3 april 2014

Chaitra 20, 1420 Jamadiul Sani 2, 1435 Regd. No. DA 6238 Vol 2, No 5

THURSDAY, APRIL 3, 2014 | www.dhakatribune.com

7 | AN ARBITRATION FRIENDLY REGIME

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8 | MH370 MYSTERY MAY BE UNSOLVED

11 | FIFA ORDERS TRANSFER BAN ON BARCA

B1 | ‘SUBSTANDARD’ SOLAR FIRMS BLASTED

Extradition treaty ‘available’ to bring back Tarique Gibson, Duncan say it is a matter for court, not a political decision n Sheikh Shahariar Zaman British High Commissioner in Dhaka Robert Gibson yesterday said the extradition treaty between Bangladesh and the United Kingdom could be used to bring back BNP leader Tarique Rahman from England.

“This is a long-standing policy of the British government that we cannot and will not comment on the individual status of people who are residents in the United Kingdom,” Gibson told at a press briefing in the city yesterday.

Dhaka Tribune April 3, 2014

Duncan: When I see her [PM Sheikh Hasina] I will urge her to look ahead and ask herself where she wants her Bangladesh in five or 10 years’ time “There is an extradition treaty between the United Kingdom and Bangladesh which is available for use,” Gibson said, when asked about the status of Tarique and if the UK will support any move by Bangladesh government to bring him back.

Replying the same question, visiting British Minister of State for International Development Alan Duncan said: “In the United Kingdom, it is entirely a matter of court and it has nothing to do with politicians. It is not for me or any minister to decide on this whole thing…This is not a political decision.”

BNP chief Khaleda Zia’s son Tarique

Rahman, also the senior vice-chairman of the party, has been in London since September 11, 2008, on medical grounds after getting parole in various cases.

He faces 14 charges, of which four, including the August 21 grenade attack case, are in trial and 10 are stayed.

Duncan avoided a direct question about Bangladesh State Minister for Foreign Affairs Shahriar Alam’s remark that the British delegation had expressed surprise over Tarique’s recent comment that his father Ziaur Rahman was the first president of Bangladesh.

“It is not for me in any way to reinterpret Bangladesh history. I think you all are very clever people and you all know the history of Bangladesh,” he said.

Asked why Gibson thanked Bangladesh for abstaining from voting on Crimea at the UNGA, the British high commissioner said: “I understood the decision of Bangladesh government as they explained to me and I was grateful that they did not oppose the resolution…I accepted the fact that they thought they could not support the resolution and that is their decision based on their long-term foreign policy.”

About the present political situation, Duncan said the last election was unusual.

“I respect this country’s political system and the result of the election. The election was of course unusual because one side did not contest,” he said, adding that despite being unusual in that sense, the election was legitimate.

The British government wants an enlightened government for the good of the people.  PAGE 2 COLUMN 6

Two children dressed in tiger outfits interact with Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina at a programme in Bangabandhu International Conference Centre yesterday, organised marking the Seventh World Autism Awareness Day BSS

Ban on 6 adverse drugs recommended n Moniruzzaman Uzzal After reviewing the health hazards posed by different medications produced in the country, a committee of the drug administration has recommended banning the manufacture and the import of raw materials for six generic drugs of local pharmaceutical companies Two of the generic drugs – Pioglitazone and Rosiglitazone – are used for the treatment of diabetes, while the rest – Flupenthixol-Melitracen, Gatifloxacin (except eye drops), Tegaserod and Sibutramine – are used for treating patients with psychotic diseases, bacterial infections, irritable bowel syndrome and obesity respectively.

Selim Barami, director of the Direc-

torate General of Drug Administration (DGDA), said they would now submit the report before the national adverse drug reaction advisory committee, which is headed by Health Secretary MM Niazuddin. The final decision on banning or cancelling the generic drugs will come from the central committee, he added.

The Adverse Drug Reaction Advisory Committee (ADRAC) reportedly passed the resolution on March 30, following a separate meeting earlier on March 12, which was presided over by Major General Jahangir Hossain Mollik, the directorate’s DG and head of the 16-member ADRAC. The senior doctors and health sector officials who were present at the meeting unanimously agreed that all

Plan afoot for special police units under DCs n Mohosinul Karim

Cricketers of Sri Lanka (top) and West Indies warm up during yesterday’s training session at the SBNS ahead of today’s first semifinal of the T20 World Cup AP/AFP

SL eye revenge over Windies n

Minhaz Uddin Khan

Defending champion West Indies will look forward to keep their march towards the final in track when they face

Sri Lanka in the first semifinal of the ICC World Twenty20 at Sher-e-Bangla

National Stadium this evening. Sri Lanka, on the other hand, would be hoping to avenge their loss in last edition`s summit clash in their own backyard.

Coincidence galore if one looks back at both Sri Lanka and West Indies’ odyssey to the semifinal. Both the team’s last match in the previous round actually turned out to be a quarter-final they couldn’t afford to lose. Both teams crushed their opponent under 100 runs while defending their score and it was a spinner for both teams, Herath for Sri Lanka and Badree for the West Indies, who actually orchestrated  PAGE 2 COLUMN 2

An initiative has been taken to set up separate police units under the district magistracy to help the civil administration operate mobile courts, ensure the security of high officials and deal with emergencies.

The move was taken following the conflicts between the civil and police administration as it was alleged that the officials of the civil administration were not getting necessary help from the police administration.

Even though the proposal was submitted in the deputy commissioners’ (DCs) conference in July last year, it came to light after a long time. The issue was discussed in the monthly coordination meeting of the divisional commissioners with the cabinet secretary.

A source in the cabinet division said the issue came up at the meeting for discussion in detail.

But no decision in this regard came from the meeting chaired

by Cabinet Secretary M Musharraf

Hossain Bhuiyan.

The meeting had taken a decision to form a committee to examine the proposal as to whether it was conflicting with the code of criminal procedure (CrPC) or any other laws. It would take a final shape only after the committee placed its report to the cabinet division.

The cabinet division officials and a divisional commissioner told the Dhaka Tribune on Wednesday that the meeting had discussed a draft proposal the Home Ministry prepared as per the decision taken in the last DC conference.

The proposal had been sent to the cabinet division soon after an incident happened at Gazaria in Munshiganj on March 22. This incident put the issue on the agenda, they said.

ASI of Louhajang police station Emdad Hossain assaulted the Upazila Nirbahi Officer (UNO) of Gazaria on that day over transport of the election materials.  PAGE 2 COLUMN 2

INSIDE News

4 Finance Minister AMA Muhith is reluctant to give money for shifting the Mawa ferry ghat from the Padma bridge site to Shemulia in Munshiganj.

5 The traffic lights and countdown timers in the city are proving worthless in terms of controlling vehicular movement automatically.

Nation

6 Over 250 speedboats and trawlers are illegally plying on different river routes in Barisal amid the risk of being caught in a nor’wester.

Op-Ed

11 Ambassador Abdul Monem, the Bangladesh permanent representative at the UN, invited me to accept an award in New York as part of the celebration of the 94th anniversary of the birth of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman.

Entertainment

12 National Film Day will be celebrated today – for the third consecutive year since the current government declared a special day for the local film industry.

of the six drugs had excessive adverse reaction, adding that safety and efficacy were the foremost preconditions to manufacturing and marketing of a drug.

Nayar Sultana, member secretary of the ADRAC, told the meeting that many other countries had already banned the six generic drugs because of their excessive adverse reaction.

Mir Misbahuddin, professor of pharmacology at the BSMMU, echoed Nayar and said Bangladesh should follow similar measures.

Md Faizul Alam Chowdhury, professor of medicine at the DMCH, said almost no one prescribed Tegaserod and Sibutramine anymore, as most of the doctors knew about the adverse  PAGE 2 COLUMN 4

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PM goes tough on truant doctors, teachers n Emran Hossain Shaikh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina in a note of warning yesterday said stern action would be taken against doctors and teachers if they were not found at their workplaces.

“Those who are found absent from their workplaces will be fired,” the premier told the Jatiya Sangsad yesterday while replying to a supplementary question of Awami League lawmaker Nazrul Islam Chowdhury in the question-answer session.  PAGE 2 COLUMN 6

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DHAKA TRIBUNE

News

Thursday, April 3, 2014

Muhith: Containing people’s expectations major challenge of next budget n Asif Showkat Kallol

been estimated at 7.3%, but he did not elaborate the reasons behind the estimation.

He only said: “We will receive huge foreign assistance from development partners.”

The finance minister yesterday held meetings on budget monitoring and resources and fiscal coordination. He also met with the visiting IMF mission.

Meeting sources said the next fiscal inflation was estimated at 6%. The rate for the current fiscal year has been fixed at 7.5% because of political unrest.

The revenue outlay for the next fiscal year will be Tk182,000 crore while the amount for the current budget was revised at Tk125,000 crore, a secretary, who attended the meeting, later told the Dhaka Tribune yesterday.

Finance Minister AMA Muhith has said the main challenge of the next fiscal budget is to contain the “explosion of expectations from ministries and people” with the probability of the total outlay crossing Tk250,000 crore.

People’s expectation had increased a lot as the budget outlay and revenue earning had risen 2.5 times over the past five years, he explained yesterday while talking to reporters after a series of budget-related meetings.

He said ministries and divisions used to propose raising their development programme budgets, but now they wanted to increase the allocations for their non-revenue budgets, too.

In reply to a question, the finance

minister said: “I would not be able to stay as the finance minister if Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina failed to understand the matter regarding the budget expectations…She has always adjusted the budgets of the ministries and divisions.”

He said the visiting International Monetary Fund mission raised questions about the non-implementation of the budget and the big outlay and Annual Development Programmes.

“I told them that the outlays of the developing countries are naturally big,” he said.

“The IMF mission thinks the current fiscal target for revenue cannot be achieved as the government took measures like reducing the export tax on garment items.”

Muhith said the next fiscal GDP had

US introduces visa interview waiver n Tribune Report

Faraji demands mosque in parliament complex

The US embassy in Dhaka has announced a visa interview waiver programme for qualified Bangladeshi non-immigrant visa applicants.

This programme permits consular officers to waive interviews for certain qualified non-immigrant visa applicants who are renewing their non-immigrant visas, according to a press release issued from the embassy yesterday.

However, this programme is not for the first-time applicants.

In general, applicants who are renewing a visa, are citizens or residents of Bangladesh and are currently residing in Bangladesh, and are applying for the same type of visa as previously issued, will be qualified for this programme.

Their previous visa will have to have been issued on or after January 1, 2008.

Qualified applicants will have had no visa refusals in any category since their previous visa. Also, the previous visa should not have been revoked, lost, or stolen, nor should the applicant have incurred any violations of US immigration laws and or regulations.

In addition, the applicant’s name, date and place of birth, and nationality should not have changed since the previous visa was issued.

Depending on the type of visa being applied for, other requirements may be enforced.

The US embassy encourages anyone interested in the programme to visit the embassy’s information page at dhaka.usembassy.gov/interview_waiver_program.html. l

n Emran Hossain Shaikh

Bail of Sagar-Runi murder accused rejected n UNB The High Court yesterday rejected the bail plea of an accused in journalist couple Sagar-Runi murder case.

The bench of Justice Naima Haider and Justice Zafar Ahmed dismissed the bail petition of Tanveer Rahman who is now in jail.

Lawyer Mizanur Rahman argued for the accused while Deputy Attorney General Khorsedul Alam represented the government.

On March 10, the same bench rejected the bail petitions of three other accused – Bakul Mia, Rafiqul Islam and Quamrul Hasan.

Maasranga Television News Editor Sagar Sarowar and his wife ATN Bangla Senior Reporter Meherun Runi were found dead at their rented apartment in the city’s Rajabazar area on February 11, 2012. Elite force RAB is investigating the mysterious killings. l

Independent MP Rustam Ali Faraji yesterday demanded that a mosque be built on the parliament premises for lawmakers, officials and others to offer Jum’a prayers on Friday.

During an unscheduled discussion, he requested Deputy Speaker Fazle Rabbi Miah, who was in chair, to take steps in this regard.

The deputy speaker expressed solidarity with the demand from religious point of view. But he doubted whether it would be possible to set up the mosque considering the parliament complex’s architectural design.

The parliament’s main building has a

huge space for offering prayers. But there is no Jame mosque inside the compound.

“Bangladesh is a Muslim-majority country where 90% people are Muslims, and it is our obligation to pray,” Faraji, a lawmaker from Pirojpur 3 constituency, said.

He also asked the deputy speaker not to ignore the issue in the name of preserving architectural design of the complex as “there are many establishments already set up ignoring the Louis I Khan’s design.”

In response, Fazle Rabbi said he did not want to evade the issue. “As it is a matter of religious sentiment, I will place it before the leader of the house, the speaker and the Parliament Secretariat.” l

No trace of BCL leader allegedly picked up by RAB n Our Correspondent, Comilla The family of a Bangladesh Chhatra League leader, who has been missing since he was allegedly picked up by RAB on Saturday, demanded his release yesterday.

Addressing a press conference, the family members of Rokibul Hasan Shawon, organising secretary of BCL’s Victoria College unit, said he was taken in a car from his home by some people, who identified themselves as RAB personnel, on the morning of March 29.

The family contacted all law en-

forcement agencies, but failed to find any trace of him.

Meanwhile, Maj Shahed Hasan Rajib, commander of RAB 11, denied the elite force’s involvement in the alleged abduction of the pro-government student leader.

Rokibul’s wife, Farzana Akter Munni, said she filed a general diary with Kotwali model police station two days after her husband’s “abduction”.

His parents, Kaji Abdul Motin and Anowara Begum, and mother-in-law, Meherunnesa, also attended the press conference at the Comilla Press Club. l

Plan afoot for special police units  PAGE 1 COLUMN 4

Rajshahi’s Divisional Commissioner Helal Uddin said the meeting decided to form a committee. It would be shortly formed comprising efficient officials as they could examine the obstacles properly and put forward suggestions to the cabinet division.

A deputy commissioner of Rajshahi Division said the DCs who are also district magistrates made the proposal in the last DC conference to form separate police units.

Most of the DCs claimed that although they are responsible for everything under their jurisdiction, the Superintendents of Police (SPs) do not follow them and carry out their requests.

Sometimes they regret that police are not sent for operating mobile courts and dealing with emergencies. Despite being members of the district law and order committees, SPs do not attend the meetings under DCs. They only send their representatives in the meet-

ing, the DCs claimed.

The situation has been created after the police force took command. As a result, the officials of the civil administration have to suffer a lot. Even they cannot operate mobile courts and eviction drives properly for non-cooperation from police.

The DCs said the proposal was made taking the situation into account and ignoring the dependence on the police administration. It will be better for the civil administration if the government allows them to form separate units, they added.

The cabinet secretary said, “We are examining the proposal, put forward by the deputy commissioners, as to whether it is conflicting with the CrPC or any other laws. We have decided to form a committee which will make suggestions about our doings.”

He denied the allegation of having any conflict between the civil and the police administration at field level. l

Windies 14 diagnosed with SL eye revenge overgame might be the last Twenty20 international for Jayawardene and Sangwin to give their sides a place in the anthrax in Sirajganj semi-final. akkara, the two senior juggernauts of Sri Lanka’s decision to pick Ranga- Sri Lanka’sbattingif they fail to qualify n UNB na Herath in place of Ajantha Mendis for the final. However, although Jay PAGE 1 COLUMN 2

At least 14 people have been detected to be carrying the germs of anthrax at Raghunathpur village in Raiganj upazila.

The district civil surgeon’s office confirmed the presence of the viral disease in their bodies through medical tests on Monday.

Civil Surgeon Mainuddin said the 14 people were found to have been attacked with anthrax as they prepared the meat of a cow of Shaheb Ali, infected with the deadly disease two weeks back. The symptoms started appearing after seven days.

The local administration treated them locally. One of them was admitted to Bogra Mohammad Ali Hospital in a critical condition. l

in their previous game paid huge dividends as the diminutive spinner spun his side to the last-4 with a five-for against the Kiwis. This offers a sweet headache for the Lankan management to choose one from their two leading spinners for this very important knockout clash. If the 36-year-old is preferred, Lankan management would dearly love to witness a repeat of his Chittagong heroics against the Gayles and the Bravos.

It is no secret that the Lankan batting depends to a great extent on their three senior batting trio – Mahela Jayawardene, Kumar Sangakkara and Tillakaratne Dilshan – who all need to fire in order to post a good total. The

awardene has done pretty well in the tournament so far with 134 runs to his name, Sangakkara is yet to do justice to his superstar tag. Sangakkara, in fact, has had a horrible run so far scoring just 18 runs from his three innings which is so unlike him.

The sweet memory of lifting the Asia Cup not too long ago at the SBNS might be a source of inspiration for the Lankans who absolutely reigned supreme against Bangladesh in the bilateral series before the Asia Cup began. So, the advantage of playing in these conditions for so long in the recent past also gives them an extra edge over the West Indies. West Indies all-rounder Darren

Regarding the GDP, the finance minister said the Asian Development Bank had estimated Bangladesh’s GDP growth at 5.6% this year although its previous estimation was 6.2%.

“I do not know why the ADB estimated such a low GDP growth,” Muhith said.

He said the ADP outlay for the next fiscal year would be fixed below Tk80,000 crore in the National Economic Council’s meeting at the Planning Commission today.

A member of the resources committee said the Finance Division wanted to estimate the current fiscal ADP outlay at Tk55,000 crore, but the Planning Commission wanted to fix it at Tk61,000 crore which might be fixed at Tk57,000 crore in the revised budget. l

50 hurt in Mohammadpur clash n Kailash Sarkar Around 50 people sustained injuries yesterday evening in a clash between the students of a local madrasa in the capital’s Tajmahal Road and the followers of “Haider Baba” alias “Haata Baba,” who recently passed away.

Hundreds of people from both the groups locked into clash which suspended vehicular movements on all roads in and around the area. This resulted in severe traffic congestion.

Police fired shots and charged batons to disperse the crowd and bring the situation under control. Additional police were deployed in the area to avert further clashes, though a tense situation prevailed among people of both groups.

Police and witnesses said the clash had erupted when the madrasa students opposed a move of the followers of “Haata Baba” concerning the arrangement of a function near his grave on Tajmahal Road in the evening.

Several hundred people got embroiled in the clash that began around 6pm and ended around 8:30pm.

Carrying sticks and sharp weapons, followers of “Haata Baba” and madrasa students pelted brick chips at each other. There were also chases and counter-chases between them.

Biplab Sarkar, deputy commissioner of Tejgaon zone, said the clash ensued an argument between the followers of “Haata Baba” and the madrasa students.

“The clash turned violent as most of the followers of 'Haata Baba' were the residents of the Geneva Camp in Mohammadpur,” said the DC. He said police charged batons and fired shots to bring the situation under control. “As the incident involved religious issue, police had to deal it with great caution so that the religious sentiment is not hurt."

He said they had no information of anyone sustaining injuries. None was arrested and no case was filed. l

Traders bring watermelon from rural areas to the capital with a view to make handsome profit. The photo was taken from Badamtali ghat yesterday DHAKA TRIBUNE

Jamaat leader resigns n Our Correspondent, Sirajganj Shahidul Islam, a local leader of Jamaat-e-Islami at Solpa union under Ullapara upazial in the district, resigned from the party yesterday.

Shahidul was also a former ameer of the Jamaat of the union council.

He is also currently the UP chairman and lecturer of Solpa College.

According to sources, Shahidul was accused of vandalising the fleet of Tanvir Imam, son of HT Imam, after the execution of war criminal Abdul Quader Molla.

A case was filed against him for damaging government properties when the Jamaat called hartal last year throughout the country. Locals brought allegation against him for neglecting duty in his college and union council office.

Panna Chowdhury, upazila AL vice-president and the founder of the college, and his wife Hasina Khatun, principal of the college, had to face criticism in connection with the incident.

The college authorities threatened Shahidul to fire him from the job. For this reason, he decided to resign from the party. Later, he declared his resignation at a press briefing. l

Fugitive ex-BNP leader held after 11yrs n Our Correspondent, Sirajganj Police arrested a former BNP leader from Kamarpara bazar area of Belkuchi upazila yesterday morning in the sensational AL leader Kuddus killing case, 11 years after he went into hiding.

The arrestee is Abdus Sattar, former president of Bardul Union unit BNP and also former chairman of Bardul Union.

Belkuchi police station OC Abdul Hay said they were questioning Sattar.

On May 25, 2002, miscreants swooped on the motorcade of then

health minister Moahmmad Nasim, leaving Kuddus, then fishery affairs secretary of Sirajganj district unit AL, critically injured. He later succumbed to his injuries.

Police submitted charge sheet against 45 people including Sattar. l

Ban on 6 adverse drugs recommended Extradition treaty  PAGE 1 COLUMN 5

reaction. However, some doctors continue to prescribe Pioglitazone, Rosiglitazone and Gatifloxacin.

Faizul said it was common among doctors to prescribe Flupenthixol-Melitracen, adding that it should be banned in Bangladesh considering risk-benefit ratio.

Naser Shahriar Zahedi, president of Bangladesh Pharmaceuticals Society, emphasised on the need to ensure the safety and efficacy of the drugs. Calling for bans on the six generic drugs, Zahedi however recommended that the pharmaceutical companies be allowed to finish the raw materials they already had in stock.

AKM Shamshuzzaman, chief scientific officer of the Institute of Epidemiology, Disease Control and Research (IEDCR), said abnormal heart rhythms caused by Flupenthixol-Melitracen prompted India, the UK, the USA, Ireland, Canada, Japan and Australia to ban the drug.

Bravo was right when he quickly acknowledged that. “They (Sri Lankans) have played a lot more games in Bangladesh than West Indies,” Bravo said.

But West Indies are a solid Twenty20 side which has all its bases covered despite the absence of all-rounder Kieron Pollard. Their collaborative effort has seen them qualify for the semi-finaleven though the menacing Chris Gayle had hardly hit the blistering form which we normally associate with his batting. Gayle’s only notable contribution so far has been a half-century against Australia which some would say was slow by his standards.Marlon Samuels is another player who also has not done justice to his name.

However, these didnot matter much asDarren Bravo and skipper Darren Sammy took charge whenever their team needed them the most. The duo

The drugs

It is learnt that Pioglitazone is used for treating type 2 diabetes in certain patients. It works by lowering blood sugar by making the cells of the body more sensitive to the action of insulin.

Rosiglitazone is an oral drug also used in treating type 2 diabetes patients, as the drug reduces the amount of sugar (glucose) in the blood.

Flupentixol is an antipsychotic drug used to treat schizophrenia and other psychotic diseases. It is also used in many cases on low doses as an antidepressant.

Gatifloxacin is used to treat a variety of bacterial infections. It works by stopping the growth of bacteria.

Tegaserod is used to treat irritable bowel syndrome in women who have constipation as a major symptom. Tegaserod relieves constipation by shortening the time stool remains in the bowel, reducing stomach pain and bloating.

Sibutramine is used for treating obesity. It regulates chemicals in the brain that reduce hunger or craving for food. l

has so far earned two incredible victories with the bat for theirteam against quality oppositions. The Australia match went right down to the wire while the Pakistan team simply had no clue as to what hit them in the final few overs of West Indies innings.

West Indies also have an advantage of playing all their matches of the tournament so far at SBNS. They have won matches with the bat between 15th and 20th over and it hardly mattered whether they were chasing or setting targets. Therefore, all the Lankan bowlers including Lasith Malinga need to be aware of this as there is very little margin for error in this format of the game and apparently silly mistakes can change the complexion of the game in the final overs.

All in all, it promises to be another exciting match in prospect. l

 PAGE 1 COLUMN 2

“When I see her [Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina] I will urge her to look ahead and ask herself where she wants her Bangladesh in five or 10 years’ time,” Duncan said in the press conference before his meeting with the prime minister.

When asked about his assessment on the Bangladesh readymade garment sector in the post-Rana Plaza situation, he said the big problem was that the size of the garment industry had grown far more than the regulation needed to govern its standard.

“This year has to be the year in which standard in the readymade garment sector catch up with the growth of the sector over the last 25 years,” he said. l

PM goes tough  PAGE 1 COLUMN 6

Lawmaker Nazrul Islam urged the premier to appoint doctors and teachers in the vacant posts in community clinics and schools and make sure that they stay in the workplaces.

Hasina said: “Many of us have tendency to stay in the capital city instead of our working stations. Why do they need a job if they do not stay at their workplaces?”

Replying to a supplementary question of Shafiqul Islam Shimul, Hasina said the government was not thinking about increasing the age limit for government job.

Replying to a written question of Jatiya Party lawmaker Selim Uddin, the premier said the new pay scale for government employees would be declared in the next fiscal year.

Mentioning that a pay and service commission would be formed, Hasina said the recommendations of the commission might be submitted within next six months.

Replying to JaPa lawmaker Mohammad Ellias, she said the government took initiative to build an international standard stadium in Cox’s Bazar saying “the procedures of site selection is going on.” l

DHAKA TRIBUNE

News

3

Thursday, April 3, 2014

ACCUSED ESCAPE COURT

Non-coordination between police and court blamed n Mohammad Jamil Khan It was nobody’s negligence; the four activists of Bangladesh Chhatra League who are among 13 accused in Jahangirnagar University student Zubair Ahmed murder case fled from the courtroom due to lack of coordination between the police and the court concerned.

The two-member investigation committee formed to look into the incident in its report said such incidents would repeat if steps were not taken immediately to address lack of coordination.

The committee submitted the probe report to the court a couple of days ago.

Khandakar Ashiqul Islam, Khan Mohammad Rais, Mahbub Akram and Ishtiaq Arup appeared before the Dhaka Speedy Trial Tribunal 4 on February 23 for a regular hearing in the case.

The court that day was set to give order on a bail cancellation plea submitted by the prosecution for violating bail condition. As soon as their bails were cancelled, the four accused fled from

the courtroom in front of lawyers and the police.

The court police were not informed beforehand about the order, the court’s public prosecutor said.

The appeal was lodged after the four accused and two others were proved to have attacked two students of the university on the court premises who went there to observe the trial proceedings.

The probe committee was formed with Deputy Commissioner (south) of the Detective Branch of Police Krishna Pada Roy as its convener. The other member was Lalbagh division’s Additional Deputy Commissioner Abdus Salam.

When contacted, the DB official said the four accused were on bail and they came to the court for hearing. Therefore, the police were not aware about the court’s decision of cancelling their bails.

“This is why the police are not guilty. The court is also not guilty for the incident,” he said while refusing to give details about such observation.

Another high official at the DB told the Dhaka Tribune that the court only knows and takes decision about bail or punishment after analysing offence. “If there is possibility of cancelling bail of an accused, then the court informs the police beforehand.”

On such instructions, the prosecution department of the police takes security measures.

On the day of the incident, the court did not ask for security from the police.

Zubair, an honours final year student of English department and a former Chhatra League activist, was tortured and stabbed by the accused on January 8, 2012. He succumbed to his injuries at a hospital in the capital the following day.

The university authorities filed the murder case the same day with Ashulia police station.

Seven of the 13 accused were expelled from the campus for life while the rest six for two years after a probe body of the university found their direct involvement in the murder. l

DB recovers 41 stolen vehicles n

Ashif Islam Shaon

The Detective Branch of Police in continuous drives from March 15-31 in Chittagong, Narayanganj, Gazipur, Rajbari, Madaripur and Jessore had recovered 22 private cars, 18 CNG-run auto-rickshaws and a motorcycle and arrested 16 carjackers and stolen car traders.

The drives were conducted as per the complainants of car owners.

During interrogation they said they belonged to two gangs, and revealed some techniques of carjacking.

Incidents of vehicle lifting have increased recently and the vehicles that do not have security alarm installed have been the easiest target of car snatchers, detectives working on car theft said during a press briefing yesterday.

Car lifters prefer the insecure cars as they are easy to take and hide leaving no trace behind. Besides, if the owners of private small vehicles do not keep record of the hired drivers and verify ID by the law enforcers, it is possible that the vehicle will become an easy target. A driver can also become prey of doping, if he trusts unknown passengers beyond doubt.

“They choose any of convenient techniques like pointing gun or sharp arms after halting the cars by pelting bricks, stones. In some case, they

willingly hit the targeted car with an old one which tempts the driver to get down from the car and lock into quarrel. Carjackers take the chance,” Monirul Islam, joint commissioner of DB, said yesterday.

The gang members sometimes built up close relation with the drivers and dope them, he added.

“Once a car is snatched, they contact with the car owner and make a deal ranging from Tk50,000 to Tk100,000 in exchange of the car. They threaten of selling the car elsewhere to resist

the owner from taking help of the law enforcers,” he said.

“Selling these cars is a bit difficult.

The snatchers have to change the engine and chassis numbers and make fake documents. We found some of such cars in Dhaka, Chittagong, Gazipur, Sylhet, Naraynganj and Jessore so far,” he added.

The DB personnel also suggested the car owners to install security alarm, keep copies of national ID and photos of drivers and verify those by police to prevent car theft. l

Recovered CNGs parked outside the DB office yesterday

MAHMUD HOSSAIN OPU

Arguments in Khokon Razakar case start April 9 n Udisa Islam The International Crimes Tribunal 1 has set April 9 for beginning the prosecution’s closing arguments in the case against BNP leader Zahid Hossain Khokon, alias Khokon Razakar.

State-appointed defence counsel Abdus Shukur Khan yesterday ended

the cross-examination of Investigation Officer Satya Ranjan Roy. The tribunal set the date of closing arguments as no witness stood for the fugitive accused who is now staying in Sweden.

On October 9 last year, the tribunal 1 framed 11 specific charges against Khokon Razakar that include geno-

cide, murder of Hindus and conversion of religion during the 1971 Liberation War in Nagarkanda of Faridpur.

