-30

supply chain,” said Jean-François Arvis, Senior Transport Economist and the founder of the LPI project.

“In countries with high logistics costs, it is often not the distance between trading partners, but reliability of the supply chain that is the most important contributor to those costs.”

As with previous editions, the 2014 report finds that high-income countries dominate the world’s top-ten performers.

Among low-income countries, Malawi, Kenya, and Rwanda showed the highest performance. In general, the trend across past reports has been that countries are improving and low-performing countries are improving their overall scores faster than high-performing countries.

The 2014 report finds that low-income, middle-income, and high-in-

come countries will need to take different strategies to improve their standings in logistics performance.

In low-income countries, the biggest gains typically come from improvements to infrastructure and basic border management.

This might mean reforming a customs agency, but, increasingly, it means improving efficiency in other agencies present at the border, including those responsible for sanitary and phyto-sanitary controls. Often, multiple approaches are required.

“You can’t just do infrastructure without addressing border management issues,” Arvis said. “It’s difficult to get everything right. The projects are more complicated, with many stakeholders, and there is no more low-hanging fruit.”

Middle-income countries, by contrast, usually have fairly well-functioning infrastructure and border control.

They generally see the biggest gains from improving logistics services, and particularly outsourcing specialized functions, such as transportation, freight-forwarding, and warehousing.

In high-income countries, there is a growing awareness of – and a demand for – “green logistics,” or logistics services that are environmentally friendly.

In recent years, as tariffs have dropped globally, logistics and other aspects of trade facilitation have gained profile as an arena for reducing trade costs.

“The LPI is a concrete tool for raising awareness and spurring improvements,” said Jeffrey Lewis, Director of the Economic Policy, Debt and Trade Department. “It allows us to evaluate constraints across a broad set of countries.” l

Mahmud Ali: Dhaka and Ankara may sign FTA to boost trade further n Kamran Reza Chowdhury Bangladesh exports to Turkey have crossed US$1bn, Foreign Minister Abul Hasan Mahmud Ali told parliament yesterday, apprising the house of moving forward with increasing bilateral trade further through signing a free trade agreement with Ankara.

Replying to a question from Awami League MP Nizam Uddin Hazari, the minister said the foreign ministry officials of the two countries would meet at a convenient time in the coming months to discuss about signing of the deal.

“This is good news for Bangladesh economy that the export from Bangladesh has crossed $1 billion,” said Mahmud Ali, attributing the business boost to vibrant relations with Ankara.

During Sheikh Hasina’s Turkey tour in 2012, he said, the Turkish gov-

IDRA forms body to probe Standard Garments insurance scandal n Tribune Report

Insurance Development and Regulation Authority (IDRA) of Bangladesh has formed a three-member committee to investigate irregularities in the insurance policy of Standard Insurance and Standard Garments.

The committee was formed in the back drop of alleged irregularities in insurance policy of standard garments, IDRA said in statement yesterday.

The probe body has been asked to submit the investigation report to the IDRA Acting Chairman within March 31.

It would review the allegations, policy of Standard Insurance and Standard Garments, detailed information on the settlement of insurance claims, survey reports, re-insurance informa-

NBR pre-budget talks from April 1 n Tribune Report

Biman gets a new Boeing Sunday n Muhammad Zahidul Islam National flag carrier Biman Bangladesh Airlines is going to add a brand new Boeing 777-300ER to its fleet on Sunday.

The aircraft named “Ranga Provath” will be the fourth of its kind in the Biman fleet, said high officials of the Airlines.

The aircraft with twin engines and 419 seats including 35 business class is expected to help further improve the airlines’ punctuality in flight operation.

The punctuality is now around 65%, according to the Biman.

Civil Aviation Minister Rashed Khan Menon, Secretary Khurshed Alam and Biman Bangladesh’s Chief Executive Officer Kevin Steele are in the USA after an invitation from Boeing to receive Ranga Provat.

They are being accompanied by an expert team and will arrive in Dhaka Sunday with the craft. Apart from these four Boeing 777-300ERs, Biman would also procure four Boeing 737800s and two Boeing 787-8s by 2019.

“By end of 2015 we will get two Boeing 737-800,” Debabrata Banik, chief engineer of Biman, told the Dhaka Tribune yesterday. Under a contract with the US company Boeing, Biman would also receive four more aircrafts by 2019.

Biman will hold an inaugural function on Thursday next at Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport. Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina is expected to be present there.

The national carrier currently has

seven crafts and three of them are Boeing 777-300ER named as Akash Pradip, Palki and Arun Alo. The Boeings were added in last two years.

The last caretaker government signed a contract with the Boeing to buy 10 brand new crafts.

“Ranga Provath is now being examined, and if the examination is satisfactory, the craft will start for Dhaka,” said Debabrata Banik who went to the US in early last month to receive Arun Alo. Boeing, the world’s leading aerospace company, may hand over its fourth generation aircraft to Biman by Saturday in Seattle, according to officials.

Earlier in a message, Biman CEO Kevin Steele said: “We hope to have good news in the coming days, and to be able to announce a start date of domestic flights shortly.”

He added: “The main expansion in our network will come in April 2014.”

The new plane is equipped with the world’s largest and most powerful commercial jet engines, said an official.

Another senior executive of Biman said some technical and procedural works would need to be done before the new craft began carrying passengers.

Boeing 777-300ER, powered by General Electric GE90-115BLs, is 19% lighter than its closest competitor, greatly reducing its fuel requirement, said Biman.

It produces 22% less carbon dioxide per seat. The cost is also 20% less.

At present, Biman operates flights in 19 international routes while two new routes are likely to be included in next couple of months. l

National Board of Revenue (NBR) will start pre-budget meetings with different stakeholders from first of April, said officials.

The NBR will hold month-long discussions with representatives from over 40 sectors on the upcoming national budget for the fiscal year 2014-15.

The pre-budget talks are a regular phenomenon every year and intended to make an inclusive budget. Making revenue collection effective is another goal.

A schedule of meetings was finalised yesterday. NBR chairman Ghulam Hussain will chair the meetings which will continue till April 29.

NBR is expected to sit with an approximate number of 517 associations and representatives.

On the first day, the representatives from agriculture and poultry sector will be heard while on April 2, meeting will be held with people belonging to oil, gas, foods, beverages, cigarettes and paper, printing, publications, films and advertisement firms.

On April 3, the revenue board will hold two separate meetings, one with the associations of pharmaceuticals, clinics and diagnostics, chemical, paint, varnish, leather and cosmetics sectors and another with electronics

and electrical computer, ICT and telecommunications sector.

