10 June 20141

Joishthya 28, 1421 Shaaban 12, 1435 Regd. No. DA 6238 Vol 2, No 72

WEDNESDAY, JUNE 11, 2014 | www.dhakatribune.com | SECOND EDITION

Treehouse | PEEK-A-BOO, I SEE YOU

7 | BRING MANZOOR’S MURDERERS TO TRIAL

11 | FLAGS IN OUR HEARTS

20 pages plus 8-page Treehouse children’s supplement | Price: Tk12

14|’SPAIN CAN COPE WITH PACKED DEFENCES’

Flawed Acsu probe makes evidence light

They hate Neymar! n Raihan Mahmood from Sao Paulo

could not utilise the money timely.

However, Forest Minister Anwar Hussain Manju told the Dhaka Tribune that discussion was going on to change the mind of the global lender as there was still two years left in the project deadline. The difference of opinion on selecting the location had been an impediment to the project, the minister said, adding that the World Bank was

It may appear unbelievable to millions of football fans across the globe but it is true that there are many Brazilians who are not admirers of the Selecao and hate Neymar.

While talking with me at the grand avenue of Paulista, the hub of all Brazilian festivals, Erika and Kate Suarez assured that they belong to a different species.

What was interesting was that both of them could speak English, a rare phenomenon in Brazil, and they approached me upon hearing that I could speak English. Little did they know that they were speaking to a reporter who had arrived from Bangladesh to cover the Fifa World Cup. When the identity was revealed to them, they did not panic, instead they wanted to transmit their feelings.

Erika was white and Kate was black, please do not take it as a subject of racism as it is just to describe the situation. “The Brazilian government used all the policies to stop the anti-World Cup demonstration of the people and we believe that the World Cup is being hosted with the people’s money. I do not believe that Brazil will win the World Cup as team spirit is not very high,” said Erika.

When asked whether the anti-World Cup spirit is higher than the pro-World Cup sentiment, Kate answered diplomatically. “The anti-World Cup feelings are not very low. I believe millions of Brazilians have already demonstrated it. I can gather a lot of people around

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ICC’s anti-graft officials persuaded Dhaka Gladiators coach to play n Minhaz Uddin Khan The three-member Bangladesh Premier League tribunal headed by Justice Khademul Islam Chowdhury has found that ICC’s Anti-Corruption and Security Unit (Acsu) maintained no guidelines or protocols while investigating the match- and spot-fixing allegations that ravaged the second edition of Bangladesh Premier League last year.

The tribunal found it difficult to rely on Ian Pont’s evidence as the English coach cooperated as instructed by Acsu According to the tribunal’s complete judgement report, this was the main reason why the evidence placed by Acsu against the charged individuals lost its weight and was confusing to a certain extent.

The report pointed out that Ian Pont, the coach of Dhaka Gladiators was the first individual to inform Acsu of the

corrupted games in last year’s BPL. Ian informed Acsu official Peter O’Shea of being approached by Dhaka Gladiators managing director Shihab Chowdhury to fix the match against Chittagong Kings on February 2, 2013. He also informed Peter of his intention to leave Bangladesh right away. But the Acsu official persuaded Ian to play according to Shihab’s plans and told him that the fixed match should take place.

According to the plan, Dhaka Gladiators’ regular captain Mashrafe Mortaza should be rested and Mohammad Ashraful would captain in his place.

Plan of who else might be interested in getting involved with fixing was raised and this brought in the name of English batsman Owais Shah. With Ian, Shihab shared the details of the plan regarding who would do what and what would they do if they batted first or bowled first in the game against Chittagong.

Ian was informed of the inclusion of Dhaka team pacer Mahbubul Alam in the playing XI along with the inclusion of leg spinner Kaushal Lokurachchi instead of another player.  PAGE 2 COLUMN 1

Sultan, 15, performs a dribbling trick in front of a Brazilian flag at Haridash Lane in Old Dhaka yesterday. Sultan, like all others, is getting ready to welcome a month when football will be the center of attention across the globe MAHMUD HOSSAIN OPU

Delay in fixing project site jeopardises $5m in World Bank funds n Abu Bakar Siddique The government’s failure to select a site for a proposed wildlife centre in the last three years has prompted the World Bank to consider whether it should withdraw around $5m worth of funds from a $36m project.

Former forest minister Hasan Mahmud reportedly wanted to set up the wildlife centre near his hometown

BGMEA seals $1.2 ‘Big brother gave nod billion deal with Chinese company to get rid of Nazrul’ letter said: “I have considered it n Our Correspondent, Narayanganj ofverythenecessary n Sheikh Shahariar Zaman to inform the people of The BGMEA and Oriental International Holding, a Chinese company, have signed a billion dollar agreement to develop a new garment industrial park in Munshiganj.

“A memorandum of understanding has been signed today [Tuesday] with the Chinese company in the presence of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and her Chinese counterpart Li Keqiang,” BGMEA Vice–President Reaz Bin Mahmood told the Dhaka Tribune.

Sheikh Hasina went to China on June 6 on an official visit and she is scheduled to return home today.

Reaz said the industrial park will be built on 470 acres of land in Gazaria at an approximate cost of $1.2 billion.

Under the MoU, the Chinese company will conduct a complete feasibility study within three months and a framework agreement will be signed between the two parties.

“Oriental will also pay money to the government to procure the land,” he said.

The company will develop land, roads, power plant and necessary  PAGE 2 COLUMN 3

The authority of Narayanganj Press Club has received a letter which was allegedly sent by Nur Hossain, the prime accused in the Narayanganj seven-murder case.

A letter typed in Bangla font and allegedly signed by Nur Hossain arrived by post yesterday.

Halim Azad, the president of the press club, confirmed the news to the Dhaka Tribune, adding that he had informed the office of the district police superintendent about the letter, immediately after receiving it.

In the letter, Nur apprehended that he might be killed any time.

Addressing the people of Narayanganj, the letter stated: “I never wanted that seven people will be killed.

They [Nur did not mention who] did it against my will. This is why I told big brother [Shamim Osman] that I did not do this. Why, and by whose order, RAB did such a monstrous thing, I do not know.

“I fled to India as per big brother’s order,” the letter also read.

