29 May 2014 by DhakaTribune

Joishthya 15, 1421 Rajab 29, 1435 Regd. No. DA 6238 Vol 2, No 59

US troops in Afghanistan

American forces will complete their withdrawal from Afghanistan by end 2016, says President Barack Obama

Soldiers killed THURSDAY, MAY 29, 2014 | www.dhakatribune.com | SECOND EDITION

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5 | CNG AUTO-RICKSHAW STRIKE POSTPONED

7 | PUNISHMENT FAILS, REHAB WORKS

Nizam wanted to teach Ekram a good lesson er of Ekram and plaintiff of the murder case, told the Dhaka Tribune that Ekram was Nizam’s aide and they used to deal almost all political issues together in the district. Asked if he suspected Nizam, Jashim evaded the question, saying: “As they used to do politics together and contacted each other very often, it is very natural they were obviously aware of each other’s good and bad aspects.” On May 20, a group of assailants waylaid Ekram on the Academy Road of Fulgazi in broad daylight and killed him. Investigation also pretty clearly suggest that Nizam was aware of the incident beforehand. Abid, one of the prime accused in the case, in his confessional statement to the court said: “soon after the murder he contacted Nizam and district Awami League Joint Secretary Jahangir Adel over mobile phone about the incident.” A source in the district unit of the ruling party said Abid had given the statement to the court as had been suggested by Nizam. Abid’s mother and district Mohila Awami League Secretary Layla Jesmin Boromoni met Nizam at his Masterpara residence for a couple of times.

With more days passing, the question about Awami League lawmaker Nizam Uddin Hazari’s involvement in the gruesome murder of Fulgazi upazila chairman Ekramul Haque is coming to the fore. For the past seven days the whole Feni town has been gossiping about Nizam’s role in the plot to kill Ekram. About a month back from the day of murder, Nizam, also the district Awami League general secretary, had told some of his associates that Ekram deserved slapping for his arrogant behaviour. Talking to this correspondent, Forkan Chowdhury, treasurer of the district Awami League, said: “Nizam bhai was not involved in the murder but it might have been in his knowledge that Ekram would be assaulted for his insolent attitudes. “The lawmaker told us that he would teach Ekram a good lesson to keep a tight rein on him.” Even family members of slain Fulgazi chairman Ekram dropped quite a few hints about Nizam’s involvement in the macabre incident. Rezaul Haque Jashim, elder broth-

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15 | KKR STORM INTO IPL FINAL

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FLY TO TAKE THE FLYOVER Deployment history 2001

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Thousands 100

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April 5, 2014

Oct 2001

August

December

US-led military campaign begins with air strikes in Afghanistan

NATO assumes leadership of ISAF operations

US President Barack Obama orders troops surge

October 40

2007

May 32,000

November

Karzai becomes first democraticallyelected president

December

First round in presidential vote

Karzai starts second term as president

Hamid Karzai becomes 20 interim leader of Afghanistan

2001

2002

2003

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Source : iCasualties/BrookingsAfghanistanIndex

A free flyover does not mean free access for those travelling on the airport road in the capital. Vehicles, mostly buses, that should travel along the left lane block the way of those who want to take the Mohakhali flyover SYED ZAKIR HOSSAIN

BB chief economist contradicts growth projection n Sheikh Shahariar Zaman Bangladesh Bank Chief Economist Hassan Zaman yesterday said the country may achieve maximum 6.5% growth in the next fiscal year. “My personal view is that the next year the best we can aspire to 6.5% growth,” he said at a dialogue organised by Policy Research Institute in the city.

He was critical of the projected growth of the government and found it unrealistic. “I would argue that actually it [growth target] is not all that realistic in next two to three years. I think to get about 7% growth, we need DhakaChittagong highway to become fourlane, we need Padma Bridge to be built and we need stronger financial sector,” he said.

“These are needed to have 7% growth on a sustainable basis,” he said. About the role of PRI, he questioned why the institute did not suggest a realistic growth target while giving the government advice. The PRI was helping the planning commission set the growth target. “Those who work on a future plan, PRI or who are advising the government on the future plan that you do a

proper growth diagnostic and realistic about what target you set because those targets will feed into the budget, those targets will reflect revenue projections and those revenue projections then affect expenditure,” he said. The growth target was 7.2% for the last fiscal year, but the actual achievement was 6.0%. Hassan said the US consumers paid  PAGE 2 COLUMN 4

Khaleda: No mercy for Awami League ACC threatens TIB

EKRAM MURDER

Drives launched to Al-Masum Molla arrest 20 suspects n Mohammad from Munshiganj n Mohammad Jamil Khan from Feni Issuing a note of warning to the gov-

ernment, BNP Chairperson Khaleda Zia yesterday said the ruling Awami League would get no mercy for its “misdeeds” and the “crimes” committed under its rule. Khaleda reiterated that the BNP would dissolve the crime-busting unit, RAB and said if her party came to power, it would form another force instead of RAB in consultation with all. “There is mercy for normal crimes, but there is no mercy for the severe crimes that you (Awami League) are committing,” she said. “You (Awami League) were not in the office for 21 years, and this time you will not be in the office for 42 years,” Khaleda told a rally at Munshiganj Launch Ghat, held in protest against the killings and abductions across the country. The BNP chief added that the people

Law enforcement agencies have launched special joint drives to apprehend 20 more suspects of the Ekramul Haque murder case who continue to dodge arrest. Investigators from Feni police, along with Rapid Action Battalion and the Detective Branch of police, are looking for several district-level Awami League leaders including district unit Joint Secretary Jahangir Mohammad Adel, local Jubo League leader Ziaul Alam Mister, and a close associate of the slain Fulgazi upazila chairman. Although investigators declined to officially comment on the name of Ekram’s associate, the Dhaka Tribune has learnt from a source close to the investigation team that the suspect is Ekram’s bodyguard Belal Hossain, who did not attend his duty on the day of  PAGE 2 COLUMN 1

of the country had shed tears so far and now it was the Awami League’s turn to shed floods of tears. She said there would be no escape route for the ruling party to flee by when the people would take to the streets in protest against the government’s “misrule.” “We do not want to see any more bloodshed and tears. Step down immediately and hold elections under a non-partisan government,” she said. The BNP chief urged the country-

INSIDE B1 | Business

8 | World

4 | News

9 Thailand’s junta yesterday freed leaders of the ‘Red Shirt’ movement allied to the ousted government, as social media users reacted with alarm to rumours of a ‘block’ of Facebook.

Tax holiday for Information and Communication Technology sector would continue in the upcoming national budget for the fiscal 201415, aimed at achieving the target of Digital Bangladesh by 2021.

The prevalence of tobacco use is increasing among young people in Southeast Asia, with nearly 15% of students aged 13-15 years using some form of tobacco in the region.

6 | Nation

Spells of nor’wester have killed three people, injured about 50 and also destroyed more than 400 houses in different districts across the country yesterday.

7 | Juris

8 | US TO LEAVE AFGHANISTAN BY 2016 127 117

US soldiers on patrol in Logar province, Oct 2012

Local MP talked over phone with killers before and after the murder Jamil Khan with Our n Mohammad Correspondent from Feni

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No one is born a criminal. Criminals are products of the social, economic and environmental conditions. It is believed that if the criminals are educated and trained, they can be made competent to behave well in the society.

The British media maintained a blackout yesterday on a photograph showing the bare bottom of Prince William’s wife Kate, despite the picture being used in other countries.

11 | Op-Ed

The indisputable fact that any keen observer of the Bangladeshi scene will establish, is that the big story in Bangladesh over the last 10 years is the irreversible emergence of a robust middle class.

12 | Entertainment

‘Tarkanta,’ a much anticipated film featuring three leading stars Moushumi, Arefin Shuvo and Bidya Sinha Mim, will hit the theatres on June 6.

15 | Sport

Brazilian police fired tear gas Tuesday on indigenous chiefs who joined forces with anti-World Cup demonstrators to condemn the money spent on the tournament.

men to arise and to not let any more bloodshed happen. “Ousting the government from the office, we will bring back democracy and the rule of law to the country,” she vowed. Munshiganj district unit BNP organised the rally that witnessed the convergence of thousands of party leaders and activists from across the area. The BNP chairperson repeated that Sheikh Hasina had to be held accountable for the Narayanganj killings. The BNP chief alleged that RAB killed 11 people including four boatmen, because they were paid money by ruling party men. The BNP leader demanded maximum punishment for the RAB officials allegedly responsible for the Narayanganj killings. Regarding labour leader Aminul’s murder, Khaleda alleged that the elite force killed Aminul and his body was found three days after he went missing.  PAGE 2 COLUMN 4

n Tribune Report The Anti-Corruption Commission slammed the anti-graft watchdog Transparency International Bangladesh yesterday for examining its financial transactions. “The Transparency International Bangladesh [TIB] collects funds from abroad to conduct its regular activities. But what do they do with the money?” ACC Commissioner M Shahabuddin questioned. “We are well aware of their transactions and the commission will certainly look into the matter,” he threatened. The commissioner made the statement while addressing an award-giving ceremony of the ACC at the Bangladesh Shilpakala Academy in the capital’s Shegunbagicha. Questioning the accuracy of the researches carried out by the TIB, he said it publishes so-called research reports by collecting money from abroad and

sitting in air-conditioned rooms. “Where is the transparency of their work?” Shahabuddin questioned. He also said the commission was working independently in response to the TIB’s claim that the ACC was politically motivated. “We have sent many corrupt people, including the high officials of multi-level marketing companies, to jail. Why do not you praise our good work?” he said. Shahabuddin said the commission was also probing allegations against the government officials as the ruling party leaders wanted to curb corruption. ACC Chairman M Badiuzzaman, Commissioner Nasiruddin Ahmed, private television channel Channel I Director and Head of News Shykh Seraj also spoke at the programme. A recent report published by the TIB said the Anti-Corruption Commission was “largely ineffective” in investigating  PAGE 2 COLUMN 4

DHAKA TRIBUNE

News

Thursday, May 29, 2014

Selim Osman secures JaPa ticket for N’ganj by-poll n Manik Miazee Jatiya Party has nominated Selim Osman, elder brother of Awami League lawmaker Shamim Osman, for the Narayanganj 5 by-poll to be held on June 26. The decision came from JaPa’s Parliamentary Board meeting held at its Banani office yesterday with its Chairman HM Ershad in the chair. Meanwhile, Selim, former president of the Narayanganj Chamber of Commerce and Industry, collected nomination papers from the district election office. JaPa Secretary General Ziauddin Ahmed Bablu said: “The parliamentary board and Chairman HM Ershad have decided to nominate Selim Osman from the party for the Narayanganj 5 by-election.” Meeting sources said Rawshan, senior presidium member of JaPa and also opposition leader in parliament, proposed the name of her political secretary Golam Mochi for the seat while

Ershad favoured Selim. As a result both leaders had a brawl centring the matter. “I have decided to give the party ticket to Selim,” Ershad said. In response, Rawshan said: “If you have decided to give the ticket to him, then why have you called the meeting?” Later, Rawshan added: “Who is Selim Osman? He is not our party man. Mochi is a party leader and he has sacrificed for the party. So you should nominate him.” Turning down her claim, Ershad said: “Mochi left the party and joined another party.” Another board member, Delwar, said: “The party should nominate those who withdrew their nomination papers following the party order on the January 5 election.” Rawshan replied: “Who told you to withdraw the nomination paper?” Later, Rawshan left the meeting asking Ershad to announce Golam Mochi’s name as the JaPa candidate. The board decided to announce

Golam Mochi’s name when the Narayanganj city unit leaders entered the room and threatened the board that they would resign unless Mochi was given the ticket. However, party Secretary General Ziauddin Ahmed Bablu announced Selim Osman as the candidate. When contacted, Mochi said: “The board finalised my name as the candidate, but I do not know what has happened in just 15 minutes that the secretary general announced Selim as the party candidate.” However, the ruling Awami League decided not to nominate any candidate for the seat from the party. The Narayanganj 5 constituency fell vacant following the death of Jatiya Party lawmaker Nasim Osman on April 30. So far, 10 candidates bought nomination papers to vie in the bypoll including late Nasim Osman’s wife Parvin Osman and Opposition Leader Rawshan’s Political Secretary Golam Mochi. l

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina is touched, seeing the signature of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, her father, on the visitors' book at Japan's National Press Club. The PM visited the press club yesterday DHAKA TRIBUNE

MRP difficulties resolved PM’s adviser favours using forex n Rabiul Islam

The setback in issuing machine readable passports (MRPs) to Bangladeshi nationals from Malaysia and some other regional passport offices within the country has been resolved. “Differences between Dataedge and IRIS, a Malaysian firm, have been narrowed down and the next course of action will begin now,” Additional Secretary (security and passport) of the Home Ministry Md Shafiqul Islam told the Dhaka Tribune yesterday. Both the parties have agreed to team up and work together, he said. Sources said the crisis came to an end at a meeting at the Home Ministry on Monday, with State Minister for Home Asaduzzaman Khan in the chair. “Dataedge and IRIS reached a consensus and agreed that they would complete the integration within 10 days,” Director of MRP & MRV (Machine Readable Visa) Project at the Department of Immigration & Passports Brig Gen Masud Rezwan told the Dhaka Tribune. In order to issue MRPs, Dataedge has to be integrated with the central system of IRIS. “We reached an amicable settlement,” Dataedge Director Noor A Alam Chowdhury said. He said the task of issuing MRPs will begin today at Shah

Alam in Malaysia. Preferring anonymity, an IRIS official also said the problem had been resolved. IRIS has been providing Bangladesh with software solutions for passports since the first MRP project was taken on in 2010. It set up its central system at the Department of Immigration and Passports in the capital’s Agargaon. The Malaysia project is a pilot one and upon successful completion, the government plans to implement similar projects in countries with migrant Bangladeshi workers. The Malaysia project faced a setback at the outset as it could not be started within the specified time. The Malaysia project was contracted out to Dataedge on February 12 this year on the condition that it would begin issuing MRPs within a month and the whole project would be implemented in 18 months. It has, however, been almost four months and Dataedge has yet to even start the work. It was also assigned to issue MRPs from 33 regional passport offices but no progress has been made so far in this regard either. Earlier, the Dataedge director alleged that IRIS was not cooperating accordingly. IRIS Senior Manager Bahjat Aman, however, denied the allegation and said: “We provided all the necessary support to Dataedge.” l

reserve in Padma bridge n Sheikh Shahariar Zaman Prime Minister’s Economic Adviser Mashiur Rahman said the government has enough strength to borrow foreign currency from the central bank to carry out quasi-fiscal operation like implementation of Padma Bridge project. “The basic question is if you have a saving in terms of foreign currency reserve, can you use it without exposing yourself to a shock that you can absorb in terms of foreign currency requirement. I guess right now, we have that kind of strength,” he said at a dialogue organised by Policy Research Institute in the city yesterday. Currently, Bangladesh Bank has about $20bn foreign exchange reserve and the government is planning to borrow a portion of it to finance Padma Bridge project. But the government drew criticism from experts that forex reserve is not meant for infrastructure project rather it is meant meeting import payments and providing a cushion for balance of payment. The adviser, however, said there was a big debate between a former Reserve

NARAYANGANJ SEVEN MURDER CASE

Four days remand against Moshiur n Our Correspondent, Narayanganj

A Narayanganj court granted four days remand against Moshiur Rahman, 40, yesterday for allegedly helping Nur Hoosain, the key accused in the seven murder case in Narayanganj, to escape to India. Senior Judicial Magistrate Monowara Begum passed the order after police presented Moshiur before her court, seeking five days remand. Police said Moshiur was arrested in Jessore’s Sharsha upazila on Tuesday,

acting on information given by another arrestee of the case, Kamal Hossain. Kamal was arrested from Sharsha upazila on May 15 for the same allegation as Moshiur. However, on his way to the court in Narayanganj, Moshiur claimed to reporters that he was arrested in Dhaka on Tuesday. Moshiur also told reporters that he had been supplying phensidyl to Nur Hossain and claimed that he had had no contact with Nur Hossain for the past one year.

When asked about the contradiction regarding the place of arrest, Narayanganj District Intelligence Officer no 1 Mainur Rahman told the Dhaka Tribune that he had no idea why the arrested had made such a claim. Meanwhile, Narayanganj District Bar Association President Shakhawat Hossain told reporters that during yesterday’s hearing, Moshiur had accused Kamal of helping Nur Hossain to escape to India, adding that Nur Hossain had been sheltered at Kamal’s residence for two days before fleeing to India. l

Bank of India governor and a chairman of Indian Planning Commission who argued that forex reserve should be used for infrastructure development and the RBI chief opposed it. “Later on, Indian central bank governor proved to be right,” Mashiur said. He said infrastructure, utility, power, energy, connectivity and land scarcity are serious constraints which are holding back investment from private sector. “These are the constraints to be addressed by the government,” he added. The adviser said the opposition parties should go by the constitution and the court verdict which stipulated that the government must be formed by elected members. “One of the major rhetorical differences between the BNP and the Awami League is who is more Islamic. The BNP claiming to be more Islamic may carry this message that you do not perform even a religious duty if that disturbs peace in society,” he added. Former adviser to the caretaker government Mirza Azizul Islam said there is a need for political stability for future growth. “Political understanding is needed otherwise all the achievements

we have earned will be meaningless,” he said. BNP leader and former commerce minister Amir Khasru Mahmud Chowdhury said private sector has taken a policy of ‘wait and see’. “There is a lack of democracy in the country and an autocrat is talking about development, mega projects and other things.” Women entrepreneur Selina Matlub said corruption and access to finance are two big problems the private sector is facing. Former Bangladesh Bank governor Salehuddin Ahmed said financial sector management is very poor in the country. Managing Director of Standard Chartered Bangladesh Abrar A Anwar said policy continuity, scarce land and infrastructure are three major hindrances to private sector investment. Ahsan Mansur of PRI in his presentation said political stability and rule of law are critical to business. The government should give special attention to attract more foreign direct investment and broaden export base by correcting policies leading to anti-export biases, he said. l

BB chief economist contradicts  PAGE 1 COLUMN 6

about $800-$900 million for importing apparel from Bangladesh. If tariff is removed, it would help create half a million job in the country and it would have more impact on Bangladesh than by providing $200 million aid from the USA, he said. He suggested that if tariff is not removed, out of the total amount, a portion of it should be channelled to Bangladesh and other countries for the improvement of factories as the US is voicing concern over insecurity in workplaces. USAID Chief Economist Stephen O’

Connell said it was a creative suggestion. “The recent WTO agreements have committed the industrialised countries to ramp up their trade facilitation process and it seems to me that if we, the industrialised countries, cannot get it together to fulfil the commitments, it will be a shame,” he said. “It seems to me that they are long-waited and substantial and I am hoping that USAID, other parts of the US government and the government of Bangladesh will be able to engage productively in wrapping that up,” he added. l

Drives launched to arrest 20 suspects

ACC threatens TIB

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the incident and had reportedly updated the killers about Ekram’s location. Investigators have also found that a senior AL leader of Feni was involved in the murder, said the source, who is a top official of Feni police. When asked about the latest drives, Rashedul Islam, officer-in-charge of DB police in Feni, said raids were being carried out in different areas of the district based on information collected by the investigators. Meanwhile, Feni police arrested

one more accused, Jubo League leader Bappi, from the district’s Daganbhuiyan upazila yesterday. Abul Kalam Azad, inspector of Feni Model police station and investigation officer of the case, said they were using information provided by the arrested during remand to try and recover the weapons used in the murder. Investigators said they have learnt that two suspects – Sohel and Shahabuddin – have hidden some of the murder weapons. On the other hand, the prime accused of the case – BNP

leader Mahtab Uddin Chowdhury Minar – was placed on a seven-day remand yesterday. Senior Magistrate Mohammad Khairul Amin passed the order after IO Azad placed Minar before the court seeking a 10-day remand. The court also granted a five-day remand against AL leader Abdur Rauf and Sojib, after the investigation officer sought a seven-day remand. So far, 20 people have been arrested in connection with the murder of Ekram – who was shot and burnt alive by a group of armed assailants on May 20. l

Nizam wanted to teach Ekram a good lesson  PAGE 1 COLUMN 2

According to Nizam’s suggestion Abid gave the statement just a day after he was taken on an eight-day police remand. Not only that rumour is also rife that Councillor Shiblu surrendered to police on Nizam’s instruction after the former met the latter at his residence soon after the media ran a report on Shiblu’s involvement in the murder. Moreover, investigators too found evidence of Nizam’s complicity from his phone record. Nizam contacted the killers over his cell phone several times before and after the killing. According to investigators, Nizam contacted Councillor Abdullah Mahmud Shiblu, District Awami League Joint Secre-

tary Jahangir Kabir Adel and Jubo League Leader Jiaul Alam Mister just a day before and on the day of killing. Jihad Chowdury, the main planner of the killing also talked to Nizam over phone to ask for his help. The investigators also came to know from the interrogation of suspected killers that Jihad persuaded Abid, Shiblu and others into the murder by assuring them of the help of “Boro Bhai” (Nizam). Sources in the Awami League said although Nizam and Ekram had been on good terms the relation began to get soured last year soon after Ekram took control of the diabetic hospital of Feni. It even turned for the worse when Ekram announced to run in the national election from Feni-1 challenging the

Nizam’s authority in the district. Contacted, Nizam Uddin Hazari, lawmaker from the Feni-2 constituency, yesterday once again denied his complicity in the murder. “If anyone can prove it police should arrest me too.” Asked about his conversation with the identified killers over cell phone Nizam said: “I am the secretary of the district Awami League and involved in politics of Feni. Other people too made phone calls to me on that day and talking to someone over phone does not mean and prove that I was involved.” Paritosh Gosh, superintended of Police of Feni, said they had had some vital information on the murder. “No one involved in the murder will be spared.” l

and preventing corruption in Bangladesh. The report said: “While the ACC act clearly states that corruption shall be the subject matter of investigation by the commission alone, actual cases are rare.” During 2012, the commission submitted charge sheets in 588 cases but only around 57 cases resulted in successful prosecutions in that year, the

report said adding that the cases which are brought forward are often political in nature. The report said in 2009, the government set up a committee to investigate politically motivated cases filed against politicians and others and by March 2011, the committee had withdrawn 4,687 cases, most of which involved members of the ruling party. l

Muhith for allocating 20% power to consumers during peak hours

n Tribune Report

Finance Minister AMA Muhith directed the state minister for power yesterday to set a target for allocating at least 20% of total power generation to general consumers during peak hours. “You [state minister] set a target, by which time you should supply 20% of installed capacity, since people have become angry because we have the capacity to produce 10,000MW but we cannot produce 7,000MW,” Muhith told State Minister for Power Nasrul Hamid. Muhith came up with the directive at a meeting at his Secretariat office. Admitting that electricity generation was yet to reach the installed capacity, Muhith added that the power projects had failed to reach the development target which was expected by the government. Not more than 70% of the installed power generation capacity was actually being produced, while general power consumers cannot get more than 18% of the total production because of system loss, the minister added. Currently, Bangladesh produces around 6,800MW of electricity. l

State minister: Both AL, BNP involved in Ekram murder n Rabiul Islam State Minister for Home Asaduzzaman Khan said both the Awami League and BNP were involved in the killing of Ekramul Haque, chairman of Fulgazi upazila in Feni. The feud between the different vested quarters led to the killing, the junior minister pointed out. “No matter which party they belong to, they will be arrested and brought to book,” the state minister said while talking to journalists at his office at the Secretariat yesterday. Ekram, also president of Fulgazi Awami League unit, was shot and burnt alive on May 20. Asaduzzaman said the criminals had no party. For their own interest they pretended to become affiliated with a party to serve their purpose. “None involved in the murder will be spared,” he said. l

Khaleda: No mercy for Awami League  PAGE 1 COLUMN 4

“We never used RAB for political purposes. We arrested militant Bangla Bhai and Abdur Rahman alive and the forces did not shoot at them.” Khaleda also demanded the release of Mahtabuddin Minar, a Feni BNP leader who was held in connection with the killing of Phulgazi chairman Ekramul Haque in Feni. Terming the country a death valley, Khaleda Zia said: “I cannot say that I am safe. People cannot say they are safe. As long as the Awami League remains in the office, none can say they are safe.” People have fallen victims to killings, abductions and forced disappearances since the ruling Awami League assumed office this time. “The Awami League possesses two qualities – killing and abduction.

It is nothing new for them. After the independence of the country, it did the same thing, forming different forces.” Reiterating the demand for elections under a non-partisan interim government, Khaleda said, “We have said we would not take part in election under the Awami League government as election would not be held free and fair under its rule.” The ruling party shuddered at the thought of people’s campaign against it and so it debarred the BNP from holding rally, said the BNP chairperson. Referring to Sheikh Hasina’s letter to the Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Khaleda said: “Modi was elected through vote, but Sheikh Hasina was not elected in that manner.” The BNP chief alleged that the Awami League had been conspiring to erase

Ziaur Rahman’s role in Bangladesh’s independence from the country’s history. “I remember Abdul Hamid Khan Bhasani. We named Novo Theater after Bhasani’s name. Bhasani was a great patriot, but his name was also erased from the history,” she stated. Slamming the Anti-Corruption Commission, Khaleda said: “We formed the ACC as an independent body, but now it is under the prime minister.” About the repeated price hike in electricity and gas, the BNP chief maintained that the commoners were bearing the brunt of it while the quick rental businessmen were cashing in on the situation. Mushignaj district unit BNP President Abdul Hai chaired the programme which was addressed by senior leaders of the party, among others. l

DHAKA TRIBUNE

News

Thursday, May 29, 2014

JS body opposes subsidies to TCB n Kamran Reza Chowdhury

In contrast to the government policy of strengthening the state-owned Trading Corporation of Bangladesh, the parliamentary watchdog on commerce yesterday opposed providing subsidies for years, terming it a ‘bleeding of the economy’. According to its election manifesto for the ninth parliamentary polls, the Awami League government had granted over Tk272 crore as subsidy to what they say keep the price level of essentials down.

How long should the subsidy continue? The products marketed by TCB are worst standards; these are, in most cases, edible. This bleeding of the economy must stop The parliamentary standing committee on commerce ministry strongly opposed the TCB chairman’s proposal for increasing its paid-up capital to Tk1,000 crore from the existing Tk5 crore, asking the corporation to come up with an idea that could stop the subsidy from the public exchequer. The 10-member watchdog, with its chairman Ali Ashraf chairing, rejected the ministry’s offer of overseas trips for the committee members to take part in the trade fairs and recommended that the Export Promotion Bureau prepare a report on the outcomes of the overseas trade fairs costing public money. “How long should the subsidy continue? The products marketed by TCB are worst standards; these are, in most cases, edible. This bleeding of the economy must stop,” Ali Ashraf told the Dhaka Tribune after the meeting at the parliament building.