Responding to a prosecution plea on July 18 last year, the tribunal, after taking into cognisance the charges against Khokon, issued a warrant for his arrest as the accused did not appear before it. l

Officials of a mobile court seize fake homeopathic medicines during a raid in the capital’s Uttar Badda yesterday

Maulana Subhan’s trial begins

Son claims Mobarak ‘innocent’

The trial of Jamaat-e-Islami Nayeb-eAmeer Maulana Abdus Subhan began at the war crimes tribunal yesterday with the prosecution’s opening statement in the case, nearly two months after his indictment.

Prosecutors Zead-al-Malum, Sultan Mahmud Simon and Rezia Sultana Chaman read out the 80-page opening statement. After that, the International Crimes Tribunal 2 set April 7 for recording the testimony of the first prosecution witness.

The acting chief Pabna unit Jamaat during the 1971 Liberation War, Subhan is facing nine charges of crimes against humanity. The prosecution said he was liable for individual and as well as superior responsibility in the crimes.

The prosecution said: “Subhan led and in some cases accompanied the anti-liberation forces in and around Pabna in committing atrocities from April 11, 1971. He was the secretary of Pabna unit Peace Committee that was formed in the month of May, 1971.”

The accused was indicted by the tribunal 1 on December 31 last year. But the case was transferred to tribunal 2 on March 27.

Subhan was also accused in 1972 by a special tribunal of collaborating with the Pakistani occupation forces and summoned. However, he did not face the trail as he already fled to Pakistan with former Jamaat chief Ghulam Azam.

In their statement, the prosecution said: “Subhan made a list of pro-liberation people especially the leaders of Awami League in the village Bharara in Pabna and provided the list to the Pakistani Army. Later the occupation army and their cohorts abducted many people from the list and tortured them to death.”

According to a charge, Subhan on a day in May 1971 had led some 30 Pakistani occupation army men to Satbaria, Fakitpur, Kandarppur and Gupinpur of Pabna and killed at least 400 unarmed Hindus in a planned way and set fire to their houses after looting.

Most of the charges stated that the accused did all the crimes with the help of Khoda Box who executed the plans made by Subhan. l

n Udisa Islam

n Udisa Islam

The son of detained war crimes accused Mobarak Hossain, a razakar commander of Brahmanbaria during the 1971 Liberation War, yesterday gave his deposition as the second defence witness.

Mohammad Asad Uddin, 37, claimed that his father was innocent and a victim of conspiracy.

On November 25 last year, after the end of prosecution witness in the case, the International Crimes Tribunal 1 allowed three defence witnesses including the accused.

Defence counsel Tajul Islam helped Asad submitting his statement. The witness said his father was the organising secretary of Awami League’s ward 3 unit of Mugra Union in Brahmanbaria and that he had not been involved with the politics of Jamaat-e-Islami.

Terming the case false, Asad claimed that his father was subjected to village conspiracy.

According to the charge sheet, Mobarak was a member of Jamaat’s union unit in Akhaura, after the war. Later, he joined the Awami League and was expelled two years ago.

He also claimed that his father was 13-year-old during the war. So there was no possibility for an adolescent to become a razakar member. The accused was not even charged during the special trial of collaborators in 1972.

Asad also placed some documents as exhibit but the tribunal did not accept those as the documents were not certified. Defence counsel Tajul said

DHAKA TRIBUNE

they had earlier submitted these types of documents in other cases. “We can even submit stolen papers to prove my client innocent.”

The tribunal then said: “We cannot approve any purchased document as it is not official or identified as official document.”

Terming the case false, Asad claimed that his father was subjected to village conspiracy Asad placed a book “Muktijuddhe Brahmanbaria” written by Jaidul Hossain and claimed that all the five charges brought against his father by the prosecution were described there. But the book never mentioned Mobarak’s name as a war criminal of Brahmanbaria.

After his deposition, prosecutor Shahedur Rahman started to cross examine him. The tribunal set today for further grilling of the witness.

Mobarak was indicted on April 23 last year on five charges of crimes against humanity that include killing of 33 people in Akhaura, vandalising temple, torturing and killing Ashuranjan Deb at a razakar camp, and abductions and killings in Shyampur.

Khodeja Begum, whose father was allegedly killed by Mobarak, filed a case with Brahmanbaria court on May 3, 2009, which was transferred to (ICT)-1 in 2011. The tribunal then asked its investigation agency to probe into the matter. l

4

DHAKA TRIBUNE

News

Thursday, April 3, 2014

CONSTRUCTION OF NEW FERRY GHAT

Muhith unwilling to divert money from Padma Bridge fund n Asif Showkat Kallol Finance Minister AMA Muhith has showed reluctance to give money from the budgetary allocation for the proposed Padma Bridge to shift ferry ghat from Mawa to Shemulia in Munshiganj, official sources said.

He turned down a proposal made

by Shipping Minister Shajahan Khan to disburse Tk47 crore from the budgetary allocation for Padma Bridge to move the ferry ghat from Mawa to another place.

The finance minister in a note said it was essential to shift the ferry ghat for the construction of Padma Bridge.

“Now it is not possible to release funds allocated for Padma Bridge. I have already talked to the finance secretary

about the issue.”

His note reads: “Fund of Tk 47crore may be collected from other sources instead of the allocation for Padma Bridge project.”

The shipping minister in a letter said an inter-ministerial meeting held at the bridges division last week decided to shift the ferry ghat from Mawa to another place due to pressure from the bridges division. It had also selected the site for the ferry ghat at Shemulia in Munshiganj through a joint survey conducted by the shipping ministry and the bridges division.

The transfer of Mawa ferry ghat to Shemulia will cost Tk47 crore and connecting road will have to be built. BIWTC had already estimated Tk 47crore for the construction of the new ferry ghat.

The shipping minister also sought quick disbursement of the funds to expedite the construction process, the letter said.

Earlier, Planning Minister AHM Mustafa Kamal made a proposal to slash the allocation for the Padma Bridge project by 70% to Tk2,108 crore in the revised budget for the current fiscal year, but the finance division rejected it.

An official of the finance ministry said the finance division had decided not to slash any fund allocated for the Padma Bridge this fiscal year. The bridges division and the planning ministry had already been informed of the matter.

The finance division dropped the move to cut Padma Bridge funds which were supposed to be spent on dearness allowance, subsidies and allowance for

freedom fighters, the official added.

Initially, Tk6,888 crore was earmarked for the mega project in the current fiscal year and only Tk 2,601 crore was released during the period between July and January in the fiscal year 2013-14 which was only 4% of the total amount.

The bridges division allocated Tk6,852 crore for the construction of the bridge this fiscal year.

Communications Minister Obaidul Quader had recently said the government was considering allocating around Tk8,000 crore for the Padma Bridge project in the next budget.

The amount of funds that had already been allocated for the project would not be withdrawn, the minister said. l

17th witness testifies in Zubair murder case n Md Sanaul Islam Tipu A Jahangirnagar University teacher, who was a member of the investigation committee to look into the murder of honours final year student Zubair Ahmed, submitted his statement at a special court yesterday.

Associate Professor Kabirul Bashar narrated the process of primary and further investigations at the Speedy Trial Tribunal 4 as the prosecution’s 17th witness. Judge ABM Nizamul Haque recorded his testimony.

Seven of the 13 accused were in the dock. Four others fled the courtroom during a hearing on February 23 while two others have remained absent for several months. All of them are activists of Bangladesh Chhatra League and batch-mates of the victim.

Zubair, a former Chhatra League activist, was tortured and stabbed by the accused on January 8, 2012. He succumbed to his injuries at a hospital

in the capital the following day. The university authorities filed the murder case the same day with Ashulia police station.

The witness said upon instruction of the vice-chancellor on January 9, the JU proctorial body formed a primary inquiry committee. It submitted a report to the Syndicate naming three – Khandakar Ashiqul Islam, Rashedul Islam and Khan Mohammad Rais – as suspects.

“Later another probe committee was formed of which I was a member.

We held 14 meetings and took the testimonies of 49 witnesses. Upon our recommendation, the Syndicate on January 30 expelled seven students for life and six for two years,” the witness said.

On March 9, Professor SM Badiur Rahman of biochemistry and molecular biology department testified at the tribunal as the 13th prosecution witness. There are 37 witnesses in the case. l

FIFTH PHASE UPAZILA POLLS

Rapes, killings of women on rise this year: BJMAS n Tribune Report

n Mohammad Zakaria

Incidents of rape and killing of women and children have increased in the first three months of this year, compared to the same period last year, a report by a legal rights organisation said.

The number of killings and suicides after rape has reached 53 so far this year, while the figure was 36 last year, said the report by the Bangladesh Jatiyo Mohila Ainjibi Samity (BJMAS).

The report was compiled from news items published in 14 national dailies, a BJMAS press release said.

According to the report, a total of 844 women and children were tortured, 362 of whom died. It also said 56 women and children were sexually harassed and nine of them later died.

Meanwhile, 143 women died from domestic violence, 20 were tortured to death for dowry and 98 died as a result of community violence between January and March. Also, at least eight domestic workers were killed by their employers.

The organisation said despite several laws to prevent repression against women and children and High Court directives to empower mobile courts, incidents of violence have not stopped.

The report cited some horrific examples of violence, including the hacking of a housewife’s body at Gazipur in January, and the gang rape of a female worker by passengers of a rickshaw van in Rajshahi in February. l

EWG: Malpractices, rigging rampant in polls A good number of irregularities and incidents of vote rigging occurred in the fifth phase of upazila parishad elections, Election Working Group (EWG) observed.

In the polls, the turnout was 63.7%, most of which were fake votes, the EWG stated.

The EWG consists of 29 elections observatory organisations yesterday came up with the observation in its primary statement on the immediate past upazila polls at a press conference held at National Press Club in the capital.

Of 73 upazilas, the EWG observed 34 parishads where around 53% incidents of vote rigging were recorded.

The statement also said 50% incident of violence in the polling centres barred 20% voters to cast their franchise while there were also 183 incidents of forced leave of voters and 59% of polling agents.

Unilever Pureit celebrates World Water Day

n Tribune Desk

Unilever Pureit recently celebrated World Water Day in Dhaka, Chittagong and Khulna. In order to mark the day, Pureit mobile team along with its safe water advisors served more than 18,000 glasses of safe drinking water to people at various location using Pureit devices installed in Pureit vans Unilever Pureit Celebrated World Water Day 2014 Unilever Pureit celebrated World Water Day 2014 in Dhaka, Chittagong and Khulna recently. To mark this day, Pureit mobile team with its “Safe Water Advisors” served more than 18,000 glasses of safe drinking water to people from Pureit devices installed in Pureit Vans that travelled in various locations around the above mentioned places.

Pureit is a revolutionary innovation of Unilever that started its journey in Bangladesh from 2010 and promises to provide safe drinking water that is colorless and odorless through its advanced 4-Step GermKill technology without the hassle of boiling and the cost of electricity or gas. Moreover, quality of Pureit water meets international safe water guidelines set by USEPA (United States Environmental Protection Agency). l

Election expert Nazmul Ahsan Kalimullah said the administration and law enforcers played an inactive role in tackling the electoral irregularities which is a matter great concern. “The dirty administrative influence on the fifth round of upazila polls is disgraceful to the nation.”

The situation started worsening from the second phase of polls, Kalimullah said, adding that 13 unruly supporters of a candidate in Belkuchi upazila of Sirajganj stuffed ballots after stamping under the nose of law enforcers who did not take any action. Director of EWG Abdul Alim echoed the expert, saying marked ballot papers were stuffed on the previous night of the voting day. “Such sort of bad practices was not seen before.”

Alim said five miscreants allegedly entered a polling centre in Gazipur Sreepur upazila and ordered the presiding officer to stop voting and the officer was forced to publish final results on their information. l

People who use wheelchairs lead a rally in the capital yesterday, marking World Autism Awareness Day

Teesta Barrage Road March on April 8 n

Tribune Report

The left political parties yesterday announced that they would hold a three-day road march on the Teesta Barraage from Dhaka on April 8 protesting against “week foreign policy” of the Awami League government and demanding a proper share of the Teesta river water from India.

The announcement came at a press conference of the Democratic Left Alliance (DLA) held in the city’s Segunbagicha.

DLA Coordinator Abdus Satter made the announcement.

The Communist Party of Bangladesh and Bangladesher Samajtantrik Dal

would announce similar road march on April 5 at a joint press conference, CPB President Mujahidul Islam Selim told the Dhaka Tribune over phone.

He said their road march would begin on April 18 and end on April 20.

Abdus Satter said India had been unilaterally withdrawing water from Teesta river at its upper basin, thus causing a vast area of greater Rangpur, Dinajpur and Bogra to be parched.

The unilateral action of the neighbouring country hit cultivation of crops and vegetables in Bangladesh, he added.

The three-day road march of the DLA will kick off with a rally in front of the National Press Club on April 8 morning. l

3 policemen sent to jail n Md Sanaul Islam Tipu A Dhaka court yesterday sent five people, including three police members, who were arrested with 165 gold bars, to jail.

Metropolitan Magistrate Shamsul Arefin passed the order after DB Inspector Md Fazlul Haque produced the accused before the court in a case filed under the code of criminal procedure.

The accused are Sub-Inspector Manzurul Islam, constables Wahidul Islam and Akash Chowdhury of Rampura police station, their source Sajib Sikdar and car driver Mahfuz Alam.

On Tuesday, DB police recovered 165 smuggled gold bars from the custody of Rampura police and arrested the five for not handing over the recovered gold to the government treasury.

It is also mentioned in the police report that a separate case would be filed under the Anti-Corruption Commission. Authorities concerned confirmed the matter.

SI Manjurul and his patrol team, who were on duty in Banasree’s Balurmath area on March 13, chased a microbus on suspicion and later found the vehicle abandoned. They brought the vehicle to the police station and filed a general diary for an abandoned car.

On March 16, two individuals named Samir Bishwash and Jahid Hossain came to the police station to claim the vehicle but could not provide any documents to prove their right. Later, police detained them and found out that they were professional gold smugglers and were transporting 235 gold bars using the microbus. l

UK announces three projects for Bangladesh RMG industry n Tribune Report UK Minister for International Development Alan Duncan yesterday announced the plan to start three projects to help improve working conditions and safety standard in Bangladesh’s garment industry.

Presidium member Atique quits JaPa n Tribune Report Mohammad Atiqur Rahman Atique, presidium member of HM Ershad-led Jatiya Party, resigned from his post on Tuesday as well as Habiganj president post of the party.

He submitted his resignation letter to the party chief, in which he said: “The party chief, HM Ershad, frequently changes his stance and takes decision without consent of the presidium body. As a result, the activists are leaving the party peoples.”

He also said: “Due to the chief’s interference, the party cannot adopt any pro-people movement and lagging behind in the politics of the country.

Some party leaders always want to go to power, which destroys its chain of command squarely.” l

DHAKA TRIBUNE

The projects will help staff, factory owners, management, supervisors and workers to work together

Visiting UK Minister Alan Duncan speaks to a survivor of Rana Plaza collapse at the Centre for the Rehabilitation of the Paralysed in Savar yesterday DHAKA TRIBUNE

“Almost a year on from the collapse, it is inspiring to hear how the survivors have sought to maintain their dignity and re-establish their livelihoods, despite such severe, crushing injuries and psychological trauma. We can all learn from their stories,” said Duncan.

The UK minister started the day with visiting survivors of the collapsed Rana Plaza building and the Centre for the Rehabilitation of the Paralysed (CRP) in Savar, which receives funding from UK aid.

“The factory collapse shone a spotlight on working conditions in the garment industry. We have since ramped up our efforts to improve safety and working conditions in Bangladesh’s garment sector,” he said.

“We must not forget that the garment sector remains vital to poverty reduction and the economic empowerment of women in Bangladesh. It is worth over £13bn and provides over four million jobs for people, 70-80% of whom are women. The garment industry supports a further 25 million people,” he continued.

This is having a positive impact on social change and women’s empowerment, providing them with opportunities to work outside the home, to earn their own money, help support their family and to have an alternative to early marriage.

The three projects will help staff, factory owners, management, supervisors and workers to work together to improve the working environment and productivity by addressing issues such as fire safety, absenteeism, working hours, take-home pay and efficiency. l

Former CJ Syed Mahbub’s death anniversary today n Tribune Report The 35th anniversary of death of former chief justice Syed Mahbub Murshed, one of the greatest constitutional lawyers of the sub-continent, will be observed today.

Family members will lay floral wreaths at his grave at Banani and a milad mahfil will take place at his Gulshan residence after Asr prayer tomorrow.

Syed Mahbub was born on January 11, 1911 at Shahpur in Murshidabad of West Bengal and passed away in 1979.

He was an active supporter of the 1952 Language Movement.

In 1955, he was appointed judge of the Dhaka High Court and in 1964 he was appointed the Chief Justice of the High Court of East Pakistan. He made tremendous contributions towards enrichment of the judiciary and distinguished himself as unparalleled in the delivery of quality judgments.

A luminary in the judicial field in South Asia and a respected figure in the political arena Justice Murshed has been described by intellectuals as “A Keeper of National Conscience.” l

DHAKA TRIBUNE

News

5

Thursday, April 3, 2014

Digital traffic control clashes with manual police!

Drivers as well as commuters disobey traffic rules in the absence of an automated system in Dhaka n Abu Hayat Mahmud The traffic lights and countdown timers in the city are proving worthless in terms of controlling vehicular movement automatically as traffic police themselves are regularly seen controlling traffic manually, thus neglecting the automated system that cost crores of taka to build.

The manual traffic control is encouraging drivers and commuters to disobey the rules. Traffic police department of Dhaka Metropolitan Police (DMP) has seemingly failed to cope with the messy situation which is largely responsible for deadly road crashes that take place almost every day and also tailbacks, a common phenomenon in Dhaka.

Dhaka North City Corporation (DNCC) and Dhaka South City Corporation (DSCC) are in charge of maintaining traffic lights and countdown timers. Every year, both DNCC and DSCC spend a hefty sum for development of the system. DSCC allocated TK2 crore in this fiscal, down from Tk4 crore in fiscal 2012-13, while DNCC allocated TK9 crore in fiscal 2013-14. The DNCC’s allocation in the previous fiscal was Tk5 crore.

The Dhaka Tribune talked to several on-duty traffic police officials in some of the busiest intersections in the capital who said they frequently control traffic manually.

Traffic lights and countdown timers sometimes remain turned off

n Tarek Mahmud, Chittagong

n Our Correspondent, Sylhet Teachers of Blue Bird High School and College in the district yesterday went on strike for an indefinite period protesting insult of their principal and teachers by committee members on Tuesday.

According to school sources, a clash erupted between the committee members of the institution and the principal while the committee members went to visit the college on that day.

Principal Hosne Ara Begum said the committee members had harassed her during the visit.

On the other hand, the committee members claimed that the principal kept three members of them under lock and key as they opposed the illegal promotion of a student.

Hosne Ara said: “The committee members misbehaved with teachers during the sudden visit and threatened to kick them out from the institution.”

Over the issue, the teachers called the strike.

Ataur Rahman Babul, officerin-charge of Kotwali police station confirmed the incident. l

WEATHER

PARTLY CLOUDY THURSDAY, APRIL 3 DHAKA TODAY TOMORROW SUN SETS 6:15PM SUN RISES 5:48AM FORECAST FOR TODAY Dhaka

35

23

Chittagong

33

23

Rajshahi

40

23

Rangpur

38

22

Khulna

37

23

Barisal

35

24

Sylhet

36

21

Cox’s Bazar

33

24

YESTERDAY’S HIGH AND LOW

16.0ºC Rangpur

Source: Accuweather/UNB

PRAYER TIMES Fajar Sunrise Zohr Asr Magrib Esha

A traffic police manually controls traffic system at Purana Paltan intersection in the city yesterday Professor Nazrul Islam, chairman of Centre for Urban Studies, said: “Since urbanisation and traffic management in Dhaka are completely unplanned, the problems are not going to disappear soon. It might get worse in the future if

the government doesn’t take effective steps for decentralisation.”

Professor Dr Sarwar Jahan, Department of Urban and Regional Planning at BUET, told the Dhaka Tribune: “If the government

25 drug dens demolished in port city

Teachers go on strike in Sylhet

38.2ºC Jessore

and traffic police are usually seen controlling vehicular movements themselves.

DMP joint commissioner (traffic) Mir Rezaul Alam told the Dhaka Tribune that it is impossible to control traffic on all Dhaka roads with only lights and timers because not all the equipment function properly.

He said it would be possible to control traffic automatically following completion of development of traffic lighting system under the Clean Air and Sustainable Environment (CASE) project.

“All key intersections in Dhaka – no matter with or without automated signals – are controlled manually at present because of excessive traffic,” Alam added.

The CASE project, currently under implementation, will cost an estimated Tk15 crore. It includes installation of solar panels where the existing 70 traffic signals are located, with 30 intersections in DSCC area and the rest 40 in DNCC area.

Touhid Ibne Akram, assistant engineer of the project, said it would likely be finished this June.

However, Director of CASE project Md Shehab Ullah earlier said it was supposed to be finished by December last, adding: “The system will improve automatic control of traffic.”

Urban planners, meanwhile, are sceptical about seeing a congestionfree city based solely on automated traffic system.

4:33am 5:49am 12:02am 4:32pm 6:15pm 7:32pm Source: IslamicFinder.org

Chittagong Metropolitan Police and its Detective Branch yesterday in a joint drive demolished at least 25 drug trading dens in Chittagong city’s Motijharna area, well known to locals as a drug peddling hotspot.

A total of five people were arrested in the drive, including two women.

Police sources said they arrestees were allegedly involved with drug peddling business for a long time. Two motorcycles were also seized from their possession, the sources added.

The arrestees were Abdur Nur, Monwara Begum, Rabeya, Jubayer Alam and Saiful.

Additional Deputy Commissioner Babul Akhter of CMP DB said they had conducted the drive around 4pm which went on till around 6:30pm, following a tipp-off.

ADC Mohammad Shahidullah of CMP (North Zone) said: “When the law enforcers started the drive at the shanties, sensing our presence, most drug smugglers managed to flee, locking their thatched houses which were used for drug trading at night.”

“But, the law enforcers has demolished all the dens and made sure that none can sell drugs in the area in future,” he added.

Officer-in-Charge Mainul Islam Bhuiyan of Khulshi police station said

Nur, Monwara and Rabeya were enlisted drug smugglers amongst at least 34 drug peddlers that operated in the area. Two other detainees were held on suspicion, he added.

According to CMP sources, Motijharna, Barishal Colony near Chittagong Railway Station, New Shahid Lane at Ispahani Circle, Kadamtali, Madarbari, Bakalia, Kotwali and Scrap Colony of Panchlaish were mentionable spots among at least 50 drug peddling hotspots in the port city.

Banaz Kumar Majumder, additional commissioner (crime and operation) of CMP said they would continue to conduct such drives in future to remove drug smuggling from the city. l

Former BCL leader on two-day remand n RU Correspondent A Rajshahi court yesterday placed a former Rajshahi University Chhatra League unit joint secretary on a two-day remand in a case filed against him on charges of firing on and beating general students who were demonstrating on February 2 protesting fees hike.

Chief Metropolitan Magistrate’s

Court of Sharmin Akhter passed the order in the afternoon, rejecting Abdus Salam alias Sudipto Salam’s bail plea.

On Monday, a team of Rajshahi Metropolitan Police Detective Branch arrested Sudipto and RU unit Chhatra League Organising Secretary Akhtarul Islam Asif in connection with the attack on the demonstrating students who were protesting the hiked fees and evening masters’ courses.

Police said Sudipto was arrested with a loaded firearm in possession.

On April 21 last year he was arrested with a firearm and a sex worker in Rajshahi city and in another incident, he was arrested for assaulting a police constable at RU’s Shah Makhdum Hall, the police sources added. Around six cases were filed against him in different police stations in Rajshahi city, the sources said. l

ABU HAYAT MAHMUD

doesn’t take strict measures for decentralisation, none of the tools like overpass, underpass, elevated expressway and metro rail will produce the desired result in reducing traffic congestion.” l

London School of Business and Finance (LSBF) and the University of Dhaka yesterday announced plans to pursue a mutually-beneficial academic collaboration to promote pre and post-doctoral research as well as a large international student and faculty development programme.

The proposal is part of a wide-ranging agreement signed last week in London, said a LSBF press release.

The agreement marks an important development for both institutions with aims to maximise the opportunities for mobility of students and faculty between the two institutions and facilitate international research across several fields.

The memorandum of understanding also paves the way for further initiatives, including joint course development, a credit transfer scheme as well as a new Interactive Learning Hub (iHub) at Dhaka University campus.

Shibli Rubayat Ul Islam, professor and dean of Business Studies Faculty at DU, said: “The steady economic and financial growth of Bangladesh even on a volatile international market requires more international collaboration with institutions. We hope a new horizon has opened up for mutual collaboration for both the institutions.”

Komil Mamajanov, director of International Strategy at LSBF, said: “We are proud to be working with the University of Dhaka and we are confident that it will be an extremely successful venture.” l

Obaidul: No rise in CNG-run auto-rickshaw fare n Rabiul Islam Communications Minister Obaidul Quader said there would be no raise in CNG-run auto-rickshaws fare.

However, the minister accepted the demand of auto-rickshaw owners to raise economy-life of CNG-run auto-rickshaw from existing 11 years to 15 years.

The minister made the disclosure while speaking at a press conference after a meeting with the leaders of Dhaka Mohanagar CNG Auto-rickshaw Owners Association Oikya Parishad in the ministry’s conference room yesterday.

The existing fare for CNG-run auto-rickshaws is Tk25 for the first two kilometres and Tk7.74 for travelling every kilometre. Passengers also have to pay Tk1.40 per minute for a halt during a ride.

Obaidul declared that a committee would be formed to look into passengers’ problems and it would also work to ensure the fare as the metre shows.

The ministry officials said a seven-member committee headed by Bangladesh Road Transport Authority (BRTA) Director (admin) Moshiur Rahman has been formed. Four members of the Oikya Parishad would also be included in the committee.

Instead of following meters as per

Auto-rickshaw strike brings suffering to townspeople in Rajshahi

the decision of the government the drivers of auto-rickshaw charge fare at their will and the passengers are harassed in various ways.

Obaidul Quader said the leaders of CNG owners’ association assured that they would take steps to stop harassment of passengers.

The existing fare for CNG-run autorickshaws is Tk25 for the first two kilometres During the meeting, the association placed a five-point demand including stopping police harassment in the name of checking driving licenses.

Quader assured that the communications ministry would request police to stop harassment of CNG drivers.

As per recommendation of Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology overhauling of engine of auto-rickshaw has to be carried out from a certified workshop, the minister said.

“The committee will work to ensure our five-point demand,” Dhaka Mohanagar CNG Auto-rickshaw Owners Association General Secretary ATM Nazmul Hasan told the Dhaka Tribune. l

Fire at perfume factory in Old Dhaka, three injured

n Our Correspondent, Rajshahi A daylong strike, enforced by Battery-run Easy-bike Workers’ Union protesting the killing of a driver in a mob attack, caused immense sufferings for commuters in Rajshahi city.

No buttery-run auto rickshaw ran on the city streets from morning to evening.

President of Battery-run Easy Bike Workers Union Rasheduzzaman Rashed announced the strike during a human chain held at Saheb Bazar Zero point in the city on Tuesday.

While talking to the correspondent, townspeople said they had to pay extra to avail any mode of transport and students as well as office-goers were the worst suffers of the situation.

Jamil Hossain Jony, a resident of Lakshmipur area in the city, told the Dhaka Tribune that he had paid Tk30 to a rickshaw puller to come Shaheb Bazar from his residence. He usually pays Tk7 to travel the same distance.

Echoing Jony a housewife Taslima Jahan said she used to go to Rajshahi Medical College Hospital from her house located at Kadirganj in the city by auto-rickshaw with Tk5.

“But, today I paid Tk25 to a rickshaw puller because of the strike,” she added.

An auto-rickshaw driver Sweet Hossain was beaten to death in Ranibazaar Madrassa area of the city on Monday afternoon.

Sweet was a resident of Chowddopai

LSBF, DU to collaborate on international research n Tribune Report

n Kailash Sarkar

Members of Battery-run Easy-bike Workers’ Union take to the street at Shaheb Bazar in Rajshahi city yesterday area under Motihar police station of the district.

Local sources said when Sweet was driving his auto-rickshaw through Ranibazaar area around 11-45 am on Monday, accidentally, he knocked a rickshaw with his vehicle and the rickshaw-puller fell down on the road.

Being furious by the incident, local people caught Sweet and gave him a mass beating, injuring him fatally.

Later, he died at Rajshahi Medical College Hospital.

Ziaur Rahman Zia, officer-in-charge of Boalia Model police station, said police were investigating into the matter.

Moreover, the inter-district transport strike in Thakurgoan entered day 10 yesterday.

Acting General Secretary of Thakurgoan Motor Paribahan Sramik Union Nur Islam Chutu said they had gone on

DHAKA TRIBUNE

the transport strike on March 24 following the death of a transport worker who had been beaten to death by some local hoodlums.

The organisation is also demanding ban on the plying of locally made human hauliers – Nasimans and Karimans –on highways.

Deputy Commissioner of the district Mukesh Chandra Biswas said they were trying to resolve the crisis. l

A fire broke out at a warehouse of a perfume factory at the capital’s Chawkbazar in the evening while three persons sustained burn wounds from the incident.

The injured were identified as Kabir, 30, Azia, 31, and Mafizur, 40, all of whom were the employees of the warehouse.

They were rushed to the Plastic and Surgery Unit at Dhaka Medical Colleg Hospital (DMCH).

Sources at the DMCH said condition of the injured was critical.

Anisur Rahman, duty officer of the Fire Service and Civil Defense Lalbagh Unit, said the fire broke out around 6:10pm. Being informed, six units of the firefighters rushed to the spot and doused the fire after an hour of hectic effort.

“The cause of the fire and other damages could be known yet,” he said.

Witnesses said the fire originated at the warehouse located on the 3rd floor of a six-storey building near Chhotokatara of old Dhaka.