Anticipating the possible sufferings of Narayanganj residents, the author

the Siddhirganj as well as Naryanganj about the fact.”

In the letter, the author mentioned that “the current situation resulted from my arrogance and ignorance.”

The letter also included an elaborate narration of the whole context of the abduction and killing, where the

Letter arrives from Kolkata signed allegedly

by Nur Hossain author – allegedly Nur – said he had a long standing enmity with Nazrul over establishing supremacy in the area.

The letter also claimed that Nazrul tried to kill Nur several times. “Nazrul even hired professional killers.”

The letter’s author also claimed that he was abducted as per Nazrul’s plot, and was freed on ransom.

The letter further stated: “In recent time, when the rivalry reached its peak, Nazrul managed to get the favours of Mayor Ivy and MP Nazrul Islam Babu.

Then I contacted big brother and he  PAGE 2 COLUMN 3

INSIDE B1 | Business

The just announced national budget is expected to offer a good business opportunity for the commercial banks operating in the country, after having a hard time in last couple of years.

3 | News

The Cabinet Division has instructed all public offices under different ministries and divisions to hold mass hearings every week to record public complaints and resolve the issues through appropriate measures.

6 | Nation

Residents of six villages under Sodullahpur union in Gaibandha have remained without power for the last two days since 10 electric poles were uprooted during a storm that swept over the distrcit on Monday night.

8 | World

The Iraqi prime minister has called for a national state of emergency after the city of Mosul and the northern province of Nineveh fell to al-Qaeda-inspired fighters.

12 | Entertainment

Actor who are avid football fans, will be watching all the action of the upcoming World Cup closely and will be supporting their favourite teams.

13 | Sport

With the 2015 ICC World Cup in Australia and New Zealand less than a year away, new head coach of the Bangladesh cricket team Chandika Hathurusingha targeted a spot in the second round of the mega event while talking with the media at the Sher-e-Bangla National Stadium yesterday.

in Chittagong’s Rangunia; the forest officials wanted the location to be Dhaka’s Botanical Garden; while the World Bank demanded that the centre be set up in Gazipur’s Sal forest as per the project outline.

After the disagreements had continued for three years running, a visiting World Bank mission reportedly decided to pull the $5m earmarked for the wildlife centre, as the government

2

DHAKA TRIBUNE

News

Wednesday, June 11, 2014

Narayanganj 5 by-polls electioneering begins n Mohammad Zakaria In violation of the election code of conduct, Jatiya Party-backed candidate Selim Osman launched his electioneering in the upcoming Narayanganj 5 by-election with posters and banners decorating the constituency.

Four candidates of the by-poll yesterday started their formal election campaigning in the by-election as the returning officer allocated their election symbols.

The Election Commission says if any candidate starts election campaign before the scheduled timeframe and hang any posters, banners and put up billboards it is in complete violation of the electoral code of conduct.

Visiting Bandar area in Narayanganj this correspondent found coloured banners, sponsored by Secretary of Bandar Thana Awami League and seeking vote for Selim Osman, hanging over roads. The personal secretary of late MP Nasim Osman also sponsored some banners for Selim.

The EC yesterday allocated elections symbols to the four candidates of Narayanganj 5 by-election scheduled for June 26.

Returning Officer Mihir Sarwar Morshed yesterday told the Dhaka Tribune

that if anyone put forward any allegations to the returning officer’s office about the use of coloured posters, the commission would take actions.

When his attention was drawn to coloured banners and posters put up by Selim's supporters the returning officer said: “We have asked the authorities concerned to remove all posters, banners and billboards.

“I myself did not see such banners or posters of Selim Osman.”

According to electoral code of conduct, candidates can hang only black-and-white posters with their photos and symbols during election campaign.

EC officials said if a candidate violates the electoral code of conduct, the EC’s electoral enquiry committee will investigate the matter and recommends cancellation of his/her candidature.

Independent candidate SM Akram got a Pineapple as his election symbol, Jatiya Party candidate Osman was allocated a Plough, Krishak Sramik Janata League candidate Shafiqul Islam Delowar Towel and independent candidate advocate Mamun Sirajul Majid was given a Shrimp.

The constituency fell vacant following the death of Jatiya Party lawmaker Nasim Osman, elder brother of Awami League lawmaker Shamim Osman. l

PMO awarded ITU WSIS Award 2014 n Tribune Report

First-time MP verbally assaults chief whip

The Prime Minister’s Office received the International Telecommunication Union’s WSIS Award 2014 yesterday in the e-governance category.

The ITU awarded the PMO’s Access to Information (A2I) programme’s “Services @ Citizens’ Doorsteps” initiative.

Junaid Ahmed Palak, state minister of the Information and Communication Technology Division, accepted the award. Kabir Anwar, DG (admin) of the PMO and project director of the A2I programme, among others, were present at the event. l

n Kamran Reza Chowdhury

Chief Whip ASM Feroz incurred the wrath of an Awami League lawmaker “for not allocating him a room.”

On Monday, first-time MP Bahauddin Nasim, former assistant private secretary to Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina (1996-2001), called Feroz in lobby 4 and hurled abusive at him after the Maghrib recess in the presence of several MPs. Both Nasim and Feroz traded hot words. Security personnel and parliament staff were sent out of the lobby.

n Tribune Report

Banners seeking votes for AKM Selim Osman can be seen almost everywhere in Narayanganj. The photo was taken at the port's second terminal yesterday RAJIB DHAR

Nasim took a swipe at the chief whip as he was using five rooms according to a newspaper report.

“You have locked my room but you are using five rooms. How dare you lock my room?” Nasim yelled at Feroz.

The MPs present intervened and took Nasim to another place to defuse the tension.

“I protested his comments and aggressive attitude; I have not misused my authority,” Feroz told the Dhaka Tribune yesterday. He said Nasim’s allegations were not right. l

‘Name Food Ministry as Paddy and Rice Ministry’ n Kamran Reza Chowdhury The Ministry of Food should be renamed as Paddy and Rice Ministry as this entity’s only work is to procure paddy, wheat and rice, the chairman of the parliamentary standing committee said about the ministry.