The NBR chief will not be in the country from April 6 and the meetings will remain postponed till April 14.

On April 15, the NBR will meet with people from hotel, restaurants, guest houses and various service sector.

Budget will be placed in the parliament in early June for the July-June fiscal year Then following day, two separate meetings will be held - one with the export sectors without bond facility and another with automobiles and transports associations (road, river, and airways).

NBR will sit with the representatives from jute, fabrics and yarn, and also with the export sectors with bond facility (readymade garment, composite, knitwear, packaging and accessories) on April 17.

The discussions will be organised with financial institutions, small, medium and large businesses and Metropolitan Chamber of Commerce and Industry (MCCI) on April 20 and with small, medium and large industries on April 21.

On the next day, the tax body will

ernment had proposed signing of the agreement with Bangladesh. “The government has taken special measures to improve relations with Turkey,” he said, but not specifying the steps. The talks for signing of the free trade agreement would start soon, he said, however.

The minister said the government would continue with the discussion with Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Kuwait, United Arab Emirates, Oman and Bahrain for signing of bilateral agreements on investment, avoidance of double taxation and visa exemption.

He said the government had been focusing on improving relations with the Islamic states.

The newly elected government had been continuing efforts to extend cooperation with the Middle Eastern countries, particularly in the economic, commercial and manpower sectors. l

hold meetings with C&F agents, shipping, clearing and forwarding associations, freight forwarders, tax lawyers, and indenters.

Meetings with representatives from construction sector (brick, sand, cement, steel, sanitary, ceramics and hardware) will be held on the same day.

Chittagong Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Chittagong Metropolitan Chamber of Commerce and Industry and Dhaka Chamber of Commerce and Industry will meet with revenue watchdog on April 23.

Talks with Foreign Investors’ Chamber of Commerce and Industry will be on April 24, and with Bangladesh Chamber of Industries on April 27.

Meetings with 30 leading chambers including apex body Federation of Bangladesh Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FBCCI) are scheduled for April 29 concluding the month-long pre-budget talks. Then, FBCCI and NBR will jointly sit with the finance minister at the “NBR-FBCCI Consultative Committee Meeting” on May 7.

The business representatives can directly place their recommendations to the finance minister at that meeting for the next fiscal budget.

Budget will be placed in the parliament in early June for the July-June fiscal year. l

tion and identify the responsible persons or institution.

The committee was formed with one senior executive officer and two officers, who will work under the supervision of IDRA senior consultant Iftekhar Ahmed.

The 10-storey apparel factory building of Standard Garments in Gazipur was completely destroyed in a fire incident on November 29 last year.

The fire gutted machinery, fabrics and raw materials housed in more than 8.5 lakh square feet of floor space in the building, and also destroyed garments loaded on 27 trucks.

Standard Garments has insurance policy with Standard Insurance, a same group company. As a result, allegations of irregularities raised. l

CAFEXPO kicks off in Chittagong n Tribune Report

A 3-day Chittagong Apparel, Fabrics and Accessories Exposition – 2014 (CAFEXPO) began at the port city yesterday to showcase garment accessories.

Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association organised the show at MA Aziz Stadium.

The CAFEXPO remains open for exhibition till March 22, starting from 10 am in the morning to 8 pm in the evening. A number of 60 services including garments, garment machineries, banks and compliances are being exhibited.

“The government has increased the cash incentives to 3% from the existing 2% to cover the losses caused by the political unrest including hartals and blockades last year,” Commerce Minister Tofail Ahmed told the inaugural ceremony.

He said the government also reduced the export tax at source to 0.30% from 0.80%.

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has taken the decision to provide cash incentives to give a cushion to RMG sector, as the factory owners had incurred huge losses due to hartals and blockades, which would be effective in a day or two, the minister said. l

DSE may launch new trading platform by October n Kayes Sohel

Dhaka Stock Exchange (DSE) is likely to launch new trading platform by October this year to get rid of repeated technical glitches, particularly on occasions of some debut stocks with huge trade volume.

Failure of the existing decade-old trading platform to entertain huge buy-sale orders at a time has prompted the prime bourse to look for new trading engine.

The prime bourse in its board meeting on Wednesday night finalised the deal with two US-based vendors to replace existing trading engine TESA and trading terminal MSA Plus, DSE executives said.

NASDAQ OMX, the world’s largest exchange company based in the US, that earlier submitted a design on trading terminal and FlexTrade Systems, the global leader in broker-neutral algorithmic trading platforms and execution systems for equities, foreign exchange and listed derivatives, will implement the system.

“It is expected to start with new trading platform it by October,” said an executive.

The old engine will be replaced with modern world-class technology to remove concerns over technical glitches, he said, adding that the trading system up-gradation is a continuous process of any stock exchange.

Investors were losing trading hours

at different times and faced difficulties in placing buy and sell orders of stocks, including Appollo Ispat and Orion Parma on their first debut day.

The present system fails to take huge buy-sale orders for single company stocks, depriving many to execute trading.

“The performance of the present trading platform was faulty as it failed to execute transactions on a number of occasions when a new company made debut,” said a stock broker.

Bangladesh Securities and Exchange Commission instructed the DSE to replace its trading software in July, following losses of trading hours over frequent technical glitches on the MSA Plus trading platform.

In February, the DSE board formed

a five-member panel to look after the matter.

The body found the MSA Plus platform, acquired from UK-based software vendor Xchanging for around $600,000, is faulty and recommended replacing by a new one.

The DSE started its journey of automation on August, 1998 and it made a major up-gradation in DSE trading system and its infrastructure on 2005.

At the end of 2010, DSE enhanced its ICT Infrastructure Capacity to six lakh trades per day.

To meet the potential growth of the trades and prospective investors, DSE upgraded its trading application MSA to MSA-Plus (upgraded TESA client part), which started on June 2012. l

B2

DHAKA TRIBUNE

Stock DSE GAINERS

Stocks bounce back, but turnover sinks to11-week low

DSE key features March 20, 2014

Traded Issues

291

n Tribune Report

Issue Gain (Avg. Price Basis)

180

Issue Loss (Avg. Price Basis)

101

53,169,424 82,182

Unchanged Issue (Avg. Price Basis)

10

Market Capital Equity (Billion. Tk.)

2,264.77

Market Capital Equity (Billion US$)

27.45

Turnover (Million Taka)

296.28

Turnover (Volume)

6,768,847

Number of Contract

13,513

4558.93335

(+) 0.88%

▼

Traded Issues

215

989.47849

(+) 0.59%

▼

Issue Gain (Avg. Price Basis)

135

DSE - 30 Index :

1635.37973

(+) 0.68%

▼

Issue Loss (Avg. Price Basis)

73

CSE All Share Index:

14090.5344

(+) 0.87%

▼

Unchanged Issue (Avg. Price Basis)

6

CSE - 30 Index :

11831.7482

(+) 0.66%

▼

Market Capital Equity (Billion. Tk.)