According to witnesses, the fire engulfed the entire warehouse and spread out within moments after the fire originated as there were high flammable materials and chemicals at the warehouse. l

6

DHAKA TRIBUNE

Nation

Thursday, April 3, 2014

Illegal vessels on Barisal river routes n Anisur Rahman Swapan, Barisal Over 250 speedboats and trawlers are illegally plying on different river routes in Barisal amid the risk of being caught in a nor’wester at any moment while on large rivers.

These small transports do not pay anything in tax, have no registration, fitness certificate and route permit, but are still carrying passengers, thus endangering lives every day.

They are allegedly in operation because their owners maintain liaison with Barisal port officials, river safety and traffic management authorities, river traffic police and Barisal port police.

200 locally-assembled trawlers, each with a 16 horsepower engine, were seen running commercially in different Barisal port areas.

These trawlers anchor in different landing stages like Kalibabur Ghat, Chandmari Ghat, Beltala, Taltali, Charmonai Ghat, Charkawa Ghat, Band road and Amanatganj, and transport people from and to areas, including Charmonai, Sreepur, Bukhinagar, Girail, Shibpur, Jangalia, Hazir Haat, Chandramohon, Bisherkathi, Patkathi, Dighirpar, Dhulia, Madhukhali, Baherchar, Saheber Haat, Mehendiganj, Vashan Char, Char Biswas, Char Kalmi and several others.

Besides, more than 50 speedboats, carrying 6-8 passengers each, are plying commercially on the routes from Barisal DC Ghat and Laharhat Ghat to different destinations in Barisal and Bhola.

Most of these water transports are operated by minor boys and untrained youths. They run these even when weather conditions are adverse.

Carrying passengers on these sorts of water transports having no registra-

n Tribune Report The largest Buddha statue in Bangladesh, located in Kuakata, is now well protected against rain and storms. Dr Ferdinand von Weyhe, charge d’affaires of the German embassy in Bangladesh, and his wife Josephine von Weyhe inaugurated the newly renovated Misripara Seema Budda Bihar yesterday.

Tobias Becker, country director of GIZ (German Society for International Cooperation) Bangladesh, and Purnima Doris Chattopadhayay-Dutt, principal adviser of the Coastal Livelihoods Ad-

Passengers are seen getting on an illegal speedboat at Kalibaburghat in Barisal yesterday

DHAKA TRIBUNE

claimed they are just providing the passengers with additional facilities to reach destinations within the shortest period. They said number of accidents and casualties involving these watercrafts are negligible compared to other water transports.

“We want route permits from the authorities concerned to run our services legally. They, however, said there is no law to legalise our transports so that we can use those for carrying passengers,” the two said.

The officer-in-charge of Barisal river port police station said they lack ad-

equate legal capability and jurisdiction to stop operation of such transports.

These transports are popular as they can take people to destinations rather quickly compared to low-speed large water transports that often fail to maintain schedules due to fog and navigability problems, Dr Rabin Ghosh, who regularly travels by speedboat, told the Dhaka Tribune.

Sayedur Rahman Rintu, vice-president of Barisal Launch Owners Association, said earnings of legal watercraft owners have dropped by nearly 40% because of the illegal ones. l

tion and route permit is illegal, admitted Mahruf Hossain, inspector of the Shipping Ministry.

We, however, can do nothing except inform the port police of such illegal operation as any water transport with up to 16-horsepower engine do not need to be registered according to the present marine law of the country, said Abul Bashar Mazumder, deputy director, river safety and traffic management department of Barisal BIWTA. The Dhaka Tribune talked to Abdul Gani and Abdur Rashid who own illegal speedboat and trawler. They

Headmaster jailed PBCP warns of tough action if Bangalees for embezzling implicated in Bharoti murder case students’ fund galees for any crimes in the hilly different Pahari organisations.

Our Correspondent, n districts had become a common The statement said accusing any Khagrachhari n Our correspondent, Barisal particular community for the mur- practice, General Secretary Masum A Barisal court ordered a headmaster of a school to be sent to jail rejecting his bail prayer for alleged misappropriating of student scholarship fund.

Court sources said Hafiz Ahmed, acting headmaster of Mollar Haola Community Primary School in Tungibaria union of Barisal Sadar upazila, and his four associates were accused in a case of misappropriating Tk1,930,100 from the student scholarship (Upabritti) fund in the years between 2002 to 2012.

The accused embezzled the said amount by registering fake students, forming managing committee of the schools comprising family members and relatives, preparing fake and forging documents of scholarship disbursement.

Umme Habiba, an assistant teacher of the school, lodged a case in this connection with Kotwali police station on September 1 last year. The accused appeared before the court and appealed for bail yesterday.

Rafikul Islam, the magistrate of the court, rejected bail prayer of the headmaster, the prime accused and ordered to send him to jail while granting bail of rest of the four accused. l

Ancient Buddhist temple renovated with German support

Tough movements will be waged if Bangalees are implicated in the murder of Bharoti Chakma, warned Parbatya Bangalee Chhatra Parishad (PBCP) through a statement.

The statement, signed by PBCP General Secretary of Khagrachhari unit SM Masum Rana, also criticised different media reports based on “fabricated” press releases by

der without any proper investigation would hamper the investigation process. Publishing reports on the murder based on press releases by different Pahari organisations prior to any reports or information from the probe body was equivalent to inciting a beefed up situation in the hilly districts, it added.

Claiming that accusing the Ban-

said: “There is no witness to the Bharoti murder, but a particular section is trying to provoke the situation by accusing the Bangalees for the murder.”

On March 29, an unidentified body of a woman was recovered from Kiyang Ghat area of Khagrachhari. Different Pahari organisations claimed that the deceased was Bharoti Chakma. l

Students of Bangladesh Agriculture University bring out a procession on the campus, protesting the killing of one of their fellows DHAKA TRIBUNE

Abducted girl, woman rescued n Tribune Report In separate events, a young girl and a woman who were allegedly abducted by human traffickers were rescued by the police on Tuesday night. Their abductors were arrested as well.

In Benapole, Jessore, a 25-year-old woman was rescued from Hotel Mou, a residential hotel near the port, by the police, our Jessore correspondent reported. The woman, who hails from Faridpur, is a resident in Jatrabari, Dhaka.

According to the victim’s statement, A man named Abdul Hye, also from Dhaka, lured her in to Benapole saying he would give her a better job by planning to take her to India.

She also claimed he violated her in the hotel.

Shafiqul Islam, sub-inspector at Benapole port police station, said they were tipped off about the woman and raided the hotel, where they rescued her and arrested the trafficker.

A case has been filed with the police station in this regard.

In Kurigram, police rescued a girl from Santoshpur union, Nageshwari four days after she was abducted, our Kurigram correspondent reported. Her abductors, Obaidul from Nageshwari upazila and Moysar Ali from Phulbari upazila, were also arrested.

Police said the victim, a seventh-grader from Santoshpur, was abducted from an area near her house on Friday and was held captive for four days in the house of Mojibor Rahman in Raiganj union.

On Tuesday night, she was taken to Basherbhita village near the Bangladesh-India border, where she escaped and took shelter in a house. There she informed the house owner, who captured the two abductors with the help of village police and notified Nageshwari police station. Police then took all three into custody. Mojibor has been absconding since.

The victim’s father has filed a case in this regard with Nageshwari police station. Her family is assuming she was taken near the border to be trafficked. l

aptation Project (CLAP), GIZ, were present during the inauguration, according to a press release.

The temple of the Buddhist Rakhine community is a major tourist attraction in the Kuakata area.

The German government provided around Tk34 lakh for the renovation of the temple premises which were severely damaged by Cyclone Sidr in 2007 and Cyclone Aila in 2009.

Dr von Weyhe expressed hope that the renovation would ensure the preservation of this ancient temple complex for a long time to come. l

Quack held trying to abuse girl in Barisal n Our Correspondent, Barisal Police arrested a quack for his alleged attempt to sexually abuse a minor girl at his chamber in Natun Bazar area of Barisal city yesterday.

Mother of the victim lodged a case with Barisal Kotwali police station.

She said she had gone to Oxford Mission Road area of the city to meet with local Charbaria union parishad chairman Ziaul Islam Sabu to collect his signature for her Vulnerable Groups Feeding (VGF) card.

As the place was far from her address, so she left her two daughters under the custody of RMP Abul Hossain at his chamber namely “The Drug House”.

After completing the work when she returned to the drug store two hours later, her elder daughter alleged that Abul Hossain tried to violate her behind the curtain inside his chamber, said Shakhawat Hossain, officer-incharge of Kotwali police station.

Then, her mother complained to police and they arrested the accused, he added. l

DHAKA TRIBUNE

Juris

7

Thursday, April 3, 2014

Creating an arbitration friendly regime

JURIS QUOTE

A universally accepted notion of public policy is required If you have ten thousand regulations you destroy all respect for the law.

Winston Churchill

English Statesman 1874 -1965

LAW CARTOON

BIG STOCK

W

n Ashiqul A Khan and Sk La-Tainur Rahman ith the advent of improved technology in transportation and communication, international trade has become dominant.

Disputes arising out of such international transactions are often settled through international commercial arbitration. In Bangladesh, law relating to international commercial arbitration and the enforcement of such arbitral awards was codified in the Arbitration Act of 2001. Since the enactment of this Act, there were many seminal cases which appeared before the Supreme Court of Bangladesh, especially with respect to the scope of various provisions of the said Act. Striking down arbitral awards on the ground of public policy is a crucial fragment to consider in order to achieve a clear vision on how international commercial arbitration is treated by any national court. National courts may interpret public policy grounds differently, which would further depend on the particular judge and the general approach of the national courts. There was an attempt from the International Law Association (ILA) to develop a conception of public policy which would be accepted universally. However, this attempt failed as it was difficult to lay out constitutions which could govern the scope of public policies. Thus, scope of public policy or its interpretation may differ from country to country depending on their ambiguousness and attitude towards the alternative dispute resolution methods.

If public policy is solely relied upon, a party may suffer regardless of their strength in a case. In the case of Richardson v Mellish (1824), it was mentioned that public policy is much like an unruly horse. A party can never be sure where it would lead them once they sit astride the horse. It may lead them away even from sound law and generally it is never argued at all. It often comes into play when other

points fail. In short, it was stressed upon that the national courts do not use the public policy as an unfair weapon by which they might negate enforcement of an otherwise valid arbitral award.

The situation was dealt with strongly by the US courts.

They have made their position clear regarding interferences in international arbitration by way of public policy. In the landmark case of Scherk v Alberto-Culver Co (1974), it was

National courts may interpret public policy grounds differently, which would further depend on the particular judge and the general approach of the national courts elucidated that the concept that all disputes must be resolved with US laws or US courts should not be encouraged.

We have witnessed that a different approach was taken by the Indian courts. In an Indian supreme court case, namely Renusagar v General Electric (1993), it was stated that an international arbitral award would be refused if it was in contradiction with any public policy and if such enforcement would be contrary to (i) fundamental policy of Indian Law, (ii) the interests of India or (iii) justice or morality. The second phrase may commission a huge area. The scope for refusing any arbitral award increases vastly as the interest of India” can be interpreted hugely as well. Having the scope of refusing an arbitral award on the basis of public policy terminates the capacity of fairness. Any national court act-

ing in such a manner really shows the extent of how often systems become shackles and bind our own hands.

It is important in the modern world to pave the way for alternative methods of dispute resolution and deal with public policy issues smartly. Although it is difficult to avoid public policy grounds wholly, it is not impossible to strike a balance between conflicting interests which eventually sabotages an arbitration process. As public policy varies from regime to regime, and often from country to country, there can never be any fixed guidelines on what it should include. However, one can expect more initiatives being taken internationally, much like the one by ILA, as that would help different countries to come under a similar term and all of them would fix a framework when they choose to use the public policy defence.

One of the most important directives regarding the matter could be the directions given towards the Judges. They should be given proper training and a clear understanding of what is to be taken into consideration and what is required to be done when an arbitral award is given. Being a signatory of the New York Convention does bestow severe responsibilities. It should always be kept in mind that refusal to enforce arbitral awards on the basis of public policy can be harmful and therefore may have disadvantageous consequences. Thus, it is of paramount importance to uphold the arbitral awards, without undue hindrance by the courts on the ground of public policy, for the development and growth of our country. Bangladesh has massive investment and growth opportunities but a logged judicial system and disregard of alternative dispute resolution practices will serve as a deterrent for potential international investors, if not dealt with in the proper manner. l Ashiqul A Khan is an Associate and Sk La-Tainur Rahman is a Legal Team Member at Legacy Legal Corporate. The writers can be reached at info@legacylegalcoporate.com.

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Restoring the lost glory of law profession

L

n Omar Hasan Al Zahid

awyers are social engineers who provide legal support to the public. They play an important role in establishing rule of law in the country. Generally, lawyers enjoy higher social status all over the world. In the developed countries, only the brilliant students with outstanding results can avail the opportunity to study law and subsequently, if qualified, become lawyers.

But unfortunately, we see a worsening scenario in Bangladesh. There is a well-known saying among the general people in Bangladesh that a person who has nothing to do becomes a lawyer. Becoming an advocate seems to be the easiest profession in Bangladesh. Anybody having an LLB degree from any institute (be it from any of the self-styled private universities or substandard evening colleges, barring exceptions), may appear in the enrolment examinations conducted by the Bangladesh Bar Council and becomes an advocate set for legal practice.

Nowadays, most of the advocates try to make money by hook or by crook. Hardly do they care about the dignity, ethics, and traits of this noble profession. They do not always follow the professional conducts and etiquettes expected to be followed by a legal practitioner.

The situation becomes very despicable when one finds out that many of the advocates even do not possess the basic knowledge of law. Nevertheless, they are “learned” advocates! Thus, these so-called advocates are contributing to lowering the dignity of the community of lawyers. Consequently, general people do not pay due respect to this profession any more.

The Bar Council of Bangladesh is responsible to a great extent for such mortifying situation. The Bar Council is a statutory, autonomous body constituted under the Bangladesh Legal Practitioners and Bar Council Order, 1972. The key functions of the Bar Council are: (i) To admit persons as advocates on its roll and to hold examinations for the purpose of admission (ii) To entertain and determine the cases of misconduct

against advocates and to order punishment in such cases (iii) To lay down standard of professional conduct and etiquette for advocates (iv) To promote legal education and to lay down standard of such education in consultation with the universities in Bangladesh imparting legal education Lately, there have been innumerous allegations of corruption against the Bar Council. There are rumours that only a handsome bribe is enough to get a licence to practise law.

Again, nobody can prevent someone from being an enrolled advocate, if he is politically recommended.

The enrolment examination conducted by the Bar Council faces allegations of serious mismanagement. Question papers leaking out before examinations is happening every now and then. In fact, leak-out of question paper of various public examinations have become a common phenomenon.

Previously, to become an advocate, one had to give a written examination and an interview. In 2012, along with written

test and interview, another layer of examination was introduced as a preliminary test. It was a good step indeed to maintain the standard.

However, that did not prove to be very effective. Now many examinees get the correct answers through messages in their cell-phones at the examination halls in absence of proper invigilation. Taking the opportunity of poor invigilation, the examinees talk to each other during the examination and grab the correct answers easily.

Widespread copying in the written examination is also alleged by many examinees who once appeared in the examination. In many cases, the examinees pass the examinations adopting unfair means. Thus, many ineligible persons pass the enrolment examinations and become advocates, who ultimately show appalling performances in dealing with clients and conducting cases, and upset the dignity of legal profession.

Legal practitioners are closely involved in politics all over

MAHMUD HOSSAIN OPU

the world. The Bar Council consists of 15 members, of whom 14 members are elected by the advocates, and the Attorney General for Bangladesh is the ex-officio chairman of the Bar Council. The committees of the local bar associations are also elected by the advocates.

Undoubtedly, this is a commendable democratic practice.

However, the reality of Bangladesh is that no sector is free from the clutch of dirty politics. Division is everywhere. The Bar Council is not an exception to that. The Attorney General for Bangladesh is always appointed on political consideration by the party in power. The members are also elected based on their political affiliations.

The problem becomes acute when the standards of being an advocate are compromised intentionally to serve the purpose of winning the election, the ultimate consequence of which is nothing but lowering the standard of this profession.

It is an open secret that there are huge political recommendations for partisan candidates to be enrolled as advocates. Specially after passing the preliminary and the written examination, a number of candidates lobby to influential partisan advocates for passing the interview anyhow.

Given the picture drawn above, members of legal fraternity are highly concerned. Many believe that it is the Bar Council, which can come forward to prevent the deteriorating situation of the law profession. The Bar Council can look into the allegations made against it and prevent them from occurring in the future. A month-long intensive training program should be introduced for the newly enrolled advocates to acquaint themselves with the professional conduct and etiquettes.

The Bar Council should also broaden the syllabus of enrollment examinations and monitor the standard of the legal education given by the private universities and evening colleges. This way, the Bar Council can contribute to upholding the dignity of this profession. If the Bar Council takes these abovementioned steps sincerely, the lost esteem of this profession can be restored among the general people. l Omar Hasan Al Zahid is an Advocate, Judge Court, Dhaka.

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DHAKA TRIBUNE

Chile lifts tsunami warning after 8.2 quake kills 6 n AP, Santiago, Chile Authorities lifted tsunami warnings for Chile’s long coastline early yesterday after a magnitude-8.2 earthquake struck the South American nation’s northern coast. Six people were crushed to death or suffered fatal heart attacks, a remarkably low toll for such a powerful shift in the Earth’s crust.

The extent of damage from Tuesday night’s quake couldn’t yet be fully assessed, President Michelle Bachelet said, but she wasn’t taking any chances. She declared a state of emergency in the region and sent a military plane with 100 anti-riot police to join 300 soldiers deployed to prevent looting and round up escaped prisoners.

Thousands were evacuated from low-lying areas, but most began to return home as the tsunami alerts were lifted along Chile’s long coast.

The shaking touched off landslides that blocked roads, knocked out power for thousands, damaged an airport and started fires that destroyed several businesses. About 300 inmates escaped from a women’s prison in the city of Iquique, forcing the closure of the border with Peru. Officials said some two dozen had been captured early Wednesday.

In Arica, another city close to the quake’s offshore epicenter, hospitals treated minor injuries, and some homes made of adobe were destroyed, authorities said. Mining in Chile, which is the world’s top copper producing nation, was not affected, although world prices for the red metal jumped as the quake raised supply concerns because most of the Chilean mining industry is in the northern regions.

Chile’s Navy lifted tsunami warnings for all of Chile long coastline at around 7 a.m. local time (11 a.m. GMT).

The mandatory evacuation orders had remained in effect until nearly dawn for coastal areas north of Antofagasta, a decision backed by the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center in Hawaii, regarding the coastline of Chile as still dangerous.

Bachelet, who just returned to the presidency three weeks ago, spoke

well after midnight, five hours after the quake struck and flew to quake-hit regions yesterday morning to assess the damage.

It was not lost on many Chileans that the last time she presided over a major quake, days before the end of her 200610 term, her emergency preparedness office prematurely waved off a tsunami danger. Most of the 500 dead from that magnitude-8.8 tremor survived the shaking, only to be caught in killer waves in a disaster that destroyed 220,000 homes and washed away large parts of many coastal communities.

“The country has done a good job of confronting the emergency. I call on everyone to stay calm and follow the authorities’ instructions,” Bachelet tweeted after Tuesday night’s temblor.

She said her interior minister would monitor the tsunami threat throughout the night and coordinate the emergency response. “Classes have been suspended, and we will be able to know the extent of the damage in the light of day,” she added.

The tsunami warning center initially had cancelled tsunami watches for areas other than northern Chile and southern Peru. The only US impact might be higher waves yesterday for Hawaii’s swimmers and surfers, it said.

The US Geological Survey initially reported the quake at 8.0, but later upgraded the magnitude of the temblor centered 61 miles (99 kilometers) northwest of Iquique. More than 20 significant aftershocks followed, including one of magnitude 6.2.

Chile is one of the world’s most earthquake-prone countries because just off the coast, the Nazca tectonic plate plunges beneath the South American plate, pushing the towering Andes cordillera to ever-higher altitudes.

The latest activity began with a strong magnitude-6.7 quake on March 16 that caused more than 100,000 people to briefly evacuate low-lying areas.

Hundreds of smaller quakes followed in the weeks since, keeping people on edge as scientists said there was no way to tell if the unusual string of tremors was a harbinger of an impending disaster. l

World

The number of international students attending England’s universities has dropped for the first time in three decades, a study said yesterday, with students from India and Pakistan hit by tighter visa rules.

The Higher Education Funding Council for England found foreign student numbers declined by 1.5 percent in 2012-2013 – the first fall in 29 years.

Numbers fell to 307,205, down from 311,800 the previous year.

The drop raises concerns that tougher immigration laws are driving away genuine students and risking the higher education sector’s income.

Meanwhile the trebling of annual maximum tuition fees to £9,000 ($15,000, 10,850 euros) a year is deterring European Union students, the report said.

The numbers of full-time EU under-

graduate entrants to English higher education institutions dropped from 23,440 last year to 17,890 – a fall of 23.7 percent – which the study said was “probably due to the increased tuition fees.”

Heavy reductions in postgraduate entrants since 2010-11 have slashed numbers from India (51 percent, 7,000 students) and Pakistan (49 percent, 1,400 students). However, there was strong growth coming from China (44 percent, 8,300 students).

The study found that almost as many Chinese students are studying full-time masters courses as English ones.

The University and College Union (UCU) said changes to the rules governing student visas and domestic concern about immigration were damaging Britain’s image abroad, giving the impression to students from India and Pakistan that they were not welcome.

At the same time, other countries were striving to attract more foreign

n Agencies NATO has said it will suspend “all practical civilian and military cooperation” with Russia because of Moscow’s occupation and annexation of Ukraine’s Crimea region, Aljazeera reported.

The decision was taken on Tuesday by the military alliance’s foreign ministers in Brussels who urged Russia in a statement “to take immediate steps ... to return to compliance with international law.”

NATO and Ukraine announced in a joint statement after their ministers met that they would intensify cooperation and promote defence reforms in Ukraine through training and other programmes.

The suspension of military cooperation came as NATO said it had seen no sign that Russia was withdrawing troops from the Ukraine border, according to the alliance’s secretary-general Anders Fogh Rasmussen.

“Unfortunately, I cannot confirm that Russia is withdrawing its troops.

This is not what we are seeing,” Rasmussen told reporters in Brussels.

Ministers from the 28 alliance mem-

Stolen paintings by Paul Gauguin and Pierre Bonnard hung on an Italian factory worker’s kitchen wall for almost 40 years, police have revealed.

The two paintings, now worth at least 10.6m euros (£8.8m), were stolen from a house in London in 1970. They have now been recovered by Italian police.

After being stolen, they were taken to Italy but were then left on a train.

Unaware of their true value or origin, railway officials sold them to a Fiat worker who hung them in his Turin home.

He put them on the kitchen wall in his home in the city, and took them with him when he retired to Sicily.

The unsuspecting man only grew suspicious about their origins when his son saw another Gauguin work in a book and noticed similarities with the painting in his father’s kitchen. The man consulted experts and police were eventually alerted.

The Gauguin painting, titled Fruits sur

une table ou nature au petit chien (Fruits on a table or still life with a small dog), was painted in 1889 and is though to be worth between 10m and 30m euros (£8.3m-£24.8m), police said.

ber nations met for the first time since Russia’s military occupation and annexation of Crimea triggered the worst East-West crisis since the Cold War. Al Jazeera’s Neave Barker, reporting from Brussels, said: “The relationship is at its lowest since the formation of the NATO-Russia Council in 2002, formed to boost unity on narcotics control and anti-terrorism technology.

“But according to NATO, those joint efforts are now on hold. The message coming from Brussels is that it’s certainly no longer business as usual.”

Tension between Ukraine and Moscow has continued, with Russian energy giant Gazprom announcing on Tuesday a more than 40 percent increase in the price of gas exports to Ukraine.

Ukraine will now pay a price of $385.5 per 1,000 cubic metres of gas, Gazprom chief executive Alexei Miller said in a statement, raising the price from $268.5 per 1,000 cubic metres which was agreed in December. Diplomats said the ministers in Brussels would consider options ranging from stepped-up military exercises and sending more forces to eastern member states. l

Ukraine moves to grant more power to regions n AFP, Kiev

2 1) Sunken fishing boats are seen at the Riquelme Cove, in Iquique, northern Chile, after a powerful 8.0-magnitude earthquake hit off Chile’s Pacific coast, killing at least six people.

2) Locals take refuge at the city stadium following a tsunami alert after the powerful earthquake hit off Chile’s Pacific coast in Iquique AFP

students.

“International students make a huge contribution to academic and cultural life on campuses and in our cities. They also make a valuable contribution to our economy,” said UCU general secretary, Sally Hunt.

“Ministers need to recognise that attempts to sound tough on immigration at home are also reported elsewhere and it is not surprising if students consider studying in the countries that make an effort to welcome them.”

Not long ago, students represented almost two-thirds of the non-European Union migrants coming to Britain.

The government believes the system is wide open to abuse, with obscure courses and colleges effectively offering a back door to settling in Britain.

A large proportion of international masters entrants studying full-time are from China – 23 percent of entrants in 2012-13, compared with 26 percent from Britain. l

Stolen art ‘hung on kitchen wall’ n Agencies

Nato suspends ‘all military ties’ with Russia

1

England’s foreign students fall for first time in 30 years n AFP, London

Thursday, April 3, 2014

The Bonnard, La femme aux deux fauteuils (Woman with two armchairs), is valued at 600,000 euros (£500,000).

Italian officials unveiled the recovered paintings to the media in Rome yesterday. l

Crisis-hit Ukraine took the first step yesterday toward granting more powers to the regions in line with Western wishes but stopped well short of creating the federation sought by Russia.

The announcement came as Russia continued to mass tens thousands of troops along Ukraine’s eastern border following a vow by President Vladimir Putin to use “any means necessary” to protect the interest of his compatriots in the neighbouring ex-Soviet state.

Ukraine’s new Western-backed government said it would like to eliminate the current practise under which local governors are appointed by the president and move toward an election system.

“The main idea behind the concept is to decentralise power in the country and substantially broaden the author-

ity of local communities,” the government said in a statement published on its website.

The interim leaders in Kiev have come under intense pressure from Moscow to adopt radical constitutional reforms in the wake of their February overthrow of a pro-Kremlin regime whose rejection of closer ties with Europe sparked months of deadly unrest.

The Kremlin would like to see Ukraine transformed into a federation that allows eastern regions in the vast nation of 46 million to adopt Russian as a second state language and establish their own trade policies with Moscow.

Putin has argued that the changes were necessary because ethnic Russians had allegedly been coming under increasing attack from ultranationalist forces that helped the new leaders overthrow Kiev’s Moscow-backed president. l

‘Palestinians will pay for UN move’ n AFP, Jerusalem

An Israeli minister yesterday warned of punitive action if the Palestinians pursued efforts to join UN agencies, as hopes of a breakthrough in the US-led peace process faded rapidly.

In a surprise announcement late on Tuesday, Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas said he had begun steps to join 15 UN agencies, angering Israel and prompting US Secretary of State John Kerry to cancel an imminent a trip to Ramallah.

The announcement was a blow to Kerry’s frenetic efforts to resolve a dispute over Palestinian prisoners and find a way to extend the fragile peace talks beyond an April 29 deadline.

Although Abbas’s move won him praise at home, commentators suggested it was little more than a publicity stunt with no real practical meaning.

The Palestinian leader’s decision came several hours after Kerry had wrapped up a 15-hour visit to Jerusalem during which he met twice with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

Sources said the two were discussing a proposal to resolve the prisoner issue and ensure the continuation of the peace process into 2015.

The current deadlock was triggered

by Israel’s refusal to free a last batch of Palestinian prisoners as part of commitments which facilitated a resumption of peace talks in July 2013.

In exchange, the Palestinians had pledged to freeze all moves to seek membership in UN organisations.

But a crisis erupted at the weekend when Israel failed to release 26 prisoners – the last of a batch of 104 – prompting the Palestinians to respond by resuming their approach to UN agencies.

Kerry efforts ongoing

In Brussels, Kerry was yesterday continuing intensive efforts to resolve the standoff, making a series of phone calls with his negotiating team in Israel, his spokeswoman Jen Psaki said.

He was expected to spend the morning at NATO headquarters “for brief pull asides with foreign ministers” as well as to make calls from the US mis-

sion at NATO, an official said.

On Tuesday, Kerry said he was cancelling Wednesday’s planned visit to Ramallah in the West Bank but reserved judgement on the situation, urging both sides to demonstrate restraint.

“It is completely premature tonight to draw... any final judgement about today’s events and where things are.

This is a moment to be really cleareyed and sober about this process,” he told reporters, urging both sides to “show restraint.”

Abbas’s announcement drew an angry response in Israel where a hardline cabinet minister warned any approach to UN institutions would cost the Palestinians dearly.

“They will pay a heavy price,” warned Tourism Minster Uzi Landau, suggesting Israel could respond by annexing parts of the West Bank.

“One of the possible measures will be Israel applying sovereignty over areas which will clearly be part of the State of Israel in any future solution,” he told public radio. l

Hollande announces new French government

Deadly explosions hit Cairo University n Agencies

n Agencies

Two people including a police brigadier-general have been killed and seven others have been wounded after a series of explosions outside Cairo University in Giza governorate, according to state media.

Officials said the first two bombs went off seconds apart yesterday, and that the explosive devices had been concealed in a tree between two security posts.

A third explosion went off shortly afterwards near a police checkpoint, although there was no confirmation about the number of casualties. Egypt’s interior ministry said the device was also planted in a tree.

The officer killed was identified as General Tarek al-Mergawi. According to the AFP news agency, he was a chief detective who would have dressed in civilian clothes. The explosions happened at the university’s engineering faculty during clashes between students and security forces. l

French President Francois Hollande has approved a new cabinet just days after the ruling Socialist Party suffered losses in local polls.

The new government, which was named yesterday after discussions between new Prime Minister Manuel Valls and Hollande, includes Hollande’s ex-partner Segolene Royal as minister of environment and energy.