The TCB chairman sought Tk1,000 crore as paid-up capital, but the committee rejected, said Ali Ashraf. “Given the context of globalisation, the World Trade Organisation and the free market economy, can the state do business now? The state should only facilitate and monitor the situation,” he said. “The idea of business by the state no longer exists”. The working paper presented in the meeting reads that the Commerce Ministry had put forward a proposal to the Finance Ministry to create an interest-free current capital of Tk200 crore for TCB aimed at reducing the amount of subsidy. Monjurul Islam Liton, the Awami League MP from Sundarganj of Gaibandha, told the meeting that TCB could not play its due role as expected. “TCB must perform better,” he told the Dhaka Tribune. TCB has 12 warehouses in 10 districts with the capacity of 41,77 metric tonnes. Of the total, eight rented warehouses have the capacity of 32,207 metric tonnes. The corporation plans to increase the capacity to 128,184 metric tonnes. It had already started constructing four more warehouses in Chittagong, Rajshahi, Sylhet and Rangpur divisions — each having the capacity of minimum 4,000 metric tonnes. According to its development plan, TCB is set to open regional offices in Mymensingh, Bogra, Comilla and Faridpur. Before the start of the meeting, one of the committee members requested Commerce Minister Tofail Ahmed to sponsor the MPs’ overseas tour. The minister then told the meeting that the MPs could attend the trade fairs arranged by EPB. “This is not a necessity for the MPs to go on foreign trips,” said Prof Ali Ashraf, adding that EPB should give the watchdog a report on the gains of the trade fairs as huge amount of money was spent for such purposes. l

Relatives of Mehedi Hasan, a class five student of Gazipur’s Boromi area who was murdered, cry during a human chain organised by a human rights body in front of the National Press Club yesterday, protesting the killing DHAKA TRIBUNE

16 Prime Bank officials among 38 to be charged n Tribune Report

The Anti-Corruption Commission will soon press charges against 38 people, including 16 officials from Prime Bank Limited, on a charge of embezzling around Tk96 crore from the bank. A regular meeting of the commission approved the charge sheet yesterday after an ACC investigation had found that the bank officials, in league with the others, had embezzled Tk95.70 crore from several branches of the bank between 2002 and 2012. The accused bank officials include

former manager of Dilkusha Branch Izbahul Bar Chowdhury, former vice-president Mohammad Aminul Islam, former executive officer Kamrul Ahmed, suspended vice-president of the head office branch HM Zakir Hossain, and first assistant vice-presidents Motaher Hossain and Mohammad Nasir Uddin Bali. The other accused include owner of New SK Enterprise Sazedur Rahman, KS enterprise owner M Shahadat Islam, SK Enterprise owner Mahmudul Islam, SL Enterprise owner Kawser Ali, Tri Tech 69 owner Tasnim Alam, Branch

Solutions directors Zahidul Islam and Amirul Islam, Bangladesh Water Development Board official Abul Hashem and Sub Valley Securities Limited Managing Director Mahbub-E-Elahi. ACC officials said the accused would be charged as the officials, in league with each other, embezzled the money by misusing passwords. During 2002 to 2012, Dilkusha branch former executive officer Kamrul Ahmed misused his and other officials’ passwords, and embezzled the money using the IT system. On March 2012, the Prime Bank had

initially filed a case against Kamrul for embezzling Tk48.78 crore. Later the ACC conducted an investigation into the matter and found 38 people were responsible for the irregularities. The ACC meeting yesterday also recommended departmental action against 15 Prime Bank officials including its Senior Vice-President M Baki Billah, suspended senior executive vice-president Khandker Iqbal Hossain, Senior Assistant Vice-President M Shafiquzzaman Bhuiyan and Assistant Vice-President Shah Mohammad Mohsin. l

Imran bashes Babunagari for ‘anti-religious’ remark Prosecutor stays away n during contempt case Tribune Report

Gonojagoron Moncho spokesperson Imran H Sarker protested the derogatory remarks of Hefazat-e-Islam Secretary General Junaid Babunagari yesterday, terming it an attempt to create disorder in the country. “Babunagari called me an atheist to gain political interests. But he actually has no right to give religious certification. I think Babunagari is trying to create countrywide disorder in the name of Islam,” Imran said while briefing reporters at a park in the capital’s Farmgate area. At a programme in Bogra on Tuesday, Babunagari termed Imran the “only atheist of the country.” He also

said they would stay on the street until Imran was buried. Terming the Hefazat leader’s comment “anti-religious,” Imran said the Hefazat had been trying to capitalise on the religious sentiment of the mass people against the platform that raised a mass movement last year to ensure the death penalty for all war criminals and a ban on Jamaat-e-Islami and its student body the Islami Chhatra Shibir. Imran alleged that there had been a conspiracy to foil the war crimes trials with a view to save Jamaat. “Babunagari’s threat implies that a strong group is hatching a conspiracy against the trial of war criminals. This threat and conspiracy can create a possibility of compromise behind the

screen,” he said. Imran said the Shahbagh-based platform had become a major concern for a quarter who were trying to reach a compromise over the war crimes trials. The sluggish trial process and a part of the government’s soft corner for Jamaat and its financial institutions made it obvious. “This is why many a scoundrels are now working together against Gonojagoron Moncho,” he said. In reply to a query, Imran said creating division among the Moncho activists was a part of the conspiracy. He also asked the government to handle those who wanted to create anarchy with an iron fist. Criticising the government for its re-

luctance to deal with the Hefazat issue, he demanded that the cases related to last year’s mayhem in the capital’s Motijheel and Paltan area on May 5 be transferred to the Speedy Trial Tribunal for quick disposal. Imran said they were not afraid of threats made by Hefazat as many of the Moncho activists had sacrificed their lives to reach the target. The briefing was called before commencing the platform’s door-to-door programme to create awareness in favour of the ongoing war crimes trials. It will continue until June 26. After the briefing, Imran and his associates took part in distributing booklets in Farmgate area to make people aware about the war crimes trials. l

Two DU students suspended for abducting salesman n DU Correspondent

Dhaka South City Corporation authority evicts illegal establishments on the footpath in front of the Dhaka Medical College Hospital yesterday DHAKA TRIBUNE

Barisal retuning officer withdrawn n Our Correspondent, Barisal

The Election Commission replaced the retuning officer under whom the Barisal 5 by-poll was supposed to be held, yesterday, despite getting a positive nod in favour of him from three commissioners of a four-member committee in an appeal hearing. The letter, signed by Md Sirajul Islam, acting secretary of the EC, related to the decision and stated that returning officer Mir Md Shahjahan has been replaced with Barisal Deputy Commissioner Md Shohidul Alam. When contacted, Shahjahan also confirmed his withdrawal, saying he

was visiting Dhaka to attend a professional training programme. Confirming the news, the DC said he already started the tasks for June 12. On May 11, Mir Md Shahjahan cancelled the nomination paper of independent candidate Syed M Moazzem Hussain during scrutiny, stating that there was a problem with the necessary documents. Moazzem Hussain filed a petition against the decision to the EC on May 17, and afterwards, a committee of four commissioners including Chief Election Commissioner Kazi Raqibuddin Ahmed, held a hearing in this regard. The appeal was turned down as three

members were in favour of the nomination paper cancellation. Dissenting commissioner Muhammad Abdul Mobarak stated that returning officer Mir Md Shahjahan had breached the election rules during the scrutiny. On May 25, Mozzem Hussain lodged a writ petition to the High Court that issued a show cause notice on the officials concerned and directed them to respond within seven days, showing logic in favour of the cancellation decision. However, the EC took the move at last, without presenting any specific reason. l

Two Dhaka University students who had reportedly abducted a salesman were temporarily suspended from the university yesterday afternoon. The suspension was confirmed by DU Proctor Amzad Ali. He said: “Further decision in this regard will be taken after investigation.” The two students were Alamgir Hossain, a master’s student of World Religion and Culture, and Nazmul Karim Shuvo, a final year student of Sociology. However, it could not be known if they had any affiliation with any political party. Some DU students termed them Chhatra League activists but the hall and university unit of the ruling party student wing denied that they were members of the wing. On Tuesday, Alamgir and Nazmul were arrested for allegedly abducting Sohel, a salesman of Kazi Manufacturing Limited, from a street adjacent to Salimullaha Muslim Hall. The two students had locked Sohel in the hall’s dormitory and demanded Tk4 lakh for his release. The abducted was later rescued from SM Hall in a police drive in the evening, the DU Proctor Amzad Ali told the Dhaka Tribune. Shahbagh police station Officer-in-Charge Shirajul Islam said: “Sohel had filed an abduction suit in this regard yesterday [Tuesday] evening and today [yesterday] we have demanded a three-day remand for the two detainees.” l

n Udisa Islam The war crimes tribunal did not give order yesterday on the contempt of court matter brought against the daily Kaler Kantho since the prosecution pleaded for more time. During the proceedings, the prosecution said senior prosecutor Syed Haider Ali would submit his points before the order was given. But he could not appear before it because of his illness. On May 22, the International Crimes Tribunal 1 set yesterday for the passing of the order. On that day, prosecutor Mohammad Ali pleaded that Haider would place some points on another day as he had been ill. The tribunal then granted the plea and said the prosecution could submit arguments on the day of the verdict. On both occasions, Haider was staying in his office. Prosecutor Ali filed the petition on May 15 seeking a rule against the editor, the publisher and a reporter of the Bangla newspaper for contempt. A report published on May 11 termed the prosecution inefficient and blamed the team for a delay in trials. Ali also said the newspaper had published his comments partially. The same tribunal adjourned proceedings in the case of ATM Azharul Islam, an alleged al-Badr commander from Rangpur during the 1971 Liberation War, yesterday, until Sunday, as the 15th prosecution witness did not testify. The prosecution placed Md Ezab Uddin of the Bangla Academy yesterday as their second seizure list witness in the case. But he could not give his deposition as there was a petition pending with the tribunal regarding the seizure document. Meanwhile, the defence of war crimes suspect Syed Mohammad Qaisar

ended the cross-examination of the 17th prosecution witness, Phul Mia, who testified at the tribunal 2 on Tuesday. During the cross-examination, defence counsel Abdus Sobhan Tarafder claimed that the witness was not a freedom fighter at all. Phul Mia opposed the suggestion saying that he had fought the war in Gazipur. Phones in the courtroom Even though mobile phones are not allowed inside the court room, it has become a regular phenomenon for the prosecution to violate the tribunal order. The tribunal 2 noticed a mobile phone ringing yesterday when the defence was cross examining a prosecution witness in the case against Qaisar. It belonged to prosecutor Zead-alMalum who was sitting in the front row. When he went outside, the tribunal asked the defence about where they kept their mobile phones. A senior defence counsel answered that they used to leave phones on the ground floor. The tribunal then asked the other prosecutors about their practice and they replied that their phones were kept at their offices. When the tribunal questioned about Malum’s phone, senior prosecutor Sultan Mahmud stood up and apologised on behalf of the prosecution. The tribunal then said: “The rule is the same for both sides – defence and prosecution.” On Tuesday, prosecutor Rana Das Gupta’s mobile phone rang during the deposition of a witness. In February, two of prosecutor Ali’s mobile phones rang three times when he was placing arguments in a case. On July 10 last year, Malum’s phone rang loudly during the cross-examination of a witness and the tribunal cautioned him. l

DHAKA TRIBUNE

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Thursday, May 29, 2014

WHO: Tobacco use increasing among young people 15% students aged 13-15 use tobacco in Southeast Asia sulting in lives saved and healthier com- 30% to 49%; Nepal from 25% to 35%; Sri n Moniruzzaman Uzzal Lanka from 72% to 74%; and in Thailand munities, the release added.

from 64% to 70%. Under the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (WHO FCTC), countries have set the target of reducing tobacco consumption by 30% by 2025. According to the press release, more than 1.3 million people die each year from tobacco-related deaths in WHO’s Southeast Asia region. “The health sector alone cannot curb this epidemic; the vector in this epidemic is the tobacco industry, which can be dealt with only by multisectoral actions,” said Dr Poonam. “WHO will continue to support governments in their efforts to protect present and future generations from the damaging health, social, environmental and economic consequences of tobacco use,” she added. l

The prevalence of tobacco use is increasing among young people in Southeast Asia, with nearly 15% of students aged 13-15 years using some form of tobacco in the region. The finding was disclosed in a press release by the World Health Organisation’s (WHO) Southeast Asia Regional Office (SEARO), which also stated that the countries in SEARO are home to 25% of the world’s smoking and 90% of the world’s smokeless tobacco users. Ahead of World No Tobacco Day on May 31, the WHO urged countries to raise taxes on tobacco products to decrease its use, especially among the young people. Higher taxes on tobacco products are proven to reduce the number of tobacco users, especially the young people, re-

“Research shows that higher taxes are especially effective in reducing tobacco use among lower-income groups and in preventing young people from starting to use tobacco” said Dr Poonam Khetrapal Singh, WHO regional director for Southeast Asia. “A 10% price increase due to tobacco taxes would decrease tobacco consumption by up to 8% in most low and middle income countries. Increasing excise taxes on tobacco will increase government revenues significantly, and will allow people to increase their consumption of necessities such as food, education and health care” she added. Tax share in the retail price of cigarettes have increased between 2009 and 2013 in countries such as Bangladesh from 67% to 71%; in Maldives from

BGP opens fire at BGB

PGCL incurs huge losses for suspension of new gas lines

n Our Correspondent, Bandarban Myanmar’s Border Guard Police opened fire on a Border Guard Bangladesh patrol team at Naikkhyangchhari border in Bandarban yesterday. Locals said several rounds of bullets were fired at the BGB near Pillar no 52 around 9am, adding that security was tightened in the area after this incident. Earlier on Thursday, the BGP reportedly opened fire at the BGB near Pillar no 41. Later, the BGB sent a protest letter to the BGP in this regard. Officer-in-Charge of Naikkhyangchhari police station Rafikul Islam said police had heard about the incidents of shooting and were trying to consult with the BGB in this connection. Following yesterday’s incident, a flag meeting was held between the BGB and BGP, which discussed bringing an end to border crimes. Nakkhyangchhari 31 BGB zone Commander Shofikur Rahman could not be reached on his phone, despite several attempts. l

n Our Correspondent, Bogra The Pashchimanchal Gas Company Ltd (PGCL) lost nearly Tk50 crore in revenue over the past four years, due to a government ban on new gas connections in Bogra town, said sources. A senior PGCL official said they had to suspend all new industrial and commercial gas connections in Bogra following an official order in September 2009, while new connections to homes were stopped between July 2009 and April 2013. According to the revenue department, during the suspension period, the state-owned company incurred losses amounting Tk50 crore of probable revenue. Md Aminur Rahman Khan, manager (sales) at PGCL’s Bogra office, said the company resumed new domestic connections in May last year, providing more than 2,500 lines. Moreover, 5,000 more connections will be provided in

the next few months, he added. “But the company has yet to decide about industrial, commercial and CNG filling station connections,” Aminur Rahman said. At present, the gas company is earning Tk6.75 crore per month on average from 15,000 residential connections, Md Abdur Razzak, another PGCL manager, said. Meanwhile, sources at PGCL’s marketing department said there is enough volume of gas in the west zone for providing commercial and industrial connections, but they need a government order to do so. According to PGCL figures, gas at 60 PSI (pounds per square inch) pressure is available from the Bogra Cantonment area to the Thangamara point on the outskirts of the town. The company, however, will not be able to give new connections if the gas pressure falls to 30 PSI from 60 PSI, experts said. l

Private company employee rescued one month after abduction n Kailash Sarkar An employee of a private company, who had been abducted a month ago from the capital’s Mirpur, was rescued from Munshiganj yesterday. Detective Branch of police also arrested four people, Rafiqul Islam Nayan, 29, a former employee of Jaaz Multimedia, and his associates Kamrul Hasan, 27, Moinul Hossain Babu, 30, and Arif Hossain Milon, 44, for their alleged involvement with the kidnapping of Abu Bakkar Sabuj, account officer of Jaaz Multimedia. Police said Sabuj had been abducted from Mirpur section 10 on April 26 on the way to his office located at Moghbazar. After the abduction, the abductors demanded Tk1.10 crore as ransom from Sabuj’s family.

Following the kidnapping, Abdur Rahim, Sabuj’s father, filed a case with Mirpur police station, accusing Sheesh Monwar, chief executive officer of Jaaz Multimedia. Later, police officials had arrested Sheesh Monwar and Production Manager Uzzal and placed them on remand. At a press briefing yesterday afternoon, officials of the Detective Branch (DB) said they had arrested Nayan, Milon and Babu from the capital’s Mirpur after tracking the mobile phones used to make the ransom demands. Following their statements, police rescued Sabuj from Munshiganj and also arrested Babu. At the press briefing, Sabuj said Nayan was his friend and being a friend, he (Nayan) had asked him to get

into a car at Mirpur Section10. “After having a drink in the car, I became senseless,” said Sabuj. “There were five persons, including the driver in the car,” said Sabuj, adding that the kidnappers had kept him confined at a house in Fatulla, Narayanganj for 25 days. Later, he had been shifted to a house at Kosba under Tongiibari upazila in Munsiganj. Joint Commissioner Monirul Islam, who was present at the press conference, said, “Nayan had abducted Sabuj with the intention of trapping Sheesh Monowar and Jaaz Multimedia owner Abdul Aziz.” During interrogation, Nayan told the police that he had kidnapped Sabuj to take revenge on some officials of Jazz Multimedia as he had had been sacked from the office because of Sheesh Monowar. l

Rapist gets life sentence in Chittagong n Tarek Mahmud, Chittagong

A Chittagong court sentenced a person to life term in jail yesterday and fined him Tk50,000 for raping a 12-year-old girl in Chittagong city’s Bandar area in 2005. Judge of Women and Children Repression Prevention Tribunal2 Md Zakir Hossain passed the verdict on Mohammad Sagir, 35, court sources said. MA Naser, prosecutor of the tribunal, said the judge had sentenced the

verdict under section 9(1) of the Women and Children Repression Prevention Act as the charges against the accused was proved beyond any reasonable doubt. The court also ordered Inspector General of Bangladesh Police to take departmental action against the then Sub-Inspector Mahmuda Sultana of Bandar police station as she did not appear before the court after repeated summons, which seemed negligence to the court, he said. According to the prosecution, Sagir

raped the victim in Narikeltola area under Bandar police station on March 20, 2005 when she had gone to the area in search of wood for fuel. The victim’s farther lodged a case with Bandar police station in this regard. Police also submitted a charge sheet against the lone accused on May 3, 2005 and the charge was framed on August 16, 2005. The court announced the verdict after five witnesses, including the victim, had testified. l

3 abducted rescued after 20hrs n Our Correspondent, Cox’s Bazar In a joint drive, police and BGB rescued three abducted people, including a bank official, from Eidgarh area of Ramu upazila on Tuesday night, 20 hours after their abduction. The rescued were Jitendra Nath, a cash officer of Baishari Krishi Bank in the upazila, M Selim Uddin, the son of Abdul Gani of Gonarpara area, and Nurul Alam, a resident of Haludia area of the upazila. Ramu police station OC Saiful Ahmed Bhuiyan said miscreants had abducted the trio from a CNG-run auto-rickshaw on the Eidgarh-Baishari road around 11:30pm on Monday. The following day, local BGB members and police started an all-out drive in the forest and rescued the three around 8:30pm. l

Jaywalkers cross the road at a green light disrupting smooth flow of traffic. Though a daily scenario, people often refrain from using the footbridge, risking their lives. The photo was taken yesterday in the capital’s Mohakhali intersection SYED ZAKIR HOSSAIN

HC clears way for Notre Dame College to admit students through tests n Nazmus Sakib The High Court cleared the way yesterday for the capital’s Notre Dame College to conduct admission tests by staying a government order that directed all colleges to admit students for higher secondary level on the basis of their secondary school certificate results. The bench of Justice M Moazzam Husain and Justice Md Badruzzaman passed the stay order for six months following a petition filed by Notre Dame Principal Hemonto Peuse

Rozario, Deputy Attorney General Motaher Hossain Sazu told the Dhaka Tribune. The government, meanwhile, was yet to decide whether to appeal against the stay order, Motaher said. On May 18, the education ministry issued a guideline for college admissions for the 2014-15 academic year. The notification stated that colleges with 300 seats would have to take steps for online applications, while online admissions were mandatory for institutions with 500 places.

The notification also said 80 percent of the seats should be open to all, while 10% could be reserved for alumni if the institution was a school-cum-college and 10% for special quotas. The High Court order yesterday put a stay on the provisions stipulated in the notification for Notre Dame College only. The popular boys’ college got a similar stay order from the High Court last year and held admission tests after an appeal by the government side was rejected. l

DHAKA TRIBUNE

News

CNG auto-rickshaw strike postponed till June 9 Auto owners warn of further strike if demands not met mended extending the lifespan of aun Abu Hayat Mahmud to-rickshaws from the existing 11years The CNG-run auto-rickshaw owners postponed their 72-hour strike in the capital yesterday, until June 9, after receiving an assurance from the government that it would meet their demands within the timeframe. The postponement came at a meeting between officials of the Communications Ministry, Bangladesh Road Transport Authority and Dhaka Metropolitan CNG Auto-rickshaw Malik Samity Oikya Parishad, an association of the auto-rickshaw owners. “The BRTA chairman assured us that our demands will be met within one week. So we decided to postpone the strike,” Barkat Ullah Bhulu, president of the Dhaka Metropolitan CNG Auto-rickshaw Malik Samity Oikya Parishad told the Dhaka Tribune. He, however, warned that the strike will be enforced again after June 9 if their demands are not met within the timeframe. On Tuesday, the metropolitan auto-rickshaw owners called the strike aiming to press home their three-point demands, including the implementation of the Buet recommendation for an extension of the economic lifespan of the three wheelers. The Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology (Buet) recom-

to 15 years. On Tuesday, the government and the CNG auto-rickshaw owners, however, made confusing statements about the withdrawal of the strike. The ministry and the BTRA held a meeting at the ministry on Tuesday evening with a section of leaders of the Bangladesh Sarak Paribahan Sramik Federation, in an effort to put an end to the strike. Following the meeting, BRTA Chairman Nazrul Islam told the Dhaka Tribune that the leaders of the auto-rickshaw owners assured them that they would suspend the strike from Tuesday evening. But when contacted, Barkat Ullah Bhulu said none of their members were present at the meeting and there would be no withdrawal of their strike until their demands were met. “The ministry did not contact us and we had neither suspended nor withdrawn the strike, he said, adding, “If the government meets our demands, we will withdraw the strike.” The government banned all twostroke auto-rickshaws in urban areas in 2002 giving permission to run the four-stroke CNG-run three-wheelers instead. The lifespan of the three wheelers

Auto-rickshaw drivers hold a rally in front of the National Press Club in the capital yesterday, protesting the ongoing strike of CNG-run auto-rickshaw owners MAHMUD HOSSAIN OPU was first set for nine years, but was later extended to 11 in compliance with a strong demand from the auto-rickshaw owners’ association. Nearly 13,000 CNG-run three-wheelers are now operating in the city and the economic lifespan of an auto-rickshaw is currently eleven and a half years. A circular issued by the Communi-

cations Ministry on Tuesday said the vehicles’ lifespan had been increased, on condition, to 15 years instead of 11, following recommendations from the Buet. Barkat Ullah Bhulu said: “The government published the gazette on the condition that the auto-rickshaw owners must overhaul the three-wheelers

engines in their 12th year. “But only six months are left till end of the 12th year and it is not possible to overhaul the engines within this time.” Barkat Ullah Bhulu demanded that the gazette be revised in accordance with the Buet recommendations for the extension of the existing CNG-run Auto-rickshaws’ lifespan. l

12 gold bars, 27 Fruits markets abound with chemically-treated mangoes necklaces seized at Sukumar Kundu, deputy director to set an example by stern punishment Baneshor Bazar, told the Dhaka Trin Our Correspondent, Rajshahi bune that he mixed medicines into his of Consumer Right Preservation Deagainst such corrupt people. Shahjalal Airport While talking to this correspondent, mangoes to give the fruit a better look. partment Rajshahi office, said they are Almost all the fruit markets in and When this correspondent wanted conducting drives to check the use of around Rajshahi city are overflowing many fruit wholesalers confessed that Kailash Sarkar n with chemically-treated mangoes, they were selling calcium carbide-rip- to know the name of the medicine, he chemicals and contaminants in food Customs department officials at Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport seized 12 gold bars and 27 gold necklaces weighing around 1.5kg yesterday. The gold, worth around Tk70 lakh, was found in a courier delivery from Singapore, said Quamrul Hasan, assistant commissioner of the customs department. He also said they seized the gold bars at 3:30pm after scanning a DHL envelope that had arrived in Dhaka around 12:30pm on a Tiger Airways flight that came in from Singapore via Bangkok. “The officials found the gold bars and 27 gold necklaces in an envelope which was addressed to an electronics shop named ‘New Khan Electronics’ in the capital’s Baitul Mukarram Market,” he said. The filing of a case in this regard was underway, the official added. It is widely reported that airports in Dhaka, Chittagong and Sylhet are being used exclusively for smuggling gold, currencies and various precious metals and stones, in collaboration with a section of unscrupulous employees and officials at the airports. Intelligence sources said at least 60 rings are involved in this smuggling business. The smuggling of gold centring the airports in Bangladesh has intensified since the Indian government imposed some restrictions on the import of gold last year. l

WEATHER THUNDERSHOWER WITH RAIN

THURSDAY, MAY 29 DHAKA

TODAY SUN SETS 6:41PM

TOMORROW SUN RISES 5:11AM

FORECAST FOR TODAY Dhaka

Chittagong

Rajshahi

Rangpur

Khulna

Barisal

Sylhet

Cox’s Bazar

YESTERDAY’S HIGH AND LOW

34.5ºC Srimangal

23.8ºC Jessore

Source: Accuweather/UNB

thanks to the negligence and lax monitoring of the authorities. The Bangladesh Pure Food Ordinance 2005 has prohibited the use of any poisonous or dangerous chemicals or ingredients such as calcium carbide, formalin, pesticides and intoxicating food colour or flavour in any food which may cause injuries to the human body. Violating the law, wholesalers supply mangoes from Rajshahi and Chapainawabganj to the capital and other parts of the country after treating them with chemicals. City dwellers blame law enforcement agencies for not taking adequate actions against these fraudulent businessmen. Abdur Rahman, a resident of the city, said fruit traders continue to mix chemicals into various kinds of fruits as the law enforcement agencies failed

Fajar Sunrise Zohr Asr Magrib Esha

3:46am 5:11am 11:56am 3:17pm 6:40pm 8:06pm Source: IslamicFinder.org

said, “I am not sure about the name, but it works like magic and this medicine is available in every pharmacy in the city.” Mustafizur Rahman, associate professor of agriculture at Rajshahi University, told the Dhaka Tribune that advance processing and packaging systems are a must to ripen and preserve fruits and to stop such adulteration. Senior Scientific Officer of Rajshahi Fruit Research Station Abdul Alim said farmers should use chemicals only two times, before and after budding. Kazi Giash, president of district Consumer Association of Bangladesh Rajshahi unit, said, “We do not have any authority to conduct mobile court drives against food adulteration without an administrative magistrate. But we are continuing our motivational work.”

products. Bangladesh Standards and Testing Institution (BSTI), the regulatory body which monitors quality of foods, emphasised creating mass awareness about health hazards posed by chemically-treated fruits. The BSTI conduct drives twice a week against such malpractice, said Rezaul Islam, deputy director in Rajshahi. “We do not even get magistrates in time to conduct drives,” he added. When contacted, Mir Shahidul Islam, deputy inspector general of police in Rajshahi, said necessary initiatives will be taken in this regard. Commanding Officer of Rapid Action Battalion 5 Kamrul Islam told the Dhaka Tribune that the elite force is trying its best to stop such illegal practice, but civic groups must come forward to help as well. l

Kidnapped college student rescued from Rajshahi n Our Correspondent, Rajshahi A college student, who was abducted for ransom by miscreants from Dhaka 10 days ago, was rescued from Rajshahi railway station area on Tuesday night. The victim, Farhan Zaman Rilke, 18, is a student of Bangladesh Taxes Engineering College. In a press conference yesterday, Deputy Commissioner (West) of Rajshahi Metropolitan Police (RMP) Proloy Cisima handed Farhan over to his family members. The commissioner said the abductors had picked Farhan up from Roopnagar area of the capital’s Mirpur on May 17, when he was heading to his college. His father Bazlur Rashid then lodged a general diary with Roopnagar police station regarding the incident. Afterwards, the kidnappers called Farhan’s father on his mobile phone and demanded ransom in exchange for his son’s release. Bazlur informed the police station immediately. l

Police hand over college student Farhan, who had been abducted from the capital 10 days ago, to his family yesterday after rescuing him from Rajshahi on Tuesday night DHAKA TRIBUNE

Ward councillor jailed for 2 years, later freed A mobile court yesterday sentenced a Chittagong City Corporation ward councillor to two years’ imprisonment on charge of assaulting two female staff of the court, but he was later released under the auspices of CCC Mayor M Monjur Alam. The mobile court, led by Executive Magistrate Nazia Shirin, passed the order against ward 4 Councillor Mahbubul Alam at 2:30pm after handing him over to Chandgaon police station.

SC stays HC order halting REHAB election n Nazmus Sakib The Appellate Division yesterday stayed a High Court order which had stopped further proceedings of the election of REHAB’s executive committee for three months. Justice Hasan Foez Siddique, the chamber judge, also referred the matter to the full bench of the top court for settlement. The order came following a petition lodged by Akteruzzaman Manju, chairman of the REHAB (Real Estate and Housing Association of Bangladesh) election board. Barrister Rafique-Ul Huq and Attorney General Mahbubey Alam, in his personal capacity, contended for the petitioner while Supreme Court lawyers AM Amin Uddin and Raghib Rauf Chowdhury opposed the petition. The election for the term of 2014-16 was scheduled for May 31. Petitioner’s counsels said the High Court stay order of May 26 became ineffective since, on May 24, the election board declared the uncontested candidates to be the winners. However, the opposing party said the announcement of the final result was scheduled to be made on June 7 and the handing over of responsibilities to the new committee was to be on June 30. These were part of the election process and the High Court put a stay on the process. They also said the election board chairman was not an aggrieved party, so the stay petition by Manju was not maintainable. The High Court gave the stay order following a petition filed by Prof Abu Yusuf Md Abdullah, chairman of Prashad Nirman Ltd. He alleged that his name had been dropped from the list of finally nominated candidates even though he was a valid candidate. l

Two armed land grabbers held n Tarek Mahmud, Chittagong In an overnight drive yesterday, police nabbed two notorious land encroachers, possessing firearms and ammunition, in Chittagong city’s Bayezid area. Police said the arrested had been involved with land encroaching and terrorism in the area for a long time. The arrested Sujon and Nur Mohammad, are the second-in-command of the notorious land encroacher ring “Yiakub Bahini” and the leader of another rival ring, respectively, said Bayezid police station Officer-in-Charge Saiful Islam. He said acting on a tip-off, police conducted the drive in the police station’s jurisdiction from 12am to 6am to nab the listed land encroachers of the area and made the arrests. Police also recovered a pistol, six rounds of bullets, two light guns and a cartridge from their possession, he added. An arms case was lodged with Bayezid police station against the duo. The OC also informed that the arrested had been encroaching on hilly areas and using those lands as their dens for drugs and arms peddling. l

Human haulier workers to go on strike from Sunday n Our Correspondent, Rajshahi

OBSTRUCTING MOBILE COURT ACTIVITIES, ASSAULTING FEMALE STAFF

n Tarek Mahmud, Chittagong PRAYER TIMES

ened mango to avoid suffering financial losses in the business of perishable food items. They said they used chemicals to ripen the mangoes as well as to make the colour rich and shiny. A trader, who preferred to be unnamed, said customers wanted to buy neat, clean, colourful and glossy mangoes. But naturally ripened mangoes lose their bright colour, and that’s why they feel encouraged to use chemicals. Businessmen from Rajshahi region said generally they used calcium carbide and formalin to ripen and preserve mangoes. Traders said they used 100 gram calcium carbide in 50kg of mangoes. This calcium carbide produces heat and acetylene gas that ripens and cleans the mangoes automatically. Joynal Abedin, who sells fruits at

Thursday, May 29, 2014

Nazia Shirin told the Dhaka Tribune that the mobile court went to Tekbazar area under Chandgaon police station to evict illegal establishments along the banks of a canal at 10am, when Mahbubul and his associates tried to obstruct the court’s activities. “Mahbubul and his men engaged in a scuffle with my force and the councillor himself assaulted two of our female staff,” said the magistrate. “Later, I ordered police to arrest him and hand him over to Chandgaon police station. The councillor had been

sentenced to two years’ imprisonment for assaulting female staff of the court,” she added. Later around 4pm, Councillor Mahbubul Alam was released after a meeting chaired by Mayor M Monjur Alam, but the CCC authority did not issue any statement in this regard. When contacted, the CCC mayor said: “I did not know anything about the mobile court’s sentence. There was a misunderstanding between the councillor and the mobile court which was later resolved amicably.”