2,154.44

8785.1291

(+) 0.85%

▼

Market Capital Equity (Billion US$)

26.11

DSE Shariah Index :

CSE Selected Index : DSE LOSERS

Kohinoor Chem -A IDLC Finance -A Meghna Con. Milk -B Kay & Que (BD) -Z Rahima Food -Z MeghnaCement -A GPH Ispat Ltd-A Progressive Life-A

-8.10 -4.84 -4.30 -2.66 -2.66 -2.44 -2.25 -2.24

Average (% change) -6.83 -3.59 -4.05 -2.92 -2.44 -0.66 -2.41 -2.25

Sinobangla Indu.-A Berger Paints-A

-2.20 -1.75

-1.46 -1.72

Company

Closing (% change)

CSE LOSERS Company Northern G Insur-A Hakkani P& Paper -B City G Insu.-A Continental Insur. -A National Housing Fin.-B Meghna Life Ins. -A Delta Brac HFCL-A Janata Insur -A

IDLC Finance -A Prime Islami Life -A

-10.00 -7.16 -7.04 -7.00 -5.76 -5.72 -4.68 -3.77

Average (% change) -10.00 -7.22 -7.04 -6.69 -6.24 -4.84 -4.87 -5.10

-2.62 -2.44

-1.73 -2.09

Closing (% change)

ANALYST

Closing average

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

Turnover in million

Daily low

Latest EPS

Latest PE

369.90 55.85 9.00 18.30 51.67 140.90 48.28 139.50

369.70 55.10 8.90 18.30 51.30 140.10 47.80 139.50

370.00 58.20 9.00 18.30 53.70 144.00 49.70 141.00

368.00 54.90 8.90 18.30 50.00 139.10 44.10 138.50

0.388 28.281 0.126 0.018 3.307 5.002 15.446 1.116

7.88 3.33 -4.58 -0.89 -1.00 6.29 2.42 2.30

46.9 16.8 -ve -ve -ve 22.4 20.0 60.7

27.09 957.09

26.70 951.80

27.80 970.00

26.50 947.00

6.650 5.264

0.80 37.13

33.9 25.8

Closing average

Closing

Daily high

Turnover in million

Daily low

Latest EPS

42.30 31.10 25.10 27.90 31.10 138.50 59.00 23.00

42.30 31.20 25.10 27.90 31.30 140.00 59.00 23.00

42.30 31.00 25.10 27.90 31.00 135.00 59.00 22.50

0.085 0.093 0.003 0.014 0.156 0.076 0.030 0.318

3.04 0.28 1.99 2.35 1.39 6.45 3.46 0.76

13.9 111.0 12.6 11.9 22.4 21.5 17.1 29.8

56.37 112.00

55.80 112.00

58.00 112.00

55.50 112.00

0.688 0.006

3.33 4.95

16.9 22.6

Investors came for reassessing the recent downtrend in market to revert slightly as market pinned a hope on making money on some large and mid-cap fundamental stocks

DSE Million Taka 300.97 114.63 40.68 389.55 363.97 267.78 4.98 191.68 311.29 0.77 14.30 37.50 12.27 150.67 19.46 45.69 105.64 143.39 30.20 230.38 0.68

CSE GAINERS Company BD Building Systems -A Jamuna Bank -A ICB Sonali Bank 1 MF-A Prime Insur -A Bengal Windsor-A Brac B.C. Bond-A Bay Leasing.-A Samata LeatheR -Z Global Heavy Chemicals-N Mercantile Bank -A

% change 10.84 4.13 1.47 14.03 13.11 9.64 0.18 6.90 11.21 0.03 0.51 1.35 0.44 5.43 0.70 1.65 3.80 5.16 1.09 8.30 0.02

Million Taka 37.62 9.76 2.54 31.09 62.12 67.32 66.35 32.92 97.62 0.84 101.68 1.62 7.27 4.70 2.47 3.44 18.83 5.46 35.21 0.01

% change 6.39 1.66 0.43 5.28 10.55 11.43 0.00 11.27 5.59 16.58 0.14 17.27 0.28 1.23 0.80 0.42 0.58 3.20 0.93 5.98 0.00

Million Taka 338.59 124.39 43.23 420.64 426.09 335.10 4.98 258.03 344.20 98.39 15.13 139.18 13.89 157.94 24.15 48.15 109.08 162.21 35.66 265.59 0.70

Total

Closing (% change) 9.78 8.39 7.50 5.77 5.52 5.26 5.25 5.10 5.01 4.73

From TradeServers:

Average (% change) 6.89 6.64 6.63 5.77 3.25 5.26 5.34 5.10 3.21 2.83

BIFC: As per Regulation 30 of DSE Listing Regulations, the Company has informed that a meeting of the Board of Directors will be held on March 23, 2014 at 3:00 PM to consider, among others, audited financial statements of the Company for the year ended on December 31, 2013.

BRACSCBOND: BRAC Bank Ltd. has informed that the RD for Subordinated 25% Convertible Bonds of BRAC Bank Ltd. will be April 08, 2014 for payment of interest due on April 15, 2014.

UNITEDINS: As per Regulation 30 of DSE Listing Regulations, the Company has informed that a meeting of the Board of Directors will be held on March 23, 2014 at 3:00 PM to consider, among others, audited financial statements of the Company for the year ended on December 31, 2013.

Change of Trading Code of MTBL: The CSE trading code for Mutual Trust Bank Ltd. will be ''MTB'' instead of former trading code ''MTBL'' with effect from 23 March 2014. Other things will remain unchanged.

New Listing Movement: EMERALDOIL started trade on 19th with 400% price hike.

On second day price was up by 10.40%.