Abdul Wadud, the chairman of the 10-member watchdog who was tasked to ensure the transparency and accountability of the ministry, said the ministry had very little role in ensuring safe food for people.

“People think that the food ministry is in charge of ensuring safe food for them, but actually all this ministry does is focus on procuring paddy, wheat and rice.

“Food is a comprehensive word that includes all sorts of edible stuff including the health aspect,” Abdul Wadud told the Dhaka Tribune after the meeting at the parliament building yesterday.

He said people question him about whether the food ministry can stop use of formalin and other injurious substances.

“Formalin import is under the jurisdiction of the commerce ministry while the industries ministry takes actions for the misuse of formalin,” said Wadud, suggesting that the government should give more mandates to the ministry to ensure food safety issues.

In 2012, the Awami League government split the erstwhile the ministry of food and disaster management ministry into two entities – food ministry and disaster management ministry.

Food Minister Quamrul Islam also attended the meeting. l

Delay in fixing project site jeopardises $5m  PAGE 1 COLUMN 5

prompted to rethink on fund distribution because of the three-year delay.

Manju also said he has assured the World Bank that his ministry would implement the project on time, but added that he was not responsible for the sluggish progress of the project as he had taken charge of the ministry only recently.

Former forest minister Hasan Mahmud, however, denied allegations against him, telling the Dhaka Tribune that they had consulted with the World

Bank during his tenure and decided to set up the wildlife centre in Chittagong, as the Chittagong region contained 11% of the country’s total forest and Bangladesh Forest Research Institute was also located in the region However, there was no official comment from the World Bank, as discussion on the issue was ongoing.

The WB-funded $36m project titled “Strengthening Regional Co-operation for Wildlife” was initiated on July 2011 to improve regional cooperation on wildlife protection among the South

Asian countries of Bangladesh, India, Nepal and Bhutan.

Establishing a wildlife centre, which will facilitate training and research on wildlife, is one of the major components of the project.

Aparup Chowdhury, additional secretary to the ministry who is also the incumbent project director, said the ministry had formed a five-member search committee a few months ago to select the location for the centre.

However, the committee’s scheduled visit yesterday to three probable

Hoisted foreign flags in Jessore taken down n Tribune Report As per a directive from the Jessore district administration, most of the foreign flags hoisted by the football fans ahead of the Fifa world cup were pulled down yesterday.

On Monday, Jessore DC asked the town people to take down all the foreign flags within 6pm that day.

“Paying respect to the country’s law, most of the people have taken down the foreign flags that they had hoisted to show their support to their favourite teams in the upcoming Basil world cup,” Jessore district Nezarat Deputy Collector Najmul Alam told the Dhaka Tribune.

The administration also asked the others who have yet to pull down the foreign flags, the Nezarat continued. The event was due to start on June 12.

As per the Bangladesh Flag Rules, no foreign flags can be hoisted within the territory of Bangladesh.

Meanwhile, Liberation War Affairs Minister AKM Mojammel Haque asked countrymen to take down foreign flags.

In an interview with BBC Bangla, he also said in nowhere of the world foreign flags were hoisted. l

sites – Madaripur, Shariatpur and Munshiganj – was postponed along with two other scheduled visits to Chittagong’s Mirsarai and Rangunia on June 16.

Asked why the ministry needed a search committee when the draft project proposal mentioned Gazipur as the site, Forest Minister Manju said the government was trying to establish the wildlife centre in an easily accessible location and through a decentralised method. With this in mind, the southern regions of the country could be a probable location. l

Flawed Acsu probe makes

BGMEA seals $1.2 billion deal

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But as per the report, the tribunal found it difficult to rely on Ian’s evidence as the English coach cooperated as instructed by the Acsu to assist in fixing the match despite his initial reluctance.

The tribunal found that Ian was obliged to act the way he did as he did not have any choice but assist Acsu.

According to the report, Ian was offered $6000 for fixing by Dhaka Gladiators’ managing director Shihab Chowdhury. For assisting in fixing the match and cooperating with Acsu at the same time, Ian received the $6000 in cash after the match was over. Although Shihab denied any such transaction, Ian stated that he had received this amount.

The receipt was reported to Peter who relayed the information to the head of Acsu in Dubai. This was followed by the Acsu instructing Ian to retain the amount which the tribunal found disturbing. Ian was unable to explain the basis of keeping the money to the tribunal and this made the evidences of Ian and Peter unreliable.

Acsu also presented two other co-conspirators – Mohammad Ashraful and Sri Lanka cricketer Kaushal Lokurachchi as evidence.

However, considering the principle as applied in the case of Ian, the tribunal stat-

ed that to give such evidence full weight when it is replied upon to establish the guilt of another accused would be contrary to the sporting imperatives and the principle of fairness and to give those evidences full weight might as well put public’s faith on the integrity and transperancy of the tribunal under serious threat.

Therefore, the tribunal admitted to the evidences but it was unable to give those evidences any weight, termed them unreliable and failed to establish any charge agaisnt the defendants beyond reasonable doubt.

Overall, the tribunal’s report shed light on this whole issue on the basis of the admitted evidence. The investigators acting on behalf of Acsu devised their own methods of investigation which varied from time to time. Notes were kept or recordings were made of the interviews occasionally while no notes or recording of the interviews were made in most cases.

The tribunal also mentioned that there was no data available as to who recorded the witness’s statements for a witness or a defendant, or who was present during the interview. Most of the witnesses’ statements were not witnessed by anyone.

This resulted in the tribunal questioning the dependability of the evidences placed by Acsu. l

NOAB's new committee formed

constructions and build structures for selling it to the members of BGMEA and BKMEA. “Few accessories factories can be set up there to supply raw materials to the garment industry,” he added.

After completion of feasibility study, within three months OIH will produce all relevant documents from their authority and financiers for financing the project and full fund for the land payment and other costs.

“OIH will devise a marketing plan in consultation with BGMEA so that it can sell assets to the members of BGMEA

and BKMEA,” Reaz said, adding that the buyers will pay the OIH in installments.

BGMEA will deliver to OIH a ‘letter of authorisation’ from the government within 14 days of signing the MoU under which the association will have full authority to negotiate with the Chinese company, he added.