Laurent Fabius and Jean-Yves Le Drian have kept their positions as foreign affairs and defence ministers in the new cabinet.

Former Finance Minister Pierre Moscovici has left the government and the portfolio has been split between two Socialists. Michel Sapin will take charge of finance, and Arnaud Montebourg will be in charge of industry and economy.

Segolene Royal, the newly appointed

environment and energy minister, ran an unsuccessful campaign for the presidency in 2007, losing to Nicolas Sarkozy.

The appointments were announced in a presidential statement read out on the steps of Hollande’s Elysee Palace.

Hollande sacked Jean-Marc Ayrault, the former prime minister, on Tuesday, replacing him with Valls.

Hollande’s Greens coalition partners refused to take part in Valls’ government in protest at his socially conservative stances on issues such as immigration, a move which could weaken support for economic reforms in parliament.

The government shake-up was expected after the Socialist party suffered big losses in nation-wide votingfor mayors and city counsellors last week.

Voters turned against the Socialists amid disillusionment with Hollande’s inability to keep campaign promises to bring down record unemployment and turn around the economy. l

DHAKA TRIBUNE

World

US embroiled in Japan-Korea tussle over history n AP, Washington All politics is local, the saying goes. But in some American cities, local politics has gone international, with city governments finding themselves caught in historical disputes between two close U.S. allies: Japan and South Korea.

Korean-Americans have won approval for local memorials for the victims of Japanese sexual slavery during World War II, over the objections of Japan. They have also pressed states to change school textbooks to address geographical differences with Japan.

These campaigns have gathered steam as relations between South Korea and Japan have soured despite Washington’s effort to quell tensions between its two principal allies in Asia. They reflect the growing political power of Korean-Americans in states where they have a sizable presence. Many are first- and second-generation immigrants, whose ties to Korea are fresh and for whom nationalist causes still resonate.

Japanese-Americans, many of whom have more distant ties to their ancestral homeland, tend to be a less cohesive political force. Japan itself, rather than Americans of Japanese descent, has stepped into these local disputes, raising them directly with governments at the city and state level.

Japan says it has already apologized for the estimated 200,000 “comfort women” recruited for sex by Japan’s imperial army. With some prodding from Washington, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe last month quashed speculation he planned to review the apology.

But Japan views the memorials and demands for textbook changes as unwarranted attempts to drag its differences with South Korea into the domestic affairs of the U.S., which both countries prize as their chief diplomatic and security partner.

“We think it is not appropriate for

local politics to be affected by the differences of opinion of its residents’ home countries,” Japan’s Foreign Ministry said in a statement after being asked about it by The Associated Press.

Local governments in the U.S. have approved at least four comfort women memorials since 2010. The highest-profile one is a bronze statue in the Los Angeles suburb of Glendale.

Phyllis Kim, spokeswoman for the Korean-American Forum of California, which pushed for that memorial, said it’s an issue of universal human rights that transcends borders. She said Japan has to take “full responsibility for its crimes of the past like the Germans did for the Holocaust.”

The comfort women issue isn’t new to American politics. The House passed a resolution back in 2007 urging Japan to apologize for its treatment of comfort women and teach about it in schools. For the first time this year, language from the resolution was passed in a U.S. spending bill related to foreign operations.

The resolution’s sponsor, Rep. Mike Honda, D-Calif., who is Japanese-American, compares Japan’s comfort women issue to the difficult historical truths America has had to apologize for, including the internment of Japanese-Americans during World War II, which Honda himself experienced as a child.

“I’m focused on the idea that a government is still responsible for its past, so it must acknowledge responsibility and apologize to the victims. I’m not trying to antagonize the relationship between Japan and Korea,” Honda said. “It’s meant to lead to closure for these terrible acts that happened.”

Far-right lawmakers and activists in Japan don’t see it that way. “We must stop disgracing our ancestors,” Nariaki Nakayama, from the opposition Japan Restoration Party, told a recent gathering of like-minded lawmakers in Tokyo. l

9

Thursday, April 3, 2014

Suicide bomber kills six police at Afghan ministry n AFP, Kabul

The British nuclear submarine HMS Tireless approaches the port of Gibraltar. The protracted search for missing Flight MH370 was boosted yesterday with the arrival of British nuclear submarine HMS Tireless in the Indian Ocean AFP

Malaysian police: Flight MH370 mystery ‘may never be solved’ n AFP, Kuala Lumpur Malaysia’s top police official warned yesterday that authorities may never learn what caused the mysterious disappearance of flight MH370, as he indicated a three-week-old criminal investigation has so far been inconclusive.

“Give us more time,” Inspector General of Police Khalid Abu Bakar told reporters in Kuala Lumpur, according to Dow Jones Newswires.

“We may not even know the real cause of this incident.”

The sober assessment is unlikely to go down well with anxious family members of the missing passengers, especially Chinese relatives who have fiercely attacked Malaysia’s government and the airline as incompetent “liars” and “murderers.”

Two thirds of the 227 passengers were Chinese. Malaysian police have said they were investigating the backgrounds of all 239 people on board the Malaysia Airlines jet, who included 12 crew members, as well as ground crew and flight engineers.

Their criminal probe has focused on the possibility of a hijacking, sabotage or psychological problems among passengers or crew.

Khalid was quoted by state news agency Bernama as saying that all of the passengers had been “cleared”

by Malaysian police, but he indicated the plane’s two pilots were still being looked at.

Authorities have earlier said background checks by more than a dozen countries on their nationals on the plane came back clear.

Attention has focused on the flight’s

WWII bomb blast in Thailand kills seven n

AFP, Bangkok

At least seven people died and 19 others were injured yesterday when a massive World War II bomb exploded at a scrap metal warehouse in Bangkok as workers tried to cut it open, officials said.

The 225-kilogram (500-pound) shell was found at a construction site by builders who then sold it to a suburban scrap metal merchant believing the bomb had been defused.

“The workers at the warehouse thought the bomb was no longer active so they used a metal cutter to cut into it causing the explosion,” said local police commander Virasak Foythong, adding the ordnance was probably left

over from the war era.

“Seven are now confirmed dead and 19 injured,” the city’s Erawan emergency centre said, updating the toll. It reported that five people were killed at the scene.

Confirming the number of deaths, a police explosives expert said the blast created a large crater and damaged homes within a 500-metre (1,640-feet) radius.

“It was (a) 500 pound bomb dropped from the air during World War II,” Colonel Kamthorn Ouicharoen, of the police bomb disposal unit, told AFP after visiting the scene. Television footage showed debris and twisted metal at the destroyed workshop as thick smoke choked the sky, while dozens of nearby homes were also damaged. l

captain, Zaharie Ahmad Shah, 53, and First Officer Fariq Abdul Hamid, 27, as Malaysia believes the plane was deliberately diverted by someone on board.

But no evidence has emerged to suggest a motive by either of the men, who appear to have been well-regarded by their peers.

Khalid said police had recorded more than 170 statements so far.

“This investigation is ongoing.

There are still more people we need to interview,” he said, according to Dow Jones, declining to provide further details while the probe was under way.

The Boeing 777 disappeared on March 8 shortly after take-off on an overnight flight from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing.

Malaysian police and FBI experts were examining a flight simulator assembled by captain Zaharie at his home, hoping to find any clues. l

A suicide bomber blew himself up at the Afghan interior ministry yesterday, killing six police officers just three days before the country’s presidential election, which the Taliban have vowed to disrupt.

The attack came as the three leading candidates to succeed President Hamid Karzai made a final push for votes with rallies on the last day of campaigning.

Kabul has been rocked by a string of high-profile attacks in the run-up to Saturday’s US-backed election, which will be the first democratic handover of power in Afghanistan’s turbulent history.

“The suicide attacker wearing a military uniform detonated himself near the gate of the ministry killing six policeman,” interior ministry spokesman Sediq Sediqqi told AFP. He said that the blast occurred in an annex to the ministry, which is one of the most closely-guarded buildings in the Afghan capital.

“We heard a huge bang from the interior ministry and we were ordered to our (reinforced) safe room,” an Indian diplomat who was working next door to the ministry told AFP on condition of anonymity.

The election is seen as a benchmark of progress since the Taliban were ousted from power in 2001, and the militants have urged their fighters to target polling staff, voters and security forces.

On Saturday, the Kabul headquarters of the Independent Election Commission (IEC) was attacked when five Taliban militants occupied a nearby building and unleashed rockets and gunfire at the fortified compound.

All five attackers were killed by Afghan security forces six hours after the attack began, and there were no other casualties. Another IEC centre, Kabul’s most prestigious hotel and a guesthouse run by a US anti-landmine charity have also been targeted in recent weeks.

Former World Bank economist Ashraf Ghani, Abdullah Abdullah, runner-up in 2009, and former foreign minister Zalmai Rassoul are the leading contenders in the eight-man race. l

Taipei mayor: April Fool panda joke ‘went too far’ n AFP, Taipei An April Fool report claiming that one of Taiwan’s beloved pandas had been infected by parasites and could be euthanised went “too far,” the upset mayor of Taipei said yesterday.

The story, published on the homepages of Next Media websites in Hong Kong and Taiwan, claimed that Yuan Yuan, mother of the first Taiwan-born panda cub Yuan Zai, was seriously ill.

“Taipei Zoo officials have been discussing euthanizing her... much like Copenhagen Zoo recently did with its giraffe Marius,” the story said.

The story sparked immediate concern from local media, and saw the

concerned Taipei government rush to check with zoo authorities whether it was true.

“All the three pandas have been in good shape,” Taipei mayor Hua Lung-bin said, according to a spokesman. “We don’t know the motive of the story. The joke has been taken too far.”

To help pacify concerns, the zoo released photographs showing an energetic Yuan Yuan at the zoo.

Panda-mania swept Taiwan after her cub was delivered on July 6 last year.

Since her public debut on January 6, the cub, Yuan Zai, has attracted more than 1.6 million visitors, according to zoo authorities. l

BJP’s Varun Gandhi praises estranged cousin Rahul n Agencies

People walk under cherry blossom trees in full bloom at a park in Tokyo. Japan said it was assessing whether to issue a tsunami advisory after an 8.2 magnitude earthquake struck off Chile’s Pacific coast AFP

Japan assesses tsunami threat after Chile quake n AFP, Tokyo Japan’s meteorological agency said yesterday it was assessing whether to issue a tsunami advisory after an 8.2 magnitude earthquake struck off Chile’s Pacific coast, as authorities braced for waves potentially as high as one metre (3.3 feet).

The quake struck late Tuesday, sending tsunami waves of more than two metres crashing into Chile’s northern coast.

The Japanese meteorological agency said tsunami waves could reach coastal zones of the Pacific country

early Thursday, but that it was still assessing the danger.

“There is possibility that tsunami of an advisory level could come, which should be in a range between about 20 centimetres and one metre at the highest,” an agency official told reporters.

Another agency official told AFP: “We are still assessing whether to issue an advisory as we are collecting updated information now.”

Television footage showed officials in Kochi, southwestern Japan, closing a metal barrier to seal their local breakwater in preparation for possible high waves there. l

In a rare show of bonhomie between estranged cousins, BJP’s Varun Gandhi praised Rahul Gandhi for his efforts towards empowerment of women in Amethi, reacting to which the Congress vice president said he was happy to receive the appreciation.

Addressing a group of teachers in Sultanpur late Tuesday, the BJP candidate from the Lok Sabha seat said Rahul is doing good work through his self-help groups for ameliorating the status of women in his parliamentary constituency Amethi and added that he would like to do the same in the district.

Asked to respond to Varun’s remarks, Rahul, who was in Rae Bareli to accompany his mother Sonia Gandhi who filed her nomination papers, said “what Varun is saying is right.”

“We have been working continuously in Amethi according to a strategy... we have laid foundation of education hub, done work for the farmers .... got a food park... what Varun is saying is right,” he said.

“I am very happy that others are appreciating the work being done in Amethi. (We are) doing (work) as per a strategy... connecting farmers to the world. (We) will continue to work in the field of agriculture, education,” Rahul said. l

India’s female kingmakers n AFP, Pondicherry The makeup of India’s next government could lie in the hands of a trio of women who command a massive following in their regional heartlands, including a populist former movie star known as “Mother” to supporters.

Known more for their charisma than policies, Jayalalithaa Jayaram, Mamata Banerjee and Mayawati are likely to play pivotal roles in coalition negotiations, after India’s marathon general election which begins Monday.

Narendra Modi is the frontrunner but his party is not expected to win an outright majority, underlining the growing support for regional parties.

In particular, analysts say Jayalalithaa, chief minister of Tamil Nadu state, could play the role of kingmaker for Modi after telling her supporters it is time for a change in New Delhi.

“This Congress government – those looters – must be overthrown!” the 66-year-old – who is usually referred to these days by her fans simply as “Amma”

(Mother) – told thousands of cheering supporters at a rally in the city of Pondicherry.

“She’s given us laptops, she’s given us bicycles,” 18-year-old student Janaki told AFP at the rally in Pondicherry, three hours’ drive from the main southern city Chennai.

“She does what she promises, so people want to vote for her.”

However, If Jayalalithaa is the queen of the south, Banerjee and her Trinamool Congress party rule the roost in West Bengal and its capital Kolkata. Her decision to pull her 18 lawmakers out of the national coalition in 2012 over cuts in fuel subsidies left the Congress-led government reeling.

This time round, Trinamool’s share of West Bengal’s 42 seats is expected to be nearer 30.

Known as Didi (“Elder Sister”), analysts say it is hard to guess which way Banerjee will jump after results on May 16. If Jayalalithaa’s popularity stems from her glamorous past, Banerjee’s allure lies with her common touch.

“Mamata is popular because of her ordinary lifestyle and her ability to interact with the common people in a colloquial language,” Kolkata-based analyst Sabyasachi Basu Ray Chaudhury told AFP. While Banerjee is seen as a big sister, Mayawati is known as the “Dalit Queen” or “Behenji” after a colourful career as champion of India’s lower caste dalits – former untouchables.

Mayawati, whose Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) has 21 seats in the current Lok Sabha, says India will be “ruined” if Modi comes to power. But she has previously cut a deal with the BJP which enabled her to be chief minister of Uttar Pradesh, India’s largest state.

N. Sathiya Moorthy, a Chennai-based analyst at the Observer Research Foundation, said the three women had much in common. “Definitely their image, their fighting spirit, their charisma, and their administrative skills to a great extent, have left them in good stead across the board when it comes to voting.” l

10

DHAKA TRIBUNE

Editorial

Letters to

www.dhakatribune.com

Three cheers for women in sport

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any congratulations to Bangladesh’s women’s cricket team for securing their first ever victory in an ICC global event by beating Sri Lanka by 3 runs, in their final Group B match at the ICC World Cup in Sylhet this week.

It took an excellent bowling performance from Bangladesh to achieve this important milestone.

For a women’s team which is still new to international cricket, this is a commendable accomplishment. It is also highly welcome for home fans after disappointing performances by Bangladesh’s men’s team during their run in the World Cup. Most encouraging of all is that spectators have been enthusiastically filling stands throughout the ICC Women’s World Twenty20, regardless of whether Bangladesh is playing or not. The pitches and crowds at Sylhet have earned many plaudits from visiting teams, who have been praising the atmosphere and support which they have been receiving in Bangladesh.

This speaks well for the country’s hosting of the World Cup as the tournament edges towards its key semi-final stages. But it is especially important for women’s sport that the women’s tournament be well supported. Women’s teams all around the world are often neglected by sponsors and television, because they draw smaller crowds than men. Any signs of this changing should be welcomed.

We hope this week’s victory and the higher profile for women’s sport generated by the World Cup will provide inspiration and acts as a springboard to encourage more Bangladeshi women to greater heights in sport.

We hope the higher profile generated by the World Cup will encourage more women to greater heights

Listen to business on growth targets

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s the government meets to discuss an increased budget for the coming fiscal year, it has to hand varying forecasts for GDP growth, which mostly remain around the 6% level.

The Asian Development Bank’s outlook is the least optimistic projecting GDP to grow by 5.6%, which is notably lower than the government’s revised target of 6.5%.

While this remains above average in the current world economy, all observers agree the country could perform much better and achieve a growth rate closer to 8% if necessary reforms were undertaken.

The government needs to improve infrastructure and restore long-term political stability to guard against factors that threaten to slowdown GDP growth rates.

In this regard, it is welcome that the government is promising to invest in new infrastructural developments and has talked to the World Bank about plans to enhance regional connectivity, including two hoped-for hydropower projects with Bhutan, India and Nepal.

It is also encouraging that the World Bank has pledged to provide a record $2.8bn in funds to support education, health and poverty alleviation programs. These are important to encourage inclusive and broad-based economic growth.

To move the country on to a higher growth path however, policy-makers must prioritise reforms, such as lowering bureaucratic hurdles and trade barriers, to enable the private sector to productively attract and make the best use of investment.

By focusing on improving education, investing in infrastructure and providing a better investment climate, the economy can be freed from artificial obstacles which hamper or limit opportunities for growth.

Thursday, April 3, 2014

the Editor

LETTER OF THE DAY

Harvesting natural gas

Pakistan lose 5 wickets

Rabiul Islam, an elderly village mechanic from Charshuknagari village, in Madanganj upazilla of Jamalpur, has come up with an innovative and ingenuous way to recover natural gas. The gas bubbles emerge from an underground fissure, into a layer of underground water, and come out as bubbles with the tube-well water! This is now being used by him as free fuel to run this irrigation water pumps by gas engine, instead of the traditional electric motors used all across the country.

Such capability and clever innovation from a self-trained mechanic in a remote village is an ideal and worthwhile case for national recognition. I implore our authorities to recognise and reward this person as an example. The worth and capabilities of anyone anywhere should be appreciated and officially recognised.

Engr SA Mansoor

Something inside the team of Bangladesh must be wrong, about which our players are not saying anything. It looks like they are frustrated and their strength of body and mind is gone.

Something must be very wrong within BCB; otherwise our boys are not that bad!

Babul Sarwar

March 30

April 1

Earth hour at Saturday evening The age of self-determination March 26 Junayed Bangladesh did indeed begin to shape its destiny 43 years ago. Whether we have fulfilled that promise yet might be in doubt but what cannot, and should not, be forgotten, is that it is a promise made by the people for the people. Yes, there have been obstacles along the way and there will likely be many more in the future. But I am in complete agreement with the writer of this op-ed in saying that we need to move ahead with conviction. Let this be a new ushering in of self-determination!

Mariha I do sometimes wonder at my sudden surge of patriotism during the national holidays. The cynic in me wants to push it back. The idealist wants me to feel it more often. Looking at this wonderful piece, I can see that I should have no qualms about demanding more as a conscious practitioner of selfdetermination, while simultaneously being proud of what we have managed to achieve in 43 years.

Safwan Saif If one honestly thinks that countries supporting movements in neighbouring regions with any ulterior motive in mind invalidate said movement, then one should logically consider almost all of Africa, most of Eastern Europe, and, really, any part of the Commonwealth to still be a colony under some form of pseudo-imperial control. India had its own agenda and to assume anything less would be ridiculous.

And, for the sake of argument, if one’s claim about our lack of independence is indeed true, then I say that it is the fault of our people for not working against how the world really does work. This is exactly what the writer is trying to argue, by making a case for self-determination.

Mohammad Munshi The whole problem with our country is this: Anything that discounts or discredits received wisdom is either a conspiracy theory or the work of rajakars. This is prejudice of the worst kind and displays a narrow mindset.

Samiul It is easy to forget that 43 years is not a long time in the grand scheme of things and, despite the many bumps we have faced along the way, we have been able to do some things right. I applaud the writer for drawing parallels to other countries with similar timeframes, while crucially pointing out that Bangladesh’s circumstances are different enough to make a straight comparison (such as with late 18th century USA for instance) unfair. We should definitely be proud of what we have achieved and then move forward with the promise of a better future.

Jannat Forget the geo-politics of the time, which the writer does acknowledge in his piece. The fact remains – Bangladeshis wanted independence. By any definition of self-determination, this was achieved and therefore the will of the people was satisfied.

The writer hits the nail on the head; we have achieved independence, but there is still work to be done, and we should draw on the positives of what we have achieved so far.

Mohammad Munshi Jannat: The geo-politics of the time cannot be left aside because they are central to understanding how we have been manipulated and brainwashed into believing the Indian propaganda story of 1971. I feel shame only if I try to ignore the truth.

March 29

Desa does this every day, every few hours. We must be the greenest nation out there.

Parveen Ahmed

Load shedding replaced by ‘power interruption’ March 29

The situation in rural areas is still worse; we get at least 3-4 hours load shedding every day.

Nurul Haque Tushar

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

CALVIN AND HOBBES

Prioritise reforms, such as lowering bureaucratic hurdles and trade barriers, to help the private sector

PEANUTS

CROSSWORD

SUDOKU ACROSS 1 Partly open (4) 3 Ancient tongue (5) 8 Yield (4) 9 Thunder god (4) 11 Scottish dances (5) 12 Flying toy (4) 14 Encountered (3) 15 Wards off (5) 18 Wander away (5) 19 Serpent (3) 21 Snow vehicle (4) 24 Sound (5) 26 Alone (4) 27 Location (4) 28 Choose by vote (5) 29 Plunder (4)

DOWN 1 Book of the Bible (4) 2 In a frenzy (4) 4 Top card (3) 5 Swarms (5) 6 Not working (4) 7 Cosy retreats (5) 10 Fissure (4) 11 Of the kidneys (5) 13 Concise (5) 16 Stains (4) 17 Minister’s residence (5) 18 Venomous ill will (5) 20 Earth (4) 22 Extinct bird (4) 23 Young horse (4) 25 Dry, of wines (3)

YESTERDAY’S SOLUTIONS Crossword

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

Sudoku

DHAKA TRIBUNE

Op-Ed

11

Thursday, April 3, 2014

A unique voice n Halima Akhtar

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M Murshed’s aristocratic background was a fitting precursor to a brilliant academic career.

He rose to pre-eminence as a jurist imbued with a deep sense of social justice. His contribution to the field of literature and belles-lettres was no less outstanding. All in all, he lavishly bestowed upon us his vast store of wisdom on various issues ranging from jurisprudence to politics to innumerable social causes.

SM Murshed never allowed himself to be shackled by any particular ideology or dogma Mujib also left a culture of insular family politics

NASHIRUL ISLAM

Conspiracy theories and self-inflicted wounds

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n Arnold Zeitlin

mbassador Abdul Monem, the Bangladesh permanent representative at the United Nations, invited me to accept an award at his mission quarters in New York as part of the celebration of the 94th anniversary of the birth of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman on St Patrick’s Day (March 17).

As a result, I now have a shiny plaque that proclaims I am an “eminent journalist,” because of my reporting for the Associated Press during Bangladesh’s liberation war in 1971. And the AP thought I was just doing my job!

Also, I was therefore able to share the Bangladesh UN mission’s feast of curry, nan, dal, spicy cauliflower, and tandoori chicken, as well as a huge chocolate birthday cake, while elsewhere in New York the Irish and Irish-for-the-day had to be content with drinking green beer and eating the St Patrick’s day traditional corned beef and cabbage.

Lawrence Lifschultz, who doesn’t need a plaque to designate him as an eminent journalist, was also honored.

He has written books and articles insightful about Bangladesh and other subjects. We had never met. The opportunity to chat about our Bangladesh experience made the evening special for me.

I am not so sure Sheikh Mujib would have approved of my award. I last saw him some time in late 1974 or early 1975, in the last year of his life, when he passed through Manila. I was an AP correspondent in Manila back then.

When he saw me among the journalists at Manila airport, he pointed me out to his host, Philippines President Fer-

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H

dinand Marcos, and said, “Watch this man. He is very dangerous.”

Three months after Mujib was killed in August 1975 in Dhaka (a dire event I covered until the government threw me out), Marcos threw me out of the Philippines, giving me a record of being expelled by two different Asian governments in less than 90 days.

The recent occasion at the Bangladesh mission was an opportunity to reminisce about Mujib as well as to briefly discuss his legacy.

been mostly self-inflicted.

Lawrence did point out as evidence for his argument examples of the CIA’s behind-the-scenes presence in such coups as in Iran, Guatemala, and Chile.

I’ve seen much the same CIA activity myself in the Congo and, of course, along the Pakistan-Afghan border.

I concluded that Mujib’s legacy was an independent Bangladesh, with all its faults and its promise. Bangladesh’s more exuberant performance since it split from Pakistan has more than

Mujib’s legacy was an independent Bangladesh, with all its faults and its promise

Lifschultz also spoke. He detailed the American involvement in the coup in which Mujib was murdered, an association he discovered after much investigation. After our talks, the subject was the central part of a Q&A with the predominantly Bengali audience who filled the UN mission’s meeting hall.

It was at this point that Lawrence and I disagreed. I tend to discount a shady direct American involvement in that coup, partly because I have heard so often in Bangladeshi living rooms Bengalis whining about American, Indian, Chinese, and Russian conspiracies victimising the hapless Bangladesh. I believe conspiracy theory talk stems from a denial of Bangladesh’s responsibility for its own fate. Disastrous wounds in Bangladesh’s history (and there have been too many) have

substantiated the claims of Bengalis that they had been suppressed by West Pakistan and the central government, especially when you look at the mess Pakistan has made of itself since then.

Accessible and generous as he was – to a fault in both cases – Mujib left a darker side that is once more endangering the land he so loved. His grab for total power under a one-party Baksal led to his death and a spiraling into military dictatorship that took decades to halt. The same drive for power ended the lives of two other politicians closely identified with the independence of Bangladesh – Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto (hanged in 1977) and Indira Gandhi (assassinated in 1984).

The country is now in the midst of a political crisis arising out of a foolish boycott by the BNP, which has given

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almost untrammeled power to Mujib’s daughter, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, leading toward what could be called a “one-person” rule.

I told the Bengali audience at the UN mission that I preferred to have opposition party leaders in the parliament house instead of being in jail. I have spent too much time over the years trying to help friends jailed for politics.

That St Patrick’s morning, I received a message from Moudud Ahmed that I read out loud to Ambassador Monem.

Moudud wrote: “Let people know that there is no democracy in Bangladesh. I had to be in jail for three months recently only for making political statements. So I have stopped talking. I [went] to jail in 1955 at the age of 16 in the language movement, and led the ‘Independent East Pakistan Movement’ in England in mid-sixties, and organised the defence of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman in the Agartala Conspiracy Case, and took part in the war of liberation, [only] to see a Bangladesh where I cannot criticise the government freely for fear of being arrested and have an unelected government run without any accountability to people.”

Mujib also left the beginning of a legacy of insular family politics that also contributed to his death, and has led to gridlocking at the highest levels of the government. Now we have ruling mothers seeking a repeat of bad history by seemingly grooming their sons, Joy and Tarique, as successors.

They threaten to turn the patriotic cry of “Joy Bangla,” to “Joy Tarique.” l Arnold Zeitlin reported on the 1971 war for the Associated Press. He currently teaches at Guangdong University of Foreign Studies, China.

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As a jurist, he was a pre-eminent exponent of the rule of law. Like many great legal minds he drew his inspiration from a variety of historical, philosophical, and theological sources.

Yet he was able to interpret these sources in his own inimitable fashion.

His genius lay in the ability to fashion these diverse influences into his own brilliant individualism. He was acutely aware of the fact that excessive insistence on the letter of the law often violates the spirit.

In recounting his legal skills, one is reminded of the artfulness of Portia’s intervention in Shakespeare’s Merchant of Venice. The letter of law, and the contract between Antonio and Shylock clearly required Shylock payment of the eponymous pound of flesh, but he was prevented from exacting this

by Portia’s artful insistence that not a drop of blood be shed in the process.

The application of the rule of law is ultimately down to the deft, and even witty, handling of the law by legal practitioners. Murshed demonstrated his talent in this connection by reforming innumerable laws and unravelling their complexities; offering us something truly unique in the process. He can be compared to great jurists such as Marshall, Oliver Wendell Holmes, and Lord Denning. He was forever kind and generous with his affectionate advice for his juniors, without ignoring those senior to him. His relations in this area were governed by mutual self-respect and tolerance.

Murshed’s reputation as a great judge came through some famous cases like the Mahmud and Samabarton Mamlas, all of which are landmarks in the legal history of Pakistan.

His forte lay in constitutional law as evidenced by the Minister’s and “Pan” cases. His fame was not just confined to the shores of his country, but he had an international reputation in this regard. Like all great judges, his judgments were not only impartial but tinged with humanity and compassion. Indeed, few took exception to his judgments.

But the hallmark of a truly great man is the ability to rise above the narrow confines of his profession.

Murshed never allowed himself to be shackled by any particular ideology

E

or dogma, but took a keen interest in the political developments of his time. He was distressed by the episodic communal violence that punctuated the politics of the 1940s.

Following the transfer of power and the partition of India in 1947, he joined those who were determined to bring an end to the frenzy of communal violence that swept through the Indian subcontinent.

In 1954 he helped draft the famous 21 point manifesto of the United Front led by his uncle Sher-e-Bangla A K Fazlul Huq. He played a prominent part in the mass upsurge of 1969 against President Ayub Khan, and in the round table conference convened by Ayub in its wake. He gave his support to the 11 point demands of the students of East Pakistan. During Bangladesh’s war of liberation he refused to collaborate with the Pakistan army despite the inevitable pressures.

His commitment to democracy, and his interpretation of the same was akin to Abraham Lincoln. He dedicated his energy to the freedom and wellbeing of men. He protested vehemently against any form of corruption, venality, and exploitation.

When the education department of our country was becoming corrupt, Murshed stressed that the role of teachers was to instil values, indicating that they should be at the forefront in protesting against any undesirable situation.

We should be cognisant of the range and depth of his knowledge which included writings on diverse subjects in top flight journals and magazines. His association with the Anjuman-e-Mufidul Islam showed his concern for the poor. He was president of Rotary and Lions clubs, and was deeply involved with many cultural and social causes.

As a powerful voice of humanity, to him “man was the measure of all things.”

