23 March 2014

Chaitra 9, 1420 Jamadiul Awal 21, 1435 Regd. No. DA 6238 Vol 1 No 359

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Army asked to contain polls violence Acting CEC says violence escalates as political parties influence local polls Al-Masum Molla n Mohammad and Mohammad Zakaria The Election Commission has requested the armed forces to play its role in maintaining law and order during the fourth phase of the upazila polls scheduled for today, following escalated violence in the third phase.

In a letter sent yesterday, the EC reminded the armed forces about their power to act to curb violence in absence of an executive magistrate.

According to article 131 of the penal code, the army was already empowered to act on its own to check violence. However, in recent times, the armed forces personnel on election

‘These are not partisan polls. But the political parties are openly playing roles in the polls leading to violence.

This is not acceptable’ duty were directed to act following executive orders.

The army and the law enforcement agencies have been asked to take all necessary steps for ensuring security of voters, polling centres and election officials during the elections.

A total of 91 upazila parishads from around the country are going into elections today in the fourth phase.

In Sonagazi upazila of Feni yesterday, an Awami League activist was killed and two others were critically injured in a bomb explosion. Allegedly, they were making crude bombs. A few days ago, law enforcers recovered 500 crude bombs from the area.

On March 15, another person was killed in Badarganj upazila of Netrakona centring polls violence. There have also been stray cases of violence reported from a number of upazilas dur-

ing the first two phases as well.

A couple of days ago, an intelligence report apprehended that there might be fresh attacks on minorities surrounding today’s fourth phase of the upazila polls.

In Harinakundu upazila of Jhenaidah, a 70-year old man was allegedly beaten up by a gang of miscreants yesterday. He was reportedly electioneering for a BNP-backed candidate in the locality.

From a press conference in Agoiljhara upazila of Barisal, Awami League rebel chairman candidate Jatindra Nath Mistri yesterday alleged that law enforcers had been harassing him and the Awami League-backed candidate had been pressuring the voters from the local minority communities.

In Kathalia upazila of Pirojpur, an Awami League leader was detained by law enforcers yesterday on charges of unduly influencing voters in favour of a JP (Monju)-backed chairman candidate.

In another last minute move on the election eve, the district police chiefs (SPs) of Jessore, Khulna, Noakhali, Lalmonirhat, Barisal and Dhaka were reshuffled and 21 presiding officers were withdrawn from Kolaroa upazila of Satkhira.

At a presser on the same day, BNP Joint Secretary General Ruhul Kabir Rizvi alleged that the “transfers” were made with a “special motive.”

“Everyone understands why they [the SPs] have been transferred,” Rizvi told reporters.

Meanwhile, the letter that the Election Commission sent to the authorities concerned followed an e-mail sent by Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Kazi Rakibuddin Ahmad, who had been in the USA on leave for nearly three weeks.

According to the CEC e-mail, the polls have so far been held in free and fair manner with reports of some  PAGE 2 COLUMN 6

Ansar members queue up at a police station at Tanor upazila in Rajshahi yesterday to receive their arms and ammunition ahead of the upazila elections

Japan offers $1.18bn assistance n Sheikh Shahariar Zaman Japan has announced its biggest-ever loan package of $1.18 billion for Bangladesh to finance five projects.

The announcement came at a meeting between Foreign Minister AH Mahmood Ali and his Japanese counterpart Fumio Kishida yesterday.

“Energy, natural gas, electricity and infrastructure development of city corporations are the areas of the five projects,” Kouichi Mizushima, deputy spokesperson for the Japanese foreign ministry, told a press conference at a city hotel yesterday.

But, he did not specify what the projects are or when the negotiations on the projects will conclude.

Additional Secretary of Economic Relations Division Mohammad Shafiqul Azam told the Dhaka Tribune that Bangladesh has agreed in principle to get the loan and primary talks over the loans has already been held in Dhaka.

“Bangladesh’s performance in

spending aid was the best among Asian countries last year. If we can continue with it, we hope more loans will come from Japan,” he said.

Earlier, Chief Representative of Japan International Cooperation Agency (Jica) for Bangladesh Mikio Hataeda told the Dhaka Tribune that if the Bangladesh government could show its capability to implement the ongoing projects, the Japanese government would be positive in boosting aid.

P2

PICTURE

Japan, the single biggest development partner of Bangladesh, had so far provided over $11 billion aid since 1972.

The 34th ODA loan package of $1.03 billion signed last year financed four projects - Kanchpur, Meghna and Gumati bridges project, Karnaphuli water supply project, northern Bangladesh integrated development project and renewable energy development project.

The 33rd ODA loan package of $760 million also signed last year funded

INSIDE 5 The government is planning to expand the activities of national service programme across the country and employ around 720,000 jobless educated youths under the programme.

n Sheikh Shahariar Zaman

5 All necessary preparations for holding “Lakho Konthe Shonar Bangla” – a chorus of millions to perform national anthem – is almost complete, organising committee members said at a press briefing yesterday.

Nation

6 While the country moves towards achieving Millennium Development Goals by 2015, the Aila-affected coastal areas like Garuba are stricken with poverty.

12 Month-long street show Agony of faces by Bipasha Hayat began at Hot Breads at Banani in the capital on Friday.

It is a new series of painting by the multifaceted artist who is also a celebrated TV actor.

 PAGE 2 COLUMN 2

Two Bangladeshis among 9 killed in Kabul gun attack n UNB Two Bangladeshi nationals are among the nine people killed in a gun attack at Serena Hotel in Kabul of Afghanistan on Thursday, reports The New York Times.

However, an official at the foreign ministry here yesterday said they were looking into the matter and would get back with details once they got identity of the Bangladesh nationals.

Four men with pistols opened fire inside the luxurious Serena Hotel complex in central Kabul on Thursday night, killing nine people before being gunned down and sowing panic in an exclusive enclave frequented by foreign officials, prominent Afghans and an array of development workers.

The National Democratic Institute decided on Friday morning to pull out staff members who were staying at the hotel after one of them, Luis María  PAGE 2 COLUMN 1

Bangladesh diplomat sued in New York in Devyani style

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three projects such as Bheramara combined cycle power plant development project, Dhaka mass rapid transit development project, and national power transmission network development project.

Japanese loan is the most generous with an interest rate at 0.01% per year and 40-year repayment period with 10year grace period.

About Japanese private sector investment in Bangladesh, Mizushima said it was growing sharply.

Uninterrupted power supply, business-friendly environment and stability will encourage more Japanese entrepreneurs to invest in Bangladesh, he said.

The number of Japanese companies operating in Bangladesh was 61in 2007, which sharply rose to 176 firms in 2013, he added.

Till 2012, the total amount of Japanese investment to Bangladesh was $1.3 billion.

About having economic partner

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New Zealand cricketer Corey Anderson (2R) celebrates the wicket of England batsman Moeen Ali during a ICC World Twenty20 tournament at The Zahur Ahmed Chowdhury Stadium in Chittagong yesterday AFP

Kiwis, rain rout England Uddin Khan n Minhaz from Chittagong It was the worst possible start England could have imagined as they continued their poor form in the shortest format with the nine-run (D/L Method) defeat to New Zealand in their rain-hit World Twenty20 match at Zahur Ahmed Chowdhury Stadium yesterday.

The game was an opportunity for the English side to start off fresh after experiencing successive defeats to New Zealand, Australia and West Indies apart from the losses in the practice matches.

However, their attempt was short

lived as New Zealand’s raid start, 52 for 1 in 5.2 overs, was enough to hand England a defeat, who made 172 batting first, after unexpected rain poured in at the night game.

The rain stopped for a while giving hope to the English, but after 25 minutes it resumed as England’s hope also disappeared with the shower.

Looking to achieve the highest ever total at the venue, New Zealand lost Martin Guptill (11) in the fouth over who holed out to Chris Jordan at midwicket off medium-pacer Jade Dernbach. Kane Williamson, 24 off 17 balls, and Brendon McCullum, 16 from six balls, kept the New Zealander’s in the hunt before rain arrived.

Earlier, England lost Alex Hales in the first over to a brilliant catch by Corey Anderson diving back after being put in to bat, but left-handed Moeen Ali and Michael Lumb fought back and smashed the Kiwis during their 72-run second wicket recovery.  PAGE 2 COLUMN 6

Domestic help of Bangladesh consul general in New York has filed an abuse case against him and his wife and the case looks like a repetition of the Devyani Khobragade case that strained India-US relations.

Mashud Parves Rana in his lawsuit filed with the Manhattan federal court complained that consul general Monirul Islam and his wife, Fahima Tahsina Prova, “compelled” him to work for about 17 hours, seven days a week and he did not get “promised salary of $3,000 per month.”

Mashud went to New York in 2012 and his employer, who became the Bangladesh ambassador to Morocco in January, is supposed to leave New York for Rabat within a few days.

In the similar fashion, an underpayment case had been filed against Indian diplomat Devyani Khobragade by her domestic aid.

Mashud is being represented by Dana Sussman, the same lawyer who’s representing the domestic worker of Khobragade.

When contacted, Monirul Islam said Mashud left his Manhattan apartment two or three weeks back when the consul general asked him [Mashud] to go with him to Morocco.

“I was posted to Morocco and I told him to come with me there but he told

me that he came to America to stay here, not to go to Morocco,” Monirul said.

When Monirul told him that he would become illegal if he stayed back, Mashud said that he would prefer to become illegal to stay in America.

“When I told him that I would inform the police, Mashud threatened me that he would file case against me like the way the domestic aid of Devyani did,” Monirul said.

The consul general informed the State Department office in New York when Mashud left the apartment.

Mashud said he would prefer to become illegal to stay in America Monirul along with his wife and school going son lives in a three-bedroom 1500 square feet apartment. “I, my wife and son live in one bedroom and we gave him a bedroom with attached washroom and there is a TV in his room,” he claimed.

In the lawsuit, it is written: “Mr. Rana would complete his daily tasks by approximately 11:00 pm each night.

However, if defendants were attending an event outside the house, Mr. Rana was required to wait for them to return to let them in and prepare a late  PAGE 2 COLUMN 4

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Sunday, March 23, 2014

Jamaat claims harassment n Manik Miazee Despite claims of harassment of its supporters in the ongoing local government elections, Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami leaders and activists have been busy campaigning for party-backed aspirants across the country.

Candidates supported by Jamaat, meanwhile, won 28 out of 294 chairmen posts in the last three phases of the upazila parishad polls. However, the Islamist party-backed candidates contested for chairman posts in 81 upazials.

On the eve of the fourth round of polls yesterday, Jasim Uddin, a pro-Jamaat contender from Satkania in Chittagong, told the Dhaka Tribune: “Our activists have been campaigning in Satkania and I am hopeful of winning.”

He added that they did not face any untoward situation while canvassing.

AKM Najem Osmani, a Jamaat-backed candidate from Feni’s Sonagazi upazila, also said his supporters did not encounter any problems.

5 Jubo Dal men hurt n Our correspondent, Narayanganj Five people sustained injuries as local activists of Jubo Dal, a youth wing of BNP, engaged in clash with police in Narayanganj club area in the district town yesterday.

Sources at the district said Narayanganj city unit Jubo Dal brought out a procession in front of the district press club around 3:45pm protesting the charge frame against BNP chairperson Khaleda Zia and her son Tarique Rahman in two graft cases. A clash occurred in the area when police tried to foil the procession, leaving the five injured.

Later, police detained three Jubo Dal activists. l

He, however, expressed doubts about the overall situation on voting day.

Since the Election Commission announced the local polls schedule on January 20, Jamaat-e-Islami has been making statements to the contrary, claiming repression on its supporters and campaign activities by law enforcers and government supporters.

In a press statement yesterday, the party’s acting secretary general Shafiqur Rahman alleged that activists of the ruling Awami League were threatening locals not to vote for candidates other than AL-backed ones. At least 20 pro-Jamaat aspirants are running in the fourth phase today.

Shafiqur also claimed that the police have arrested several party activists, including two in Chuadanga and four in Chittagong’s Lohagara, ahead of the polls.

Meantime, Jamaat-backed candidates won 12 chairmen posts in the first phase, and eight each in the second and third phases. l

Japanese Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida meets Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina at Ganabhaban in the capital yesterday

Law enforcers asked to protect minority voters n Tribune Report

The government has instructed law enforcement agencies at the local level to beef up security for the minority people during the fourth phase of the upazila parishad elections scheduled to be held today.

Based on reports submitted by intelligence agencies, the authorities have made the instructions.

The Ministry of Homer has sent letters to all the secretaries to ensure security to the minority communities both during and after the upazila elections scheduled to end on March 31.

“Intimidating minority voters has

become a practice in our election culture. So, we have sent letters to our forces and the deputy commissioners asking them to ensure security of all minority communities,” Home Secretary CQK Mustaq Ahmed told the Dhaka Tribune.

He said the Home Ministry was yet to receive allegation of attacks on minority people from any local department of the government.

At a press conference held yesterday, Jotindra Nath, chairman candidate for Agoiljhara, Barisal, alleged that one of his contenders had tried to abduct him and had intimidated the minority voters in his area on Thursday.

The fourth phase of the local government elections is going to be held today in 91 upazilas.

Earlier, the Election Commission sent letters to all deputy commissioners, police and returning officers across the country to ensure security to the minority people.

Before every phase of the upazila elections, the intelligence agencies send reports on communities and polling centres that are marked as vulnerable for probable occurrence of violence there, said the home ministry officials.

The intelligence agencies also recommend measures to thwart probable

violence in order to hold the elections in a peaceful manner.

“We have forwarded the intelligence reports to the concerned government departments for taking up necessary measures,” a deputy secretary of the Home Ministry told the Dhaka Tribune.

The first phase of elections was held on February 19 in 95 upazilas while the second phase and third phase were held on February 27 and March 15 respectively.

Over last three phases, polls have been held for a total of 291 upazilas.

According to the Election Commission, by March 31, the upazila elections will be held for a total of 465 upazilas. l

SP’s transfer ahead of Jessore UZ polls raises question

Landlord rapes tenant in Badda

n Our Correspondent, Jessore

n Mohammad Jamil Khan

The transfer of superintendent of police (SP) of Jessore to Dhaka just a day before the fourth phase of upazila election has raised questions in the district.

Jessore SP Joydeb Kumar Bhadra was transferred as a deputy commissioner of police to Dhaka while elections in Jessore Sadar and Keshabpur upazila are scheduled to be held today.

The copy of Joydeb’s transfer order was received on Friday.

Sources say Aminul Islam, AIG (establishment), police headquarters, signed the transfer order on Friday. Noakhali SP Anisur Rahman replaced Joydeb.

Reshma Sharmin, assistant superintendent of police of Jessore, told that additional superintendent of police KM Ariful Haque was made the acting superintendent of police. “The incumbent SP is yet to take over,” she added.

Joydeb told journalists that he handed over to the additional superintendent of police on Friday night after receiving the transfer order in the evening.

Political leaders described the incident as alarming.

Former lawmaker and AL leader Khaledur Rahman Tito said the issue could have a negative impact on today’s election.

Speaking to the Dhaka Tribune, Iqbal Kabir Jahid, polit bureau member of the Workers Party of Bangladesh, said the transfer had raised doubt about holding free and fair upazila polls. “A large number of voters will not go to polling stations citing security concerns,” he added.

BNP Standing Committee member Tariqul Islam said the incident was a bad signal ahead of upazila elections.

Ali Reza Raju, president of Jessore district unit of Awami League, and AKM Mainul Islam, returning officer of Jessore, however, ruled out any possibility of untoward situation during the upazila polls. l

A woman was allegedly raped yesterday by her landlord in Badda area under the capital.

Sources said, Khokon, the husband of the victim ,came in Dhaka with his newly married wife few days ago and started living in his friend’s house.

Later, he rented a room owned by one Suman in Badda area with advance payment Tk 5000. But Khokon’s wife did not like the room and she asked Suman to return the advance.

Sumon along with his friend Sanjib and some other followers went to the

house of Imdad, the friend of Khokon while Khokon and Imdad were not present in the house.

Sumon got locked in altercation with her over the advanced money and at one stage they raped her.

Hearing screaming of the victim ,locals rushed to the spot while the culprits managed to flee the scene. Later, a case was filed in this connection.

MA Jalil, officer-in-charge of Badda police station told the Dhaka Tribune: “The victim is now undergoing treatment at Dhaka Medical College Hospital (DMCH) and police arrested an accused.” l

Nine, including a schoolboy and night guard, killed n Tribune Report

At least nine people, including a schoolboy and a night guard, were killed in separate incidents across the country yesterday, according to local police and district correspondents.

Police recovered the body of teenage boy from a sand field near Rahman Nagar Project in the capital’s Uttar Khan area early yesterday, more than a week after he was reported missing.

The victim was identified as Imran Hossain, 17, a class nine student of Imarat Hossain Ideal High School.

Maizuddin, Imran’s brother, said Imran went out of his house on March 13 after getting a call from a friend. He had been missing since, and the family

Two Bangladeshis among 9 killed in Kabul gun attack  PAGE 1 COLUMN 6

Duarte, a former Paraguayan diplomat, was killed.

Duarte and the other staff members were in Afghanistan to observe next month’s presidential election, and the organization was reassessing its election monitoring activities.

The other deceased in Thursday’s attack included the mother and two of her children, along with their father, Sardar Ahmad, a prominent Afghan journalist.

A Canadian, two Bangladeshi nationals and another Afghan woman were also killed, the report says. l

filed a general diary with the local police on March 16.

Nizamuddin, sub-inspector of Uttar Khan police station, said Imran was likely strangled to death and later buried in the area.

The body was sent to the Dhaka Medical College Hospital for autopsy and a murder case was filed.

In another incident in the capital, a man was allegedly killed by relatives following a dispute over building a house at Sikdar Bari slum in Abdullahpur Beribadh area.

The victim, Ismail Khondokar, 65, came from Shibpur in Narshingdi district.

Salahuddin, sub-inspector of Uttara East police station, said Islmail’s relative, Nurunnahar, started filling up a

vacant piece of land near the slum with mud to build a house.

This led to an altercation between Nurunnahar and Ismail, as the latter also had plans to build a house there.

At one point, Nurunnahar, along with her son, Noab Ali, and his wife, Layla Begum, started beating up Ismail, leaving him critically injured. Ismail died on the way to hospital.

In Brahmanbaria, a night guard was stabbed to death during the night in the town’s court area. The victim was identified as Mangol Miah, 40, of Nabinagar upazila.

Police recovered the body and sent it to the Sadar Hospital morgue for an autopsy. Officer in charge of Sadar police station, Abdur Rob, said they were

Japan offers $1.18bn  PAGE 1 COLUMN 5

ship agreement, Mizushima said such agreement is not the only way to promote relationship.

“So, we are going to continue to discuss to promote bilateral economic relations,” he said.

When asked he said the January 5 election and Rohingya issues were not discussed between the two ministers.

However, Mizushima said the Japanese foreign minister mentioned the ongoing local elections participated by all parties and expressed his hope for the resolution of the political crisis.

Meanwhile, a press release of the foreign ministry said the two foreign ministers have agreed to initiate working level consultations to reach an understanding on regular Foreign Office consultations, visa exemption for diplomat-

ic and official passport holders as well as economic partnership agreement.

The Bangladesh foreign minister in the meeting stressed that Japan could effectively contribute to promoting regional connectivity and integration through its support for the BCIM Economic Corridor.

Foreign Minister Kishida positively responded to the idea of setting up a Peacebuilding Centre in Bangladesh and offered to initiate bilateral consultations in this regard.

He appreciated Bangladesh’s perspectives on UN Security Council Reform.

The Japanese foreign minister also met Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and invited her to visit Japan.

He arrived here on Friday and left Dhaka for Myanmar yesterday. l

investigating the case.

In Barisal, police found the body of a missing vegetable trader after two days from Uttar Char Dakatia area of the city, said Tarikul Islam, sub inspector of Muladi police station. The victim, Abdur Rahman Bepari, 35, of Bhonga area under Kazirhut police station in Muladi upazila, had been missing since Thursday.

In Comilla, a farmer was killed in a clash with rivals at Homna upazila.

Aslam Shikdar, officer in charge Homna police station, said the victim, Tara Mia, got into a fight with some local residents and died as a result. The body was sent to Comilla Hospital for autopsy.

In Narayanganj, police retrieved the bodies of 2 young men from local ponds.

One of the victims, Shoeb Hossain,

22, of Farazikanda, had gone missing after leaving his house on Wednesday, his uncle, Neamat said. Shoeb’s body was later recovered from a pond near Kashipur Al Hossain Market.

Police also found the body of Shiplu Bepari, 28, of West Dewobhog, from a pond in Fatullah Nagbari area.

Meanwhile, Rakibul Islam, a local businessman, was stabbed to death reportedly by some drug addicts at Nur Mosque area of the city.

His father, Anowar Hossain, alleged that two drug addicts, Razu and Saju, might have killed him,” Anowar said.

Furhtermore, police in Sonargaon recoverd the decomposed body of an unidentified man, aged around 30, officer Riazul Haque said. l

Bangladesh diplomat  PAGE 1 COLUMN 6

meal for them. On these occasions, Mr. Rana did not finish work until approximately 1 am.”

When asked about the allegation, Monirul said on some occasions, they came late but the allegation that Mashud had to wait for them or prepare late meal was false.

“He watched TV late at night no matter if we were inside or outside the apartment and maybe he opened the door for us but that did not mean that he waited for us. He eventually slept late,” Monirul said.

When asked about allegation that Mashud cooked for the family, washed clothes by hand, looked after his 11year son and cleaned apartment daily, he said: “My wife cooks for us.”

The family owns a washing machine, so there is no point of washing clothes by hand and his apartment is small and it takes little labour to clean it with modern cleaning gadget, Monirul said.

“My son’s school starts at 8 in the morning and my office at 9. So, we start early in the morning and I come back in the evening,” he said. “In this time, what work he could do.”

When asked about the salary, he said, the non-monetary benefit is too high for him.

“If anyone wants to live in a single bedroom apartment in Manhattan area, it will costs him $3,000,” he said.

“In addition to that we gave him full salary and provided all the necessary things.” l

PMO

Fire at Multiplan Centre in capital n Kailash Sarkar A fire broke out at multi-storey shopping mall in the capital’s New Elephant road yesterday night.

Rafiqul Islam, deputy assistant director of Fire Service and Civil Defence, told the Dhaka Tribune that the fire broke out on the 8th and 9th floors at Multiplan Centre which is mainly a computer market.

No casualty was reported as of filing of the report at around 11:00pm. l

Building collapse kills 3 n Kailash Sarkar At least three people were killed yesterday at Kutubail in Fatullah under Narayanganj district, outskirts the capital , as an under-construction multi-storey building collapsed on them.

Akhter Hossain, officer-in-charge of Fatullah police station told the Dhaka Tribune the trio died on the spot as construction materials and the walls of different floors of the under-construction building Captex Garments Ltd fell on those persons while they were crossing the area by an easy-bike around 9:30pm.

The dead and injured were sent to Narayangang Hospital.

Identity of the victims could not be known immediately. l

Kiwis In his third T20 for England, Ali came in at No 3 and faced 23 balls for 36 and Lumb (32) followed him inside the next six balls after Anderson held on to another scorching catch off left-arm quickie Mitchell McClenaghan.

Ravi Bopara, the most familiar to the conditions among the English players as he played in both Dhaka Premier League and Bangladesh Premier League, chipped in with an unbeaten 24 off 19 balls to help England post the total losing six wickets.

Anderson also had a good day with the ball having picked two wickets to lead the New Zealand bowling chart. l

Army asked to  PAGE 1 COLUMN 2

stray untoward incidents. He said the officials would have to put in all-out efforts to hold in the next phases peacefully.

Meanwhile, acting CEC Abdul Mobarak said the upazila polls had seen violence because the political parties had been trying to influence the non-partisan elections.

“These are not partisan polls. But the political parties are openly playing roles in the polls leading to violence.

This is not acceptable,” he said.

“If anyone tries to snatch ballot boxes in the fourth phase, law enforcers will use bullets,” he warned.

In the first three phases, a total of 294 upazilas went into polls. The fifth phase, covering 74 local bodies, will be held on March 31 and the remaining upazilas out of a total of 487 will vote in May. So far, Awami League and BNP have been neck-and-neck in terms of winning the chairman posts.

The Awami League, which remained behind BNP in the first two phases, regained grounds in the third phase.

Allegedly, the third phase has also seen the highest number of violence and vote rigging reports. l

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Sunday, March 23, 2014

Govt plans to expand national service programme n Mohosinul Karim The government is planning to expand the activities of national service programme across the country and employ around 720,000 jobless educated youths under the programme.

Meanwhile, jobs for around 16,036 unemployed youths have already been created in the second phase of the programme. The youths were picked from eight upazilas in Rangpur, Dinajpur, Panchagarh, Thakurgaon, Nilphamari, Gaibandha and Lalmonirhat districts under Rangpur division.

The Youth and Sports Ministry has prepared a proposal for sending it to

the Prime Minister’s Office for approval. The service programme will start across the country as soon as it gets approval of the premier, the officials said.

State Minister for Youth and Sports Biren Sikder recently told the Dhaka Tribune that his ministry has already finalised the proposal. It would be sent to the PMO immediately after T20 World Cup ends as most of the ministry officials are busy arranging the sports programme.

He said the government is trying to provide the unemployed youths with jobs as they can gain some experience and look for jobs themselves. They are getting training and experience at the same time.

These youths will get a handsome amount of money at the end of their service and be able to go into business like poultry, dairy and pisciculture, the minister said, adding that the government wants to expand the programme across the country in a bid to combat unemployment.

The government will provide them with easy-term loans so that they can carry out income-generating activities by utilising knowledge they acquired from training and working experience, he further added.

Biren said the government has plans to provide 720,000 unemployed youths with temporary jobs for two years aim-

ing to turn them into skilled workforce.

Youth Development Department officials said the government has made a significant progress in the second phase of the NSP with creating jobs for the unemployed youths in Rangpur division.

The second phase of the programme was taken at an estimated cost of Tk 95.29m.

In the first phase, 56,054 unemployed youths aged between 18 and 35 years were employed after a threemonth basic training on ten modules in 19 upazilas under Kurigram, Barguna and Gopalganj districts since 2010.

The youths had been appointed to different government departments, primary schools and other sectors in

their areas for two years.

Meanwhile, a Transparency International Bangladesh (TIB) report recently claimed that the national service programme could hardly benefit the targeted youth population of the country due to “rampant corruption, irregularities, anomalies and lack of visionary objective.”

The government launched the programme in 2010 to fulfil its pre-election pledge of creating temporary employment for at least one educated member in each family.

The government spent more than Tk 8.16 billion for piloting the project in three districts during the period between 2009 and 2013. l

Committee to probe graft claims against NICVD director n Moniruzzaman Uzzal The health ministry has directed the Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS) to form a probe body to investigate corruption allegations against Professor Dr Abdullah Al Shafi Mozumder, director of the National Institute of Cardiovascular Diseases (NICVD).

The ministry reportedly issued the directive on March 18 and directed the probe team to submit its report within three working days.

Several DGHS official told the Dhaka Tribune that a three-member probe committee has already been formed based on directive from DGHS Director General Dr Din Md Nurul Hoque. The committee is headed by DGHS Director (hospital and clinic) Dr ABM Abdul Hannan, while the other members are DGHS Dhaka Division Director Dr Md Abdur Rakib, and Dr Mahmud Hasan, the sources said.

NICVD director denied all allegations against him and claimed that a quarter had been trying to humiliate him by providing false statement The measures were taken after a doctor named Abul Kalam Azad recently submitted graft and other allegations against the NICVD director, as well as submitting copies of news reports published by national dailies in which the director was alleged of being involved with corruption.

Seeking anonymity, several senior officials of the health directorate told the Dhaka Tribune that such a directive from the ministry was not normal, adding that there might be other motives behind the order.

A top-level official of the DGHS, preferring to stay unnamed, claimed that an NICVD doctor – who is currently working at the Prime Minister’s Office – had influenced the ministry to form the probe committee, in order to settle his previous disputes with the institute’s director.

However, Dr Abdullah Al Shafi Mozumder denied all allegations against him and claimed that a quarter had been trying to humiliate him by providing false statements. He claimed that several committees had earlier carried out probes against him, but were unable to find anything.

Asked about the issue, DGHS Director (administration) Dr Shah Newaz admitted the formation of probe committee, but denied to comment any further. l

Environment activists take part in a human chain in front of the National Press Club in the capital yesterday demanding an end to river pollution

DHAKA TRIBUNE

PM: There will be no law against Quran, Sunnah n UNB Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina yesterday urged the country’s Islamic scholars to remain aware so that no one from other faiths could infiltrate into the Muslim community and create difference among the Muslims to instigate anarchy in Bangladesh.

She made the call while addressing a function, marking the 39th founding anniversary of the Islamic Foundation, at Bangabandhu International Conference Center in the capital.

Sheikh Hasina said many Islamic countries across the globe were engaged in fighting each other or the Muslims of an Islamic country were fighting among themselves.

She also said in the recent times, these people wanted to create anarchy in Bangladesh. “But they had failed miserably as the government took timely steps.”

Reminding that their “ill motives are still alive,” the premier urged the Islamic scholars of the country to remain alert in this regard and said that those engaged in killing, terrorism and militancy had no religion.