Both the parties agreed that the agreement will be governed by British laws and if any dispute arises, they will resort to International Chamber of Commerce for settlement, Reaz said.

The government has allocated 470 acres of land at Baushia in Munshiganj

Foreign friends to get new crests n Nazmus Sakib

The government has decided to send new gold crests to the foreign friends, who played vital roles during the 1971 Liberation War, “with a view to reviving the country’s image.”

Supreme Court lawyer Manzill Murshid, who sent a legal notice to the Liberation War Affairs Ministry demand-

Manzill: The letter says the money of the new crests would be realised from the contracting company ing new crests be sent to the foreign friends, received a letter on Monday from the ministry.

He told the Dhaka Tribune: “The letter, which was issued by the ministry on June 4, said a parliamentary probe body has already investigated the scandal over sham gold crests. The Liberation War Affairs Ministry will take measures to send new crests to the foreign friends through foreign embassies after getting the probe report.”

He said the letter signed by Assistant Secretary Md Rafiqul Islam mentioned

asked me to clear off Nazrul from the way.”

The letter also mentioned that when RAB officer Arif was contacted for killing Nazrul, the official also asked whether the “big brother” had given his consent.

“Big brother has settled the money to be paid for killing Ismail [missing since February after being abducted allegedly

by RAB] and Nazrul in the presence of the RAB official Arif,” the letter read.

The author of the letter also claimed that RAB officials wanted an additional

Tk1 crore for the killing of Nazrul to pay the higher officials, along with the previously set Tk1 crore.

The letter also narrated how Nur along with his associates Shahajahan and Moti collaborated with RAB members to make the killing mission of Nazrul and others successful.

He said: “After the killings, I came to India according to the direction of big brother.”

Despite repeated attempts over phone, the Dhaka Tribune could not reach Narayanganj Police Superintendent Khandakar Mahid Uddin for comments.

that the money of the new crests would be realised from the contracting company, which was allegedly involved in the scam.

Liberation War Affairs Minister AKM Mojammel Haque, however, denied the matter, saying he had no idea about the letter.

He said: “The ministry is yet to make any decision in this regard.”

Manzill Murshid filed a writ petition with the High Court on May 21 as he did not receive any response from the government regarding the legal notice within three days.

On Monday, the High Court bench of Justice Mirza Hussain Haider and Justice Khurshid Alam Sarkar dropped the petition from the case list, saying it would not pass any order as the government had taken the matter seriously and already launched a probe.

The government honoured 338 foreign individuals and organisations from 2011 to 2013 for their contributions to the country’s liberation. Each honouree was given a crest, which was supposed to be made of 1 tola (11.66g) of gold and 30 tolas (350g) of silver.

A test conducted by the Bangladesh Standards and Testing Institution found that there was only about 2.2g of gold and 35g of brass and copper in each crest. l

They hate Neymar!  PAGE 1 COLUMN 6

me who will support my views,” said Erika.

Meanwhile, Kate described Neymar as a dire personality who has grown into a millionaire from a humble background but forgot his roots. “He is not a good human. I dub him as a non-social who has disregarded his past after becoming rich.

He now seems to forget his past and his attitude towards the people is not satisfactory. I don’t like him. I am an admirer of Cristiano Ronaldo, the Portu-

guese star who has a strong connection with the society,” said Kate to which Erika nodded positively.

It is mentionable that Neymar recently bought a triplex, an expensive Porsche and an Italian yacht signaling his riches that might have increased the jealousy among the deprived section of the society.

Whatever it is, discovering some Brazilians who are not impressed with the Brazilian national football team and are not admirers of Brazilian football’s hottest star was amazing in itself. l

for setting up a readymade garment industrial park.

It will have roads, water, power and gas supply, telecommunication, effluent treatment plant, transportations, hospital, hotel and factory sheds.

The government has authorised Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association to seek an investor for the project and it has struck the deal with the Chinese company.

Garment is the biggest export earning sector of Bangladesh and accounts for about 90% of the total earnings.

However, China will construct a tun-

nel under the Karnaphuli River in Chittagong. In this regard, Bangladesh and China signed a memorandum of understanding in Beijing on Monday night, reports BSS. Communications Secretary Khandakar Anwarul Islam and Vice Minister of the Ministry of Transport and Communication of China Chi-Kuo Mao inked the MoU on behalf of their respective sides, foreign ministry sources said.

As per the MoU, the Chinese government would construct the tunnel at an estimated cost of $1 billion, the sources added. l

‘Big brother gave nod to get rid of Nazrul’  PAGE 1 COLUMN 3

Fresh committee of Newspaper Owners’ Association Bangladesh was formed at its executive committee’s meeting held on June 8.

Matiur Rahman, publisher of the Prothom Alo, was elected as the president while AK Azad, publisher of the Samakal, was elected as the vice president of the committee.

Matiur Rahman Chowdhury, chief editor of the Manabzamin was re-elected as the treasurer of the committee.

The other members of the committee are: Mahfuz Anam, editor and publisher of the Daily Star; Tasmima Hosen, acting editor of the Ittefaq; MA Malek, editor of the Dainik Azadi; Shahidullah Khan, president of the editorial board of the New Age; AHM Moazzem Hossain, editor of the Financial Express; and Riazuddin Ahmed, editor of the News Today.

The members adopted a condolence motion on the demise of Mahbubul Alam, NOAB’s former president and a veteran journalist, at the meeting. l

Recently, private television station Channel 24 broadcast a phone conversation between Shamim Osman, the ruling party lawmaker from Narayanganj, and Nur Hossain.

During the 103-second-long conversation between Shamim and Nur, the lawmaker asked the fugitive suspect if he had received his message; with Nur replying that he had. Shamim also asked Nur not to worry too much.

The letter, which has reportedly been sent by Nur, also mentioned the phone conversation.

Asked about the authenticity of the

letter, Narayanganj Press Club President Halim Azad said: “The letter was signed by Nur Hossain. But we are yet to be sure whether it was really the signature of Nur. “The envelope shows that one Subrata Poddar from Lily-put Fashion House, 12/1, Marquez street, Kolkata-700016, has sent the letter. It arrived in the afternoon, with a date of delivery on June 9 as sealed by Narayanganj post-office,” he added.