DSE TURNOVER LEADERS Company Emerald Oil Ind. -N BSC-A Square Pharma -A Padma Oil Co. -A LafargeS Cement-Z National Tubes -A BD Building Systems -A

CSE

10.40 9.63 8.75 8.42 7.53 7.08 6.94 6.78 6.48 5.71

Average (% change) (3.05) 7.35 6.90 8.18 6.94 2.60 4.63 1.13 4.42 2.98

Closing average 50.92 69.22 299.33 32.14 156.11 22.13 15.14 6.27 51.97 52.84

Closing 55.20 70.60 308.30 32.20 158.60 22.70 15.40 6.30 52.60 53.70

Closing average

Closing

69.00 15.25 8.53 27.50 52.79 1000.00 34.10 33.00 51.43 17.42

70.70 15.50 8.60 27.50 53.50 1000.00 34.10 33.00 52.40 17.70

Daily high 57.50 70.80 308.30 32.60 159.90 22.90 15.80 6.40 53.70 54.30

Daily high 70.80 15.70 8.60 27.50 54.50 1000.00 35.00 33.00 52.80 17.80

Daily low 46.20 62.00 285.00 30.90 140.00 19.50 13.00 6.00 49.00 45.80

Daily low 65.00 14.70 8.50 27.50 51.50 1000.00 33.20 33.00 49.00 17.00

Turnover in million 196.414 76.342 13.425 0.450 81.365 8.800 3.956 1.057 7.847 22.699

Turnover in million 7.222 0.246 0.026 0.007 1.415 0.005 0.068 0.050 0.424 0.864

Latest EPS

Latest PE

1.40 2.92 5.32 -0.04 2.26 1.10 0.79 0.88 2.21 2.50

36.4 23.7 56.3 -ve 69.1 20.1 19.2 7.1 23.5 21.1

Latest EPS

Latest PE

2.92 0.79 1.60 2.23 2.50 0.00 1.56 -0.04 2.21 1.61

23.6 19.3 5.3 12.3 21.1 21.9 -ve 23.3 10.8

In 1st Two days 10,816,000 shares were traded with 20,042 howlas, which was 54.08% of IPO IPO size (2 crore share and 40 thousand lots), agerage price was taka 53.13 . Closing price was taka 55.20 with PE 33.87 (EPS=1.63) .

RIGHT SHARE: ARAMITCEM: Subscription 23.03.2014 to 17.04.2014. RD for entitlement of rights share: 09.01.2014.

RUPALILIFE- Subscription 06.04.2014 to 05.05.2014. RD for entitlement of rights share: 16.01.2014. BRACBANK: Subscription 20.04.2014 to 15.05.2014. RD for entitlement of rights share: 10.02.2014.

GENNEXT: Subscription 18.03.2014 to 09.04.2014, RD: 25.02.2014.

IPO Subscription: Far Chemical Industries Limited subscription date 10-16 February 2014, NRB upto 25 March 2014. At per, face value taka 10 and market lot 500. The Peninsula Chittagong Limited subscription date 30 March-03 April 2014, NRB upto 12 April 2014. @ taka 30, face value taka 10 and market lot 200. Shahjibazar Power Co. Limited subscription date 06-04 April 2014, NRB upto 19 April 2014. @ taka 25, face value taka 10 and market lot 200.

Dividend/AGM

PIONEERINS: 10% cash & 20% stock, AGM: 18.05.2014, RD: 31.03.2014.

GLOBALINS: 10% stock, Date of AGM: 17.05.2014, RD: 07.04.2014.

REPUBLIC: 12.50% stock, AGM: 16.04.2014, RD: 31.03.2014.

FLEASEINT: 10% stock, AGM: 08.05.2014, RD: 31.03.2014.

SAPORTL: 15% cash, AGM: 11.05.2014, RD: 31.03.2014.

IPDC: 5% cash & 10% stock, AGM: 15.05.2014, RD: 27.03.2014.

DHAKABANK: 17% cash & 5% stock, AGM: 17.04.2014, RD: 27.03.2014.

BERGERPBL: 220% cash, AGM: 20.04.2014, RD: 30.03.2014.

LINDEBD: 110% final cash (i.e. total 310% cash dividend for the year 2013 inclusive of 200% interim cash dividend which has already been paid), AGM: 08.05.2014. RD: 25.03.2014.

ABBANK: 5% cash and 7% stock, EGM and AGM: 21.04.2014, RD for EGM and AGM: 25.03.2014.

FIRSTSBANK: 10% cash, AGM: 25.04.2014, RD: 25.03.2014.

GBBPOWER: 15% stock, AGM: 16.04.2014, RD: 25.03.2014.

Latest PE

42.30 31.08 25.10 27.90 31.10 138.45 59.00 22.68

SECTORAL TURNOVER SUMMARY Sector

Daily high

Emerald Oil Ind. -N BD Building Systems -A Renwick Jajneswar-A Samata LeatheR -Z National Tubes -A Prime Finance-A Jamuna Bank -A AMCL 2nd MF-A Global Heavy Chemicals-N Bengal Windsor-A

Closing (% change)

News, analysis and recent disclosers

CSE key features March 20, 2014

Daily capital market highlights DSE Broad Index :

2,776.45

Number of Contract

ties in its market analysis.

Thus, the benchmark index gave some breathing space in index to traders after a weeklong consolidation, it said.

Food and allied was the best performer with a gain of more than 2%, driven by newly listed Emerald Oil Industries Ltd that continued to rally for the second consecutive day.

The company in its second trading day closed at Tk57each, rising over 10%. Its shares worth Tk19 crore have changed hands, making it the top turnover leader.

The sector was followed by banks that surged 1.9%, financial institutions 1%, fuel 0.4% and telecommunications 0.4%.

Zenith Investment said the market showed signs of reversal as all the indices inched higher and closed the week in a cheerful mood.

“Although, the sudden turnaround, acts as a breather after continuous downfall, however, it is still difficult to gauge the distance of this positivity to stretch in near future.”

Other top turnover leaders included Bangladesh Shipping Corporation, Square Pharmaceuticals, Padma Oil, Lafarge Surma Cement, National Tubes, Bangladesh Building and Grameenphone. l

Stocks rebounded yesterday, breaking five consecutive sessions of losses, with turnover sinking to more than 11-week low.

The rally was led by mostly the large cap scrips including banks, financial institutions and telecommunications.

The benchmark DSEX rose 40 points or 1% to close at 4,559, pulling back from its two and a half month low.

Shariah Index DSES gained 6 points or 0.6% to 989. The bluechip comprising DS30 was up 11 points or 0.7% to end at 1,635.

Chittagong Stock Exchange Selective Category Index, CSCX, soared 65 points to 8,850.

But the trading activities continued to decline, indicating that investors preferred to stay sidelines due to bearish mood for long.

Turnover stood at Tk277 crore – its lowest since December 29 this year and 18% higher over the previous session.