Terming Bangladesh a Muslim majority country, she said the country would be run as per the Madinah Charter and the last sermon and directives of Prophet Hazrat Muhammad (PBUH).

“There will be no law against the Holy Quran and Sunnah here ever,” she assured the Islamic scholars of the county.

The government stated clearly in the Women Policy that if any international law had anything against Quran and Sunnah it would not be applicable in Bangladesh, she said, adding that the government had already implemented one verdict of the court.

She also said because of the evil activities of some people in 1971, beautiful Islamic names like Razakar, al-Badr and al-Shams had turned into “bad words.”

Saying that the Islam is the religion of peace, Hasina said certain vested quarters misinterpreted and misused Islam that caused a lot of harm to this religion.l

Anti-discrimination law Bangladesh exceeds MDG target draft to be sent to govt for reducing child mortality n within two weeks Moniruzzaman Uzzal

n

Nazmus Sakib

Law Commission Chairman and former chief justice ABM Khairul Haque yesterday said they would send the draft of the anti-discrimination law to the government within two weeks.

“Three years have already passed since the start of the project and if we take more time to send the draft, people facing discrimination will suffer more,” he said at a view-exchange meeting on preparing recommendations for enacting law against discrimination. The meeting was held at the Judicial Administration Training Institution in the capital.

Draft of the law says the 1973 High Court rules shall not be applicable to appeals concerning discrimination. Khairul said the suggestion was made in the draft to ensure rapid disposal of such appeals.

The law commission chairman said around nine lakh cases were still pending in magistrate courts due to High Court stay orders. He urged the incumbent chief justice to issue directives to the benches concerned in this regard so that backlog of cases could be reduced.

Addressing the law minister and the incumbent chief justice, Khairul said they should ensure that judges were promoted on the basis of merit and ac-

AL leader goes ‘missing’ n Our Correspondent, Satkhira

An Awami League leader of Satkhira has been allegedly abducted a day after he complained against a fellow party leader – a newly-elected upazila chairman.

Satkhira Awami League Adviser and a former assistant public prosecutor Mozahar Hossain Kantu was abducted from his home on Thursday night, family members claimed.

Police have acknowledged the claim and said they had been searching for the lawyer. However, no progress was reported until yesterday afternoon.

Mozahar and his wife Rozina Parvin, a woman chairman candidate, brought allegation of vote rigging against the newly-elected Kaliganj Upazila Chairman and upazila unit Awami League President Sheikh Waheduzzaman on the March 15 polls.

The claim was made in a joint press conference with another vice-chairman candidate Sayed Mehedi held on Wednesday. Rozina Parvin alleged that Chairman Waheduzzaman was behind the “abduction”. A man had called out Mozahar from his Kaliganj bazar residence around 1:30am on Friday, according to Rozina Parvin.

“Chairman Waheduzzaman threatened to burn down our house and attack him,” she said.

However, Sheikh Waheduzzaman denied the claims and said: “Mozahar had fled in fear that someone might hurt him because of his allegations.” l

complishment. He urged Shahnaz Huda, chairman of the department of law at Dhaka University, to increase number of seats in the department, saying the country needs more judges and jurists.

At the meeting, Law Minister Anisul Haque said more discussions were needed before enactment of the law against discrimination. “People have to be made aware of the issue through workshops and seminars so that they abide by the law. Otherwise it’s not possible to enforce the law.”

National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) chairman Professor Mizanur Rahman said he would continue his criticism of the issue of discrimination for the sake of the fundamental rights of people even if went against the government or any minister. He said he had no intention to do politics or to contest election.

“Although it’s not possible to acknowledge LGBT (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transsexual) people in the anti-discrimination law at present, provision has to be included in it so that these people don’t face discrimination,” he said.

The NHRC chief also raised his voice against eviction of inhabitants of a sweeper colony beside Mitford Hospital, saying alternative living arrangements for them should be ensured. l

Bangladesh has reduced the mortality rate for children below the age of five by 71%, exceeding the Millennium Development Goal (MDG)-2015 target of 66% reduction, the government has claimed.

Compared to figures in 1990 when the under-five child mortality was 144 per 1,000 live births, the number has dropped to 41 per 1,000 live births in 2012.

This information is set to be published today in the Health Bulletin-2013, an annual publication by the Management Information System (MIS) of the Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS). The Dhaka Tribune has obtained a copy of the bulletin prior to its publication.

The latest bulletin said Bangladesh had already attained the MDG-4 target of reducing child mortality rate, adding that the information was revealed in a recent publication titled “Committing to Child Survival: A Promise Renewed Progress Report 2013” by Unicef.

According to the same report, the current infant mortality rate in Bangladesh was 33 per 1,000 live births and the neonatal mortality rate was 24 per 1,000 live births.

Neonatal mortality rate made up 59% of the under-five mortality rate and 80% of the infant mortality rate.

Bangladesh has pledged to prevent an additional 108,000 deaths annually to

reduce the national under-five mortality rate to 20 per 1,000 live births by 2015.

One of the important indicators of MDG-4 was ensuring universal health coverage of measles vaccination among one-year-old children by 2015. Bangladesh is also reportedly on track of reaching the indicator, as the current coverage of measles vaccination was 86%.

Dr Abul Kalam Azad, additional director general (planning) of the DGHS, told the Dhaka Tribune: “It is very good news for the whole nation that Bangladesh has attained the Millennium Development Goal target about reducing child mortality rate. But the neonatal mortality is still very high, and to reduce it is the big challenge for Bangladesh.”

He said according to the Bangladesh Health and Demographic Survey (BHDS)-2011, the mortality rate of un-

der-five child used to be 53 per 1,000 live births; but the latest Unicef report showed that it has reduced to 41. The BHDS-2011 put infant mortality rate at 43 per 1,000 live births, but the Unicef report showed that it had dropped to 33.

Dr Azad said there were many coordinated efforts behind the success in reducing child mortality rate, with the government forming pro-public policy focus on girl’s education, different programmes on public health intervention like EPI vaccination, exclusive breast-feeding practice, nutrition etc.

In September 2000, leaders from 189 member nations of the UN agreed to meet eight developments goals, which include health improvements, poverty reduction, environmental sustainability and developing global partnership by 2015. l

4

DHAKA TRIBUNE

News

Sunday, March 23, 2014

Specific bench needed for quick disposal of rules n Nazmus Sakib Innumerable rules issued by the High Court on various matters including public interest litigations are not disposed of as there is no specific bench to conduct the final hearings, legal professionals have said.

Sufferings of justice seekers will minimise to some extent if the chief justice fixes four to five benches comprising skilled judges to administer the final hearings.

Apart from lack of specific bench, changes in jurisdiction of a bench concerned and “unwillingness” of judges are the other reasons for delay and non-disposal of the rules, according to the lawyers dealing with such matters.

The HC from 2006 to date issued at least four rules seeking explanations from the government on extra-judicial killings. But no final hearings have been held let alone disposed of.

When asked, Attorney General Mah-

bubey Alam told the Dhaka Tribune that he had to ask the government lawyers concerned whether replies were given in response to the rules.

Only disposal of rules could not stop such killings unless the total situation was developed. “All through I have expressed my view against extrajudicial killings. But at the same time, I expressed my anxiety regarding the protection of life and property of the innocent citizens.

“We have to think how we can effectively control the miscreants and ensure safety of the people,” he said.

On July 29, 2012, the HC asked the government to explain in six weeks why the law – which gives indemnity to “Operation Clean Heart” conducted jointly by the armed forces, police and paramilitary forces – should not be held unconstitutional.

During the BNP-Jamaat coalition regime, the joint operation was conducted between October 16, 2002 and

January 9, 2003 when at least 60 people were killed, according to New Yorkbased Human Rights Watch.

Hearing on the rule has not been taken place.

Md Nazrul Islam, an official of the Solicitor’s office that deals with the cases involving the government, told the Dhaka Tribune that the response had not been submitted yet.

The HC on June 29, 2009 issued another rule asking the government as to why the extra-judicial killings, in the name of “crossfire” or “encounter” should not be held illegal. The rule came up in response to a writ plea filed jointly by Ain O Salish Kendra (ASK), Bangladesh Legal Aid and Services Trust (BLAST) and Karmojibi Nari.

Abonti Nurul, lawyer for ASK, told the Dhaka Tribune that though they had made several attempts, the benches were “unwilling” to hear the matter.

According to ASK, at least 46 people were killed in “gunfights” by the law

enforcement agencies from January 1 to February 16. Such killings first surfaced in 2004, after the formation of the elite force RAB (Rapid Action Battalion).

Supreme Court lawyer Jyotirmoy Barua told the Dhaka Tribune that the stipulated time to respond to a rule was not mandatory, rather a formality.

After obtaining a rule, the petitioner has to serve the copy and order of the plea to the respondents. Next, he has to inform the court on service of notice so that a date can be fixed to begin the final hearing.

“The main problem is that there is no specific bench which can only deal with hearings on the rules. As a result, hearings are not generally held within three years of the issuance of a rule.

However, if a matter is urgent having public interest, it is disposed of earlier.

“Moreover, the judges also do not get enough time to hear the [pending] rules as the benches have to hear new

cases and applications of the earlier cases,” he said.

The HC on May 25, 2006 issued a rule on killing Tunda, who was identified as a terrorist, in response to a writ petition seeking explanation from the government as to why it should not be directed to ensure safety of those detained by the law enforcers.

Human Rights and Peace for Bangladesh filed the petition. Lawyer Manzill Murshid, president of the organisation, told the Dhaka Tribune that though he had taken initiatives several times for a final hearing on the rule, it did not take place due to change in jurisdiction of the bench concerned.

“The matter appeared on the cause list many times, but was not heard,” he said.

The government could place its response at the final hearing. However, had they replied earlier, much information would have been revealed, the lawyer said. l

BNP lawyers protest charges against Khaleda n Tribune Report Jatyatabadi Ainjibi Forum, the platform of pro-BNP lawyers, yesterday announced they would observe an agitation programme today in all bar associations of the country in protest of framing charges against the party chief Khaleda Zia and senior vice-chairman Tarique Rahman by a Dhaka court.

Rafiqul Islam Miah, the forum president and also a party standing committee member, at a press conference, declared the programmes.

He said they would bring out a black flag procession tomorrow and make a human chain on March 25. l

Hizbut man arrested in Ctg n FM Mizanur Rahaman

WEATHER

Thundershowers likely n UNB Rain or thundershowers accompanied by temporary gusty or squally wind is likely to occur at one or two places over Rajshahi, Dhaka, Khulna, Barisal and Sylhet divisions and the regions of Comilla and Noakhali until 6pm today.

Weather might remain mainly dry with partly cloudy sky elsewhere over the country, Met Office said. Day and night temperature may fall slightly over the country.

The sun sets in the capital at 6:11pm today and rises at 5:59am tomorrow.

Country’s highest temperature 35.4 degree Celsius was recorded in Rajshahi and lowest 16.0 degrees in Ishwardi 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

34.1 30.4 35.4 31.4 33.5 33.5 33.8 31.8

21.3 23.0 16.7 17.8 20.0 22.6 19.4 23.0

PRAYER TIMES Fajar Sunrise Jumma Asr Magrib Esha

4:44am 5:59am 12:05am 4:29pm 6:11pm 7:27pm

Source: IslamicFinder.org

Jatiya Party Chairman HM Ershad yesterday echoed prime minister’s son Sajeeb Wazed Joy and said the upazila polls should be held under party lines like the parliamentary elections.

The JP chairman made the observation while addressing a programme at his Banani office yesterday.

He said: “I support Joy’s views regarding the upazila polls. The system of upazila polls should be changed and be held under party lines.

“The system will allow a free and fair election as it is not possible to judge the candidates’ popularity with the existing system.”

He said the present election commission law did not allow candidates to contest under the political parties’ banner, but the parties had been actively supporting the candidates. The parties had been nominating the candidates and also taking part in campaigning, he added.

He said: “We should make a fresh start and take preparation for the next poll.”

Earlier on March 17 at a meeting with Awami League supporters at his ancestral home “joy Sadan”in Rangpur’s Pirganj, Sajeeb Wazed Joy said all polls should be held under political party banners. l

Police assault UNO in Munshiganj n UNB

Water and energy experts speak to the media during a press briefing marking the World Water Day, in the capital yesterday

Police arrested an activist of the banned radical Islamic organisation Hiz-but-Tahrir from GEC intersection area of the port city on Friday.

The arrestee is Fayej Ahmed Noman, 30, an accountant of a local shipping company, and son of late Taslim Uddin, of Raypur of Laxmipur.

Noman, who used to live at Santibag area of Halishahar residential area, was arrested red handed with leaflets of the outfit in the intersection area around 9:00pm while distributing, said Panchlaish police station OC Abu Jafar Md Omar Faruk. A case was filed in this connection. l

Ershad: Upazila polls should be partisan n Manik Miazee

Experts stress the need for proper use of water, energy resources n Rabiul Islam The country’s water and energy experts at a “Meet the Press” in the capital yesterday underscored the need for efficient usage and management of water and energy to ensure sustainable social and economic development.

On the occasion of World Water Day (WWD 2014), NGO Forum for Public Health arranged the programme titled “Understanding the water-energy nexus” at Jatiya Press Club.

In line with other nations across the world, Bangladesh also observed the WWD 2014 which theme was “Saving energy is saving water, saving water is saving energy.”

Addressing the occasion, Chief Engineer of Department of Public Heath Engineering Md Nuruzzaman said nexus between water and energy is not effective in Bangladesh perspective, for which he showed logic saying that lifting excessive ground water by ‘wasting power’ is causing immense arsenic pollution.

Md Mujibur Rahman, professor of department of civil engineering of the BUET, who presented the keynote paper said equitable share of transboundary water is necessary for sustainable development.

Efficiency has to be increased in power generation, irrigation, water saving in domestic and industrial use, he mentioned, adding that: “We have

to ensure the enforcement of policies in this regard and to strength institutions for effective water management,” He also added that better understanding between the two sectors would improve coordination that reduces also inefficiencies in energy and water planning.

Bangladesh Centre for Advanced Studies Executive Director A Atiq Rahman, who chaired the programme, said a large section of people are out of electricity and “It is a big challenge for us to bring the deprived section under coverage.”

NGO Forum for Public Health Executive Director SMA Rashid addressed the programme among others. l

MAHMUD HOSSAIN OPU

Gazaria Upazila Nirbahi Officer Dr ATM Mahbubul Karim, also assistant returning officer of the upazila polls, was physically assaulted by a policeman in the upazila yesterday afternoon.

Witnesses said election materials were being numbered on the upazila parishad premises at the directive of the UNO, adding that Assistant SubInspector Emdadaul Haque tore off the number papers and abused the UNO. When Mahbubul asked about the reason, the policeman grabbed the collar of the UNO and punched him, they added. l

Inu: Certain quarter is trying to defame Liberation War n Tribune Report Jatiya Samajtantrik Dal (JSD) President and Information Minister Hasanul Haque Inu yesterday said a certain section, who was not a part of the Liberation War of 1971, was trying to defame the history of the great war.

While addressing a discussion programme organised by the Muktijoddha Sangram Parishad at the JSD central office, Inu made the observations, and said the liberation war was a political war and the country’s peoples participated in the war under the command of

Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman.

“They are great liars who say a Major [Ziaur Rahman, founder of BNP] declared the independence in a radio on March 27 in 1971,” Inu said.

“After 1975, the military dictator killed the country’s democratic system. Some group defamed the history of liberation. Now Khaleda Zia and BNP-Jamaat were using the misleading information for their political gains,” he added.

Muktijoddha Sangram Parishad President Habibur Rahman Shokat presided over the programme. l

European Parliament delegation to arrive here tomorrow n UNB A delegation of the European Parliament will arrive in Bangladesh tomorrow on a two-day visit [March 24-25] to discuss post-election scenario in Bangladesh and see the progress made in the readymade garment industry after the Rana Plaza building collapse.

Chairperson of the Delegation for relations with South Asia Jean Lambert will lead the delegation.

This mission comes ahead of the first anniversary of the catastrophic Rana Plaza building collapse, which cost over a thousand lives of garment workers, said a media release issued yesterday.

The Members of the European Parliament will discuss with relevant

stakeholders the implementation of the measures adopted to improve factory safety and workers’ rights, notably the EU-Bangladesh Global Sustainability Compact.

Concerned that the political parties did not manage to agree on an inclusive mechanism for the January 2014 elections, the delegation will discuss the post-election scenario as well as social and economic issues with key Bangladeshi decision-makers and civil society representatives.

During the visit, the delegation will meet Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, Speaker Dr Shirin Sharmin Chaudhury, Foreign Minister AH Mahmood Ali, Commerce Minister Tofail Ahmed, BNP chairperson Khaleda Zia and representatives of civil society. l

An anti-war criminal platform forms a human chain, demanding a ban on Jamaat-e-Islami from politics, in front of the National Press Club in the capital yesterday MAHMUD HOSSAIN OPU

Radical reform of electoral system demanded n Manik Miazee

Civil society members, politicians and academics yesterday in a view exchange programme in the city demanded radical reform of the electoral system.

Communist Party of Bangladesh [CPB] and Socialist Party of Bangladesh [SPB] jointly organised the programme at

CPB central office titled Election became farcical and required radical reforms.

Syed Abu Zafar Ahmed, the CPB general secretary delivered introductory speech.

Terming the last national elections unilateral and farcical, Abu Zafar proposed elections should be held in free and fair way.

He also proposed for introducing

Proportional Representation System where political parties would take part in the elections with a symbol.

The voters will cast vote in favour of the party and the party will decide the member for the parliament.

If a political party gets 50 percent of the total casting vote, out of the 300 seats, it will get 150 seats. If a party gets 5 percent votes, it will get 15 seats.

The election system of the country would be free from the influences of undisclosed money, muscle powers and religious manipulations, Zafar said.

He also proposed for holding direct elections in the reserved seats for the women and introducing ‘no’ vote provision.

General Secretary of Sujan Badiul

Alam Majumder said the political parties should hold dialogue to resolve issue of election time government.

Mahmudur Rahman Manna, the convener of Nagarik Oikya, demanded permanent solution of the electoral system to avoid uncertainties in every five years.

SPB General Secretary Khalequzzaman presided over the function. l

DHAKA TRIBUNE

News

LAKHO KONTHE SONAR BANGLA

All-out preparation virtually done n Mushfique Wadud All necessary preparations for holding “Lakho Konthe Shonar Bangla” – a chorus of millions to perform national anthem – is almost complete, organising committee members said at a press briefing yesterday.

The organisers have taken up a three-tier security measure to ensure foolproof security at the parade ground and in the adjacent areas.

Around 95% of the preparation was made till yesterday and 100% would be done within today, said Brigadier General AM Arif, the event’s head of human resource management committee.

A rehearsal would be conducted on March 24, he added.

On this year’s Independence Day of March 26, three lakh people will sing the national anthem for the Guinness Book of Records.

The Bangladesh government is organising the event while the armed forces are coordinating the event.

The organisers said no prior registration would be required for the participants to enter the venue that could accommodate three lakh people.

If there are more people, they would join the chorus standing outside the parade ground.

Entry will be allowed through 15 gates on first come first serve basis from 6:30am and people are requested to be present on the premises as early as possible in the morning.

Organisers of “Lakho Konthe Shonar Bangla” and members of law enforcing agencies speak to the media at a press conference in the capital yesterday DHAKA TRIBUNE Taking up position and other necessary tasks will be done between 6:30am and 10:30am, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina will be present at 10:45am and deliver her speech. The main event will start at 11am.

Organisers said at the press briefing, measures were also taken so that people across the country could sing the national anthem at the same time on the eventful day.

A record of national anthem had already

been sent to all educational institutes.

Bangladesh missions abroad and its Peace Keeping Forces under UN working in different foreign countries were given instructions to sing the national anthem at the same time.

Dhaka Tribune to receive Better Bangladesh Foundation Award 2014 today n Tazlina Zamila Khan Five organisations, including the Dhaka Tribune, and an individual are going to be awarded with the Better Bangladesh Foundation Award 2014 today for their contribution in creating a positive image of the country.

Yesterday at a press conference, Better Bangladesh Foundation (BBF) announced to hold the award giving ceremony today at 3pm in the capital’s Gulshan Club.

Masud A Khan, founding chairman of BBF said: “For the first time, we are giving away the awards to selected entities in order to promote the culture of

our country to the world in a positive light through media.”

“Foreign countries have a negative perception about Bangladesh, that we are a poor and disaster prone nation.

But there are many things that should be appreciated. The award will work as an inspiration for the organisations who had played their roles in the development and branding of the country,” he added.

Among a lot of other English dailies, the Dhaka Tribune was chosen for carrying the name of the capital and for playing a remarkable role in branding a positive image of the country both in home and abroad, said the chairman of BBF.

The other awardees are Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association for its contribution in the garment sector, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs for contribution in the field of international relations, Bangladesh Armed Forces for serving in the United Nations Peace Support Operations and International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) for its role during the Liberation War and Foreign Minister AH Mahmood Ali for his role during the Liberation War. Editor of Dhaka Tribune Zafar Sobhan, Head of Delegation Bangladesh of ICRC Christine Cipolla, President of BGMEA Md Atiqul Islam, and Director General (Operations and Planning) of

5

Sunday, March 23, 2014

Armed Forces Division Brig Gen Abu Sayeed Khan, ndc, psc will receive the awards on behalf of their respective organisations.

Foreign Minister AH Mahmood Ali will be the chief guest while Saida Muna Tasneem, director general of the United Nations and Human Rights wing of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs will deliver the keynote speech.

Ambassador of Egypt to Bangladesh Mahmoud Ezzat, Russian ambassador to Bangladesh Alexander Nikolaev, Korean Ambassador to Bangladesh Lee Yun-young, and Sri Lankan high commissioner in Dhaka W A Sarath K Weragoda will be present at the programme. l

Adequate medical teams will be ready at the parade ground to deal with any emergencies.

Speaking at the press briefing, Dhaka Metropolitan Police Commissioner Benazir Ahmed said some restrictions would be imposed on traffic movement in different parts of the city.

He urged the city dwellers to help lawmen in the greater national interest.

Restrictions on roads No private transport will be allowed to enter the vicinity except for the previously managed 5000 transport that will carry the participants to the venue.

Transport movement will be restricted on the roads from Mirpur 10 intersection to Khejurbagan area of Jatiya Sangshad Bhaban, Bijoy Sarani intersection to Chandrima Uddan, Shishu Mela at Shyamali to Agargoan intersection, BICC intersection to Ganabhaban and on the north road of Manik Mia Avenue.

The vehicles will carry school, college and university students, garment workers and Answer members.

The school and college students will be dropped at Dhaka Cantonment while the university students at the trade fair ground and on the north side of Manik Mia Avenue, garment workers near Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics area, Mirpur 10 to Mirpur 14 area and Military Museum, and the invited guests on the west side of Prime Minister’s Office and Bangladesh Air Force mosque gate. l

A note of apology On page 5 of yesterday’s edition of the Dhaka Tribune, a story titled “Street kids get training on mobile phone stealing” was published. The stand-first read: “A syndicate tortures children if they refuse to get involved in the theft.”

The story was accompanied by a photograph in which three little boys could be seen. The caption said they had been detained by the Dhaka Medical College Hospital authority for stealing.

We sincerely apologise for publishing such an insensible photo caption because it failed to bring out the fact that these children are innocent and only victims of circumstances because they do not have much choice and that they are forced by the syndicate to steal.

We also apologise for publishing the three children’s names which is also a mistake on our part because their crime is not proved. Even if they did what they had been detained for, we should not have published their names. l

Schoolgirl raped n Our Correspondent, Brahmanbaria

A 10-year-old schoolgirl was allegedly raped yesterday at Nandanpur area in Budhol union of the district.

Quoting locals and family members, Officer-in-Charge Md Abdur Rab of Sadar police station said Rajib, 18, son of Saju Miah of Nandanpur village took the girl in an abandoned building forcibly and raped her while she was returning from school.

Hearing the victim’s scream, locals went to the spot and caught Rajib. He was then handed over to the police. l

Microbus cylinder blast death toll rises to four in Chittagong n FM Mizanur Rahaman A nine year old girl, who sustained burn injuries when a microbus cylinder exploded at Fatikchhari upazila in Chittagong on March 17, died at Chittagong Medical College Hospital (CMCH) yesterday night after fighting for her life for five days.

The deceased was Promy Aktar, daughter of Md Safiul Alam, hailing from Tilapara area of Harualchhari in Fatikchhari upazila, said CMCH Police outpost sources. The blast also killed three other female members of Promy’s family on the spot.

Misma Islam, on duty doctor at the Burn and Plastic Surgery Unit of CMCH, told the Dhaka Tribune that the injured child, who had suffered over 70 percent burn injuries from neck to legs, had succumbed to her injuries at around 10:30pm.

Another minor girl injured in the blast, Sumi Akhter, 12, who had been under treatment at the burn unit since the incident, is steady, she added.

Three members of a family were killed and six others were critically injured in the explosion on March 17. The injured five, including Promy, were admitted into CMCH burnt unit after the incident. l

Body formed to probe death inside Mitford lift

Children’s artworks selected for international contest

n Moniruzzaman Uzzal

Nine best artworks produced by children have been selected to be sent to Japan for an international competition where children’s vision of the “ultimate car of tomorrow” will be showcased.

The nine contestants, in the presence of their family members, were also awarded at a programme held yesterday at Navana Toyota Pragati Sharani showroom in the capital, according

The Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS) has formed a three-member probe body to inquire into the death of a patient, who died on Friday while being stuck inside a lift at the capital’s Mitford Hospital.

The DGHS also suspended Anuwar Hossain, an administration officer (incharge), for his alleged negligence of duty.

The probe committee, headed by DGHS Dhaka Division Director Dr Md Abdur Rakib, and consisting of DGHS Deputy Director (discipline) Dr Emdadul Hoque and associate professor of cardiology at Dhaka Medical College Hospital Dr Sirajul Hoque, has been told to submit its findings within three working days, confirmed Dr Md Shah Newaz, director (administration) of the DGHS. Health Minister Mohammed Nasim reportedly issued directives to probe into the death.

Sultana Begum, 35, a resident of

Ekuria Moddhopara of Keranigonj, was admitted to the medicine ward 8 of the hospital on Thursday night with severe pain in her leg.

Following an ECG test on Friday noon, Sultana entered a lift to return to the ward on the second floor. However, the lift became stuck when it started to climb, trapping Sultana, one of her relative and a trolley-operator inside. Despite shouts for help, none of the hospital authority or the on-duty lift-operator came to their aid in over one-and-half hours.

When the lift was finally opened, Sultana was found unconscious, while an on-duty doctor declared her dead.

The hospital authority had allegedly made contractual appointment of the lift-operator, while there are also allegations that most lift-operators failed to be regular at their work.

DGHS sources said the lift-operator who was officially on-duty at the time of Sultana’s death has been withdrawn from the hospital. l

n Tribune Report

to a press release.

The top finalists were Shahriar Abid, Saria Hasan and Nafisa Noshin Khan from Group A; Ushoshi Momen, Joyoti Hawlader and Araf Hossain from Group B; and Robin Ahmed, Debjyoti Borshon and Nafisa Islam from Group C. Noted artistes Shishir Bhattacharya and Sheikh Afzal were the judges in the competition that had three categories: age below 8, 8-11 years and 12-15 years.

After collecting all the artworks, Nava-

na authorities organised an exhibition showcasing the top 150 works among a total of 3,500.

The final global winner will be announced in August and will get a chance to travel to Japan with his parents to receive the international award.

The international competition was first held back in 2004 and its primary objective was to challenge children around the world to paint their vision of how the ultimate car of tomorrow

would look like.

Toyota Motor Sales and Marketing Corporation have been organising the event with the goal of providing children with the opportunity to have the pleasure in materialising their imagination.

The competition is usually held in around 50 countries, selected from various continents of the world. Among the 50, Bangladesh remains one of the proud participants. l

Ivy: Godfathers will be ousted from Narayanganj n

Our Correspondent, Narayanganj

Narayanganj City Corporation Mayor Selina Hayat Ivy yesterday said the godfathers of criminals would be ousted from Narayanganj by any means.

Hinting at the influential Osman family, the country’s first female mayor said: “We do not want bow down before any evil power. Citizens of Narayanganj will rise against torture, false cases, mysterious deaths and indifference of local administration.”

While addressing a book cover unveiling ceremony in Narayanganj, the mayor also said: “We will fight against

the odds with our limited abilities.”

She also expressed hopes that Narayanganj would be changed to a safe place for children, no father would have to go door to door demanding justice to his son’s murder.

Noted filmmaker Morshedul Islam was also present at the programme. He said: “We are yet to get justice in Twoki murder case. If the government was truly a pro-liberation war party and if they want rule of law in the country, they should arrest the identified killers.”

He also expressed concerns that rate of children killing had increased in Narayanganj following the murder of Twoki, as the killers remained unpunished. l

Mime artists take out a rally to celebrate the World Mime Day and the 91st birth anniversary of legendary mine artist Marcel Marceau, in front of the National Press Club in the capital yesterday DHAKA TRIBUNE

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DHAKA TRIBUNE

Nation

Sunday, March 23, 2014

Aila-hit areas pose challenge to achieving MDGs: Study n Mohammad Zakaria While the country moves towards achieving Millennium Development Goals by 2015, the Aila-affected coastal areas like Garuba are stricken with poverty.

A study conducted by Brotee for four years following the natural disaster said the inhabitants of Aila-hit areas were living below the poverty line.