Abdu Rouf, officer-in-charge of Chandgaon police station, said they had taken Mahbubul to the police station following the mobile court’s order and he was later taken to the Nagar Bhaban as per an order of the magistrate. Meanwhile, supporters of the councillor staged demonstrations in front of Chandgaon police station and Nagar Bhaban, demanding his immediate release. The agitated supporters alleged that the magistrate had punished the councillor because of a personal vendetta. l

Workers of shallow-engine run vehicles in Rajshi will go on strike from Sunday, if their three-point demands are not met by Saturday. Their three-point demands include giving permission to the shallow-engine run vehicles to operate on all routes in Rajshahi and stopping the police from harassing the transport workers. Owners of shallow-engine run vehicles, locally known as Nasimon, Karimon and Bhotbhoti, submitted a memorandum to the office of the deputy commissioner yesterday. After submitting the memorandum, Akbar Ali Lalu, president of Nasimon, Karimon and Bhotbhoti Drivers’ Samity said they would start a tougher movement if their demands are not met by Saturday. Owners and drivers of human hauliers said they had to pay a huge amount of money to police to ensure that they could operate on highways. He claimed that transport workers said police had been collecting Tk100 per vehicle when any of these vehicles travelled on the highway. As the district administration has started drives against unauthorised vehicles, human haulier owners are now trying to put pressure on administration, said Mesbahuddin Ahmed, deputy commissioner of Narayanganj. l

DHAKA TRIBUNE

Nation

Nor’wester claims three lives, damages houses in 3 districts

Businessmen demand end to extortion on waterways n Our Correspondent, Sunamganj Hundreds of businessmen formed a human chain at Traffic Point in Sunamganj town yesterday, demanding measures to put an end to extortion on waterways. The businessman said they could not operate their vessels on the Jadukata River, Chalti River and Surma River without having to pay extortion money to local goons who have close links with local political leaders. They said they had already informed the district administration about the matter, but law enforcement

n Tribune Report Spells of nor’wester have killed three people, injured about 50 and also destroyed more than 400 houses in different districts across the country yesterday. A nor’wester hit Bakshiganj of Jamalpur yesterday morning left 30 people injured, three of whom later died. Storms also destroyed 300 houses and injured 20 in Tangail and damaged 40 mud houses in Sunamganj. The severe nor’wester, which lasted for nearly 15 minutes, hit Bakshiganj around 10:30am and left at least 30 people injured and destroyed more than 100 houses and numerous trees. The injured were taken to Bakshiganj Hospital, where three succumbed to their injuries. Officer-in-Charge of Bakshiganj police station Mostasinur Rahman said Nesad Ali of Gopalpur village died at noon on the way to Bakshiganj Hospital. Masum, 28, and Abul Kalam Salu, 50, who were critically injured, also died before reaching the hospital. The upazila experienced a power outage because the storm had disconnected electric wires. Road communication between Bakshiganj and Sanandabari was also suspended. Jamalpur Deputy Commissioner Shahabuddin Khan visited the afflicted areas and said the DC office would be giving Tk25,000 to each of the families of the deceased. Those who received injuries would be given Tk7,500 each and each of the

Thursday, May 29, 2014

Road crash kills one in Gazipur Correspondent, n Our Gazipur Locals roam around a damaged house after a storm swept over Bakshiganj village in Jamalpur yesterday DHAKA TRIBUNE afflicted families would be given 30kg of rice as well as supplying them with materials to mend their houses. More than 50 houses were destroyed when the nor’wester struck several villages in Melandah and Sarishabari upazilas around the same time. Masud Parvez Josna, chairman of Pogoldiga union in Sarishabari upazila, said the 30-minute storm destroyed many houses and trees.

20 hurt, 300 houses damaged in Tangail

At least 20 people were injured and nearly 300 houses damaged when a severe storm hit five villages in Dhanbari

upazila of Tangail yesterday morning. Chairman of Dhanbari upazila Mir Farukh said it was drizzling in the morning before the storm suddenly hit around 9am and lasted for 2-3 minutes. It hit five villages including Mutshudi West Para, Moulvi Para, Khandakar Para, Pagla Para and Dukna, he said, adding that hundreds of trees were uprooted.

40 mud houses destroyed in Sunamganj

40 mud houses were destroyed in Jararkona village of Sukhair Rajapur North union under Dharmapasha upazila of Sunamganj when the nor’wester hit the area yesterday. l

A truck driver was killed when a Dhaka-bound pickup pushed the truck from behind on the Dhaka-Mymensingh highway in Sadar upazila of Gazipur early yesterday. The victim, 35, could not be identified immediately, said police sources. Sergeant Kamal Pasha of Naojore highway police said the pickup pushed the standing truck hard from behind in Masterbari area under Sadar upazila around 4:30am yesterday. The driver was sleeping beneath the truck and he was critically injured at the incident. He was rushed to the Gazipur Sadar Hospital where the on-duty doctor declared him dead, he added. l

Lightning strike kills 2 farmers

Correspondent, n Our Madaripur Lighting strike killed two farmers while working in a field at village Diapara of Kunia union under Sadar upazila in Madaripur yesterday morning. The deceased are Abdul Hi Choukidar, 60, was a tractor driver and son of Kashem Choukidar of village Diapara and Litan Bepari, 42, son of Akubali Bepari of the same village. Locals said the two were farming in a neighbouring field while it started raining and they took shelter in a nearby shallow machine room. They were struck by lightning at that time leaving them dead on the spot. Abdul was rushed to the Madaripur Sadar Hospital where the on-duty doctor announced him dead, family sources said. l

CNG auto rickshaw driver killed Correspondent, n Our Brahmanbaria

Unknown miscreants allegedly killed a CNG auto rickshaw driver in disguise of passengers and snatched the vehicle yesterday in Brahmanbaria. The victim Yasin, 28, was recovered by police with his hands and legs tied up from village Chilokut of Sadar upazila yesterday afternoon. Sources said Yasin drove the auto rickshaw on Tuesday from Madhyapara bus stand area and didn’t return his home in North Pairotala area of the town. Locals saw his body at the village Chilokut yesterday and informed police. Officer-in-Charge Md Abdur Rahman of Brahmanbaria Sadar police told the Dhaka Tribune that police sent the body to Brahmanbaria Sadar Hospital for autopsy. It is suspected that he might have been killed for the auto rickshaw by the miscreants in disguise of passengers, he added. l

agencies are reluctant to take action against the criminals for reasons unknown. They urged the authority concerned to take immediate measures so that they could run their businesses properly. The also vowed to start a tougher movement, including a strike, if necessary steps are not taken in this regard. “Traders are facing multi-phased and wide-scale extortion and harassment when going to the district town with their goods,” said President of District Balu Mohal Babsayee Somity Kamruzzaman Dhara Mia. l

Robbery committed; house owner killed

n Our Correspondent, Narsingdi Robbers looted valuables and cash from a house in Pashchim Basail of Sadar upazila yesterday, leaving the house owner dead and four others injured. Sadar police station Officer-inCharge Abul Kashem said about 1012 robbers, broke into Sultan Uddin Khan’s house around 3am and held the inhabitants hostage at gunpoint. They stole five tolas of gold ornaments, cash amounting Tk2 lakh, five mobile phone sets and other valuables worth Tk5 lakh. A case was filed in this regard. l

DHAKA TRIBUNE

Juris

Thursday, May 29, 2014

Punishment fails, rehabilitation works

Juridical Insight

Double jeopardy in criminal proceedings n Mohammad Nayeem Firoz

SYED LATIF HOSSAIN

Ziadul Islam n Muhammad Chowdhury

o one is born a criminal. Criminals are products of the social, economic and environmental conditions. It is believed that if the criminals are educated and trained, they can be made competent to behave well in the society. Our existing legal framework has inadequate provisions regarding proper reintegration of prisoners to the society. This article will throw light on the issue of rehabilitation of prisoners under international legal instruments and national legislations, along with the recent developments that took place in this area in Bangladesh.

International obligations and guidelines Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) of 1948 laid the groundwork for prisoners’ rehabilitation under International law, although it did not expressly use the term “rehabilitation.” The first covenant that brings the issue of rehabilitation in international limelight is the 1966 International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, best known as ICCPR. In Article 10, ICCPR pronounced that the penitentiary system shall comprise treatment of prisoners, the essential aim of which shall be their reformation and social rehabilitation.” By using the word “shall,” article 10 creates a mandatory requirement to provide rehabilitation. Moreover, convention on the Rights of the Children (CRC) declares that incarcerated minors should be treated in a manner consistent with the promotion of the child’s sense of dignity and worth, which reinforces the child’s respect for the human rights and fundamental freedoms of others. Similar tones were reiterated in 1984 Convention against Torture, 1990 Convention on the Rights of the Migrant Workers, 1998 Rome Statutes of International Criminal Court. Bangladesh being a signatory of all these international instruments is duty-bound to ensure proper rehabilitation of prisoners in society. Another issue is pertinent here that, in 1955 United Nations (UN) approved “Standard Minimum Rules for the Treatment of Prisoners.” These Rules

are not legally binding, but nonetheless can have powerful soft law impact, especially given their promotion by the UN. Rule 58 is very important to our discussion, which states that the purpose and justification of a sentence of imprisonment is ultimately to protect society against crime. This end can only be achieved if the period of imprisonment is used to ensure that upon his return to society the offender is not only willing but able to lead a law abiding and self-supporting life.

Rehabilitation under Bangladeshi Legal Framework The concept of rehabilitation is not expressly provided in the constitution of the People’s Republic of Bangladesh. However, the essence of some articles can be extended to cover the rehabilitation issue. For instance, Article 11 provides that “the Republic shall be a democracy in which fundamental human rights and freedoms and respect for the dignity and worth of the human person shall be guaranteed.” Again, Article 35(1) states that “No person shall be subjected to a penalty greater than that which might have been inflicted under the law in force at the time of the commission of the offence. The social stigmatisation impliedly inflicts more punishment to an ex-prisoner who already served his times. Such stigmatisation and different treatment is a clear violation of the right to equality and equal protection of law enshrined in Article 27 of the constitution. Prison system in Bangladesh still follows the outdated statute books of the British colonial rulers, which were framed in the 19th century. Jail Code consists of the provisions of Prisons Act of 1894, Prisoners Act of 1900, and the Identification of Prisoners Act of 1920. According to these old statutes, the main objective of the prison system is the confinement and safe custody of prisoners through suppressive and punitive measures. There has been no significant modification in the jail code, nor have the vital recommendations of the Jail Reform Commission, 1978 been implemented. After independence of Bangladesh, though several discussions had emphasised on humanisation of the conditions in the prisons, a modified Prisons and Prisoners Act emphasising on rehabilitation has not been enacted.

Major challenges The reformative or rehabilitative practice in prison is not working for several factors. The existing legislations have become outdated and the missing provisions of counseling, capacity building, etc are making the process a complex one. Infrastructure problems, overcrowding in prison, inordinate delay in trial, prevalent corruption and extortion, staff shortage, insufficient prison programmes, etc are working as barricades towards ensuring proper rehabilitation process. Moreover, Bangladesh made some reservations and declarations to the ICCPR to limit its application especially on the first part of paragraph 3 of Article 10 relating to reformation and social rehabilitation of prisoners. Bangladesh put herself away on account of financial constraints and for lack of proper logistical support.

The positive developments In order to ensure rehabilitation and uphold the flag of reformative theory, only law and legal reform is not enough. First and foremost, we all need to grow the consensus among us that “Hate the wrong, not the wrongdoer.” We need to change our attitude towards the persons who serve times in prison. Despite the prevalent lacunas in our legislations, the government especially the Ministry of Law has already undertaken processes towards reforming the Jail Codes. Recently, Moulvibazar central jail authority reportedly undertook some income generation, skill development and education programmes for prisoners. A garment factory having 26 knitting machines was established in the Dhaka central jail aiming towards skill development and rehabilitation of the prisoners. Recent years witnessed significant judicial intervention in order to mitigate the plight of juvenile offenders. In the cases of State v Md Roushan Mondal alias Hashem and State v Metropolitan Police Commissioner, Khulna and others, the higher court emphasised that young offenders should be at all times kept separate from the adult offenders from the time of their apprehension, during the trial and during confinement to ensure the facilities for proper education and upbringing of youth. Another good ini-

tiative was taken by the government last year by enacting the Children Act, 2013 repealing the earlier Children Act of 1974. The new Act conforms to the provisions of the Convention of the Rights of Child.

octrine of double jeopardy at law means that a person who has once been tried by a court of competent jurisdiction for an offence and convicted or acquitted of such offence shall, while such conviction or acquittal remains in force, not be liable to be tried again for the same offence. Interestingly, we found a movie concerning this issue having the title “Double Jeopardy” which is a 1999 American thriller directed by Bruce Beresford and starring Tommy Lee Jones, Ashley Judd, and Bruce Greenwood. The film is about a woman who was charged for the murder of her husband. She was tried for her husband’s murder and the idea was, once she was sentenced for it one way or the other, then she could not be tried for it again, but that was a baloney. She was tried for his murder that supposedly took place at a certain time in a certain way. Since her husband was not dead, she was faultily tried for a murder which did not take place. That does not mean she can not be tried for the murder that actually did take place afterwards because that was a different crime. Harvard Professor Alan Dershowitz criticised the movie for allegedly misrepresenting the Double Jeopardy Clause of the Fifth Amendment of the US Constitution. “There are

in Bangladesh through article 35(2) of the Constitution of the Bangladesh. It provides that no person shall be prosecuted and punished for the same offence more than once. This is based on another principle which is: “no person should be vexed, prosecuted or tried twice for the same offence.” This principle is further confirmed in Section 26 of the General Clauses Act of 1897 and in Section 403 of the Code of Criminal Procedure of 1898. Section 26 of the General Clauses Act, 1897 goes as follows: Where an act or omission constitutes an offence under two or more enactments, then the offender shall be liable to be prosecuted and punished under either or any of those enactments, but shall not be liable to be punished twice for the same offence. Section 403 has been made in such a way that the above named principles of natural justice may have their full legal application. Section 403 of CrPC states that a person once convicted or acquitted not to be tried for same offence. Explanation clause to this section enunciates that the dismissal of a complaint, the stopping of proceedings under section 249 or the discharge of the accused is not an acquittal for the purposes of this section. Though the question as to whether the accused persons who were acquitted under section 247 can or cannot be

What more can be done Now what is urgently required is a full-fledged legislation precisely for rehabilitation purposes like that of UK’s Rehabilitation of Offenders Act of 1974. This Act enables some criminal convictions to be ignored after a rehabilitation period. Its purpose is that people do not have a lifelong blot on their records because of a relatively minor offence in their past. In our society, even one night prison time puts the label of criminal on a person’s face; a Rehabilitation Act can help people to maintain their self-esteem. Policy makers should also focus on promoting the human dignity of prisoners as a legal value within national discourse, as this strategy can encourage legal recognition of a concrete right to rehabilitation. Prison authorities should make available to all detainees, whether sentenced or under trial, education programmes and other co-curricular vocation activities. Education programmes should be integrated with the public system so as to allow for continuation of education upon release. In conclusion, the basic principles and the purpose of punishment is not to torture a person but to reform him, re-integrate him in the society and ultimately make him a good citizen. This is only possible if the government, international partner, local NGOs and civil society work hand-in-hand. People need to bear in mind that, isolating any person from society enhances the risk of further criminality. A service oriented, pro-active and human rights-conscious police force is equally important in this journey especially for the effective functioning of the criminal justice system. Coordination and cooperation among the bodies related with the criminal justice sector can play a vital role in ensuring the rehabilitation of prisoners.  Muhammad Ziadul Islam Chowdhury works at Rule of Law Programme of German Development Cooperation (GIZ).

JURIS QUOTE All reality hinges on moral foundations. In other words, that this is a moral universe, and that there are moral laws of the universe just as abiding as the physical laws. Martin Luther King Jr.

(1929 - 1968) American pastor, activist and leader

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two separate incidents,” Dershowitz claims. “She was falsely accused the first time. And maybe she could sue for that or get some credit. However, she committed an entirely separate or at least planned to commit an entirely separate crime the second time. And there’s just no defence of double jeopardy for doing it the second time.” Double jeopardy is not essentially about being “tried two times.” The number of trials is immaterial. What it means is that nobody can be prosecuted for an offence arising out of conduct in relation to which s/he has already been convicted or acquitted in accordance with due process of law. Before entering into the details of this doctrine, let us consider an instance: Drawing a criminal court’s attention in the order of acquittal under section 247 of the Criminal Procedure Code given by a competent trial court in respect of the same accused persons involving in the selfsame allegations brought by the same complainant in a given case, learned defence lawyer argued that this case is barred by the doctrine of double jeopardy to legally proceed any longer and that is why the accused persons can be exempted from the criminal liabilities of this case. Now we may enter into the jurisprudential aspects of the said doctrine of criminal law. In international aspect, 72 signatories and 166 state parties to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights recognise, under Article 14 (7), that no one shall be liable to be tried or punished again for an offence for which he has already been finally convicted or acquitted in accordance with the law and penal procedure of each country. In some countries, including Canada, Mexico and the US, the guarantee against being “twice put in jeopardy” is a constitutional right. In other countries, the protection is afforded by domestic law. The age-old principle double jeopardy has been given legal shape

tried again on the selfsame allegation is a complicated question of law, it is well settled that if the accused persons are acquitted under section 247 CrPC, second proceeding on the selfsame allegations will definitely be barred under section 403 of CrPC. The reason is obvious that in view of the provisions of section 403, it is clear that the provisions therein cover almost all the circumstances involving subsequent trial of a person who was tried earlier. We are aware that several judicial pronouncements of the Supreme Court of Bangladesh have strongly authenticated this stance. From the case of Dewan Obaidur Rahman v State reported in 7 BLT (AD) 227, it appears that when the complainant failed to appear in the court on the date fixed for appearance of the accused, the concerned judicial magistrate acquitted the accused under section 247 of the Code. It is to be noted that in the cases where the order of acquittal in any other case having the same cause of action and between the same parties is still in force, it can be legally presumed that the present charges are tantamount to be groundless as the case itself is barred by section 403 of the CrPC and an instance of double jeopardy. Hence, at the stage of charge-framing all the accused persons of the earlier case may be legally discharged from the latter case in accordance with sections 241A and 403 of the CrPC. The guarantee of protection against double jeopardy in criminal proceedings is a significant notion of law. This article discusses the juridical aspects of the guarantee as a human right by infusing the texts of different normative instruments. The protection against double jeopardy is considered as a cogent element of the right to a fair trial and a peremptory plea of the defence in any given judicial proceedings dealing with criminal matters.  Mohammad Nayeem Firoz is a Sr Assistant Judge of Bangladesh Judicial Service.

World

DHAKA TRIBUNE

Thursday, May 29, 2014

US forces to leave Afghanistan by 2016 After seismic elections, n AFP, Washington US forces will complete their withdrawal from Afghanistan by the end of 2016, President Barack Obama has said, unveiling a plan to end America’s longest war. Underscoring the continuing instability despite a 12-year deployment by US-led Nato combat troops, two Americans were slightly injured in an attack on a US consulate vehicle in Afghanistan’s western city of Herat yesterday. Speaking in the White House Rose Garden on Tuesday, Obama confirmed that the 32,000-strong US deployment in Afghanistan would be scaled back to around 9,800 by the start of 2015. Those forces would be halved by the end of 2015 before eventually being scaled back to a normal embassy presence with a security assistance component by the end of 2016. “We’re finishing the job we started,” Obama said, as he outlined the end of US involvement in a conflict which began when American-led forces invaded Afghanistan to oust the Taliban and hunt Al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden after the 2001 attacks on New York and Washington. US combat operations would draw to a close at the end of 2014, meaning US troops would no longer patrol Afghan cities, towns or valleys from next year, Obama said. The drawdown relies on Afghanistan signing a long-delayed Bilateral Security Agreement laying out the

Snowden: I worked as a spy at all levels n AFP, Washington US fugitive intelligence leaker Edward Snowden “trained as a spy” and worked “undercover overseas” for intelligence agencies, he told NBC News in excerpts of an interview aired Tuesday. In his first interview in US media, Snowden hit back at claims that he was merely a low-level contractor, saying he worked “at all levels from the bottom on the ground, all the way to the top.” Snowden, who has been charged in the United States with espionage, was granted asylum by Russia in August 2013 after shaking the American intelligence establishment to its core with a series of leaks on mass surveillance in the United States and around the world. In the interview, taped last week and aired in full on Wednesday, Snowden defended himself against claims minimizing his intelligence experience before he stole and leaked a trove of classified documents revealing the NSA’s program of phone and Internet surveillance. “I was trained as a spy in sort of the traditional sense of the word in that I lived and worked undercover overseas – pretending to work in a job that I’m not – and even being assigned a name that was not mine,” he said. He said he had worked covertly as “a technical expert” for the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) and the National Security Agency (NSA), as well as as a trainer for the Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA). l

American forces will complete their withdrawal from Afghanistan by end 2016, says President Barack Obama

499

Soldiers killed

418

317

310

‘Afghanistan is not ready’

155 US soldiers on patrol in Logar province, Oct 2012

12 2001

2002

127

117

2003

2004

2005

2006

2007

2008

2009

2010

2011

2012

2013

2014

Deployment history Thousands 100

April 5, 2014

Oct 2001

August

December

US-led military campaign begins with air strikes in Afghanistan

NATO assumes leadership of ISAF operations

US President Barack Obama orders troops surge

October 40

December

First round in presidential vote

May 32,000

November

Karzai becomes first democraticallyelected president

Karzai starts second term as president

Hamid Karzai becomes 20 interim leader of Afghanistan

2001

2002

2003

2004

2005

2006

2007

2008

2009

2010

2011

2012

2013

2014

Source : iCasualties/BrookingsAfghanistanIndex

The announcement was met with dismay by some observers in Afghanistan, where there was a widespread belief that a foreign presence was likely to continue for up to a decade. “Afghanistan is not ready,” said Mia Gul Wasiq, a security analyst. “If they withdraw irresponsibly, Afghanistan will become like Iraq. “We have not been able to establish a strong government... the US has not done its job, that was to root out terrorism from Afghanistan. Their plan and timetable on paper is not practical.” Obama sharply stepped up the US involvement in Afghanistan after his 2008 election victory, boosting troop numbers there even as he brought the parallel US operation in Iraq to a close. He also massively increased the number of covert US drone strikes on militant targets in neighbouring Pakistan, and ordered the May 2011 US commando raid that killed bin Laden there. l

On Jerusalem Day, Benjamin Netanyahu vows not to divide city n AFP, Jerusalem Police closed off the flashpoint Al-Aqsa compound to visitors yesterday as Israelis marked Jerusalem Day, with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu pledging to never allow the city to be divided. The annual celebration, which began at sundown on Tuesday, recalls the moment when Israeli forces took over the walled Old City in what was then Jordanian-held east Jerusalem on the third day of the 1967 Six-Day War. Israel later annexed the entire eastern side of the city in a move never recognised by the international community.

“Forty-seven years ago, Jerusalem was unified, and it will never be divided again,” Netanyahu said at a special parliamentary session marking the day. Police closed off the Al-Aqsa compound after Palestinian youths threw stones at the security forces as a group of Jewish visitors was touring the site, police spokeswoman Luba Samri told AFP. Located in the heart of the Old City, the volatile compound is the third holiest site in Islam but also the most sacred site in Judaism because it was the site where the two Jewish temples stood. Due to the sensitivity of the site, Jews are not allowed to pray there.

n AFP, Ramallah

Israeli soldiers yesterday raided the offices of a Palestinian newspaper in the West Bank city of Ramallah, managers said, ordering them to stop printing publications by the Islamist movement Hamas. “Officers informed us that Israel would not allow the printing and distribution of Falastin, Al-Resala, and Al-Istiqlal,” three Hamas newspapers, the West Bank-based daily Al-Ayyam's managers said in a statement. Al-Ayyam has been printing the three papers since April, when a sur-

prise reconciliation deal between Hamas, which rules the Gaza Strip, and their rivals Fatah brought the Islamist group's publications back to West Bank newsstands. The soldiers threatened to take “concrete steps” towards stopping Falastin, Al-Resala and Al-Istiqlal being printed at l-Ayyam offices in the West Bank administrative centre of Ramallah, the statement said. Israel's army had no immediate comment. On April 23, Hamas and the Palestine Liberation Organisation – which Fatah

EU leaders assess damage n Reuters, Brussels European Union leaders, stunned by a big Eurosceptic protest vote in European Parliament elections, agreed on Tuesday to seek a package deal of appointments to top EU jobs with an economic agenda to win back public confidence. German Chancellor Angela Merkel, the 28-nation bloc's most powerful leader, acknowledged that her center-right party's candidate, former Luxembourg prime minister Jean-Claude Juncker, may not end up heading the executive European Commission. British Prime Minister David Cameron, under pressure after the anti-EU UK Independence Party won the European Parliament election in Britain, came to the EU summit in Brussels determined to block the nomination of Juncker, seen in London as an old-style European federalist. Sweden, the Netherlands and Hungary also voiced reservations and the 28 leaders mandated European Council President Herman Van Rompuy, who chairs EU summits, to hold consultations on a slate of candidates for senior positions and a policy agenda for the next European Commission, Merkel told reporters. The aim was to wrap up the contentious appointments before the summer break, she said. EU leaders next meet on June 26-27. Merkel's center-right European Peo-

dominates – revealed a reconciliation deal under which they would work together to form a new government of political independents. That was seized upon by Israel, which said it would not negotiate with any Palestinian government backed by Hamas, putting the final nail in the coffin of the latest round of US-brokered peace talks. Earlier this month, Al-Quds daily, published in the West Bank, became available again in Gaza for the first time since Hamas drove Fatah out of the territory in a week of bloody fighting in 2007. l

n AFP, London The British media maintained a blackout yesterday on a photograph showing the bare bottom of Prince William's wife Kate, despite the picture being used in other countries. One of Rupert Murdoch's Australian newspapers published the photograph on Wednesday, saying it was refusing to follow the “ridiculous” ban imposed by the British press. The Sydney Daily Telegraph published the photograph the day after Germany's biggest-selling newspaper, Bild, became the first publication to use the image. In Bild the photograph was accompa-

Egypt voting extended after low turnout chief, after turnout fell below that in the poll won by the Islamist leader he ousted. The move raised further question

marks about the democratic credentials of an election already marred by a deadly crackdown on the main opposition since last year. Electoral officials said over the scheduled two days of polling Monday and Tuesday just 37 percent of eligible voters cast their ballot – well below the nearly 52 percent who voted in the 2012

election that brought president Mohamed Morsi to power. The low turnout came despite a personal appeal from retired field marshal Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, who had been seeking vindication from the voters for his overthrow of Egypt's only freely elected president last July after a single turbulent year in power.