The letter was written in Bangla Sutonni font, which is rare in Kolkata, added Halim. l

DHAKA TRIBUNE

News

3

Wednesday, June 11, 2014

10 lakh people at risk of landslide

CHITTAGONG MADRASA BLAST CASE

Charge framing in acid recovery case on June 25

n Tushar Hayat, Chittagong Two committees, formed after a series of landslides on June 11 in 2007 which killed 126 people, made 36-point recommendations to avert such incidents, but many of the recommendations have not been implemented yet.

More than 50 thousand people were living at vulnerable hill slopes in different parts of the city during the series of landslides, but according to a survey, the number of people has risen to 10 lakh in the city and the district in recent times.

The committees, headed by then divisional commissioner MN Siddique, recommended evacuating people from the risky hill areas and taking measures to rehabilitate them.

The committees in the reports also recommended preparing a national hill management policy, imposing ban on brick kilns within 10 kilometres and on housing projects within five kilometres from hills.

Other recommendations include forming vigilance team to check new settlements in risky areas, construction of retaining and boundary walls immediately in different risky hills, massive afforestation and harsh punishment for hill cutters.

Department of Environment Deputy Director Zafar Alam, also head of a seven-member committee formed last year to detect vulnerable hills, told the Dhaka Tribune that 13 hills had been found risky in 2007 when 50,000 people were living at vulnerable hill slopes.

“We have found 30 hills vulnerable in the district during a recent survey while at least 10 lakh people have been living at hill slopes,” he said, adding that all the people living at hill slopes are not at risk.

According to the recent survey, CRB hill, Tiger-pass hill, Prabartak, Golpahar, Ishpahani hill, Batali hill, DC hill, AK Khan hill, James Finley hill, Forest Research Institute hill, Lake City residential area hill, City Corporation Hill,

n Tarek Mahmud, Chittagong

A Chittagong court yesterday fixed June 25 for the framing of charges in the acid recovery case lodged against Hefazat-e-Islam leader Mufti Izharul Islam Chowdhury and his son Harun Bin Izhar.

The court of Chittagong Metropolitan Sessions Judge SM Mojibur Rahman passed the order.

Abdus Sattar, counsel of Harun Izhar, told the court that no evidence was found in the investigation stage that could lead to framing charges against Harun.

Following the blast, law enforcers recovered among other things 18 bottles of picric acid used to make explosives

Hundreds of tin-shed houses have been built on Tankir Hill in Chittagong, putting thousands of lives at risk of landslides the hill adjacent to Foy’s Lake and a number of hills at Salimpur at Sitakunda upazila and Chittagong University, are among the vulnerable hills.

Divisional Commissioner Mohammed Abdullah told the Dhaka Tribune that the process was on to implement the recommendations, adding that they had undertaken short, medium and long-term measures as per the recommendations of the committees.

“We have implemented many of short and midterm recommendations, but im-

plementation of long-term recommendations is not possible locally,” he said.

They had forwarded the long-term recommendations to the higher authority.

“We are trying to relocate the people living at vulnerable hill slopes, but it is not possible to relocate a huge number of people under any short term measure,” he said, adding that they had taken an initiative to relocate 666 families immediately.

He also said seven to eight thousand people were evacuated from the

risky areas after the landslide in 2007, but most of them had returned later as they could not be rehabilitated elsewhere.

A hill management committee also selected 27 acres of khas land in Hathazari upazila for relocating people from risky areas, but the plan was changed later.

Committee sources said they were forced to change the plan as the land falls into the firing range of Bangladesh Army, adding that they had later

DHAKA TRIBUNE

selected six acres of land in Kalurghat area owned by the Bangladesh Railway.

The sources also said they had plans to set up a rehabilitation centre on the land with accommodation for 2,400 families.

Apart from the deaths of 126 people in 2007, landslides killed 17 people in city’s Ambagan area in 2011 and 11 people in Lalkhan Bazar in 2008. Also, seven were killed in landslide in 2002, 16 in 2000 and 19 in 1999. l

“He was not on the spot and the acid was not found in his possession,” said the counsel.

Meanwhile, no lawyer moved on behalf of Mufti Izhar as he was absconding, said the court sources.

On May 28, police submitted the charge sheet accusing Hefazat Senior Nayeb-E-Ameer Izharul and his son in the case filed under section 36 of the Acid Control Act 2002.

The case document said Mufti Izharul, also the founding director of the Jamiatul Ulum Al Islamia Madrasa in Lalkhan Bazar of the port city, and his son kept 18 bottles of picric acid in the madrasa’s office room in order to make explosives.

Earlier, on October 7, 2013, a deadly blast at a hostel room in the madrasa killed three persons including two students. Three cases were lodged with Khulshi police station in this regard. l

Another witness describes Hiramoni Santal rape

Child labour census remains an empty promise

n Udisa Islam

There has been no progress in carrying out a fresh child labour census, despite the government’s announcement in this regard a year ago on the occasion of the World Day against Child Labour.

In June last year, Labour Ministry’s Joint Secretary Mujibur Rahman, who is currently the secretary in charge, said the government was going to launch a fresh child labour census. Speaking at an event marking the day, he said the Bangladesh Bureau of Statistic, in association with the International Labour Organisation, had already started preparations for the census, adding that the survey report would be available by early 2014.

However, no initiative has been

A new witness in the trial against alleged collaborator Syed Mohammad Qaisar said yesterday that the accused had directed the Pakistani Army personnel to violate indigenous woman Hiramoni Santal during the 1971 Liberation War in Chandpur Chhagolbazar Tea State in Habiganj.

Md Abdul Motaleb, 77, the 20th prosecution witness, told the International Crimes Tribunal 2 that he had heard about the incident from the person who had rescued the Birangona.

The witness also said he had heard Hiramoni’s voice seeking help during the torture perpetrated by two army men. He was hiding in her house for shelter. On June 1, a nephew of survivor Hiramoni, who is now 80 years old, testified in the case as the 18th prosecution witness.

Former Jatiya Party state minister Qaisar is facing 16 charges of crimes against humanity that he had allegedly committed in Habiganj and Brahmanbaria areas in 1971.