Inevitably, men like Murshed have to confront many obstacles. Socrates was forced to drink the cup of hemlock; Murshed too was subjected to many pressures by the government for his honesty, integrity, and above all his independence. But unlike the proverbial Faust he did not sell his soul, remaining uniquely courageous in maintaining his freedom.

He demonstrated his talent by reforming innumerable laws and unravelling their complexities As a man, Murshed was loving to his family and affectionate to his friends.

His compassionate vision of Islam still inspires us. Not only was he a truly international figure, but he will continually inspire us as someone whose values and principles, as well as his steadfastness in this regard, often without recompense, are worth emulating in an age of time serving convenience. l Halima Akhtar is a freelance contributor.

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Reaching the target n Mamun Rashid

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inance Minister AMA Muhith hoped Bangladesh’s exports would reach $75bn within the next five years. This year our exports should be exceeding $30bn. We need 20% plus year on year exports. It is tough, but not impossible. A large foreign exchange reserve may provide comfort in terms of import cover, but this alone is not enough for export growth.

We need further liberalisation of the trade. Maybe we need further relaxation of the import trade in order to push exports significantly higher. If we want 20% year on year growth, Dhaka-Chittagong roads/highways must be upgraded to international standards to handle the increasing traffic.

Dedicated trade corridors or four lanes may also need continuous upgrading.

In the same way, our goods need to be brought into the ports from northern districts and the south-western ports need to be more operational.

Electricity problems have been solved to a great extent, though many entrepreneurs are still depending on in-house power generation. Bangladesh boasts of having attained 10,000

megawatts power generation with a highest throughput of 6,801 megawatts into the national grid recently.

We need more, maybe 15,000 megawatts, and the demand is increasing annually at almost 10%.

We must develop a process to immediately react to any policy changes in our competing countries

Frankly speaking, our entrepreneurs and exporters now desperately need gas to run their industries. Chittagong’s entrepreneurs are weeping, if not crying, for want of gas. We need an integrated solution and our government needs to gear up on that front.

We need effective ports in Chittagong and Mongla. Maybe we need a third seaport at Ramnabad channel in Patuakhali and a deep-sea port at Sonadia soon in order to ensure transport

ease and better connectivity. More automation at the ports should also help to get rid of ongoing corruption.

We won’t achieve our dream of reaching $75bn in exports unless our garments exporters shift into more specialised zones. Shared buildings, factories in shopping malls, all have to become a thing of the past. In order to tackle contingency, each factory or plant must have a proper exit or evacuation policy in place. The private sector alone can’t do this. We need the government, development partners, buyers, or even other stakeholders to come forward to ensure implementation of the clusters for our manufacturing plant, thereby ensure an integrated solution for our producers.

The exchange rate and interest rate have played a significant role in many countries, leading to a sharp rise in exports. If nothing drastic is done here in view of the cascading effect, the government must look at attractive incentive packages. Similar packages should also be thought for other export-boosting industries like leather, frozen food, and jute. Newer products also have a better chance to grab the international markets at better prices.

In view of the growing disturbances

in Bangladesh and its apparel factories, the Indian government has been quite loud in making out their performance gap on apparel exports and is ready to consider further incentives for relevant exporters. A falling rupee is likely to work as a booster here.

Even in the near and distant past, we have seen Reserve Bank of India (RBI) coming up with various incentive packages to “pull up” its various industry segments so they remain afloat or prosper amidst various global market threats.

Though there has been longstanding debate regarding the ingenuity of the entrepreneurs versus policy support of the government as the reason for the success for our apparel export, the government in recent days could not come up with any integrated approach with regard to its support for the apparel industry. While “bonded warehouse facility” remains a major policy support till today, we have seen continuous reductions in cash incentives and increases in tax at source (except some recent reductions and few incentives to cover up for the recent losses), since the apparel industries were historically paying low taxes.

While Pakistan even came up with

extraordinary packages for its exporters like “exchange rate gap support,” or paying a little extra for each dollar exported, Bangladesh left it with the market forces for the last several years.

While the government could not meet its fiscal year 2013 target for exports, it is eyeing 12% plus growth in its exports for the fiscal year 2014 from $28bn to more than $30bn.

banks to support our exports and inward remittances with a resultant rise in its foreign exchange reserve to almost $20bn. However, this may not be enough in view of falling imports and increasing inward remittances.

We need more initiatives like interim packages, interest subsidies, tax breaks, or tariff reductions for the major export-related imports for our

We won’t achieve our dream of reaching $75bn in exports unless our garments exporters shift into more specialised zones

Though our exports have increased by more than 14 % during the eight months of the current fiscal, despite no dramatic upside in US economy or a cloudy European economy, increasing this by more than 20% year on year without any specific stimulus could be a daunting task.

Bangladesh Bank is seen continuously buying US dollars from

exporting friends. Along with these we must develop a dynamic process to immediately react to any policy changes in our competing countries, especially India, with regard to their readymade garment exports, if not other exports too. l Mamun Rashid is a business professor and financial sector entrepreneur.

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DHAKA TRIBUNE

National Film Day to be observed today

Entertainment

Thursday, April 3, 2014

Mahiya Mahi in three disguises n Entertainment Desk

n Entertainment Desk

Mahiya Mahi’s new film Dobir Saheber Songsar will hit the cinemas tomorrow.

The pretty newbie will be seen in three different avatars in her upcoming flick. Mahi will be seen playing three different roles of Chumki, Daisy and Protikkha. The story revolves around finding the real identity of Protikkha. About her roles in the film, Mahi said: “Working in three different characters was not easy for me. I have managed to do so with the enormous support from the generous cast and crew. I request my audience to have fun watching the film in theatres.”

“Comedy is a difficult genre and making people laugh is a challenging task,” she adds.

The movie will hit ninety one cinema halls all over the country.

The actor recently participated in a flash mob of the T20 theme song. The music video will be aired on different satellite TV channels soon.

Mahi has won the hearts of the audience with her potent performing ability to carry out demanding characters in the media. Her film Agnee, where Mahi is seen as an action heroine was a mega hit that earned in crores , her male counterpart in the movie was Arifin Shuvoo. l

National Film Day will be celebrated today — for the third consecutive year since the current government declared a special day for the local film industry.

Bangladesh Film Development Corporation (BFDC) has already decorated its premises with colourful posters and banners.

On the occasion, BFDC has planed various segments to make the day full of festivity. The programme will start with a procession and releasing pigeons and balloons. Cultural performances, conferences, seminars and photo exhibition will take place on the presence of both veteran and young film stars.

The event will end with the show of vibrant fireworks and releasing hot air balloons.

ATN Bangla will telecast the whole programme from 10am to 10pm live.

Bangladesh Shilpakala Academy has also chalked out a film festival marking the occasion.

BSA will screen the first Bangladeshi film Mukh O Mukhosh directed by Jabbar Khan today at 5pm which will be followed by a discussion session on the history and legacy of Bangladeshi films.

The film festival also features Jibondhuli by Tanvir Mokammel, Hajar Bochhor Dhore by Kohinur Akhter Suchanda and Shimana Periye by Alamgir Kabir respectively on April 4, 5 and 6 at 6:30pm. l

Hridoye Robi features Tagore songs in contemporary style n Hasan Mansoor Chatak

Channel i celebrates National Film Day n Entertainment Desk Marking the occasion of National Film Day, Channel i will telecast a list of particular programmes.

A special edition of Tritio Matra will be held at 9:45am with the presence of Information Minister Hasanul Haque Inu, seasoned actor Razzak and film director Chasi Nazrul Islam. Dinat Jahan Munni will sing film songs in Gaane Gaane Sokal Shuru at 7:30am. Chalochitra Gaaner Ekal

Sekal, a musical programme on film songs will be aired at 11:30 pm with the presence of Alam Khan, Samina Chowdhury, S I Tutul, Emon Saha and Nancy.

Citycell Tarikakathon’s special episode will bring contemporary young film artists in a live telephone talk at 12:30pm. A discussion programme titled Digital Juge Chalochitra will bring filmmakers and artists include Jakir Hossain Razu, Iftekhar Chowdhury, Safiuddin Safi and Omar

Sanny at 1:30pm presented by Chinmoy Mutsuddi. Film Lal Tip directed by Swapan Ahmed will be aired at 3pm.

A theme song is created in observance of the day titled Chokh Mele Dekhi Rongin Prithibee, while film related personas took part in the visualisation of the song. The song is written by Abdur Rahman and the music is composed by Emon Saha while Iftekhar Munim directed the music video. l

Film Laltip will be aired on Channel i at 3pm today

Nirjher Chowdhury, an aspiring music composer and singer is going to release his first audio album titled Hridoye Robi which entirely consists of Tagore songs. The event is on April 4 at the Bengal Silpalaya, Dhanmondi. Filmmaker and architect Enamul Karim Nirjher will unwrap the album at the event where the singer is suppose to present all the new songs from his forthcoming album.

At the age of ten, Nirjher went to learn Tagore Songs in Chhayanaut, a Dhaka based popular musical institution and soon after, he began his line of work with a Tagore song Kon Aalote Praner Pradip Jwaliye Tumi Dhorai Aso along the consonance of his mother’s tune. “From my very childhood I wanted to release an entire album of only Tagore songs,” said Nirjher.

Mostly romantic and favorite Tagore songs are placed in the album and the selection does not shape any method or theme. Popular Tagore songs including Bhalobese Sokhi, Aj Jotsna Raate Sobai Gese Bone and Elem Natun Deshe along with others are in the track list. Western musical tune and instruments are used ingeniously in the album with the contemporary listeners in mind. “I used grand piano in a song and jazz pattern in another as we tried to provide western variation of music, keeping in mind the new generation listener of Tagore songs.”

At present, Nirjher is serving as a teacher at Chhayanaut. Though he previously composed music for a mixed album titled Maatir Sure which contains folksongs, Hridoye Robi is his first solo album in which he composed music alongside rendering the songs. Rokon Emon helped his compositional works. Currently, Nirjher is also a member of a band named Dharok, which formed aiming to bring hundred years’ old Bangla folk and other songs back in contemporary form.

From Charjapad to Tagore, songs get contemporary reverberation. Dharok is planning to bring out their own album. l

Ashchorjo Sundor Ei Beche Thaka premieres today

Irrfan Khan in both Bollywood and Hollywood

n Entertainment Desk

n Entertainment Desk

The premiere staging of the play titled Ashchorjo Sundor Ei Beche Thaka will take place today at the Experimental Theatre Hall of Bangladesh Shilpakala Academy at 7pm in the capital. Through the staging of the play, Tareque Masud Cultural Center is going to commence its journey.

The play is adapted and directed by Rubayet Ahmed. The story of the play revolves around a young poet and a young female dancer. Both of them comes to a certain place to commit suicide as they are frustrated with life. Two fictional

characters Death and Life engross themselves in a rusty game making the boy and girl pawns. At end of the game, Life wins and the young duo find desired personality in themselves.

They fall in love with each other and let go of their suicidal plans. Key roles of the play are donned by Ehsan Ponir, Chinmoyee Gupta, Chandan Bose, Luna Masud and others.

The play is developed with an anti-suicide theme adapted from American journalist Louise Bryant’s belief. Tareque Masud Cultural Centre is a cultural organisation in the memory of late ace filmmaker of the country Tareque Masud. l

100 days of Chander Pahar celebrated n Entertainment Desk Indian Bangla film megastar Dev, along with his director and music composer celebrated the humongous success of the film Chander Pahar based on Bibhutibushan Bandyopadhyay’s novel with the same title.

“God has given me more than I deserve. I feel blessed. And this film is very close to my heart as I never thought that I could pull off Shankar’s role. Thanks to Kamaleswarda and

Shrikantda (Mohta) for believing in my capabilities,” said Dev while celebrating 100 days of Kamaleswar Mukherjee’s Chander Pahar.

The actor was feeling nostalgic along with the director as it was not easy to shoot for the film. He also said: “There are so many novels from which films can be made. And I want to be a part of it. Thanks to the production house as they went all out to make this film happen.

A hearty thanks to the audience for supporting me and the film.” l

Bruce Springsteen and Chris Martin to perform at Rock and Roll Hall Of Fame induction n

Entertainment Desk

Coldplay rocker Chris Martin and Bruce Springsteen are among the names that have been confirmed to perform at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Induction ceremony later this month.

Martin, 37, will have the honour of inducting Genesis rocker Peter Gabriel at the ceremony taking place at Brooklyn’s Barclays Center in New York on April 10 while it has been confirmed that “The Boss” will perform with his E Street Band before inducting them into the Hall.

REM frontman Michael Stipe has been enlisted to induct iconic rock band Nirvana into the Hall of Fame which will come just

days after the 20th anniversary of Kurt Cobain’s death in 1994.

Tom Morello is also expected to hit the stage to induct Kiss, who have been locked in a dispute with the Hall of Fame organisers after they reportedly snubbed several members of the band who aren’t part of the original line-up.

According to the Detroit Free Press, Paul Stanley who co-founded Kiss along with Gene Simmons, said: “Yes, it’s going to be a great night, because we will pay respect to how the band started. But our issues with the Rock Hall have not subsided.”

While they will be inducted, Kiss have stated that they will not perform. Also confirmed to appear is The Roots’ Questlove who will induct Hall & Oates while Glenn Frey of The Eagles will honour his former band mate Linda Ronstadt who will be celebrated with a musical tribute from Stevie Nicks, Carrie Underwood, Sheryl Crow and Emmylou Harris. l

Accomplished actor Irrfan Khan will spend the rest of this year living out of a suitcase as he will be shooting for two films - Jurassic World and Piku. This week he leaves for the US to begin shooting for Colin Trevorrow-directed fourth part of the phenomenal Jurassic Park franchise. The film is to be shot in Hawaai and New Orleans.

“It’s a brief schedule to begin with, though my role is anything but brief. At the moment all I can say is that it’s a pivotal role. I am very excited about the project. It’s the second American global franchise after Spiderman that I am part of,” said Irrfan, adding that he did not share the Indian audience’s disappointment over the length of his role in Spiderman.

The remaining part of this year would see Irrfan Khan shuttling between two projects in two continents. The actor says he is exceptionally excited about working with Amitabh Bachchan in Piku. He reveals he has some amazing moments to share with the Big B and Deepika Padukone in Sircar’s film. Irrfan bagged the best actor award for his performance in The Lunchbox at the Macau Film festival. He’s impressed by the competition that he faced to bag the award. l

Did you know?

Arsenal are the only team in the Premier League not to have an opposition player sent off against them this season

Thursday, April 3, 2014

Sport

14 Bayern draw

with United, Barca held by Atletico

14 Fifa orders

shock transfer ban on Barca

DHAKA TRIBUNE

13

15 Feni Soccer

stun Russell in Independence Cup

Sammy knows the requirement Farbrace eyes final berth The West Indies team stumbled in their opening match in the World Twenty20 against India, but since then did everything needed to keep their hopes of defending the title alive.

They outplayed Bangladesh, Pakistan and Australia to set up their semifinal clash against another strong sub-continent side Sri Lanka today.

Darren Sammy has been an unsung force behind the recent success and though they beat Sri Lanka in a warmup match prior the tournament the Caribbean skipper informed their approach and mindset will remain the same while the respect will also be there.

“Cricket is not about what’s happened before, it’s what happens on the cricket field on the present day. Yeah we defeated them in the World Cup in the warm up game here, but they play some good cricket. We have a lot of respect for them at the same time we know what we have to do to win. Practicing today, we are going to focus on the way we want to play, hopefully we can execute our plans and improve on the areas that needs improving,” said Sammy at the Sher-e-Bangla National Stadium yesterday.

Left-arm spinner Rangana Herath spun the Lankans to victory with his magnificent five-wicket haul against New Zealand. He poses a great threat in the turning wickets, but Sammy said they have plans against the 36-year-old and will not play him how the Kiwis played.

“Well, the makeup allows guys like Gayle and smith to go hard at the top.

The off spinner has been the one getting the wicket against us. We don’t mind the left arm spinner, hopefully we won play him like New Zealand.

“We know what we are going to come across. And this bunch of guys in the dressing room is very confident.

Even when everything seems gloom we have the belief that the person in the middle can do well. That’s what happened in the last games,” he said.

“Stay calm and bat till the end” is Sammy’s theory which evidently has cost most of his opponents. It was even in the last game against Pakistan that West Indies were reeling at 87 for five when Sammy and Dwayne Bravo ex-

WEST INDIES

DARREN SAMMY Runs 101, HS 42*, (4x12, 6x5), SR 224.44 Captain courageous is what they call him and a lot will depend on his contribution today. So far he has been dismissed once in four innings which indicates what a smooth finisher he turned out with the bat. His fielding and bowling are just the added ingredients which makes him great as a leader SAMUEL BADREE Wkts 10, BBI 4/15, Econ: 5.62 In pitches like SBNS, Badree gives his team the perfect balance. The leg spinner opens the bowling and more importantly has so far gone under six runs an over. Two more wickets will make him the highest wicket taker in the tournament and he will definitely be eying the Lankan openers to achieve the feat

to Dhaka for the final stages. Amla said the conditions and pitch will be different here in Dhaka and that “The Chittagong wicket had a bit more pace and bounce in it and spin later on. This wicket we haven’t played so we have to see.”

South Africa will be facing a strong India team who are still unbeaten in the tournament. Despite having the tag of chokers on their neck, Amla is confident of putting up a good show and move forward in the event.

“Yeah, the preparation has been good. Obviously we had some time before the semi-finals. We got some time to rest after back to back games. I think whatever you get drawn in, it’s out of your hand. It’s a good opportunity for us. We have played some good cricket, won some close games and that is as hard as our team has ever been,” said Amla who averages over fifty in both Tests and ODIs. The 31-year-old also praised his opening partner Quinton de Kock and said he is a fearless cricketer and is working very hard to put in a big performance for the side. l

Sri Lankan coach Paul Farbrace believes the convincing win over New Zealand in their last Super 10 game will boost the side when the take on defending champions West Indies in the first semifinal of the ICC World Twenty20 today.

The Englishman informed his men are very excited to reach the last four stage and look beyond it and for that they will be on their toes against the Caribbean side.

“We came off a magnificent win

(against New Zealand). We saw the game last night (Tuesday) (between West Indies and Pakistan). West Indies are an excellent side playing very good cricket.

Preparation for the game tomorrow (today) should be as good as it possibly can be. This is where we want to be. This is what players play for, semi finals, finals of world cup competition and we are very excited,” said Paul during the prematch conference at the Sher-e-Bangla National Stadium yesterday.

The two sides met last month in a warm-up game where the Lankans lost by 33 runs following. However, Paul informed that the result does not matter as they fielded few

KEY PLAYERS

CHRIS GAYLE Runs 140, HS 53, (4x11, 6x6), SR 116.66 One of the most destructive batsmen in world cricket, the giant left-handed is yet to flourish in the World T20.

However, the platform is perfectly set for the Jamaican to entertain the Bangladesh crowd with some Gayle-storm

Amla enjoys his T20 role South Africa opener Hashim Amla informed he has the knowledge of how to fit in the shortest format and said it’s not about trying to blast all deliveries. He scored 23, 41, 43 and 56 in the four matches in the World Twenty20 so far and provided the Proteas with a healthy start.

“I think it’s all about assessing situations of the game and playing according to it. It’s not only about scoring quicker upfront but you have to see what your partner is doing,” said Amla yesterday. “Depends on what team needs at that time. The game has to be set up. Our job is to play positively batting upfront and give the team a good start. Some days it works, someday, it doesn’t. I am enjoying my role in T20’s.

Enjoying this period and experience.”

South Africa lost to Sri Lanka in their World T20 opener but came back strongly against England, Netherlands and New Zealand to book a semifinal spot.

Pitted in Group 1 they played all their matches in Chittagong and they moved

hibited powerful hitting in the last five overs picking 81 runs.

“For me I just stay calm. If you notice most of the partnerships, came from one of our most T20 experienced player in Dwayne (Bravo), we just stay calm and keep telling ourselves, once we bat to the end, bat deep, anything is possible we have shown that over the last few months,” he added.

The 30-year-old has grown in to a great leader for the Caribbean side over the years. He is a lively character both on and off and he said he enjoys the role, but informed that he will not continue as the Test captain after the tournament ends. l

MAHELA JAYAWARDENE Runs 134, HS 89, (4x16, 6x3), SR 131.37 If Sri Lanka loses, it could be the last World T20 for the 36-year-old. Batting at No 3 Mahela has stirred the Lankans to victory on many occasions and with the batting unit in an inconsistent shape a lot will depend on his shoulders

SRI LANKA

ANGELO MATHEWS Runs 60, HS 43, (4x3, 6x2), SR 127.65, Wkts 4, BBI 3/16 The ODI captain of the side Mathews should play a very crucial part today. He opens the bowling and it will be interesting how he fares in front of Gayle and Dwayne Smith. Meanwhile, his batting also provides the cushion in the lower middle order RANGANA HERATH Wkts 5, BBI 5/3, Econ: 0.85 The left-arm spinner has been the rabbit out of the magic hat for Sri Lanka. He played their do-or-die encounter against New Zealand and ended up with the best T20 figures. With the ball turning and skidding at Mirpur, it will be an interesting battle between the WI hitters and the spinning wizard

of their main players in that game and experimented with the lineup.

“We didn’t play a couple of our main bowlers; we left two bowlers out on purpose to give others opportunities.

The last game will have no bearing whatsoever, 20-20, is whoever, turns up on that particular day. Form goes out of the window in 20-20 and as we seen that three or four overs from one particular player with bat or ball, can change and win a game.

“It’s very much about making sure we are ready, we are focused, we play our very best game as possibly as we can.

As I said form goes out of the window. It won’t even be talked about I assure you,” said Paul who was among the casualties during the infamous 2009 attack on the Sri Lankan team bus in Pakistan.

Kumar Sangakkara and Mahela Jayawardene are two dependent names in the Sri Lankan batting unit. However, a defeat today will see the duo, who already announced to retire after the mega event, end their Twenty20 career with a disappointment.

“Mahela played a fantastic innings against England, Sanga (Sangakkara) is a dangerous player, and you always expect big things from them and they never let their team or country down,” said Paul.

“They are fantastic to have in the team as well. They are world class people as well as world class players. There was nobody more pumped up before the New Zealand fielding innings than Mahela. He was so pumped up he almost knocked me over. And you could see his body language on the field, how desperate he was to do well. Whether it’s their last competition or not in this form, they have been absolutely brilliant,” informed Paul. l

WOMEN’S WORLD T20, 1ST SEMIFINAL

Windies ready to upset Australia Having made it into the last-four of the Women’s World Twenty20 for the third consecutive time, the West Indies women can consider today’s semifinal against the top ranked and defending champion Australia an unofficial final.

The two sides will lock horns to fill the first slot of the final at Mirpur’s Sher-e-Bangla National Stadium this afternoon.

Playing in the semi-finals of a World Cup is a regular occurrence to Australia women who dominated the last two editions of World T20 on their way to clinching the title on both occasions.

But for the Caribbean ladies, it would be a game to show the world they also possess abundance of excellence, athleticism, energy and passion for the game.

However, the West Indies will be more watchful today after they crushed to a nine-wicket defeat against India

South Africa cricketers warm up at a training session during the ICC World Twenty20 tournament in The Sher-e-Bangla National Cricket Stadium in Dhaka yesterday AFP

in their last group match in Sylhet although they were without their captain Merissa Aguilleira and leg spinner Shaquana Quintyne in that match. On the other hand, Australia have returned to their natural instinct as the tourney went on after a poor display against New Zealand in their opening game.

Meg Lanning’s 65-ball 126 against Ireland is the highest score in the tournament, and the highest ever score in Women’s T20a West Indies have yet to beat Australia in three T20 meetings Australia captain Meg Lanning said that her team would do all it could to defend its title. “We’ve played some good cricket up until this point and enjoyed the atmosphere in Sylhet. The big games are still to come and this is a situation we’ve found ourselves in recent times and hopefully that experience

will bode well for us,” said Lanning.

West Indies were the first side to confirm the semifinal berth from Group B after it won three matches straight. The ladies from the Caribbean started with an eight wicket victory over Sri Lanka which was then followed up with a 36-run win against Bangladesh and a nine-run win against 2009 winner England before conceding their first defeat against India.

A delighted West Indies captain Merissa Aguillera said it was time for the team to shed its bridesmaid status. She said, “As a side, we can’t rush into things as we are still a developing side.” She also added, “We have been around for a while but the success we’ve enjoyed has been tremendous.

It’s a pleasure to lead this team because we came together from nowhere and have turned into a team that’s made people sit up and take notice. We will be looking forward to doing even better things.” l

Dhaka pitch a fresh challenge for SL, SA As South Africa and Sri Lanka tread back to Dhaka for the final stages of the World T20, a lot of the focus will be on how quickly these two teams adjust to the surface at the Sher-e-Bangla National Stadium. They have been presented with a perceptibly different set of conditions in Chittagong, which were challenging in their own right but didn’t resemble those in Dhaka all that closely.

Both sides will play evening matches, which means they may have to contend with a bit of dew, but they can only guess the extent. What they can be sure of is that the surface will be dry and will become drier as the three hours progress. The pitches in Mirpur have been kind to spinners, affording them the luxury of considerable turn and some bounce.

By contrast, the surface at the Zahur Ahmed Chowdhury Stadium was faster than expected, with little turn for the spinners. The brown clay differs from the soil used in Mirpur, where the clay constituent is black, and it keeps its

character better throughout the day; during the evening, the behaviour of black clay can be quite changeable, as seen in how much the scores and results varied between the 3.30 pm and 7.30 pm starts.

SL and SA can still expect runs in Dhaka, though. There haven’t been too many low-scoring games apart from Afghanistan getting blown away for 72 or Australia’s 86 all out against India.

There were ten 150-plus scores with Pakistan making 191 and 190 against Australia and Bangladesh. Five teams have won chasing in ten games, twice in the last over. But teams that have won batting first have mostly won by big margins - 16, 73, 50, 73 and 84 runs.

Three of the top five wicket-takers in Mirpur have been spinners - Amit Mishra, R Ashwin and Samuel Badree - and that was along expected lines.

Umar Gul and Al-Amin were the seamers with most wickets.

Teams batting second have made faster starts and hit more sixes (16 as opposed to 8) in powerplays than while batting first. l

Shakib under scrutiny Shakib al Hasan still finds himself in the headlines although Bangladesh’s disastrous run in the World T20 is over.

It seems like the star all-rounder is encircled by a vicious affinity to controversies which he is struggling to get rid of. His latest came in the form of an interview published in a local newspaper on last Tuesday, where the former number one all-rounder reflected perhaps a bit too boldly upon the fans’ expectations, patriotism, food habits of cricketers and his earnings which have created mixed reactions.

BCB President Nazmul Hasan asked the CEO of BCB to assess the interview by Shakib. The chairman of the BCB media committee, Jalal Yunus confirmed yesterday that Nizamuddin Chowdhury, the CEO of the BCB, has been given the responsibility to ask the team management about the legitimacy of a player speaking to media during a tournament.

“During a tournament, cricketers remain under the jurisdiction of the team management and the board doesn’t interfere directly on this issues. So the BCB president wanted to know the identity of the person belonging to team management who permitted Shakib to speak during a tournament,” said Jalal.

This is not the first time for the star all-rounder who again finds himself under scrutiny for indiscretion. Just recently the 27 year old was suspended for two matches and fined Tk three lakhs for his indecent gesture during the Asia Cup. l

14

DHAKA TRIBUNE

Cameron calls for shirt price ‘re-think’

Sport

Thursday, April 3, 2014

Injured Nishikori out of Davis Cup tie

British Prime Minister David Cameron has given his support to calls for a “rethink” regarding the £90 ($150, 109 euros) cost of the new replica England football shirt. The price of the shirt, identical to the one that will be worn by the England team at this June’s World Cup finals in Brazil, proved controversial immediately following its launch earlier this week. Sports minister Helen Grant had already gone on Twitter to say: “On £90 England #football shirts for fans, it’s not right. Loyal supporters are the bedrock of our national game - pricing needs a rethink.” –AFP

Japan’s number one Kei Nishikori has been forced to pull out of this week’s Davis Cup quarter-final against holders the Czech Republic in Tokyo because of a groin injury. The 24-year-old aggravated the troubled area while beating Roger Federer in Miami last week, prompting him to withdraw from his semi-final against Novak Djokovic. Nishikori said on Wednesday he would not be fit to face the Czechs, dealing a crushing blow to Japan’s hopes of a major upset with world number five Tomas Berdych.

–AFP

Trott out for four on comeback England batsman Jonathan Trott could only make four on his return to cricket on Tuesday and once again it was a left-arm seamer who proved his undoing. When Trott quit what turned out to be a 5-0 Ashes thrashing by Australia after twice falling cheaply to fast bowler Mitchell Johnson in the first Test in Brisbane, England officials said he was suffering from a “stress-related illness”. In his first innings since that match it was another left-armer, Gloucestershire’s David Payne, who struck Tuesday during a two-day friendly match at Trott’s Warwickshire home ground.

–AFP

Neymar gives Barca hope against dogged Atletico Atletico Madrid have the upper hand heading into the second leg of their Champions League quarter-final against Barcelona after holding on for a 1-1 draw at the Camp Nou on Tuesday.

Diego Ribas, who had come on as a first-half substitute for the injured Diego Costa, fired the visitors in front with a wonder strike from long range 11 minutes into the second half.

However, Barca responded like a side looking to make their seventh consecutive Champions League semi-final and were level when Neymar swept home Andres Iniesta’s pass 19 minutes from time.

A fourth draw in as many games between the sides this season leaves the tie delicately poised for the return at the Vicente Calderon next Wednesday, April 9.

However, Atletico midfielder Tiago insisted that Barca remain favourites to progress.

Atletico’s David Villa had the best chance of the first half after just five minutes as the ball fell to him inside the area after an errant clearance from Jose Manuel Pinto, but the former Barca striker’s effort flew just past the post.