Egyptian soldiers guard an empty polling station in Cairo on May 28. Egypt’s presidential election entered into a third day yesterday after polling was extended amid reports of low turnout AFP

ple's Party won the most seats in the 751-member EU legislature but no party has a clear majority. She paid lip service to Juncker's candidacy for the top job but said other outcomes were possible. “As a member of the EPP, I supported Jean-Claude Juncker as our candidate for the presidency of the European Commission and I haven't forgotten that. But I still have to respect the treaty,” she told a news conference, rebuffing questions from German reporters about breaking her word to voters. The Lisbon treaty governing the EU says leaders have to “take into account” the election results but does not specify that they have to nominate the so-called “Spitzenkandidat” of the biggest party as Commission president. Asked whether she was willing to outvote Cameron, she said it was important to preserve the good working atmosphere of the European Council of EU leaders, especially in times of crisis. With far-right, anti-EU parties sweeping to unprecedented victories in France, Britain and Denmark and populists gaining ground elsewhere, the leaders faced tough questions about the future direction of European integration. Drawing initial lessons from a bruising election, which handed a quarter of all parliament seats to Eurosceptic or protest parties, several leaders said they would seek ways to reorient the EU's work to make it more relevant to citizens. l

British press maintains Kate photo blackout

Samri said the compound would remain “closed to (non-Muslim) visitors because of Jerusalem Day celebrations at the Western Wall,” which lies just below. Tens of thousands of Jews were expected to march to the Western Wall later in the day, in a traditional event that tends to spark friction with Palestinians in east Jerusalem. Meanwhile, police arrested a Palestinian near an entrance to the Old City for spraying Jews with tear gas. Israel considers Jerusalem its “indivisible” capital, while Palestinians insist east Jerusalem be the capital of their future state. l

Palestinian newspaper offices raided

Syrians stream to embassies to vote in controversial poll n AFP, Cairo Egypt extended voting into a third day yesterday in a presidential election n AFP, Beirut seen as a plebiscite on the former army Thousands of Syrians, thronging streets around their embassy in Beirut, yesterday streamed to the polls for Syria’s controversial presidential poll being staged as civil war rages in the country. For the early vote by expats, the Yarzeh district of east Beirut was festooned with Syrian flags and portraits of President Bashar al-Assad, who is expected to cruise to victory in the June 3 election. With security tight for the vote, which the official media back home hailed as a moral triumph for the regime, the yellow flags of Lebanon’s Shiite militant movement Hezbollah, a staunch ally of Assad’s forces in their brutal three-year showdown with rebels, were also prominent. Of the estimated three million Syrians living abroad, including both refugees and peacetime residents, only around 200,000 were entitled to vote yesterday, in 38 embassies abroad, a foreign ministry source said in Damascus. “It’s a relatively acceptable figure, if we bear in mind the fact that France, Germany and Belgium have banned Syrian citizens” from voting, along with the United Arab Emirates, said AlWatan, a pro-regime Damascus daily. The ministry says 40,000 citizens are listed on the electoral register in Lebanon. l

terms and conditions of the US military presence in the country after this year. Afghanistan’s outgoing president Hamid Karzai has refused to sign the agreement, but both of the candidates vying to be his successor in next month’s run-off vote – Ashraf Ghani and Abdullah Abdullah – have said they will sign the deal. “So I’m hopeful we can get this done,” Obama said.

US troops in Afghanistan

Sisi, whose victory over his sole rival, leftist leader Hamdeen Sabbahi, was never in doubt, had urged “40, 45 (million) or even more” of Egypt's 53 million eligible voters to turn out to give credibility to an election boycotted not only by Morsi's Muslim Brotherhood but also by influential secular groups. After reports of a meagre numbers at polling stations on the first day of voting Monday, Sisi's backers in the staterun media harangued people to go out and vote. An electoral official said polling had been extended to “give a chance to the largest possible number of voters to cast their ballots.” On Wednesday, several Cairo polling stations visited by AFP were deserted in the initial hours of voting. “They didn't get enough votes, so they extended polling into a third day,” complained filmmaker Mohamed Ali Hagar, who said he would stay away regardless. However, the extension of polling hours in a bid to boost turnout did little to raise the credibility of the vote in the eyes of Western governments whose longstanding alliance with Cairo was seriously compromised by last year's overthrow of the elected president. “The regime had projected Sisi in a certain way, but that facade has been undermined... support for Sisi was overstated,” said Shadi Hamid, of the Brookings Institution's Saban Centre. l

nied by a caption declaring that the future queen had a “beautiful bum.” It shows the Duchess of Cambridge's blue and white summer dress lifted by a gust of wind when the royal couple got out of a helicopter in the Blue Mountains, west of Sydney. The British press initially reacted with outrage to Bild, with the Daily Mail calling it “a breach of privacy” while blasting the “crude” caption that appeared alongside. On Wednesday, the Daily Mail took a different approach, publishing the picture with the offending area pixellated alongside a piece by Australian-born columnist Amanda Platell urging Kate to dress differently to avoid “another embarrassing wardrobe malfunction.” The Times' columnist Carol Midgley meanwhile described the decision by foreign newspapers to use the picture as “sleazy and creepy” and described the fascination as perplexing “as if people somehow expected to find something else under (her skirt).” The image was widely available on the Internet and Twitter. The official line from the royal family was a resounding no comment. The publication of the photograph raises fresh questions about the royal family's privacy. In 2012, French magazine Closer provoked outrage among the royals and sections of the British press when it published paparazzi photos of a topless Kate on holiday at a French villa. l

US unable to confirm Nigerian claim about kidnapped girls n Reuters, Washington The United States said it does not have information that would support Nigeria’s claim that it knows the whereabouts of more than 200 kidnapped schoolgirls, and US and European officials voiced skepticism about the statement. “We don’t have independent information from the United States to support” that statement, US State Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki told reporters on Tuesday. “We, as a matter of policy and for the girls’ safety and wellbeing, would not discuss publicly this sort of information regardless.” Nigerian Chief of Defence Staff Air Marshal Alex Badeh said on Monday that the country’s military knew the location of the schoolgirls, abducted by the Boko Haram Islamic militant group on April 14. Five US and European security officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said they had no credible information on the location of girls and were skeptical that the Lagos government knows where they are. The five officials said the United States and some European allies had provided technical intelligence, including information from spy aircraft and satellites. l

DHAKA TRIBUNE

Pakistani Taliban faction breaks away n Reuters, Pakistan

been Mehsuds except for the current chief who took power in a bitterly contested struggle last year. On one side is a commander called Khan “Sajna” Said, who supports peace talks with the government of Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, Taliban commanders said.

The Pakistan Taliban split into two groups yesterday, highlighting growing divisions within the movement and diminishing the government's chances of finding a negotiated settlement with the insurgency. The split is between two rival groups from the powerful Mehsud tribe which provides the Taliban the bulk of their money and fighters from its base in the South Waziristan region. The breakaway group is in favour of peace talks with the government while the main insurgency has announced that it will continue attacks against government and security targets. “The (Taliban's) present leadership and fighters have become a band of paid killers involved in un-Islamic activities like killings, robberies, extortion and kidnappings for ransom,” Azam Tariq, a spokesman for the breakaway faction, told Reuters. The Taliban leadership could not be reached for comment. The Pakistani Taliban – separate to but allied with the Afghan Taliban – is already fractured, a loose union of groups who often fight with each other. The latest split diminishes hopes the government can find a negotiated peace deal with the insurgents deeply divided over whether to talk to the government. All Pakistani Taliban leaders have

The split is between two rival groups from the powerful Mehsud tribe which provides the Taliban the bulk of their money and fighters His rival, Shehryar Mehsud, is against the tentative talks that began in February, and one of his commanders said attacks on the government would go on regardless. Both Afghan and Pakistani insurgent leaders have issued a series of urgent appeals for unity in recent weeks after clashes between rival commanders killed scores of Taliban fighters. Senior Taliban commanders in Pakistan and Afghanistan said on Wednesday that they had called a meeting of the leadership council to discuss the latest split. l

World

Detentions silence coup critics in Thailand n AFP, Bangkok Their names read out on national television, politicians, activists, academics and journalists are among scores of influential people summoned by Thailand’s junta and arbitrarily held in secret locations. Over 250 people have been called in since the army seized power and took top political figures into custody on Thursday during negotiations purporting to be aimed at navigating a path through the kingdom’s debilitating political strife. Dozens are still being held while 53 are in hiding, risking two years in prison for defying the military summons. And while some people have been freed, including former premiers Yingluck Shinawatra and Abhisit Vejjajiva, the junta says more people will be called. Military authorities have already cast their net wide. Troops raided the house of rights activist Sukanya Prueksakasemsuk, whose husband Somyot was jailed for 11 years under the kingdom’s strict royal insult laws last year, briefly detaining her and her son in a move decried by Human Rights Watch as “disturbing.” Even academics and journalists traditionally thought to be close to the army have been called in – although some have not been held. After days of spiriting people into undisclosed military facilities, the junta on Tuesday released footage of “Red Shirt” protest leaders to show they were safe. l

Thursday, May 29, 2014

Thai Red Shirts freed as Facebook ‘block’ sows panic n AFP, Bangkok Thailand's junta yesterday freed leaders of the “Red Shirt” movement allied to the ousted government, as social media users reacted with alarm to rumours of a “block” of Facebook. Since seizing power last week the military has summoned more than 250 people, curtailed liberties under martial law and imposed a nightly curfew as part of a series of measures that have sparked dismay among rights groups. Analysts say the move to detain political figures from across the kingdom's bitter divide is aimed at quelling potential opposition to the May 22 coup. After an outcry on the Internet, the army interrupted national television to deny it had blocked Facebook after the site briefly went down and caused panic online. “Surely that would be suicide. Whole country would protest,” one user wrote on Twitter of the rumours the site was under siege in the kingdom. Some users were unconvinced with the junta's denial, speculating that it could have been a trial run for a possible blackout in the future, or a warning shot to social media users not to criticise the coup. Social media platforms such as Twitter and Facebook are hugely popular in the country, and have been used by anti-coup protesters to organise small

A man check his facebook on his smart phone with a message reading ‘error loading news feed’ on the skytrain (bts) in Bangkok on May 28 AFP protests against the military regime. Despite warnings by the army of a widening crackdown on dissent, protesters have been gathering in Bangkok in small but vehement rallies against the military takeover, while rival procoup rallies have also sprung up.

'Treated well'

But in a possible sign that the army is more confident about its grip on power, key members of the Red Shirts protest group were released Wednesday after nearly a week in detention.

The movement's chairman Jatuporn Prompan said they were “treated well.” “What we have been most concerned about is that the losses (of life) in 2010 should not happen again in 2014 – we should learn the lessons,” he said, referring to a bloody military crackdown on their rallies against a previous government that left dozens dead. The army has said people who have been detained and released since the coup must sign a document promising to cease political activity. l

Myanmar opposition defies warning to push charter change n AFP, Yangon

People enjoy the sunset at Yangon jetty on May 27. Myanmar’s opposition party has launched a petition seeking changes to Myanmar’s military-drafted constitution despite warnings from electoral officials, a party spokesman said yesterday AFP

On board Flight MH370

Quotes are taken from stories reported by AFP

Listed passenger and crew nationalities and what we know about some of them Captain: Zaharie Ahmad Shah, 53, Malaysian

Co-pilot: Fariq Abdul Hamid, 27, Malaysian

Joined Malaysia Airlines in 1981 and has logged more than 18,000 hours of flying time, reputed by colleagues to be a “superb pilot”

Described by his neighbourhood mosque’s spiritual leader as a mild mannered “good boy”

Crew: 10

All Malaysian nationals

Chief steward who never missed a Liverpool football match, according to daughter who has appealed on Twitter for him to “come home so you can watch the game” on television Passengers: 227 Oldest passenger, 79

CHINA 153

20 employees of Freescale Semiconductor firm (US)

MALAYSIA 38

19 Chinese artists who were in Malaysia for a state-sponsored exhibition, including painter and poet Wang Linshi, who had a “lust for life”

34-year-old dad on a business trip to Beijing who has left his 3-year-old son asking “where is dad?”

INDONESIA 7

AUSTRALIA 6

Sugianto Lo and Vinny Chynthya, couple

Friends on holiday, Bob and Catherine Lawton, with Rodney and Mary Burrows, described by a neighbour as “beautiful people”

USA 3

Joint youngest passenger, 2

CANADA 2

Li Yuan and Gu Naijun, Sydney couple reportedly returning to China after their petrol station business was put into administration

INDIA 5

FRANCE 4

Couple and son en route to visit another son in Beijing working on post-doctoral astrophysics research who was left wondering “I don’t know what happened”

Three high school students at the Lycee Francais international school in Beijing

NEW ZEALAND 2

2 Joint youngest passenger, 2

Muktesh Mukherjee, Indian-born Canadian working for US firm in Beijing, heading home with his wife Xiaomo Bai after holidaying

UKRAINE 2

NETHERLANDS RUSSIA TAIWAN 1 each

Paul Weeks, en route to a mining venture in Mongolia, whose wife Danica said of the wait for information “every day it just seems like it’s an eternity”

Identified by Interpol as Pouria Nourmohammadi, 18 and Seyed Mohammed Reza Delavar, 29, Iranian illegal immigrants travelling on stolen Austrian and Italian passports One of them was on his way to Germany in order to “be with his mother,” Interpol said Source: AFP/Malaysia Airlines

MH370 relatives accuse Malaysia of withholding data n AFP, Kuala Lumpur Families of passengers aboard missing flight MH370 yesterday accused Malaysia of withholding crucial satellite data, saying a long-awaited report is incomplete and does not prove the plane crashed in the Indian Ocean. Authorities on Tuesday released a 47-page summary of communication logs from the Malaysia Airlines plane recorded by British satellite operator Inmarsat, information which relatives and independent experts had demanded. No wreckage from the jet, which disappeared on March 8 with 239 passengers and crew on board, has been found despite a massive international search. Many relatives are frustrated over the lack of progress, and have little faith in the complex process used to form the theory that the plane veered off course for reasons unknown after losing contact, and then crashed into the southern Indian Ocean. Michael Exner, a US-based satellite engineer and one of the most prominent independent experts to analyse the findings, said Malaysia had failed to provide crucial supporting details together with the Inmarsat logs. “There is a little bit more new information that may help us. But there is just a very large body of metadata that is missing,” he told AFP. “They are not being transparent. It may not be possible to draw any conclusions. Why don’t they just release all? Why do they hide so much of it?” l

Aung San Suu Kyi's opposition party has launched a petition seeking changes to Myanmar's military-drafted constitution despite warnings from electoral officials, a party spokesman said yesterday. The former political prisoner-turned-politician, who has been campaigning to amend the charter since she became a lawmaker two years ago, is barred by the charter from becoming president. “Our signature campaign has made good progress since we started. We have had some interference – some police officers came to us asking to give them the list (of signatures),” Nyan Win, spokesman for Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy, told AFP. The party, supported by other democracy activists, began collecting signatures at NLD offices around the country on Tuesday. The 2008 constitution blocks anyone whose spouse or children are overseas citizens from leading the country – a clause widely believed to be targeted

at the Nobel laureate, whose two sons are British. It also ring-fences a quarter of the seats in parliament for unelected military personnel, leaving the army with a significant political role despite the end of outright junta rule. Earlier this month Suu Kyi addressed a crowd of thousands and urged the military top brass as well as rank-andfile soldiers to support the petition. “I would like you all to consider whether getting more opportunities than ordinary citizens is really fair,” Suu Kyi said. But the top election body has warned her to modify her language towards the soldiers participating in parliament. “Words urging (and saying) 'I challenge you' and so on, is beyond the boundary allowed by the constitution,” it said in a letter. Parliamentary elections due to be held in 2015 are seen as a definitive test of whether the military is willing to loosen its grip on power. The president is selected by the legislature and Suu Kyi has declared her ambition to lead the country. l

India’s 13-year-long hunger striker pins hopes on Modi n AFP, New Delhi An Indian activist who has been on hunger strike for over 13 years said yesterday she was pinning her hopes of finally leading a normal life on new Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Irom Sharmila, 42, who is force-fed by a drip through her nose, said she wanted to meet Modi in hopes of ending the military’s alleged human rights abuses in her northeastern home state of Manipur. Escorted by more than a dozen police officers, Sharmila appeared in a court in New Delhi in connection with long-running charges against her of attempting to commit suicide, a crime in India. Sharmila told a judge that she wanted a “settled life as others do” but would not break her fast until a controversial law that covers large parts of restive northeastern India and Kashmir was repealed. “I love my life... I also want to live life as others but only after this draconian law is removed,” she told the packed court. Sharmila began her fast in November 2000 after witnessing the army’s killing of 10 civilians at a bus stop near her home in Manipur, which is subject to the Armed Forces Special Powers Act (AFSPA). The law enables security forces, battling long-running insurgencies, to shoot on sight and arrest anybody without a warrant.

Irom Chanu Sharmila (L) arrives to board a flight for New Delhi ahead of her court appearance at the Patiala House Court, at the airport in Imphal AFP “I will never stop my struggle until this law is repealed completely. I have many hopes from Mr Modi. I will try to meet and ask him to help this cause,” she told AFP after yesterday’s hearing. Sharmila was arrested in Manipur on the grounds of attempted suicide three days after she began her hunger strike in November 2000. She has been in judicial custody in hospital in the state since then. The Delhi state government pressed its own charges of attempted sui-

cide against Sharmila in 2006 after she staged a hunger-strike protest in the capital. Modi, who was sworn in Monday as prime minister after a landslide election victory, promised to tackle the “northeast’s biggest problems of insurgency and infiltration” at a campaign rally in February. But the pro-business leader known for his hardline stance on security issues made no mention of repealing the law. l

DHAKA TRIBUNE

Editorial

Thursday, May 29, 2014

CODE-CRACKER

A valuable friendship

he prime minister’s four-day visit to Japan provides a good indicator of the friendly relations between our two countries. Japan has always been a valuable friend to Bangladesh and is a key investor and trade partner. Its commitment to provide 600 billion Yen ($6 billion) of additional financial assistance, within the next five years, adds to the steadfast support JICA has given to the metro rail project and Japan’s recent $1.18bn soft loan package. We welcome these deals as an important vote of confidence in the future of Bangladesh. The proposal by Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe for a Bay of Bengal Industrial Growth Belt to help Bangladesh take advantage of its location between South and East Asia, adds an extra long-term dimension to the discussions to boost mutual trade and co-operation. More immediately, the memorandum signed between JETRO and the Bangladesh Export Processing Zones Authority to reserve facilities in five EPZs provides a major incentive to boost investment by private sector Japanese investors in Bangladesh. The indications given that Japan will review its rules for knitwear imports are particularly welcome as a potential boost for our exports. It is important to maximise the benefits of the new assistance on offer, by investing strategically to improve the country’s infrastructure and productivity. We hope that by highlighting specific project proposals, such as the Ganges Barrage, new Jamuna bridge and tunnels, restoration of rivers and the multi-modal Dhaka Eastern Bypass, that this week’s talks will encourage multilateral institutions and other nations to add to Japan’s support.

Japan’s support will encourage other nations to invest in the country

Make census count for slum dwellers

majority of slum dwellers living in Dhaka are believed to have been excluded from the slum census which began last month, despite Tk9.32 crore being allocated for the task. The shoddy execution of this count is another example of the neglect shown to the rights of slum dwellers by authorities and policymakers. The census was intended to provide a platform for helping policymakers to recognise the concerns and rights of slum dwellers. Its poor implementation bodes poorly for the prospects of improving their living conditions. Slums are the main housing available to the millions of working poor in the capital. Their residents are the engine behind our economic growth and deserve better recognition of their need for affordable, decent housing. The unregulated, unplanned and often illegal development of slums denies basic sanitation, healthcare, and utilities to literally millions of people and exposes large numbers of residents to unacceptable hazards. Even though the census is not complete, preliminary results do confirm familiar problems such as exploitation by landlords and lack of access to services. The government should use the census to help it refocus policy to alleviate these concerns. Overcentralised industrial development is the key driver for the concentration of working poor in and around the capital, and for the spread of slums. Public policy has to include furthering plans to decentralise industry away from Dhaka. Improving communications and services to allow better planned developments on cheaper land will be the best way to reduce the growth of slums in the future.

Slum residents deserve better recognition of their concerns

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

Is Modi scaring Bangladesh? May 24

Lalon Shah It’s beyond me why arm-chair analysts always beat about the bush. The message to the new Indian government is clear, as it has been since Bangladesh’s inception – treat us as an equal partner. This means resolving the following issues forthwith: a) Equitable sharing of waters of common rivers (Teesta et al); b) ratification of LBA; and c) stopping bloodshed at the borders. Bangladeshis will continue to remain suspicious of India if the above are not addressed immediately. Conversely, addressing these will send a clear message that India is comfortable with the presence of a sovereign nation to her eastern flank. Contrary to the paranoia some Indian policymakers hold about Bangladesh, Bangladeshis are a practical lot. They are not prone to cooking up imaginary issues to harbour misgivings about a neighbour with whom they share deep-rooted ethnic, cultural and linguistic ties.

brutishly, but they never do so publicly and prefer to use RAW to carry out their nefarious agenda in neighbouring countries. India has allegedly been involved in acts of terrorism, assassination and sabotage throughout the South Asia region. Narendra Modi may well carry out his aggressive agenda against Bangladesh but it is likely to be behind a curtain with RAW doing most of the dirty work. The entire Indian political, diplomatic, military, intelligence, bureaucratic, business and Hindu religious elite are part of this national conspiracy to achieve hegemony and control over the South Asia region. Narendra Modi will indeed be a great leader if he can overturn 80 years of Indian foreign policy and actually work with his neighbours, but that will take a very exceptional leader indeed. And even if he was so inclined it would prove an almost impossible task.

Mohammad Munshi All Indian governments since 1947 have behaved

Shah This article makes no sense whatsoever.

How to solve: Each number in our CODE-CRACKER grid represents a different letter of the alphabet. For example, today 5 represents H so fill H every time the figure 5 appears. You have two letters in the control grid to start you off. Enter them in appropriate squares in the main grid, then use your knowledge of words to work out which letters go in the missing squares. Some letters of the alphabet may not be used. As you get the letters, fill in the other squares with the same number in the main grid, and the control grid. Check off the list of alphabetical letters as you identify them. ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ

SUDOKU How to solve: 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.

Porn star Shanti Dynamite to make Bollywood debut May 24

musavvir How is this newsworthy? And why should the good people of Bangladesh be concerned about this? Anon musavvir: I’m sure there are plenty of good people in Bangladesh who’ll google her right now. Not so much out of concern, as out of curiosity and to satisfy certain natural appetites. Just calling a spade a spade. No point being in denial about it!

Study: 80% slum girls victims of child marriage May 23

vihan Strange. Unicef recently congratulated the government with their progress regarding children’s rights and education for all, especially concerning girls. Progress??

Softex files $100m compensation suit over factory closure without notice May 23

Mehedi Hasan Did Softex provide proper and lawful compensation to the workers? Or did they cheat/ commit fraud with the workers in terms of payment while the factory was closed?

One computer, 43 trainees! May 24 vik The true face of “Digital Bangladesh.”

Tensions on the fault line May 22

SD “Bangladesh’s tolerant and inclusive self image” is a myth. In reality, intolerance is the hallmark of Bangladeshis. Yes, they (Bangladeshis) are inclusive, so long as the minorities agree to get included in their (the majority’s) terms; otherwise they are not. If political parties represent the hopes, aspirations and will of the people, then the question of Bangladeshis’ level of tolerance will be clear. In this connection, I would like to draw attention to the TV talk shows, which seem to be the latest business venture of electronic media. The participants are undoubtedly the most elite and enlightened section of our society and you will get a clear idea of our intellectuals’ tolerance level. The moulanas and hujurs of this country represent the guardians of our religion and try to measure honestly the level of their tolerance. Taslima Nasrin, a thirdrate writer of this country, was sent into lifelong exile for holding opinions that did not conform to the preference of this so-called tolerant society. As a matter of fact we are very fond of myths which we love to believe in and follow, such as 1) Ours is a society of communal harmony; 2) We are a most hospitable nation; 3) We love the religion of peace; 4) We like to build our society based on the spirit of the liberation war; and 5) We have 100 years of cultural tradition etc, all of which are “rubbish,” according to the language of one our well-known ministers.

CROSSWORD ACROSS 1 Former Iranian leader (4) 5 Interior decoration (5) 8 Sea-robber (6) 9 Minute particle (4) 10 Male sheep (3) 12 Enigma (6) 13 Jubilant (6) 15 Seller (6) 18 Exploded mildly (6) 20 Flightless bird (3) 21 Chess piece (4) 23 English river (6) 24 Swarms (5) 25 Walk through water (4)

DOWN 1 Gap (5) 2 Success (3) 3 Fragrance (5) 4 Poor actor (3) 5 Mocked (7) 6 Small rope (4) 7 Eternal city (4) 11 As well (4) 12 Returns to former habit (7) 14 Machine for weaving (4) 16 Play (5) 17 Wash lightly (5) 18 Raw hide (4) 19 Unmixed (4) 21 Animal’s foot (3) 22 Marry (3)

Buddhist Architecture What a tragic image portrayed in this article, but it is good to share and let everyone think about what the fall-out is of such vandalism.

CALVIN AND HOBBES

YESTERDAY’S SOLUTIONS CODE-CRACKER Life isn’t getting better May 23

nds What is your suggestion to get rid of this crisis? I find no way out other than to commit suicide en masse.

CROSSWORD

Breadbitten nds: The first step is admitting it.

PEANUTS

‘Illegal govt has no right to place budget’ May 24

Ronnie This is a tidy summary of the BNP chairperson’s comments today, all of which are completely correct and with which I completely agree.

Culprits kill boy after failing to rape mother May 23

Vikram Khan I demand the public execution of the murderers!

SUDOKU

DHAKA TRIBUNE

Op-Ed

Thursday, May 29, 2014

Stop the leak n Md Sakawat Hossain

Young entrepreneurs are changing the country

BIGSTOCK

Trust no one (but yourself)

n Maneeza Hossain he indisputable fact that any keen observer of the Bangladeshi scene will establish, is that the big story in Bangladesh over the last 10 years is the irreversible emergence of a robust middle class. Gone are the days when our country consisted of a thin layer of wealthy families in control of the economy and the politics, and the vast majority of almost destitute, often illiterate masses. The Bangladeshis of today are well educated and determined to climb up a social ladder that they have built. Bangladesh is a land of opportunities and those deciding to take advantage of those opportunities are no longer the few. The new generation of Bangladeshis is set to transform this nation. The government of Bangladesh has taken considerable steps towards empowering and enabling this transformation, not the least of it the Digital Bangladesh initiative which recognises that sustainable development in the 21st century requires a digital infrastructure to serve as a launch-pad for the local talent into a global scene. The government, as it should, is not placing itself as the solution but as the enabler of the solution. Ours is not the age of the government as the parent,

the boss, or the miracle-maker. Ours is the age of the private initiative that decides the course for the individual, the society, and the nation. The main value for this new approach that will catapult our nation to the place it deserves in the global community is entrepreneurship. The young in Bangladesh understand entrepreneurship as being compatible with their sense of social responsibility.

the needs of our own society – not run-of-the-mill formulas imported as templates from elsewhere. This is possible today in Bangladesh, thanks to a generational change that values education but also to the deep realisation that the responsibility and credit for success resides in the individual and not in a paternalistic or patronising collective. The new Bangladeshi remains

Ours is the age of the private initiative that decides the course for the individual, the society, and the nation

The conflict between these two values as stated by ideologues, used to lead to a blunting of private initiative, in the past deemed selfish and contrary to the public good. We now know that personal success is the building block of national success. Away from theories and ideologies, Bangladeshi youth is putting into practice their innovative potential and coming out with ideas for solutions tailored to

in perfect harmony with his or her society, in total coordination with his or her government, in mutual respect with his or her global environment. The new Bangladeshi has learned the important lesson that self-reliance is the way forward. In a recent meeting designed to expose young Bangladeshi entrepreneurs to potential investors, it was evident that the seed is ready,

but not the soil. The young entrepreneurs had their ideas conceived, detailed, and planned. Carrying these ideas to fruition requires an ecosystem that includes an enabling government as well as local capital that is willing to recognise the dramatic potential for growth that resides in this youth. Administrative reform is a long process that has been initiated in Bangladesh, but will require everyone’s renewed dedication to ensure that red tape will not be the inhibitor of the next generation. The wealth generated through Bangladesh’s industrial minds ought to recognise that there is far more to this society than affordable labour and reliable production. This is a society beaming with ideas, with young people ready to compete with their global counterparts. They are demanding attention and they will receive it. It is neither charity nor magnificence that they see, but the realisation on the part of their “elders” that they are indeed relying on themselves and trusting themselves first and foremost. It is in everyone else’s interest to follow suit and to trust them. Trust the next generation of Bangladeshis. l Maneeza Hossain is a Director of Aegistex and a determined supporter of the next generation of entrepreneurs in Bangladesh.

ur education ministry is often praised as one of the better performing and less corrupted ministries of the current government. It is true, if someone judges the ministry’s achievements in terms of the number of student passing the SSC and HSC, the number of GPA 5 achievers, and the number of public and private universities and medical colleges established since 2009. However, this superficial success is actually destroying not only our education system, but also all the other ministries. These so-called successes of the education ministry were achieved through some disgraceful, corrupted, immoral, and heartbreaking ways – ways which demand an immediate halt. The most dangerous one, something that is frequently happening these days, is the leaking of exam question papers before the exams. It is now crystal clear that the question papers will be available in the open market for sale. To get the questions before the exam, you just need to keep your eyes and ears open, contact the right person, or open a Facebook account. This is now happening for nearly all sorts of examinations, especially during the tenure of the current education minister. How much control does our current education ministry have on the education system? Frankly speaking, I am in serious doubt. Those involved in the process of making questions and those delivering them to the exam hall might be more corrupt than any other government sector. After such mass leaking of exam papers, our minister was still arguing that these were all rumours. The government had yet to punish those responsible. The media was not launching any investigative report, an important part in unveiling the facts. In various occasions, the minister had claimed that he had successfully decreased students’ tendencies to copy answers in public exams, a feat praised by members of our civil society and the media. But the reality is, there is no need to copy answers if a student has already seen the question paper before the exam. By observing the extent of public exam papers being leaked, it seems that elements in our administration are glad to take on the responsibility of leaking the question papers secretly, so that students give up their copying tendencies rather than improve their level of education by studying. In return, the ministry receives the praise from civil society members and the media for successfully lowering copying tendencies. The second terrifying thing is the extremely high pass rates in the public exam, with marks given generously out of ill political motivations. This is completely destroying the motivation of the good students who are always striving for better results. After each public exams (PSC, JSC, SSC, and HSC), all teachers who are responsible in scrutinising exam papers are asked by the ministry to give maximum marks without following proper evaluation methods. It is also instructed that if someone writes something in his answer script,

irrespective of the exam question’s content, marks should be doled out just by counting the number of pages the answer comprises without considering its quality and level of correctness. More than 90% of students passing with countless numbers of GPA 5s and golden GPA 5s, are simply the result of the question papers being leaked and the intentionally generous marking. Students who were expecting to get a maximum of GPA 4 have been seen to have gotten golden GPA 5s, simply due to the ministry or education board’s instruction for excessive marking. After getting such improbably good results, students’ and their parents’ expectations skyrocket. These students face the harshness of reality once they sit for the university admission tests, where most of them are unable to even secure a passing mark. These victimised students lose all hope and start to deteriorate mentally after realising their uncertain futures. In some cases, these students opt out by committing suicide. However, the lucky students who’ve already secured unexpectedly good results in their SSCs and HSCs due to the above mentioned faulty education system, are again blessed by the leak of admission test question papers or a defective admission process. On the other hand, students whose parents have either plenty of corrupted money or political connections are able to buy their way into getting their children admitted at the ever increasing number of private universities, medical colleges, or even sometimes at educational institutions abroad. Those who are actually good students somehow get admitted to public higher education institutions, and get good results after years of hard work, once again face another harsh reality. These hardworking students, mostly coming from lower-middle or even lower-class families, are barely able to secure any jobs in either the public or private sector, seeing how the job market in our country is already in service to people who have ample amounts of black money, political affiliations, or are blessed by nepotism. Now, someone might argue that the job market is not in control of the education ministry. Yes, it is true if you look to the matter from the surface. Dig a little deeper, and the faulty education system is again the centre of everything, which is continuously pouring sub-standard graduates into the job market and ultimately in every sector of the government. These sub-standard graduates are backed by dirty money or have a powerful “uncle” with some kind of political affiliation. I know it is really difficult to convince the administration how important the education ministry is, and how much agony it has caused for the ordinary people. In many sectors, the effect of corruption is short-term and quickly rectifiable, but in the education sector, the current system of corruption and its ultimate damage is long-lasting, and is already starting to destroy not only the economy, but also good governance. l Md Sakawat Hossain is a faculty member at Jahangirnagar University.