“Investors came for reassessing the recent downtrend in market to revert slightly as market pinned a hope on making money on some large and mid-cap fundamental stocks,” said Lanka Bangla Securi-

Company

Turnover (Million Taka) Turnover (Volume)

Friday, March 21, 2014

% change 10.06 3.70 1.28 12.50 12.66 9.96 0.15 7.67 10.23 2.92 0.45 4.14 0.41 4.69 0.72 1.43 3.24 4.82 1.06 7.89 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

Grameenphone-A BD Submarine Cable-A Meghna Petroleum -A

UCBL - A Olympic Ind. -A Dhaka Bank -A Jamuna Oil -A ConfidenceCement A CSE TURNOVER LEADERS Company BSC-A

Square Pharma -A BD Submarine Cable-A Appollo Ispat CL -N UCBL - A Padma Oil Co. -A BD Building Systems -A Emerald Oil Ind. -N Grameenphone-A LafargeS Cement-Z UNITED AIR-A AB Bank - A Beach Hatchery -A AFC AgroBiotech-N aamra technologies-A

Volume shares 3,857,500 242,685 559,755 281,806 1,781,000 521,192 1,102,925 348,941 328,586 234,932

2,104,105 228,803 1,977,720 167,266 242,245

Volume shares

43,405 61,532 62,520 349,000 375,905 25,538 104,675 27,500 26,400 105,500 319,925 160,042 121,000 66,000 100,500

Value in million 196.41 164.56 149.11 95.65 86.52 81.37 76.34 73.99 69.39 65.78

51.51 48.80 45.42 38.47 35.86

Value in million

29.41 16.41 13.25 9.44 9.15 8.67 7.22 5.86 5.58 5.15 4.72 4.36 3.88 3.86 3.82

% of total turnover 7.07 5.93 5.37 3.44 3.12 2.93 2.75 2.67 2.50 2.37

1.86 1.76 1.64 1.39 1.29

% of total turnover

11.88 6.63 5.35 3.81 3.70 3.50 2.92 2.37 2.25 2.08 1.91 1.76 1.57 1.56 1.54

Daily closing 55.20 674.75 267.30 337.80 48.70 158.60 70.60 211.70 211.40 278.60

24.70 214.00 23.10 229.90 147.10

Daily closing

672.80 266.80 212.00 27.10 24.70 337.70 70.70 55.10 211.00 49.00 14.80 27.10 31.60 59.30 38.10

Price change 10.40 0.90 -0.34 -0.59 1.67 7.53 9.63 0.19 1.29 0.47

Daily opening 50.00 668.75 268.20 339.80 47.90 147.50 64.40 211.30 208.70 277.30

Price change

Daily opening

2.92 1.47 3.13 0.35 -0.54

0.82 -0.52 1.53 1.50 3.78 -0.41 9.78 10.64 0.33 2.30 0.68 -2.17 -2.17 3.85 1.33

24.00 210.90 22.40 229.10 147.90

667.30 268.20 208.80 26.70 23.80 339.10 64.40 49.80 210.30 47.90 14.70 27.70 32.30 57.10 37.60

Daily high 57.50 684.50 275.00 349.90 49.10 159.90 70.80 213.30 214.70 285.00

26.00 215.00 23.40 231.10 150.00

Daily low 46.20 666.00 250.50 312.60 47.20 140.00 62.00 206.00 190.50 254.00

22.00 200.50 20.50 210.00 145.00

Daily average 50.92 678.06 266.39 339.40 48.58 156.11 69.22 212.05 211.18 280.00

Daily high

Daily low

Daily average

685.50 271.00 213.50 27.30 24.90 343.80 70.80 56.00 212.90 49.20 15.00 27.50 32.80 60.00 38.40

665.00 263.50 205.00 26.40 23.60 337.00 65.00 46.10 209.00 48.20 14.60 26.80 31.40 57.20 37.70

24.48 213.30 22.96 229.99 148.02

677.65 266.76 211.93 27.05 24.34 339.47 69.00 212.93 211.26 48.78 14.75 27.25 32.04 58.49 38.03

DHAKA TRIBUNE

Business

Private universities China plans to speed up investment n urged to open department for furniture designing Reuters, Beijing

n Tribune Report Export Promotion Bureau (EPB) Vice Chairman Shubhashis Bose has urged the private universities to introduce a department to develop skilled manpower for the country’s furniture industry.

“The entrepreneurs and the private universities should jointly open the department to teach the students about latest designs and developments in the industry,” he told a press conference in Dhaka yesterday.

The conference was to tell about the third Bangladesh Furniture and Interior Decoration (BFID) Expo-2014 that begins in Dhaka on Sunday. The show is to display the varieties and excellence of local furniture and home furnishing products for the buyers from both home and abroad.

The 3-day fair would be held at Bangabandhu International Conference Centre (BICC) to be inaugurated

by Commerce Minister Tofail Ahmed.

Bose said the EPB would request the government to provide to cash incentives to the furniture exporters to boost the fast growing furniture sector.

According to EPB data, a total of 20 foreign retailers have registered with the EPB to visit the fair. The EPB has offered the prospective buyers some complementary facilities like accommodation, transportation and food.

Bose said the entrepreneurs have to blend traditional designs with modern

New generation of small engines to power 27 GM models by 2017 n Reuters General Motors Co on Wednesday announced a new generation of efficient small engines that it says will power 27 models in 64 countries by the 2017 model year. The automaker said it was attempting to streamline production with a modular architecture of the 1-to-1.5liter, 3- to 4-cylinder engines that will allow them to be adapted to varying needs in different global markets.

Among the first models with the new engines, to begin production by summer, will be the Chevrolet Cruze designed specifically for the Chinese market and the Opel Adam in Europe.

GM is calling the new line of 11 engines "Ecotec" and will build them in five plants on three continents.

By 2017, the company will build 2.5 million of the Ecotec engines for use by five different brands, or about 25 percent of the vehicles the company will build.

"We did not calculate the savings but it's definitely substantial" in engineering and manufacturing, said Tom Sutter, global chief engineer of Ecotec engines. l

trend with latest technology to meet the consumers’ demands for home and abroad. The country has raw materials and cheaper labour and “if we can develop the sector, it can employ 50 lakh workers,” he said. Currently, the sector employs 25 lakh people.

Earnings from furniture export have seen a 32% rise to over $25m in the first eight months of the current fiscal due to increased demands in the global markets, according to EPB. It was $19.20 million in the same period last fiscal year when the total furniture export stood at $31.41 million.

EPB, Furniture Exporters Association, Bangladesh Handicrafts Manufacturers and Exporters Association (Banglacraft), Bangladesh Jute Diversified Products Manufactures and Exporters Association and Bangladesh Furniture Industries Owners Association in collaboration with Jute Diversification Promotion Centre (JDPC) are jointly orgainsing the event.

A total of 51 orgainsations are expected to participate in the fair to display their state of art furniture products, organisers said yesterday.