A minute later Lionel Messi had his first opening as he was upended by Gabi on the edge of the area, but the

Argentine dumped the resulting freekick into the wall.

Barca then suffered an injury blow as Gerard Pique was forced off after failing to recover from an awkward fall as he challenged for an aerial ball with Costa.

Neymar had Barca’s first effort on goal on 24 minutes as Thibaut Courtois easily gathered the Brazilian’s weak headed effort.

The pace of the game rose at the beginning of the second period and despite Barca’s early dominance of possession, it was Atletico who took the lead in spectacular fashion as Diego thundered a shot high into Pinto’s top left-hand corner from fully 30 yards.

Barca laid seige to the Atletico goal in a bid to get back on level terms as Courtois turned Sergio Busquets’ wellstruck volley behind before Messi was unable to direct Dani Alves’ volleyed cross goalwards.

Neymar did bring the hosts level on 71 minutes as his perfectly timed run was matched by Iniesta’s through ball and the Brazilian slotted the ball past Courtois first time.

With the volume of the Camp Nou raised by the equaliser, Barca had all the momentum in the final stages and Courtois had to make a fine low save to his left to meet a curling effort from Iniesta and then turn a Messi free-kick behind.

However, Barca couldn’t find a winner and will travel to Madrid needing to score at least once to reach the last four once more. l

Under-performing Manchester United produced a vastly improved display to hold defending champions Bayern Munich to a 1-1 draw in the home leg of their Champions League quarter-final on Tuesday.

Bayern midfielder Bastian Schweinsteiger cancelled out Nemanja Vidic’s opener, but was then sent off in the dying stages to give United extra hope ahead of next week’s return leg in Munich.

With Bayern having already successfully defended their Bundesliga title and United floundering domestically, the English champions were

given little chance of success in the first leg, but they turned in a dogged performance on a night that stirred old passions at Old Trafford.

David Moyes’s side defended manfully and after Danny Welbeck had squandered a gilt-edged opportunity late in the first half, they took a 58thminute lead through Inter Milanbound captain Vidic.

Schweinsteiger equalised nine minutes later, but United managed to preserve their unbeaten home record in this season’s competition, thereby breathing fresh life into a hitherto bleak campaign.

The draw also prevented Bayern from setting a new Champions League record of eight successive away wins, but Pep Guardiola’s side will nonethe-

Manchester United's Nemanja Vidic heads to score against Bayern Munich during their Champions League quarter-final first leg tie at Old Trafford in Manchester on Tuesday

Bayern held by resurgent United less be the favourites to progress ahead of the return game in Munich.

United set out to contain, with Michael Carrick, Marouane Fellaini and Ryan Giggs in central midfield, but they had the ball in Bayern’s net in the third minute.

RESULTS

Barcelona Neymar 71

Man United Vidic 58

1 1

Atletico Madrid

1 1

Bayern Munich

Diego 56 Schweinsteiger 66

The hosts spent most of the first half watching Bayern string passes across the face of their penalty area, but in the 40th minute they let a huge chance to take the lead go begging.

United introduced Shinji Kagawa for

Giggs at half-time and after Schweinsteiger had put a warning shot over De Gea’s bar, the hosts went ahead.

Rooney arced a corner towards the back post from the left flank and the unmarked Vidic strained his neck to steer the ball into the bottom-right corner with the side of his head.

Guardiola responded by introducing Mario Mandzukic for Mueller and the move paid swift dividends, with the Croatian heading down Rafinha’s cross for Schweinsteiger to crash an equaliser into the top-left corner.

Schweinsteiger was shown a second yellow card in the last minute after sliding in on Rooney and Guardiola will also be without Martinez in the second leg after he was booked for a foul on Javier Hernandez. l

Barca, Atletico bosses content despite draw Barcelona manager Gerardo Martino believes his side did everything in their power to break down a dogged Atletico Madrid as they were held 1-1 at the Camp Nou in the first leg of their Champions League quarter-final on Tuesday.

Barcelona coach Martino was happier with his side’s display than in their three previous meetings with Atletico.

“Apart from the individual performances that we can talk about, the overall display of the team leaves me very calm. Against possibly the best counter-attacking team in Spain, if not Europe, we gave up two chances in the first-half and a goal from 30 metres.

“We created three or four good chanc-

Fifa orders shock transfer ban on Barca

Barcelona forward Neymar celebrates after scoring against Atletico Madrid during their Champions League quarter-final first leg match at Camp Nou stadium on Tuesday REUTERS

Nuno Gomes to join Benfica staff Former Portuguese international striker Nuno Gomes is set to take up a role as deputy to Benfica president Luis Filipe Vieira in the club’s international section, the Portuguese league leaders announced on Tuesday.

The 37-year-old spent 12 seasons with Benfica – interrupted by two seasons following a 17 million euro move to Italian Serie A club Fiorentina. He arrived in Lisbon in 1997 from Boavista, and scored 166 goals for Benfica, winning two league crowns, a Portuguese Cup, three League Cups and Super Cup titles. l

FIFA on Wednesday banned Spanish giants Barcelona from buying or selling players for the next two transfer windows for “serious” breaches of rules on under-age players.

FIFA’s Disciplinary Committee found Barcelona and the Spanish Football Association (RFEF) guilty of making or allowing illegal deals.

As well as the transfer ban, which will effectively last one year, FIFA fined Barcelona 450,000 Swiss francs, (369,000 euros, $509,000).

Barcelona were given 90 days to regularise the situation of all 10 minor players concerned.

The ban is a new blow to the image of Europe’s most successful club of the 21st Century following alleged tax evasion in

‘Serious problems’ at World Cup stadium Construction will only resume at Sao Paulo’s World Cup stadium once it is safe for workers, the Brazilian government said Tuesday, three days after a fatal accident.

Arena de Sao Paulo, which hosts the opening match of the tournament between Brazil and Croatia on June 12, had already been lagging badly behind schedule prior to the latest accident, which resulted in the third death there since work began.

“We shall only free the site (for

continued work) once worker conditions are guaranteed secure,” ministry of work spokesman Luiz Antonio Medeiros told Globo News.

“There are serious worker security problems.” The venue had already been the scene of two deaths in November when a crane collapsed and on Saturday another worker died after falling eight meters (26 feet) while installing temporary seating. There have been seven deaths at Brazilian World Cup venues – three others in the north at Manaus and another in the capital Brasilia. l

its signing of star Brazilian Neymar.

FIFA fined the Spanish federation 500,000 Swiss francs for their role in the under-age player affair and given one year to modify rules concerning international transfers of minors.

“The Disciplinary Committee regarded the infringements as serious and decided to sanction the club with a transfer ban at both national and international level for two complete and consecutive transfer periods,” a FIFA statement announced. The dramatic sanction follows an investigation last year by FIFA. The world body looked at cases involving players signed by Barcelona between 2009 and 2013.

International rules state that a player has to be at least 18 to be transferred, unless the player falls into one of three specific cases.

REUTERS

FIFA found the club and the Spanish federation guilty of illegal deals involving “the international transfer and first registration of non-Spanish minors with the club”.

The dates of the Spanish transfer windows covered by Wednesday’s punishment are July 1-August 31 for the pre-season window and January 1-February 1 for the mid-season window.

Barcelona were caught out by FIFA’s web-based Transfer Matching System which became mandatory for all international transfers of professional male footballers in October 2010.

FIFA said it took the protection of minors in football “very seriously”, and warned that “young football players are vulnerable to exploitation and abuse in a foreign country without the proper controls”. l

es ourselves, which is a lot against this Atletico team. I love managing a team that always tries to play in this manner.

Atletico Madrid boss Diego Simeone, meanwhile, lauded the effort of his side’s players as they desperately held on in the final 20 minutes after Neymar had brought Barca level.

“I am very happy. The team worked as a group and showed enormous heart. I go through the same feelings and emotions as an Atletico fan and I know the fans can be immensely proud of the effort the team put in tonight.”

However, the Argentine coach refused to say his side now had the upper hand as they take an away goal back to the Vicente Calderon for the return next Wednesday, April 9.l

Pique out for four weeks, Costa to undergo tests Barcelona will be without defender Gerard Pique for the second leg of their Champions League quarter-final against Atletico Madrid and the Copa del Rey final against Real Madrid due to a hairline fracture in his right hip.

The Spanish international is expected to be sidelined for four weeks in total, the club confirmed. Pique had to be substituted just 10 minutes into the Catalans clash against Diego Simeone’s men after falling awkwardly as he contested an aerial ball with Diego Costa.

Atletico frontman Costa then had to be replaced himself 19 minutes later as he pulled up with a hamstring injury. l

Juve taking nothing for granted in Europa Juventus are theoretically only four matches away from a Europa League final date in their own Turin stadium.

But the runaway Italian league leaders are unlikely to go into Thursday’s quarter-final first leg away against French club Lyon taking anything for granted.

That is especially the case after they suffered only their second league defeat in 31 matches at the hands of Napoli at the weekend. So Juve will be keen to make sure that 2-0 reverse does not

signal the start of a slump.

Lyon, one of three sides in the quarter-finals yet to win a major UEFA club

FIXTURES FC Porto AZ Alkmaar Lyon FC Basel

v v v v

Sevilla Benfica Juventus Valencia

trophy along with AZ Alkmaar of the Netherlands and Swiss club Basel, have never faced Juventus, their neighbours from across the Alps, before.

Swiss champions Basel will have to play their first-leg clash against 2004

UEFA Cup winners Valencia behind closed doors after being punished for the violent behaviour of their fans.

UEFA also fined FC Basel 107,000 euros ($147,500) after objects, including cigarette lighters, were thrown on to the pitch in their last-16 clash against Salzburg, with the referee halting the game for 10 minutes.

AZ take on Benfica, last season’s beaten finalists who saw off Tottenham Hotspur in the last round.

The last Spanish representatives, Sevilla, travel to face 2011 winners Porto, who ended Napoli’s interest in the competition with a 3-2 win on aggregate in the last round. l

DHAKA TRIBUNE

Sport

Feni Soccer stun Russell

QUICK BYTES

Death anniversary of Shila Afroza today Today is the second death anniversary of journalist Shila Afroza, who died of cancer on March 3 in 2012. Shila worked at Shaptahik 2000, Bhorer Kagoj and Amar Desh. During her journalism career, she won DRU (Dhaka Reporters Unity) and UNFP award for her creative reporting. A doa mahfil will also be held tomorrow at his father-inlaw‘s residence at Motlab, Chandpur after the Juma prayer. The husband of the deceased, ATM Saeeduzzaman the special correspondent of Daily Kaler Khanto have requested all the wellwishers and relatives of Shila to attend the programme.

–Tribiune Desk

Walton Cricketers emerge as group champs

Walton Cricketers reached the second round of the Chiang Mai International Six-a-Side Cricket as the group champion after beating Perth Postels of New Zealand by six wickets yesterday.

Opting to bat first, the New Zealand outfit were restricted to 28 for three in their stipulated five overs. Walton Cricketers cruised to victory in the very first over without losing any wicket as both Mehrab Hossain Jossy and Ilyas Sunny remained unbeaten on 26 and 4 respectively. The draw of the second round will be revealed today.

–RM

Di Maria misses first leg against Dortmund Real Madrid midfielder Angel di Maria was a late withdrawal from his side’s squad to face Borussia Dortmund in their Champions League quarter-final, first leg on Wednesday after suffering gastroenteritis. The Argentine has become a key part of Carlo Ancelotti’s side since the Italian switched to a 4-33 formation at the start of 2014 and is likely to be replaced by Asier Illarramendi or Isco. Brazilian international left-back Marcelo is also missing for Madrid due to a hamstring strain, whilst Dortmund are without six first-team regulars through injury and suspension, including top scorer Robert Lewandowski.

–AFP

Feni Soccer players celebrate their win against Sheikh Russell during the Independence Cup quarterfinal match at the Bangabandhu National Stadium yesterday COURTESY

Picking seniors backfired: Latif Pakistan’s new cricket chief selector Rashid Latif on Wednesday said relying on senior players had backfired after a familiar batting collapse saw the team crash out from the World Twenty20.

The 2009 champions were crushed by the West Indies on Tuesday night, sliding to an 84-run loss after appearing to panic at the start of their chase.

Latif, who took over as chief selector on Tuesday, said Pakistan’s decision to select too many senior players at the expense of youth had led to their downfall.

“Just like Australia failed in their plans of selecting senior players, Pakistan also fumbled because of selecting senior players,” said the former captain and wicketkeeper.

He declined to name any players but speculation is likely to focus on keeper Kamran Akmal and all-rounder Shoaib Malik, both aged 32 and recalled to the tournament after long periods out of the side.

Akmal scored just 48 runs in four outings, performing only moderately behind the stumps, while Malik hit 52 runs in the tournament and was not given a chance to bowl.

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Both were selected for their experience but could not prevent Pakistan from being shot out for a paltry 82 -their second-lowest total ever -- in pursuit of 167 runs.

“West Indies were outstanding in their batting and Pakistan were shocking,” he said. “They won the match because of outstanding batting and we lost it because of our batsmen.”

After being pinned down for the first 15 overs, Dwayne Bravo (46 off 26 balls) and skipper Darren Sammy (42 off 20) lifted the West Indies by smashing a whopping 82 runs in the last five overs to take their team’s total to 166-5. l

Soccer Club, Feni pulled a major upset in the Modhumoti Bank Independence Cup by throwing defending champions Sheikh Russell out with a 4-3 win in the 2nd quarterfinal at the Bangabanhdu National Stadium yesterday.

The match was stretched to its limit, 90 minutes of the stipulated time plus 30 minutes of extra time before moving on to the shootout with the results locked 2-2. Plenty of drama prevailed in the field as Feni Soccer, boosted by the arrival of the Gambian quartet, proved stronger than Russell’s expectations. The Feni based outfit took the lead before restoring parity in the dying minutes, and keeping their heads cool to reach their first semifinal after the Federation Cup of 2009.

On that occasion Feni Soccer lost to Mohammedan 2-0, but this time they will play against Brothers Union and have a fair chance to move into their first final.

Russell, who won the treble last season with the silverwares of Federation Cup, Independence Cup and the Bangladesh Premier League, failed to defend their second title after losing their second consecutive quarterfinal. Overall they lacked the perfect team spirit and the champions’ temperament.

Feni Soccer took the lead in the 8th minute of the match through their Gambian forward Kabba Jobe and could have gone further up in the 16th

Pietersen keen to mentor future stars

Ten-man Jeonbuk stun champs Guangzhou

Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors joined Guangzhou Evergrande at the top of their AFC Champions League group after a superb strike gave the 10-man Korean side a 1-0 win over the defending champions Wednesday. Guangzhou entered the Group G match at the Jeonju World Cup Stadium with a 12-match unbeaten run in the competition, and a chance to claim a place in the knockout rounds with a victory over their hosts. And their hopes were boosted when the Korean side, who won the tournament in 2006, had Jung Hyuk sent off midway through the second half after the midfielder received his second caution of the game.

But, with 14 minutes remaining, Lee Jae-sung spotted that Leonardo was on the run, and lofted a fine through pass to the Brazilian -- who met it on the edge of the Guangzhou box with a side-footed volley that gave goalkeeper Zeng Cheng no chance. The victory saw Jeonbuk draw level with Guangzhou with seven points, although the Chinese side lead the group because of their better record in the head-tohead matches between the two sides following their 3-1 win over Jeonbuk in southern China two weeks ago.

–AFP

15

Thursday, April 3, 2014

Brazilian soccer star Pele poses with his book, "Why Soccer Matters" before he signs copies at a Barnes & Noble bookstore in New York on Tuesday AFP

Municipal Model High School enter last eight phase The final round of the First Security Islami Bank National School Hockey reached the last eight stage with Municipal Model High School Chittagong, Municipal Preparatory High School, Jessore, Al Hikmah High School, Rajshahi and Armanitola High School Dhaka winning their respective matches yesterday.

In the first match of the day Municipal Model High School and College Chittagong beat Richi High School Habiganj by 4-0 goals. Shariful Islam scored twice while Sanjay Chowdhury and Iskandar Hossain added the other two.

In the second match Municipal Preparatory High School, Jessore defeated Police Line High School, Naryanganj by 5-0 goals. Rocky Alam and Sweet Hossain scored two goals each and the other goal was netted by Raizuddin Naeem.

Al Hikmah High School, Rajshahi continued their winning spree with a 1-0 win over Chittagong University School and College with Ahsan Habib Ridoy scoring the winner.

In the fourth match of the day Armanitola High School Dhaka beat Dharail High School, Natore by 7-0 goals. Tuhin Hossain scored three goals, Shihab Hossain netted two while Jahid Hossain and Al Amin scored one each. l

Kevin Pietersen said Wednesday he was looking forward to sharing the benefits of his experience with international stars of the future now his own England career had been terminated.

“It is good to come to the end of an international career and help others who are the start of an international career,” Pietersen told kiaoval.com.

“I won’t be forceful in my knowledge. But I’ve got experience in training, the mental preparation that goes in to making you successful – which I’ve nailed well.

“So it’s a case of handing over that knowledge, if someone wants it.”

The 33-year-old batsman was sensationally axed by the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) in February following the team’s 5-0 Ashes thrashing in Australia.

That was despite South Africa-born Pietersen being England’s leading runscorer across all formats and their top contributor with the bat during the Ashes debacle too.

Serena stunned by unseeded Cepelova World number one Serena Williams crashed out of the WTA Tour’s Family Circle Cup on Tuesday, losing her opening match in straight sets to world number 78 Jana Cepelova.

The 20-year-old Slovakian Cepelova shocked defending champion Williams 6-4, 6-4 in a second-round match at the clay court tournament in Charleston.

The 17-time Grand Slam winner Wil-

Serena Williams poses for photographs on Crandon Park beach in Key Biscayne, Florida on Saturday AFP

liams complained about being mentally fatigued after the 84 minute contest.

“I am really just dead,” said the 32-year-old American. “I need some weeks off where I don’t think about tennis and can kind of regroup. I’ve had a long couple of years.”

Williams, who won this event in 2013, 2012 and 2008, also had her 15-match tour win streak snapped.

Williams was fresh off winning her sixth Miami title and 59th singles crown after beating world No. 2 Li Na, of China, on the weekend.

“I actually made the turnaround really good,” Williams said. “Obviously things didn’t go great out there.”

Unseeded Cepelova, who appears to be headed for a breakout year, was facing Williams for the first time. Cepelova won 55 percent of her first serves and 71 of 136 total points.

She advances to face Elena Vesnina of Russia, who beat another Slovakian, Anna Schmiedlova, 6-2, 6-1.

Williams, 32, blasted four aces but committed three double faults. She won just 12 of 28 points on her second serve.

“I really knew nothing about her game going into the match,” Williams said. “She was a great counterpuncher.

She played the best she can play.”

Williams said she now wants some time off. l

Although he has re-signed with Surrey to play in all formats for the Ovalbased county, Pietersen’s immediate future is as a Twenty20 ‘gun for hire’, initially with the Delhi Daredevils in the Indian Premier League.

Pietersen also plans to take part in both English domestic T20 with Surrey and the Caribbean Premier League equivalent for an as yet to be decided franchise, even though the two tournaments overlap.

Speaking ahead of the start of the English county season, Pietersen also said he was delighted to be back at The Oval – where he scored his maiden Test hundred in 2005 – and working with new Surrey coach Graham Ford, who has known him since he was a youngster in South Africa.

“I love hitting with Fordy. He is my mentor and he’s an absolute superstar,” Pietersen said. “He gets me and understands my game, so it’s not the worst point to start from.

“Coming back here excites me. Hitting balls again gives me a big buzz. I always love playing at the Oval. I love playing for Surrey. It’s special.” l

minute when Akbar Hossan Ridon, from an advantageous position, shot straight to Biplob. Feni Soccer came close to another strike in the 58th minute after Kabba Jobe cut a neat through pass to Landing Darboe whose angular shot missed the side post.

Francisco Usucar, the Uruguayan midfielder of Russell, saw his fierce shot from 20 yards out fly over the cross piece before Darboe missed a penalty in the 85th minute after Nigerian Chuka Charles was fouled by defender Rezaul Karim in the box. Landing’s shot was punched for a corner by Russell goalkeeper Biplob.

In the 88th minute Jamaican midfielder Ricardo Cousins placing shot deflected off Soccer goalkeeper Nehal and ended inside the post. The assistant referee declared it a goal before it was cleared by a Feni defender.

In the 116h minute of the second half of the extra time Feni Soccer defender Shahinur Rahman Shahin fouled Russell forward Robin inside the box and Pascal scored from the spot kick.

However in the very next minute Nigerian forward Chiuka Charles scored the equaliser after midfielder Rony Islam provided him a square pass and he beat Biplob in the far post.

After 120 minutes of football the match went to shootout where Kabba Jobe, Mathew Mendy, Ajmal Hossain Bidyut and Landing Darboe scored for Feni Soccer while Ali Hasan missed.

Mithun Chowdhury, Savanovic, Pascal scored for Russell while Ricardo Cousins and Francisco Usucar, the two foreigners, let Russell down. l

Ryder Cup skippers anxious for injured Woods Rival Gleneagles Ryder Cup captains Paul McGinley and Tom Watson have expressed hope injured Tiger Woods will be fully fit to compete in September’s Europe versus United States showdown in Scotland.

Woods shocked the golf world in announcing back surgery earlier this week will preclude him from teeing-up in next week’s Masters, an event he has won four times in the past.

And while Woods will be absent from Augusta National, McGinley will be present to work with TV but also to meet with Watson and with the subject of their conversation surely to be this newest injury to strike down the Wwrld number one.

“Tiger’s good for golf, so the sooner he gets back playing, the better,” said Irishman McGinley in Houston on Tuesday.

“Of course I’d like him to play at Gleneagles, and it will be a better Ryder Cup with him there.

Tiger’s one of the world’s greatest players and the Ryder Cup is golf’s greatest event. l

16

DHAKA TRIBUNE

Back Page

Thursday, April 3, 2014

BANGABANDHU 1 SATELLITE

Orbital slot payment deadline missed n Muhammad Zahidul Islam The fate of the much-hyped Bangabandhu 1 satellite project has become uncertain, as Bangladesh could not meet the March 31 deadline for paying $28m in perpetual lease to acquire an orbital slot.

According to government plans, Russia-based satellite company Inter-Sputnik was supposed to provide the desired orbital slot on 119 degree east coordinate, for a single lifetime of 15 years.

Orbital slots are individual rings above the equator that all satellites in geostationary orbit must occupy separately, in order to avoid harmful radio-frequency interference.

On March 9, Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission (BTRC) requested Finance Minister AMA Muhith for allocating funds for paying the lease amount of $28m (Tk218 crore); however, the money was yet to be disbursed.

“As we cannot pay the money now, we need to write to Inter-Sputnik for increasing the deadline for two more months, so that our task is made easier,” a senior official of the Ministry of Post, Telecommunication and Information Technology told the Dhaka Tribune.

The failure to pay the lease may result in the country losing out the desired orbital slot, putting the Tk3,243 crore project for launching the country’s first-ever satellite in jeopardy, ministry officials said.

Telecom Secretary Abubakar Siddique, in a ministry meeting on March 31, directed the project director and officials concerned to request Inter-Sputnik for a deadline extension.

Sources added that losing out the deal with Inter-Sputnik would result in losses of Tk87 crore, which has so far been spent by the government exchequer to secure the services of a consultant.

However, US-based consultant

Space Partnership International (SPI) has ensured the government that it would work six more months on the project without any extra fee or charge.

The Bangabandhu 1 satellite project was launched by the previous Awami League-led government and was listed as a priority project.

Source also said Bangladesh had signed a non-binding agreement with the Inter-Sputnik on 2012 to buy half of the total 3,200 megahertz orbital slot spectrum.

The BTRC was yet to finalise its development project proposal (DPP) for establishing the satellite project, with costs expected to rise over time as a result.

Earlier, the BTRC estimated the project cost at Tk3,243 crore, where the BTRC would finance Tk1,555 crore, while the rest of the Tk1,688 crore would come from foreign sources.

Asked about the issue, Telecom Minister Abdul Latif Siddique said: “No doubt that it is a priority project, but there are some formalities and we need to follow that.”

Earlier, BTRC placed a business proposal to finance minister which claimed that the satellite would reach breakeven within seven years of launching.

According to the BTRC, Bangabandhu 1 could annually save at least $14m, which the country’s 24 television channels have to pay to different foreign satellite companies for transmission.

In January 2012, the Executive Committee of National Economic Council (Ecnec) approved the project, which was scheduled to start on July 1 that year and end by June 30, 2016, according to the draft DPP. Ecnec initially set the timeframe for the project from July 2011 to June 2015.

Apart from the slot from Inter-Sputnik, the BTRC has also filed two more applications seeking separate orbital slots. l

‘BB lied to IMF on autonomy’ n Tribune Report Finance Minister AMA Muhith has alleged that the Bangladesh Bank lied to the visiting delegation of the International Monetary Fund about its autonomy.

The IMF thought that the government had not given the “proper” autonomy to the central bank and it now wanted an action plan on giving the full autonomy, Muhith told reporters after the wrap-up meeting with the IMF ECF mission at his Secretariat office yesterday.

The three-member IMF review mis-

sion led by Extended Credit Facility programme chief Rodrigo Cubero left Dhaka yesterday.

“Bangladesh Bank’s statement on autonomy is totally a lie,” Muhith said.

He pointed out that the Bangladesh Bank was enjoying full autonomy except for appointing and dismissing the members of the board of directors of the state-owned banks.

The government appoints the directors of the 11 state-owned banks but takes opinions from the Bangladesh Bank before recruiting; it fires the directors on its own. l

Bangladesh Navy frigate Abu Bakr leaves the Chittagong naval jetty yesterday to participate in the International Fleet Review 2014 in China’s Qingdao

Malaria patients fall by 70%

Thai PM Yingluck faces new dismissal threat in court

Bangladesh has witnessed a 70% reduction in the number of malaria patients in the past five years, claimed Health Minister Mohammed Nasim yesterday.

In 2008, the number of malaria patients was 83,000 but it now has come down to 26,000. The number of malaria-related deaths dropped by 90% from 194 to a mere 15 during the same period.

Nasim was addressing a press briefing at the secretariat. It was arranged ahead of the World Health Day 2014 scheduled to be observed on April 7 with the theme ‘vector-borne diseases’.

It was said at the briefing that early detection, proper treatment and use of specialised mosquito nets had resulted in this success. Bangladesh would be a malaria-free country by 2020 if the trend continued.

In the written speech at the conference, it was said that key mosquito-borne diseases in Bangladesh include malaria, visceral leishmaniasis (kala-azar), dengue and filariasis, chikungunya, and Japanese encephalitis.

Malaria still prevails in 13 districts across the country, with most cases recorded in CHT districts.

It was said at the briefing that Bangladesh had reduced the number of kala-azar patients by 90%, whie the number of filariasis-affected districts had fallen to 15 from 19, and that denguewas now almost under control because of increased awareness. l

n AFP, Bangkok

n Moniruzzaman Uzzal

Thailand’s Constitutional Court agreed yesterday to consider a petition to remove Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra from office for transferring a top security official -- the latest in a volley of legal challenges by her opponents.

The case was filed by a group of senators who argued that the replacement of then-national security chief Thawil Pliensri after Yingluck was elected in 2011 was for the benefit of her party.

Under the constitution – drawn up in the wake of a 2006 coup that ousted Yingluck’s brother Thaksin Shinawatra as premier – such an offence could lead to her sacking.

Yingluck must present her defence within 15 days of receiving a copy of the petition, according to the ruling.

The Supreme Administrative Court last month ordered Yingluck to reinstate Thawil, saying his transfer was unlawful.

Five months of political street protests have failed to achieve their goal of forcing Yingluck to resign to make way for an unelected interim leader to oversee reforms.

With attendance at the rallies dwindling, Yingluck’s opponents have stepped up their legal moves, accusing her family of abusing their political dominance for personal gain.

Yingluck has been charged by the National Anti-Corruption Commission with neglect of duty in connection with

a flagship rice subsidy scheme that critics say fostered rampant corruption.

If indicted on those charges, Yingluck would be suspended from office and face an impeachment vote in the upper house of parliament that could lead to a five-year ban from politics.

Her opponents applaud the moves against what they see as a corrupt government that uses taxpayers’ money to buy the loyalty of rural northern voters through populist policies like the rice initiative.

But Yingluck’s “Red Shirt” supporters see the legal threats as part of an attempted power grab through Thailand’s courts, which have a history of removing elected governments.

The Red Shirts plan a major rally in Bangkok this weekend to show their support for the government.

The coup that toppled Thaksin ushered in years of political turmoil and bloody street protests by opponents and supporters of the billionaire tycoon-turned-politician, who lives in Dubai to avoid jail for a corruption conviction.

Grenade attacks and shootings linked to the unrest have left 24 people dead and hundreds wounded in recent months, including many demonstrators.

The Constitutional Court last month nullified a February general election disrupted by protesters, leaving the kingdom in legislative limbo with only a caretaker government. l

BANGLAR CHOKH

Standard Chartered chairman in Dhaka

n Tribune Report Sir John Peace, chairman of Standard Chartered PLC, is scheduled to arrive in Dhaka last night on a two-day official visit.

During his tour, he will meet senior officials of the government, and clients and staff of the Standard Chartered Bank.

This is the first time any chairman of the British banking giant is visiting Bangladesh. Sir John Peace will be accompanied by Sunil Kaushal, regional CEO for India and South Asia for the Standard Chartered Bank.

Sir John was appointed chairman of the Standard Chartered PLC board in 2009, after having joined the board in 2007 as deputy chairman.

Sir John was knighted in 2011 for services to business and the voluntary sectors. He is also the chairman of Burberry Group PLC and Experian PLC. l

Former RHD engineer gets 7 years in jail n Md Sanaul Islam Tipu

Asian Palm Civet, left, and Brown Fish Owl

DHAKA TRIBUNE

Endangered wildlife rescued from across country n Abu Bakar Siddique The Forest Department yesterday rescued some rare species of wildlife, including civet, falcon and fish owl, from different parts across the country.