Safety nets do work n Mamun Rashid

am privileged to have enjoyed very good relationships with almost all finance ministers and secretaries in the last two decades. Be it M Saifur Rahman, SAMS Kibria, Akbar Ali Khan, Mirza Aziz, or Muhith – one thing I have seen in common in all, is an eagerness to reduce poverty and help out the marginalised. Many development partners earn a lot of praise for social protection programs in Bangladesh. No matter whether we are dismayed about the success of these social safety nets or social protection, Bangladesh remains a champion in reducing ultra-poverty through multi-faceted social support programs. Apart from the government, through its Social Safety Net Programs (SSNPs), many NGOs have also contributed significantly in this space. Ironically, Bangladesh has an almost 15 million “passenger population” riding on the back of the productive forces doing almost nothing. There are, at present, four types of SSNPs in Bangladesh. These are: Employment generation program (employment for the poorest of the poor, food for work, vulnerable group development, and such), cash transfer

(allowances for widows, destitute women, etc), conditional cash transfer (stipend for primary school students, school nutrition program, etc), and emergency relief (eg open market sale or the feeding of vulnerable groups). Absence of comprehensive data makes it difficult to track the expenditure of SSNPs. In 2006, World Bank estimated that during the period between FY1996-97 and FY2004-05, on an average, the government expenditure on SSNPs was to the tune of 0.8% of the GDP and 5.7% of the total public expenditure. In fact, the definition of SSNP is undergoing several changes. For example, a pension for retired government employees and their families was being operated, but was not recognised when a more comprehensive data on SSNP budget was presented in FY2006-07. In FY2010-11, this program accounted for 20% of the total safety net budget. Efforts towards widening the SSNPs in recent years are evident in Bangladesh. New programs are being included. Budgetary allocations for SSNPs as a share of total budget increased from 8.4% in FY2006-07 to 14.8% in FY2010-11. As a share of GDP, allocation for SSNPs also doubled in the last five years, reaching 2.5%

in FY2010-11 compared to FY200607. The government, the ministry of planning to be precise, has done some extensive research to understand the “target market” better and widen the beneficiary net. The Sixth Five Year Plan (SFYP) document has proposed increasing public expenditure on SSNPs to that of 3% of the GDP in FY2014-15. Budget for fiscal 2014 has allocated Tk253.71bn (or Tk25,371cr) for SSNPs, which is 11.4% of the total budget and 2.13% of Bangladesh’s GDP. Even with the recent rise, Bangladesh seems to be spending far less than other regions. The World Bank showed that, on an average, South Asian economies spent 4% of the GDP in SSNPs, whereas the expenditure of East Asia and the Pacific was about 8% of the GDP. Incidentally, many developed countries are also seen putting up large sums towards building social protection. With visible results, the ministry of finance is reportedly ready to come down more strongly on poverty. Some are of the opinion that the target market should be squeezed to make this more effective. Some say the allocation should be higher to make this worthwhile. However, most feel that only the ministry of finance will

not be able to ensure positive impacts much unless line ministries like food, agriculture, health, education, women, and children’s affairs come up with a fitting, performance-driven execution plan. Increasingly, monitoring is becoming the most important issue to make sure the right target market is being served and that the money is not being used to buy luxury items for the “rural landlords.”

intervention at the ground level. We also need to decentralise these with a performance stick at the Union Parishad level and make sure they reach out further to the target market. Major issues related to SSNPs still remain to be – targeting areas, targeting the deserving poor, indentify the required amount of allowance, and impact assurance. The World Bank study shows 60% of the SSNP beneficiaries

Safety net programs should continue, and Bangladesh should be seen as a real test case for development

People these days talk about decentralisation, since commuting takes much time and often seriously deters implementation. Many have focused on quality expenditure management, monitoring, and evaluation of the programs at the ministry and directorate levels. Expected implementation is also influenced by overt political

are not poor. Therefore leakage reduction is critical. Under-capacitated or non-committal local government institution, rent-seeking middlemen, politicisation, and governance failures are not allowing the benefits to reach the real target segment and ensure efficacy of the programs, despite much eagerness at the top.

Employment-generation programs should guarantee jobs. Bangladesh has been trying to expand the guaranteed job days. The party in power can think of passing a law in the parliament like the National Rural Employment Guarantee Act in India. Modi’s government has reiterated its commitment to rural employment generation and is refocusing on the mentioned act put into action in 2005. Efficiency and effectiveness of SSNPs should be increased. At the same time we would like to see diversity in the program architecture as well. Allocation on SSNPs may be increasing every year but with regard to GDP it is decreasing. Safety net programs should continue, and Bangladesh should be seen as a real test case for development through reducing poverty, and rural employment generation, by its peers and partners. Irrespective of party affiliation, all public representatives should get to see “distribution economics” working. Political accountability, integrated impact assessment, and program quality assurance can take this country on its next trajectory in terms of growth. l Mamun Rashid is a business professor and financial sector entrepreneur.

DHAKA TRIBUNE

Entertainment

Tarkanta: Hitting cinemas June 6

Thursday, May 29, 2014

Nawsheen’s double role in Bhalobasha Ek Polokei n Entertainment Desk

n Entertainment Desk “Tarkanta,” a much anticipated film featuring three leading stars Moushumi, Arefin Shuvo and Bidya Sinha Mim, will hit the theatres on June 6. The film will be screened in 90 cinema halls all over the country. It was initially scheduled to be released on May 23, but later the release was pushed back. Claiming the film as his “dream project,” director M M Kamal Raj said that the movie will feature humour, action, romance and drama and is bound to hold the interest of

the audience with its star cast and unique script. Moushumi plays Shuvo’s sister and Mim, his girlfriend. This is the first time Shuvo and Mim will be seen together on the silver screen and the audience are in for a treat as their onscreen chemistry seems to be promising. M M Kamal Raj’s second film “Chhaya-Chhobi” featuring Purnima and Arefin Shuvo is also in the pipeline for release. Shooting of the film is complete and now it is in post-production, after which the film will be submitted to the censor board for approval. 

A popular RJ, Nawshin appeared onscreen through RTV’s live talk show “Jege Acho Ki.” Her photogenic looks, charming voice and infectious smile quickly gained her acclaim and popularity. Today, the viewers will find her starring opposite Farhan Nisho in a telefilm tiled “Bhalobasha Ek Polokei” which will be aired on Maasranga TV at 7:50pm. Nawsheen enacts a double role in the romantic and mysterious story. Nisho plays an architect named Arif who falls in love with a woman at a bus station. He never gets the chance to express his feelings marries to another woman named Kaya, chosen by his family. Kaya is a doppelganger of the woman he saw at the bus station. Later, when he finds the woman of his dreams once again, it creates serious crises in his married life. About her role, Nawsheen said: “I chose to work in the telefilm for the twist that has been created by the double role. I hope the audience will enjoy the climax.” For the upcoming Eid, she is working in several single-episode plays and telefilms. The versatile artiste will soon fly off to Cox’s Bazaar to anchor a Grameenphone event attended

by star cricketers including Mashrafi Murtaza, Tamim Iqbal and Mushfiqur Rahim. Nawsheen, happily married to TV actor Adnan Faruque Hillol, recently decided against pairing up with her husband onscreen. She reasoned: “As a couple, we value our relationship. We don’t want to appear together onscreen anymore. We have

Style and Fashion airs today n Entertainment Desk A lifestyle show titled “Style and Fashion” will be aired at 8:15pm tonight on Desh TV. The programme will not only present segments on seasonal trends, but also will give style tips to the viewers. The audience will get a glimpse of the latest fashion collections and accessories available in numerous shops. Furthermore, the show features interviews of fashion designers who will talk about the latest trends in fashion and advise the viewers accordingly. Segments on makeover and accessories will also be showcased. Healthy food habits and beauty tips will also be presented by beauticians and health experts. “Style and Fashion” is produced by Amjad Sujon and anchored by Zabin. 

TODAY IN DHAKA Exhibition

Bornil Pandulipi Time: 12pm – 8pm Gallery Shilpangon Second Sight Time: 12pm – 8pm The Daily Star Centre, 64-65 Kazi Nazrul Islam Avenue Dhaka Mukh O Mukhosh 5 Time: 11am – 8pm Galleri Kaya, House no. 20 Road no. 16, Sector no. 4, Uttara

Theatre

Dog, Woman, Man Time: 7pm – 9pm Goethe Institut Bangladesh Road 9(new), House 10 Dhanmondi Pussy Biral O Ekjon Prokrito Manush Time: 7pm – 9pm National Theatre Hall Shilpakala Academy Shegun Bagicha

New bride Rani Mukherjee back to work n Entertainment Desk

Angelina Jolie pregnant with twins? Hollywood’s A-list couple Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie may cancel their long pending wedding plans as rumour suggests that Jolie is pregnant with twins. According to the popular US tabloid Star magazine, the couple is expecting their twins but fears that the wedding cancellation would disappoint their other kids, gossip website classicalite. com reported. Brangelina are the biological parents of three children, Shiloh, Knox, and Vivienne and have three adopted children, Maddox, Pax, Zahara. However, in spite of the pregnancy, the Maleficent Star has decided to go on with the nuptials as they are planning their summer wedding. “Brad and Angie have decided to just go ahead with the wedding, even though she is pregnant, mainly because they know postponing it would

n Shadma Malik After a seven year hiatus, “Shopnochura 4” is about to release tomorrow at the Russian Cultural Centre. This time around, the album will bring the tracks of 11 bands, all of which will be performed at the launching ceremony. The coordinator of the album told Dhaka Tribune: “Shopnochura is my dream project. It has got nothing to do with commercial gain. The objective of the project is to promote upcoming bands. I will consider it a success if we could introduce the music of even one new band to the audience. “There is no specific genre in this mixed album. All the bands will explore their own expertise.” About the new bands in the album, Tony said: “There are three senior bands in ‘Shopnochura 4.’ It adds value to the album if popular bands are included. Along with many good composers and musicians, we short-listed 21 songs, among which we have selected 11 songs for the album. It is a collective decision to promote these bands.” About the launching ceremony, the coordinator said: “We are planning a grand event for the launching of ‘Shopnochura 4.’ We expect a large turnout at the event. It will be ‘the’ event for music lovers and bands to celebrate their passion for music.” The bands in the album include Black, Yaatri, Project Neon, Aronno, Xodiac, Sin, Somudro, 12 AM, Highway, EF and Out Break. All the songs will be available online. 

Pompeii in Star Cineplex n Entertainment Desk “Pompeii” (referred to as Pompeii in 3D) will start showcasing at the city’s Star Cineplex from May 30. A 2014 German-Canadian historical disaster film produced and directed by Paul W S Anderson, the film stars Kit Harington, Emily Browning, Carrie-Anne Moss, Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje, Jessica Lucas, Jared Harris and Kiefer Sutherland. It premiered in France, Belgium, and Russia on February 19 and was released over the course in many major territories, including the United States, Canada, India, and Australia. Set in 79 AD, “Pompeii” tells the epic story of Milo (Kit Harington), a slave turned invincible gladiator who finds himself in a race against time to save his true love Cassia (Emily Browning), the beautiful daughter of a wealthy merchant who has been unwillingly betrothed to a corrupt Roman Senator. As Mount Vesuvius erupts in a torrent of blazing lava, Milo must fight his way out of the arena in order to save his beloved as the once magnificent Pompeii crumbles around him. 

Freddie Mercury: Back from the Dead n Entertainment Desk

Rani Mukherjee who tied the knot to filmmaker Aditya Chopra in a secret ceremony in Italy last month, is back to work. The actor, who will be next seen in Pradeep Sarkar’s “Mardaani,” is back on the sets post her wedding to complete the remaining scenes for the drama film. Rani will be seen playing a policewoman in the film and made her first post-marriage appearance earlier this month when she was spotted at Mumbai Airport without husband Aditya. On their return from Italy, Rani and Aditya hosted a reception for their friends and members from the film fraternity at their Mumbai residence on May 4. The party was attended by big personalities of the Bollywood industry like Karan Johar, Anupam Kher and his wife Kirron and Rani’s close friend Vaibhavi Merchant, among others. To prepare for her role in “Mardaani,” Rani apparently met with Mumbai Police Crime Branch chief as part of research. l

n Entertainment Desk

decided to enjoy our time together in private.” Her first big screen venture “Hello Amit,” directed by Shankha Dasgupta is yet to release while she is in talks to act in an upcoming film produced by Impress Telefilm Ltd. “I’m looking forward to getting a dynamic role where I can utilise my acting skills,” said the selective actor. 

Shopnochura 4 out tomorrow

disappoint the kids. Angie couldn’t care less about having a baby bump under her dress. And a summer wedding was something they were always planning on,” a source close to the stars told the US tabloid. As per the tabloid, Joile had gone through IVF treatment in order to get pregnant with twins, the website reported. “When [Brad and Angie] had the eggs implanted, Angelina and Brad were warned it might not take, so they didn’t get their hopes up. “They didn’t even tell their kids about it, because they knew how high the chance of disappointment was. But the IVF worked, and now she’s pregnant. Angie is so happy about it, she’s already calling this her ‘miracle baby,’” the source added. While fans are still speculating about the wedding date and themes, Marie Claire UK reported that the wedding might happen on a boat as per the star couple’s children’s wishes. 

Fans of legendary rock band Queen can expect a real treat later this year, as Queen is to release their first new album in 20 years, and not only will the new album be the first in two decades, but will also feature previously unheard vocals from Queen front man Freddie Mercury. The new album has the working title of “Queen Forever,” will feature songs from the 1980’s and is scheduled for release at the end of this year, and will have Freddie Mercury’s vocals merged with recently recorded instrumental tracks reports the Telegraph. During an interview with a tabloid at the Hay festival, Queen guitarist Brian May said: “We found a few more tracks with Freddie singing and all of us playing. They are quite beautiful and people will be hearing this work towards the end of the year.” May then went on to say: “We are going to put out an album which is probably going to be called ‘Queen Forever.’ It is a compilation but it will have this new material that nobody in the world has ever heard. Most of it comes from the 80s when we were in full flight so it is quite emotional. It is the big, big ballads and the big, big epic sound. We had to start from scratch because we only had scraps, but knowing how it would have happened if

we had finished it, I can sit there and make it happen with modern technology.” Furthermore, not only will the new Queen album feature Freddie Mercury vocals, but may even feature a duet between Freddie and Michael Jackson, with drummer Roger Taylor helping Brian May to restore the songs. Taylor has said: “Brian has been active working on old tracks, a couple of tracks that Freddie did with Michael Jackson. They’ve been hanging around for years and Michael’s estate haven’t really been able to make their mind up about what to do with them. So we suggested we finish them and see. They’re pretty good – one of them is great.” 

Did you know? Bora Milutinovic coached in every World Cup between 1986 and 2002 - but for different countries: Mexico, Costa Rica, USA, Nigeria and China

Sport

Thursday, May 29, 2014

14 Tottenham hire Pochettino as new manager

DAYS TO GO

Judgment delay worries Nazmul It might take some more time for the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) tribunal to pronounce its judgment on the fixing scandal which ravaged the second edition of Bangladesh Premier League. Justice Khademul Islam, the tribunal head and also a former Supreme Court judge, had earlier told the media that the tribunal would take a little more time due to complications before passing its final judgment. The lingering has made BCB president Nazmul Hasan tensed. After inaugurating the Metropolitan Women’s Cricket League 2014 at Dhanmondi Cricket Stadium yesterday, he informed the media of his intention to write a letter to the tribunal if it failed to dispose of the pending case by May 30. According to sources, the tribunal members could not find time to sit together because of a few members’ other engagements. The last time the tribunal had any public activity was on February 26. The tribunal, in its short judgment, acquitted six of the nine individuals charged with match-fixing. However, it did not pass any judgment on Mohammad Ashraful and the two remaining individuals. “I am really worried with the proceedings because the ICC wanted to know the reason of the delay in its last meeting and I could say nothing,” said Nazmul. “The tribunal assured me of giving its

verdict in two to three weeks. This was 15 to 20 days ago but I am still to hear anything from them and it doesn’t even seem that anything is coming up in next seven days to be honest. I will wait till 30th of this month and if nothing comes up, I will write to them personally,” he added. Apart from the delay, the BCB president is also tensed about the judgment of Ashraful. Ashraful admitted to the tribunal of receiving money from Dhaka Gladiators owner Salim Chowdhury to fix games in BPL. But the tribunal acquitted Salim in its short judgment after holding full hearing. “Salim found not guilty means Ashraful didn’t receive any money which should mean he (Ashraful) is also not guilty. But here the problem is Ashraful is getting punished because he admitted while the one who gave money gets acquitted because he was not proved guilty. Taking Salim’s arguments into consideration, no transaction ever took place. Ashraful should not be guilty in that case also. So these things are very tricky and confusing,” said Nazmul. “There are still many questions to be answered. I had to face these questions in the ICC meeting and unfortunately I couldn’t give answer to any of those. This is why I am waiting for the report. We (board) will sit with the report once we get that and then sit with Acsu (ICC Anti Corruption Security Unit), and then with the ICC before finally drawing a conclusion,” said the BCB president. l

The Bangladesh Football Federation has chalked out a plan to seek Tk350m annually from the government for the development of football in the country. Football’s governing body has been struggling to meet the financial demands in recent times due to a lack of sponsors and has finally knocked the door of the government for assistance. In the past, the BFF sought money from the government but failed to come up with a proper plan as to how they were planning to utilise it. However, this time they have prepared a plan which they have already submitted to the ministry of youth and sports. The plan will now be recommended as a project by the Planning Commission.

Sk Jamal’s Haitian playmaker Sony Norde (L) celebrates one of his two goals while teammate Wedson Anselme runs in to join him during their Bangladesh Premier Football League encounter against Sheikh Russel at the Bangabandhu National Stadium yesterday COURTESY

plan. “It will be considered as a project focusing upon the development of football in the country. We have included all the aspects of Bangladesh football in the plan - the professional league, the football academy, the expenses of the national team and the development programme - are all included in the proposal. All of our activities are included in it,” said Shohag. The general secretary, however, added it would not be a continuous process. “It does not mean that the government will continue the project forever. We have asked to continue the support for a couple of years and we have asked to monitor the results. We are confident that if the proposal gets the nod, we will be providing positive results,” said Shohag. l

The Ambassador of Brazil to Bangladesh Wanja Campos da Nobrega (R) presents President Abdul Hamid with an official Brazil national team jersey at the Bangabhaban on Tuesday COURTESY

Lara to play in Lord’s bicentenary West Indies great Brian Lara has been added to the star-studded list of players who will take part in the MCC v Rest of the World Lord’s Bicentenary match on July 5 it was announced Wednesday. Lara will play alongside fellow alltime batting great Sachin Tendulkar for MCC, with Australia’s Aaron Finch, currently the world’s leading Twenty20 batsman, also in the hosts line-up. Fast bowlers Umar Gul (Pakistan) and Tino Best are the final names to be added to the MCC and Rest of the World sides respectively. Tendulkar will captain an MCC XI that also includes another retired India

15 KKR storm into IPL final with convincing win

India in Bangladesh Left-handed batsman Suresh Raina was on Wednesday picked to lead an under-strength Indian team for a threematch one-day series in Bangladesh next month. Seven senior players – skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni, Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma, Ravichandran Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja, Mohammad Shami and Shikhar Dhawan – do not figure in the new-look 15-man squad. Varun Aaron, Stuart Binny, Amit Mishra, Pujara, Rahane and Ambati Rayudu are the only players to be retained from the squad that took part in the Asia Cup

in Bangladesh. The three one-dayers will be played in Dhaka on June 15, 17 and 19. The short tour, agreed in February as part of a bilateral deal between the

Squad Suresh Raina (capt), Robin Uthappa, Ajinkya Rahane, Cheteshwar Pujara, Ambati Rayudu, Manoj Tiwary, Kedar Jadhav, Wriddhiman Saha, Parvez Rasool, Akshar Patel, Vinay Kumar, Umesh Yadav, Stuart Binny, Mohit Sharma, Amit Mishra two countries, has been squeezed in between the end of India’s domestic season on June 1 and the start of the England tour on June 26. l

Haitian attacking duo Sony Norde and Wedson Anselme slammed a brace apiece as Sheikh Jamal stamped their authority at the top of the Bangladesh Premier Football League points table after crushing Sheikh Russell 4-1 at the Bangabandhu National Stadium yesterday. Sony Norde seemed to have rediscovered his goal-scoring touch as the Haitian sensation grabbed his first brace in the league this season, notching both the goals in the opening half while his compatriot Wedson Anselme did not let his side feel the absence of the league’s top-scorer Emeka Darlington by netting twice in the either side of each half. The victory saw star-studded Jamal finish their second phase of the league at the top of the table with 42 points, eight ahead of second-placed Abahani. If the Dhanmondi-based powerhouse, who are still unbeaten in the league, do not concede unexpected points in the final phase then they will be wellplaced to become the champions. It was Maruful Haque’s first match as technical advisor for Jamal against his former club and the former Russel tactician could not have possibly envisaged a better debut. On the contrary, Russel’s Montenegrin coach Dragan Djukanovic is yet to taste his first victory in Bangladesh in five matches. It took Jamal only 19 minutes to break the deadlock and it was none other than Norde. Skipper Mamunul Islam provided a neat through pass for Wedson and the Haitian forward did even better to deliver a defence-splitting through pass to his compatriot Norde, who slotted home past Biplob from the middle of the box. Wedson doubled Jamal’s lead just two minutes later to register his 14th league goal this season. Receiving a through pass from Norde, Wedson ran free through the left flank and entered the penalty area before placing the ball calmly into the far post. The Haitian international scored another at the half-hour mark. Gambian Zatta Mustafa released a superb through pass from halfway for Norde who beat the offside trap to receive the ball and place it at the far post. Wedson scored his 15th goal of the season to extend the lead to 4-0 in the 70th minute when the Haitian fired past Bilpob. Anwar though pulled one back for Russel four minutes later. The local striker outmuscled Kesto Kumar and rounded off Ziaur before placing the ball into an empty net. l

Spinners trying hard to improve

Narinda outclass Mariner Club Narinda Pragati Boy’s Club overpowered Dhaka Mariner Young’s Club by 40-16 goals in the Cute Premier Division Handball League at the Shahid (Capt.) M. Monsur Ali Handball Stadium yesterday. Narinda led the first half 22-4. Indian players Hardev Singh and Shamser Singh set the court ablaze netting 13 and 10 goals respectively for Narinda. Akteruzzaman of Mariners scored six for his team. In the other match of the day, Prime Sporting Club’s prowess was too much to handle for Old Ideal as Prime thrashed Ideals by 50-10 goals. Imran netted 14 goals for the victors. l

Norde, Wedson propel Jamal

BFF seeks help from government Raina to lead new-look If the Planning Commission gives their nod to the project, the BFF will receive the money from the government fund. The BFF initially set up the plan and submitted it to the National Sports Council who then referred it to the Sports Ministry. After doing the required modification, the ministry of youth and sports sent it to the Planning Commission. The Planning Commission, however, sent the plan back to the Sports Ministry, asking them to submit it as a project. Now, the ministry of youth and sports is doing the necessary adjustments to the plan. If the plan is accepted by the Planning Commission, it will be inserted in the next budget. BFF general secretary Abu Nayeem Shohag elaborated the details of the

DHAKA TRIBUNE

batting star in Rahul Dravid, Pakistan off-spinner Saeed Ajmal – whose action was recently called into question by England’s Stuart Broad – and former Australia fast bowler Brett Lee. Meanwhile Shane Warne, arguably cricket’s greatest leg-spinner, will captain a Rest of the World XI that includes his former Hampshire team-mate Kevin Pietersen, now in England ‘exile’, as well as Sri Lanka’s Muttiah Muralitharan and Pakistan’s Shahid Afridi. “Lord’s always holds a very special place in any cricketer’s heart, and I am very much looking forward to helping celebrate its Bicentenary with MCC,” said Lara in a statement. “It was an honour to be asked to

be involved and it will be fantastic to play at such an iconic place on such a special occasion.” l

MCC Sachin Tendulkar (IND, capt), Saeed Ajmal (PAK), Shivnarine Chanderpaul (WIS), Rahul Dravid (IND), Aaron Finch (AUS), Umar Gul (PAK), Brian Lara (WIS), Brett Lee (AUS), Chris Read (ENG, wkt), Shaun Tait (AUS), Daniel Vettori (NZL)

Rest of the World Shane Warne (AUS, capt), Shahid Afridi (PAK), Tino Best(WIS), Paul Collingwood (ENG), Adam Gilchrist (AUS, wkt), Tamim Iqbal (BAN), Muttiah Muralitharan (SRI), Kevin Pietersen (ENG), Virender Sehwag (IND), Peter Siddle (AUS), Yuvraj Singh (IND)

The spin bowling department has been the main strength in terms of bowling for the Tigers, and two of their most important spinners Sohag Gazi and the experienced Abdur Razzak have been leading from the front for quite some time. However, both of them failed to make a mark in the recent home series against Sri Lanka followed by the Asia Cup and the World T20. But the duo is now looking to stage a comeback and working hard on their weaknesses in training at the Sher-e-Bangla National Stadium ahead of the home series against India. Sohag has been outstanding since his debut against West Indies in 2012 and has made his mark as an off spinner in all three formats of the game for the Tigers. The 22 year old’s rise to fame saw him become the only cricketer in the history of Test cricket to score a century and a hat-trick in the same test against New Zealand last year which also established him as the newest sensation of Bangladesh cricket. But the off spinner has also experienced the other side of the coin in his short international career as the Potuakhali guy’s off from meant he could manage only three wickets in his last five ODIs with a high economy rate which ultimately cost him his place in the playing eleven. As the Tigers are now preparing for next month’s three match ODI series against India, Sohag revealed that he was working on introducing variations

in his bowling as opponents these days analyse every single trick of every bowler in international cricket. “Variation has become absolutely imperative for me. I am trying to change areas, bring in more variation to my bowling. Opponents analyse me quickly through more video of my bowling. Our next opponent will also know my strength and weaknesses. So I have to work harder. I must improve day by day.”