At present, the country exports office furniture, metal furniture, seats with metal frames, bedroom furniture, wooden furniture, and furniture of plastic, parts of furniture, mattress supports, sleeping bag and lamp and light fittings to various destinations of the world. l

Premier Li Keqiang said China will speed up investment and construction plans to ensure domestic demand expands at a stable rate - an indication authorities are considering practical measures to support slackening economic growth.

Li said at a weekly cabinet meeting that China needs to roll out approved plans for growing domestic demand to keep growth in the economy in a “reasonable range”.

No further details were given in an official statement following the meeting, and it was not clear if Li had given authorities a green light to accelerate new investment, or to start work on projects that have already been approved.

But his remarks stoked speculation among analysts that Beijing is ready to stimulate the economy.

China rattled financial markets last week with data showing growth in investment, retail sales and factory output all hitting multi-year lows in January and February, Investors, muti-national companies and its major trading partners fear a sharper-thanexpected slowdown in China will soon drag on activity across the world.

China has fallen back on ramping up state investment to shore up its economy several times in recent years to support growth in incomes and employment.

In 2008/09, in the face of the global financial crisis, Beijing approved a whopping 4tn yuan of state spending funded partly by bank loans.

That spending helped China recover quickly from the crisis, but the mountain of debt incurred fed other credit problems that the government now hopes to fix, in part by abandoning its former export- and investment-driven

B3

Thursday, March 20, 2014

A picture taken through tripod shows China's Premier Li Keqiang during a news conference, after the closing ceremony of the Chinese National People's Congress (NPC) at the Great Hall of the People, in Beijing REUTERS growth model. Stimulus measures announced in several economic soft patches since then have been more modest and more focused, such as last year’s pledges to boost spending on social housing, infrastructure, highspeed rail and energy-saving industries, and tax breaks for smaller firms.

Growth versus reforms

China has been showing some determination to reform and few experts believe Beijing will launch another super-sized stimulus to prop up the economy.

Yesterday, the government relaxed rules to allow more foreigners to invest in its stock markets, the latest step to free its financial markets after widening the yuan’s trading band at the weekend, taking it closer to turn-

ing the yuan into a convertible, global currency.

But a more volatile yuan added to global jitters after it fell to a one-year low yesterday.

Some analysts believe China’s central bank is engineering this year’s decline in the yuan to cushion the weakening economy by making exports more price competitive, and others speculate that the government may step up efforts to bolster growth in coming months.

Analysts from government-controlled think-tanks told Reuters last week that Beijing may loosen monetary policy by reducing the level of deposits commercial banks must keep at the central bank if the economic growth slips below the government’s 7.5% target. l

Toyota suspends workers at India plants over unrest n AFP, Bangalore Toyota has suspended 17 workers at its Indian auto assembly plants which were temporarily closed this week following protests against delayed pay rises, a union and company official said yesterday.

The workers were suspended for misconduct and indiscipline over the protests at the two factories in southern India, which the company says included threats against management and deliberate assembly-line stoppages.

“The suspended employees are all members of the union. The lockout was declared more due to indiscipline than on wage hike demand, though it all began with that,” a company official in the city of Bangalore told AFP. A union representing the workers demanded Toyota immediately withdraw the suspensions, saying there had been no official warning beforehand as required under labour laws.

Toyota Kirloskar Motor Ltd Union president Prasanna Kumar said it was willing to continue to work with the company and the state labour commissioner to resolve the dispute.

“There was no charge-sheet against them as per the state labour laws prior to suspension. We have sought the state government’s intervention for lifting the lockout and withdrawing the suspension orders,” Kumar told AFP, adding the union was notified late Wednesday of the suspensions.

The world’s biggest automaker said Monday it was suspending production at the factories which employ about 6,400 workers near Bangalore after efforts to hammer out a labour deal failed. l

Fed may raise rates as soon as next spring, Yellen suggests n Reuters, Washington

The US Federal Reserve will probably end its massive bond-buying program this fall, and could start raising interest rates around six months later, Fed Chair Janet Yellen said on Wednesday, in a comment which sent stocks and bonds tumbling.

Yellen’s remarks at her first news conference as the head of the central bank pointed to a more aggressive path toward higher interest rates than many had anticipated, and bets in financial markets shifted accordingly.

The comments came after a two-day meeting in which Fed officials made another reduction in their bond-buying

Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen answers a question at a news conference following the March 2014 Federal Open Market Committee meeting, while at the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System in Washington REUTERS

stimulus and decided to jettison a set of guideposts they were using to help the public anticipate when they would finally raise rates.

The Fed said the change in its rate hike guidance did not mark a shift in its intentions and that it would wait a “considerable time” after shuttering its asset purchase program before pushing borrowing costs higher. Yellen, who had fielded numerous questions without a hitch, hesitated when asked what the Fed meant by “considerable.”

“I - I, you know, this is the kind of term it’s hard to define, but, you know, it probably means something on the order of around six months or that type of thing. But, you know, it depends - what the statement is saying is it depends what conditions are like.”

Several analysts wondered whether her answer was an unintended slip, given the deliberately vague language of the Fed’s statement.

Either way, the reaction in financial markets was swift and sharp. Prices for US stocks and government bonds added to earlier losses triggered by fresh Fed forecasts that showed policymakers are inclined to raise rates a bit more aggressively than they had been just a few months ago. The US dollar rose.

“The forecast change could be inter-

NRB Global Bank Limited formally opened its Patherhat branch at Chittagong on March 20. Nizam Chowdhury, the bank’s chairperson inaugurated the operations of the branch as chief guest

Panasonic unveiled their new range of air conditioners at Panasonic Air Conditioner New Product Launch 2014, recently held at a hotel in Dhaka. Damien Yap, general manager of Panasonic Singapore - area development department, expressed his appreciation and gratitude to the audience for supporting the Panasonic air conditioners business for years

The Jubilee Road branch of First Security Islami Bank Ltd has been shifted to new premises at SA Tower on 398 Enayet Bazar in Jubilee Road, Chittagong on March 18. Syed Habib Hasnat, the bank’s inaugurated the newly located branch

Bangladesh House Building Finance Corporation recently arranged a training course on strategies of virtuousness and accounting for officers at the corporation’s training centre.

Dr Md Nurul Alam Talukder, MD of BHBFC inaugurated the course as chief guest

preted as a relatively hawkish shift ... and as such the general market reaction seems well-founded,” said JPMorgan economist Michael Feroli. Futures traders moved to price in a first interest rate hike as soon as April 2015. Previously, it was July.

Most top Wall Street economists, however, continued to see the first rate hike in the second half of 2015, according to a Reuters poll.