Of the species, an Asian Palm Civet was rescued from a Panchagarth village. Local people said they had recovered the civet in a wounded-state and kept it at a house.

On receiving information, forest officials went there and took it under their custody.

The animal is now under medical supervision at divisional forest office in Rajshahi.

“The species will be released into the woods after it is healed,” said Molla Rezaul Karim, divisional forest officer in Rajshahi.

Asian Palm Civet, a nocturnal mammal which creates musk in the environment by releasing fluid from its body, was once a common sight in Bangladesh, though now it has become difficult to spot in nature because of habitat loss and food scarcity.

“One of the major causes of wildlife species disappearing from nature is hunting carried out by indigenous communities like Santal in the northern region,” said Dr Reza Khan, curator of Dubai Zoo. Officials of Forest Department also rescued a Peregrine Falcon and a Brown Fish Owl from Gaibandha and Bogra respectively.

The forest officials also rescued two spotted doves, locally named as Tila Ghughu, and two Ring-necked Parakeets,

commonly known as Tia, from illegal wildlife sellers at a municipal market in Bogra while conducting a drive against illegal wildlife trade in the area.

Of the rescued species, only the peregrine falcon is migratory while others are native species.

All the species are marked “Least Concern Category” in the International Red Data Book.

However, peregrine, civet and brown fish owl could be considered as endangered in Bangladesh, he said, Once these animals were very common in Bangladesh, but very few of them are seen now, said Reza Khan, adding that the number could be increased if the illegal hunting were stopped. l

A Dhaka court yesterday sentenced a former superintending engineer of Roads and Highways Department to seven years rigorous imprisonment in a corruption case filed in 2006 by the Anti-Corruption Commission.

The convict was Abdul Malek who was charged for amassing wealth through illegal means.

The court also fined Malek Tk1,00,000 with an extra year’s jail in default.

Dhaka Senior Special Judge Md Jahurul Haque delivered the judgment in presence of the convict who was a retired engineer of Roads and Highways Department (RHD) in 2006.

The court acquitted Ambia Khatun, Malek’s wife, of the case as the prosecution failed to prove her guilt.

ACC’s counsel Meer Ahmed Ali Salam told the Dhaka Tribune the court also ordered freezing the FDR account of Malek’s wife and confiscation of his assets – a five-storey building in Pallabi, four apartments in Dhanmondi and one in Gulshan in the capital in favour of the government along with Tk3.1 crore which the engineer earned illegally and deposited with Standard Chartered Bank.

Incumbent Deputy Director of the AntiCorruption Commission SMM Akhter Hamid Bhuiyan who was the then inspector filed a corruption case against the couple on June 5, 2006.

According to the case, Malek amassed movable and immovable properties illegally during his job tenure from 1974 to May 5, 2005.

Complainant Hamid, also investigation officer of the case, pressed the charge sheet on July 15, 2011 against the convict and his wife. l

Editor: Zafar Sobhan, Published and Printed by Kazi Anis Ahmed on behalf of 2A Media Limited at Dainik Shakaler Khabar Publications Limited, 153/7, Tejgaon Industrial Area, Dhaka-1208. Editorial, News & Commercial Office: FR Tower, 8/C Panthapath, Shukrabad, Dhaka 1207.

Phone: 9132093-94, Advertising: 9132155, Circulation: 9132282, Fax: News-9132192, e-mail: news@dhakatribune.com, info@dhakatribune.com, Website: www.dhakatribune.com

B3 Hectic efforts for at-

tracting European entrepreneurs in ICT sector

B4 GM avoided defective

switch redesign in 2005 to save a dollar each

Falling turnover frets stock brokers n Kayes Sohel Continued thin trading at the bourses in recent months has worried brokers, who are in trouble to maintain their operational expenses.

They blamed Bangladesh Bank’s strong monitoring on banks investment in the stock market for declining the volume of trade.

The turnover declined sharply in the last three months and hit year low in the final week of the last month with coming down below Tk300 crore.

“The central bank’s strong vigilance held back institutional investment, pushing the turnover to abnormally low,” said Ahmad Rashid, managing director of Rashid Investment Services.

“This also put retailers on the sidelines. Poor volume of trade hit operational cost,” he said.

BB, however, has largely been held responsible for stock market debacle in late 2010 due to its lax monitoring on banks’ exposure to the stock market.

At that time the banks heavily invested in the stock market and made windfall profits at the cost of burning fingers of retailers. “This mainly had led the BB to be cautious this time,” said an official at the BB. BB on February 25 asked banks to give a breakdown of daily investments in stocks in the monthly report submitted to the central bank on the 10th of every month. Before the directive, the

banks provided their total investment figure to BB, which it believed does not reflect the true picture.

The central bank also asked the banks to submit their plan on reducing their excessive exposure to the stock market in line with the bank company law and brokers to provide individual investor source of fund in line with the anti-money laundering law.

According to the bank company law, banks cannot invest more than 50% of their equity, including their subsidiary companies exposure, and the central bank gave them time until July 2016 to bring down their exposure.

According to the BB, as of December last year, banks and their subsidiaries’ exposure stands above 50% of their capital on average. It stands at 150% for many.

To find out causes for declining volume and its way out, the Dhaka Stock Exchange sit with the top 30 brokerage firms yesterday.

Dhaka Stock Exchange chief executive officer Swapan Kumar Bala said the volume of trade declined alarmingly in the recent months. This worried brokers and many subsidiary companies have to sale their shares instead of buying to adjust their exposure.

Brokers also demanded to step up monitoring of listed companies, allowing opening new branch, implementation of trading settlement to two days from existing three days and introducing work station, he said. l

THURSDAY, APRIL 3, 2014 www.dhakatribune.com/business

Bangladesh needs $74bn by 2020 to improve infrastructure: WB Report n

Tribune Report

Bangladesh needs to invest as much as $74bn in infrastructure by 2020 to bring its power grids, roads and water supplies up to the standard, the World Bank said yesterday.

The amount is 7.38% of the country’s GDP per year and second highest among South Asian region that needs $2.5tn on infrastructure by 2020 to serve its growing population, the bank said in a new report.

The report titled “Reducing Poverty

by Closing South Asia’s Infrastructure Gap” is the first analysis of the region’s infrastructure needs by the World Bank.

It says the region, which includes Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka, could address its “enormous” infrastructure needs by tapping private and public sector funds as well as by introducing reforms.

In 1990-2012, Bangladesh attracted only $10.140bn from the private sector in telecom and energy sectors, which is 1.14% of GDP (2007-2012) and 2.83% of total private participation in infrastructure (PPI), the report says.

But it failed to attract PPI in water supply and sanitation, transport to serve the people best.

“Many people in South Asia remain unconnected to a reliable electricity grid, a safe water supply, sanitary sewerage disposal, and sound roads and transport networks,” said Philippe Le Houérou,

Vice President for the South Asia Region at the World Bank, while releasing the report through video conference.

Luis Andres, report co-author and lead economist for Sustainable Development for the South Asia Region said: “The South Asia region continues to suffer from a combination of insufficient economic growth, slow urbanisation, and huge infrastructure gaps that together could jeopardise future progress.”

To bring its infrastructure up to scratch, the bank said the region needs to invest between 6.6% and 9.9% of 2010 GDP a year.

That is as much as three percentage points over the current 6.9% invested by the region, which includes Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka, in

2009.

More than a quarter of the population still lack access to electricity, far more than the less than 10% who lack it in other parts of the developing world.

The bank said governments should ensure infrastructure access extended to the people who need it the most – women, the poor and marginalised groups – and move away from a “build, neglect, and rebuild” mindset by investing in the rehabilitation and maintenance of infrastructure assets.

In South Asia only 71% of the population has access to electricity, ahead of Sub-Saharan Africa at 35%, but well behind the rest of the developing world at above 90%. According to businesses in South Asia, a lack of electricity is the biggest barrier to their growth. l

IFC finances $20m for power project n Tribune Report

‘Substandard’ solar firms blasted as they seek budget support n Syed Samiul Basher Anik National Board of Revenue Chairman Ghulam Hussain came down heavily on “substandard” solar panel installers as they sought budget support in the next fiscal year.

He alleged that the solar power companies were not providing quality products, making the users suffer a lot.

The criticisms came when the solar firms asked for an allocation of Tk2,500 crore in the FY2014-15 budget’s annual development programme (ADP).

At a pre-budget with the NBR, they sought the support from the “Climate Changes Mitigation Fund” and said the amount is reasonable considering the allocation given to power sector.

Bangladesh Solar and Renewable Energy Association (BSREA) also demanded withdrawal of import duty, value added tax

(Vat) and other taxes imposed on the solar system equipment, accessories and components used in fiberglass bio gas digester tank factory.

Currently, the sector needs to pay customs duty, supplementary duty, Vat, advance income tax, regulatory duty and advance trade Vat on import of equipment and accessories.

The association proposed to keep only 5% AIT and remove all other taxes.

It also proposed to raise a revolving fund of Tk1,200 crore by Bangladesh Bank as Green Fund with a single digit interest and a repayment tenure of 12-15 years.

BSREA said the irrigation by solar systems can save up to $100m as paid in subsidies for diesel and provide an option for 3.5m CREs per annum worth over $50m.

In response to its demands, the revenue body chief blasted the solar panel provid-

Food makers seek tax waivers n Tribune Report The food and beverage producers proposed reducing duty and grant tax waivers in the upcoming national budget.

Proposals were placed at a pre-budget meet with National Board of Revenue (NBR) at its office in Dhaka yesterday.

The confectionary makers urged the revenue body to raise value added tax (Vat) free ceiling to Tk150 in a purchase.

In the current budget, the ceiling has been set at Tk100 for the confectionary makers which include biscuit, cake and bread etc. producers.

“We suffered big losses during political turmoil while prices of raw materials have also soared. In these circumstances, we seek raising of Vatfree limit to recover the business,” said Hannan Mia, general secretary of Bangladesh Bread, Biscuit and Confectionary Manufacturers Association.  B3 COLUMN 5

ers for their “substandard service.”

He termed the service as “tormenting” to the users, citing his personal experiences.

“I installed a solar panel system in my village house. But it caused a huge sufferings to me.”

Golam Hossain said the government had given the solar companies ample facilities to make the renewable energy popular.

“You must ensure that you are providing quality products. But you supply Chinese low quality products in the name of high quality German or Japanese products.”

“But we do not import any such products from Germany.”

NBR chief said he had started using solar power at his rural homestead to encourage the local people so that they also used environment-friendly energy.

“But the things went opposite. It put  B3 COLUMN 5

CNG station owners term min income tax limit ‘illogical’

n Tribune Report CNG filing owners association yesterday urged the National Board of Revenue (NBR) to remove 0.50% minimum income tax limit on the total revenue earned by the CNG filing stations as they term the imposed tax is ‘illogical’.

The government has fixed the selling price of feed gas at Tk23 per cubic meter  B3 COLUMN 5

IFC, a member of the World Bank Group, has invested $20.2 million in Regent Energy & Power Limited to help develop an independent thermal power project in Ghorashal.

The project will sell all output to the national electric power company, the Bangladesh Power Development Board, increasing the supply of reliable and low cost electricity that will contribute to economic growth, said a press release.

Nearly 50% of the population in Bangladesh does not have access to electricity.

This project will add low-cost power generation capacity in the country to improve access to power, reaching an estimated 1.8 million additional residential consumers.

The power generated will also support local industry to efficiently and competitively manufacture their products and create jobs.

The Regent plant will be established at a total cost of $84.2 million and is

owned by Habib Group, a well-known business group, with stakes in textiles, steel, aviation, fertilizer, paper and power.

In addition to IFC, Infrastructure Development Company Limited and Bangladesh Infrastructure Finance Fund Limited will contribute $33.8 million to the project.

“With massive growth in energy demand in Bangladesh, this project can add reliable and sustainable capacity to the power network,” said Yasin Ali, Managing Director of Habib Group.

Regent Energy & Power is IFC’s first investment in the power sector in Bangladesh since its investment in the country’s first independent power project in 1998.

“The project demonstrates that private sector can help the government meet growing demand for electricity.

It is the first of several recent power projects in Bangladesh being considered for investments by IFC,” said Kyle F Kelhofer, IFC Country Manager.

IFC’s total investment in Bangladesh for FY 13 was $774 million. l

Remittance rises 8.5% in March n Tribune Report The remittance inflow into the country increased by 8.5% or $100m to $1.27bn in March from the previous month, according to Bangladesh Bank data released yesterday.

The country received $1.17bn in remittance in February which was 7% lower from the previous month.

The foreign exchange reserve reached at $19.15bn at the end of February despite slow growth in remittance, but moderate growth in export earnings.

The growth of remittance was slowed since one year due to falling manpower export, political unrest and sluggish investment climate, said a senior executive of Bangladesh Bank.

Remittance inflow increased as the business activities began to move slowly after the national election which was almost stuck up for last one year, he said. Bangladesh Bank also took steps to support the expatriate to send remittance easy and hassle-free, which also led higher inflow.

The growth of remittance was slowed since one year due to falling manpower export, political unrest and sluggish investment climate Of the remittance received in March, $398m through state-owned commercial banks, $15.52m through specialised banks, $840.69m through private commercial banks and $19m through foreign commercial banks.

Manpower export from Bangladesh has significantly declined as no new job market was created overseas in more than a year.

Moreover, many of the major recipient countries continued restricting recruitment from Bangladesh.

The major countries to recruit manpower from Bangladesh are Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates (UAE), Kuwait, Qatar, Malaysia, Oman and Singapore, of which, Saudi Arabia, UAE, Kuwait and Oman have imposed restriction on recruitment from Bangladesh.

Only four lakh workers migrated to different countries in 2013 compared to over six lakh in 2012, according to a report by the Refugee and Migratory Movements Research Unit (RMMRU).

To boost remittance inflow, Bangladesh Bank has created separate savings instruments for non-resident Bangladeshis (NRBs).

The instruments include, among others, non-resident foreign currency deposits, US dollar premium bonds and wage-earners’ development bonds, according to Bangladesh Bank.

Smart cards or mobile phone banking services were also introduced to facilitate sending home the remittance. l

Bangladesh to host single-country trade show in South Africa n Tribune Report

Bangladesh is going to host a four-day single country trade show in South Africa to showcase products as part of its efforts to explore new markets.

“Branding Bangladesh Trade Show in South Africa” will be held at Cape Town from June 3-4, where about 70 participants would exhibit their products. Branding Bangladesh is the organiser of the show.

Business stressed the need for a High Commission of South Africa in Bangladesh to boost bilateral business.

Complexity in getting visa of South Africa and high tax to enter into the African markets are the barriers to increase exports, BGMEA Vice President SM Mannan Kochi told a press conference at National Press Club.

Currently, the exporters have to pay 30-40% tax for exporting products to South African countries.

Noor-E Helal Saifur Rahman, Director General (Africa wing) of Ministry of Foreign Affairs said the South Africa has given as-

surance that it would establish mission in Bangladesh this year and the issue would be confirmed after its election to be held on June 7.

A participant has to pay Tk3 lakh for a stall and two people would be allowed per stall, said Mohammad Zahid Hossain, organising partner of the show.

The package would include visa processing, establishment of stalls, legal support and publicity facilities, he said.

The show is aimed at showcasing the Bangladesh products and there will have business-to-business meeting to become familiar with the business en-

vironment, said Zahid.

Ministry of Foreign Affairs, High Commission of Bangladesh in South Africa, Export Promotion Bureau (EPB) in association with BGMEA, BKMEA, BTMA, Bangladesh Association of Pharmaceutical Industries, Bangladesh Association of Software and Information Services (BASIS), Banglacraft and Bangladesh Plastic Goods Manufacturers and Exporters Association jointly are organising the show.

In the last fiscal year, Bangladesh’s export earnings from garment sector stood at $57.7 million and total export valued $65 million. l

B2

DHAKA TRIBUNE

Stock DSE GAINERS

Stocks gain for third day with higher turnover

DSE key features April 2, 2014

n Tribune Report

Traded Issues

296

Issue Gain (Avg. Price Basis)

215

Issue Loss (Avg. Price Basis)

73

5,003.97 77,524,504

Number of Contract

the Financial Reporting Act, 2013,” it said. IDLC Investments said the day’s rally was supported by ongoing dominance from large caps.

Additionally, the market sentiment got added boost from quarterly earnings expectation, it said.

Zenith Investments said as the overall market kicks into gear, few stocks with less promising trend also went up with other fundamentally sound scrips. Investors should remain vigilant, and carefully pick their stocks before making any swift decisions, it said.

Gainers took a strong lead over the losers as out of 296 issues traded, 207 advanced, 75 declined and 14 issues remained unchanged on the DSE. All the large cap sectors posted hefty gains. Food and allied remained the top gaining sector with over 3% gain, followed by pharmaceuticals 2.6% and, fuel and power over 2%.

Banking sector pulled back sharply gaining 1.2% market capitalisation and topped as the top volume generating stocks in the day’s session.

Other than that, engineering, fuel and power, and pharmaceuticals sectors were also advanced with sector capitalisation up by 2.3%, 2.2% and 2.5% respectively. l

Stocks gained for the third consecutive session yesterday with significant improvement in turnover, as investors continued to snap up heavyweight stocks.

The market opened with a positive note and the upward trend continued till close.

At the end of the session, the benchmark DSEX ended at 4,595 with a rise of 69 points or 1.6 %. It is its single-day highest rally in recent months.

The blue chips comprising index DS30 rose 28 points or 1.8% to close at 1,646. The Shariah index DSES went up by 14 points or 1.5% to close at 1,001. Turnover crossed Tk500 crore at DSE after 15 trading sessions, registering more than 58% increase over the previous session’s value of Tk315 crore.

“Three days of uptrend in a row suggests that market is benefiting from optimism about expectation of improved corporate profitability of listed companies in coming days,” said Lanka Bangla Securities.

“Positive sentiment was also generated by pledge of Asian Development Bank to continue to provide US$130m financial support for share market reform program as the government is planning to table

Company

Turnover (Million Taka) Turnover (Volume)

89,873

Unchanged Issue (Avg. Price Basis)

8

Market Capital Equity (Billion. Tk.)

2,301.63

Market Capital Equity (Billion US$)

27.90

Turnover (Million Taka)

351.05

Turnover (Volume)

9,008,161

Number of Contract

12,837

DSE Broad Index :

4595.80704

(+) 1.52%

▲

Traded Issues

226

DSE Shariah Index :

4595.80704

(+) 1.43%

▲

Issue Gain (Avg. Price Basis)

169

DSE - 30 Index :

1646.50485

(+) 1.73%

▲

Issue Loss (Avg. Price Basis)

54

CSE All Share Index:

14158.6708

(+) 1.53%

▲

Unchanged Issue (Avg. Price Basis)

2

CSE - 30 Index :

11856.9104

(+) 1.11%

▲

Market Capital Equity (Billion. Tk.)

2,186.94

8901.7877

(+) 1.69%

▲

Market Capital Equity (Billion US$)

26.51

CSE Selected Index : DSE LOSERS

Hakkani P& Paper -B Shampur Sugar -Z Familytex (BD) Ltd.-N Zeal Bangla Sugar -Z Savar Refractories-Z Desh Garments -B Ambee Pharma -A Argon Denims Limited-A

-7.84 -7.29 -6.76 -6.31 -6.27 -5.77 -5.06 -5.03

Average (% change) -5.56 -7.64 -7.24 -6.92 -8.26 -3.35 -4.66 -4.00

Anwar Galvanizing-B Sonali Ansh -A

-4.92 -4.86

-4.55 -2.91

Company

Closing (% change)

CSE LOSERS

Hakkani P& Paper -B Familytex (BD) Ltd.-N AB Bank 1st Mutual Fund-A Apex Foods -A Aziz PipesZ Ambee Pharma -A Anwar Galvanizing-B Imam Button -Z

-8.53 -7.62 -6.33 -6.03 -5.61 -4.91 -4.89 -4.76

Average (% change) -5.13 -6.70 -6.71 -5.88 -5.76 -6.61 -5.97 -4.08

Monno Ceramic -B National Polymer -A

-3.95 -3.72

-2.75 -2.29

Company

Closing (% change)

ANALYST

Closing average

Closing

Bank NBFI Investment Engineering Food & Allied Fuel & Power Jute Textile Pharma & Chemical Paper & Packaging Service Leather Ceramic Cement Information Technology General Insurance Life Insurance Telecom Travel & Leisure Miscellaneous Debenture

DSE Million Taka 380.63 120.66 62.54 361.59 1436.24 454.53 10.29 415.35 419.61 1.81 138.36 65.53 17.59 417.66 29.28 50.36 81.40 262.93 60.95 215.21 1.45

Turnover in million

Daily low

Latest EPS

Latest PE

34.50 8.95 58.91 10.49 60.00 120.52 310.73 58.98

34.10 8.90 57.90 10.40 61.30 119.20 305.60 58.50

36.00 9.10 62.50 10.60 62.00 125.60 320.70 61.70

34.00 8.70 57.70 10.10 60.10 118.40 303.00 56.00

1.811 0.017 80.320 0.108 0.021 7.858 4.257 12.329

0.28 -50.84 7.26 -25.08 0.60 1.18 5.01 3.33

123.2 -ve 8.1 -ve 100.0 102.1 62.0 17.7

31.26 155.66

30.90 152.70

32.50 164.20

30.70 152.00

8.597 10.211

0.02 0.88

1563.0 176.9

Closing average

Closing

Daily high

Turnover in million

Daily low

Latest EPS

34.30 58.20 7.40 115.30 18.50 308.00 31.10 8.00

35.60 67.50 7.60 116.00 18.50 310.00 31.50 8.00

34.00 57.90 7.20 115.30 18.50 306.00 31.00 8.00

0.487 13.105 0.125 0.110 0.001 0.340 0.390 0.008

0.28 7.26 0.52 3.56 0.59 5.01 0.02 -2.58

124.3 8.3 14.2 32.4 31.4 61.6 1559.5 -ve

36.73 68.15

36.50 67.20

37.10 71.40

36.20 66.50

0.241 0.802

0.38 1.70

96.7 40.1

Three days of uptrend in a row suggests that market is benefiting from optimism about expectation of improved corporate profitability of listed companies in coming days

CSE GAINERS Company Standard Insurance-A Delta Brac HFCL-A Phoenix Finance-A Golden Son -A Usmania Glass -A Mercantile Bank -A Eastern Cables-Z ICB -A Uttara Finance -A AIBL 1st Is. M. F.-A

% change 7.61 2.41 1.25 7.23 28.70 9.08 0.21 8.30 8.39 0.04 2.76 1.31 0.35 8.35 0.59 1.01 1.63 5.25 1.22 4.30 0.03

Million Taka 37.93 9.59 4.85 27.79 31.31 51.01 61.38 26.55 37.21 9.85 39.31 2.32 33.21 5.70 3.18 4.97 34.52 18.47 22.00 0.07

% change 8.22 2.08 1.05 6.02 6.79 11.06 0.00 13.31 5.76 8.07 2.14 8.52 0.50 7.20 1.24 0.69 1.08 7.48 4.00 4.77 0.02

Million Taka 418.56 130.26 67.38 389.37 1467.55 505.55 10.29 476.74 446.16 39.02 148.21 104.84 19.91 450.86 34.98 53.53 86.37 297.45 79.42 237.21 1.52

Total

Closing (% change) 10.00 9.97 9.61 9.52 9.46 6.25 5.74 5.52 5.34 5.19

Average (% change) 10.00 9.97 8.92 7.08 8.90 3.87 5.75 5.00 4.86 4.80

DELTASPINN: The Company has informed that Bangladesh Securities and Exchange Commission (BSEC) vide its letter dated April 01, 2014 has approved the Rights offer of Delta Spinners Limited for 91,725,600 ordinary shares of Tk. 10.00 each at par totaling Tk. 91,72,56,000.00 at a ratio of 2R:1, i.e. two Rights shares for one existing share. The approval has been accorded subject to the condition that the Company shall comply with the requirements embodied in the Securities and Exchange Commission (Rights Issue) Rules, 2006 and other relevant laws and Regulatory Requirements, and shall also adhere to the conditions imposed by BSEC under Section-2CC of the Securities and Exchange Ordinance, 1969. The purpose of issuance of Rights shares is to Balancing, Modernization and Replacement (BMR) of the existing textile spinning mill, Expansion through product diversification, Partial repayment of Long Term Lease/Long Term Loans of the Financial Institutions.

Board Meeting: NORTHRNINS on April 03, 2014 at 4:00 PM. PHOENIXFIN on April 06, 2014 at 3:30 PM.

DSE TURNOVER LEADERS Company BATBCL -A LafargeS Cement-Z Grameenphone-A Padma Oil Co. -A Square Pharma -A Eastern Housing -A Mercantile Bank -A

CSE

9.96 9.39 8.34 7.95 6.44 6.23 6.14 5.80 5.65 5.49

Average (% change) 7.80 8.46 2.92 5.89 9.17 3.63 3.15 2.89 3.85 3.80

Closing average 54.02 202.56 160.96 18.70 432.37 1,202.92 62.45 14.22 24.02 56.84

Closing average 36.30 64.00 30.78 53.97 202.42 18.26 160.26 1817.25 72.87 8.08

Closing 55.20 202.70 167.60 19.00 434.80 1,215.20 64.00 14.60 24.30 57.60

Closing 36.30 64.00 30.80 55.20 202.50 18.70 160.30 1826.30 73.00 8.10

Daily high 55.20 202.70 170.00 19.10 439.00 1,215.30 64.30 14.90 24.50 59.00

Daily high 36.30 64.00 30.90 55.40 202.50 18.90 166.50 1830.00 73.00 8.10

Daily low 48.00 180.00 155.00 15.90 425.80 1,140.00 54.30 12.50 23.20 52.40

Daily low 36.30 64.00 30.00 50.90 195.00 17.50 155.00 1790.00 72.80 8.00

Turnover in million 53.288 88.769 9.384 91.432 1.643 18.104 30.120 46.320 12.946 4.980

Turnover in million 0.036 0.032 0.985 4.977 2.316 4.745 0.401 0.363 0.062 0.049

Latest EPS

Latest PE

3.35 5.10 1.40 3.00 5.32 46.53 5.35 0.98 1.65 2.56

16.1 39.7 115.0 6.2 81.3 25.9 11.7 14.5 14.6 22.2

Latest EPS

Latest PE

2.96 3.46 2.60 3.35 5.10 3.00 1.40 40.46 7.49 1.24

12.3 18.5 11.8 16.1 39.7 6.1 114.5 44.9 9.7 6.5

USMANIAGL: The Company will be placed in "A" category from existing "Z" category with effect from April 02, 2014 as the Company reported disbursement of cash dividend @ 11% and stock dividend @ 10% for the year ended on June 30, 2013.

UCBL: The Company has further informed that the 31st AGM of the Company will be held on April 17, 2014 at 11:30 AM at Ocean Paradise Hotel & Resort, 28-29 Hotel Motel Zone, Kolatoli Road, Cox's Bazar.

Other information of the AGM will remain unchanged.

JAMUNABANK: The Company has further informed that the 13th AGM of the Company will be held on May 08, 2014 at 10:00 AM at Police Convention Hall, Eskaton Carden Road, Ramna, Dhaka. Other information of the AGM will remain unchanged.

RIGHT SHARE: ARAMITCEM: Subscription 23.03.2014 to 17.04.2014. RD for entitlement of rights share: 09.01.2014.

RUPALILIFE- Subscription 06.04.2014 to 05.05.2014. RD for entitlement of rights share: 16.01.2014. BRACBANK: Subscription 20.04.2014 to 15.05.2014. RD for entitlement of rights share: 10.02.2014.

GENNEXT: Subscription 18.03.2014 to 09.04.2014, RD: 25.02.2014.

IPO Subscription: The Peninsula Chittagong Limited subscription date 30 March-03 April 2014, NRB upto 12 April 2014. @ taka 30, face value taka 10 and market lot 200. Shahjibazar Power Co. Limited subscription date 06-04 April 2014, NRB upto 19 April 2014. @ taka 25, face value taka 10 and market lot 200.

Dividend/AGM FAMILYTEX: 100% stock, AGM: 15.05.2014, Record Date: 22.04.2014.

SIBL: 12% cash, AGM: 31.05.2014, Record Date: 24.04.2014.

RUPALIINS: 10% cash & 10% stock, AGM: 28.04.2014, Record Date: 10.04.2014.

BEACHHATCH: 15% stock, EGM and AGM: 14.05.2014, Record Date for EGM and AGM: 17.04.2014.

MERCANBANK: 8% cash & 12% stock, AGM: 12.06.2014, Record date: 09.04.2014.

APEXFOOT: 55% cash, AGM: 14.05.2014, Record date: 16.04.2014.

JAMUNABANK: 15% stock, AGM: 08.05.2014, Record date: 16.04.2014.