I like economical bowlers, even in Test cricket. But wickets are more valued in our country and it is same all over the world. If someone takes 4 for 70, he is talked about more than someone who concedes 30 runs in 10 overs. A few series later, the one who didn’t take more wickets will be considered a lesser bowler “Previously my skill training was on bringing more turn to my bowling. Now there are a few areas that I am working on. I have kept Saqlain Mushtaq’s advice in mind and I am implementing that. A bowler has to improve on his own in international cricket,” said Sohag. The 22 year old also added that compared to his batting, his primary focus now was to improve on his bowling skills and he also believes there should

be a coach for every department of cricket to improve the skills. On the other hand, the experienced Abdur Razzak who has so far taken 206 wickets from 150 ODIs with an economy of 4.53 also went through a tough time in the recent past. The worse was when the left arm spinner conceded 72 runs from nine overs against Pakistan in the Asia Cup as Bangladesh suffered defeat despite posting their highest ever ODI score of 326/3. But the 31 year old is not worried about statistics and opined that it’s important to contribute according to the team’s requirements and remain positive. “I don’t look at statistics but I pay more attention on working hard and giving what my team needs. I work hard and I try to stay positive,” said Razzak. However, the left arm spinner added that it’s important to bowl economically in all formats of the game and the job becomes much easier if bowlers can bowl in tandem in partnership. “I like economical bowlers, even in Test cricket. But wickets are more valued in our country and it is same all over the world. If someone takes 4 for 70, he is talked about more than someone who concedes 30 runs in 10 overs. A few series later, the one who didn’t take more wickets will be considered a lesser bowler. But those who understand cricket well will support us,” he added. Fans would be hoping Razzak and Gazi’s hard work pays off and they can once again produce heroics for the sake of Bangladesh cricket. l

DHAKA TRIBUNE

Sport

Calf injury rules Van der Vaart out

Thursday, May 29, 2014

Brazil promises ‘greenest World Cup’

Netherlands midfielder Rafael van der Vaart has been ruled out of the World Cup after the experienced international picked up a calf injury at a training camp in Portugal, the Dutch football association KNVB confirmed on Wednesday. Capped 109 times for his country, the 31-year-old Hamburg midfielder suffered the injury at a training camp for the Brazil tournament on Tuesday with KNVB saying he was not expected to recover in time to participate in the June 12-July 13 finals. –Reuters

Brazil announced a package of pollution-cutting measures Tuesday aimed at making this year’s World Cup more environmentally friendly, ranging from an emissions-trading scheme to a “green passport” smart-phone application. “We want to score green goals,” said Environment Minister Izabella Teixeira at a press conference announcing the initiative. Teixeira said this year’s World Cup, which runs from June 12 to July 13, is expected to directly add 59,000 tonnes of carbon to the atmosphere. –AFP

Schweini, Khedira back in training Germany’s hopes of having a fully fit squad at next month’s World Cup in Brazil received a boost on Wednesday when holding midfielders Bastian Schweinsteiger and Sami Khedira trained with the team for the first time. Bayern Munich’s Schweinsteiger has endured an injury-hit season, with an inflamed knee the latest setback to keep him out of action in recent weeks. Khedira has only recently returned to action after a six-month layoff due to a torn cruciate ligament in his knee last year. –Reuters

Brazil police fire tear gas at World Cup protesters Brazilian police fired tear gas Tuesday to break up a protest by bow-and-arrow wielding indigenous chiefs who joined forces with anti-World Cup demonstrators to condemn the money spent on the tournament. Wearing traditional clothing including feather headdresses and face paint, about 500 chiefs mainly from the Amazon basin joined another 500 protesters rallying for various social causes in Brasilia’s government square and began marching toward the capital’s World Cup stadium. As mounted police moved to block the march, some of the indigenous demonstrators rushed their horses and fired arrows in their direction. A policeman was hit in the leg by an arrow and was operated on to remove it. Globo TV showed images of a police motorcycle that had also been peppered with arrows. Some of the indigenous protesters

could be seen throwing stones at some of the 700 police encircling the stadium. Protesters also blocked streets around the government plaza, where the congress, presidential palace and Supreme Court are located. Earlier, the aboriginal leaders climbed a ramp onto the roof of the congress building in a protest they said was aimed at protecting their rights. The protest, which brought together 100 ethnic groups from across Brazil, included Kayapo chief Raoni, an 84-year-old leader famous for fighting to protect the Amazon rainforest alongside pop music star Sting. “Climbing onto the congress building was an act of bravery, it shows we’re warriors who defend our rights,” said Tamalui Kuikuru, an indigenous leader from the Xingu region in the western state of Mato Grosso. “Who is the Cup for? Not us!” shouted demonstrators. “I don’t want the Cup, I want money for health and education.”l

Police confront native Brazilians to prevent them from marching towards the Mane Garrincha football stadium during a demonstration in Brasilia on Tuesday. Indigenous people from different tribes protested against the government’s Indian policy and the costs of the 2014 World Cup REUTERS

Germany WC duo in serious car crash A steward has told how he tried to stop the accident involving Germany’s World Cup stars when one of the cars they were passengers in hit him and a by-stander. The accident at Germany’s preWorld Cup training camp in north Italy on Tuesday left the steward in hospital and the German by-stander in a serious condition following the crash during the filming of a television advert. SID, an AFP subsidiary, reported on Wednesday that the 63-year-old by-stander is out of immediate danger. Germany’s World Cup stars Julian Draxler and Benedikt Hoewedes were passengers in separate cars during the filming of the commercial for Mer-

cedes, one of the German Football Association’s (DFB) main sponsors, when the accident happened. The by-stander was airlifted to hospital, while the course steward, named only as Michael K., is also being treated after flying through the windscreen of the car driven by 19-year-old professional touring car driver Pascal Wehrlein. Schalke centre-back Hoewedes is reported to have been Wehrlein’s passenger in the Mercedes involved in the accident, but the 26-year-old was unharmed. Formula One driver Nico Rosberg, who was driving the other Mercedes car at the time of the crash, wrote on Twitter: “The accident shocked me, my thoughts are with both victims,” while Wehrlein is said to be very upset by the incident. In an interview with the Hamburger

Morgenpost, Michael K. described how he spotted the by-stander, thought to be a holiday maker looking for an autograph from the German footballers, on the closed Alpine course. “He wanted to take a picture and also get an autograph,” he said, having suffered back, leg and elbow injuries in the impact. “He wasn’t on the road, but was right next to it, a few metres in front of the barrier. I shouted to him loudly. I wanted to pull him back, but didn’t get to him in time. If it had taken two seconds longer, I would been directly hit and I could have been killed.” The DFB cancelled a scheduled practise match between Joachim Loew’s World Cup squad and Germany’s Under-20 side on Tuesday evening. l

GREAT WORLD CUP SHOCKS

Episode

Uruguay 2 Brazil 1 (1950) The game that came to be known as the ‘Maracanazo’. Hosts Brazil were drawing 1-1 and under the old format were just 10 minutes from winning their first World Cup in the Maracana. However, their hopes and that of a nation were dashed as Alcides Ghiggia lashed in a shot to make it 2-1. Despite there being 200,000 fans packed into the stadium Ghiggia, who is now 87 and the only member of the two teams still alive, told AFP the crowd were reduced to a ‘great stunning silence’. Brazil got over the trauma and have won the trophy five times since while that was the second and last of Uruguay’s wins. –AFP Juan Schiaffino scores for Uruguay against Brazil at the 1950 World Cup

Coach Jesus staying at Benfica Jorge Jesus will stay as manager of Portuguese champions Benfica next season despite being linked to several top European jobs, club chairman Luis Felipe Vieira said. “The one thing I can say is that Jorge Jesus will still be the coach at Benfica for next season,” Vieira told the RTP television channel late Tuesday. “There is no need for further speculation. Jesus has been linked to several top European clubs after the Lisbon giants pulled off a triple on the domestic front and reach the final of the Europa League, where they lost on penalties to Sevilla.l

France, US clinch wins in friendlies France, Japan and United States recorded solid victories on Tuesday as the finalists continued their preparations with the start of the World Cup just over two weeks away. France winger Mathieu Valbuena was in a class of his own as he set up three goals in a 4-0 victory at home to Norway to help his side start their World Cup warm-up games in style. Valbuena excelled in a one-sided encounter, providing perfect crosses for Paul Pogba and Olivier Giroud, who netted twice, to get on the scoresheet

RESULTS USA

Nigeria’s World Cup warm-up friendly against Scotland in London on Wednesday is the subject of a match-fixing investigation by Britain’s serious crime squad. The National Crime Agency, which investigates serious and organised crime, is said to have asked world football’s governing body FIFA to issue an alert over attempts to influence the game at Fulham’s stadium Craven Cottage. The NCA are said to have told FIFA they have general information from Asian betting markets suggesting there had been attempts to rig the friendly and they hope to stop any suspect activities by issuing the alert. l

Argentina squad undergo surprise drug tests Lionel Messi and his fellow Argentinian World Cup squad members were subjected to an unexpected antidoping test on Tuesday, a day after the squad convened for the start of a training camp in the Buenos Aires suburbs. According to Argentine sports channel TyC Sports, six FIFA-appointed doctors were sent to the team’s training base in Ezeiza, where players were forced to train inside due to the cold, foggy conditions. Midfielders Fernando Gago and Ever Banega trained separately from the rest

of the squad with the pair still working their way back from injury. Meanwhile Angel Di Maria, who helped Real Madrid win the Champions League final on Saturday, touched down Tuesday in Buenos Aires before taking a private jet to his hometown Rosario. He is scheduled to join the group at the end of the week. Two-time world champions Argentina, who haven’t been past the quarter-finals since the 1990 World Cup, will play debutants Bosnia in their Group F opener on June 15. The South Americans have also been drawn alongside Iran and African Cup of Nations champions Nigeria. l

Tottenham hire Pochettino as new manager

Simeone, Xabi Alonso hit with Uefa charges

Tottenham’s new manager Mauricio Pochettino pledged to fulfil the club’s desire for success with style after being hired on a five-year contract on Tuesday. Pochettino was tipped to take charge at White Hart Lane following the recent sacking of Tim Sherwood and the Premier League club confirmed they have persuaded the former Argentina defender, who had earned widespread praise during his time as Southampton boss, to quit his post at St Mary’s and move to north London. Pochettino admitted he was delighted to be given the opportunity to manage a club of Tottenham’s stature. The 42-year-old, Tottenham’s 10th permanent manager in the last 13 years, promised to stay faithful to the club’s philosophy of attacking play, while also achieving their desire to play in the

Uefa opened disciplinary proceedings against Atletico Madrid boss Diego Simeone and Real Madrid midfielder Xabi Alonso on Tuesday following Saturday’s Champions League final. Simeone rushed on to the pitch to angrily confront Real defender Raphael Varane in the wake of Real’s fourth goal in Lisbon. The Argentine’s furious reaction apparently came in response to Varane kicking the ball in Simeone’s direction. Meanwhile Alonso, who was suspended for the final, was also charged for “breaching the general codes of conduct”. In addition, both clubs were also charged over the use of pyrotechnics and for the “inappropriate behaviour” of their players. Five Real players were booked during the final while seven Atletico players were cautioned. l

Champions League on a regular basis. “This is a club with tremendous history and prestige and I am honoured to have been given this opportunity to be its Head Coach,” he said. “There is an abundance of top-class talent at the club and I am looking forward to starting work with the squad. “We are determined to give the supporters the kind of attacking football and success that we are all looking to achieve.” l

Italy bans co-ownership of football players

along with substitute Loic Remy. The United States got their World Cup preparations off to a positive start with a comfortable 2-0 friendly win over

France

Match-fix police probe Nigeria, Scotland game

4 0 2 0

Norway Azerbaijan

a well-disciplined Azerbaijan at Candlestick Park in San Francisco on Tuesday. Substitute Mix Diskerud pounced to drive home from close range in the 75th minute before Aron Johannsson headed a second eight minutes later. l

Italy is to ban clubs from co-owning players, saying the practice is out of line with the rest of Europe. “From the next transfer window onwards, the co-ownership of players will no longer be possible,” Italian Football Federation (FIGC) president Giancarlo Abete said on the organisation’s website. “This has been questioned many times by public opinion and it is also evident that it is atypical compared to the rest of Europe,” he added. One of the higher profile co-owned players is 19-year-old Sassuolo forward Domenico Berardi, whose rights are shared with Juventus.l

Italy’s national footballers Andrea Pirlo (L) receives a tap from his teammate Mario Balotelli as he eats a peach during a training session at Florence yesterday REUTERS

DHAKA TRIBUNE

Sport

Thursday, May 29, 2014

QUICK BYTES

SCORECARD, ENG v SL

Sri Lanka L Thirimanne c Buttler b Anderson T Dilshan c Buttler b Anderson K Sangakkara c Buttler b Jordan M Jayawardene lbw b Tredwell D Chandimal c Bell b Jordan A Mathews c Buttler b Jordan A Priyanjan run out (Bopara) N Kulasekara c Tredwell b Jordan S Senanayake c sub b Tredwell R Herath not out L Malinga lbw b Jordan Extras (lb3, w4) Total (all out, 24 overs)

U-17 trail by 187 runs The Bangladesh Under-17 cricket team trail by 187 runs in their first innings against Madhya Pradesh Cricket Association (MPCA) U-17 following the second day’s play in the three-day game in Indore yesterday. The hosts resumed on 259 for 4 from day one and ended their first innings with 345 runs on the board. Number six batsman Suraj Sengar scored 78 runs with 13 fours in his 102-ball innings. Abdul Halim, Afif Hossain, Kamil Ahmed and Sahfiul Hayet picked up two wickets each for Bangladesh U-17. Later, Bangladesh U-17 batted 59.4 overs in the day and scored 175 runs for the loss of five wickets. Rayan Rahman scored 41 while Shafiul added 34 runs to the board for the visitors. Ritik Dawan and Nikhil Sikarwar bagged two wickets each for MPCA. –Tribune Desk

Fall of wickets 1-4, 2-13, 3-32, 4-45, 5-58, 6-60, 7-65, 8-65, 9-65, 10-67 Bowling Anderson 7-2-10-2; Gurney 6-1-23-0; Jordan 8-0-29-5; Tredwell 3-1-2-2 England AN Cook* not out 30 IR Bell not out 41 Extras (w 2) 2 Total (0 wickets; 12.1 overs) 73

Kenya doping report blames foreign agents A probe into allegations of widespread doping in Kenyan sports has uncovered serious incidences of drug use and sounded the alarm that the country’s athletes are at risk of being manipulated by some foreign sports agents. However the governmentappointed commission, which completed its work earlier this month and has presented its findings to the Kenyan sports minister, Hassan Wario, did not uncover evidence of doping among its record-breaking distance runners. The reports has blamed ignorance, lack of education and manipulation by foreign agents as the main reasons for the recent upsurge in cases of athletes testing positive for performance-enhancing drugs, including the blood-booster EPO. –AFP

Atletico sign Argentine forward Correa Spanish champions Atletico Madrid have agreed to sign teenage forward Angel Correa from San Lorenzo in his native Argentina on a five-year contract pending a medical. “Our club has reached agreement with San Lorenzo on the transfer of the young Argentine talent,” Atletico said in a statement on their website (www.clubatleticodemadrid.com) late on Tuesday. “The young footballer is known for his speed, talent and ability, which have made him one of the attacking reference points for his team, for whom he has scored eight goals this season,” added the Champions League runners-up. –Reuters

Disappointing Schuster to leave Malaga Malaga coach Bernd Schuster is leaving the Qatar-owned La Liga club a year into a five-year contract after a disappointing season when they flirted with relegation. “Malaga has informed coach Bernd Schuster that he will no longer be employed from June 30,” the club confirmed on their website (www. malagacf.com) on Wednesday. “Malaga would like to thank Schuster and his coaching team for their hard work during what was a very difficult season,” they added. Schuster had already told a news conference after the final game of the season that he would be leaving the club, having been informed his services were no longer required. –Reuters

Powell appeals doping ban Jamaican sprinter Asafa Powell, the former 100m world record holder, has appealed to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) against his 18-month doping ban. Powell and training partner Sherone Simpson tested positive for banned stimulant oxilofrine after the 100m finals at the Jamaican nationals on June 21, 2013. Powell, who blamed his positive result on a nutritional supplement, was banned until December 28, 2014 by the Jamaica Anti-Doping Commission Disciplinary Panel. The 2008 Olympic champion in the 4x100m relay has requested that CAS cut the suspension to three months, the international body’s secretary general Matthieu Reeb told AFP on Monday. The date of the hearing has not yet been fixed. –AFP

Bowling Kulasekara 3-0-14-0, Malinga 3-0-13-0, 3.1-0-29-0, Senanayake 1-0-8-0, Priyanjan 2-0-9-0 Kolkata Knight Riders allrounder Shakib al Hasan celebrates the wicket of Rishi Dhawan of the Kings XI Punjab during the first qualifier at Eden Gardens yesterday

KKR storm into final Kolkata Knight Riders stormed into the final of the Indian Premier League on the back of a convincing 28-run win over Kings XI Punjab, with pacer Umesh Patel hogging the limelight with a fine display of fast bowling. Defending 164 on a slow surface that remained under cover for three days, KKR speedsters Yadav (3/13) and Morkel (2/23) shared five wickets between them, while Piyush Chawla also bowled smartly to restrict Kings XI Punjab to 135/8 in 20 overs and hand KKR a record eighth victory on the trot. Sent into bat, KKR had posted 163 for eight, riding on in-form opener Robin Uthappa’s 30-ball 42. In pursuit of a second title, 2012 champions KKR will take on the winners of second qualifier in the summit clash on June 1.

Orange Cap holder Uthappa once again laid the foundation with the help of four boundaries and two sixes in his 10th consecutive 40-plus score, to push KKR’s total in a rain-interrupted match. With KXIP at 17/1 in 3.2 overs, drizzle had started to fall and they were well

BRIEF SCORE Kolkata 163/8 (20ov) Uthappa 42, Karanveer 3 /40 Punjab 135/8 (20ov) Saha 35, Yadav 3/13) Kolkata won by 28 runs behind the Duckworth-Lewis equation of 37 required from five overs. The umpires, though, decided to continue with the proceedings. Manan Vohra smacked Shakib Al Hasan for two consecutive sixes in the next over to make the equation in KXIP’s favour with the scoreboard reading

39/1 from five overs. But KKR bounced back to dismiss Vohra when Morkel had the opener in the next over to make the D-L equation in the home team’s favour. Dangerman Glenn Maxwell (6) did not last long and was trapped by Yadav and KXIP were 55 for three in 7.5 overs, 11 runs behind the par score. It was Saha, who looked steady in the middle and kept KXIP in the hunt with some stunning strokes, but Morkel ensured that the wicketkeeperbatsman did not prolong his innings. David Miller was dropped on 1 but he could not make it count and was castled by Piyush Chawla, while Yadav claimed his third victim in the form of the skipper George Bailiey. Earlier, the spinning duo of Karanveer Singh and Akshar Patel shared five wickets between them to help Kings XI Punjab bounce back, before KKR struck 15 in the last over to prop up the total. l

BCCI

Player of the match: CJ Jordan (Eng)

England skittles Sri Lanka for 67, lead series 2-1 England thrashed Sri Lanka by 10 wickets in the third one-day international at Old Trafford on Wednesday to go 2-1 up in the five-match series. Chris Jordan took five wickets as Sri Lanka, after losing the toss, were bowled out for just 67 in 24 overs – their third lowest total at this level. England then cruised to their victory target of 68 in just 12.1 overs, with captain Alastair Cook 30 not out and Ian Bell, who ended the match with a six, 41 not out. Just three days after England collapsed to 99 all out in the second ODI at Chester-le-Street in Sri Lanka’s series levelling 167-run victory, they took spectacular advantage of fit-again captain Alastair Cook winning the toss in overcast conditions. Kumar Sangakkara top-scored with

13 in an innings where the only other batsmen to make it into double figures were Mahela Jayawardene (12) and skipper Angelo Mathews (11), with the tourists losing their last six wickets for nine runs in six overs. Sri Lanka’s total was their third lowest at this level, following the 43 they made against South Africa at Paarl in 2012 and 55 against the West Indies at Sharjah in 1986. It was also their lowest in England, with their previous worst in the country also coming at Old Trafford when, as a non-Test nation, they made 86 against eventual champions the West Indies at the inaugural World Cup in 1975. Heavy cloud cover favoured England’s attack but conditions alone could not explain how Sri Lanka were bowled out on Wednesday with a mammoth 26 overs remaining. l

Serena crashes as Djokovic, Federer cruise at French Open Defending champion and world number one Serena Williams was knocked out of the French Open by Spain’s Garbine Muguruza on Wednesday as the American star stumbled to her second worst Grand Slam defeat. The top seed lost 6-2, 6-2 in the second round to the world number 35 with her defeat coming just an hour after sister Venus also went out, 2-6, 6-3, 6-4 to Slovak teenager Anna Schmiedlova. It was the earliest exit for a defending champion at Roland Garros since 2005 when Anastasia Myskina of Rus-

sia went out in the first round. With Li Na losing in the first round on Tuesday, Serena’s defeat marks the first time in the Open Era that the top two seeds had failed to get to the third round at a major. Wednesday’s defeat was Serena’s worst at a Grand Slam in terms of games won and was only the second time she had been beaten at a major in the round of 64. The last time that happened was on her debut at the 1998 Australian Open. Serena’s defeat was good news for Maria Sharapova who is now the overwhelming title favourite. The Williams sisters had been

scheduled to meet in the third round but their back-to-back exits represented just the fourth time they had lost on the same day at a major. Second seed Novak Djokovic, the 2012 runner-up who needs a French Open title to complete a career Grand Slam, restored order to the tournament with a 6-1, 6-4, 6-2 win over Jeremy Chardy of France to reach the last 32. Djokovic took his record over the world number 42 to 9-0. Roger Federer, the 2009 champion and fourth seed, also reached the third round with a 6-3, 6-4, 6-4 win over Argentine qualifier Diego Sebastian Schwartzman. l

USA’s Serena Williams reacts after being defeated by Spain’s Garbine Muguruza at the end of their French tennis Open second round match at the Roland Garros yesterday AFP

India recall Gambhir, drop BD A capitulates on second day Zaheer for England Tests TEST SQUAD

India on Wednesday brought back opening batsman Gautam Gambhir and axed fragile pace spearhead Zaheer Khan for their first five-Test tour of England in 55 years starting in July. The selectors, who picked a 18-man squad for the back-to-back Tests, included seven seamers and Wriddhiman Saha as reserve wicket-keeper for skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni. Left-handed Gambhir returns to the Test arena for the first time since December 2012, having been ignored for the home series against Australia and the West Indies last year and the tour of New Zealand this January. Gambhir, with 4,021 runs and nine

MS Dhoni (capt), Murali Vijay, Shikhar Dhawan, Gautam Gambhir, Cheteshwar Pujara, Virat Kohli, Ajinkya Rahane, Rohit Sharma, Ravindra Jadeja, Ravichandran Ashwin, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Mohammad Shami, Ishwar Pandey, Ishant Sharma, Stuart Binny, Varun Aaron, Wriddhiman Saha, Pankaj Singh centuries from 54 Tests, is one of the three openers in the squad alongside Shikhar Dhawan and Murali Vijay. Khan, India’s most experienced new ball bowler with 311 wickets in 92 Tests, was not considered after missing a major part of the ongoing Indian Premier League due to a hamstring injury. l

The Bangladesh A team’s decent start to the first four-day game against Sagicor High Performance Centre (SHPC) turned into a disaster as the second-string side were bundled out for only 140 runs at Winward Cricket Club following the second day’s play on Tuesday. Bangladesh A had restricted SHPC for 292 on day one and resumed the second day with five runs on the board without any loss in their first innings. However, the situation changed drastically for the visitors after the departures of their two openers and a humiliating collapse of the middle order owing to SHPC paceman Carlos Brathwaite who did most of the damage. Shamsur Rahman and Imrul Kayes

Bagerhat, Army win TT team events

DAY’S WATCH Star Sports 2 11:30PM Natwest T20 Blast 2014 Derbyshire v Northamptonshire Sony Six 6:30AM NBA Play Off 2013-14, Conf Final Indiana v Miami- Live

7 2 13 12 6 11 2 5 0 0 2 7 67

Bagerhat District Sports Association pose for a photograph after winning the boys’ event in the Nat’l Junior TT at the Shahid Tajuddin Ahmed Indoor Stadium yesterday COURTESY

Bagerhat and Bangladesh Army emerged as the respective champions in the boy’s and girl’s team event in the South Bangla Bank 2nd National Junior Table Tennis at the Shahid Tajuddin Ahmed Indoor Stadium yesterday. Bagerhat beat BKSP by 3-0 sets to win the boy’s title while Bangladesh Army defeated Dhaka by 3-1 sets to lift the girl’s title. Narail finished third beating Rangpur by 3-0 sets. l

put on 66 runs for the opening partnership before Imrul was sent back to the dressing room for 32 to become Brathwaite’s first victim. Bangladesh

BRIEF SCORE, DAY 2 SHPC (1st innings) 292 allout in 86.3 overs Bangladesh A (1st innings) 140 all out in 41.4 overs (Imrul 32, Muktar 31, Brathwaite 4/45, Cummins 3/25) SHPC (2nd innings) 170/2 in 45 overs (Kraigg 96*, Leon 40*, Nasir 1/23) A lost their next three wickets for 77 runs with one-down batsman Marshal Ayub managing eight runs before he was dismissed. Only four deliveries later Shamsur went back to the hut af-

ter scoring 28. The scenario worsened for the second-string national side as Naeem Islam was out for nought. Bangladesh A skipper Nasir Hossain also departed without troubling the scorers to continue his poor run of form. Nasir faced 15 deliveries but failed to get off the mark. Tail-enders Muktar Ali and Taijul Islam salvaged some pride adding 31 and 14 runs respectively. SHPC pacer Brathwaite grabbed four wickets conceding 45 runs in 14 overs while Miguel Cummins and Sheldon Cottrell picked up three and two wickets respectively. Later on in the day, SHPC batted 45 overs in the second innings and scored 170 runs losing two wickets. SHPC skipper Kraigg Brathwaite was unbeaten on 96 with Leon Johnson unbeaten on the other end of the crease on 40 runs. l

Muktis overcome Baridhara Muktijoddha defeated Uttar Baridahra 2-0 in the second phase of the Nitol-Tata Bangladesh Premier Football League at the Bangabandhu National Stadium yesterday. Sunday Chizoba broke the deadlock in the 55th minute after midfielder Enamul Haque paved the way for him with a forward pass

and Sunday made no mistake beating Baridhara goalie Osman Goni in the near post. Four minutes later substitute midfielder Md. Ibrahim doubled the lead after a combined attack. Receiving the ball in the right flank of the box, Ibrahim dodged past his marker and hit the near post net with a grounder. Muktijoddha have 26 points from 17 matches while Uttar Baridhara completed their second phase with 12 points from 15 matches. l

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Thursday, May 29, 2014

Verdict in Ramna Batamul murder case June 16 n Md Sanaul Islam Tipu A Dhaka court yesterday fixed June 16 to deliver verdict in the murder case filed in connection with the 2001 Ramna Batamul bomb blasts that killed at least 10 people on Pahela Baishakh morning. Judge Ruhul Amin of the Dhaka’s Second Additional Metropolitan Sessions Judge’s Court set the date after completion of closing arguments from both defence and prosecution sides. Fate of the other case, involving explosives, is uncertain as a petition seeking the Supreme Court registrar’s opinion is still pending. On May 18, additional public prosecutor Sarder Md Zahid Hossain completed placing their arguments in the murder case. The prosecution sought capital punishment for the accused. Earlier, the court recorded statements of 67 prosecution witnesses out of 84 in the case filed with Ramna police station. The terror attack killed 10 people and injured scores of others who had gathered at Ramna Park early in the morn-

ing of April 14, 2001 to attend the traditional celebration of Pahela Baishakh 1408 – the first day of Bangla year. Chief of banned Islamist militant outfit Harkat-ul-Jihad al Islami (Huji) Mufti Abdul Hannan and 13 of his associates are charged in the case. Five of the accused are on the run and one is on bail while the rest are in jail to face the trial. Soon after the blasts and the casualties, police filed two cases – one for murder and the other one for illegal possession of explosives. Six charge sheets were pressed in the cases in which the trial began in 2009. The last charge sheet was submitted in 2008. The prosecution says the cases progressed in sluggish pace during the tenure of the previous BNP-Jamaat-led government because all the accused had strong connections with the then government ranks. During the trial, the accused also threatened the prosecutors with life several times in front of the judge. At the final stage of the trial, the prosecution found that they had not dis-

played the draft map of the crime spot before the court mistakenly during the deposition of the investigation officer. So, the prosecution on March 25 submitted a petition for recalling CID

The Supreme Court registrar’s opinion was sought in 2009 on whether both the cases could be tried together. The registrar is yet to respond to the petition though several years have passed Inspector Abu Hena Md Yusuf, the sixth IO of the case, for further deposition. The court issued an order but a defence lawyer filed a petition with the High Court on April 1, challenging the legality of the recall order. Following the petitions, the trial proceedings again remained stalled. Later the court fixed several dates for the defence law-

yer to submit the High court order but the defence failed to do so. On May 5, the court recorded further deposition of the IO and fixed May 8 for closing arguments. There are allegations that the prosecution was not sincere enough to produce witnesses before the court on time, resulting in the delay in the trial proceedings. The Criminal Investigation Department pressed charges against 14 top leaders of Huji on December 30, 2008 in both the cases. Apart from Hannan, the other accused are Mufti Shafiqur Rahman, Maulana Yahiya, Mufti Abdul Hye, Maulana Shawkat Osman alias Sheikh Farid, Maulana Abu Bakar alias Selim Hawlader, Maulana Mohammad Tajuddin, Maulana Abdul Hannan Sabbir, Arif Hasan Suman, Maulana Akbar Hossain alias Helaluddin, Maulana Abu Taher, Maulana Abdur Rouf, Hafez Jahangir Alam Badar and Shahadat Ullah alias Jewel. Eight of them – Hannan, Suman, Jewel, Abu Taher, Sheikh Farid, Sabbir, Rouf, Yahiya and Akbar – are behind

bars while the others are on the run. The cases were sent to Speedy Trial Tribunal on March 23, 2010 but it sent the cases to Metropolitan Sessions Judge’s Court after recording deposition of 50 witnesses since the stipulated 135 working days were over but the court filed to complete the trials. On May 25, 2010, the cases were sent to the Second Additional Sessions Judge’s Court. Now the cases are dealt at the court of Judge Ruhul Amin. Earlier, nine more judges were involved in the trial proceedings.