Mixed messages

Yellen sought to use her news conference to emphasize that rates would stay low for awhile and rise only gradually. She also said they could end up staying lower than normal “for some time” even after the jobless rate drops to a healthy level.

The Fed would look not only at how close inflation and unemployment are to its goals, but how fast, or slowly, those measures are approaching those goals, she said. At 6.7%, the unemployment is well above the 5.2% to 5.6% range Fed officials see as in keeping with full employment.

The central bank’s favoured inflation gauge is barely more than half of its 2% target.

The Fed has held interest rates near zero since late 2008 and has pumped more than $3 trillion into the economy with its bond purchases to try to foster a stronger recovery.

Of the Fed’s 16 policymakers, only one believes it will be appropriate to raise rates this year; 13 expect a first rate hike next year, and two others see the first rate hike coming in 2016, according to the new forecasts.

But once rate hikes start, Fed officials see slightly sharper increases than they did in December, when they last issued forecasts. They now see rates ending 2016 at 2.25%, a half percentage point above their December projections.

The unease in markets “might be a sign that people think Yellen will tighten sooner rather than later,” said Wayne Kaufman, chief market analyst at Rockwell Securities in New York.

The central bank proceeded with its well-telegraphed reductions to its massive bond-buying stimulus, announcing it would cut its monthly purchases of US Treasuries and mortgage-backed securities to $55bn from $65bn.

The decision to further scale back its stimulus keeps the Fed on track for the measured wind down laid out by Yellen’s predecessor, Ben Bernanke.

The Fed repeated that it plans to continue trimming the purchases in “measured steps” as long as labor conditions continue to improve and inflation shows signs of rising back toward the Fed’s 2% goal. l

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina seen receiving a cheque for Tk50 lakh from MD of Jiban Bima Corporation for “Lakho Konthey Jatiyo Songit” programme, recently at Gonobhaban

Mobile handset maker, Symphony’s collaboration with MediaTek, smartphone chipsets provider has made it possible to deliver customer with enhanced quality products, said a press release. Chairperson of Edison Group (Symphony being its product), Md Aminur Rashid spoke at the press briefing

B4

DHAKA TRIBUNE

Back Page

Friday, March 21, 2014

Japan firms want Abe to cool it on China n Reuters, Tokyo Japanese companies are concerned about Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s forceful diplomacy with neighbours like China, at a time when demand from Asia’s giant appears to be ebbing, a Reuters survey showed.

More than half the executives in the Reuters Corporate Survey said demand from China is peaking or declining.

The survey showed a quarter are concerned about the impact of Abe’s approach to foreign policy, which has inflamed tensions with China and South Korea. Forty-six percent said it has not affected them, and 29% said they were unsure.

Japan’s ties with China and Korea have worsened over bilateral territorial disputes and a feeling in Seoul and Beijing that Tokyo has not atoned for its wartime aggression, especially with Abe’s December visit to the Yasukuni shrine, which Japan’s neighbours consider a symbol of its wartime and colonial brutality.

‘More humility’

“On territorial issues, it’s natural to protect Japan’s interests and positions,” said an executive at an electrical equipment company.

“But I would like to see more humility regarding issues that are sensitive not only for China and Korea, but globally, like the understanding of history,

the Yasukuni Shrine visit and the place of Tokyo war crimes tribunals,” the executive said.

“Obstinately insisting on these issues could erode trust in Japan and damage national interests - not only economically but also from the perspective of the international standing of Japanese people.”

Executives offered their comments anonymously in the Reuters Corporate Survey of 400 firms, conducted March 3-14, which is split evenly between manufacturers and non-manufacturers.

Even among the majority who reported they were not concerned, many of the 195 respondents expressed reservations about the prime minister’s diplomacy.

“I would like more attention paid to avoiding friction over Yasukuni and other diplomatic issues of low importance,” said an executive at a steelmaker whose business has not been affected.

The rise of China has been an engine of global growth, drawing huge numbers of Japanese manufacturers to build or use its factories and offering many millions of new consumers for Japanese goods.

But after 30 years of growth averaging 10% or more, the world’s thirdbiggest economy is shifting gears.

The government targets 7.5% growth this year, shifting toward domestic demand and relying less on exports and investment. l

Japan's electronics giant Toshiba unveils the prototype model of a breath analyzer which can detect gases in exhaled breath to monitor health and diagnosis of disease at the company's headquarters in Tokyo. The device using a gas analysis technology with a quantum cascade laser to trace gasses detected across the absorption spectrum is expecting to commercialize in 2015. Japan's Waseda University will start to reasearch correlation between acetone concentrateions in exhaled breath with fat metabolism using this device from next month AFP

Page says US online spying threatens democracy Dollar holds steady n after surging on Yellen comments AFP, Vancouver

Google co-founder Larry Page on Wednesday condemned US government snooping on the Internet as a threat to democracy.

His comments came during an on-

stage chat at a prestigious Technology Entertainment Design gathering, where a day earlier fellow Google founder Sergey Brin had a virtual encounter with National Security Agency leaker Edward Snowden.

A photo of Brin smiling with a robot

Google CEO Larry Page speaks during a press announcement at Google's headquarters in New York

remotely controlled by Snowden from a refuge in Russia, where the wanted man is in hiding, was tweeted by TED curator Chris Anderson and became an instant online hit.

“It is tremendously disappointing that the government sort of secretly did all this stuff and didn’t tell us,” Page said.

He reasoned that details of suspected terrorist threats should remain cloaked but that the parameters of what US intelligence agents do, along with how and why they do it, should be public.

“We need to have a debate about that or we can’t have a functioning democracy; it is just not possible,” Page said. “It is sad that Google is in the position of protecting you and our users from the government doing secret things nobody knows about; it doesn’t make any sense.”

Spying backlash peril As smartphones and sensors synched to the Internet obtain and share increasing amounts of data about where people are and what they are doing, Page said it was critical for people to be given choices of how it is used.

He was concerned, though, that privacy fears and a backlash to online spying would result in blocking uses of personal information for beneficial purposes. He noted how shared medical information, on an aggregate scale and made anonymous, could help researchers develop treatments and patients select doctors or map medical care.

“We are not really thinking about the tremendous good that can come from people sharing the right information with the right people in the right ways,” Page said.

Page gave the example of going public with details of trouble with his voice.

“On your show, I kind of lost my

voice and I haven’t gotten it back,” Page joked with Rose.

“I am hoping that by talking to you I am going to get it back. Get out your Voodoo doll and do whatever you need to do.”