Motaleb, then an informer for the freedom fighters, said yesterday that he had been caught by the Pakistani occupation forces, accompanied by Qaisar and two other Bangali men, on May 11 or 12 of 1971 at Dolna Tea Estate near Darga Beel outpost. The Pakistani forces were in five vans.

“When Sher Bahadur saw me, Qaisar identified me as a freedom fight-

er. Then both of them questioned me about the other freedom fighters.

When I continued to deny, Sher Bahadur certified me as a ‘good man’ and recommended my release.”

But the accused did not agree. The witness said he had later been taken to Chandpur.

“When they reached Chhagolbazar Tea State, Major Yusuf told me to leave the place and I went to Hiramoni Santal’s house for shelter.”

He said: “I never met her before.

When I reached her house, I heard Hiramoni’s voice shouting ‘they are violating me, I want to die.’ When an old man [father of the victim] came to rescue Hiramoni, Qaisar and two unknown Bangali men beat him severely.”

The occupation forces and the collaborators had left place after 40 minutes. “A person who rescued Hiramoni told me that Qaisar had directed two Pakistan Army personnel to violate Hiramoni,” he said.

After his deposition, defence counsel Abdus Sobhan Tarafder started cross examining him. The tribunal 2 adjourned the trial until today, leaving it incomplete.

Meanwhile, defence counsel Mizanul Islam continued the cross-examination of the prosecution’s 11th witness yesterday in the war crimes case against Jamaat-e-Islami leader Maulana Abdus Subhan. Later the tribunal 2 adjourned the hearing until today. l

Ex-state minister’s APS placed on nine-day remand n Md Sanaul Islam Tipu A Dhaka Court granted a nine-day remand yesterday to Soumendra Lal Chandra Shoilen, former assistant personal secretary to ex-state minister for religious affairs M Shahjahan Miah, in connection with a amassing of illegal wealth and corruption case.

Soumendra built a five-storey building in the town and his wife owns several apartments in Dhaka On Monday, an Anti-Corruption Commission team arrested him from Ramna police station area. ACC Deputy Director KM Mezbah Uddin produced him before the court, seeking a 10-day remand.

Dhaka Metropolitan Magistrate Md Mostafizur Rahman, however, granted the remand for nine days after hearing the remand and bail pleas. The ACC filed a case against him on charges of acquiring wealth through illegal means.

In the case statement, the ACC said they found that Shoilen’s net income was around Tk31 lakh and he had deposits with several banks, including over Tk64 lakh in Sonali Bank, over Tk3 lakh in Mercantile Bank and over Tk4 lakh in Premier Bank.

Soumendra built a five-storey building in the town and his wife owns several apartments in Dhaka. The case statement also says that the accused earned this money during the period when he worked for 4 years 11 months as assistant personal secretary to exstate minister for religious affairs M Shahjahan Miah. l

n Udisa Islam and Mohosinul Karim

made in a year to start the census.

When Dhaka Tribune asked him about the promise, Mujibur needed some time to recall his earlier announcement and said the ministry did not have any current plans on the issue.

He, however, said: “Under a project called ‘Jhukipurno Srom Niroson’ [elimination of hazardous labour] we are working with 50,000 children engaged in hazardous jobs. We are providing them with non-formal education and developing their skills, so that they do not need to go back to the risky jobs.”

With technical support from the ILO, the government has so far funded around Tk65 crore to the project, which started in 2010 and is expected to end this June.

However, sources said the project cannot be considered successful because its participants could not be supplied with the equipment needed to start their own businesses as the price of everything has risen over the last four years.

According to the last child labour survey conducted in 2003, about 3.2 million children, aged between five and 17, were engaged in active labour. Of them, at least l.3 million were involved in hazardous jobs, with boys comprising at least 91% of the child labourers.

Wahida Banu, executive director of child rights body Aparajeyo Bangladesh, said a fresh census was necessary to make a total framework to eliminate child labour. Those who had received

State to challenge bail of blogger Rajeeb murder accused n Nazmus Sakib The state has decided to challenge the bail of an accused of blogger Rajeeb Haider murder case who was freed from jail on June 4 on an interim bail of six months granted by the High Court.

Deputy Attorney General Khurshedul Alam yesterday told the Dhaka Tribune that the state would file a petition today with the chamber judge of the Appellate Division to stay the bail and

also seek directives for the surrender of the accused, Sadman Yasir Mahmud.

On June 1, the High Court bench of Justice Naima Haider and Justice Zafar Ahmed granted Sadman bail.

Rajeeb, 26, an organiser of the demonstrations at Shahbagh demanding death for all convicted war criminals, was hacked to death in Dhaka’s Pallabi area on February 15 last year.

He used to write under the pen name “Thaba Baba” on different blogs. In his

last Facebook status, he called for banning the institutions owned by the Jamaat-e-Islami, a component of the BNPled 18-party alliance in Bangladesh.

A day after the murder, the victim’s father Nazim Uddin filed a murder case with Pallabi police station.

After two weeks, the IO arrested five NSU students, who reportedly confessed that they had killed Rajeeb upon directives of the chief of Ansarullah Bangla Team, a Bangladeshi follower of al-Qaeda. l

HC refuses to Fake DB men put on remand hear bail plea of deposit the money.

Pedestrians managed to catch the expatriate secretary n Md Sanaul Islam Tipu four and rescued Alam along with the A Dhaka court placed four arrested fake DB men on one-day remand each money when the criminals’ car was stuck n Nazmus Sakib yesterday, in a case filed with Banani in a traffic jam in Banani Bazar area.

The High Court yesterday declined to hear the petition of Expatriate Welfare and Oversees Employment Secretary Khandaker Shawkat Hossain who had sought anticipatory bail in three corruption cases.

The bench of Justice Md Rezaul Haque and Justice Gobinda Chandra Tagore refused to hear the plea saying they had personal difficulties, petitioner’s lawyer Sheikh Golam Hafiz said.

However, the bench said the expatriate secretary could move to another bench. In April this year the Anti-Corruption Commission filed three separate cases against him, accusing him of acquiring land for himself, his mother and his wife from the Uttara project through fraudulence. l

police station in the capital.

Metropolitan Magistrate Ataul Haque passed the order when Banani police produced them before the court seeking a 5-day remand for each of them for interrogation.