Blast case verdict pending

Though the court fixed date for verdict in the murder case, another case filed under Explosive Substances Act remains pending. As the cases involve the bombing incident and the accused and the witnesses are the same people, so the Supreme Court registrar’s opinion was sought in 2009 on whether both the cases could be tried together. The registrar is yet to respond to the petition though several years have passed after filing of the plea. l

Kalyanpur high-rise did not tilt in explosion n Tribune Report

An explosion, possibly because of a leak in sewerage line, rocked the 12-storey Mizan Tower at Kalyanpur bus stand yesterday evening, creating huge panic in the area. The blast originated in the sewerage line beneath the building possibly because of gas accumulation, Fire Service Control Room Duty Officer Vajan Sarker told the Dhaka Tribune. The fire fighters did not find anyone injured in the incident that took place around 6:30pm. However, Vajan said he had heard that five people sustained injuries while evacuating the building hurriedly. The building houses shops, offices and a mosque on the first three floors while the rest is residential. Officials of the city’s real estate regulator Rajuk visited the spot and declared it “safe,” said the official. However, police did not allow residents of the building’s 90 flats to return to their homes as of filing of this report around 12:30am. Police said the building would stay locked until further notice. Soon after the explosion, rumours spread fast as many people said the building titled and also subsided. Even a senior police official of Mirpur zone confirmed to the Dhaka Tribune that the building had tilted to one side. The panic forced all people to evacuate the building because of the shake created. Traffic movement on the busy main road was also halted for over three hours creating tailbacks in and around the area. Hasan Khaled, one of the witnesses, said: “The building authorities started evacuating the dwellers immediately after the incident. A few people were injured at that time.” Two fire units rushed to the spot to rescue the panic-stricken people. The fire fighters, as precautionary measure, also closed the nearby shops and evacuated the buildings adjacent to Mizan Tower. Jasim Uddin, the additional deputy commissioner of DMP (Mirpur zone), said traffic on both sides of Mirpur Road between Shyamoli and Gabtoli were blocked in order to avert any accidents. Traffic movement was resumed around 9pm. l

Panic-stricken locals gather on the road in Kalyanpur yesterday after a 12-storey building was rocked by an explosion, forcing evacuation of the building’s residents

NASHIRUL ISLAM

Social security allocation to rise by 10% n Asif Showkat Kallol

The social security sector is going to get nearly Tk28,000 crore in the upcoming budget, an amount that is 10% higher than the allocation in the outgoing FY2013-14. The Social Welfare Ministry sought over Tk28,000 crore and proposed a 20% rise in the number of beneficiaries under the social security programmes. “The government wants to see a greater number of people under the social security network. That is why we have recommended a 10% raise in all kinds of allowances,” Social Welfare minister Syed Mohsin Ali told the Dhaka Tribune last week.

Finance Minister AMA Muhith has said on several occasions that the upcoming budget might abolish the “food for work” programme. However, he has promised a 10% hike in allowances for hermaphrodites, dalits, people belonging to the scheduled caste and the physically challenged. The expanded budget in the upcoming FY2014-15 is likely to be used for raising the allowances for elderly people, divorced women, the physically challenge and will also contribute to the freedom fighters’ grant. Ministry data shows that the current number of beneficiaries is 40.7 lakh. In the fresh national budget, due to be announced on June 5, the grant

for freedom fighters is likely to rise to Tk5,000 from the existing Tk3,000; and divorced women, who used to get Tk100 per month, will now get Tk300. At present, a total of 3 lakh physically challenged people are given a monthly allowance of Tk350 each. The next budget will increase the number of beneficiaries by 30,000 and the allowance will go up to Tk500. The existing Tk100 maternity and divorced women allowances under the Women and Children Affair Ministry are likely to rise to Tk300 in the coming budget. The Social Welfare Ministry has identified a total of 21 districts, which are prone to these vulnerable financial

statuses. The budget proposal includes a plan for crash programmes at the beginning of the upcoming FY2014-15 to improve the standard of living of these people. The outgoing FY2013-14 budget envisaged old-age allowance for 25 lakh people; maternity allowance for 1,500 rural women; lactation allowance for 30,000 working women in some districts; poverty allowance for nearly 10 lakh distressed widows and divorced women. At present 22 ministries are running 97 social safety net programmes around the country.The social safety net programmes were launched in the FY1996-97 when the Awami League was in power. l

Online submission of tax return to wait another year Showkat Kallol and Syed n Asif Samiul Basher Anik Taxpayers cannot submit tax returns online for at least another year as the project’s implementation has been delayed because of a row between the National Board of Revenue and the Asian Development Bank over the system’s integration. The NBR management wanted to implement a central system for submission of import tax, income tax and VAT; but the development partners, especially the ADB which is funding the project, preferred separate systems for this, an official of the NBR told the Dhaka Tribune. The official said the dispute had left the prospects of the automated NBR services uncertain for quite some time resulting in the delay. NBR Chairman Md Ghulam Hossain

yesterday sent a proposal to the cabinet committee on public purchase for selecting a consultant for the project named Strengthening Governance Management. In the proposal, the NBR chairman has admitted that the project, which was supposed to complete in December this year, will now take time up to December next year. He, however, has not said anything about the reasons behind the delay. The NBR has taken up the project to enhance transparency and accountability in tax filing with an aim of increasing tax revenue and enhancing public trust in service delivery of the income tax administration, the proposal reads. The paper says through the project taxpayers under a total of 649 circle offices, including 11 survey circles, will be connected online and the circle offices will share information with each other to ease the process.

Once the online system is up, taxpayers will be able to access all services related to income tax by registering themselves on the project’s website. The seven divisional towns – Dhaka, Chittagong, Rajshahi, Khulna, Barisal, Sylhet and Rangpur – will come under the project. Presently, the online tax return submission system is in place covering tax zone 8 of Dhaka and about 23,000 taxpayers under the zone are submitting their tax returns online. The project will be implemented at a cost of Tk78.98 crore of which the government will provide Tk12.68 crore and the ADB will fund the remaining Tk66.3 crore. As per the proposal, the NBR evaluation committee selected Vietnamese IT firm FRT Information System Corporation for Tk51.31 crore. A major portion of the allocation

for the project – Tk24.90 crore – will be spent for buying three pieces of software. Another Tk19.05 crore has been allocated for buying the hardware for the whole system and Tk8.28 crore for procuring hardware for regional data entry and information centre. Other firms that participated in the tender were Tata Consultancy Services, Infra-soft International JV with the Techno Vista Ltd, Tech Valley Networks Ltd and Info-tech Global Pty Ltd. Apart from these, the Pakistan Revenue Automation Ltd, Ernst and Young JV with Wipro Ltd, and Invenio Business Solution JV with GPIT became ineligible after technical evaluation. The NBR chairman yesterday told the Dhaka Tribune that the board was working on introducing the systems for filing income tax returns and e-payment from July 1, 2015. “We will start piloting the e-return

filing next January and the project along with e-payment method will come into operation from July 1, 2015,” he said. Terming the existing e-payment system insufficient, Ghulam Hossain said: “The existing methods in different banks are not good enough. We are working on building links among all banks and introducing electronic signature. Some work in the process is still pending – it will be completed within the remaining timeframe.” The direct tax-GDP ratio in Bangladesh is the lowest in the sub-continent. In India the ratio is 6%, in Pakistan 4% whereas in Bangladesh it is only 2%. According to a study, the number of people eligible for tax is one crore but only 10 lakh submit tax returns regularly. At present, the number of people with the Tax Identification Number is over 17 lakh. l

Crack in tribunal building raises concern n Udisa Islam The registrar office of the International Crimes Tribunal is likely to request the Law Ministry to take necessary actions because a huge crack has been detected in the tribunal building. In early March, the chief prosecutor requested that the ministry immediately shift his office (west block of the tribunal building) from the old High Court building, stating that the roof was damp. The prosecution then also warned that the whole tribunal building was at risk of collapse. On Sunday, officials of the tribunal detected a crack on a first floor wall near the main staircase, and called engineers to check the wall. A team of engineers visited the spot on Tuesday and after primary inspection suspected that it might have developed after the earthquake on May 22. Tribunal sources said the roof of the building was also risky. They had known it since 2012, when a part of the false ceiling broke down on Investigation Officer Helal Uddin, who was conducting a case. At that time, the false ceiling was replaced but the roof had not been renovated. During heavy rains, the walls and the roof of the building become damp and water seeps through the ceiling. More than 100 people including tribunal officials, employees, law enforcers, journalists and accused come to the tribunal building every working day and 20 prosecutors and around 40 other staff and researchers always visit the chief prosecutor’s office. The government set up the first tribunal in March 2010 and the second tribunal in March 2012 in the eastern block of the old High Court building. It allotted the western block to the prosecution office. The two-storey old High Court building was originally designed as the official residence of the governor of “East Bengal” province when Assam was created in 1905. Documents say a new building was erected on the north side in ’60s and the High Court was shifted there. “The government should take immediate steps as many experts have warned that the building may collapse at any time,” said prosecutor Zead-alMalum. Arunabha Chakrobharty, deputy registrar of the tribunal, admitted that the cracks were not normal and that they were taking the matter seriously. He said: “We observed the condition of the cracks, and informed the engineers and the authorities concerned to take measures.” l

Faster broadband on Moon than rural UK! n Tribune Report The Moon is a better place to browse Internet or download data than some rural parts of the UK as users can get broadband speed of a little less than 20mbps there. MIT and Nasa have broken records with its new broadband transmissions speeds on Earth’s satellite, where it is now possible to receive large amounts of data and stream video and audio. A download speed of 19.44mbps was achieved through a laser-powered communication uplink through RF signals, along with an upload speed of 622mbps, which is 4,800 times faster than the previous record, reports British daily The Independent. With the Moon being 284,633km away from Earth, the connection is dependent on its rotation around our planet (laser telescopes beam the data through columns of air which experience bending effects from the atmosphere). “Communicating at high data rates from Earth to the moon with laser beams is challenging because of the 400,000-kilometre distance spreading out the light beam,” Mark Stevens of MIT Lincoln Laboratory told Wired. “It’s doubly difficult going through the atmosphere, because turbulence can bend light-causing rapid fading or dropouts of the signal at the receiver,” he added. 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 Is cotton the new

aluminum for US?

Robi employees’ demonstration halts customer care service n Muhammad Zahidul Islam

An agitation programme called by the mobile phone operator Robi’s employees forced the authorities suspend customer care service partially from 8:30am yesterday. The employees stopped attending calls of customers and staged demonstration on the road behind Mascot Plaza in the city’s Uttara, placing a set of demands. Sajid Khan, a leader of the employees, said Robi had contracted with an independent third party firm named Genex Infosys in July last year for maintaining its operation, but the firm was not honouring the contract it signed with Robi. Khan alleged that Genex Infosys had curtailed the facilities of the Robi employees. The protesters said the third party firm did not grant sick leave, registered delay as absence, forced non-Muslim employees to attend office during their festivals and didn’t evaluate employees’ performance. Sajid Khan said all of the 300 on-duty employees of the mobile operator’s customer care division took to the street, and the actions would continue until their demands are met. The demands include extension of job contract to one year from the existing three months, providing transport facilities and giving promotion to part-time employees taking them as full-time staff. Robi, however, said they have no relation with the issue as Genex Infosys is an outsourcing company. “We are trying to find a permanent solution to the problem. Robi assures its customers that they won’t see any such type of problems in future,” Atiul Islam Nowshad, Chief Human Resources Officer of Robi, told the Dhaka Tribune. l

B4 Nike and Adidas get

personal in battle over soccer World Cup

THURSDAY, MAY 29, 2014 www.dhakatribune.com/business

Muhith: Tax holiday for ICT to continue in FY15 Digital World 2014 begins Wednesday next

Experts for special fund to build food stock

n Tribune Report

n Abu Bakar Siddique

Tax holiday for Information and Communication Technology (ICT) sector would continue in the upcoming national budget for the fiscal 2014-15, aimed at achieving the target of Digital Bangladesh by 2021. Finance Minister AMA Muhith yesterday came up with the assurance while addressing an advisory meeting of “Digital World 2014” at his secretariat office in the city. The minister, however, hinted that there would be no waiver on value added tax (VAT) in the upcoming budget and it would be applicable for all and everybody have to pay 15% VAT as he termed the amended VAT Act a good one, which would take effect in 2015. In 2012 vision, the government had set a target that the ICT sector would be the second most important sector in the country after RMG in terms of export earnings and employment generation. “We have reached a new height

in the development of ICT sector and we have to work in line with the progress to maintain it,” said Muhith. “Digital World 2014,” the largest IT expo of the country, will be held from June 4 to 7 at Bangabandhu International Conference Centre (BICC). The event is being jointly organised by the Technology Division of the ICT ministry and Bangladesh Association of Software and Information Services (BASIS). The exposition would have three components – software, e-governance and mobile innovation. Addressing the meeting, the minister said ICT has made everything transparent to us and it would also help us to prevent corruption as a good tool. Jamilur Reza Choudhury, vice-chancellor of University of Asia Pacific, suggested the government to strengthen marketing as well as lobbying with the CEOs of the world biggest IT companies to get more IT-related job.

“Because of the huge development in the ICT sector in Bangladesh, we are now observing brain gains instead of brain drain like situation,” said state minister for ICT Zunaid Ahmed Palak. He hoped that Bangladesh would be the next IT destination in the world as there are lots of talents and potentials among the young generation. Bangladesh Association of Software and Information Services urged the government to continue tax holiday for the ICT sector and demanded VAT waiver from this sector. It also requested the government to fix VAT at 10% for the e-commerce and e-tendering and special VAT for the student for using internet facilities. “At present, over five lakh freelancers are working in the ICT sector and so far earned $50m till now and we have taken initiatives to train up more young people to create more entrepreneurship,” said BASIS President Shamim Ahmed. l

Banks, NBFIs urged to frame CSR policy n Tribune Report

Bangladesh Bank Governor Atiur Rahman has urged the banks and non-bank financial institutions to frame their own CSR (corporate social responsibility) policy to deeply engage in socially responsible business. A bank or NBFI will have to frame their own respective CSR policies and its board of directors will have to approve and review it periodically.

Banks and NBFIs will have to publish an annual publication on CSR, illustrating their respective CSR activities on a regular basis, he said. He made the call addressing the 5thh Standard Chartered-Financial Express CSR Award ceremony held at a city hotel yesterday evening. BSRM emerged as the first prize winner, followed by GP second and Uniliver Bangladesh third. “CSR activities of our banks and

financial institutions have expanded several fold over the past few years for socioeconomic empowerment of the less well off population segments,” said the governor. As per the new guideline, the banks and NBFIs will have to spend at least 2.5% of their respective net profits on CSR in three key fields – concessional loans, donation funds and allocations for developing internal job environment and gender equality. l

Experts suggested allocating special fund in the upcoming national budget to procure food grains from international markets and build a good reserve of food. The reserve is likely to become vulnerability as the procurement rate of Boro rice is almost similar to the local market price, they said, arguing for the special allocation. Currently, the local market price of per maund of Boro paddy is around Tk750 while the government fixed the procurement price at Tk800, discouraging the suppliers to make supply agreement with the food department. “Just after the harvesting, the high price of paddy at the farmers’ level is quite surprising. If the trends continue, the government cannot meet the procurement target,” said Quazi Shahabuddin, former director general of Bangladesh Institute of Development Studies (BIDS).

In that case, he said, the government has to import the food grains from international market at higher prices. The agricultural economist said additional budget should be allocated to face the unexpected situation. On March 20, the government fixed the target of procuring 11 lakh tonnes of Boro rice from the local market at a rate of Tk31 per Kg as compared to 10 lakh tonnes at Tk29 per Kg last year. According to the Ministry of Food, the government increased both the procurement target and price compared to the previous fiscal year to ensure fair price for the farmers so they do not turn back from Boro farming – the largest food supply source of the country. In last about one month period as of May 26, the government procured only around 53,000 tonnes of Boro rice as most of the suppliers were reluctant to sign agreement with the government due to little difference between the procurement price and local market price.  B3 COLUMN 2

DHAKA TRIBUNE

66,614,586 71,366

Traded Issues

293

Issue Gain (Avg. Price Basis)

140

Issue Loss (Avg. Price Basis)

146

Unchanged Issue (Avg. Price Basis)

Market Capital Equity (Billion. Tk.)

2,275.21

Market Capital Equity (Billion US$)

27.58

CSE key features May 28, 2014 Turnover (Million Taka)

220.67

Turnover (Volume)

Daily capital market highlights DSE Broad Index :

3,212.05

Number of Contract

er large cap sectors – pharmaceuticals, food and allied, and power – inched up. Lanka Bangla Securities, in its market analysis, said stock market continued to rally and scale up the benchmark index on hopes of a pro-growth budget outcome and stable economic outlook. It said market has found some ground at current level after series of slowed down move in index and one of the benefits of sentiments turning positive is the green shoots seen in financial, cement and manufacturing stocks. It said an allocation of Tk8,100 crore on Padma Bridge along with other government projects are likely in next budget. Adding to this, there’s hope of a pickup in the country’s infrastructure story that is leading to the segment witnessing positive interest, it said. The infrastructure push will not only aid the construction segment, but all real-estate companies of the country, it said. IDLC Investments said budgetary expectation seemed getting stronger day by day which subsequently revved up investor sentiment. It said after a number of dull sessions, reversion in last day knocked investors’ sentiment positively. l

Stocks saw modest gains for the second consecutive session yesterday on hopes of pro-growth budgetary measures. Cement sector shined, making up one-fifth of the total market turnover on expectation of beginning construction of Padma Bridge, the largest infrastructure project in the country, and rose more than 3% in sectoral index. The benchmark index DSEX rose 15 points or 0.4% to close at 4,431. The comprising blue chips DS30 soared 10 points or 0.7% to 1,613. The Shariah index DSES gained almost 8 points or 0.8% to close at 993. Chittagong Stock Exchange (CSE) Selective Categories Index, CSCX, was up 15 points to 8,493. Turnover recovered slightly and crossed Tk300 crore after eight consecutive sluggish sessions. The total turnover at DSE stood at Tk321 crore, which was 33.7% higher over the previous session. All the major sectors saw green except the financial sectors – banks and non-banking financial institutions – which edged lower. Heavyweight telecommunication sector was the market mover as the sector gained 1.27%. The oth-

Company

Turnover (Million Taka) Turnover (Volume)

5,799,844

Number of Contract

8,279

4430.98100

(+) 0.34%

▲

Traded Issues

206

993.28119

(+) 0.79%

▲

Issue Gain (Avg. Price Basis)

1612.77381

(+) 0.65%

▲

Issue Loss (Avg. Price Basis)

105

CSE All Share Index:

13628.51240

(+) 0.33%

▲

Unchanged Issue (Avg. Price Basis)

CSE - 30 Index :

11255.63150

(+) 0.35%

▲

Market Capital Equity (Billion. Tk.)

2,181.67

8492.80890

(+) 0.17%

▲

Market Capital Equity (Billion US$)

26.44

DSE Shariah Index : DSE - 30 Index :

CSE Selected Index : DSE LOSERS

GeminiSeaFood-Z Midas Financing-Z Rahima Food -Z Eastern InsurA CMC Kamal Tex. -A Familytex (BD) Ltd.-A Eastern Housing -A Meghna PET Ind. -Z

-5.69 -5.26 -5.13 -4.31 -4.05 -3.72 -3.54 -3.23

Average (% change) -6.27 -6.25 -1.82 -4.37 -3.04 -3.34 0.89 -3.23

GSP Finance-A Stylecraft -A

-3.16 -2.68

-2.47 -2.91

Company

Closing (% change)

CSE LOSERS

Standard Insurance-A Hakkani P& Paper -B Islami Ins.BD-A NLI 1st M F-A Familytex (BD) Ltd.-A National Housing Fin.-B Delta Brac HFCL-A Mercantile Bank -A

-8.31 -6.83 -4.90 -4.17 -3.70 -3.06 -3.01 -2.69

Average (% change) -8.94 -3.24 -4.90 -3.66 -3.12 -0.92 -3.01 -1.36

Daffodil Computers -Z H.R. Textile -A

-2.54 -2.40

-2.29 -2.30

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 244.77 82.38 48.11 370.75 242.80 273.36 1.14 351.63 382.47 0.56 133.99 30.40 8.53 623.53 11.85 34.17 62.03 230.96 15.41 62.98 0.26

Turnover in million

Daily low

Latest EPS

Latest PE

125.52 18.00 58.70 35.49 23.93 26.35 61.30 6.00

126.00 18.00 57.30 35.50 23.70 25.90 59.90 6.00

129.50 18.00 61.00 35.60 24.70 27.10 64.00 6.10

124.90 18.00 56.60 34.00 22.90 25.70 56.00 6.00

0.182 0.018 3.082 0.215 23.827 60.981 129.387 0.051

-11.90 -6.91 -1.01 3.44 1.32 4.64 3.19 -1.33

-ve -ve -ve 10.3 18.1 5.7 19.2 -ve

18.55 1000.00

18.40 1000.00

19.10 1000.00

17.10 1000.00

1.954 0.100

1.56 47.83

11.9 20.9

Closing average

Closing

Daily high

Turnover in million

Daily low

Latest EPS

MeghnaCement -A Kohinoor Chem -A ACI Limited- A Al-Haj Textile -A JMI Syringes MDL-A Golden Harvest Agro-N LafargeS Cement-Z Premier Cement-A AramitCementA BSC-A

32.00 27.30 23.30 9.20 26.00 28.50 64.50 18.10

32.00 28.90 23.30 9.20 27.20 30.00 64.50 18.40

31.50 27.30 23.30 9.20 25.80 28.30 64.50 16.80

0.031 0.057 0.012 0.009 8.595 0.564 0.032 2.397

2.88 0.28 1.92 1.36 4.64 2.32 5.05 1.16

11.0 101.3 12.1 6.8 5.7 12.5 12.8 15.7

11.50 28.50

0.063 0.057

0.68 1.62

16.9 17.6

The infrastructure push will not only aid the construction segment, but all real-estate companies of the country

% change 7.62 2.56 1.50 11.54 7.56 8.51 0.04 10.95 11.91 0.02 4.17 0.95 0.27 19.41 0.37 1.06 1.93 7.19 0.48 1.96 0.01

Million Taka 21.86 5.48 2.95 33.69 15.39 22.43 33.99 22.99 17.13 3.13 19.25 1.81 34.72 1.82 0.34 8.82 14.33 4.46 7.27 0.01

% change 8.04 2.02 1.08 12.39 5.66 8.25 0.00 12.50 8.46 6.30 1.15 7.08 0.67 12.77 0.67 0.12 3.25 5.27 1.64 2.68 0.00

Million Taka 266.64 87.86 51.06 404.44 258.19 295.80 1.14 385.63 405.46 17.69 137.13 49.65 10.34 658.25 13.67 34.51 70.85 245.29 19.86 70.25 0.27

Total

7.57 6.39 6.14 4.75 4.51 4.47 4.39 4.07 4.02 3.80

CSE GAINERS Company Samata LeatheR -Z Phoenix Insur -A ACI Limited- A BGIC -A Premier Cement-A Eastern Cables-A LafargeS Cement-Z ConfidenceCement A MeghnaCement -A BSC-A

Closing (% change) 8.04 7.03 6.56 5.91 5.25 4.74 4.68 4.51 4.51 4.31

Average (% change) 7.20 6.44 3.66 3.05 2.80 2.73 4.46 3.75 3.94 3.63 Average (% change) 8.29 7.03 4.94 6.18 4.86 4.67 4.68 4.22 7.38 3.73

Closing average 133.63 374.17 224.95 122.07 165.43 32.35 73.03 89.65 44.06 518.17

Closing average 30.97 35.00 226.69 23.36 90.21 126.07 73.12 131.92 134.55 518.47

Closing 135.00 376.10 229.80 123.50 166.80 32.70 73.70 89.60 44.00 519.00

Closing 30.90 35.00 230.50 23.30 90.20 126.00 73.80 132.10 132.20 520.50

Daily high 137.90 378.00 235.40 124.20 168.80 32.90 74.40 91.50 44.80 525.25

Daily high 31.00 35.00 235.00 23.50 91.80 126.90 74.20 135.00 138.50 523.50

Daily low 127.90 350.00 200.00 106.20 161.30 28.20 71.30 85.00 38.50 501.25

Daily low 30.90 35.00 210.00 23.30 86.10 125.80 71.20 129.00 132.00 508.00

Turnover in million 42.642 1.417 64.938 30.521 13.648 12.558 414.171 14.702 21.169 36.860

Turnover in million 0.046 0.042 2.584 0.033 0.920 0.315 23.692 2.451 0.686 3.816

Latest EPS 7.00 9.37 5.28 2.00 2.08 1.55 2.16 3.67 0.68 23.48

Latest EPS 0.09 3.00 5.28 1.36 3.67 2.03 2.16 8.52 7.00 23.48

Latest PE 19.1 39.9 42.6 61.0 79.5 20.9 33.8 24.4 64.8 22.1

Latest PE 344.1 11.7 42.9 17.2 24.6 62.1 33.9 15.5 19.2 22.1

News from trade server EHL: (Q3): As per un-audited quarterly accounts for the 3rd quarter ended on 30th April 2014 (Feb’14 to Apr’14), the Company has reported net profit after tax of Tk. 121.16 million with EPS of Tk. 1.50 as against Tk. 78.50 million and Tk. 0.97 respectively for the same period of the previous year. Whereas net profit after tax was Tk. 192.49 million with EPS of Tk. 2.39 for the period of nine months (Aug’13 to Apr’14) ended on 30.04.2014 as against Tk. 179.08 million and Tk. 2.22 respectively for the same period of the previous year. UNIQUEHRL: Credit Rating Information and Services Limited (CRISL) has rated the Company as “AA+” in the long term and “ST-1” in the short term in consideration of financials of the Company up to 31st December 2013 (audited) and other relevant quantitative as well as qualitative information up to the date of rating declaration. AMCL(PRAN): Credit Rating Information and Services Limited (CRISL) has rated the Company as “AA-” in the long term and “ST-3” in the short term in consideration of financials of the Company up to 30th June 2013 (audited) and other relevant quanti-

DSE TURNOVER LEADERS Company LafargeS Cement-Z Grameenphone-A Eastern Housing -A BSRM Steels-A Meghna Petroleum -A Olympic Ind. -A Square Pharma -A

CSE

Closing (% change)

tative as well as qualitative information up to the date of rating declaration. RANFOUNDRY: Credit Rating Information and Services Limited (CRISL) has rated the Company as “AA-” in the long term and “ST-3” in the short term in consideration of financials of the Company up to 31st December 2013 (audited) and other relevant quantitative as well as qualitative information up to the date of rating declaration. EHL: The Company has informed that the Board of Directors of the Company has approved the investment of Tk. 3.00 million in IG Health Care Limited, a healthcare project of Islam Group against 300,000 shares of Tk. 10.00 each out of total 5,000,000 shares. SAIHAMCOT: The Company has informed that the Board of Directors of the Company has taken the following resolutions: 1. has decided to go for commercial production of Saiham Cotton Mills Ltd. (Unit-2) from May 31, 2014, the proceeds of which were mainly received from Initial Public Offering, 2. The total cost of setting up of the additional unit is Tk. 1,12,17,48,482.00 and 3. The additional unit will generate

approximately extra revenue of Tk. 170.00 crore to the existing turnover. RUPALILIFE: The Company has informed that it has credited the rights shares to the respective shareholders’ BO Accounts on May 26, 2014. WATACHEM: As per Regulation 30 of DSE Listing Regulations, the Company has informed that a meeting of the Board of Directors will be held on June 01, 2014 at 4:00 PM to consider, among others, audited financial statements of the Company for the year ended on December 31, 2013. IPO Subscription: Tung Hai Knitting & Dyeing Limited subscription date 18-22 May 2014, NRB upto 31 May 2014. @ taka 10, face value taka 10 and market lot 500. Far East Knitting & Dyeing Industries Limited subscription date 15-19 June 2014, NRB upto 28 June 2014. @ taka 22, face value taka 10 and market lot 200. Shurwid Industries Limited subscription date 08-12 June 2014, NRB upto 21 June 2014. @ taka 10, face value taka 10 and market lot 500. Saif Powertec Limited subscription date 06-10 July 2014, NRB upto 19 July 2014. @ taka 10, face value taka 30 and market lot 200.