Brotee, an NGO, conducted the pilot study on social, environmental and health aspects in the Aila-affected areas with the financial support from Bangladesh Climate Change Trust Fund through Palli Karma-Sahayak Foundation (PKSF).

The organisation revealed the study report yesterday at a city hotel.

The study said the number of ultra-poor grew by nearly 43% in four years while the middle class shrank by 34%.

According to the study, food insecurity was now high in Garuba, but prior to Aila, 88% family used to cultivate rice before the natural disaster.

The cultivation dropped to 25% in the last four years after Aila.

However, the study also shows that Garuba is now facing water pollution as well as water scarcity.

There is only one deep tube well in the area. After the cyclone hit the area, 74% people of the vicinity were forced to drink polluted water with high salt content from the pond.

The study reveals that 95% people in the area fall ill regularly and 97.5% of women have problems with their reproductive health.

Around 97% of the sampled population had higher systolic and 78% diastolic pressure while 50% people were suffering from stomach disorder and diarrhea due to drinking of serious polluted water.

The rice production in the Garuba has reduced by 22% per bigha in the last four years after Aila affected the region.

PKSF Chairman Qazi Khaliquzzaman Ahmad said: “Problem is mounting following the climate change. Population and food crises are going hand in hand.”

The amount of arable land would decrease which would affect food production in future, he added.

Khaliquzzaman underscored the need for long-term projects for solving the problem.

Among others, water expert Ainun Nishat and journalist Mahfuzullah also spoke on the occasion. l

Palli Karma-Sahayak Foundation Chairman Qazi Khaliquzzaman Ahmad pose for a photograph after launching a study, titled ‘Gabura: A Study on Social and Environmental Effects of Aila,’ at a city hotel in the capital yesterday RAJIB DHAR

Khulna people brace for water crisis this summer n UNB

The residents of Khulna city and five upazilas of the district may face an acute crisis of pure drinking water in the current summer because of drastic fall in groundwater level as no visible measures have been taken to face the situation.

Department of Public Health Engineering (DPHE) officials are apprehending that around 25 lakh people

of Khulna city and Dighalia, Dumuria, Rupsha and Batiaghata upazilas would have to suffer much.

Deep tube well is the main source of pure drinking water in the largely populated city and five upazilas, but scarcity of pure drinking water becomes serious in summer as required quantity of water cannot be lifted through deep tube wells because of fall in groundwater level.

According to the DPHE officials, groundwater level declined by 21 feet on

an average in the five upazilas in 2012-13 while it declined by 26 feet in 2011.

So, people in most areas of these upazilas have to depend on undrinkable pond water.

Insufficient rain, poor navigability and excessive use of groundwater were the main reasons behind the fall in groundwater level, they said.

However, Khulna Water Supply and Sewerage Authority (Wasa) officials claimed that there would be no scar-

city of pure drinking water in Khulna city this year as they have taken some measures to face water crisis in the summer.

President of Greater Khulna Development Movement Coordination Committee said it was not possible to resolve the water crisis depending on the groundwater only.

He emphasised on setting up of water treatment plant to purify river water to deal with the crisis. l

Optimum forest helpful for wildlife conservation, carbon reduction n BSS

Students of Louhagar Adarsha Government College blockade a road, demanding reinstating their college as an HSC exam centre, in Narail yesterday DHAKA TRIBUNE

‘Upazila governance ineffective’ n Kamran Reza Chowdhury After its restoration in 1998 the first government baseline survey on upazila governance in its immediate-past term shows dismal performance of the midtier local body.

At least 60% of the elected representatives of the local government body term the upazila council – a body created to ensure development at the grassroots through participation of local people instead of bureaucracy-led local administration – ineffective.

An upazila council consists of an elected chairman, a vice-chairman and a vice-chairwoman and all elected chairmen of the union councils in that upazila. The upazila nirbahi officer (UNO), an administration service officer, is the member secretary of the council.

The upazila governance project under the local government ministry carried out a study on 42 upazilas in seven divisions has examined the performance of the local government body for four years since the upazila polls in 2009.

The UN Development Programme funded the study conducted by a group of researchers led by Monzur Hossain, a research fellow of the Bangladesh Institute of Development Studies.

In line with the Upazila Act 1998, the government put over 17 departments under upazila council but department officials hardly listen to the elected representatives, according to the survey.

The study also says local MPs or their representatives and the UNO control all activities at upazila level.

“This [the study finding] is true. Why will the department officials listen to us? We have not been given the financial and administrative authority over the council,” Harunur Rashid Hawlader, a leader of the association of the upazila chairmen, told the Dhaka Tribune.

He said the UNO was the administrative chief of the officials of those departments, not upazila chairmen. The association has several times demanded administrative and financial authorities but the government has not agreed.

Government amended the law twice but the upazila council remained ineffective in achieving its desired role The study finds that local level officials of the departments have “conservative mind-set or ego of working under democratically elected local level representatives, which is not consistent with the constitutional mandate.”

It says the department officials see a clear improvement in public service delivery through increasing accountability and transparency but they are also worried about political interference that might plague the departments with corruption.

Dr Hossain Zillur Rahman who carried out several studies on local government told the Dhaka Tribune that the bureaucrats should not be blamed solely for the non-functioning of the upa-

zila council. “The local MPs through their agents control everything; the national leaders interfere in the activities of the local leaders,” he said.

Rahmat Ali MP, a former state minister for local government and former chairman of the parliamentary standing committee on local government, said lawmakers’ interference was one of the causes of dysfunctional upazila councils.

“But many of the upazila chairmen have tainted careers; there should be some check-and-balance in giving authority to the upazila chairmen,” he said.

According to the study, none of the upazila councils have had adopted any measure to curb corruption in the councils.

The people perception about the development initiatives is also lacklustre, says the study adding that around 90% of voters know nothing about the annual development plan of the upazila.

Again, it said, over 99% of the people responded that they had no idea about the project selection by the upazila councils.

Former military ruler HM Ershad created upazila system promulgating an ordinance in early 1980s after he usurped power. After his ouster through street agitation in 1990, the next BNP-led government in 1991 annulled the upazila system.

The Awami League in the seventh parliament (1996-2001) enacted a law to revive the upazila council but the polls did not take place. Assuming office in January 2009 it arranged the upazila polls the same year.

The government amended the law twice but the upazila council remained ineffective in achieving its desired role. l

More forest area is needed for greater interest of protecting wildlife alongside reducing carbon emission at a substantial level which is very important to protect the vast Barind tract from the adverse effect of climate change.

Speakers at a seminar titled “Necessity of Forest and Wildlife Conservation in the Changed Climatic Condition” in Rajshahi made the observation on Friday and said the massive depletion of forest as well as habitat degradation had been posing a serious threat to the wildlife, which was detrimental to the overall ecosystem and biodiversity.

Wildlife Management and Nature Conservation Division and Department of Social Forestry jointly organised the seminar to mark the International Forest Day 2014.

Dr Abdul Mannan, a senior professor of Department of Zoology at Rajshahi University, said existence of wildlife

was very important in protecting the biodiversity. Such rural level seminar will help creating awareness among the public in general.

He viewed that the wildlife population had been gradually declining because of various reasons, including shrinkage of their habitat, adding that time befitting measures were needed.

Prof Mannan viewed that there was no alternative to creating more forest area which needs adequate financial support from both national and international donor agencies. Optimum afforestation could help stop degradation of environment and biodiversity, making the country a safe habitat for all.

Divisional Forest Officer (Wildlife Management and Nature Conservation) Rejaul Karim Mollah said expanding the country’s forest area by up to 25% of the total landscape would protect Bangladesh from the possible alarming consequences of the ongoing climate changes.

Stressing the need for formulating a time-befitting policy, he pointed out that the present impacts of climate change had adversely affected the region’s agriculture, irrigation, navigation, ecology, bio-diversity, weather, environment and underground water levels.

The deteriorating rate of climate change could not be reduced overnight and positive results of the proposed global efforts might start improving the situation very slowly in course of time.

He, however, said emphasis should be given to agriculture, food and social safety net, infrastructural development and disaster management and disaster risk reduction in the vast Barind tract.

Forest Officer Mollah also stressed on conducting more research to innovate newer technologies and ways for adaptation and expanded forest area thorough popularising those among the farmers. l

Joypurhat Sugar Mills exceeds Policeman’s motorbike crushing, output targets n UNB Joypurhat Sugar Mills has achieved success in exceeding both the sugarcane crushing and production targets after long seven years.

Authorities of the country’s largest sugar mills attributed the success mainly to favourable weather conditions and timely supply of inputs.

Sources said the authorities had fixed a target of producing 7,000 tonnes sugar by crushing one lakh tonnes sugarcane with sugar accumulation rate of 7.6% in the current 2013-14 season.

Later the production target was revised upwards to 8,000 tonnes by crushing 1.2 lakh tonnes sugarcane.

Till March 18, around 9,000 tonnes sugar were produced from 1.27 lakh tonnes sugarcane in 94 working days, which is 6,000 tonnes higher than the sugarcane crushing and 296.7 tonnes higher than the production targets.

About 7.15% sugar has been collected in this season, which is higher than the previous year.

This year sugar worth Tk2 crore has been produced.

Abdus Salam, managing director of Joypurhat Sugar Mills Limited, said favourable weather, timely supply of sugarcanes in the sugar mills and high sugarcane accumulation rate were the main reasons behind producing sugarcane beyond the target. l

BWDB blamed for dying rivers n UNB Environment activists yesterday said “faulty and egoistic” attitude of the Bangladesh Water Development Board (BWDB) was the major reason why the country’s many rivers were dying.

They also said the task force, formed to save rivers, was also unable to change things as they could do nothing but place recommendations for remedial measures, and the engineers and other officials at the BWDB seemed unwilling to correct their own faults.

Speaking at a roundtable, titled “Equal Access to Floodplain, Haor and

River,” Executive Director of Bangladesh Environment Lawyers’ Association (Bela) Syeda Rizwana Hasan said the BWDB functioned as if it was the sole owner of the rivers instead of people and pursues structures in their sweet will which in many cases had led to the killing of rivers.

The roundtable was organised by Actionaid at Cirdap marking the World Water Day 2014. The BWDB engineers were building the structures without conducting any environment impact assessment (EIA), she claimed.

Rizwana noted that the reason behind the dying of the Baral River “is the destructive programmes taken by the BWDB.”l

torched

Correspondent, n Our Chapainawabganj Unknown miscreants torched the motorbike of an on duty police in Shibganj upazila of Chapai Nawabganj district yesterday.

Motiar Rahman, constable of Shibganj police station, said he went to a house near the Gangarampur bridge of Mobarakpur union to deliver a summon notice issued by a court around 11am yesterday. “The motorbike was parked in front of the house while some miscreants torched it,” he said.

Officer-in-charge of the police station said they sent additional force at the crime scene.

Police could not identify the criminals or arrest anyone till filing this report. However they were preparing to file a case in this regard. l

DHAKA TRIBUNE

Career

7

Sunday, March 23, 2014

The highly demanding field of management consulting How can this emerging field in Bangladesh make companies roar?

n Naiian Yazdani Bangladesh was about to play Afghanistan in the first game of the T20 World Cup and my phone kept buzzing away with whatsapp group messages tainted with excitement and anxiety.

Not one of us doubts the talent of our beloved team but we fear they may underperform resulting in a range of emotions in our discussion.

Our “adda” is most likely a representative sample. Tamim has nothing apart from a positive outlook, Rana and Ashfaq like to rationalise shortfalls by delving into off field issues and Prosha muscles up to berate the tigers when they falter. The final consensus reached by the group is that Bangladesh has unfulfilled potential.

Our cricket team can be seen as a microcosm for many industries in Bangladesh which have the potential to have a global impact. The question that remains for both the national team and the country is how to identify and cultivate resources to ensure maximum output. The sporting arena traditionally turns to coaches and academies whereas the corporate world turns to management consultants.

Management consultants have had a role in shaping the brands surrounding us from the phone in our pocket to the plane we fly on. The industry title itself is revealing: these consultants arrive at organisations to work with management to solve business problems.

The diversity of these problems means amongst consultants there are specialisations such as human resources, technology, finance, strategy and operations.

So, what do they do? Well, there are two ways of improving the bottom line – either increasing revenue or reducing costs, and a consultant works toward these targets by dealing with the impediments.

For example a consultant may uti-

BIGSTOCK

lise the data available to identify inefficiencies such as a job function which can be performed by one person rather than two, thereby eliminating the need for an additional labour cost. The breadth and depth of knowledge and intellect of consultants mean they are qualified to see things that others cannot and make decisions objectively in the interest of the organisation.

The knowledge is derived from the tried and tested methodologies, diversity of experience in previous roles and the vast network of resources which the firms can access. This industry has some of the best and brightest minds.

The top tier strategy consulting firms such as Boston Consulting Group (BCG), McKinsey and Bain are highly selective in whom they recruit. The process itself is gruelling with case studies and analyses designed to push an individual to the limits of their ability. This can be seen as a brutal form of

Management consulting may just be the guide to put Bangladesh among the elite intellectual natural selection.

Furthermore, these aren’t just normal candidates; while the entry points may vary based on previous experience and specialisation, many come from the top MBA schools such as Harvard and Stanford. The people that have come out of these consultancies leave a global imprint.

Usually I would list a few examples but I can’t do it justice. Take the opportunity to go to the “notable alumni” section of the three aforementioned

firm’s Wikipedia page to see the mind blowing list yourself.

While there are specialised consultancies in Bangladesh, the top consultancies are currently absent in Bangladesh. This hardly means there are no top tier Bangladeshi consultants, as the Bangladeshi diaspora has a web across most nations, and there are many within it that are in the industry.

However, an injection of the top firms can play a key role in the future of Bangladesh as they have in India and China over the last 20 years.

As Bangladesh begins to infuse itself into the global economy, it will require industries to be up to speed with best practice methodologies, operations and talent to compete.

For example, Bangladesh has a large pharmaceutical industry lead by Square and Beximco and multinationals such as Sanofi and Novartis have taken notice and commenced production. Con-

The people we want to work with n Rushdina Khan

It always feels good and rewarding to be around charmers. They can really keep an audience entertained with their bag of tricks, that is, their charisma. This charisma includes a variety of emotional expressions and an expert proficiency at paying compliments.

They talk a lot and are very confident about what they are presenting.

But what we often do not know is that they have the ability to camouflage deception. Their charisma usually envelops what is underneath. Speaking from multiple real world examples, oftentimes it is the most extremely charismatic businessmen who turn out to be some of the biggest investment frauds and conmen.

Enveloped by the wonders of a charmer however, we often fail to acknowledge the positive qualities that they employ to bridge relationships between people and eventually draw their attention, which we are about to discuss in this article.

Put your money where your ear is

Did you ever notice how enthusiastic a

person gets about speaking when they find a good listener? Most of us love to share our experiences with others, and it is most gratifying to find the one who listens well and responds accordingly.

One may have noticed not just at the workplace but any social setting that two or more people are constantly vying for the attention of this particular person who happens to listen well.

This is definitely telling us something.

It is these people who we like to confide to at our most trying moments and seek sympathy from, and eventually, advices from.

A good audience can easily gain our trust. A person with a good set of ears and the willingness to lend them to others is in a unique position with a very powerful tool.

Empathise, don’t just sympathise

Did you ever pitch an idea or present a plan and found people opposing you or arguing back? Of course you have, as have everybody else. Such cues tell us about the listener’s preferences. It is important to look for such cues and decide what your listener does not like to hear.

Not being at the same wavelength as your listener is a sure way to burn bridges. But the kind of person everybody likes to work with will tune to the same station as us, not necessarily by agreeing with everything but by attempting to understand where everybody else is coming from.

The one who knows what interests his listeners the most and does the talking accordingly is definitely a wise individual. It is these individuals who win what they want with a flying start.

But it is not a very difficult thing to do.

Timing is everything

Now, what I find to be important information may not be what people enjoy hearing? It is undoubtedly necessary to present the correct information when it is of high importance no matter how colleagues are likely to take it; nevertheless, it is also necessary to present the information at the right time.

Information should be brought in judging the situation and the mindset of the receiver. For example, if you want an approval from your boss on a particular project or proposal, it helps

sultants can implement strategies to increase the size and scale of production or to reduce costs while maintaining the quality required for certification to attract production away from competitors.

Conversely, as domestic consumption grows within Bangladesh many companies will look to drop their product into a country of 150 million people. Let’s take the success of Gloria Jeans for example.

Firstly, it may make competitors, such as Starbucks, look up and see a potential coffee market and secondly it tells other global companies that Bangladeshis are ready and willing to spend money when they see value. In this scenario consultants can identify the potential benefits of operating in Bangladesh and navigate management through any pitfalls.

Bangladesh will need to embrace consultants if they are to penetrate this market. The major drawback is the cost; these bright people and their world of knowledge do not come cheap. The

organisations which may potentially engage top tier consultants will need to see the value in their service. This requires knowledge regarding the function of consultants and, in a country without that culture, it stands out as an obstacle.

Management consulting has proven, across many countries and industries, that it can help organisations fulfil their potential. The ingenuity and the resources available in Bangladesh make it ripe to make an impression on the global economy.

It is time to move on from the qualifying tournament and management consulting may just be the guide to put Bangladesh among the elite. l Naiian Yazdani is the director of strategy at GradConnect, an international career information and advisory firm. You can email him at naiian@grad-connect.com and find more career information at www.gradinsights.com and www.grad-connect.com

WORDS OF WISDOM if you can develop a conversation on a topic that your boss loves talking about, which is basically putting him at ease, and then proposing your idea.

This will give you a better possibility of winning the pitch.

What’s the body telling you?

It is usually the eye contact and some other positive gestures such as, nodding head, relaxed facial expression and open body language that tell us that people are enjoying what we are saying. When the listeners try to speak in between, it is important to allow them the space and time to speak. This will encourage them to interact with us more.

We feel secured being around people who can support us morally. It is their empathy and encouragement that adds to our drive at work. Finally, a good professional friend is not only expected to advise us regarding what has to be done, but also to enjoy and appreciate what has been done. Be who you would want your colleagues to be. l

“Success is not final, failure is not fatal: it is the courage to continue that counts.”

– Winston Churchill

Negotiating with all the right words n Career Desk

Rushdina Khan is a training consultant

BIZ VOCAB

We feel secure being around people who can support us morally

about prices) Amplify - expand; give more information

High-ball - make a request that is much higher than you expect to receive

Arbitration - conflict that is addressed by using a neutral third party

Impulse - quick decision without thought or time

Bottom-line - the lowest one is willing to go Compensate - make up for a loss Comply - agree Compromise - changing one’s mind/terms slightly in order to find a resolution Concession - a thing that is granted or accepted Conflict resolution - general term for negotiations

Leverage - (bargaining power) something that gives one party a greater chance at succeeding over another Log-rolling - trading one favour for another Low-ball - offer something much lower than you think the opponent will ask for Pressure - work hard to convince another of an idea Proposal - argument to present

Consensus - agreement by all

Receptive - open to/interested in an idea

Counter proposal - the offer/request which is presented second in response to the first proposal

Resentment - anger held onto from a previous conflict

Counterattack - present other side of an issue Counterpart - person on the other side of the negotiations Deadlock - point where neither party will give in Dispute - argument/conflict

BIGSTOCK

Indecisive - has difficulty choosing/making a decision

Resistance - a display of opposition Resolve - end conflict, come to an agreement Tactics - strategies used to get one’s goals met Trade-off - terms that are offered in return for something else

Flexible - open/willing to change

Ultimatum - a final term that has serious consequences if not met

Haggling - arguing back and forth (often

Yield - to give in to another’s requests

8

DHAKA TRIBUNE

World

‘Moscow has right to answer EU sanctions with its own’

A man waves a Russian flag as people look at fire works in the center of the Crimean city of Sevastopol

n Reuters, Moscow Russia’s foreign ministry said yesterday that Moscow has the right of a titfor-tat response to the second wave of sanctions imposed by the European Union over Russia’s annexation of the Ukrainian region of Crimea.

The EU imposed an new set of sanctions on Friday adding 12 Russians and Ukrainians to a list of people targeted

by EU asset freezes and travel bans.

There are now 33 on the list. .

“It’s a pity that the European Council made a decision that is divorced from reality,” the ministry›s spokesman Alexander Lukashevich said in a statement on the ministry’s website.

“We believe it is time to return to the platform of pragmatic cooperation that reflects the interests of our countries.

However, of course, the Russian side reserves itself the right to give a comparable answer to the actions taken.”

Germany: Russia trying to break apart Europe n AFP, Kiev Germany yesterday accused Russia of trying to splinter Europe as a Cold Warstyle struggle over the future of ex-Soviet Ukraine ratched up following the Kremlin’s defiant annexation of Crimea.

The haunting warning from a nation whose friendship Russian President Vladimir Putin had nurtured over his 14 years in power came amid Western efforts to shore up backing for the besieged interim leaders in Kiev who toppled a Kremlin-backed regime last month.

Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper will be the first leader from the G7 group of top industrialised powers to meet interim president Oleksandr Turchynov in Kiev since Crimea staged a contentious March 16 independence vote that saw Russia formally stake its claim to

Obama reiterates commitment to citizens’ privacy

the Ukrainian peninsula on Friday.

The foreign minister of Germany – its economic power playing a decisive role in forging Europe’s response to Putin’s increasingly belligerent stance – warned that the continent’s entire future was at stake.

“The referendum in Crimea... is a violation of international law and an attempt to splinter Europe,” Frank-Walter Steinmeier told reporters after meeting Ukrainian Prime Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk.

The show of diplomatic solidarity may play an important psychological role in Kiev as it faces new rounds of pressure

by Russia that include open threats to throw Ukraine’s wheezing economy into convulsion by raising its gas rates and demanding colossal payments for disputed debts it could ill afford. l

AFP

In a separate statement, the ministry said Moscow hoped the decision to send to Ukraine a monitoring mission of the Organisation for Security and Co-operation inEurope would help resolve what it called an “internal Ukrainian crisis.”

On Friday, after several failed attempts in recent weeks, Russia agreed to join the 56 other members of the OSCE in a consensus decision to send a sixmonth monitoring mission to Ukraine. l

Russia takes over Ukrainian submarine n AFP, Sevastopol Russian forces have taken control of Ukraine’s only submarine in Crimea, the Zaporozhye, and raised the Russian navy flag over the vessel, the Russian Black Sea Fleet said yesterday.

“The former Ukrainian submarine Zaporozhye was moved about an hour ago to join the Russian Black Sea Fleet’s submarine division,” fleet spokesman Vyacheslav Trukhachyov told AFP. The Ukrainian flag on the submarine was replaced by the St Andrew’s flag, a blue cross on a white background, of the Russian navy. It was previously based in nearby Striletska Bay when under Ukrainian control.

Russian forces this week have taken over several Ukrainian fleet vessels as well as navy headquarters in Sevastopol. l

Sunday, March 23, 2014

Turkey defends Twitter ban to prevent ‘character assassination’

Fact box: Social network shut-downs worldwide

n AFP, Ankara

n AFP, Paris

Turkey’s government yesterday defended its internationally condemned ban on Twitter as a “preventive measure” after the social networking site was awash with recordings highlighting alleged public corruption.

“Twitter has been used as a means to carry out systematic character assassinations by circulating illegally acquired recordings, fake and fabricated records of wiretapping,” the prime minister’s office of public diplomacy said in a statement sent to AFP in English. It added that the government was not against the Internet but what it said was “the free circulation of the illegally acquired recordings over Twitter and other social networking sites which aim at hampering national security and the reputation of the citizens.”

Turkey took the radical step of blocking access to Twitter on Thursday after Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, whose government is engulfed in a vast corruption scandal, defiantly vowed to “wipe out” the messaging service.

Erdogan, who has been in power since 2003, has also threatened to ban YouTube and Facebook following crucial local elections on March 30, which will be a test of the premier’s popularity.

The government said it took a “preventive measure” after the US-based social media giant refused to abide by “hundreds of court rulings” since last January on the removal of content deemed illegal. Critics however claim the government is trying to clampdown on the spread of corruption allegations targeting Erdogan and his inner circle. l

The current Turkish block on Twitter is the latest in a series of actions against social networks, which often happen when a government›s grip on power is under threat. Here are some other examples.

EGYPT (January 2011): Setting a historic precedent, Egyptian authorities blocked Internet access on January 28, 2011, to undermine opponents to the regime of president Hosni Mubarak who had used Facebook and Twitter to organise rallies.

The shutdown lasted five days and affected 23m Egyptians with regular or occasional access to the Internet, according to official figures, more than a quarter of the population.

IRAN (since June 2009): Authorities have blocked access to Twitter, Facebook and other social networks used by the opposition since the disputed re-election of former Iranian president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad in 2009.

Although there are 34m Internet users in Iran, almost half of the country’s 75m-strong population, the government tries regularly to control the web, such as by blocking access to opposition websites or those with sexual content.

Since being elected in June 2013, President Hassan Rouhani has eased some social and political restrictions.

MYANMAR (late September 2007): Web access was cut for several days during the “Saffron Revolution,” when Buddhist monks protested against the ruling military junta.

A Myanmar telecoms official blamed a damaged undersea cable, but a reliable Western source said it was a deliberate act by

Twitter users ridicule Turkey ban n Agencies Turkish and global social media users have mocked moves by Turkey’s government to restrict access to Twitter, Aljazeera reported.

The hashtags, #TwitterisblockedinTurkey and #Turkey blockedTwitter became the top trending topics globally on Friday, just hours after the Turkish government imposed the ban.

The number of tweets from Turkey reportedly rose 138 percent, as savvy Internet users, including the country’s president, Abdullah Gul, found it easy to circumvent the shutdown.

“The whole world is laughing at you #ErdoganBlockedTwitter,” users tweeted, as dozens of images mocking the ban - including one showing Twitter birds covering the prime minister, Tayyip Erdogan’s head in droppings were shared on the platform.

Another popular tweet shared a poster of the prime minister on a Barack Obama campaign poster, with the message, “Yes, we ban.”

Erdogan on Thursday night promised to “root out” and wipe out” the social media platform after users published claims of corruption against him.

Leaked recordings shared and linked on Twitter include one in which Erdogan allegedly instructs his son to dispose of large amounts of cash from a residence amid a police corruption probe.

Erdogan insists the recordings are fabricated “vile fakes” and part of a plot to discredit the government ahead of the March 30 election. On Friday, Twitter users were forwarded a statement by twitter.com from Turkey’s telecoms regulator, TIB, which cited court orders for the site’s apparent closure.

Twitter also posted a message instructing Turkish users on how to

continue using the service via SMS text message. Many of the country’s estimated 12m Twitter users shared instructions on other workarounds for the ban, including via the use of a virtual private network, or a VPN, that hides the origin of tweets.

The ban was denounced as censorship throughout Turkey, including by Turkish President Gul, who tweeted that “the shutdown of an entire social platform is unacceptable.”

“Besides, as I have said many times before it is technically impossible to close down communication technologies like Twitter entirely,” Gul tweeted to his fourm-plus followers.

The mayor of Ankara, Melih Gokcek, became the first member of Erdogan’s own Justice and Development party to breach the ban. “I am able to tweet because my DNS settings allow it,” he tweeted. l

Pope Francis to mafia: Repent or end up in hell!

AFGHAN NEW YEAR

n Reuters, US

Executives of several large US Internet companies, including Facebook Inc and Google Inc, met with President Barack Obama on Friday to discuss their concerns over government surveillance programmes.

Eric Schmidt, executive chairman of Google, the world’s largest Internet search engine; Mark Zuckerberg, chief executive officer of Facebook, the world’s biggest social network; and Reed Hastings, chief executive officer of Netflix Inc, an online video streaming service, were among those attending the meeting, the White House said.

The president sought to provide reassurances that his administration was putting in place reforms to intelligence collection after revelations of widespread collection of data stirred outrage.

“The president reiterated his administration’s commitment to taking steps that can give people greater confidence that their rights are being protected while preserving important tools that keep us safe,” the White House said.

But Facebook’s Zuckerberg, a public critic of government data gathering practices, said that more needed to be done.

“While the US government has taken helpful steps to reform its surveillance practices, these are simply not enough,” he said through a spokesperson. “People around the globe deserve to know that their information is secure and Facebook will keep urging the US government to be more transparent about its practices and more protective of civil liberties,” he said.

Some of the largest US technology companies, including Google, its rival Yahoo Inc, social networking site Twitter Inc and others, have been pushing for more transparency, oversight and restrictions to US government’s gathering of intelligence. l

officials aimed at disrupting the distribution of images and information on a crackdown.

Today, Internet connections are also subject to cuts in service on certain dates, such as August 8, the anniversary of a 1988 revolt. Control of the web is also tighter during election campaigns.

ELSEWHERE: The Internet is subject to strict censorship in China, where Twitter and Facebook are banned and where the authorities try to prevent access to images or comments on domestic sites related to the July 2009 riots in the western province of Xinjiang.

In Syria, scene of an ongoing threeyear civil war, social networks were cut for three days in November 2012 in several regions including the capital Damascus.