Web bill of rights

Earlier in the day, on the same TED stage, the father of the World Wide Web urged those in the conference’s influential and innovative community to fight to keep life on the Internet free and open.

Tim Berners-Lee rallied support for creating a bill of rights for the Internet this year in the wake of revelations about extensive government surveillance.

Berners-Lee launched his Web We Want campaign last week as the Web turned 25 years old.

He has repeatedly called for fewer controls on the Web, and has praised Snowden for revealing details of how the US government collects masses of online data.

Berners-Lee conceived the Web 25 years ago in his spare time at Genevabased CERN, Europe’s top particle physics lab.

“I want to use this anniversary to think about what kind of Web we want,” Berners-Lee said, referring ideas to a Webat25.org website.

NSA to respond

Former intelligence contractor Snowden emerged from his Russian exile Tuesday in the form of a remotely-controlled robot to promise more sensational revelations about US spying programs.

The fugitive’s face appeared on a screen as he maneuvered a wheeled android around the TED gathering, addressing an audience in Vancouver without ever leaving his hideaway. l

n AFP, Tokyo The dollar held steady in Asia yesterday, after surging in New York as Federal Reserve chief Janet Yellen hinted that interest rates could rise early next year, sooner than expected.

The greenback fetched 102.30 yen in Tokyo afternoon trade, slightly down from 102.32 yen late in New York but much stronger than the 101.51 yen in Tokyo earlier Wednesday.

The dollar was also higher against other Asia-Pacific currencies, buying 1,075.74 South Korean won from 1,070.65 won The euro bought $1.3831 and 141.52 yen, mixed from $1.3827 and 141.53 yen in US trade.

Emerging-market currencies were mostly lower as the hawkish Fed hurt risk appetite.

The Fed announced Wednesday it would shave another $10bn off its bond-buying stimulus - to $55bn a month - saying the economy was picking up and a recent spate of soft data was caused by severe winter weather.

But, while the move was expected, Yellen also surprised markets at a news conference, stating that the timeframe for a rate hike could be “on the order of

around six months” after the stimulus ends.

With the present rate of reduction likely to see asset purchases tapered off by the end of this year, that means rates could go up in the first half of 2015. Some analysts have previously forecast a rise taking place at the back end of next year.

“Yellen can be seen as not being so dovish as expected,” said Hiromishi Shirakawa, research analyst at Credit Suisse.

“We should pay attention to the possibility that the era of a firm dollar and weak stocks will start,” he said in a note.

While higher interest rates would tend to draw investors seeking higher returns to the dollar, they also tend to dampen stock market activity.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.70% on Wednesday, while the Nikkei was down 1.13% mid-afternoon Thursday.

The dollar firmed to 61.15 Indian rupees Thursday afternoon from 61.08 rupees on Wednesday, to 11,425 Indonesian rupiah from 11,345.00 rupiah, and to 45.06 Philippine pesos from 44.86 pesos.

The dollar was also higher against other Asia-Pacific currencies, buying 1,075.74 South Korean won from 1,070.65 won.

It rose to Sg$1.2735 from Sg$1.2653, and to 32.35 Thai baht from 32.14 baht, while the Australian dollar slipped to 90.17 US cents from 91.15 cents.

The Chinese yuan fetched 16.42 yen against 16.34 yen. l

Google, Facebook drive gains in mobile advertising

‘Smart’ racket offers tennis revolution

n AFP, Washington

n AFP, Paris

The market for mobile device advertising doubled in 2013 to $17.9bn and is on pace for strong gains this year, led by Facebook and Google, a market tracker said Wednesday.

The research firm eMarketer said mobile ad spending increased 105% last year and is expected to jump another 75% in 2014 to more than $34bn.

DILBERT

Facebook and Google grabbed the lion’s share of the market - combining for some $6.92bn in net mobile ad revenues in 2013.

Google remained far ahead of its rivals, but saw its market share dip to 49.3% in 2013 from 52.6% in 2012, eMarketer said.

The biggest gains came from Facebook, whose market share jumped to 17.5% from 5.4% a year earlier. l

Aluminium and graphite swept away the wooden racket that Bjorn Borg used to win 11 Grand Slam titles, but smart rackets that analyse power and spin promise a new tennis revolution.

One such intelligent racket is already on sale in the United States and will be launched in Europe in May. The Babolat Play will cost 399 euros (555 dollars), about twice the price of a classic tennis racket.

Eric Babolat, head of the French company that developed the racket - which retains the traditional shape - said “it is like Star Wars is coming to tennis.”

Sensors inside the handle record the power of a stroke, the impact of the ball on the racket strings, the kind of stroke, the spin and game time and send the information to a smartphone, computer or other device.

Babolat, whose company is one of the oldest tennis equipment makers in the world having made the first animal gut strings in 1875, is convinced that within 10 years all rackets will be equipped this way.

The Babolat Play’s basic design is an updated version of a racket produced by the Lyon company already used by Chinese women’s star Li Na. The new racket only looks different because it has a blue diode light at the bottom of the handle which flashes when the sensors are turned on.

The rechargeable racket can be linked to a computer, tablet or smartphone with a cable or by wifi.

The application will, for instance, tell you how many balls were hit cleanly and how many were sliced.

Maybe not all players will welcome publicising their slice ratio. Babolat plans, however, to launch a social media applica-

tion that allows players to compare their success rate and set challenges.

“It could be useful for an amateur, but also for a star such as Rafael Nadal,” said Babolat’s communications director Thomas Otton. “Maybe Nadal gets some information from courtside cameras but what happens when the ball hits the face of the racket has remained a secret.”

Nadal and French player Jo-Wilfried Tsonga tested the rackets at a demonstration event. But Babolat is still waiting for a player to use one in competition.

It has been accepted by the men’s Association of Tour Professionals (ATP) and the Women’s Tennis Association (WTA) since January 1.

Jean-Christophe Piffaut, a former head of the Roland-Garros tennis museum in Paris and a writer of a book on the history of the sport, said he was mystified as to the interest of the racket for professionals.

“Top level players have a coach and get a lot of information from video. I think this (racket) will only confirm what they already know,” he said.

Eric Winogradsky, a former professional and coach who now works for the French Tennis Federation, is convinced that the smart racket does have a future, however.

“The information crossover is interesting,” Winogradsky told AFP. “This is the future. Lots of other sports are already doing this, why not us?”

The Babolat Play will soon face smart competition. Sony Corp is developing a sensor that can be fitted to any racket. The first models will be launched in Japan in May in a partnership with the Yonex racket maker.

If the smart racket gets a grip, the battle could become who can make it even more inter-active. Eric Babolat already predicts an application that allows coaches to send information back to a player. l