The accused are Md Mamun, Abu Bakar, Mostafa Kamal Liton and AlAmin.

Earlier, police arrested the four fake DB men after a mugging incident in the city’s Banani area on Monday.

According to the case statement, the four accused introduced themselves as members of DB police and snatched away Tk2.63 lakh from Jan-eAlam Chowdhury, an officer at BD Thai Cosmo Ltd and Imam Mehedi, a peon, while they were going to the bank to

Later, the people beat them up and handed them over to police. l

training from the government also needed further financial support to start something fresh in their life, she added.

In 2009, the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child expressed concerns over the number of child workers in Bangladesh who were working in highly risky areas.

On the other hand, ministry sources said they have developed a national plan of action to implement National Child Labour Elimination Policy 2010.

District-level committees have also been formed to implement the policy, they added.

The World Day against Child Labour is observed on June 12 every year, and the theme for this year is “Extend Social Protection: Combat Child Labour!” l

HC suspends Pintu’s BDR mutiny fine of Tk5 lakh n Nazmus Sakib The High Court yesterday suspended a fine of Tk5 lakh slapped on BNP leader Nasir Uddin Pintu in the BDR mutiny case.

On November 5 last year, a Dhaka court imposed the fine on Pintu and sentenced him to life for his role in the February 2009 mutiny at BDR headquarters in Dhaka.

Challenging the verdict, Pintu filed an appeal with the High Court in January this year.

Accepting the appeal for hearing yesterday, the bench of Justice Syed AB Mahmudul Huq and Justice Nazrul Islam Talukder halted the fine imposed on Pintu until the disposal of the appeal.

The same bench is likely to hear a plea of the BNP leader today where he has sought first class facilities in jail. l

4

DHAKA TRIBUNE

News

Wednesday, June 11, 2014

Most hospitals yet to open info centres n Moniruzzaman Uzzal

Most public hospitals have failed to set up information centres on their premises, ignoring a recent circular from the Health Ministry that directed the hospitals to introduce the centres to make healthcare more easily available.

On May 7, a circular signed by Deputy Secretary (hospital) Md Abdul Malek directed all district, medical colleges, tertiary and specialised hospitals to introduce information centres at their respective premises within three days.

The circular, which was sent to 126 major public hospitals, also directed hospital authorities to upgrade the standard of health services, make medical care more easily available and provide treatment-related information to patients.

The ministry specifically directed hospital authorities to fulfil several conditions including submitting the names and designations of the information officers concerned and the centres’ phone numbers to the ministry. The hospitals were also told to put up signs on the hospital premises regarding the information centres as well as to publish advertisements on well-circulated dailies to create awareness about the centres.

Sources said so far, only a handful of the hospitals have carried out the ministry directives.

Seeking anonymity, several officials from the Health Ministry and the health directorate told the Dhaka Tribune that such emergency decisions were made only after untoward incidents, but were also soon forgotten until the recurrence of a similar event.

The sources also claimed that as the ministry directive was not carried out,

the Directorate General of Health Services also issued a similar circular, signed by its Director-in-Charge (hospital and clinic) Dr ABM Abdul Hannan, on June 5 on its website.

Dr Hannan, who is also the DGHS director for medical education, said authorities were determined to introduce information centres, adding that any circular by the Health Ministry must be followed by the hospitals concerned.

The directorate would carry out random inspections soon on whether the directive had been carried out properly by the hospitals, he added.

Officials from the ministry and the DGHS added that the authorities’ decision to launch information centres was prompted by several incidents of unrest among doctors, patients’ relatives, and journalists at Dhaka and Rajshahi Medical College Hospitals and the capital’s Birdem Hospital over alleged medical negligence, they added.

During the clashes, allegations were raised that the doctors were negligent in their duties and unable to inform patients about the correct medical status, while journalists also claimed that hospital authorities refused to disclose information to them.

The doctors, on the other hand, blamed journalists for violating rules to collect information and entering hospitals’ restricted areas without permission.

Several senior officials of Bangladesh Medical Association (BMA) and Swadhinata Chikitshak Parisad also told the Dhaka Tribune it was urgent to introduce information centres in hospitals to provide healthcare-related data and also to reduce misunderstanding between doctors, patients and journalists. l

Education minister to sit with leading educationists today n Mushfique Wadud Education Minister Nurul Islam Nahid will meet the country’s leading educationists today to listen to their opinions and suggestions for the overall progress of the education sector.

The meeting will be held at the Education Ministry today at 10:30am. More than 50 educationists are expected to be present at the meeting.

Officials at the ministry said question paper leakage will be the top agenda in the meeting.

There have been allegations of question paper leakage in the recent public examinations. Dhaka Education Board postponed the English second paper exam in the Higher Secondary Certifi-

cate examination following allegations of question paper leakage.

In the meeting invitation letter, the education minister mentioned that in the last five years, opinions and suggestions of educationists had helped the ministry to improve the overall operation of the ministry.

He hoped that their opinions and suggestions would help the ministry to chalk out its future course of action, correct mistakes and improve the quality of education in the country.

Professor Salahuddin Ahmed, Professor Zillur Rahman Siddiqui, Professor Rehman Sobhan and Professor Emeritus of Dhaka University Anisuzzaman have been invited to the meeting, among others. l

Students of Northern International Medical College form a human chain in front of their Dhanmondi campus ysterday, demanding intern doctors’ registration from authorities concerned NASHIRUL ISLAM

Speakers: Government overlooking agricultural sector n Tribune Report Speakers at a discussion yesterday observed that the contribution of the agriculture sector in the country’s gross domestic product (GDP) has decreased by around 17% in the last 24 years as the government allocation for the sector had been shrinking day-by-day.

They made the observations at a programme, titled “Discussion on agriculture and food security issue in the proposed national budget 2014-15,” organised by Action Aid Bangladesh at Dhaka Reporters Unity.

In the fiscal year (FY) 2012-13, allocation on agriculture was 8.52% of the national budget but came down to 5.68% in the revised budget for FY2013-14. In the development budget, the share for the sector came down to 2.2%.

Speakers also noted that although 3.77 crore metric tonnes of food grains were produced in FY2013-14, Bangladesh, however, could not meet its local demands.