The official Sana news agency said that was due to maintenance work. l

n Agencies

Afghan men look on from tree branches while other revelers gather near the Hazrat-e-Ali shrine for Nowruz festivities which marks the Afghan new year in Mazari-i-Sharif. Nowruz, one of the biggest festivals of the war-scarred nation, marks the first day of spring and the beginning of the year in the Persian calendar. Nowruz is calculated according to a solar calendar, this coming year marking 1393 AFP

Pope Francis has made his strongest attack to date on the mafia, telling organised crime bosses they will end up in hell if they do not “convert” and give up their lives of “bloodstained money [and] blood-stained power,” BBC reported.

In an echo of John Paul II’s appeal to mafia dons to renounce their “culture of death,” the Argentinian urged mafiosi to “stop doing evil” as he held an unprecedented meeting with hundreds of victims’ relatives in Rome.

“I feel that I cannot conclude without saying a word to the protagonists who are absent today – the men and women mafiosi,” he said, quietly but forcefully. “Please change your lives.

Convert yourselves. Stop doing evil.”

The Friday meeting in a church near Vatican City was the first time a pontiff had taken part in events tied to a day of commemoration held annually by the anti-mafia organisation, Libera. During

a prayer vigil, the names of 842 victims were read aloud.

Before a packed church, the pope said it was in the criminals’ own interests to change their ways. “There is still time to avoid ending up in hell. That is what is waiting for you if you continue on this path,” he said. “You have had a father and a mother. Think of them.

Cry a little and convert.”

Francis’s stance on organised crime is in contrast with that of some of his 20th century predecessors, who were perceived as presiding over a church reluctant to criticise mafia bosses. Victims had to wait until 1993 to hear an explicit papal condemnation, when John Paul II urged the guilty to “convert” and warned them that judgment day was coming.

Organised crime controls almost all economic and criminal activity in Calabria, Sicily and parts of Campania and Apulia, and it has greatly extended its influence in Rome and Milan in the past two decades. l

Egypt mass trial of Islamists adjourned Three Palestinians killed in n AFP, Cairo A court in Egypt adjourned the mass trial of more than 1,200 supporters of deposed Islamist president Mohamed Morsi after a brief hearing yesterday, state media reported.

The country’s biggest trial since the army removed Morsi last July after a turbulent single year in office was adjourned until Monday.

About 500 defendants faced charges at a court in Minya, south of Cairo, with the trial of the remainder due to begin on Tuesday, state news agency MENA

reported. The legal proceedings are part of a crackdown by the military-installed authorities on Morsi’s Islamist supporters who remain steadfast in demanding his reinstatement.

Egypt’s first elected and civilian president was ousted by the army on July 3 in a move that triggered widespread unrest across a deeply polarised nation.

The defendants are accused of attacking both people and public property in southern Egypt in August, after security forces broke up two Cairo protest camps set up by Morsi supporters.

They are also charged with committing

acts of violence that led to the deaths of two policemen in Minya, judicial sources said. Monday’s session is set to further examine charges against those defendants who attended yesterday’s hearing.

The court session was closed to the media, so it was unclear how many of the accused appeared in person. Earlier, the judicial sources said around 200 of the defendants are in detention, while others are either out on bail or on the run.

Amnesty International says at least 1,400 people have been killed in violence across Egypt since then, while thousands more have been arrested. l

Israeli West Bank raid n AFP, Jenin Three Palestinians were killed in the Jenin refugee camp in the West Bank early yesterday after Israeli soldiers launched an operation to arrest a militant, Palestinian officials said.

Medical and security sources said that two of those killed were militants and the third was a civilian. They said 14 Palestinians were also wounded, with two in critical condition.

The Palestinian sources said Israeli soldiers entered the camp in the northern West Bank city to arrest Hamza Abu Alheja, 20, a member of the military wing of Hamas, the Ezzedine al-Qassam Brigades.

Fire was exchanged, and “other gunmen gathered around the house” to help Abu Alheja, including Mohammad Abu Zena, 19, an Islamic Jihad militant who was killed along with Abu Alheja, the medical and security sources said. l

DHAKA TRIBUNE

World

Sunday, March 23, 2014

Mystery of missing Malaysian plane now full two weeks old n

AP, Perth, Australia

Six Australian planes took off yesterday for a third day of scouring the desolate southern Indian Ocean for possible parts of missing Malaysia Airlines Flight 370, now lost for two full weeks.

Australia promised its best efforts to resolve the mystery, but two days of searching the seas about 2,500 kilometers (1,550 miles) southwest of Perth have not produced any evidence.

A satellite spotted two large objects in the area earlier last week, raising hopes of finding the Boeing 777 that disappeared March 8 with 239 people on board.

Australia’s Acting Prime Minister Warren Truss told reporters in Perth yesterday that “so far, there have been no findings of note.”

“It is a very remote area, but we intend to continue the search until we’re absolutely satisfied that further searching would be futile — and that day is not in sight,” he said.

Bad weather hindered Friday’s search but conditions in the southern Indian Ocean improved yesterday, Prime Minister Tony Abbott said in Papua New Guinea. He said that six

aircraft were in the area plus an Australian naval vessel on the way.

The aircraft included two ultra longrange commercial jets and four P3 Orions, the Australian Maritime Safety Authority said.

Malaysian authorities have not ruled out any possible explanation for what happened to the jet Because of the distance to the area, the Orions will have enough fuel to search for two hours, while the commercial jets can stay for five hours before heading back to the base.

Two merchant ships were in the area, and the HMAS Success, a navy supply ship, was due to arrive late yesterday afternoon. Weather in the search zone was expected to be relatively good, with some cloud cover.

Two Chinese aircraft were expected to arrive in Perth yesterday to join the search, and two Japanese planes will arrive Sunday. A small flotilla of ships

Sri Lanka army admits torture of women recruits n AFP, Colombo Sri Lanka’s military admitted yesterday that soldiers had abused and tortured female recruits, a rare admission of guilt after years of allegations over its personnel’s treatment of Tamil rebels during an uprising.

A military spokesman said it accepted the authenticity of a video leaked on a dissident website that appeared to show soldiers torturing women soldiers, adding instructors had overstepped their authority for an undisclosed act of violating “military discipline.”

“The investigation which is being carried out by the Sri Lanka Army Corps of Military Police has so far revealed that the video in question is an authentic one,” military spokesman Brigadier Ruwan Wanigasooriya said in a statement.

International rights groups have said Sri Lanka’s government was complicit in many of the crimes committed during the Tamil uprising “According to a preliminary report, the instructors (the troops) have punished the recruits for an act in violation of military discipline,” Wanigasooriya added.

“However, the method adopted is not in accordance with standard procedures,” he said.

The anti-establishment www.srilankaguardian.org website, which is blocked by Internet providers in Sri Lanka but can be accessed through servers outside the country, published the 4.41-minute footage Friday, saying it had been filmed on a phone camera by another soldier.

The fuzzy footage showed women

recruits being subjected to cruel and degrading treatment and sustained beatings by men in uniform.

The spokesman said the incident had taken place in October 2012 in the north-central district of Anuradhapura, further south of the war zone where fighting ended in May 2009 with the defeat of Tamil Tiger rebels.

“The individuals who carried out this excessive action had overstepped their mandate and acted in (sic) their own volition,” he said.

It is the first time the military has accepted a leaked video showing torture as authentic, previously rejecting as fabrications several others allegedly showing executions of surrendered Tamil rebels and sexual abuse of female detainees.

The latest video came a week before the UN Human Rights Council was due to debate a US-led resolution pressing for an international investigation into allegations that Sri Lankan troops killed up to 40,000 civilians after ordering them into a no fire zone.

International rights groups have said Sri Lanka’s government was complicit in many of the crimes.

A study published Friday by South African human rights lawyer and UN adviser, Yasmin Sooka, alleged that Sri Lankan troops carried out horrific sexual abuse of ethnic minority Tamils even after the end of the island’s drawn out separatist war.

She said the “highest levels” of Sri Lanka’s government were complicit in raping, torturing and abducting ethnic Tamils following the war and accused security forces of sexual abuse of Tamils, including forced oral sex and anal rape as well as water torture.

Colombo did not comment specifically on Sooka’s report but has always denied such allegations and also insists that not a single civilian was killed by its troops while battling Tamil Tigers known for their trademark suicide bombings.

Colombo, in turn, has accused the defeated rebels of using civilians as human shields. l

from China is still several days away.

The Malaysian plane passengers included 154 Chinese.

AMSA officials also were checking to see if there was any new satellite imagery that could provide more information. The satellite images were taken March 16, but the search in the area did not start until Thursday because it took time to analyze them.

The Telegraph newspaper in London carried a report showing a transcript of the conversation between the pilots and traffic control before the plane disappeared. The paper said it may have been noteworthy because one of the pilots repeated his altitude about the same time a transponder was turned off.

Peter Marosszeky, an aviation expert at the University of New South Wales in Australia, cautioned against reading too much into the transcript as pilots occasionally repeat themselves.

“I’ve sat through many thousands of flights myself and it’s not something that would really strike me as unusual,” he said.

Without being able to hear the inflection in the pilots’ voices, it’s very difficult to determine whether anything said is truly noteworthy, he added.

Malaysia asked the US for undersea surveillance equipment to help in the search, said Rear Adm. John Kirby, a Pentagon spokesman. Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel promised to assess the availability of the technology and its usefulness in the search, Kirby said.

The Pentagon says it has spent $2.5m to operate ships and aircraft in the search and has budgeted another $1.5m for the efforts.

There is a limited battery life for the beacons in the cockpit-voice and flight-data recorders — about 30 days, said Chuck Schofield, vice president of business development for Dukane Seacom Inc. He said it’s “very likely” that his company made the beacons on the missing jet.

Some questions had been raised about the cargo of the missing plane because it contained lithium ion batteries. Malaysia Airlines issued a statement saying they were in compliance with the International Civil Aviation Organization and the International Air Transport Association requirements and classified as “non-dangerous goods.”

Malaysian authorities have not ruled out any possible explanation for what happened to the jet. l

Venue set for Pakistan, Taliban direct talks n AFP, Islamabad Pakistan’s negotiators have agreed on a location to hold direct peace talks with the Taliban, the head of the militant group’s negotiation committee said on Saturday.

“The process of talking directly to the Taliban will start in two to three days, both sides have agreed on the venue,” Sami Ul Haq, a negotiator for the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), told reporters, following a meeting also attended by the country’s interior minister Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan.

“Both sides are showing flexibility and a willingness for success of the talks,” Haq added, saying the chosen place would be declared a “peace zone” but without specifying its location.

In an effort to take the talks to a higher level, the government last week formed a new four-member committee to begin direct contact with the Taliban.

Negotiations have so far been conducted through teams of go-betweens, which some observers say has hampered their effectiveness.

Saturday’s agreement came despite Taliban accusations earlier in the day

Hurt over denial of ticket, senior BJP leader Jaswant Singh yesterday ruled out any compromise on his demand for Barmer constituency and appeared to keep his options open on contesting from the seat as an independent, the Times of India reported. He also made veiled attacks on the party leadership but took no names, comments that came as party President Rajnath Singh and senior leader Arun Jaitley spoke of utilising Singh’s services in an appropriate manner.

“The party has done this to me twice now and now there is no chance of accepting any alternative proposal,” he told the media a day after the party gave Barmer ticket to a recent entrant and Congress defector Col Sonaram Chowdhry.

Singh, however, refused to disclose his plans on whether he would be filing his nomination as an independent.

Referring to the denial of ticket to him and the “disregarding” of other senior leaders in the party, Singh said that “this party of ideology is tragically being encroached upon by those, who have been arch detractors of BJP’s ideology.”

The former Union minister said that the BJP was now divided into two factions, “one which is real and the other is unreal or better put original and duplicate. Unfortunately the duplicate part has the reins of party now.”

After denying ticket to Jaswant Singh from Barmer, BJP yesterday sought to placate him saying that he is a senior leader and his services will be utilised appropriately. l

that security forces had fired mortal shells and conducted raids on hideouts in tribal regions of the country.

In a statement issued to the media, TTP spokesman Shahid Ullah Shahid alleged that security forces were torturing Taliban prisoners.

“These incidents are meant to force us towards war,” Shahid said.

The government opened negotiations with the TTP last month in a bid to end their bloody seven-year insurgency.

The process broke down for more than two weeks after militants killed 23 kidnapped soldiers, but later resumed after the Taliban announced a monthlong ceasefire.

The peace talks were a key campaign pledge for Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif before he was elected to office for a third time last year.

But analysts are sceptical about their chances for success, given the Taliban’s demands for nationwide sharia law and a withdrawal of troops from the lawless tribal zones.

Many regional deals between the military and the Taliban have failed in the past.

Moreover, attacks claimed by splinter factions have continued during talks and despite the Taliban ceasefire. l

WATER : ONE OF WORLD’S FAST-DEPLETING NATURAL RESOURCES

A Kashmiri villager carries a pot of water on World Water Day through Hirnaar, some 35 kms from Srinagar, on March 22. In a report published on the eve of World Water Day, the UN said the cravings for clean water and electricity were intertwined and could badly strain Earth’s limited resources AFP

In China, Michelle Obama touts freedom of speech, religion n AFP, Beijing US First Lady Michelle Obama yesterday emphasised the importance of universal rights, telling a crowd of students in Beijing that freedom of expression and religion should not be determined by one’s country of birth.

Obama, who is on a week-long trip to China with her daughters and mother, has sought to focus on “soft” issues since her arrival in Beijing Thursday night, playing table tennis with stu-

dents and touring the Forbidden City with her Chinese counterpart, Peng Liyuan.

But she briefly trod political ground in her yesterday morning speech at Peking University’s Stanford Centre, calling for greater freedoms while refraining from calling out China by name.

“As my husband has said, we respect the uniqueness of other cultures and societies,” Obama told a crowd of about 200 students, most of whom were from the US. “But when

it comes to expressing yourself freely, and worshipping as you choose, and having open access to information – we believe those are universal rights that are the birthright of every person on this planet.”

Obama’s words echoed remarks made last December by US Vice President Joe Biden, who told a group of American business leaders in Beijing that China “will be stronger and more stable and more innovative if it respects universal human rights.” l

‘Duplicates’ have taken over United Nations document on BJP, senior leader says equality for women approved n Agencies, India

9

n Agencies Liberal and conservative countries have approved a United Nations document to promote equality for women that reaffirms the sexual and reproductive rights of all women and endorses sex education for adolescents, AP reported.

The 24-page final declaration approved by consensus yesterday by the 45-member Commission on the Status of Women expressed deep concern that overall progress towards the UN goal of gender equality and empowerment of women remained “slow and uneven’’.

The commission said “the feminisation of poverty persists’’ and reaffirmed that equality for women

was essential for sustained economic development.

The document called for equality, empowerment and human rights for women to be a major plank in new UN development goals expected to be adopted next year.

Some of the more progressive countries expressed relief that there was no back-pedalling on international recognition of women’s reproductive and sexual rights and access to health services in the final document.

The document calls for “universally accessible and available quality comprehensive sexual and reproductive health care services, information and education’’. This should include `”safe and effective methods of modern con-

traception, emergency contraception, prevention programmes for adolescent pregnancy ... (and) safe abortion where such services are permitted by national law,’’ the document said.

Conservative countries succeeded in blocking references to different forms of the family, or to problems that women faced because of their sexual orientation or gender identity. The document recognises the family as a contributor to the development of girls and women.

On the sensitive issue of sex education, the document called for the development and implementation of educational programs for human sexuality, “based on full and accurate information, for all adolescents and youth.” l

Maldives holds parliamentary polls despite delay fear n AFP, Malé The Maldives held parliamentary elections yesterday on schedule, despite worries about the ability of the resort island’s turmoil-hit elections commission to stage the ballot successfully.

Results were due to be announced Sunday from the vote in the Indian Ocean holiday paradise.

President Abdulla Yameen had voiced doubts over whether the elections commission could conduct the vote successfully after the chief and deputy were fired two weeks ago by the Supreme Court.

But private watchdog Transparency Maldives said the opening of the poll was “smooth, transparent and well-administered” and the government declared the vote had gone off peacefully.

A coalition partner of Yameen had petitioned the court Thursday seeking a delay of the polls, arguing the commission did not have its full complement of five members to hold a free and fair poll.

But with no court decision, the election went ahead as scheduled, Elections Commission official Aishath Reema told AFP. Former president Mohamed Nasheed’s Maldivian Democratic Party was the frontrunner in the polls, but observers doubted whether any single party would be able to form a majority in the 85-seat assembly without support from coalition partners.

A total of 302 candidates contested the 85 seats in parliament, but the executive president, who is directly elected by the people, has wide powers in the country of 330,000 Sunni Muslims. l

10

DHAKA TRIBUNE

Editorial

Letters to

www.dhakatribune.com

Ensure fair and safe elections

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s voters go to the polls today for the fourth phase of the local elections in 91 upazila parishads, it is concerning that intelligence reports received by the Election Commission indicated that chances of incidents of violence and disorder may be higher than in the first three phases of these polls.

There have also been widespread allegations of threats and harassment being made against candidates and voters.

In one written allegation sent to the EC, a BNP-backed candidate has submitted video footage of an open threat being issued against voters and opponents during a campaign meeting.

The Election Commission must act promptly to investigate any complaints it receives from candidates who claim they have been harassed or threatened by other candidates, or who allege improprieties by administration officials and police.

With 1,186 candidates contesting today’s poll at 5,882 polling stations, it is vital to ensure that any electoral abuses and disorder are prevented and that perpetrators are held to account.

There must be no tolerance for threats and disorder which undermine the rule of law or damage the electoral process. Voters expect due assurance from the authorities that their right to exercise their vote is not impeded in any way.

The Election Commission needs to transparently deal with all the complaints it has received and to work pro-actively with the law enforcing agencies who have been deployed to help maintain law and order, so that polls can be held peacefully and fairly.

It is vital that abuses and disorder are prevented and perpetrators are held to account

Safe drinking water for all

Sunday, March 23, 2014

the Editor

LETTER OF THE DAY

Upazila election for democracy!

March 21

The Election Working Group, a non-government body comprised of 27 NGOs, claims that the third phase of the upazila elections was not held properly. Around 2,500 observers, recruited for the elections, found many anomalies.

Voters of 38 upazilas were threatened, candidates of 34 upazilas campaigned during the prohibited time, voters of 10 upazilas were opposed to giving their votes, observers in 7 upazilas were not allowed to enter the polling centres, and in another 49 upazilas, observers were hindered from being present during the vote counts, which started prematurely.

It worries me that in the past, especially during the CTG period, the people were happy to vote and didn’t feel threatened, but they do now and vote rigging has become common again. In the mean time, the AL has come to power through a one-sided election, which is a threat to democracy. Democracy must not be allowed to escape from Bangladesh.

Sheuly Haque

Virtual school aims to enlighten indigenous children March 18

It is good news for all indigenous communities and I am pleased at this program. But I am concerned about the teaching and learning process. At the grassroots level, especially in CHT, its indigenous people aren’t comfortable with Bangla or the English language. If internet-based schools run by other community teachers accept indigenous students from Dhaka, then we should take care of the students’ learning process. Otherwise, the program’s goal will fail.

Samiran Marma

Is free money the game changer in development?

March 17

Samiur Rahman Excellent points. There has been a shift away from big-push spending and massively, scaled up, foreign-aid as led by thought-leaders and development experts, such as Dr Jeffrey Sachs to BoP entrepreneurship and other solutions driven by those at the economic, BoP who best understand their needs and priorities. With respect to the new paradigm, proponents of BoP entrepreneurship, such as Dambisa Moyo (author of Dead Aid), make a strong case to explore alternative ideas and models. And as the author of this article rightfully mentions, it’s a compelling enough idea to explore.

Far too often development experts become prejudiced and lose their egos amid cogent analyses, which is disappointing. Cases also need not be mutually exclusive – so, a case for exploring unconditional, cash transfer (UCT) need not mean the case for aid be shut-out completely in the interim. Impact under both scenarios, ie aid and UCT/entrepreneurship at the economic, BoP may be difficult to measure or results may suggest negligible impact in terms of poverty alleviation and development. However, it also means if one (or a series of) door(s) are closed, development experts and practitioners alike can explore alternative methods of eradicating poverty in methods that have impact and that are sustainable.

Granted, Banerjee and Dufflo’s series of randomised tests and research do not suggest

Death threat stops book sale

clear and positive outcomes when the poor are encouraged to start businesses or when those at the BoP have their solutions implemented (after all, it cannot also be assumed the poor have all the know-how and all the solutions to their challenges); however it is still a positive step in a new, and perhaps, right direction. One also cannot refute, continuously expecting aid from the west is a sustainable solution. To that extent Dead Aid by Dambisa Moyo, and ongoing research and randomised tests conducted by Dufflo and Banerjee, serve as wake-up calls.

March 16

The Saint Freedom of speech is hurt frequently in this country. Islamists think they are superior to all and have the right to do whatever they want. And they think their killings are justified by Islam.

Farzana Nawaz Samiur Rahman: Thanks for the thoughtful comments. While I think unconditional cash transfers are a necessary disruption in the aid world, they key for me is the supportive institutional structure that Banerjee talks about.

Without structural development, in areas such as rule of law and proper public services (health, education, etc), cash transfers won’t go far enough to empower the poor. I think asking poor people to pull themselves out of poverty just based on lump sum cash allowances without any support structure places an unfair burden on them.

Vikram Khan Strange that religion is used as an excuse for violence, murder and hate by certain Islamist groups. More strange and worrying is the extremely slow response of the government.

Be Heard Write to us at: Dhaka Tribune FR Tower, 8/C Panthapath

Samiur Rahman Farzana Nawaz: Yep, agree. Regards.

Sukrabad, Dhaka-1207 Email us at: letters.dt@dhakatribune.com

Remembering Bangabandhu

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ven though Bangladesh met its Millennium Development Goal target for safe drinking water in 2010, around 26 million people in the country are still lacking access to “improved” drinking water.

Arsenic contamination, declining ground water levels, saline intrusions in coastal belt, and the often highly visible pollution of major rivers, are all major factors limiting universal access to safe water.

Safe drinking water should be treated as a human right and has been declared as such by the UN. While water supply coverage in Bangladesh increased to over 98% by 2006, arsenic contamination of tube wells means that there are still more than 20 million people drinking water that contains arsenic above the legal standard for drinking water.

The situation is worst in remote rural districts and in marginalised char areas.

Although some of the reasons underlying this problem, notably arsenic contamination, declining upstream river flows and seawater intrusions, are geographical, it is concerning that the shortage is made worse by problems which are well within the control of the government.

Impure or unsafe water has been found by Dhaka Tribune reporters to be on sale as safe bottled filtered water, enabled by corrupt syndicates and officials.

Key river waters are still allowed to be polluted by releases of toxic industrial waste and untreated water. The impact extends beyond visible contamination and unsafe drinking water, to preventing farmers from watering crops.

The government must prevent such abuses and do more to extend access to safe drinking to everyone in the country.

March 17 Thank you very much for an honest and emotional piece, which brought tears to my eyes! Indeed, we shot ourselves in the foot by assassinating Bangabandhu! May God rest his noble soul in eternal peace!

Mourner

8 robbers loot Tk8,000 from a bank at gunpoint

Send us your Op-Ed articles: opinion.dt@dhakatribune.com Visit our website: www.dhakatribune.com

March 18 The crazy thing is that they could have gotten more by robbing a bank client!

Come join our Facebook community: PA

https://www.facebook.com/DhakaTribune

CALVIN AND HOBBES

The government must do more to extend access to everyone in the country

PEANUTS

CROSSWORD

SUDOKU ACROSS 1 Water storage (3) 3 Cherry coloured (6) 8 Cain’s brother (4) 9 Loud noise (3) 10 Holy (6) 11 Oozed (6) 14 Access (5) 17 Hidden obstacles (5) 20 Rudder bar (6) 24 Made up for (6) 26 Vigour (3) 27 Dash (4) 28 Become established (6) 29 Tree (3)

DOWN 1 Raised platform (4) 2 Labyrinth (4) 3 Yield (4) 4 Omit in pronunciation (5) 5 Foolish person (5) 6 Wrongdoing (3) 7 Foe (5) 12 Vast age (3) 13 Farm animal (3) 15 No score (3) 16 Cereal (3) 17 Breaks suddenly (5) 18 Take as one’s own (5) 19 Metal (5) 21 Not working (4) 22 Solitary (4) 23 Quantity of paper (4) 25 Golf mound (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

Sunday, March 23, 2014

To Khushwant, without malice n Mohammad Al-Masum Molla

“I

will only retire in the cremation ground,” Khushwant Singh told KK Birla, when Birla asked him about his plans of retirement from the Hindustan Times.

The legendary writer – the “dirty old man” of Indian journalism – finally died on March 20.

He wished to be remembered as someone who made people smile. It’s a safe bet that his wish came true The world is watching

MUMIT M

Don’t miss these chances

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n Taufiqur Rahman Khan he opening ceremony of the T-20 Cricket World Cup has triggered a lot of debate and criticism recently. Some are labelling this event as a cultural hijack, while others are trying to establish it as a big step towards global image-making. The most talked-about article on this issue was probably written by Matthew Islam (Not a cultural hijack) in the Dhaka Tribune.

I have nothing against Hindi, Urdu, English, Persian, or Arabic. All these languages have enriched our culture.

Nazrul was heavily influenced by Urdu and Persian literature and music. His stay in Karachi during the First World War influenced him immensely. We fought for Bangla in 1952, but not against Urdu, English, or Hindi.

So, AR Rahman performing in Dhaka will definitely not make “chomchom less sweet.” In fact, most of our people are relatively open-minded about it. Classical music concerts arranged by the Bengal Foundation are best examples of our level of acceptance towards Indian artists.

Then why are people so angry now?

It is because we had a big opportunity to showcase our rich culture, which could’ve helped us in branding Bangladesh positively.

We could boost our morale, spirit, as well as our economy. Considering the present context, can we blame

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people for showing some resistance against “Hindi” culture?

Think about India banning our TV channels, while all of their channels are open to us. Recently, India has taken initiative to patent our nakshi kantha, fazli mango, and Jamdani sari as its own. There is a growing sense against India about their actions, and a fear against its intention. As a result, the emotional resistance against Indian culture is growing day by day. Matthew Islam was for free markets and capitalism, but who will preach free markets and capitalism to India? Why doesn’t it open our TV channels up to its own people? What are they afraid of?

should be addressed and answered by the concerned authorities. People also want to know why Runa Laila and Sabina Islam were treated in that manner.

Maybe Bangladesh has a very small number of international level artists, but are we properly presenting the few that we have? Have we asked Akram Khan, Bangladeshi born British choreographer, to perform and choreograph for any of our big events? I think Monica Yunus, who is gracing all the major opera houses globally, will never be invited to any of our national level concerts. Maybe I sound very nationalistic, but I’m not.

We had a big opportunity to showcase our rich culture, which could’ve helped us in branding Bangladesh positively

I don’t agree with him that anybody is protecting the interest of LRB or Miles. I guess very few among us are against AR Rahman as well. But we can at least expect that the authorities of our country will treat our local artists with the same amount of respect that they gave the Indian ones. The disparity Shafin Ahmed expressed online

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What I’m concerned about, is expressing our identity and existence in more gracious ways. On the other hand, we have to be cautious of the great harm ultra-nationalism can cause us.

Many great maestros of India were born in Bangladesh, but we don’t claim and promote them as sons of our own soil. Ustaad Alauddin Ali’s birth

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place was Brahmanbaria. Sachin Dev Burman was born in Comilla. Why can’t we let the world know of these facts?

Have we ever thought of showing their birth places in any of our international events? Some members of Alauddin Ali’s family are still living and practicing classical music in Dhaka, how much does the world know about them? Let the global audience know how much our land contributed to the vast culture of India, and how much sharing there is in the domain of history and heritage. So don’t reject Hindi.

Rather, think of claiming parts of it as our own. That would be the proper move to brand our culture and country.

Satyajit Ray and Rabindranath Tagore are Indians by birth, but aren’t they ours as well? Nazrul is Bangladeshi, but are not India and Pakistan claiming him as their hero as well?

Let us think of portraying, through coming events, the commonalities of this region as well. Let people of this region come closer and build trust among themselves. Let’s try to make Bangladesh the cultural melting pot.

“Our culture is the best in the world” may not the best slogan to scream out, but “we want to embrace all the best cultures” should be our motto. We have to do it carefully, so that we don’t hurt our own interests. l Taufiqur Rahman Khan is an architect practicing in Dhaka.

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Singh had no fear of death; he expected it not to be too painful.

God, though Sardarji was an atheist, probably listened to him and granted his wish. His son Rahul said: “He passed away very peacefully at his residence in Sujan Singh Park in Delhi.

He led a very full life.”

Regarding death, in his book Absolute Khushwant, the courageous Sardarji said: “I don’t fear death, what I dread is the day I go blind, or am incapacitated because of old age. That’s what I fear. I’d rather die than live in that condition.”

This wish was also met. His son said: “Singh had stopped writing a few weeks back, but he was reading papers every morning. He was mentally alert till the very end.”

Born in Hadali (now in Pakistan) on February 2, 1915, Khushwant Singh had completed his schooling at Modern School in Delhi, and then studied at St Stephen’s College before moving to the Government College in Lahore.

He also studied at King’s College in Cambridge University.

He practiced law at Lahore High Court for several years before joining the Ministry of External Affairs in 1947.

In 1939, he married Kawal Malik and had his son Rahul, and daughter Mala.

His wife had died in 2001.

He was a most widely read and controversial writer in India, and he witnessed all the major events in modern Indian history, including Partition.