Latest PE

34.80 60.12 7.37 115.46 18.50 308.49 31.19 8.00

SECTORAL TURNOVER SUMMARY Sector

Daily high

Golden Son -A Usmania Glass -A Eastern Cables-Z Mercantile Bank -A Renwick Jajneswar-A Marico BD Ltd-A S Purbanchol Power-N UNITED AIR-A GBB Power Ltd-A AramitCementA

Closing (% change)

News, analysis and recent disclosers

CSE key features April 2, 2014

Daily capital market highlights

Thursday, April 3, 2014

% change 7.66 2.38 1.23 7.12 26.85 9.25 0.19 8.72 8.16 0.71 2.71 1.92 0.36 8.25 0.64 0.98 1.58 5.44 1.45 4.34 0.03

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

Usmania Glass -A BSC-A Delta SpinnersA

Familytex (BD) Ltd.-N BD Submarine Cable-A Olympic Ind. -A National Tubes -A Meghna Petroleum -A CSE TURNOVER LEADERS Company LafargeS Cement-Z

Grameenphone-A UNITED AIR-A Padma Oil Co. -A Familytex (BD) Ltd.-N BSC-A BD Submarine Cable-A Square Pharma -A Eastern Housing -A Delta SpinnersA UCBL - A BEXIMCO Ltd. -A Appollo Ispat CL -N aamra technologies-A Golden Son -A

Volume shares 493,373 5,994,000 921,993 486,992 601,204 1,970,175 4,890,649 438,240 130,270 2,120,400

1,363,500 293,985 282,872 330,928 198,771

Volume shares

530,500 103,800 1,229,102 42,070 218,000 18,395 56,626 39,970 160,475 215,000 301,107 210,661 194,800 133,425 92,225

Value in million 1233.14 319.51 201.97 169.48 165.10 116.34 91.43 88.77 84.89 82.76

80.32 60.96 60.12 58.11 55.53

Value in million

28.23 22.76 17.74 14.65 13.11 12.01 11.76 10.99 9.43 8.41 7.05 6.50 5.28 5.07 4.98

% of total turnover 24.64 6.39 4.04 3.39 3.30 2.33 1.83 1.77 1.70 1.65

1.61 1.22 1.20 1.16 1.11

% of total turnover

8.48 6.84 5.33 4.40 3.94 3.61 3.53 3.30 2.84 2.53 2.12 1.96 1.59 1.52 1.50

Daily closing 2522.70 51.20 220.00 346.50 275.00 59.00 19.00 202.70 649.50 37.30

57.90 206.00 212.80 176.10 278.70

Daily closing

51.10 219.90 14.60 346.60 58.20 649.50 207.20 275.60 58.50 37.60 23.70 31.10 27.30 37.90 55.20

Price change 4.24 -1.92 1.99 0.41 1.74 3.87 7.95 9.39 1.56 -4.85

Daily opening 2420.20 52.20 215.70 345.10 270.30 56.80 17.60 185.30 639.50 39.20

Price change

Daily opening

-6.76 0.64 1.58 -0.68 0.47

-2.29 2.09 5.04 0.61 -7.62 1.60 1.02 1.89 3.17 -4.33 3.95 4.71 2.63 2.16 9.52

62.10 204.70 209.50 177.30 277.40

52.30 215.40 13.90 344.50 63.00 639.25 205.10 270.50 56.70 39.30 22.80 29.70 26.60 37.10 50.40

Daily high 2539.90 54.50 220.40 355.00 275.90 60.20 19.10 202.70 660.00 42.30

Daily low 2300.00 51.10 202.00 315.00 260.00 51.50 15.90 180.00 640.00 36.90

Daily average 2499.40 53.31 219.06 348.01 274.61 59.05 18.70 202.56 651.68 39.03

Daily high

Daily low

Daily average

62.50 215.00 215.00 183.80 281.40

54.40 220.50 14.80 351.60 67.50 660.00 209.90 276.10 60.60 43.00 23.80 31.40 27.50 38.40 55.40

57.70 186.80 193.00 167.00 265.00

50.80 215.10 13.70 344.50 57.90 640.00 206.00 269.80 56.70 37.20 22.90 29.60 26.50 37.50 50.90

58.91 207.35 212.52 175.60 279.36

53.20 219.29 14.43 348.34 60.12 652.89 207.66 274.97 58.79 39.13 23.40 30.88 27.11 37.98 53.97

DHAKA TRIBUNE

Business

Thursday, April 3, 2014

B3

Hectic efforts for attracting European Robi’s smartphone fair kicks off today entrepreneurs in ICT sector n Muhammad Zahidul Islam Both the government and the country’s information communication technology (ICT)-based entrepreneurs have jointly launched a massive drive for attracting the potential European entrepreneurs to the emerging ICT sector in Bangladesh.

As part of the move, Bangladesh Association of Software and Information Services (BASIS), the apex body of the Software and Information, has been organising a series of meeting not only in Dhaka but also in various cities in Europe to attract investors.

BASIS yesterday held the EuropeBangladesh Technology Summit 2014 B2B Matchmaking session & seminar on “Business Partnership Opportunities for Foreign IT companies” in partnership with Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands and Nyenrod Business University.

The special business session, which was held at the BASIS office, also aimed at convincing the European investors, especially from the Netherlands.

Addressing the session, all the speakers sought more investment from the European countries in the country’s ICT-based industry.

A delegation comprised of ten Dutch IT companies took part in the day-long event which also included consultation between the Dutch delegation and the

Dollar up in Asia n AFP, Tokyo The dollar extended its gains against the yen in Asia yesterday after upbeat manufacturing data from the United States and Europe boosted sentiment ahead of key US jobs figures this week.

In Tokyo afternoon trading, the greenback fetched 103.76 yen, up from 103.66 yen in New York Tuesday.

“If the (jobs data on Friday) beat the market forecast, the dollar may start rising toward 105 yen,” said Masafumi Yamamoto, chief strategist at Praevidentia Strategy.

The euro rose to 143.26 yen from 142.98 yen, while also edged up to $1.3805 from $1.3793.

Regional sentiment was already up after China said Tuesday its official purchasing managers index ticked up in March after hitting an eight-month low in February, beating expectations.

Later, Markit Economics said its eurozone PMI for March stood at 53. The figure is down from February’s 53.2 but the average reading over the first quarter as a whole was 53.4, which it said was the "best outcome since the second quarter of 2011." l

local entrepreneurs.

Dutch companies have expressed their keen interests to invest here in ICT related-service sector. They, however, wanted to know about the investment security situation in Bangladesh.

Replying to a quarry BASIS president Shameem Ahsan said, “Our ICT polity is the world’s most modern polity where industry people led in the policy making process.”

Regarding political uncertainty Shameem Ahsan said: We had faced some challenges during election period but we have already overcome such a volatile situation. Besides Bangladesh, some other countries like India and Vietnam also face the same sort of crisis but political instability can’t hold back our growths in the ICT sector.

Zunaid Ahmed Palak, state minister of ICT division said, “We have identified ICT as a key pillar and tools for the country’s socio-economic transformation and development.”

The government has demonstrated a determination to promote ICT services industry in the country – providing cheaper bandwidth and alternate connectivity, he added.

“Moreover, the government has taken appropriate and immediate measures in creating world class IT infrastructure by setting up dozen of Hi-Tech Park in different parts of the country.’’

The visiting Dutch delegation, which will visit Kaliakoir Hi-Tech Park today, is scheduled to attend more networking sessions.

AKM Fahim Mashroor, director of

BASIS, in his presentation said: "There has been no corporate tax for software and IT services and zero tax for the import of computer and hardware in Bangladesh. Simultaneously, foreign companies can also repatriate 100% of their profits."

Fahim Mashroor, former president of the BASIS, informed the Dutch entrepreneurs that the foreign currency regulation of Bangladesh is very simple while copy right and information security law is very resilient.

BASIS also advised the Nordics business delegation to hold meeting with Bangladesh Bank officials and the Board of Investment to get more information for building up their confidence.

BASIS informed the export revenue in this sector has witnessed an enormous increase from US$24m to $200m in last five years while they have targeted to reach $1bn within next five years.

The seminar was attended, among others, by Nazrul Islam Khan, secretary of ICT division and Carel Richter, Charge d’ Affaires, Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands.

Earlier, Bangladeshi delegate visited Hannover in Germany, Copenhagen in Denmark and Oslo in Norway as part of the move to attract the European investors in the country’s ICT sector.

“A Danish delegation will visit Bangladesh in June,” disclosed Russel T Ahmed, secretary general of BASIS. l

Pharma giant Azbil Telstar opens new center in Bangladesh n Moniruzzaman Uzzal Azbil Telstar, which operates in over 100 countries and has 7 production plants, 7 technology centers and 13 consulting and engineering services centers all over the world, opens its new center in Bangladesh.

The globally reputed company will run its activities in Bangladesh as a joint venture company of Japan-SpainBangladesh under the banner of “Azbil Telstar Bangladesh Limited (ATBD).

Health minister Mohammed Nasim formally inaugurated the new center of Azbil Telstar yesterday in a city hotel.

Speaking as chief guest, Mohammed Nasim has assured of extending allout support from the government for ensuring further growth and development of the pharmaceutical industries in Bangladesh.

“Beside RMG sector, the pharmaceutical industry is also growing fast as it has been contributing a lot in the national economy.”

Nasim has urged the pharmaceutical company owners to remain alert against the production of fake and substandard drugs as a section of dishonest people has been trying to tarnish the goodwill of the pharmaceuticals sector by manufacturing such fake drugs.

The opening of Telstar’s new center, which is specifically focused on reinforcing a professional and specialized service in the Asia-Specific region’s pharmaceuticals market, is in response to a requirement to promote growth in a region where the company has been active over the past 10 years.

In Bangladesh Azbil Telstar had previous experience of working with Square, Beximco, JMI, and Beckon, SK&F and other few pharmaceuticals company. They had earlier established different high tech solutions in design, engineering, construction and manufacturing process with automation technologies of these companies.

Through the opening of the new center, the Telstar brand is now repre-

sented in this region by three specialised production plants and engineering centers in China, Bangladesh and India, to provide specialised engineering and construction projects , equipment design and manufacture and consultancy services for the life sciences sector.

The inaugural ceremony was attended, among others, by Abdul Muktadir, secretary general of Bangladesh Association of Pharmaceuticals Industry (BAPI), Tapan Chowdhury, Managing Director of Square Pharmaceuticals, Major General Md. Jahangir hossain Mollick, Director General (DG) of Directorate General of Drug administration (DGDA), Luis Tajeda, ambassador of Spain, Shiro Sadoshima, ambassador of Japan, S.A.Khan, Managing Director of Saka International limited, Ton Capella, chairman of Azbil Telstars, Rafael Beaus, Managing director of Azbil Telstar Bangladesh and Hedeya Saito, general manager of life science engineering department of Azbil Corporation were the speakers. l

Myanmar to benefit from world financial institutions’ support n BSS Myanmar has obtained new financial support from the World Bank (WB) group since the beginning of this year which was to invest 2bn US dollars in the country to support its reforms and reduce poverty.

Ever since the first visit to Myanmar of World Bank President Jim Yong Kim in late January, the WB Group has committed to extending the 2bn US dollars

for a multi- year development program which include projects that would dramatically improve access to energy and health care for poor people and support other key government development priorities.

The plan was aimed at achieving target of universal health coverage as well as access to electricity by 2030.

An estimated 75% of Myanmar’s mostly rural population lack access to quality health care, and high costs place

The City Bank Ltd organised a signing ceremony for structured financing arrangement for Regent Energy and Power Limited in order to raise a term loan of US $50.2m and Tk300m while preference shares of Tk430m for setting up a 108 MW gas fired independent power plant at Ghorashal, Narsingdi

most essential services out of reach for many Myanmar families who live below the poverty line, WB indicated.

Of the $2bn support, WB was to invest 1bn in Myanmar’s power sector including generation, transmission and distribution over the next five years.

With this funding from WB and the private sector, Myanmar could increase access to electricity to 50% of the population in 2020.

70% of Myanmar’s people lack ac-

cess to electricity.

Kim noted that investing in Myanmar’s electricity potential will not only improve the lives of its citizens, but will also create a better business environment, believing that in turn will create jobs and help the country prosper and reduce poverty.

The WB group also plans to invest 200m dollars to support the government’s effort to achieve universal health coverage. l

NCC Bank Limited signed an agreement with Airtel Bangladesh Limited to provide mobile banking services to Airtel subscribers. Md Omar Faruque Bhuiyan, the bank’s executive vice president and Rubaba Dowla, chief service officer of Airtel Bangladesh seen handing over the signed agreement

Rouf Chowdhury re-elected as Bank Asia’s chair

Union Capital Limited held its 16th annual general meeting on Monday at the LGED Auditorium in Agargaon, Dhaka. The company’s chairperson, Chowdhury Tanzim Karim presided over the meeting

A Rouf Chowdhury was re-elected as the chair of Bank Asia at a bank’s board meeting held on Monday.

The sponsor director of the bank is an eminent businessman and industrialist. He is also the chairperson of Rangs Group and Sea Resources Group. l

n Tazlina Zamila Khan

A three-day long “Robi Smartphone and Tab Expo-2014” begins at Bangabandhu International Conference Centre in Dhaka yesterday, which will showcase the latest models of smartphone and tablet brought by different brands.

State Minister for Information and Communication Technology, Junaid Ahmed Polok will inaugurate the fair as chief guest.

Al Amin Dewan, media coordinator of Expo Maker, made the announcement at a press conference yesterday.

Expo Maker is organiser of the event.

Nokia, Samsung, Acer, Flora Ltd, Lenovo, Asus, LG, Ainol and some other brands will exhibit their latest mobile handsets with new applications.

Different apps makers are also going to come up with their new products.

“The visitors will be offered special discounts and prizes on purchase of a product in the fair,” said Al Amin Dewan.

Around 10 pavilions and eight stalls at the fair have been set up, which will remain open from 10am to 8pm till Saturday. The entry is free of charge.

ICT Secretary Md Nazrul Islam and President of Bangladesh Association of Software and Information Services (BASIS) Shameem Ahsan will also attend the inaugural function as special guests.

Expo Maker will organise a seminar on raising awareness about mobile security today while mobile operator Robi will hold another seminar on 3G service tomorrow on the sidelines of the fair.

Expo Maker has also launched a facebook-based competition named “Tag, Share and Win” on the occasion of fair.

“The competition already got started in Expo Maker’s facebook page.

The winner will get a Nokia Lumia 1520 handset. Besides, there are eight more attractive prizes,” said Nahid H Siddique, head of operations of Expo Maker. l

‘Substandard’ solar firms blasted as they seek budget support  B1 COLUMN 3

me in troubles. I needed to pay technicians repeatedly to repair and found that costs turned higher than the gridline power.”

The meeting was held at the NBR headquarters in Dhaka.

BSREA president Dipal C Barua spoke at the meeting and informed that they had so far installed solar panel systems in 30 lakh households.

He urged the NBR to consider their budget proposals to help expand the sector.

Paper owners, publishers, advertisers place budget demands

The paper mill owners demanded reduction of import duty on related chemicals to 3% while the book publishers asked for income tax waiver on donations given to set up libraries.

Besides, Advertising Agencies Association urged to reduce tax at source on advertisements from 10% to 5%. Photographic association demanded making the business tax-free as they are “in dire straits.”

They made the demands at pre-budget meets with National Board Revenue in Dhaka yesterday. NBR chief chaired the meetings.

“We want cutting import duty on paper chemicals to 3% and set a minimum Vat rate for the next five years to help expand the industry,” Mostafizur Rahman, president of Bangladesh Paper Mills Association.

He said the country has 72 mills in the country with a total capacity of producing 12 lakh tonne papers against a local demand of 8 lakh tonne.

The surplus products are exported to 30 different countries, Mostafizur Rahman said.

Bangladesh Gyan O Srijanshil Prokashon Samiti, a platform of book publishers, sought income tax waiver on donations made for libraries.

“We seek income tax waiver on donations made for libraries,” Osman Gani, president of the Samiti.

He also urged to cut duty on import of papers, alleging that the local paper producers “are charging as much as they wish.”

Bangladesh Patthopustok Mudron O Biponon Samiti, an association book printers and traders, also placed their budget proposals.

Its president Amirul Ali alleged the imported books were also enjoying tax free facility which was given to the local book printers.

“Some local writers are misusing the system. They publish books from aboard and then importing and show them as reference books,” Amirul Ali said.

In response to allegations, NBR chief Ghulam Hussain stressed the need of introducing a uniform system in the sector to prevent corruption.

Bangladesh Paper Importers Association said the involvement Bangladesh Standards Testing Unit (BSTI) in the release of products will led to harassment of importers.

Its president Alamgir Haque requested the NBR to refrain BSTI from the process.

Advertising Agencies Association of Bangladesh urged for reduction of tax at source on advertisements from 10% to 5%. Its president Ramendu Majumdar placed the proposal.

Photographic Association demanded removal of all duties from the photography business their business is longer a profitable one as there are small studios set up across the country. l

Food makers seek tax waivers  B1 COLUMN 2

The sweetmeat manufacturers asked for reducing Vat on sweetmeat to 6% from 15%.

“There are many sweetmeat outlets in the small towns and rural areas.

They sell to low-income group people and have to pay 15% Vat,” said Aminur Rahman, general secretary of Bangladesh Sweets Manufacturers Association.

He said they had long been demanding reduction of Vat but received no response from the government, and had to pay Vat twice.

Aminur Rahman said they were paying Vat both from outlets and factories but the law required them to pay only from outlets.

In this regard, he mentioned Section 6 of the Value Added Tax Act 1991 and urged the NBR to collect Vat from outlets only as “it’s creating complicacies” for them.

Bangladesh Sugar Refiners Association also presented their proposals and urged the NBR to consider duty-waiver for the sector.

NBR Chairman Ghulam Hossain presided over the meet. l

CNG station owners term min income tax limit ‘illogical’  B1 COLUMN 3

and Tk30 for compressed natural gas whereas the CNG filing stations have to pay Tk1.58 for production of each cubic meter of gas, said AKM Alamgir Khan, finance secretary of Bangladesh CNG Filing Station and Conversion Workshop Owners Association yesterday at NBR headquarters in the city.

The CNG filing station owners are getting only Tk0.18 by selling per unit of CNG, which has resulted in losses in many of the stations outside the capital, he added.

“Imposition of 0.50% minimum income tax limit is ‘illogical’ under any circumstances and it needs to be removed

as the companies are running out their businesses with continued losses while many of the owners have not only become sick but also bankrupts.”

AKM Alamgir came up with the demand for withdrawing the minimum tax-limit while placing a set of proposal to the NBR for its consideration for the upcoming FY2014-15 budget.

Demanding withdrawal of tax and duties, he said the government should also withdraw the 5% Advance Income Tax and imposed tax on the profits and also withdraw 3% Advance Trade VAT in the import of CNG kits and spare parts from the sector. l

B4

DHAKA TRIBUNE

Back Page

Thursday, April 3, 2014

Japan firms doubt BOJ price targets, new stimulus seen n Reuters Corporate Japan expects the consumer price index to be just 1.5% higher in a year from now, a Bank of Japan tankan survey found yesterday - a sign of how difficult the central bank could find meeting its 2% inflation goal by the April 2015 target date.

The survey outcome overlays Tuesday’s tankan findings that Japan’s fragile business sentiment barely improved in the three months ending March, and the corporate outlook is now considerably weaker than when Japan raised its sales tax in 1997, the last hike before Tuesday’s increase to 8% from 5%.

The findings stem from a BOJ decision to poll companies’ inflation expectations, starting with its March tankan survey, to give central bankers more information to guide monetary policy.

Besides a forecast for just 1.5% consumer price inflation in a year, the survey also showed that firms expect consumer prices to be rising by a modest 1.7% three years and also five years from now, suggesting the BOJ’s twoyear plan for guiding consumer prices to 2% is overly ambitious and may require additional measures.

The BOJ has kept monetary policy steady since deploying an intense burst of stimulus in April last year, when it

pledged to double base money via aggressive asset purchases to accelerate consumer inflation to 2% in two years, but speculation could increase that the BOJ will have to ease policy further.

“It is a little painful for the BOJ that the numbers did not come closer to 2%,” said Shuji Tonouchi, senior fixedincome strategist at Mitsubishi UFJ Morgan Stanley Securities.

“The BOJ may have to be more flexible with the time element of its price target. We expect the BOJ to ease policy again in the second half of the year.”

A separate BOJ survey released on Wednesday showed that Japanese households also aren’t fully convinced that inflation will accelerate in coming years. Of the households polled by the central bank, 69.3% said they felt prices have risen compared with a year ago, up from 67% in the previous survey three months ago.

But the ratio of households who expect prices to rise a year from now fell to 79.9% from 80.9%, with 15.6% saying they expect prices to remain largely unchanged, according to the survey conducted from February 6 to March 4.

The new data on corporate price expectations showed that consumer prices are expected to rise gradually, which could be discouraging for some central bankers. l

A view of the US model of Cefaly Technology's new head band device to be used against migraines, at the Cefaly Technology headquarters in Herstal, Belgium. A small technology company based in southern Belgium is set to take on the giant US market with its crowning achievement: an anti-migraine headband. The product of years of medical and technological research, the device is a diadem fitted with electrodes designed to take the edge off migraines before they develop into acute blinding pain AFP

GM avoided defective switch redesign in 2005 to save a dollar each n Reuters, Washington General Motors Co in 2005 decided not to change an ignition switch eventually linked to the deaths of at least 13 people because it would have added about a dollar to the cost of each car, according to an internal GM document provided to US congressional investigators.

The US House Committee on Energy and Commerce released the documents on Tuesday as lawmakers asked CEO Mary Barra why GM failed to recall 2.6 million cars until more than a decade after it first noticed a switch problem that could cut off engines and disable airbags, power steering and power brakes.

Colorado Congresswoman Diana DeGette cited a 2005 GM document that she said showed a cost of 57 cents per fix.

DeGette did not release the document, and Reuters was unable to get a copy. However, Reuters obtained what appeared to be a separate document, a series of 2005 emails between GM engineers debating whether to make a change to the ignition switch. The change would have cost an extra 90 cents per unit and additional tooling

costs of $400,000, one email showed.

Those tooling costs typically are amortized over several years.

Barra said she found the concept of turning down the change because of tooling costs “very disturbing. That is not the way we do business in the New GM.” In the email exchange, one of the engineers, John Hendler, said his team was prepared to continue using a switch that was made by Delphi Automotive and approved by GM, even though Delphi told the automaker in early 2002 that the switch did not meet GM’s performance specifications.

Hendler said the cars, including the Chevrolet Cobalt and Saturn Ion, which were recalled this year, would continue using the old switch “until the piece cost can be eliminated or significantly reduced,” and targeted a new switch for 2009 models. Reuters was unable to contact Hendler.

Another GM executive, Lori Queen, who had responsibility for the development of GM’s small cars, responded, “I’m not sure it’s ok to wait.” She did not explain herself in the email. Queen did not return a call seeking comment.

A General Motors spokesman said the company was still investigating the recall and would review all relevant documents.

Representatives repeatedly questioned Barra about GM’s weighing of costs even in safety situations. Barra said that was no longer the case, and that the company since its 2009 bankruptcy was changing from a “cost culture” to one focused on customers.

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In the early 2000s, GM, like the other Detroit automakers was under intense cost pressure, in the face of competition from overseas rivals and a legacy of high labor costs. Those and other financial issues eventually led to GM’s 2009 bankruptcy.

GM did change the ignition switch, in 2006, but the process did not comply with the company’s own rules, documents and testimony show.

Parts maker Delphi told congressional investigators last week that the redesigned switch on the 2007 models was harder to move out of position, but the force required to turn the switch was “still below GM’s original speci-

he Chevrolet logo is displayed on the steering wheel of a Cruze Eco at the General Motors headquarters April 1 in Detroit, Michigan. General Motors has recalled millions of vehicles in recent months due to a power steering defect and a faulty ignition-switch AFP fications,” according to a timeline released by the investigators.

A separate, April 26, 2006, document called a “validation sign-off ”, authorized changes to the switch, including a new spring, designed to increase

World Bank to double lending to emerging economies

No joke as ‘Russian Facebook’ founder resigns amid dispute

n AFP, Washington

The founder of Russia’s top social network VKontakte, Pavel Durov, yesterday said he has resigned as chief executive in a bitter conflict with a major shareholder, a dramatic announcement some initially saw as an April Fool’s joke.

True to his mysterious persona, Durov left followers guessing by resigning on April 1 and signing off with a quote from the cult “Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy” science fiction series: “So Long and Thanks for All the Fish.”

Even the company’s own spokesperson, Georgy Lobushkin, initially refused to confirm the chief executive’s resignation, writing on Twitter that the “press service is not commenting on the words of the chief executive”.

A link Lobushkin posted on Twitter to what he said was the official press statement turned out to a link to a video of Rick Astley singing his 1980s pop classic “Never gonna give you up”.

The two main shareholders in VKontakte however then confirmed that Durov’s departure was no joke and he had already written a resignation statement.

The World Bank plans to nearly double its annual lending to emerging economies like China and India as part of its effort to eliminate extreme poverty by 2030.

The Bank announced Tuesday that it would add $100bn to its lending capacity for middle-income countries over the next 10 years.

That would allow it to expand its lending to those countries from $15bn to as much as $28bn each year.

The move follows in the wake of the bank’s raising $52bn in resources for the poorest countries announced in December.

The new expansion is for the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development, the World Bank’s arm for working with emerging economies.

It will take the Bank’s annual lending capacity to all borrowers to $70bn from today’s $45-50bn.

“We are strengthening our financial house to make sure that we have the capability and financial firepower to scale up our revenue and build our capital if we are going to meet some of the great needs in the developing world,” said Bank President Jim Yong Kim. The Bank also increased its limit on borrowing from the largest emergingmarket countries - Brazil, China, Mexico, India and Indonesia - by $2.5bn each, but accompanied by a higher loan cost as well. l

n AFP, Moscow

‘Freedom has decreased’

With over 100 million users concentrated in the ex-Soviet Union, VKontakte (In Touch) is Russia’s most popular social network, far outstripping Facebook to which it is often compared.

Analysts estimate that VKontakte has 40% of the Russian social network market share compared to Facebook’s 25%.

Himself often compared to Facebook’s founder Mark Zuckerberg, Durov is seen as a the poster boy for a new kind

of youthful Internet entrepreneur taking Russia in new directions as Internet use surges even under the tightly-controlled rule of President Vladimir Putin.

In a posting on his personal VKontakte page, Durov had said he was leaving as a result of the changes in the company’s shareholder structure in 2013 which saw the United Capital Partners (UCP) investment fund take a 48% stake in the company.

“The freedom of action of the chief executive in managing the company has considerably decreased. It has been harder and harder to remain with those principles on which our social network is based,” he said.

He said he would remain involved in the life of VKontakte according to his rights as founder but added he was “not interested in formal posts under the new conditions.”

‘Bitter shareholder conflict’

Durov has fallen out with United Capital Partners over his independent development of a hugely successful messaging service Telegram which the shareholders believe should have been developed as part of VKontakte.

Durov had already sold his 12% stake in the firm in January and many analysts had expected that the 29-yearold’s exit from the company he founded after leaving university in 2006 was only a matter of time.

His stake was bought by the Mail.ru group part-controlled by Russia’s richest man Alisher Usmanov, with whom Durov is believed to be on friendly terms. Mail.ru now holds almost 52 percent in VKontakte.

Usmanov’s holding firm USM Advisors “confirms that Pavel Durov announced his departure from the position of CEO,” a spokeswoman said, confirming that his announcement is “not a joke”.

A source close to VKontakte told the Vedomosti daily that Durov had signed his resignation already several days ago. Meanwhile a spokeswoman for UCP told the paper that shareholders would discuss the appointment of a new executive this week.

“The main thing is that the new chief executive is motivated by the growth of the business and its shareholder value,” said UCP spokeswoman Nafisa Nasyrova.

UCP’s frustrations over Durov’s development of Telegram grew after after Facebook struck a colossal deal to buy mobile messaging service WhatsApp for more than $19bn in cash and stock, showing the huge potential value of such services.

“Our arguments over Telegram are not going to disappear just because Durov has stopped being chief executive,” said Nasyrova.

Giving almost no media interviews and rarely appearing in public, Durov cultivated an almost mystical image, but has fiercely resisted moves by the Russian security services to gain access to its data.

He made a public job offer to wanted US intelligence leaker Edward Snowden after he took asylum in Russia. In one bizarre incident, he showered banknotes onto stunned passersby from VKontakte’s headquarters on Nevsky Prospekt in the centre of Saint Peterburg. l

the force required to move the switch.

The document showed that the part number did not change, when redesigned, an issue which GM said hampered its own internal investigation.

“It is inconceivable,” Barra said,

when asked about the design change without a corresponding change in part number. “It is not our process.”

Moreover, several fields on the document marked as “required” are left blank or with “N/A”, including purchase order number and “validation engineer”.

The document has the signature of GM “lead engineer” Ray DeGiorgio, who could not be reached for comment. In a 2013 deposition in a suit against GM, DeGiorgio had said he was unaware of a change in the part.

A retired GM manager familiar with the automaker’s engineering and manufacturing procedures said that another manager would have had to sign off on the part, by company policy, given DeGiorgio’s relatively low seniority. “So who approved a design change without a part number change?”

Barra confirmed that DeGiorgio is still employed by the company and said she has not yet heard his explanation for signing the 2006 document.

The redesigned ignition switch was installed on 2007 Chevrolet Cobalts and Saturn Ions in late 2006, GM has said. l

Philip Morris to stop cigarette production in Australia n Reuters, Sydney American cigarette and tobacco company Philip Morris International Inc plans to stop manufacturing cigarettes in Australia by the end of the year, citing government production regulations that restrict its export opportunities.

Philip Morris said it would shift manufacturing from Victoria state to South Korea, where it would not be bound by so-called “reduced-fire risk” laws which mean it must use particular paper and construction methods.

“With any significant export opportunity restricted by Australian government regulations, our Moorabbin factory is significantly under-utilized, operating at less than half of its currently installed capacity,” John Gledhill, managing director for Australia, New Zealand and Pacific Islands, said in a statement.

The company had invested heavily in the factory from 2006 to 2009 to capitalize on increased demand in Asia. But it said the introduction of the

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government’s reduced-fire risk requirements in 2010, which are designed to ensure a cigarette self-extinguishes when dropped on the ground, led to taste changes that did not match consumer preferences in Asia.

About 180 jobs will be cut at Moorabbin, which was the first Philip Morris affiliate established outside the United States 60 years ago.

The company will continue to employ around 550 people in Australia in sales, finance and retail.

Gledhill said Philip Morris’ sales and production volumes were stable in 2013, despite the introduction of Australia’s plain packaging laws in December 2012.

Those laws, the most stringent in the world, require standardized packaging on all tobacco products, forcing companies to replace logos and branding with graphic images of smoking-related diseases on a drab background.

Clayton Ford, a spokesman for Philip Morris, said the factory closure was in no way related to the plain packaging laws. l