Latest PE

31.76 28.35 23.30 9.20 26.37 28.92 64.50 18.16

SECTORAL TURNOVER SUMMARY Sector

Daily high

Thursday, May 29, 2014

DSE GAINERS

DSE key features May 28, 2014

Stocks see modest rally with increased turnover n Tribune Report

Stock

% change 7.65 2.52 1.47 11.61 7.41 8.49 0.03 11.07 11.64 0.51 3.94 1.43 0.30 18.89 0.39 0.99 2.03 7.04 0.57 2.02 0.01

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

HeidelbergCement -A ACI Limited- A Familytex (BD) Ltd.-A

Appollo Ispat CL -N Mercantile Bank -A Beximco Pharma -A Emerald Oil Ind. -N BD Submarine Cable-A CSE TURNOVER LEADERS Company LafargeS Cement-Z

BSRM Steels-A Grameenphone-A Appollo Ispat CL -N Familytex (BD) Ltd.-A Meghna Petroleum -A Rupali Life Insur.-A Square Pharma -A Hwa Well Textiles-N BD Submarine Cable-A UNITED AIR-A BSC-A UCBL - A Emerald Oil Ind. -N AFC AgroBiotech-N

Volume shares 5,671,500 682,200 2,110,880 1,397,454 358,415 425,404 265,131 130,500 288,681 2,314,500

2,089,800 3,016,937 1,249,386 993,500 262,091 Volume shares

324,000 142,140 38,400 357,000 326,000 24,200 72,000 18,199 99,000 22,100 338,781 7,360 141,136 15,500 64,500

Value in million 414.17 183.58 129.39 106.67 101.25 98.64 71.80 69.81 64.94 60.98

58.69 55.71 52.96 48.77 47.38

Value in million

23.69 10.88 10.33 10.00 8.60 6.86 5.94 4.93 4.13 4.00 3.86 3.82 3.76 3.64 3.54

% of total turnover 12.89 5.72 4.03 3.32 3.15 3.07 2.24 2.17 2.02 1.90

1.83 1.73 1.65 1.52 1.47

% of total turnover

11.17 5.13 4.87 4.71 4.05 3.23 2.80 2.32 1.95 1.89 1.82 1.80 1.77 1.72 1.67

Daily closing 73.70 269.80 59.90 76.20 284.50 235.30 271.40 531.80 229.80 25.90

27.90 18.50 39.90 49.20 180.00

Daily closing

73.80 76.50 269.50 27.90 26.00 284.20 76.70 271.10 41.30 180.60 11.30 520.50 26.60 49.00 54.60

Price change 4.39 1.43 -3.54 2.83 1.93 3.57 0.74 0.53 6.14 -3.72

Daily opening 70.60 266.00 62.10 74.10 279.10 227.20 269.40 529.00 216.50 26.90

Daily high 74.40 270.50 64.00 77.40 286.50 236.50 272.00 539.80 235.40 27.10

Daily low 71.30 263.50 56.00 68.00 255.00 213.00 255.00 529.10 200.00 25.70

Daily average 73.03 269.11 61.30 76.33 282.50 231.87 270.81 534.96 224.95 26.35

Price change

Daily opening

Daily high

Daily low

Daily average

1.09 -0.54 0.00 2.29 -0.88

4.68 3.38 1.58 1.45 -3.70 1.36 -5.07 0.63 -1.43 -0.71 -0.88 4.31 0.00 -78.34 -1.27

27.60 18.60 39.90 48.10 181.60

70.50 74.00 265.30 27.50 27.00 280.40 80.80 269.40 41.90 181.90 11.40 499.00 26.60 226.20 55.30

28.40 18.70 43.50 49.50 183.30

74.20 77.60 270.70 28.20 27.20 291.50 83.20 271.90 42.30 182.50 11.60 523.50 26.90 49.40 55.50

27.70 16.80 37.00 48.70 164.10

71.20 74.80 266.00 27.50 25.80 280.70 76.00 268.00 41.10 180.00 10.30 508.00 24.00 48.50 54.00

28.08 18.46 42.39 49.09 180.76

73.12 76.55 269.02 28.01 26.37 283.46 82.53 270.74 41.71 181.05 11.38 518.47 26.62 234.87 54.88

DHAKA TRIBUNE

Business

Thursday, May 29, 2014

Is cotton the new aluminum for US? n Reuters, New York

Oil prices mixed with Ukraine crisis in focus n AFP, Singapore Oil prices were mixed in Asia yesterday, underpinned by concerns about the Ukraine crisis as fierce armed confrontation between government forces and pro-Moscow separatists continued unabated, leaving dozens dead. US benchmark, West Texas Intermediate (WTI) for delivery in July, eased four cents to $104.07 in afternoon trade. Brent North Sea crude for July gained 13 cents to $110.15 per barrel. Ukraine’s interim pro-Western government said Tuesday it had recaptured an airport in the eastern city of Donetsk from pro-Russian insurgents after a day of air strikes and fierce gun battles. Donetsk mayor Oleksandr Lukyanchenko said two civilians and 38 combatants had died and another 31 were wounded, including Russians and possibly Chechens. “Traders are still keeping an eye on Ukraine developments especially the continued fighting in the eastern part as well as developments in Libya,” said Singapore’s United Overseas Bank in a note to investors. The escalation in tensions comes a day after billionaire chocolate baron Petro Poroshenko was confirmed as the country’s new president following weekend polls triggered after proRussian leader Viktor Yanukovych was ousted in February. Washington and its European allies supporting Ukraine’s interim government have accused Russia of fomenting unrest in the country, allegations Moscow denies. Investors fear a full-blown conflict in the ex-Soviet state, a conduit for a quarter of European gas imports from Russia, will disrupt supplies and send energy prices soaring. Kelly Teoh, managing director at IR Resources in Bangkok, said prices were also supported by hopes of a further drop in US crude stockpiles, indicating robust demand in the world’s top crude consumer ahead of the busy summer driving season. US crude stocks plunged 7.2 million barrels in the week to May 16, the Department of Energy revealed last week. The weekly stockpiles report will be released on Thursday instead of Wednesday this week, because of the Memorial Day holiday weekend. l

Cotton merchants are waiting months to take delivery of fiber from US warehouses, tightening supplies and fueling fears the niche market is in the grip of a storage game that plunged aluminum trading into crisis. Traders that own the stockpiled cotton have raced to remove their bales this year in order to cash in on higher prices as inventories shrink to their lowest seasonal level in over seven years. But some warehouse operators are shipping it out at the slowest possible rate in order to keep charging storage fees, 12 traders, buyers, and warehouse operators said. The issue, which has dogged the market on and off for years, returned with a vengeance this year at sheds from Lubbock, Texas, to Memphis, Tennessee. The logjams, which have not been widely reported, are among the worst seen since the existing minimum load-out rate was introduced in 2004, traders said. “U.S. merchants and growers US merchants are missing out on sales because it can take months to get shipments to buyers,” said Kevin McDermott, vice president at Jess Smith & Sons Cotton, a mid-sized merchant in Bakersfield, California. Frustrated merchants such as Singapore’s Olam International Ltd, the world’s No 2 trader, are calling for measures that would force warehouse operators to release the cotton more quickly. Those who own the sheds - a mix of independent warehouse operators, farmer cooperatives, and merchants say they are simply operating within government-mandated load-out rates. But the Cotton Growers Warehouse Association, which represents warehouse operations affiliated with farmer cooperatives, acknowledged the practice of stalling shipments to generate revenue was still a possibility. That’s because the load-out rate stipulates only the minimum number

Experts for special  B1 COLUMN 6

For example, a major portion of the suppliers from Noagaon district having the highest Boro growers did not sign the agreement till yesterday, though the deadline expired on May 26. Nirod Baran Saha, president of Noagan Rice Wholesalers Association, told the Dhaka Tribune of the unwillingness yesterday. Regarding the high price of paddy during this period of harvesting, Dr Asaduzzamn, professional fellow of BIDS, said that the farmers are getting the benefit this year which is good, but it will make the government insecure in terms of food reserve as the government will have to procure rice anyhow to meet the social safety net programmes. Currently, the government spends around 20 lakh tons of coarse rice to support different social safety net programmes, including Vulnerable Group Feeding (VGF) and Open Market Sale (OMS). The average rice production of the country is around 3.4 crore tonnes and the wheat is around 10 lakh tonnes. l

Farm worker Jose Luna holds a bundle of harvested cotton at Baxley & Baxley Farms in Minturn, South Carolina of bales that needs to be shipped. As long as warehouses stick to that minimum they are not breaking any rules. “We are trying to find a way either through regulations or through market channels to reward warehouses that provide good service and provide disincentives for warehouses that might sit on the cotton simply for revenue,” said association executive director Andrew Jordan. The U.S. Department of Agriculture, which oversees more than 350 warehouses across the country, is preparing to step up monitoring next month in response to industry pressure, but critics say more action is needed to speed the

cotton to market. It is not clear just how much fiber is stuck in queues, and market sources would not identify sheds with the biggest wait times. Capacity at warehouse sites can range from 1,000 bales to more than 500,000 bales. Several buyers said Louisiana, which is near some of the country’s major mills and shipping hubs, has been a hot spot for logjams this year. With mills buying on a just-in-time basis, stocks running low and prices volatile, dealers fear they will get caught short and end up paying more for alternative cotton supplies if their bales are stuck in queues.

REUTERS

Louis Dreyfus Commodities, the world’s No 1 cotton merchant, is the biggest US merchant-operator, with at least 18 warehouses in eight states. Other merchants include Ecom Agroindustrial which has at least six, and Cargill Inc. and Olam with three. Noble Group, which declined to comment, has at least three. The other companies did not respond to requests for comment. The dispute has echoes of the queues in aluminum warehousing, where buyers sometimes have to wait up to two years for their metal. That logjam is under investigation by the Department of Justice and Commodity Futures Trading Commission. l

Need for an active debt market stressed n Tribune Report Speakers at a workshop in Dhaka have stressed the need for an active debt market to bring in an alternative source of finance to bank loans for the corporate in Bangladesh. To do that, they suggested introducing publicly listed privately-placed corporate bonds as a step towards a more liquid debt market. Vinod Kothari, an internationally acclaimed financial consultant from India, while conducting the 2-day workshop concluded yesterday emphasised on the importance of knowing global market development for bonds that could align with the local bond market. Participated by over 30 financial professionals working in banks and some employees of IDLC Finance Limited that organised the workshop to focus on development potentials of the local bond market from both views of the regulators and arrangers. Arif Khan, member of Securities and Exchange Commission of Bangladesh, pointed out the problems of the country’s $20bn bond market and stressed the need for addressing the problems soon to create a debt market with sufficient liquidity. l

RBI chief reiterates call for global monetary coordination n Reuters, Mumbai Reserve Bank of India chief Raghuram Rajan reiterated yesterday what he said is the need for global central banks to be mindful of the impact of their unconventional monetary policy measures on other economies.

Dollar holds steady in Asia n AFP, Tokyo The dollar held largely steady against the yen in Asia yesterday after enjoying a pick-up in New York thanks to an upbeat batch of US data and a record close for the S&P 500 stock index. The dollar bought 101.93 yen in Tokyo afternoon trade compared with 101.96 yen in New York Tuesday afternoon. The euro fetched $1.3632, against 1.3634, and 138.96 compared with 139.03 yen. US shares and the greenback ticked higher on Tuesday on Wall Street as dealers returned after the Memorial Day long weekend. Fresh data showed a rise in consumer confidence for May, a surprising increase in durable goods orders for April and a pick-up in home prices for March on the widely watched S&P/ Case-Shiller index. The news boosted appetite for higher risk assets, sending New York’s three

main indexes higher. The S&P 500 set a new high after breaking the 1,900 barrier for the first time on Friday. The greenback was also supported by demand from Japan’s importers,

US shares and the greenback ticked higher on Tuesday on Wall Street as dealers returned after the Memorial Day long weekend analysts said, as attention turns to the Bank of Japan’s next meeting, with speculation growing that it could tinker with its monetary policy to boost the economy. The euro has been on a downward trend for three weeks on expectations

the European Central Bank will loosen monetary policy when its board next meets on June 5. Earlier this month ECB head Mario Draghi indicated the bank was ready to unveil new measures to kickstart the economy and boost inflation, which is sitting well below the bank’s 2.0 percent target. The dollar was mixed against other Asia-Pacific currencies. The greenback rose to 59.04 Indian rupees from 59.02 rupees on Tuesday, to 43.90 Philippine pesos from 43.73 pesos, to 32.66 Thai baht from 32.59 baht, and to 11,610.80 Indonesian rupiah from 11,578.80 rupiah. It weakened to 1,021.55 South Korean won from 1,023.60 won and to Tw$30.08 from Tw$30.13. The US unit was unchanged at Sg$1.2549. The Australian dollar inched up to 92.63 US cents against 92.60 cents, while the Chinese yuan eased to 16.26 yen from 16.34 yen. l

Rajan proposed that central banks of advanced nations “internalise” the spillover effects from such policies to minimise volatility and disruptions in financial markets elsewhere. “The current non-system in international monetary policy is, in my view, a source of substantial risk, both to sustainable growth as well as to the financial sector,” Rajan said in the text of a speech to be delivered at the Bank of Japan in Tokyo. “It is not an industrial country problem, nor an emerging market problem, it is a problem of collective action. The sooner we recognize that, the more sustainable world growth we will have,” he said, reiterating comments he made earlier this month. l

Google’s own self-driving cars, no steering wheel n AFP, Los Angeles

First Security Islami Bank Limited recently donated Ahsania Mission Cancer Detection Centre & Hospital Tk1.97 crore for purchasing a digital X-Ray machine, ECHO machine and establishment of 5-bed ICU. The bank’s MD, AAM Zakaria handed over the cheque to Kazi Rafiqul Alam, president of Dhaka Ahsania Mission

KFC Bangladesh yesterday added a new tag for all KFC restaurants in the country. YUM International the franchisor of KFC, a restaurant chain has launched the new tag-line, “KFC So good” some while back. Akku Chowdhury, managing director and CEO of Transcom Foods Ltd was present at the tag-line launching ceremony

bKash introduces mobile balance top up n Tribune Business Desk Eastern Bank Ltd (EBL) recently organised a day-long training programme on scientific methods of crop cultivation and plant protection for around 50 farmers at Union Parisad of Mohishasi Bazar in Dhamrai, Dhaka. Md Khurshed Alam, head of SME banking of EBL inaugurated the training session at the presence of the bank’s head of small business, Anwar Faruq Talukder

bKash, a mobile financial service provider has recently launched ‘Buy Airtime’ service that will allow bKash wallet users to top up mobile balance of Banglalink, Robi and Airtel numbers

through bKash. Any individual bKash wallet user can recharge his/her own or someone else’s Bangalink and Airtel’s both prepaid and postpaid connection and Robi’s prepaid connection through this service, said a press release. l

Google unveiled plans to build its own self-driving car - minus the steering wheel - that it hopes to begin testing in the coming months. “They won’t have a steering wheel, accelerator pedal, or brake pedal ... because they don’t need them. Our software and sensors do all the work,” Google’s Chris Urmson said in a blog post. Urmson said Google plans to build about 100 prototype vehicles, “and later this summer, our safety drivers will start testing early versions of these vehicles that have manual controls.” He added, “If all goes well, we’d like to run a small pilot program here in California in the next couple of years.” For Google, the car marks a shift away from adapting vehicles made by others in its quest to pioneer individual transport that needs only a stop-andgo function. “It was inspiring to start with a blank sheet of paper and ask, ‘What should be different about this kind of vehicle?’” the post said. The top speed of the battery-powered prototypes will be 40 kilometers (25 miles) per hour and are designed for utility, not luxury. “We’re light on creature comforts, but we’ll have two seats (with seatbelts), a space for passengers’ belongings, buttons to start and stop, and a

screen that shows the route - and that’s about it,” Urmson said. The blog post shows a photo of a prototype and an artist’s rendering both rounded bug-looking vehicles. “We took a look from the ground up of what a self-driving car would look like,” Google co-founder Sergey Brin told the Re/code conference in Rancho Palos Verdes, California. “The reason I’m so excited about these prototypes and the self-driving car project in general is the ability to change the world and the community around you,” Brin added. Brin said Google is likely “to partner with a lot of companies” on the project, but declined to elaborate. Until now Google has been re-fitting Lexus and Honda cars to work as selfdriving ones. In an interview with Re/code, Urmson said the new Google cars will have numerous safety features learned from the company’s research. “In our car there is no steering wheel so we have to design really fundamental capabilities,” he said. “So we have effectively two motors and they work so if one of them fails the other can steer, so the car can always control where it’s going, and similar with brakes.” In addition to crash protection for the occupant, the car has features to avoid pedestrians and other road users. l

DHAKA TRIBUNE

Back Page

Thursday, May 29, 2014

Nike, Adidas get personal in battle over football World Cup n Reuters, Berlin US sportswear group Nike is banking on its sponsorship of more of the world’s best-known soccer stars than Adidas in its battle to overtake the German firm as the sport’s top-selling brand at its World Cup this summer. Nike has signed six of the 10 most marketable footballers in the world, to just three for Adidas and one for smaller German brand Puma, according to a new ranking by sports marketing research group Repucom published on Wednesday. Portugal’s Cristiano Ronaldo, sponsored by Nike, tops the Repucom ranking, with almost 84% of people around the world saying they know the Real Madrid striker, helping to sell over one million shirts with his name on the back in 2013. In second place is Lionel Messi of Argentina, front man for the Adidas campaign who scores 76% global awareness according to Repucom - his marketability little dented by a mixed run of form for Barcelona this season. The appeal of the extrovert Ronaldo, who took the crown as the world’s best player from Messi in January, is helped by his use of Twitter, where he has 26 million followers to just two million for the more retiring Argentine. Ronaldo probably helps sell shirts even when he isn’t wearing one - he poses nude on the cover of the latest Spanish Vogue with his model girlfriend Irina Shayk - though the branding benefits are shared as Adidas sponsors Real Madrid. “While it is primarily about performance on the pitch, a player’s appeal is about a whole range of variables. With a footballer, you see everything, on the pitch and off the pitch, week in, week out,” said Repucom founder Paul Smith. “Athletes like Ronaldo have something unique that if you could bottle it

Footballs from Adidas, the world’s second largest sports apparel firm, are displayed before the company annual general meeting in the northern Bavarian town of Fuerth near Nuremberg REUTERS and sell it, you would do nothing else.” Nike tries to do just that with a glitzy ad featuring Ronaldo - and Shayk - in which boys playing soccer in the local park end up scoring a penalty in a huge stadium against their heroes, including others from the Repucom top 10 such as England’s Wayne Rooney and Bra-

zil’s Neymar. Adidas has retaliated with a new ad launched last Saturday which shows Messi dreaming about his rivals such as Bastian Schweinsteiger of Germany, Luis Suarez of Uruguay and Dani Alves of Brazil, none of whom feature in the Repucom ranking.

Ex-WTO chief: Trans-Pacific free trade pact ‘old-fashioned’ n AFP, Sydney Plans for a vast trans-Pacific free trade pact including the United States and Australia were “good” but “old-fashioned”, former World Trade Organisation chief Pascal Lamy said yesterday. Lamy, who stood down from the WTO in September, also said that cut-

They have been dead for thousands of years and you still see the light of the star. That’s what tariffs are like, tariffs are dead ting tariffs was no longer the force it once was in advancing trade, in comments to Fairfax newspapers. “The Trans-Pacific Partnership agreement Australia is negotiating with the US and 10 other countries, it’s a good, old-fashioned agreement,” Lamy told The Age. ‘’It’s about goods, services, government procurement, a bit of intellectual

property, but it’s the last of the big oldstyle agreements.’’ The Trans-Pacific Partnership has 12 prospective members - Australia, Brunei, Canada, Chile, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Peru, Singapore, the United States and Vietnam - with trade ministers this month agreeing to intensify talks on the deal. The ambitious pact, which would cover about 40% of the world economy, has stalled as the United States and Japan lock horns over key details, including Japanese tariffs on agricultural imports and US access to its ally’s huge auto market. If agreement between the US and Japan could be reached, it would raise hopes of a wider pan-Pacific agreement. ‘’Look at the US-Japan agreement,’’ Lamy said. ‘’It’s about pork, beef and rice. They are not exactly 21st-century trade opening topics,” he said. ‘’Pursue the Trans-Pacific Partnership if you think there’s something in it for you. But it’s the last of the big oldstyle trade agreements.” Speaking about tariffs, the Frenchman likened them to “dead stars” whose light could still be seen across millions of kilometres despite them being long expired.

“They have been dead for thousands of years and you still see the light of the star. That’s what tariffs are like, tariffs are dead,’’ he said. Lamy was, however, enthusiastic about a US-EU free trade pact which is under negotiation, the so-called Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP). “The new era begins with the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership,’’ he said of the deal which would vastly expand the US-EU economic relationship. The TTIP includes tariff cuts and improved market access but one of its most ambitious objectives is common regulatory standards for goods and services. Lamy said agreeing to common standards would make an “enormous difference” to trade because global corporations could “truly take advantage of economies of scale”. Australia has just concluded freetrade agreements with Japan and South Korea but Lamy, a former EU trade chief, conceded that businesspeople often did not use these kinds of deals. ‘’They make ambassadors feel good, but they are not worth the effort,” he said. l

n AFP, New York

German Chancellor Angela Merkel smiles during an European Council summit in Brussels AFP

global footprint and in all aspects of our lives,” said Moira Forbes, president and publisher of ForbesWoman. Forbes has named Merkel the most powerful woman nine times. Top businesswomen on the list include General Motors CEO Mary Barra (No 7) - subject of the Forbes cover story - Facebook COO Sheryl Sandberg (No 9)

Adidas, which has long dominated the market for soccer boots, shirts and balls, is facing a fierce challenge from Nike, the world’s biggest sportswear company that has only been a serious player in soccer for the last 20 years. While Adidas has supplied the

match ball for the World Cup since 1970 and has extended its sponsorship of the competition to 2030, Nike is for the first time kitting out more teams - 10 out of 32 finalists - including hosts and favorites Brazil. Adidas, which is supplying nine teams including reigning champions

Intel, China’s Rockchip in Android tablets alliance

German Chancellor Merkel tops Forbes ‘powerful women’ list German Chancellor Angela Merkel topped Forbes’s list of the world’s most powerful women for the fourth consecutive year, followed by US Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen, the magazine said yesterday. Behind them came Melinda Gates, who co-chairs the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation with her billionaire philanthropist husband, Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff and IMF chief Christine Lagarde. Hillary Clinton, former first lady, onetime Secretary of State and possible future US presidential contender, was listed at number six. The annual list includes women in business, media, politics, technology, entertainment, philanthropy and nonprofits, billionaires, and finance, a new category for the first time. “As we mark the 10th anniversary of publishing the World’s 100 Most Powerful Women list, these impressive women from around the world continue to make a dramatic, lasting impact on our

Adidas on the run

and IBM CEO Virginia Rometty (No 10). Forbes said the list features nine heads of state who run nations with a combined GDP of $11.1tn and 28 corporate CEOs who control $1.7tn in annual revenues. In another measure of influence, the 100 women on the 2014 list have a combined social media following of over 812 million, the magazine said. l

n AFP, New York US computer chip giant Intel announced Tuesday a partnership with Chinese tech firm Rockchip to produce low-cost Android-based tablet computers. The two companies will produce “a range of entry-level Android tablets worldwide” with the Intel Atom processors. “The strategic agreement with Rockchip is an example of Intel’s commitment to take pragmatic and different approaches to grow our presence in the global mobile market by more quickly delivering a broader portfolio of Intel architecture and communications technology solutions,” said Intel chief executive Brian Krzanich in a statement. “We are moving with velocity to grow Intel’s offerings for the growing global tablet market.” Rockchip CEO Min Li added in the same statement that “the combination of Intel’s leading architecture and

modem technology with our leading mobile design capability brings greater choice to the growing global market for mobile devices in the entry and value segments.” Jack Gold, analyst at J. Gold Associates, said the deal will help Intel gain access “to the mass Chinese market for lower end tablets and potentially smartphones.” “This is a win-win strategy, giving Intel a massively expanded sphere to sell chips to (via Rockchip) in the rapidly growing low-end tablet market, primarily Android based,” Gold said in an email. “This gives Intel a better ability to compete against the ARM ecosystem,” referring to devices using the platform of British-based ARM Holdings. Intel has been pushing further into mobile devices and the “Internet of things” to make up for slowing sales of personal computers, a market it dominates. l

Euro zone’s Dijsselbloem says taxes on labour too high n Reuters, Berlin The chairman of the Eurogroup of euro zone finance ministers Jeroen Dijsselbloem said on Tuesday the euro zone must “jointly reform” and added that high taxes on labor are an obstacle to growth. Speaking in Berlin, Dijsselbloem said that national tax cuts should be coordinated across Europe. “The tax wedge on labor in the euro zone is high, probably too high,” he said. “In almost all euro zone countries we have a tax wedge that is higher than the OECD average.” Dijsselbloem said that following the European Parliamentary elections he is more convinced that the European Union must focus on job creation. “Europe is no longer taken for granted,” he said. “It is no longer undisputed ... the elections have only strengthened my belief that we have to focus on creating jobs.” He also said the EU’s efforts must be aimed at creating the right conditions for sustainable growth. “The key issue at the moment is simply the return of jobs. The real thing in life that people still feel, such as in Portugal, is massive unemployment. So people ask, will this be jobless growth?” Dijsselbloem said he was concerned about a lack of movement for reforms after the parliamentary elections.

“After these elections, my fear is that we are scared to do more, that we will draw back and see what happens. Then we will get stuck at a very low level of growth, unemployment does not go down and you will lose the next elections,” he said. “If you want the next elections to be better – of course it always depends on the perspective – you have to act now.” Dijsselbloem, who is finance minister of the Netherlands, said he wasn’t sure if the Eurogroup needs a permanent chairman or not but believes it is possible to continuing to hold two jobs at the same time. “Whether it needs a permanent president, I don’t know. I like combining both jobs. Of course, there would be more time (for the Eurogroup role) if I didn’t have my daytime job, but the combination is practically doable,” he said. l

DILBERT

Spain, as well as Argentina and Germany, expects to make a record 2bn euros (1.6bn pounds) from soccer this year, still exceeding Nike’s $2bn of soccer turnover. “Football is the DNA of our company. We want to clearly show that we are number one in football,” Adidas Chief Executive Herbert Hainer told journalists last week, adding Adidas expected to sell significantly more balls than at the last World Cup in South Africa four years ago and about as many shirts. Hainer acknowledged that Adidas faced a “head-to-head” race with Nike in the soccer shoe market, but predicted Adidas would still sell 2 million pairs of special World Cup boots. Nike believes it has already overtaken Adidas in boots, including in its rival’s home market Germany. While Adidas will be supplying the German kit, many of the country’s top players now wear Nike boots, with nine members of the team that started against Poland this month sporting Nike. However, Hainer dismissed suggestions Adidas had not signed the right stars, saying 14 of the 27 members of the German squad would be wearing boots with Adidas’ trademark three stripes. Meanwhile, Puma, whose only player in the Repucom top 10 is former France striker Thierry Henry, is resorting to a stunt to attract attention: it has persuaded players such as Italy’s maverick striker Mario Balotelli, Marco Reus of Germany and Cesc Fabregas of Spain to wear one pink and one blue “Tricks” boot. “I have to be honest, the first time I saw the Tricks boots, I thought the Puma guy was mad. But when I realized he wasn’t, I was already excited,” Balotelli said. “It is exactly the reason why I chose to be with Puma, they dare to be different and everyone knows that I do as well.” l

Britain tops foreign investment ranking, France lags n Reuters, Paris Britain and Germany topped an annual ranking of foreign investment projects in Europe while France lagged behind though its numbers were on rise, a study showed on Tuesday. Retaining its top position, Britain saw the number of foreign investment projects in the country rise by 15% last year to 799, according to Ernst and Young. Meanwhile, Germany, Europe’s biggest economy and industrial powerhouse, saw an increase of 12% to 701 foreign investments. France appeared to have halted some of its decline in recent years although the number of foreign investments grew more slowly than in Britain or Germany. With a nine percent increase last year in investments to 514 projects, Economy Minister Arnaud Montebourg seized on the study as a sign of the government’s success in reviving French firms’ competitiveness and improving the country’s attractiveness. In a move to improve competitiveness further, President Francois Hollande aims to phase out 30bn euros ($41bn) in payroll tax companies pay over the next three years in exchange for commitments to create jobs. Ernst and Young said that the total number of foreign investments in Europe rose five percent to a record 3,955 projects, creating 166,300 jobs which was down from pre-crisis levels of close to 200,000. While intra-European investment accounted for 54% of foreign investment, the United States was the single biggest foreign investor followed by Germany and Britain. In one of the latest examples of US investment in Europe, US conglomerate General Electric is seeking to buy the energy assets of French group Alstom, once an icon of French industry. However, it faces resistance from the French government, which prefers a European tie-up between Alstom and German rival Siemens and which has widened its control of foreign takeovers with a decree giving it powers to veto deals. l