His literary career spanned several decades, during which he wrote on subjects varying from politics to poetry. His acidic prose spared none as he gleefully criticised social ills in his column “With Malice towards One and All.” One coterie tried to brand Sardarji

S

as an “agent” of Pakistan, as he severely criticised India for its policies on different occasions, but he proved time and again that he was a true patriot.

Known for his humour, Singh took many digs at his community. Of his own writing, he says: “I often ask myself why I write. While it provides me with daal, chaal, and scotch whiskey, I could earn as much, if not more, running a dhaba on a national highways.

However, writing also boosts my ego, which selling tandoori chicken and parathas would not.”

He wrote satirical columns on contemporary issues but attracted controversy over what his critics called his obsession with writing on sex.

Regarding sex, he wrote: “I think it’s healthy and human to think about sex and fantasize ... all men, young and old alike, if they are honest, will admit that sex is always on their minds. Of course, my mind is still very active, though I’m not doing it any longer, I can still write about it. Nobody has invented a condom for the pen. My pen is still sexy.”

The Sardar was awarded the Padma Bhushan in 1974 but returned it in 1984 protesting against the storming of the Golden Temple in Amritsar by the army. In 2007, he was awarded the Padma Vibhushan.

Khushwant Singh’s writing career started with Yojana, the planning commission’s journal which he founded.

He also edited the Illustrated Weekly of India, and then Hindustan Times.

Train to Pakistan, I Shall Not Hear the Nightingale, A History of the Sikhs, The Company of Women, Delhi, The Sunset Club are just some of his books.

In 2002, he wrote about his life, family history, and his relationships with politicians in the autobiography Truth, Love and a Little Malice. In the book he honestly and courageously talked about his sex life among other things.

His acidic prose spared none as he gleefully criticised social ills in his column Sardarji’s last book is The Good, The Bad and The Ridiculous published in October 2013, when he was 98.

The “dirty old man” always wished to be remembered as someone who made people smile. It’s a safe bet that his wish came true. l Mohammad Al-Masum Molla is a political reporter at the Dhaka Tribune.

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Empathy for elephants n Matthew Islam

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he Asian elephants, our majestic mammalian relatives, are facing a grave crisis. Their populations are dwindling fast throughout Asia but much more alarmingly in our own backyard. It is believed that as little as 220 or less of these gentle mammoth pachyderms now exist in Bangladesh’s wilderness.

Another 100 migrate between the Bangladesh-Myanmar border zone, and less than a 100 are living miserable lives in captivity of loggers, circus masters and zoos. They are close to extinction. There are a few wonderful organisations working to protect and conserve our elephants but progress is slow, funds limited, and respect accorded to the issue by those around us especially in power, scant.

If we don’t do something to aid the elephants, and fast, our future generation, my son, your daughters, will not grow to experience the magic of these most humane of animals. For a religious country like ours, how can we all claim to love God and not love all his creations?

Elephants are highly intelligent. If you spend any time getting to know them, the universal draw towards these animals is undeniable. Their grace, despite their size, is astounding.

They possess the ability to feel complex emotions.

Like us, their priority in life is love for their family. Their herds are built with members who look out for each other with adults protecting the young. The matriarch guides, protects,

and teaches wisdom.

It’s been scientifically proven that elephants have highly developed emotions. They have complex thoughts and feelings. The array of those feelings closely mirror our own, in that they express anger, they can show joy, feel grief for their young, or deceased family members for months, play games, and pass on wisdom from old to young.

It’s been scientifically proven that elephants have highly developed emotions. They have complex feelings In several examples, it has been witnessed how they have mourned the death of humans they shared a bond with, by walking hundreds of miles to the site of a funeral. When family members are reunited after a separation, they greet each other often by crying tears, running towards each other, and upon contact, rubbing against each other, spinning around, flapping ears, clicking tusks.

Community amongst their ranks affect them both in joy and in trauma. In both instances, they feel in numbers, just like us. And currently, elephants in Asia are suffering in silence. Lost in a changing world where no one seems

to care for them anymore.

Their habitat is fast diminishing.

Legal and illegal deforestation is a significant culprit, overpopulation plays a part too. Disgustingly, poachers remain strong and belligerent like ever before in the illegal trade for their skin and ivory.

The strict routes they have travelled for generations, remembered by the matriarchs for seasonal migration, are now changed and blocked by human development, disorienting these animals. Their food supply chain is uprooted, leaving them homeless and hungry in their own environment.

Because they are herbivores, they eat a variety of fruits, plants, and vegetation, all leading to a conflict with us when they traverse our farmlands in search of food and a path in their journey. In a particularly twisted irony, many loggers still employ elephants as slave labour in the hill tracks, forcing them to destroy their own habitats so that we can harvest wood for our shiny furniture.

They remain in poor condition in circuses all over Bangladesh, where ringmasters in need of subsistence use them for our entertainment.

This is not to even mention the poor, dangerous, and unfathomable disgrace that we witness daily in Bangladesh of elephants being used to beg. Proceeds go largely to the animal-keepers as livelihood and some of it goes to feed these giants.

Needless to say, to our great detriment, we treat these animals very poorly. We grew as a modern society, never sparing a thought to their needs,

the way countries such as Thailand and Sri Lanka did.

Graydon Carter most eloquently described the spirit of the scenario where he said: “We admire elephants in part because they demonstrate what we consider the finest human traits: Empathy, self-awareness, and social intelligence. But the way we treat them puts on display the very worst of human behaviour.”

So what can we do? A lot really.

In Thailand, the royal family has banned the usage of elephants for forced labour and begging with heavy fines, buying back elephant herds to sanctuaries designated and rehabilitating their keepers for livelihood.

We can surely do that for our captive elephants, because their population in Bangladesh is small, and the financial burden would be finite.

For wild elephants, we can mark road crossings on their migratory routes for our safety and safe interaction with them, who have of late lashed out at us, resulting in tragic deaths of humans. We must force the forest authorities, including our ministries concerned, for a change in the wildlife laws, to reflect specific protective measures and sanctions against breaking them.

We need to replant our environment so they have new sources of food they can use in their traditional routes.

We must help farmers fence their lands, and safely repel the elephants from their crops. We can do a better job of protecting the forests and routes they now travel seasonally between India, Bangladesh, and Myanmar.

AFP

Lastly, we must fund research to find out more of how we are impacting their lives, and what we can do to mend them. We must educate our adults and children alike in the wonderment of these creatures, so that they can lend a hand in their conservation, and so that we can live beside each other in harmony.

It’s not going to be easy, but neither is it the toughest thing to do. It just requires continued resolve and empathy from us and the government.

It requires that we have a significant working partnership between all

parties helping elephant conservation groups such as the International Union for Conservation of Nature and other similar organisations, both home and abroad, who are trying to help us in this most urgent of situations.

I, for one, hope to do something about it, and no matter how small, I hope you will too. If not, ask yourself, who else will? l Matthew Islam is a Barrister-at-Law, a textile businessman, and a columnist at the Dhaka Tribune. He can be contacted on twitter via @matthewislam.

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DHAKA TRIBUNE

Entertainment

Exotic, ancient faces on Bipasha’s canvas n Shadma Malik Month-long street show Agony of faces by Bipasha Hayat began at Hot Breads at Banani in the capital on Friday. It is a new series of painting by the multifaceted artist who is also a celebrated TV actor. Through these paintings, she tried to bring out her observations on civilisation from different perspectives.

The graceful Bipasha talked to the Dhaka Tribune about the new exhibition and more:

What are your recent ventures on screen?

After a long time, I will be pairing up with my husband Toukier Ahmed in a single episode drama ShomporkerAarale. Written and directed by Imraul Rafat, it will be aired on Desh TV on March 26. I am also shooting a drama called Ekti Phuler Golpo. Directed by Toukier and written by Shopno Reza, the drama is about autism and will be aired on World Autism Awareness Day on April 2. l

Sunday, March 23, 2014

Young photographers present inspiring features of Bangladesh

What is the theme of the exhibition?

At this moment, I am working on various forms of faces.

These are not like normal human faces. They are depictions from the ancient Greek civilisation. When I was seven or eight years old, I had the opportunity to explore stones with face engravings.

At that tender age, I managed to relate myself with those enigmatic faces. My exhibition is an attempt to discover their untold stories.

One day, people from other civilisations will discover us through my artwork.

Tell us about your latest works.

In this exhibition, I have represented people in conversation with one another. One of the works is about conjugal relationships. The lipstick mark highlights the active and the docile.

Photo by Khalid Rayhan

What medium do you explore the most?

I love to play with media. I used acrylic, prints, sand and many other media to do something experimental on my canvas. I also worked with the background.

n Hasan Mansoor Chatak

QUAMRUL ABEDIN

What inspired you to adopt faces as your signature?

I travelled to Libya, read about Egypt and Mesopotamia civilisation.

The expressions on faces attracted me the most. I have also been fortunate enough to visit many museums in abroad. Whenever I went to these exotic places, I felt that I had been to those places before. It was like a rebirth.

Do you find any similarity between painting and acting?

Of course I do. I would say, my artworks are highly influenced by my acting. For example, the conversation is like a drama on the canvas.

TODAY IN DHAKA Film

A countryside girl playing with the birds on the background of a hilly landscape or a boy showing astonishment over huge dead fish on a seaside, say some beautiful stories linked to the nature and people of our country.

The variety of positive and enlightened images in a single exhibition will surprise any viewer at the Bangladesh in Frames at the Drik Gallery, Dhanmondi.

Colour and diversity of the cultural-religious festival in the country to modern city life’s confinement have been illustrated vibrantly, or sometimes serenely, through the lens of hundreds of photographers in the exhibition which

Kathak dancer Monira enthralls audience n Afrose Jahan Chaity

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 Robocop, Gravity Captain Phillips, Elysium Time: 12:30pm – 9:30pm Blockbuster Cinemas Jamuna Future Park Ka- 244, Pragati Avenue, Kuril

Exhibition

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, Life Gallery Cosmos-2, Villa de Anjuman, Road No 6, House No 115 New DOHS

AFROSE JAHAN CHAITY

The Kathak dance evening featuring talented dancer Monira Parveen Happy’s solo performance and group dance recitals choreographed by her, saw a happy audience on Friday.

Happy is a student of Nrityanchal and also an ICCR scholar at Rabindra Bharati University. Recently, she completed her under graduation from Rabindra Bharati University on Kathak dance. Now, she is doing her post graduation there.

The main theme of the evening is designed by dance guru Sandip Mollick of Kolkata with the co-operation of Monira Parveen. The programme started with Happy’s solo performence named Ganesh Vandana - an offering to Lord Ganesha. With graceful moves and skillful postures, Munira’s performance showed how a devotee offers her ultimate respect to God. The cheering audience seemed to love her lively presence on stage. On her second performance of the evening, she performed a pure dance number of Kathak. The performance had a tendency to follow a progression in tempo from slow to fast and ended with a dramatic climax.

A video documentary showing Monira’s dance Guru’s comments about her skills and dedication was also screened at the programme.

Later, a group of Nrityanchal dancers gave a performance on Tarana which enchanted the audience. Then another pure Kathak dance piece by child students from Nrityanchal was staged which bagged positive comments from the viewers.

Monira gave few more solo performances performed on Tarana and Thumri which proved her versatility in pure Kathak. Her exclusivity of footwork simply wowed the viewers. l

started on March 21. Actor- photographer Ali Zaker inaugurated the show which is curated and edited by talented photographer Amirul Rajiv.

Nature, children, daily life, festivals, people from different races and different walks of life, street life, heritage and many more subjects have been captured in the displayed photographs very innovatively. All the images celebrate life and beauty with different perspectives. The photographs do full justice to the title by exploring Bangladesh from variety of angles.

The sixth annual photography exhibition of Bangladesh in Frames is arranged by the online Flickr based photographers community Through the Lens: Bangladesh which is very popular among the photography fraternity. l

On the occasion of worldwide celebration of Puppetry Day 2014 on March 21, Bangladesh Shilpakala Academy (BSA) has organised a four-day Puppet Theatre Festival at Experimental Theatre Hall of BSA. BSA is celebrating the day with festivity for the second time. This year BSA is honouring noted puppet theatre artist Khelu Mian

Brad Pitt to replace Matthew McConaughey in True Detectives? n Entertainment Desk

Sunny Leone’s Ragini MMS 2 gets fierce reviews n Entertainment Desk Bollywood’s controversial actor Sunny Leone starrer horror-thriller 3D Ragini MMS 2 released this Friday and generated mixed reaction among the audience. The sequel to the 2011 horror movie Ragini MMS, is getting rave reviews from the critics for portraying excessive obscenity which has less to do with horror.

The plot is about a loud and lecherous director named Rocks who is now making a film on the Ragini MMS incident of the first film. So a cast and crew arrive at the haunted mansion where

the first film took place and, of course, realise that something is very wrong.

In the film, Sunny Leone plays an actor named Sunny who is also a porn star.

Anupama Chopra’s review in Hindustan Times says: “insipid characters and sloppy writing make Ragini MMS 2 unintentionally funny. The movie offers nothing more than a few cheap thrills.”

India Today’s review by Suhani Singh makes sarcastic comments on the film: “Ragini MMS 2 is hardly a spine-chilling tale. Ironically, the sequel to the 2011 film, which had genuine scream-inducing scenes, works better at tickling the

funny bone. If the film continued to be a parody of the making of a horror film, which it does well, then we’d have a film on our hands. Instead we’re left with a two-hour feature in which the restless audience will be screaming in distress than fear.”

Times of India’s take on the film: “The film provides the usual creepy cliches - creaking windows, ghostly shadows and bedraggled bhoots (ghosts).

There are a few spooky moments, but fewer leap-out-of-your-seat scenes.”

However, Sunny seemed to charm both the audiences and few critics as well. l

Matthew McConaughey is certainly having a great year so far. Not only did he pick up an Oscar for his role in Dallas Buyers Club, but HBO series True Detective has been a runaway smash hit. However, Matthew disappointed his fans when he confirmed that he definitely will not be returning for True Detective‘s second series.

The next season will have a new face as a replacement for him. The lead role for this series is currently one of the most coveted in Hollywood, owing to the success and scope of the HBO drama, which will start afresh with a new case and new police investigators for its second outing. Whoever takes over in the lead role for season two is going to have some pretty big shoes to fill.

True Detective has lured film stars over to the small screen for its first

ON TV NEWS 4:00pm Desh Tv News 5:30pm Independent Tv Purba Pashchim

COMEDY 12:30pm Star World Two Broke Girls 10:30pm Comedy Central Anger Management

series: with Oscar-wininng McConaughey playing the conflicted misanthropist Rust Cohle, opposite Oscar-nominated Woody Harrelson as his former CID partner Martin Hart. Hollywood Life’s source reveals that the Cary Fukunaga-directed show could lure over other big screen A-listers: “It’s the show everyone wants to be on, because the writing and the roles are just so exquisite and complex.”

Rumour has it that Brad Pitt is the first choice to take on the second season of the show. According to Hollywood Life, a source revealed: “Brad’s name has come up many times, it’s just a matter of what his other commitments are. Brad has tight relations with HBO — he teamed up with Ryan Murphy last year to produce the HBO movie The Normal Heart. I know everyone would be thrilled to have him onboard.” l

Did you know?

Arsenal conceded 17 away goals against top 3 teams in this Premier League season.

They lost 3-6 to City, 1-5 to Liverpool and 0-6 to Chelsea

Sport

Sunday, March 23, 2014

14 Six-goal

Chelsea ruin Wenger’s party

14 Relentless Real

looking to snuff out Barca bid

DHAKA TRIBUNE

13

15 Hosts,

Oman set up exciting final

Kusal, death bowling give SL winning start Sri Lanka began their World Twenty20 campaign on a winning note after beating South Africa by five runs in a last over thriller at the Zahur Ahmed Chowdhury Stadium yesterday.

South Africa couldn’t have asked for a better start to their chase of 166 with Quinton de Kock and Hashim Amla adding 32 in 4.3 overs before Lankan pace-sensation Lasith Malinga broke the pair. Amla put on 50 for the second wicket with JP Duminy as South Africa were cruising to their target until the 17th over.

Albie Morkel was looking to seal the game with couple of sixes off Ajantha Mendis, but he holed out inches from the rope at long-on attempting the third maximum in the over.

South Africa still had David Miller at the crease needing 15 off 12 balls, but twin run-out in the first two balls of the final over, including that of Miller’s, left the tail-enders with too much to do against a team who has only lost defending a score of 160-plus twice in the past.

Earlier, Sri Lanka posted a challeng-

ing 165 losing seven wickets riding on an impressive 40-ball 61from man of the match Kusal Perera.

Proteas speedster Dale Steyn conceded 17 off the first over, but also uprooted the stumps of TM Dilshan for a golden duck. With Mahela Jayawardene (nine) returning cheaply once

The win for the world’s No 1 Twenty20 side Sri Lanka was only the second against South Africa in five matches This was the first time Sri Lanka batted first against South Africa in a T20I Dale Steyn’s 17-run first over was the third-most expensive first over in World T20 again, Kusal took Kumar Sangakkara to put on 41 and take control of the game.

Kusal’s fifth T20I fifty in 12 games came to an end off Imran Tahir’s googly in the 14th over after he had struck six fours and three sixes. Pakistani born Imran followed it with two more vital wickets - Sangakkara (14) in the 10th over and Chandimal (12) in the 17th.

The Lankan captain in the other two formats, Mathews’ urgency saw him get valuable 43 runs off 32 balls which enabled the islander’s to go well past the 150-mark. l

SCORECARD, SRI LANKA v SOUTH AFRICA Sri Lanka

South Africa

K. Perera c de Villiers b Tahir 61 T. Dilshan b Steyn 0 M. Jayawardene c Steyn b M. Morkel 9 K. Sangakkara c Tsotsobe b Tahir 14 A. Mathews b Steyn 43 D. Chandimal st de Kock b Tahir 12 T. Perera b M. Morkel 8 N. Kulasekara not out 7 S. Senanayake not out 1 Extras: (lb3, w7) 10 Total: (for seven wkts; 20 overs) 165

Q. de Kock b Malinga 25 Hashim Amla c Dilshan b Senanayake 23 JP Duminy c Dilshan b Senanayake 39 de Villiers c Sangakkara b Mathews 24 D. Miller run out 19 A. Morkel c Chandimal b Mendis 12 F. Behardien c Jayawardene b Kulasekara 5 D. Steyn run out 0 M. Morkel not out 0 Imran Tahir not out 8 Extras: (lb3, w2) 5 Total: (for eight wkts; 20 overs) 160

Fall of wickets 1-17, 2-42, 3-83, 4-106, 5-137, 6-152, 7-160

Fall of wickets : 1-32, 2-82, 3-110, 4-119, 5-133, 6-148, 7-151, 8-152

Bowling Styen 4-0-37-2, Tsotsobe 4-0-31-0, M. Morkel 4-0-31-2, Duminy 2-0-13-0, A. Morkel 2-0-24-0, Tahir 4-0-26-3

Bowling Kulasekara 3-0-23-1, Mathews 3-0-21-1, Senanayake 4-0-22-2, Malinga 4-0-291, Perera 2-0-18-0, Mendis 4-0-44-1

Sri Lanka won by five runs

South African cricket player David Miller lies on the ground after failing to reach his berth, as Sri Lankan cricketers celebrate his run-out during the ICC World Twenty20 match in Chittagong yesterday AP

Aussies look to bank on wounded Pakistan The way Australia thrashed England and South Africa in recent times and stepped in Bangladesh outplaying New Zealand in a warm-up match definitely gives captain George Bailey an extra boost when they face a wounded Pakistan in their World Twenty20 opener at the Sher-e-Bangla National Stadium today.

Four-time ODI World Cup champions, Australia’s amazing batting line-ups and recent form in the shortest format is a massive plus point which can help them end their WT20 trophy drought and it will be interesting to see how they handle the spinners against the three sub-continental sides – Pakistan, India and hosts Bangladesh - in their group.

Meanwhile despite having one of the best T20 side, Pakistan’s batting saw them off to a disastrous start getting just 131 against India in their opening match. However, it should not surprise many, as it is nature of Pakistan,

Defending champions face uphill India It will be a battle between two most explosive Twenty20 sides when India faces defending champions West Indies in the World T20 Super 10 at the Sher-e-Bangla National Stadium today.

West Indies have previously won both times against India in the WT20 stage and will be looking to extend the record while a pumped up Indian side from their impressive opener against Pakistan will be looking to carry the momentum.

West Indies skipper Darren Sammy informed they are pumped up ahead of their clash and are eyeing a winning start. The 30-year-old skipper has the monstrous Chris Gayle at his disposal along with the two explosive Dwaynes Bravo and Smith. Meanwhile their bowling department also has the fire power needed in these Dhaka wickets in spinners Sunil Narine and Samuel Badree.

“The good thing in our team is that we don’t rely on any one person.

We have at least four, five, six potential match winners in our team.

Yes, spin will be a big part in this tournament, and I guess the team who handles spin better will normally come out victorious. Like I said, I am quite happy with our team, and it is not about one person,” said Sammy.

On the other hand, India will look the carry their momentum from their previous match and stamp their author over the holders. Suresh Raina, who scored an unbeaten 35 to land the win against Pakistan, relied on their spin-

ners to deliver once again.

“We have Mishra and Ashwin both are bowling very well at the moment and Jadeja also doing well but in this format its important who is better and what you want to after winning the toss but we have to play well and spin will play a vital role and they have some big hitters who don’t try to rotate the strike

much. So we have to give pressure to get the chances,” said Raina.

“Even we played a lot against West Indies and even we also know their strengths and weaknesses and they also know our spinners and fast bowlers but as I said we want to go on a positive note and whoever loses the focus will lose the game,” he added. l

if they appear as a totally different side today. A win today is a necessity for the former WT20 champions to avoid major blow to their title hope.

Australia will be looking forward to their demolishing opening pair – David

George Bailey reacts during a practice session at SBNS yesterday AFP Warner and Aaron Finch – to give them a fiery start though Pakistan’s bowling unit is combined with three top wicket takers in T20I – Hafeez, Saeed Ajmal and Shahid Afridi.

James Faulkner out with a knee injury will make Bailey miss his service and the all-rounder is likely to be replaced by Daniel Christian.

In their pre-match press conference yesterday Bailey expressed how impor-

tant a winning momentum is for them in order to reach their ultimate goal.

“I think we have a little more versatility, in terms of what we can do with the ball. I think we have a little more power with the bat. These are the two differences.

“It is nice to start with a win. In a tournament momentum is really important.

Starting with a win gets you off and running. You can’t drop too many games, maybe lose one or two. More wins the better,” said the 32-year-old Bailey.

The two sides have not met each other in a T20 since the group stage of the 2012 edition of the tournament in Sri Lanka where the Pakistani spinners played vital role in their victory.

“I think they are playing impressive cricket for long time and I think they came here with extra preparation (to face spin attacks),” said Pakistan head coach Moin Khan yesterday.

“Whoever the opponent is we must have to win this game to keep our hopes alive for the tournament. Aussies have a strong batting line up and we have to fight them to survive,” said the former Pakistan captain Moin. l

Zia to boost Tigers WT20 squad?

The Bangladesh World Twenty20 squad in the Super 10 is likely to be bolstered by the inclusion of hard hitting all-rounder Ziaur Rahman who might come in the place of injured fast bowler Rubel Hossain. Rubel hurt his finger during Bangladesh’s last Group A match against Hong Kong in Chittagong and was given a two-week rest.

He bowled just one over in their humiliating two-wicket defeat to the ICC Associate member’s which also strengthened the voice of the cricket fans to included Zia in the WT20 squad.

Right-handed Zia, who has batted in several positions alongside opening the innings, can be useful at No 7 while he will also bring the variation with his medium pacers. He will be an ideal replacement for Farhad Reza in the playing XI. Veteran fast bowler Mashrafe bin Mortaza has also recovered from side strain and is fit to play against defending champions West Indies in their first Super 10 match on March 25. It was also learnt Shamsur Rahman, who is yet to play a match in the tournament, is likely to replace Sabbir Rahman at No 3 after the youngster had a poor outing against Hong Kong. Bangladesh will return to practice at Fatullah today. l

(2L-R) Zimbabwe’s Shingi Masakadza, Vusi Sibanba and Hamilton Masakadza enjoy shopping at a market opposite the Dhaka College in the capital yesterday. Their trainer Walter along with pair of father-son (coach-player) Andy and Malcolm Waller were also there shopping.

Zimbabwe failed to qualify for the World Twenty20 second round and left Bangladesh yesterday evening, but they couldn’t resist the opportunity of buying T-shirts and caps at a cheap price REAZUR RAHMAN ROHAN

De Villiers disappointed with bowling, fielding

Indian cricketer Shikhar Dhawan (L) talks to a team official during a practice session at the Sher-e-Bangla National Cricket Stadium in Dhaka yesterday AFP

South Africa’s stand-in captain AB de Villiers said his side failed to give 100 percent with the ball and it was the reason behind their defeat against Sri Lanka at Chittagong yesterday. De Villiers, who led the side in place of injured Faf du Plesis, thought they were ‘poor’ on the field and gave 15 to 20 runs extra to Sri Lanka. “(I am) Very disappointed for the defeat. They ran two on way too many occasions and there were too many extras once again, been guilty of that in the past. Something we have to work on. We lost wickets in bad times. I got out in a bad time. When you lose

wickets at the wrong time you lose the game. We always knew that we needed to keep it no more than eight in the last over with Malinga, because he is a very good bowler (in death overs).

“Unfortunately, we were nowhere near a hundred percent and that was the disappointing part. I don’t mind losing games where we put a hundred per cent. We just weren’t good enough today,” said de Villiers to the media after the game yesterday. Though de Villiers did not blame Albie Morkel for getting dismissed at the crucial time, but he admitted that it made a severe impact.

“The wicket was very crucial, it was touch and go and it could have been

a six. But that’s the game, nature of T20 cricket. One inch further and it’s a six. He probably knows he could have hit it better. I thought we batted quite well for most, but got out in the 50-50 chances,” said the 30-year-old.

On the other hand, Sri Lankan off spinner Sachithra Senanayake credited their long stay in Bangladesh which gave them the momentum to start on a winning note.

“We have been here the last two months. We want to keep the momentum going on. We have been in good touch.

The wickets didn’t turn much. This has a bit of a bounce. So it was okay we managed it well I thought,” said Senanayake. l

14

Sport

DHAKA TRIBUNE

Cassano urges to pick Totti for the WC Antonio Cassano is ready to grab his chance of a World Cup place after two years in the international wilderness, and wants to bring another Serie A veteran with him - former AS Roma teammate Francesco Totti. “Checco (Francesco) is phenomenal. Even at 37, 38 years old he’s scary to play against. I would pick him every time,” Cassano said in an interview with the Corriere Dello Sport. In-form Parma forward Cassano played with Roma’s ageing captain and talisman for five years between 2001 and 2006, before being sold to Real Madrid.

–Reuters

Sunday, March 23, 2014

Li Na advances in Miami China’s Li Na reached the third round of the Miami Masters on Friday after her intended opponent Alisa Kleybanova withdrew with illness before their match. The walkover sends the second seed into a contest against the winner from Daniele Hantuchova and American Madison Keys. Romanian sixth seed Simona Halep also pulled out, citing a toe injury. She will be replaced in the draw by Czech Jana Cepelova, who will face Australian Casey Dellacqua in the second round.

–AFP

Scott surges to seven-stroke lead Reigning Masters champion Adam Scott of Australia fired a four-under par 68 Friday to seize a seven-stroke lead after two rounds at the US PGA Arnold Palmer Invitational. World number two Scott, hot on the heels of top-ranked Tiger Woods just three weeks before defending his Masters crown at Augusta National, matched the Bay Hill course record with a 62 Thursday to begin the day with a three-shot edge. Scott said a victory at Bay Hill would be the perfect way to enter his first major title defense at the Masters.

–AFP

6-goal Chelsea ruin Wenger’s party

Arsenal defender Gibbs victim of mistaken identity Arsenal left back Kieran Gibbs fell victim to a case of mistaken identity on Saturday when he was sent off by the referee against Chelsea for an offence committed by one of his teammates.

Arsenal were already 2-0 down at Stamford Bridge in manager Arsene Wenger’s 1,000th game in charge when Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain used his hand to push a shot from Chelsea winger Eden Hazard away from goal.

Referee Andre Marriner awarded a penalty, which Hazard subsequently scored, but showed a red card to the innocent Gibbs.

Television pictures appeared to show England midfielder OxladeChamberlain telling the official: “Ref, it was me!” But Marriner let the decision stand, and Gibbs was left to storm off the pitch. l

RESULT

Chelsea

Arsenal's Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain (C) handles the ball during their English Premier League match against Chelsea at Stamford Bridge in London yesterday

Chelsea spoilt Arsene Wenger’s 1,000th match as Arsenal manager by humiliating their London rivals 6-0 at Stamford Bridge on Saturday to pull seven points clear in the Premier League.

Wenger was hoping to celebrate his milestone by cutting Chelsea’s lead to a point, but instead his side were blown away by a flurry of first-half goals from Samuel Eto’o, Andre Schurrle, Eden Hazard and Oscar.

Hazard’s goal came from the penalty spot after Arsenal midfielder Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain had handled the ball on the line, but a bizarre case of mistaken identity meant that his teammate Kieran Gibbs was sent off instead.

Oscar completed his brace in the 66th minute before substitute Mohamed Salah scored to seal the club’s biggest-ever win over Arsenal and give manager Jose Mourinho his most emphatic Chelsea success.

Arsenal retain a game in hand on Chelsea and have the consolation of an FA Cup semi-final to look forward to, but they are now at risk of being left

Federer, Djokovic dominate in Miami as Murray wobbles World number two Novak Djokovic led a parade of champions that included Roger Federer and Andy Murray into the third round of the Sony Open on Friday.

After Federer and Djokovic’s successes, Venus Williams registered a straight sets win and Li Na advanced in a walkover, it was left to defending champion Murray to provide a bit of late night drama, taming Australian Matthew Ebden 3-6 6-0 6-1 as the clock approached midnight.

Murray, who split with coach Ivan Lendl earlier in the week, got the contest off to an unsteady start when Ebden broke him at the first opportunity and then held serve to quickly jump in front 3-0 on his way to easily taking the opening set.

After a year’s absence, fifth seeded Federer celebrated his return to the Miami hardcourts with a clinical 6-4 7-6 (4) win over towering Ivo Karlovic while world number two Djokovic launched his bid for a fourth Miami title in impressive fashion, dispatching Frenchman Jeremy Chardy 6-4 6-3.

Federer, who had been dismissed

as a fading force following last year’s disappointing campaign, has hit back at his critics on the court, clinching the 78th title of his career in Dubai earlier this month, while reaching the finals in Brisbane and last week in Indian Wells, where he lost to Djokovic.

Djokovic, riding the momentum from his victory at Indian Wells into South Beach, jumped out to a 4-1 lead in the opening set before breaking Frenchman Chardy to secure a 1-0 lead.

There was only one break in the second set and that went to Djokovic, who nosed in front 5-3 before serving out for victory.

In other action, fourth seeded Spaniard David Ferrer and ninth seeded Frenchman Richard Gasquet both had straight sets passages to the next round.

Ferrer, who lost last year’s final to Andy Murray, returned to action after sitting out the Masters series event in Indian Wells with a left abductor strain and showed no hint of rust as he cruised past Russian Teymuraz Gabashvili 6-4 6-0.

Gasquet was given a tougher task but eventually dispatched 83rd ranked Colombian Alejandro Gonzalez 7-6 (7) 6-4. l

behind in the title race.

Liverpool can move to within four points of Chelsea with victory at second-bottom Cardiff City later on Saturday, while fourth-place Manchester City will climb above Arsenal, with two games in hand, if they beat bottom club Fulham.

Arsenal were the first team to threaten at a sun-soaked Stamford Bridge, with Olivier Giroud forcing Petr Cech to make a smart save in the fourth minute, but from then on it was oneway traffic.

Eto’o opened the scoring a minute later, cutting inside Oxlade-

Oxlade-Chamberlain, who could be seen on television vainly telling the official: “Ref, it was me!”

Hazard coolly lifted his spot-kick down the centre of the goal and there was even more misery to come for Wenger before half-time as Oscar tapped in Torres’s low cross to further swell Chelsea’s lead.

It was the second time this season that Arsenal had gone 4-0 down in the first half, after their 5-1 loss at Liverpool last month, and the second period brought yet more misery for Wenger’s beleaguered side.

Oscar beat goalkeeper Wojciech Szc-

6 0

Arsenal

zesny with a shot from outside the box before Salah ran through and slotted home his first goal since his January move from Basel.

Elsewhere on Saturday, seventhplace Manchester United will hope to harness the momentum from their 3-0 victory over Olympiakos in the Champions League in mid-week when they visit West Ham United.

Third-from-bottom Sunderland visit Norwich City and fourth-bottom Crystal Palace travel to Newcastle United, while Hull City host West Bromwich Albion and Everton tackle Swansea City at Goodison Park. l

Relentless Real looking to snuff out Barca bid The 168th La Liga “Clasico” between in-form Real Madrid and an erratic Barcelona could see the tabletoppers take a big step towards winning the title and sound the death knell for the champions bid for a fifth triumph in six years.

Leaders Real host their arch rivals at the Bernabeu on Sunday (2000 GMT) in one of soccer’s most emotive occasions, featuring a clash of the world’s

FIXTURES Osasuna Real Betis Valencia Real Madrid

v v v v

Sevilla Atletico Madrid Villarreal Barcelona

two richest clubs, the two best players Real’s Cristiano Ronaldo and Barca’s Lionel Messi - and watched by hundreds of millions around the world.

Real, on 70 points with 10 games left, are in much the better shape going into the match and have put together an unbeaten run of 31 matches in all competitions since they lost 2-1 at Bar-

United lose RVP for up to six weeks

Andy Murray waves to fans after his match against Matthew Ebden (not pictured) on day five of the Sony Open at Crandon Tennis Center on Friday REUTERS

Chamberlain and curling home, before Schurrle made it 2-0 two minutes later with a drilled shot into the bottom-left corner.

Eto’o was then forced off due to an apparent hamstring injury, with Fernando Torres entering the fray, but Chelsea continued to attack.

The 15th minute witnessed the game’s most peculiar incident, as a diving Oxlade-Chamberlain used his left hand to block a shot from Hazard that was drifting narrowly wide of the Arsenal goal.

Referee Andre Marriner pointed to the spot, but sent off Gibbs, rather than

REUTERS

Eto’o 5, Schurrle 7, Hazard 17-P, Oscar 42, 66, Salah 71

Manchester United’s underwhelming season received yet another setback on Friday with the news that striker Robin van Persie will be out for four to six weeks with a sprained knee.

The Dutchman sustained the injury after scoring a hat-trick against Olympiakos in the Champions League on Wednesday and news of the blow fell hours after United were paired with Bayern Munich in the quarter-finals.

“Following further investigation, Robin van Persie has a sprained knee, which will keep him out for around four to six weeks,” United said in a statement on their official Twitter account. l

ca in La Liga at the end of October.

Barca, four points behind Real in third and a point adrift of surprise packages Atletico Madrid in second, slipped to surprise recent defeats at Real Valladolid and Real Sociedad and badly need a win to reignite their campaign.

The stage is set for another grand spectacle, when some of the game’s most expensive and best-paid talent, including the likes of Gareth Bale and Karim Benzema for Real and Neymar and Alexis Sanchez for Barca, will seek to make their mark.

Like Ronaldo, who has netted 12 times against Barca since joining Real in 2009, Messi has been on scintillating form in recent weeks and the Argentina forward can overtake Real great and compatriot Alfredo Di Stefano as the leading marksman in “Clasicos” if he can score a 19th goal on Sunday.

“Now is the crunch time in the season, when things are won and lost so we need to keep our performances up and keep winning games,” Bale said after Real secured their place in the Champions League quarter-finals on Tuesday.

“We will treat the game against Barcelona as just another match,” added the Wales winger, who played just over

Lionel Messi (R) yells at his teammates during a training session at Ciutat Esportiva Joan Gamper ahead of 'classic' of the season against Real Madrid yesterday REUTERS an hour of his first “Clasico” at the Nou Camp in October without making much of an impact.

Barca has been in institutional turmoil over Neymar’s transfer from Santos in the close season, with president Sandro Rosell stepping down amid allega-

Juve stride on as race for Europe intensifies The battle for European qualification dominates Serie A this weekend when leaders Juventus visit basement side Catania expecting to stretch their comfortable league lead.

Juventus visit the Sicilian strugglers only days after striding into the Europa League quarter-finals thanks to a 1-0 win at Fiorentina.

Inter host Atalanta holding a onepoint lead over Parma, who have a game in hand.

Milan, meanwhile, travel to Lazio for the latest in a string of ‘must-win’

games but which, according to some reports, could carry serious ramifications for coach Clarence Seedorf if he is to keep his job. Seedorf has recently won the backing of club owner and president Silvio Berlusconi. l

FIXTURES Parma Bologna Inter Sampdoria Udinese Napoli Catania Lazio

v v v v v v v v

Genoa Cagliari Atalanta Verona Sassuolo Fiorentina Juventus Milan

tions of misappropriation of funds and tax evasion. Neymar has been in poor form since the turn of the year, while Real’s marquee signing Bale, who joined from Tottenham Hotspur for a record fee of 100 million euros ($139 million), has been increasingly impressive. l

PSG maintain title march Paris Saint-Germain, fresh from drawing Chelsea in the Champions League quarter-finals, maintained their march to a defence of their Ligue 1 title with a 1-0 win over spirited Lorient on Friday.

Thiago Motta’s first half goal was all that split the two teams with the valiant mid-table hosts giving Laurent Blanc’s side plenty of nervy moments in Brittany. The hard fought win on Lorient’s artificial pitch at their Stade du Moustoir extended PSG’s crushing lead at the top of Ligue 1 to 11 points, with second-placed Monaco in action on Sunday against third-placed Lille. l

DHAKA TRIBUNE

Sport

15

Sunday, March 23, 2014

QUICK BYTES

SCORECARD, ENG v NZ

Laser Skating lift third title

England M. Lumb c Anderson b McClenaghan 33 A. Hales c Anderson b Mills 0 M. Ali c McClenaghan b Anderson 36 E. Morgan c B. McCullum b Southee 12 J. Buttler b Anderson 32 R. Bopara not out 24 C. Jordan c Southee b N. McCullum 8 T. Bresnan not out 17 Extras: (lb4, w6) 10 Total: (for six wkts; 20 overs) 172

Laser Skating Club lifted the title of the Walton Smartphone 5th National Roller Speed Skating winning 29 gold medals of the available 43 at the Bangabandhu National Stadium premises yesterday. This is the third consecutive title of the eventual champions. Royal Skating Club finished runner-up with five gold, 10 silvers and five bronzes. Dinajpur Skating Association won three gold models to finish third.

–RM

Fall of wickets: 1-1, 2-73, 3-76, 4-103, 5-129, 6-148 Bowling Mills 4-0-36-1, McClenaghan 4-0-22-1, Southee 4-0-46-1, Anderson 4-0-32-1, N. McCullum 4-0-32-1 New Zealand M. Guptill c Jordan b Dernbach 11 K. Williamson not out 24 B. McCullum not out 16 Extras: (lb1) 1 Total: (for one wkt; 5.2 overs) 52

England lose injured Wright for World T20 Injury-hit England suffered another blow when all-rounder Luke Wright was ruled out of the World Twenty20 due to a side strain, the International Cricket Council said on Saturday.

Batsman-wicketkeeper Craig Kieswetter will replace Wright for the 2010 champions, who open their campaign later on Saturday against New Zealand in Chittagong. Kieswetter played the last of his 25 T20 internationals in September 2012, but turned out for Brisbane Heats in Australia’s domestic Big Bash T20 competition earlier this year. England have already lost Joe Root and Ben Stokes due to injury, while skipper Stuart Broad is nursing a troublesome knee.

–AFP

Spurs stretch winning streak to 12 games Italian playmaker Marco Belinelli scored 17 points to spark the San Antonio Spurs to their 12th NBA victory in a row, a 99-79 triumph Friday at Sacramento.

The win streak is the longest for the Spurs since November 1-24 of 2010, and boosted their NBA-best record to 52-16. San Antonio also collected a ninth consecutive victory in meetings with the Kings, an 11th win in a row at Sacramento, and their 30th win in the past 33 meetings with the Kings.

–AFP

Brisbane claim A-League title Midfielder Luke Brattan blasted a goal in stoppage time to hand Brisbane Roar the 2013-14 A-League premiership with a 1-0 win over Melbourne victory in Brisbane Saturday. With the Victory holding on desperately, Brattan unleashed a thumping 25-metre volley to ensure his team finished first past the post for the second time in their history. Brattan’s powerful strike was the only shot that could get past Victory goalkeeper Lawrence Thomas, who had denied Brisbane eight times with quality saves.

–AFP

DAY’S WATCH Sony Six NBA 2013-14 6:00AM New Orleans v Miami 8:30AM Golden State v San Antonio 11:00PM Toronto v Atlanta 6:45PM Scottish League 2014 Brechin City v Rangers

Fall of wickets: 1-29 (Guptill)

Bangladesh hockey players celebrate victory against Sri Lanka after their Islami Bank Asian Games Hockey Qualifiers match at Hockey Stadium yesterday

ISLAMI BANK ASIAN GAMES HOCKEY QUALIFIERS

Hosts, Oman set up final Bangladesh cruised into the first place decider of the Islami Bank Asian Games Hockey Qualifiers with a hard fought victory as they beat Sri Lanka 3-0 in the tie-breakers after the stipulated time ended 2-2 at the Maulana Bhashani National Hockey Stadium yesterday.

Sabbir Hossain, Krishna Kumar and Sarwar Hossain converted the tie-breakers while Mainul Islam Koushik was the only one who missed. Bangladesh goalkeeper Ashim Gope successfully foiled the attempts from Sri Lanka’s Tharanga Irosha, Sandaruwan Priyalanka and Lahiru Gihan Weersooriya with timely onrush and dives. Bangladesh will play Oman in the title decider at 3:15pm today while Sri Lanka and Singapore will fight for the 3rd-4th place.

Meanwhile, Chinese Taipei and Iran will play the 5th-6th place decider and Qatar and Hong Kong China will compete with each other in the 7th-8th

place decider today. Qatar and Hong Kong are the teams eliminated from the path of the Asian Games.

Sri Lanka took the lead in the 20th minute through a combined attack.

Rajita Dilan Kulathunga made the hard work in the right flank and pushed a square pass to Damith Madhusanka who coolly netted the ball past Gope.

At the stroke of half-time Bangladesh came close to equalise but skipper Mamunur Rahman Chayan’s drag bounced back from the cross post.

Chayan failed to score from six penalty corners overall in the game.

However, Bangladesh restored the parity in the 43rd minute off a penalty stroke. After a tricky penalty corner, Nannu’s slap hit was struck in the hand of Sri Lankan defender Tharnaga Irosha resulting a penalty which was converted by Pushkor Khisha Mimo.

In the 61st minute Rabbi Salehin flicked a powerful hit of Chayan in the Sri Lankan post. Forwards Mainul Is-

Liverpool, Man City march on Luis Suarez scored a hat-trick yesterday as Liverpool won 6-3 at Cardiff City to move to within four points of Chelsea, while City are two points further back -- but with three games in hand -- after Yaya Toure also claimed a treble in a 5-0 win over Fulham.

Arsenal were left seven points off the pace, albeit with a game in hand, after Wenger’s side were blown away by a flurry of first-half goals from Sam-

uel Eto’o, Andre Schurrle, Eden Hazard and Oscar at Stamford Bridge.

Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s side threatened to pull off an upset by going ahead through Jordon Mutch in the ninth minute and then retaking the lead through Fraizer Campbell after Suarez had equalised.

Suarez now has 28 league goals for the season, just three short of the record for a 38-game campaign.

City moved above Arsenal into third place after Toure’s treble helped to put paid to bottom club Fulham, who had defender Fernando Amorebieta sent off early in the second half. l

ICC World T20 2014 3:30PM Pakistan v Australia 7:30PM West Indies v India Star Sports 4 7:30PM English Premier League Tottenham v Southampton La Liga 12:00AM Valencia v Villareal 2:00AM Real Madrid v Barcelona Star Sports 1

Star Sports 2 1:45AM Italian Serie A Catania v Juventus Ten Sports 7:00PM French Ligue 1 2013/14 Saint- Etienne v FC Sochaux 9:45PM Moto GP 2014 Qatar, Raceday

RESULTS Cardiff Mutch 9, 88, Campbell 25

3 6

Liverpool

3 2

Swansea

Suarez 16, 60, 90, Skrtel 41, 54, Sturridge 75

Everton

Baines 20-P, Lukaku 53, Barkley 58

Hull Rosenior 32, Long 38

Man City

Bony 33, Williams 90

2 0

West Brom

5 0

Fulham

1 0

Crystal Palace

2 0

Sunderland

Toure 26-pen, 54-P, 65, Fernandinho 84, Demichelis 88

Newcastle Cisse 90

Norwich

Grameenphone captain (2L) receives the Standard Chartered Trophy at the M Mansur Ali National Handball Stadium yesterday COURTESY

GP cruise to Anfield Grameenphone emerged as the champions of the Bangladesh phase of Standard Chartered Trophy, a 5a-side futsal tournament, defeating Epyllion 2-0 in the final at the M Mansur Ali National Handball Stadium yesterday.

Champions Grameenphone now earn the ticket to play at Anfield, home ground of the English Premier League club Liverpool.

Shakib netted the opener for Gra-

meenphone in the 7th minute before Suad sealed the fate of the game in the dying minutes. Grameenphone will play in the finals of the Standard Chartered Trophy along with 15 other selected teams from across the world scheduled to be held at Anfield in May this year.

On their way to the final, Grameenphone beat Standard Charted Blue 4-3 in a penalty shootout while Epyllion beat Bangla Trac 2-1 in the semifinals. l

Snodgrass 20, Tettey 32

Bayern Munich are poised to have their Bundesliga title confirmed in the next three days after Saturday’s 2-0 win at Mainz 05 kept them 23 points clear.

Bayern would have been champions if rivals Borussia Dortmund and Schalke 04 had both failed to win, but Dortmund kept the Bavarians waiting with a 3-0 win at Hanover while Schalke cruised to a 3-1 win at home to Eintracht Braunschweig.

Bayern left it late at Mainz with midfielder Bastian Schweinsteiger striking with a header on 82 minutes before Germany team-mate Mario Goetze netted the European champions’ second four minutes later. l

RESULTS Schalke 04

3 1

Braunschweig

1 0

Hamburg

0 3

Dortmund

1 1

FC Augsburg

0 2

Bayern Munich

Goretzka 17, Huntelaar 66, Szalai 90+3

VfB Stuttgart Maxim 69

Hanover 96

Kessel 81

Hummels 43, Lewandowski 52, Reus 90+1

Wolfsburg Olic 81

Mainz 05

Russell win, BJMC stumble Defending champions Sheikh Russell kicked off Modhumoti Bank Independence Cup with a 3-0 win over Chittagong Abahani at the Bangabandhu National Stadium yesterday. In the second match of the day Team BJMC was held to a goalless draw by Bangladesh Championship League outfit Rahmatganj at the same venue.

Serbian forward Miroslav Savanovic made his Russell debut but hardly had an opportunity to impress in the firsr half as the ball was locked in the mid field for most of Russell made the debut of their new Serbian forward MiroslavSavanovic and hardly made any impact in the first half as the ball was confined in the midfield.

Russell came out firing in all cylinders after the breather and sealed full points in a ten-minute storm.

The lead was taken in the 63rd minute after Jamaican midfielder Ricardo Cousins danced down the right flank

and curved a neat cross in the middle of the box to see Mithun Chowdhury take control and finish with a cool head.

In the 67th minute Savanovic sent a long ball to Haitian Pascal Milien whose first attempt was blocked by Abahani goalkeeper Nahiduddin before he found the bacl of the net on the rebound.

Mithun netted his second in the 73rd minute after Savanovic paved the way for him with a neat cross from the left flank. Mithun side footed strike landed in the far post which ended anu hopes Chittagong Abahani had of getting back.

Meanwhile, Team BJMC failed to show their superiority against their second tier opponents as Rahmatganj concentrated on containing and packed their defence with more men than usual. However BJMC was unfortunate in the first-half as forward Aminur Rahman Sajib’s 40-yard scorcher rebounded off the side post.

Later young forward Zakir Hossain Jiku continued to squander the chances as he failed to place an Abdullah Parvez corner into the net from handshaking distance in the 75th minute before heading wide three minutes later. l

Broad slams umpires

Bayern made to wait for league title

BTV, Gazi TV, Maasranga TV Star Sports 1, HD1

Italian Serie A 11:30AM Napoli v Fiorentina 1:45AM Lazio v AC Milan

lam Koushik and Hasan Jubaer Niloy squandered easy chances in the dying minutes and allowed Sri Lanka to counter attack. Sri Lanka equalised through Lahiru Gihan Weerosooriya’s strike in the 63rd minute from a penalty. Gope’s brilliance in the tie-breaker was enough to judge him as man of the match.

Bangladesh coach Naveed Alam looked helpless watching his forwards misfiring and said, “It’s the same story of too much rush, it’s not that they are failing to penetrate but they can’t finish their jobs, maybe a little luck would have changed the scenario.”

After two body and mind wrecking matches against Iran and Sri Lanka, Bangladesh will find it hard to deal the pressure of Oman today.

Meanwhile in the other match of the day Chinese Taipei beat Hong Kong China 6-2, Iran thrashed Qatar 7-1 with forward Taheridad Navid slamming the second hat-trick of the tournament while Oman beat Singapore 4-0. l

MUMIT M

Bowling Ali 1-0-7-0, Dernbach 2-0-13-1, Bresnan 1-010-0, Broad 1-0-16-0, Jordan 0.2-0-5-0 New Zealand win by nine runs on D/L method

Werner 43

Schweinsteiger 82, Goetze 86

Uddin Khan n Minhaz from Chittagong

England skipper Stuart Broad criticised the match officials for putting the players and the crowd’s safety under threat from the thunder storm during their game against New Zealand yesterday.

Broad in the post-match press conference expressed dissatisfaction over the on-field umpires for not stopping the play when thunders hovered over the stadium during the fourth over of New Zealand’s chase.

“To be as polite as I possibly can be it was distinctly average decision making to keep us throughout after the first thunder light. I think both sides were uncomfortable out there with such heavy lightning around. They (umpires) didn’t see the lightning and didn’t feel like it was a threat. At the end of the day it’s a game of cricket.

I wouldn’t be putting the crowd and players safety in threat,” said Broad.

Meanwhile, Kiwi pacer Kyle Mills said Broad’s reaction was a result of ending on the losing side and “if Stuart was on the other end of it he would have been more than happy with the decision.” l

16

DHAKA TRIBUNE

Back Page

Sunday, March 23, 2014

Blood bank busted in capital, 3 jailed n Kailash Sarkar A mobile court sealed off a blood bank for irregularities at the capital’s Bakshibazar while one of its owners and two employees were jailed for different terms.

The drive was led by Executive Magistrate AHM Anwar Pasha and was accompanied by personnel of Rapid Action Battalion (Rab) and members of the Drugs administration which also seized 64 bags of blood from the blood bank named “Dhaka Blood Centre.”

The owner was identified as Mohammad Khokon, 48, of Noakhali, and was jailed for two years while each of the two employees were identified as Md Rabiul Islam, 19 and Rasel Hossain, 22. They were served one year jail terms for collecting, preserving and selling blood through improper ways leaving public health into danger.

Witnesses said the blood bank had been collecting blood from drug addicts for last four years as the mobile court found a heroin addict was selling blood during the drive.

Selim Miah, relative of an ailing patient admitted at Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib Medical University, was found purchasing a bag of blood from the centre.

The blood bag bore a medical report by a doctor, although the blood centre did not have any qualified doctor or a nurse.

Rabiul Islam, 19 had been used to forge the signature of an MBBS doctor.

He admitted that he used to sign as a doctor on the body of the blood bag

GENEVA CAMP

New generation not interested in Pakistan n Udisa Islam

A mobile court raids an illegal blood bank at the capital’s Bakshibazar yesterday conducting test of only the blood group although at least five tests, including HIV, are mandatory for collecting blood from any person.

Swapan Kumer Tarafder, deputy director of the Health Directorate, said although the blood bank was registered, it had no experienced doctor while they had been collecting and selling

blood without even testing the blood of the donors.

Magistrate Pasha said: “They had been making two bags of blood out of a single bag of blood and some employees of the Dhaka Medical College Hospital are suspected to be involved with the illicit business.”

During the drive, owner Mohammad

DHAKA TRIBUNE

Khokon confessed that he had been a joint owner of the bank for the last 13 months while two other partners were Sirajul Islam Badal and Md Sarwar, a pathologist and an employee of the DMCH. The mobile courts of Rab so far sealed off 27 blood centres and jailed 51 persons for their illicit acts. l

Shezabeen, a girl who was born in Mohammadpur Geneva Camp in the capital some 14 years ago, was married off last year. Like her, every girl of this camp are married off earlier as their families failed to accommodate them in a small, 64 square feet room. Unfortunately, when she went to her in-laws house, which was at another side of the camp, her new life began with 10 new people in a room no bigger than her own house.

The young generation of the Geneva camp had been long seeking their rights, saying that they were born in Bangladesh and were not interest about Pakistan. They also expressed their frustration that neither of the two countries had acknowledged them fully.

A study by the Refugee and Migratory Movements Research Unit (RMMRU) says almost 89% of the new generation in the camps wants to stay in Bangladesh. Another research, carried out

by Al Falah Bangladesh in Dhaka, Mymensingh, Khulna and Faridpur, states that 70% of them wat to live in Bangladesh, while another 17% wanted to go to Pakistan.

“I agree that our forefathers may have collaborated with the Pakistan army at that time, but what about those who were not involved with such actions or were born after 1971”. Abdul Malek, who has been living outside the

camp, said while talking to the Dhaka Tribune.

“It is true that we received our nationality as a Bangladeshi, but we still cannot enjoy any of our rights yet,’ he added.

Those who live in the Geneva camp, especially the girls, are deprived of their fundamental rights. Shejabeen herself was not able to study beyond the 4th grade.

“We are almost illiterate as our parents could not afford our monthly school fees,” says Zubaida, another resident at the camp who was also married off at an early age.

“I don’t want to go Pakistan. I have my work, my own life here. Although we face difficulties in staying in such congested rooms, but this is my country. To me, Pakistan is a foreign land,” she added.

Their communities had been concentrated in the capital’s Mohammadpur and Mirpur areas, and in Khulna, Chittagong and Santahar. According to a latest UNHCR report, there are around 1.6 lakh Urdu-speaking people living in 116 camps in 14 districts across the country. Around 70% of the population in the communities now consists of individuals born after 1971.

Tasneem Siddiqui, a professor of political science at Dhaka University, said although the state acknowledged them as citizens of Bangladesh, they were yet to be considered as a Bangladeshi and denied of their fundamental rights. l

Bangladesh’s otter fishing tradition faces extinction n AFP Swimming in circles alongside a fishing boat, the excited cries of two shorthaired otters ring out across a river in southern Bangladesh that feeds into the Sundarbans, the world’s largest mangrove forest.

The fishermen lower a net into the water close to the banks of the river, and one by one, tails up, the animals dive under the water with a splash.

It is a rare technique that relies on coordination between man and trained otters, a century-old fishing partnership that has already long died out in other parts of Asia.

“Our job depends on the otters,” says Shashudhar Biswas, a fisherman in his 50s, whose family has trained the animals to help them fish for generations.

The otters do not catch fish by themselves. Instead, they chase the fish towards the fishing net placed next to the boat.

“The otters manage to spot fish among the plants, then the fish swim away and we stay close with our nets.

If we did it without them, we wouldn’t be able to catch as many fish,” says Shashudhar’s son Vipul, standing as he

M J Akbar joins BJP n Tribune Report Author and senior journalist M J Akbar yesterday joined the BJP saying that Modi’s leadership was essential for India.

Akbar, who was a Congress MP from Kishanganj in Bihar between 1989 and 1991, switched over to the BJP bandwagon ahead of the Lok Sabha polls, reports The Times of India.

“I have come back to politics because of policy. The crisis in front of the country is known to all. This is an opportunity to do whatever little we can do for our country,” he said after joining the party.

“It is our duty to join hands with the voice of the nation and bring the country back to a recovery mission. I look forward to working in BJP,” he told reporters.

Akbar, who was close to then prime minister Rajiv Gandhi, acknowledged that the latter was a friend and 20 years have passed since that.

Backing Modi, Akbar said that no other leader has gone through so much scrutiny as has Modi.

“It is not only that there is crisis. But now I also see a solution to the crisis.

Narendra Modi’s leadership is essential for the country,” he said.

“In ten years, no other politicians has gone through so much scrutiny as Modi has gone through. He was scrutinised by police, central government, CBI, court-appointed institution,” he said.

He also hoped that Muslims will join hands with BJP as they are equal citizens of the nation and will come out of the “politics of fear”. l

steers the boat along the leafy canal.

Fishing is usually done during the night when the fishermen can expect to catch between four and 12 kilogrammes of fish, shrimp and crabs.

The family earns around $250 a month, selling their catch in the local market. But in recent years, abundant fish are increasingly scarce and when the fishermen drag up their nets they are often empty.

‘Wiped out’

Natural fish populations have reduced drastically in recent years, says Mohammed Mostafa Feeroz, a Zoology professor at Jahangirnagar University, because he said: “The fish simply cannot breed.

“Over-sedimentation, water pollution from oil and the use of pesticides in [rice] paddy fields as well as over catching are all having an impact,” Feeroz told AFP. Feeroz has been studying otter fishing in Bangladesh for 25 years and over this period the number of families involved has dropped from 500 to just 150.

“Go back 50 years and the practice has declined by about 90%,” he said. If the trend continued, he believes otter fishing will be “completely wiped out” within the next two decades. l

A recent picture shows a fisherman using otters to lure fish into his net on the Chittra River in Narail

China spots debris in Indian Ocean n Reuters

China yesterday said it had a new satellite image of what could be wreckage from a missing Malaysian airliner, as more planes and ships headed to join an international search operation scouring some of the remotest seas on Earth.

The latest possible lead came as the search for Malaysian Airlines Flight MH370 entered its third week, with still no confirmed trace found of the Boeing 777 or the 239 people on board.

The new potential sighting was dramatically announced by Malaysia’s acting Transport Minister Hishammuddin Hussein after he was handed a note with details during a news conference in Kuala Lumpur, scooping the official announcement from China.

“Chinese ships have been dispatched to the area,” Hishammuddin told reporters.

China said the object was 22 meters long (74ft) and 13 meters (43ft) wide, and spotted around 120km (75 miles) “south by west” of potential debris reported by Australia off its west coast in the forbidding waters of the southern Indian Ocean.

The image was captured by the high-definition Earth observation satellite “Gaofen-1” early on March 18, two days after the Australian satellite picture was taken, China’s State Administration of Science, Technology and Industry for National Defence (SASTIND) said on its website.

It could not easily be determined from the blurred images whether the objects were the same, but the Chinese photograph could depict a cluster of smaller objects, a senior military officer from one of the 26 nations involved in the search for the plane said.

The wing of a Boeing 777-200ER is approximately 27 meters long and 14 meters wide at its base, according to estimates derived from publicly available scale drawings. Its fuselage is 63.7 meters long by 6.2 meters wide.

Flight MH370 vanished from civilian radar screens early on March 8, less than an hour after taking off from Kuala Lumpur on a scheduled flight to Beijing.

Investigators believe someone on board shut off the plane’s communications systems, and partial military radar tracking showed it turning west and re-crossing the Malay Peninsula, apparently under the control of a skilled pilot.

That has led them to focus on hijacking or sabotage, but they have not ruled out technical problems.

Remote seas

Since Australia announced the first image of what could be parts of the aircraft on Thursday, the international search for the plane has focused on an expanse of ocean more than 2,000km (1,200 miles) southwest of Perth.

The Australian Maritime Safety Authority (AMSA) said one of its aircraft reported sighting a number of “small

objects” with the naked eye, including a wooden pallet, within a radius of 5km.

A Royal New Zealand Air Force P-3 Orion aircraft took a closer look but only reported seeing clumps of seaweed. It dropped a marker buoy to track the movement.

“A merchant ship in the area has been tasked to relocate and seek to identify the material,” AMSA said in a statement.

The search area experienced good weather conditions yesterday with visibility of around 10 km and moderate seas.

Australia, which is coordinating the rescue, has cautioned the objects in the satellite image might be a lost shipping container or other debris, and may have sunk since the picture was taken.

“Even though this is not a definite lead, it is probably more solid than any other lead around the world and that is why so much effort and interest is being put into this search,” Deputy Prime Minister Warren Truss told reporters, before latest Chinese image was reported.

China said its icebreaker “Snow Dragon” was heading for the area, but was still around 70 hours away. Japan and India were also sending more planes and Australian and Chinese navy vessels were steaming towards the southern search zone.

But the area is known for rough seas and strong currents, and Malaysia’s Hishammuddin said a cyclone warning had been declared for Christmas Island, far off to the north. l

AFP

Cantonment in the offing in Chapainawabganj Correspondent, n Our Chapainawabganj An initiative for establishing a cantonment at Jhilim area under Chapai Nawabganj district has been adopted

by Bangladesh Army in association with local district administration to improve the service’s facilities of the district and control the militant activities in the area.

A view exchange meeting was held in the Chapai Nawabganj district circuit house auditorium yesterday chaired by Sarder Sarafat Ali, deputy commissioner of Chapai Nawabganj while Major General Abdullahel Baki, GOC of 11 infantry division of Bogra tabled a presentation in this regard.

Local MP Abdul Wadud, Superintendent of Police Bashir Ahmed and senior officials and politicians gave their opinion attending the meeting.

Major General Abdullahel Baki said the government had taken a plan to establish a warrant officer’s academy in Chapainawabganj. It would be an initial step towards establishing a fullfledged cantonment in this area.

Several offices including modern training institutes, medical college and combined military hospital and cant-public school and college would be established, if the initiative of establishing the cantonment achieves its goal.

DC Sarafat Ali told the Dhaka Tribune that the scheme of establishing the cantonment is still in the primary stage.

The area will be developed if the proposal comes true. He said the primary location of establishing the cantonment is Babu Dyeing area of the district, where there are some khas lands, while some private land would have to be acquired if the scheme is approved. l

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B3 Gas price hike in India

B4 TED turns 30 with new

to set off farm or food subsidy dilemma

chapter of ‘ideas worth spreading’

SUNDAY, MARCH 23, 2014 www.dhakatribune.com/business

ROUGH ESTIMATE ON REQUIRED FIRE SAFETY EQUIPMENT TK2,410 CR

FIRE DOORS 4,000 factories need 40,000 fire doors A fire door costs Tk65,000 Total cost for fire doors Tk260 crore SPRINKLERS For 1,500 factories Each needs Tk1.5 crore to install Total cost for installing Tk2,250 crore

Photo: Bigstock

A H MAMUN/DT INFOGRAPHIC

RMG fire safety may cost industry Tk2,400cr n Ibrahim Hossain Ovi The country’s ready-made garment (RMG) sector needs to spend over Tk2,410 crore for importing fire equipment- sprinklers and fire doors- to comply with fire safety conditions set by the two retailers' platforms Accord and Alliance.

Both the two platforms, who have launched their inspection to the country’s RMG factories, are now putting pressure on the owners to comply their factories with the fire safety plan recommended by Accord and Alliance.

“A total of 1,200 factories need to install sprinklers, while 3,000 other factories have to install fire doors as per the requirement of the Accord and Alliance,” BGMEA vice-president ShahiduallahAzim, told the Dhaka Tribune.

Based on sizes and the patterns of the factories, a factory owner, on an average, will have to spend around Tk1.50 crore to install sprinklers including setting-up costs, while Tk6.50 lakh will be needed for the specific fire doors, said Azim.

According to Bangladesh Knitwear Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BKMEA), currently BKMEA has 1000 running factories that need to install fire doors while 300 out of 1000

factories have to install sprinklers.

“Chinese fire doors certified by Underwriters Laboratories (UL) cost Tk2,300 per square feet and a 3/7 sq cost around Tk65,000 including looking glass while 7/8sq will cost Tk150,000,” said M Azharul Islam Khan, chief executive officer of VEGA Trading, a supplier of fire safety equipment.

The price of a sprinkler ranges between Tk1,200 to Tk1,500.

“A factory owner will have to spend about Tk7 lakh to install the fire doors if imported from China, while it will cost Tk15 lakh if imported from American market,” said Abdus Salam Murshedy, Managing Director of Envoy Group which recently imported 130 doors.

Basically, the prices of the doors depend on the sizes of the buildings and also on the product origin.

“I have to spend Tk1.72 croreto install fire safety equipment including fire doors, sprinklers and hydrant pump for an eight-storied building,” Mohammad Hatem, first vice-president of BKMEA, told the Dhaka Tribune.

Meanwhile, a group of factory owners alleged that they are not getting financial support from the buyers to improve safety and security measures.

As per the Accord and Alliance agreement, buyers are supposed to

provide financial support for retrofitting or renovation but now they are not paying any heed to their commitments, alleged the owners, whose factory have already been inspected and recommended for further improvement to ensure fire safety.

“Although we are yet to get any specimen on whether the doors should be imported or locally manufactured, however, it has to be clearly certified that it can be able to protect the factories from the fire for 60 minutes to 90 minutes,” said M Rabin, managing director of Alliance for Bangladesh Worker Safety.

The number of fire doors, however, deepens on the structure of the building. “Approximately 25% factories will need sprinklers,” said Brad Loewen, chief safety inspector of Accord on Fire and Building Safety in Bangladesh recently.

“For a 150-square feet space, one sprinkler will be needed and if the building is over 23-metre tall, all floors will require it,” Brad said.

The issue of fire and building safety came under the spotlight last year, following the catastrophic incident at the Rana Plaza building collapse that killed over 1,100 workers and Tazreen Fashion fire incident. l

IMF ED due on March 29 n Asif Showkat Kallol Executive Director on International Monetary Fund board, Rakesh Mohan is due to arrive in Dhaka on March 29.

His six-day tour is aimed at convincing Bangladesh authorities about the IMF’s proposed new debt policy for the low-income countries.

Bangladesh may oppose the new debt limit policy under which the country will face difficulties in fulfilling the criteria set by IMF on concessional and non-concessional loans, according to the finance ministry. During the visit, Rakesh Mohan will meet Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina along with high government officials including Finance Minister AMA Muhith and Bangladesh Bank Governor Dr Atiur Rahman.

Apart from the present status of the three-year Extended Credit Facility, fresh IMF loans will also be discussed in the meets. IMF official will also talk about the future course of Bangladesh’s foreign exchange regime.

Rakesh, former deputy governor of the Reserve Bank of India, will stay in Dhaka till April 3. As per proposed reforms, IMF will put limit on concessional and non-concessional loans taken by the low-income countries.

If the non-concessional loans are debt sustainable however, the global lender will not bring them under its scrutiny. l

PTA meet with Macedonia likely next week n Asif showkat kallol Commerce Ministry will hold an inter-ministerial meeting next to discuss a possible Preferential Trade Agreement (PTA) with Macedonia.

As suggested by Bangladesh Tariff Commission (BTC), the meeting has been convened.

The suggestion came at a feasibility study on a free trade agreement (FTA) proposed by the East European nation earlier.

BTC said the FTA would not produce “substantial benefits” and so, PTA could be discussed on trade in goods and services and investment.

But the final decision should be made after talking with appropriate stakeholders through calling inter-ministerial meeting.

In 2012, Macedonia’s high commission in New Delhi sent a letter to Bangladesh’s foreign ministry expressing their willingness to sign FTA. Then, Bangladesh initiated the feasibility study on the possible FTA with Macedonia.

“We want to sign free trade deals with any country. But the deals must have economic benefits for our country,” said Commerce Secretary Mahbub Ahmed told the Dhaka Tribune.

“When there is no benefit, we don’t sign such deals. For such policy, some may think we are a conservative country,” he said.

Macedonia is a small economy in Europe and total annual exports amounted to $4bn in 2012 against a total import of $6.5bn.

Trades have increased between two nations in last couple of years.

Official data showed Macedonia’s exports to Bangladesh were on the rise in last five years as the volume increased to $3.78m in 2012 from $2.05m in 2008.

On the other hand, Bangladesh’s exports to Macedonia also reached $3.78m in 2012 from $3.31m in 2011.

Bangladesh has been exporting knitwear, woven garments and fabrics for last several years.

Macedonia’s main export items are food, beverages, tobacco, textiles, iron, steel and automotive parts while the country import machinery and equipment, automobiles, chemicals fuels and food products etc.

The European country’s gross domestic product grew at 2.84% in 2012 marking negative trend.

In FDI inflow growth, while Bangladesh marked 33.33% increase in the January-August period of 2012, Macedonia achieved 36.36%. l

Tech-based industry key to rapid growth n Tribune Report Technology based industrialisation is key for the sustainable and rapid economic growth, economists said in Dhaka yesterday.

They said there is no alternative of urbanisation by keeping land intact to help eliminate extreme poverty.

They were speaking at a function on “Ideas for Bangladesh, Expansion of Economic Opportunity: Evidence from South Asia.”

International Growth Centre (IGC), the Institute of Governance Studies and BRAC University jointly organised the event.

Reputed economist Professor Wahiduddin Mahmud said there will be no use to take policy on ad-hoc basis.

“We need policy based on research and analysis to increase productivity.”

Despite many odds like poor governance, inefficient workforce, climate change and low-based technology, he said Bangladesh has witnessed remarkable growth over the past decades. “But new technology is needed to create a workforce that is more productive and efficient.”

The country’s growth is mainly driven

by RMG and remittance which are all replication, said Prof Mahmud, adding that rapid urbanisation based on technology and keeping intact the land is important to eliminate extreme poverty.

Robin Burgess, professor of economics at the London School of Eco nomics and IGC academic director, in his keynote paper said increasing the productivity of firms and households, and structural change is needed in the movement of people out of risky and unproductive activities.

“Look at how development economics has changed over the last twenty years. Some lessons might be distilled for where future economic growth might come from in Bangladesh.”

Structural change at the bottom, improvements in state capacity, industrial development, more rapid urbanisation and better access to energy are the major issues for the economic development, he said.

The keynote paper said the developing world became a source of policy innovation as developing countries took greater control over decision making.

New research is needed on designing city governance systems, which contain incentives for politicians and bureaucrats to provide these services and which make them accountable for doing so, it said.  B3 COLUMN 3

Summit: Leadership excellence to take Bangladesh next level n Syed Samiul Basher Anik Speakers at a conference in Dhaka yesterday stressed the need for proper training and effective education for building, supporting and empowering leadership in the country.

They said there are many challenges in Bangladesh for the future leaders, but many opportunities lies here as well.

Pattern of leadership has changed over time and culture of excellence is now needed to empower future leaders in Bangladesh, which can be gained through education, they observed.

They made the observation at a panel discussion of “Leadership Summit 2014” Bangladesh Brand Forum (BBF) organised at a local hotel. Dhaka Tribune Editor Zafar Sobhan moderated the discussion.

Under the theme “In Search of

Transformation,” the summit aims to inspire leadership in Bangladeshi corporate sector to lead their teams towards making the steps changes.

“The biggest challenge for the leadership is creating a next level while lack of exposure is playing a barrier here,” said Mohammadi Group Managing Director Rubana Huq. She said: “We need to invest and engage in the potentials of tomorrow to get the results.”

She emphasised on the need for changing the culture of mistrust and lack of transparency as the owners are suspicious about mid-level management that hinders them to reach at the top level positions. “The next tier of leadership has to be trusted and motivated.”

Managing Director of Reckitt Benckiser Thailand, Philippines and IndoChina Ata Safdar stressed on ensuring

Beth Macdonald

everybody is properly trained – otherwise the gap between directors and mid-management will widen and many people, who are coming out, would be irrelevant.

He also suggested being open and work very hard to make sure the next leaders are developed better than the existing ones.

Chief Economist of Bangladesh Bank Hassan Zaman said culture matters a huge degree irrespective of public or private organizations. Therefore, personality of fairness, honesty and ethics are important for the leaders.

On the barriers, he said reforms in seniority related bureaucracy and low pay comparing to the private sector would help people attract in making leadership in the public sector.

Aiming to inspire leadership in the Bangladeshi corporate sector and making a change towards a new era of prog-

Richard M Burr

ress and development, the daylong summit included six sessions on leadership skills.

Brac Chairperson Fazle Hasan Abed, Deputy Commanding General of US Army Asia Pacific Major General Richard M Burr, Grameenphone Chief Executive Officer Vivek Sood, Managing Director of Reckitt Benckiser Thailand, Philippines and IndoChina Ata Safdar, Global Executive Coach and Learning Facilitator at Human Capital Development Philippines Beth Macdonald and Thrive Labs Founder Priya Parker took part in the discussion.

Two publications namely “Bangladesh Now” and “Best Brand Award Souvenir” were also launched at the summit.

The programme was live streamed at 19 universities including commerce faculty and Institute of Business Administration of Dhaka University, Ja-

Vivek Sood

‘Make casual get together’

‘Build coalitions to achieve your goal’

‘A leader has to be a storyteller’

While planning on what to do next, you can organise casual meetings with your team members and share views with them to make your objectives successful.

Skillful application of science can help select leaders. To add value additions in your team, you have to hold the ability to know where to gather information and have to advise team mates for the relevant tasks at hand. Social psychology is involved with leadership. l

Building coalition and bringing out key issues with best efforts are important to make a difference with others in terms of leadership.

Leadership challenges are becoming complex gradually in the modern, globalised, and interdependent world.

To make a difference, understanding your capability would be the key fundamental. Make strong partnerships for achieving your goals.

Leaders want successes. l

A leader has to have the ability to tell complex things in the form of a story.

A leader has to be a story teller. Hold confidence on your capability, share your thoughts, be transparent and clear, and exercise judgments as a leader.

In the age of modern technology, you have to be able to get information from the social sites like facebook and by utilising them, you could be a leader. l

hangirnagar university, Shahjalal University of Science and Technology.

Dhaka Tribune was the media partner of the event. l

Discussants pose for a photo at the Leadership Summit in Dhaka yesterday

Fazle Hasan Abed

‘Be the best you can’

To be a leader, you have to do and be the best as you can.

You have to hold effectiveness, innovation and sustainability to bring a change.

Share your values to work on your vision on how you want to see Bangladesh.

Whatever you do, do it as high quality as possible. Be communicative and dedicated. Manage your time and be the best you can.

Catalyse the changes and create a system in which the poor people will have the access to control their own lives. l

SYED ZAKIR HOSSAIN

Ata Safdar

‘Think beyond the boundaries’ A leader has to plan ahead and think beyond the boundaries to meet success.

A leader is about change, is about transformation. Understand your target and work in accordance with it.

To make a better future, Bangladesh do not need to start from the scratch, rather it needs emphasising on talent development to make leaders. Bangladesh education system needs overhaul to meet success. l

B2

Lacklustre trading continues n Tribune Report

Starting with the decline in financial sector scrips especially bank, market stayed gloomy throughout the week.

Coupled with this, frequent spells of sell pressure, particularly in large cap scrips forced the market sentiment to retract, significantly.

Lanka Bangla Securities said market experienced severe selling pressure in the first three days of the past week. A psychological support level of 4,500 points moved back the index to green zone at the last trading day of the past week, it said.

Banking sector market capitalisation was up by 0.22% at the end of week after losing more than 4% in previous week. “The lower valuation level of banking sector might have allured value investors a little bit,” said Lanka Bangla. Losers took a strong lead over the gainers as out of 301 issues traded during the past week, 224 declined, 65 advanced and 12 issues remained unchanged.

Among the major sectors, top gaining sectors of the past week were food and allied that rose 1.6%, bank 0.22% and IT 0.01%.

The week’s worst performing sectors were pharmaceuticals that declined 3%, energy 2.6%, telecommunications 1.7% and non-banking financial institutions 0.4%.

The investors’ attention was mostly focused on pharmaceuticals and engineering sectors, which captured leading positions in turnover, making up 12.8% and 11.9% respectively of the week’s total turnover.

Square Pharma was the week’s top turnover chart with shares worth Tk82.6 crore changing hands, followed by Bangladesh Shipping Corporation, Emerald Oil Industries, Padma Oil and Lafarge Surma Cement. l

Stocks extended losses for the fourth consecutive week with continued lacklustre trading.

The week ended Thursday witnessed intense selling pressure particularly on pharmaceuticals, energy and telecommunications.

The benchmark DSEX fell 76.5 points or 1.7% to 4,559, which is more than two and half month low.

The blue chips comprising DS30 was down 34 points or 2% to close at 1,635. The DSE Shariah Index (DSES) dropped 24 points or 2.5% to 989.

'Grasping of realised gain in large cap scrips caused the week’s downturn' Chittagong Stock Exchange Selective Categories Index CSCX lost 171 points or 1.9% to close the week at 8,859.

The average daily turnover continued to dip with DSE turnover standing at Tk300 crore, registering a fall of 25% over the previous week.

“Grasping of realised gain in large cap scrips caused the week’s downturn,” said IDLC Investments in its weekly market analysis.

Additionally, marginal level of panic sale reverberated and continued throughout the week, it said.

“As cautious stance came up-front, market activity became sluggish, causing average turnover declining further. Amid the shaky sentiment, investors put much intention on re-balancing their portfolio in line with loss-aversion strategy.”

Weekly capital market highlights DSE Broad Index : DSE - 30 Index : CSE All Share Index: CSE - 30 Index : CSE Selected Index : DSE LOSERS Company Southeast Bank-A Sinobangla Indu.-A Rahima Food -Z Al Arafa Islami B-A Hakkani P& Paper -B Standard Ceramic -A Kay & Que (BD) -Z AramitCementA United Leasing - A Al-Haj Textile -A

Closing (% change) -13.24 -13.03 -12.90 -11.36 -10.66 -10.65 -9.41 -8.51 -8.36 -7.97

CSE LOSERS Company Southeast Bank-A Al Arafa Islami B-A Sinobangla Indu.-A Standard Ceramic -A Anlima Yarn -A Hakkani P& Paper -B AramitCementA Delta Brac HFCL-A Rupali Bank - A Safko Spinning-A

Closing (% change) -13.30 -11.93 -11.51 -11.32 -10.79 -9.86 -9.77 -9.23 -9.09 -9.00

4558.93335

(-) 1.65%

1635.37973

(-) 2.05%

14090.5344

(-) 1.80%

11831.7482

(-) 2.21%

8859.6503

(-) 1.89%

Average (% change) -14.82 -12.36 -12.10 -14.37 -9.52 -10.53 -8.22 -7.80 -10.30 -6.43 Average (% change) -14.96 -14.57 -9.53 -11.32 -9.91 -10.92 -7.61 -9.23 -9.13 -7.89

ANALYST

Closing average 18.80 27.09 51.67 15.38 31.35 47.00 18.30 55.23 25.08 114.69

Closing average 18.70 15.30 27.42 47.00 24.82 31.08 55.61 59.00 68.95 27.65

Weekly 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

DSE Million Taka 1515.64 591.74 268.99 1825.99 1654.82 1863.64 43.66 1245.16 2016.75 8.41 138.75 278.58 104.15 1026.23 139.06 273.75 619.32 879.95 185.98 1159.74 3.20

▼ ▼ ▼ ▼ ▼ Weekly high

19.00 26.70 51.30 15.60 31.00 47.00 18.30 54.80 25.20 113.10

Weekly closing

20.20 31.10 59.30 16.00 35.30 53.00 21.80 60.20 28.30 125.90

Weekly high

18.90 15.50 26.90 47.00 24.80 31.10 54.50 59.00 69.00 27.30

20.00 15.60 30.90 50.00 27.20 36.70 60.00 62.50 70.10 29.60

DSE GAINERS

DSE key features March 16-20, 2014 Turnover (Million Taka)

Company

12,308.86

Turnover (Volume)

229,764,916

Number of Contract

341,083

Traded Issues

301

Issue Gain (Avg. Price Basis)

62

Issue Loss (Avg. Price Basis)

237 2

Market Capital Equity (Billion. Tk.)

2,264.77

Market Capital Equity (Billion US$)

27.45

Turnover (Million Taka)

1,190.88

Turnover (Volume)

26,220,285

Number of Contract

51,469

Traded Issues

249

Issue Gain (Avg. Price Basis)

54

Issue Loss (Avg. Price Basis)

186

Unchanged Issue (Avg. Price Basis)

8

Market Capital Equity (Billion. Tk.)

2,154.44

Market Capital Equity (Billion US$)

26.11

Turnover in million

Weekly low

Latest EPS

155.585 30.979 7.133 37.222 4.496 2.615 0.460 12.673 13.753 71.505

3.69 0.80 -1.00 2.17 0.28 1.06 -0.89 2.56 1.90 2.06

Turnover in million

18.10 14.60 26.50 46.00 24.50 31.00 53.80 59.00 68.20 27.30

13.11 9.90 8.48 8.05 6.86 6.59 6.34 6.28 6.01 5.95

Latest EPS

18.417 2.770 4.480 0.170 0.671 0.297 1.170 0.340 0.076 0.551

3.69 2.17 0.80 1.06 0.80 0.28 2.56 3.46 5.89 1.14

Company I P D C -A Phoenix Insur -A BSC-A UCBL - A Dhaka Bank -A BD Building Systems -A Eastland Insur -A Brac B.C. Bond-A Samata LeatheR -Z Islami Ins.BD-A

Closing (% change) 12.97 9.95 6.62 5.56 5.50 5.37 5.30 5.26 5.10 5.00

Average (% change) 10.25 9.90 8.87 5.00 8.82 8.30 5.77 6.28 3.95 6.29 Average (% change) 7.26 9.95 6.00 2.61 5.47 2.83 5.38 5.26 5.10 5.00

Closing average 20.44 63.30 156.11 59.41 299.33 1,342.73 678.06 82.90 24.48 8.95

Closing average 20.38 46.40 677.65 24.34 22.93 69.00 51.70 1000.00 33.00 31.50

Weekly closing 20.70 63.30 158.60 60.40 308.30 1,343.00 674.75 82.90 24.70 8.90

Weekly closing 20.90 46.40 672.80 24.70 23.00 70.70 51.70 1000.00 33.00 31.50

Weekly high 24.80 63.30 159.90 62.60 308.30 1,377.00 684.50 82.90 26.00 9.00

Weekly high 21.50 46.40 685.50 24.90 23.10 70.80 51.70 1000.00 33.00 31.50

Weekly low 17.50 63.30 132.00 56.00 272.10 1,268.50 623.00 80.00 20.50 8.60

Weekly low 18.30 42.20 623.00 22.30 20.10 64.00 49.10 1000.00 33.00 31.50

Turnover in million

Latest EPS

17.854 0.025 282.513 8.708 50.177 29.608 656.066 0.037 189.629 0.091

1.36 -10.24 2.26 4.19 5.32 45.35 24.00 1.54 3.66 -25.08

Turnover in million

Latest EPS

1.621 0.058 119.736 31.844 4.323 12.193 0.013 0.005 0.050 0.079

1.36 3.81 24.00 3.66 3.66 2.92 3.60 0.00 -0.04 1.60

Latest PE 15.0 -ve 69.1 14.2 56.3 29.6 28.3 53.8 6.7 -ve

Latest PE 15.0 12.2 28.2 6.7 6.3 23.6 14.4 -ve 19.7

Weekly news from trade server

CSE key features March 16-20, 2014

16.80 26.50 50.00 13.50 30.80 45.40 18.30 54.00 24.30 110.00

I P D C -A Northern Jute -Z National Tubes -A Pragati Gen. I -A Renwick Jajneswar-A GlaxoSK (BD) -A BSC-A Modern Dyeing -Z UCBL - A Zeal Bangla Sugar -Z

Closing (% change)

CSE GAINERS

Unchanged Issue (Avg. Price Basis)

Weekly low

Sunday, March 23, 2014

Latest PE 5.1 33.9 -ve 7.1 112.0 44.3 -ve 21.6 13.2 55.7

Latest PE 5.1 7.1 34.3 44.3 31.0 111.0 21.7 17.1 11.7 24.3

LINDEBD: The Board of Directors has recommended 110% final cash dividend (i.e. total 310% cash dividend for the year 2013 inclusive of 200% interim cash dividend which has already been paid) for the year ended on December 31, 2013. Date of AGM: 08.05.2014. Record Date: 25.03.2014. Time and Venue of the AGM will be notified later.

The Company has also reported NAV of Tk. 2,458.50 million (per share 161.55), EPS of Tk. 48.55 and NOCFPS of Tk. 54.91 for the year ended on December 31, 2013.

REPUBLIC: The Board of Directors has recommended 12.50% stock dividend for the year ended on December 31, 2013.

The Board has also decided to issue Rights shares @ 1R:1 (i.e. 1 Rights share for every 1 share) at an issue price of Tk. 15.00 each (including a premium of Tk. 5.00 each) subject to approval of the shareholders and the Regulatory Authorities. Date of AGM: 16.04.2014, Time: 10:00 AM, Venue: Trust Milonayaton, 545 Old Airport Road, Dhaka.

Record Date: 31.03.2014. The Company has also reported net profit after tax of Tk. 61.22 million, EPS of Tk. 2.76, NAV per share of Tk. 13.98 and NOCFPS of Tk. 5.56 for the year ended on 31.12.2013. Another record date for entitlement of the proposed rights shares to be notified later after obtaining approval from BSEC. FLEASEINT: The Board of Directors has recommended 10% stock dividend for the year ended on December 31, 2013. The Board has also taken the following special decision: The name of the Company be change, subject to approval of the Shareholders, Bangladesh Bank and the Registar of Joint Stock Companies (RJSC), from "First Lease Finance

& Investment Limited" to "First Finance Limited". Date of AGM: 08.05.2014, Time: 11:00 AM, Venue: Trust Milonayaton, 545, Old Airport Road, Dhaka Cantonment, Dhaka.

Record date: 31.03.2014. The Company has also reported net profit of Tk. 133.17 million, EPS of Tk. 1.32, NAV per share of Tk. 14.27 and NOCFPS of Tk. 2.26 for the year ended on December 31, 2013.

SAPORTL: The Board of Directors has recommended 15% cash dividend for the year ended on December 31, 2013. Date of AGM: 11.05.2014, Time: 10:30 AM, Venue: Bashundhara Convention Centre (2), Block-C, Umme Kulsum Road, Bashundhara R/A, Dhaka-1229. Record Date: 31.03.2014. The Company has also reported EPS of Tk. 0.88, NAV per share of Tk. 28.25 and NOCFPS of Tk. 1.31 for the year ended on December 31, 2013.

IPDC: The Board of Directors has recommended 5% cash dividend and 10% stock dividend for the year ended on December 31, 2013. Date of AGM: 15.05.2014, Time: 10:00 AM, Venue: BRAC-CDM, Rajendrapur, Gazipur. Record Date: 27.03.2014. The Company has also reported net profit after tax of Tk. 141.98 million, EPS of Tk. 1.36, NAV per share of Tk. 19.79 and NOCFPS of Tk. 3.28 for the year ended on December 31, 2013.

DHAKABANK: The Board of Directors has recommended 17% cash dividend and 5% stock dividend for the year ended on December 31, 2013. Date of AGM: 17.04.2014, Time: 11:00 AM, Venue: Bashundhara Convention Centre-02, Block-C, Umme Kulsum Road, Bashundhara R/A, Baridhara, Dhaka.

Record date: 27.03.2014. The Company has also reported consolidated EPS of Tk. 3.66,

consolidated NAV per share of Tk. 22.25 and consolidated NOCFPS of Tk. (0.75) for the year ended on December 31, 2013.

BERGERPBL: The Board of Directors has recommended 220% cash dividend for the year ended on December 31, 2013.

Date of AGM: 20.04.2014, Time: 11:00 AM, Venue: RAOWA Complex, Convention Hall-1 Mohakhali DOHS, Dhaka. Record date: 30.03.2014. The Company has also reported profit after tax of Tk. 860.94 million, EPS of Tk. 37.13, NAV per share of Tk. 119.03 and NOCFPS of Tk. 42.67 for the year ended on December 31, 2013 as against Tk. 752.79 million, Tk. 32.46, Tk. 100.20 and Tk. 46.48 respectively for the year ended on December 31, 2012.

PIONEERINS: The Board of Directors has recommended 10% cash dividend and 20% stock dividend for the year ended on December 31, 2013. Date of AGM: 18.05.2014, Time: 11:00 AM, Venue: Bashundhara Convention Centre-2, Bashundhara R/A, Dhaka-1229. Record Date: 31.03.2014. The Company has also reported EPS (after tax) of Tk. 5.02, EPS (after tax and reserve) of Tk. 3.02, NAV per share of Tk. 28.06 and NOCFPS of Tk. 9.30 for the year ended on December 31, 2013.

GLOBALINS: The Board of Directors has recommended 10% stock dividend for the year ended on December 31, 2013. Date of AGM: 17.05.2014, Time: 11:00 AM, Venue: "Institution of Diploma Engineers, Bangladesh", IDEB Bhaban, 160/A, Kakrail, Dhaka-1000.

Record Date: 07.04.2014. The Company has also reported EPS of Tk. 1.09, NAV per share of Tk. 13.10 and NOCFPS of Tk. 1.42 for the year ended on December 31, 2013.

Grasping of realised gain in large cap scrips caused the week’s downturn

SECTORAL TURNOVER SUMMARY Sector

Stock

DHAKA TRIBUNE

% change 9.57 3.73 1.70 11.53 10.44 11.76 0.28 7.86 12.73 0.05 0.88 1.76 0.66 6.48 0.88 1.73 3.91 5.55 1.17 7.32 0.02

Million Taka 172.24 46.40 14.83 135.13 251.85 274.87 0.00 250.42 175.48 313.07 9.96 340.21 12.34 69.59 18.36 8.85 33.11 102.06 26.77 180.57 0.09

CSE

% change 7.07 1.90 0.61 5.55 10.34 11.28 0.00 10.28 7.20 12.85 0.41 13.96 0.51 2.86 0.75 0.36 1.36 4.19 1.10 7.41 0.00

Million Taka 1687.87 638.14 283.82 1961.13 1906.67 2138.51 43.66 1495.58 2192.23 321.49 148.71 618.79 116.49 1095.82 157.42 282.59 652.43 982.02 212.75 1340.31 3.29

Total

% change 9.23 3.49 1.55 10.73 10.43 11.70 0.24 8.18 11.99 1.76 0.81 3.39 0.64 5.99 0.86 1.55 3.57 5.37 1.16 7.33 0.02

Prepared exclusively for Dhaka Tribune by Business Information Automation Service Line (BIASL), on the basis of information collected from daily stock quotations and audited reports of the listed companies. High level of caution has been taken to collect and present the above information and data. The publisher will not take any responsibility if any body uses this information and data for his/her investment decision. For any query please email to biasl@bol-online.com or call 01552153562 or go to www.biasl.net

DSE TURNOVER LEADERS Company Square Pharma -A BSC-A Emerald Oil Ind. -N Padma Oil Co. -A LafargeS Cement-Z BD Submarine Cable-A Grameenphone-A Meghna Petroleum -A Olympic Ind. -A National Tubes -A CSE TURNOVER LEADERS Company BSC-A Square Pharma -A BD Submarine Cable-A Padma Oil Co. -A LafargeS Cement-Z UCBL - A Appollo Ispat CL -N Beach Hatchery -A Grameenphone-A Southeast Bank-A

Volume shares 3,029,521 1,004,535 10,736,500 1,354,818 9,021,500 1,701,389 1,604,142 1,090,411 1,342,072 1,861,100

Volume shares 183,280 240,347 254,459 110,491 771,000 1,350,989 978,200 775,429 108,000 983,963

Value in million 825.86 656.07 557.71 461.05 437.28 363.08 340.81 305.71 287.58 282.51

Value in million 119.74 65.59 54.21 37.56 37.26 31.84 26.71 25.20 22.87 18.42

% of total turnover 6.71 5.33 4.53 3.75 3.55 2.95 2.77 2.48 2.34 2.30

% of total turnover 11.57 6.34 5.24 3.63 3.60 3.08 2.58 2.43 2.21 1.78

Weekly closing 267.30 674.75 55.20 337.80 48.70 211.40 211.70 278.60 214.00 158.60

Weekly closing 672.80 266.80 212.00 337.70 49.00 24.70 27.10 31.60 211.00 18.90

Price change -6.21 6.34 0.00 -2.99 -0.20 -4.08 -1.35 -3.26 -3.73 8.48

Weekly opening 285.00 634.50 0.00 348.20 48.80 220.40 214.60 288.00 222.30 146.20

Weekly high 286.00 684.50 60.00 355.00 49.70 225.00 215.60 288.90 220.90 159.90

Weekly low 250.50 623.00 46.20 311.00 46.90 190.50 205.00 254.00 200.00 132.00

Weekly average 266.39 678.06 50.92 339.40 48.58 211.18 212.05 280.00 213.30 156.11

Price change 6.62 -6.45 -3.50 -3.15 0.20 5.56 -4.91 0.32 -1.68 -13.30

Weekly opening 631.00 285.20 219.70 348.70 48.90 23.40 28.50 31.50 214.60 21.80

Weekly high 685.50 286.00 221.00 346.00 49.80 24.90 29.00 33.80 215.50 20.00

Weekly low 623.00 263.40 205.00 333.00 46.90 22.30 26.40 31.40 209.00 18.10

Weekly average 677.65 266.76 211.93 339.47 48.78 24.34 27.05 32.04 211.26 18.70

DHAKA TRIBUNE

Sri Lanka GDP growth below forecast n AFP, Colombo Sri Lanka’s economy grew a weakerthan-expected 7.3% last year, the country’s central bank said Friday as it kept interest rates at multi-year lows as it looks to boost private investment and lending.

The Central Bank of Sri Lanka said last year’s expansion was much stronger than the 6.3% recorded in 2012 thanks to a pick-up in exports and foreign remittances.

However, the figure was below the bank’s 8% as an expected rise in lending had not taken place.

“Credit to the private sector by commercial banks moderated, growing only by 5.2% in January 2014 in comparison to 7.5% in December 2013,” the bank said in its monthly review of the economy.

Officials said the softer data came as loans to the private sector rose just 15.5 percent last year, well short of estimates of 18%. But the bank said its Monetary Board viewed the deceleration in those loans to be “temporary”.

It added: “Private sector credit is likely to rebound from the second quarter of (2014), supported by declining market lending rates, sufficient liquidity levels and increased demand for exports from the advanced economies.”

The bank kept rates on hold Friday

after cutting them by 50 basis points to 8% in January - the lowest since it began publishing them in 1999 - as it looks to boost private-sector lending.

In January the bank said record remittances and tourism earnings helped wipe out a trade deficit in 2013 and improve foreign reserves in a country relying heavily on external debt.

Sri Lankans employed abroad sent home $6.8bn over the year, up 13% from 2012 while earnings from tourism jumped 35% to $1.4bn in 2013, according to official figures.

They showed Sri Lanka’s overall balance of payments ended up with a surplus of $991m, compared with a modest surplus of $151m in 2012 and a deficit of $1.06bn in 2011.

The improvement in the balance of payments was also helped by garment exports which increased by 26% while the island’s main export commodities of tea and coconut also increased significantly.

The IMF had warned Sri Lanka late last year against rate cuts and forecast 2013 growth at 6.5%.

Sri Lanka’s economy recorded 8%plus growth for two straight years after troops crushed separatist Tamil Tiger rebels in 2009, but the pace has slowed in the last two years. l

Business

B3

Sunday, March 23, 2014

Obama to meet with US tech executives on privacy, surveillance

Oil prices slip in Asian trade

n Reuters

Oil prices fell in Asia Friday owing to a stronger dollar after the head of the US Federal Reserve hinted at an interest rate rise early next year, but losses were tempered by lingering concerns about the Crimea crisis.

New York’s main contract, West Texas Intermediate for May delivery, tumbled 58 cents to $98.32 a barrel and Brent crude for May dipped 35 cents to $106.10.

The dollar surged on Wednesday after Janet Yellen said a rate rise could come “around six months” after the Fed’s stimulus programme ends.

Economists took that to mean an increase in borrowing costs in the first half of 2015, against previous forecasts of a hike in the latter part of the year. l

Executives of several large US Internet companies, including Google Inc and Facebook Inc, were to meet with President Barack Obama on Friday to discuss changes to government surveillance programs.

White House spokesman Jay Carney said Obama will meet with six tech executives to “continue his dialogue with them on the issues of privacy, technology and intelligence following his January 17 speech.” The meeting is scheduled to start in the Oval Office at 4:05 pm EDT (2005 GMT).

Carney said Obama will speak with Eric Schmidt, executive chairman of Google, the world’s largest Internet search engine; Mark Zuckerberg, chief

executive officer of Facebook, the world’s biggest social network; and Reed Hastings, chief executive officer of Netflix Inc, an online video streaming service.

Other attendees are Aaron Levie and Drew Houston, chief executive officers of two online storage and file-sharing companies Box and Dropbox; and Alex Karp, chief executive officer of Palantir Technologies, a data-mining company which is partly backed by the CIA and whose clients include the National Security Agency.

Obama in January outlined a series of limited reforms to NSA data gathering, banning eavesdropping on the leaders of friendly or allied nations and proposing some changes to how NSA treats Americans’ phone data.

The White House did not elaborate further on the focus of the discussions.

Experts, however, point out that the most sweeping program, collection of telephone “metadata,” comes up for reauthorization next week, on March 28.

Obama has asked Attorney General Eric Holder and the US intelligence community to report back to him before that deadline on how to preserve the necessary capabilities of the program, without the government holding the metadata.

An industry source said invitations to Friday’s meeting with Obama were received on March 15, two days after Zuckerberg blasted US electronic surveillance practices in a widely read public post on Facebook. l

n AFP, Singapore

Tech-based industry key to rapid growth  B1 COLUMN 6

There is also need to take a fresh look at regional development policies which try to encourage agglomeration in particular parts of a country. “Access to reliable energy is likely to play a key part in the structural transformation of developing economies.”

Jonathan Leape, executive director of IGC, said continuous dialogue be-

tween stakeholders, policymakers and experts is needed to formulate policy for the sustainable development. Bangladesh has made remarkable growth over the past decades but many challenges lies ahead for rapid economic growth.

“It’s a model of joint efforts to identify challenges and problems to resolve.”

Sultan Hafeez Rahman, executive director of IGS, moderated the event. l

Prof Wahiduddin Mahmud speaks at a function on “Ideas for Bangladesh, Expansion of Economic Opportunity: Evidence from South Asia” in Dhaka yesterday MAHMUD HOSSAIN

Gas price hike in India to set off farm or food subsidy dilemma n Reuters, Mumbai India’s plan to double gas prices from April threatens to hit government efforts to cut its fiscal deficit, as higher production costs for the country’s most widely used fertiliser force authorities to raise either farm or food subsidies.

The unwanted side-effect highlights the difficulties the world’s secondmost populous nation faces introducing market-oriented reforms needed to kick-start the economy, while keeping spending in check.

India last year approved a hefty rise in gas prices to around $8.40 per million British thermal units in a bid to boost returns for local producers, spur investment in the industry and ease acute power shortages.

Gas accounts for nearly 80% of the production cost of urea, a nitrogenous fertiliser that consumes more than half of the $11bn India spends each year subsidising farmers for selling fertilisers at below the cost of production.

“The gas price hike will increase the annual urea production cost by 100bn rupees,” said Satish Chander, directorgeneral, Fertiliser Association of India (FAI).

Urea prices are set by the government, which has said any increase in the cost of production would be met

through a higher subsidy for manufacturers. A less politically palatable alternative would be to allow manufacturers to pass on the costs through higher prices.

India consumes about 30 million tonnes a year of urea, with local producers supplying 22 million tonnes and the rest imported, FAI estimates.

Fearing a backlash from the politically influential farm block, the government has already held urea prices well below those of alternative potash and phosphate-based fertilisers whose producers have been allowed to raise prices since 2010.

The fertiliser subsidy bill has tripled in the past seven years. The government has allocated 679.7bn rupees in 2014/15, but Chander says the figures stands well short of what’s needed given the impact of the gas price hike.

Food or fertiliser?

In a bid to avoid a potential ratings downgrade, Asia’s third-largest economy aims to cut its fiscal deficit to 4.1% of GDP in 2014/15 by lowering fuel and fertiliser subsidies.

But even allowing the urea price to rise is unlikely to trim the government’s subsidy burden, analysts say.

Instead it will simply shift the onus from the Ministry of Chemicals and

The inauguration of the Akij Group’s housing complex for its officers named “Our House” along with observation of the group’s Family Day 2014 were recently held at Uttara in Dhaka. Monowara Begum, the wife of the late Sheikh Akij Uddin, founder of Akij Group, officially inaugurated the housing complex

The inauguration ceremony of Marcel’s exclusive showroom, Asia Marketing Company took place recently at Dohazari, Chittagong. Amin Khan, famous film actor and the company’s brand ambassador inaugurated the exclusive in presence of Humayun Kabir, executive director of PR and Media at RB Group and Mosharof Hossain Rajib, head of marketing at Marcel

REUTERS

ident research at Inditrade Derivatives and Commodities.

“The rise in food grain prices will be reflected in the government’s food subsidy. It has promised to provide subsidised food grains to the poor.”

Parliament last year backed a scheme to subsidise wheat and rice for two-thirds of India’s 1.2 billion people.

Farmers are already protesting the recent price hikes in potash and phosphate-based fertilisers and are demanding a big rise in prices for food grains, sugar cane and cotton.

This complicates the government’s task of raising urea prices, which is also aimed at curbing excessive usage of the fertiliser that threatens soil fertility.

“The price of every farm product should be raised in sync with rising input costs. You can’t sell fertiliser at higher prices without raising the support price,” said Raju Shetty, a farmers’ leader from Maharashtra and a member of Parliament.

The government last raised the urea price substantially in April 2010, but has since deferred any decision.

“The new government has to take a call on urea prices,” said a fertiliser ministry official, who declined to be named.

India’s election is due to start on April 7 and a new government will be formed only after mid-May. “The decision is unpopular. I don’t think the new government can take that decision in its first few months.

It may even defer the decision to 2015/16,” the official said. l

Fertilizers to the Ministry of Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution.

India buys food grains from farmers at a predetermined support price and distributes them widely at discounted prices in an effort to lower rates of mal-

nutrition.

“The government fixes support prices considering input costs. If the urea price goes up, then it has to raise the MSP (minimum support price) of food grains,” said Harish Galipelli, vice-pres-

Failed MtGox exchange finds 200,000 Bitcoins in old wallet n AFP, Tokyo

Dollar eases in Asian trade

Failed Bitcoin exchange MtGox says it has found 200,000 coins worth $116m in an old “digital wallet”, after it collapsed in February admitting it had lost half a billion dollars in a possible theft.

The Tokyo-based digital currency exchange filed for bankruptcy protection in Japan last month, saying it had lost 850,000 coins worth nearly $500m at present prices.

But 200,000 Bitcoins were left in a “wallet” used before June 2011, the company said in a statement on its website Thursday. Bitcoin wallets are used for online transactions between currency holders.

The new find would be worth $116m, according to the CoinDesk Bitcoin price index. The discovery has been reported to the court overseeing the case, the statement said. MtGox, which at one time reportedly processed 80% of global Bitcoin transactions, said that the 200,000 Bitcoins - discovered on March 7 - had been moved to an offline wallet.

“Taking into account the existence of the 200,000 BTC, the total number of Bitcoins which have disappeared is therefore estimated to be approximately 650,000 BTC,” the statement said.

The company filed for protection under US bankruptcy law earlier this month, 10 days after doing the same in Japan after a huge loss of the digital currency. l

n AFP, Singapore The dollar eased in Asian trade Friday but maintained most of its gains after Federal Reserve head Janet Yellen indicated US interest rates could rise early in 2015.

The greenback bought 102.37 yen in Singapore afternoon trade, easing from 102.42 yen in late New York Thursday, while the euro edged up to $1.3787 from $1.3779.

It had been sitting at $1.3930 and 101.51 yen before the Fed remarks.

The single currency dipped to 141.13 yen from 141.14 yen.

However, trading was subdued with Japanese financial markets closed for a holiday.

Yellen said Wednesday the US may start raising interest rates “around six months” after the Fed’s stimulus programme ends, suggesting borrowing costs will go up in the first half of 2015.

Her comments came after the Fed said it would cut its monthly asset purchases by a further $10bn for a third successive meeting.

Many analysts had forecast an interest rate rise around the back end of next year.

“There is an obvious shift in market expectations towards more hawkishness by the Fed,” Phillip Futures said in a market commentary.

“Yellen expressed optimism in the rate of growth (of the US economy) and said interest rates could be raised around six months after the complete removal of asset purchases. This means the Fed may raise rates as soon as this

A US dollar bill is displayed in Toronto time next year,” it said.

Phillip Futures added that “this raises further the prospects for strengthening in the dollar and reduces further the prospects for inflation”.

French bank Credit Agricole said in a market statement: “More supported rate expectations may suggest that the greenback is about to become more sensitive to incoming growth data.

“If so, there may be room for the currency to appreciate further, especially if prospective data proves more constructive.”

Saktiandi Supaat, head of the forex research at Maybank in Singapore, said that Yellen’s remarks on interest rates supported the dollar.

“Against the Asian and emerging

REUTERS

market currencies, generally it would result in a higher dollar,” Supaat told AFP. Against other Asia-Pacific currencies the dollar was mixed.

It eased to 61.05 Indian rupees Friday afternoon from 61.15 rupees on Thursday, while the Australian dollar firmed up to 90.68 US cents from 90.17 cents.

But the greenback strengthened to 11,446 Indonesian rupiah from 11,425 rupiah, to 45.25 Philippine pesos from 45.06 pesos and to 1,080.85 South Korean won from 1,075.74 won. It also rose to Sg$1.2770 from Sg$1.2735 and to 32.42 Thai baht from 32.35.

The Chinese yuan fetched 16.44 yen against 16.42 yen on Thursday. l

B4

DHAKA TRIBUNE

Back Page

Sunday, March 23, 2014

German ‘Wise Men’ up 2014 growth forecast n AFP, Frankfurt The German government’s economic advisors, known as the Five Wise Men, upgraded Thursday their forecast for economic growth this year after a better-than-expected start to 2014.

“The German council of economic experts has updated its forecast for 2014. It is now pencilling in gross domestic product (GDP) growth of 1.9%,” the panel said in a statement.

“The upgrade of 0.3 percentage point (compared with their earlier prognosis) reflects the improved trend at the beginning of the year, as well as the brighter sentiment indicators,” the statement said.

Positive growth impulses would come mainly from domestic demand, with both consumer spending and investment in equipment likely to pick up, the panel predicted.

But foreign trade would also make a “small positive contribution.”

Nevertheless, “the overall improved outlook for the year cannot hide the fact that the government has drawn up measures in the areas of labour market and social welfare policy which could have a dampening effect on the economy’s growth potential in the medium term,” the panel complained.

Japan has many tools to exit from easy monetary policy n Reuters Bank of Japan Governor Haruhiko Kuroda said on Friday the central bank has a number of tools to exit from its ultra-easy monetary policy other than asset sales but that it was premature to speak about an exit.

"We have a number of options or tools other than selling assets acquired/ purchased by us.

That will not mean we will never sell," Kuroda said in London.

"At this stage it's premature to discuss the exit from the QQE (quantitative and qualitative easing)." l

The new grand coalition government of left and right, headed by conservative Chancellor Angela Merkel, has decided to introduce a national minimum wage, which critics say could harm the economy.

Although the panel is known as the Five Wise Men, it is made up of four men and one woman.

The panel’s forecasts serve as a basis for the government’s own projections.

In February, Berlin said it is pencilling in growth of 1.8% for the current year, in line with forecasts from the EU Commission and the country’s leading economic think tanks.

The German economy, Europe’s biggest, has fared better than its European neighbours, sidestepping the recession into which the financial crisis pushed most of the eurozone thanks to deep-reaching and painful economic and labour market reforms implemented a number of years ago.

It notched up modest growth of 0.4% in 2013 and 0.7% in 2012.

But economic momentum has been picking up in recent months and growth in the first quarter of this year is expected to be higher than the 0.4% recorded in the fourth quarter of 2013. l

The photo shows a model posing with a car during the Ningbo International Auto Expo 2014, in Ningbo, in eastern China's Zhejiang province. China's auto sales surged 13.9% to 21.98 million vehicles, as a recovery in Japanese brands previously hurt by a diplomatic row offset the impact of slowing economic growth. The Chinese market is important to foreign companies, which have turned to the Asian country to offset slowing sales elsewhere AFP

Google toughens security with Gmail encryption n AFP, Washington Google said Thursday its popular Gmail service would use encryption to thwart snooping, in the latest move by the tech sector reassuring customers following revelations about US surveillance programs.

“Your email is important to you, and making sure it stays safe and always available is important to us,” Gmail engineering security chief Nicolas Lidzborski said in a blog post.

“Starting today, Gmail will always use an encrypted HTTPS connection when you check or send email.

“Today’s change means that no one can listen in on your messages as they go back and forth between you and Gmail’s servers - no matter if you’re us-

ing public WiFi or logging in from your computer, phone or tablet.”

Google has already begun scrambling most of the traffic at its websites as technology firms grapple with moves by US intelligence agencies to spy on what people are doing and sharing online.

And similar moves have been announced by Yahoo, Microsoft and Facebook to use encryption that limits the ability of a third party to read messages or emails.

US tech firms have been ramping up encryption since last year’s explosive revelations about the vast surveillance capabilities of the National Security Agency and other intelligence services, based on leaked documents.

Lidzborski said Google’s latest move “ensures that your messages are safe

not only when they move between you and Gmail’s servers, but also as they move between Google’s data centres something we made a top priority after last summer’s revelations.”

Some reports say the NSA had been able to access the data centres of Google and other Web firms.

Experts say encryption generally prevents outsiders from intercepting a person’s messages or documents, but that a persistent effort can gain access through malware or other methods that trick a person into revealing passwords.

NSA-proof?

Joseph Hall, chief technologist at the Centre for Democracy and Technology, said Google’s move is positive even if it

does not protect against every potential threat.

“I’m reluctant to say anything is NSA-proof,” Hall told AFP. “But I think what Google is trying to do is make sure they come through the front door and not the back door.”

Hall said that Google’s encryption “would make it very difficult” for the NSA or others to tap into email traffic directly.

But he cautioned that the encryption would be only for “transport” and that data may still be unencrypted while sitting on a user’s browser or stored in certain data centres.

Still, he maintained that this encryption is positive because it is “part of a general trend of strengthening the core Internet structure.”

“Unfortunately, this is a case of an American Internet company having to beef up security because of attacks by its own government,” Hall said, while adding that it could be positive for people living in authoritarian regimes.

“If you’re an activist in Syria or and Iranian democracy activist, it will go a long way to making you secure.”

Google’s announcement came a day after co-founder Larry Page condemned US government snooping on the Internet as a threat to democracy.

Page, speaking at the Technology Entertainment Design (TED) gathering in Canada, was sharply critical of the NSA. “It is tremendously disappointing that the government sort of secretly did all this stuff and didn’t tell us,” Page said. l

TED turns 30 with new chapter of ‘ideas worth spreading’ n AFP, Vancouver TED turns 30 years old with a mind-sizzling mix of intrigue, wonder and passion in the renowned gathering’s new home in Canada.

A conference born in California in 1984 that grew into a global forum for heady “ideas worth spreading” ended Friday after gazing thoughtfully at the past and looking optimistically ahead.

“The platform has gotten more interesting to more people,” Technology, Entertainment, Design (TED) curator Chris Anderson told AFP. “We are planning on taking every opportunity to go deeper into issues; to present a core idea and add to it with ways to get involved.”

TED has won a global following for trademark “talks” during which the brilliant, innovative, artistic or accomplished deliver thought-sparking presentations in 18 minutes or less.

Broad range of TED topics

Topics at the five-day TED gathering ranged from mind-controlling parasites and bionic limbs to intestinal microbes and collective consciousness.

Female fashion model Geena Rocero used the TED stage to, for the first time, tell how she was born a boy in the Philippines but become a woman to match her “inner truth.”

“Some of my neighbors, friends, colleagues, even my agent didn’t know about my history,” Rocero said on the

TED stage. “Not a lot of people can say that their first job was pageant queen for transgender women, but I’ll take it.”

Internet spying and online privacy were hot topics at the gathering, known for attracting Internet entrepreneurs such as founders of Google, Amazon, and Netflix.

That debate was set ablaze by the surprise appearance of US former National Security Agency contractor Edward Snowden in the form of a robot controlled remotely from his hideaway in Russia. “Doing it by tele-presence really excited him,” Anderson said of Snowden showing up in robot form to roam the conference, even stopping for photos with Google co-founder Sergey Brin and others.

“He liked the geekiness and the symbolic appeal of the bot.”

Snowden’s virtual visit to TED, and his promise of sensational new revelations to come, prompted the NSA to weigh in via video link a day later to argue that his “arrogance” has put lives at risk and terrorists on guard. “It was an intense experience, it definitely pushed my own margin of comfort to the edge,” Anderson said.

Anderson saw this year’s move from California to Vancouver as symbolic of the gathering’s evolution into a global platform for ideas. Anderson and Peter Diamandis of the X PRIZE announced a competition to reward those behind the first artificial intelligence creation that gives a TED talk compelling

enough to earn a standing ovation.

A ‘primal’ experience

Looks at TED’s past and visions of the future were woven through the week, with MIT Media lab founder Nicholas Negroponte predicting by the end of the next three decades, people will ingest knowledge the way they do vitamins.

“Ultimately, TED is tapping into something that is quite primal - a circle of humans looking a speaker in the eyes, hearing a story told and feeling what the speaker is feeling in a shared experience,” Anderson said. The first TED gathering was a venue for elite thinkers to hear about and discuss new ideas.

Since then scientists, political lead-

ers, artists, entrepreneurs and musicians have taken to the stage at the tech-focused gatherings.

In 2006, TED began to record talks and post them for free online at their TED.com website. The website was recently upgraded to let viewers delve deeper into ideas and take action.

As TED talks were posted in more languages, traffic to the website soared.

Talks have spread to television and radio. Captivating TED speakers have become Internet stars.

“The dinner party has turned into a global phenomenon - a banquet for the whole world,” said Richard Saul Wurman, who started the gatherings that Anderson’s non-profit Sapling Foundation has nurtured into the TED of today. l

Electrical engineering is child’s play with littleBits n AFP, Vancouver Ayah Bdeir is out to make creating Internet Age gadgets as fun and easy as playing with LEGO blocks.

The engineer behind littleBits kits that make a game of piecing together modular circuitry used a Technology, Entertainment, Design (TED) conference to debut a piece to the puzzle that lets creations talk to the Internet.

“It is about allowing people to understand electronics which govern our modern lives and to let people become creators and makers,” she said of her motivation to start the company behind littleBits about two years ago.

“The Internet of Things is too important for it to be governed by only big companies telling you what you should purchase.”

Generic items ranging from jewelry to door locks, cars or household appliances are enhanced with computer chips to go online for information or instruction under the Internet of Things.

Ayah Bdeir, founder and chief of startup littleBits, works with one of her creations at the TED conference in Vancouver, Canada

AFP

Bdeir’s kits come with arrays of rectangular modules with buttons, lights, buzzers or other little bits that can be stuck together to create working electronic devices.

It is simple to make new creations, even for those with weak geek skills. LittleBits blocks are magnetized so that modules can only be stuck together in ways that will work.

Innovate and create Two basic rules of play are that magnets are always right, and that one always needs a blue and a green piece for success. Pink pieces are optional.

“On the one hand, you can play and learn about electronics,” the littleBits chief told AFP while snapping together modules on a cushioned sofa at TED, the conference renowned for innovative minds that ended on Friday.

“But on the other, you can invent and prototype without being an engineer or a programmer.”

She spoke of users snapping together creations ranging from window displays

made of littleBits and craft material to hardware prototypes entrepreneurs have used to pitch investors.

The addition of a “cloud” module to link module creations to the Internet opens the door to using littleBits to create such gadgets as wireless speakers, smart thermostats and security systems.

The module is expected to be available later this year.

“You can really start to prototype complex things with no engineering knowledge whatsoever,” Bdeir said.

“Kids, entrepreneurs, artists or anyone else can invent with electronics the way they would invent with LEGOs.” Kits were such hits when the New Yorkbased startup introduced them that they sold out in two weeks.

LittleBits are now available in scores of countries and used in about 1,800 schools, according to the company.

Kits range in price from $100 to $200, with “bits” also available for individual purchase. l