They further said the demand for lentil in Bangladesh is around 12-14

lakh metric tonnes, whereas the country only produces 4.50 lakh metric tonnes. In a bid to boost production, farmers are now rampantly using chemical fertilisers and pesticides, which eventually reduces the fertility

The government allotted Tk19,100 crore (around 7.6% of the total budget) of which Tk9,000 crore has been set for subsidies of the land and creates an adverse effect on the environment.

The participants also warned that although the production has increased, but such rampant use of fertilisers and pesticides will cut down the country’s production capacity in the long run.

In the recent budget, the government allotted Tk19,100 crore (around 7.6% of the total budget) of which Tk9,000 crore has been set for subsidies.

Speaking at the event, MP Abdur

Razzak, president of Parliamentary Standing Committee on Finance Ministry Affairs, said: “The purchasing power of people has lessened and thus they cannot buy food. The allocation for the sector should be increased to around 40 percent as there is no alternative in order to meet the food demand.”

Journalist Razu Ahmed, who presented the key note speech of the programme, said: “Although the government is providing subsidy facilities, however, actual farmers are not getting the benefits. Rather, fertiliser dealers, importers and buyers are reaping the benefits by inflating the prices.”

“Although agricultural research is an important issue, the government did not allocate any funds in this regard in the recent budget. Farmers are not getting the fair price due to a lack of storage facilities and they are being pressurised to repay loans after harvesting,” he added.

He also noted that the government should ensure proper allocation and research in order to increase production and ensure fair prices for farmers and proper storage facilities for all kinds of crops. l

Five more trafficking victims repatriated from Iran n Rabiul Islam Five Bangladeshi migrant workers rescued by Iranian police from the clutches of traffickers were repatriated from Iran yesterday.

The five, Abed, Rubel, Mostak, Nazmul and Jabed, reached Hazrat Shahajalal International Airport at 6:30 am, Assistant Director of Bureau of Manpower, Employment and Training Zahidul Islam told the Dhaka Tribune.

Rights Jessore, a non-governmental organisation, brought them back home with the assistance of the Embassy of Bangladesh in Iran.

So far, 95 Bangladeshi trafficking victims have been repatriated from Iran since January.

Executive Director of Rights Jessore Binoy Kirishna said the five trafficking victims used to work as migrant workers in Dubai. They then fell into the trap of an unscrupulous section of Bangladeshi people, who had promised to take them to European countries, including Greece.

On the way, they ended up confined in Iran and their relatives were made to pay for their freedom. l

GIZ signs MoU Call for an end to kafala system with Huntsman n Rabiul Islam

n Tribune Report A Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) was signed yesterday between Huntsman, a global manufacturer of industrial chemicals, and ‘Promotion of Social and Environmental Standards in the Industry’, a joint project of the government of Bangladesh and Germany, implemented by Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH on behalf of the Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ).

According to the MoU, Huntsman and GIZ will cooperate to improve the management of chemicals in 10 textile mills in Bangladesh. The initiative forms part of Huntsman’s role in the Zero Discharge of Hazardous Chemicals programme (ZDHC) of 17 leading apparel and foot ware manufacturers, to help the industry eliminate hazardous chemicals from their products by 2020.

By joining hands, both GIZ and Huntsman will be able to support the development of industrywide best practices in chemical management and on-the-ground implementation to contribute to a cleaner environment and increased environmental accountability.

In his opening speech at the MoU signing ceremony, Magnus Schmid, program coordinator of PSES, said: “Textile factories in Bangladesh should take environmental issues more seriously. Our Chemical Management program has trained 60 consultants from at least 20 service providing organisations so far, and we look forward to create a greater impact by partnering with Huntsman.

Through our training and this partnership, we shall contribute to achieve the goal of eliminating the use of hazardous substances from the production process.” l

Speakers at a consultation yesterday said migrant workers are being deprived of their rights due to the ‘kafala’ system (sponsorship system) practised in the Middle East countries.

Terming it a sort of modern slavery, they also demanded the abolition of such system. They said around 8,000,000 Bangladeshis are now working in different countries.

Under the system, a migrant worker cannot change assigned jobs without his or her employer’s permission. Without an employer’s co-operation, a migrant cannot have their residence permits issued or renewed. A sponsor has complete control over the mobility of workers.

National Alliance for Migrants Rights, Bangladesh organised the consultation titled “kafala violating migrant rights: Can FIFA help to abolish?” at BRAC

Centre. Sheepa Hafiz, Director, Gender, Justice and Diversity and Migration of BRAC, presented the keynote paper and moderated the consultation.

Like many Middle East countries, the kafala system exists in Qatar. If Qatar hosts the FIFA World Cup 2022, it would need around 500,000 workers for infrastructure development there.

NAMR,B called upon the FIFA to take measures so that the rights of migrants are not violated in Qatar.

Kazi Kalam, deputy secretary of the Expatriates’ Welfare and Overseas Employment Ministry, said under the kafala system, a migrant worker has to face difficulties. Under an employer, migrant workers become bonded slaves.

“The sending countries, including Bangladesh, have to unite in demanding abolition of the kafala system,” he added.

Ali Haider Chowdhury, senior vice-president of Bangladesh Association

of International Recruiting Agencies, said big companies of the UK and the USA are handling mega projects in Qatar.

On the one hand, these companies are talking about the human rights violations, on the other hand they are violating human rights, he pointed out.

Hassan Imam, coordinator of migration programme said, “We have to raise our voice against the kafala system.”

Speaking on the occasion, Fatema, a returnee, alleged that she was not paid salary in Lebanon. “When I asked for salary, I was beaten up severely,” she claimed.

Abu Taher of CARE Bangladesh said there is no alternative to migration. “If we want to turn Bangladesh into a middle income country, we have to send our workers abroad for jobs,” he said.

“The government, BAIRA and civil society organisations have to work unitedly to protect the rights of migrant workers,” he noted. l

80 gold bars seized in the capital, 2 held n Kailash Sarkar The Detective Branch has seized 80 gold bars weighing around 9.5kg and arrested the owners of two money exchange agencies in the capital for gold smuggling.

The arrested are AKM Shamsuddin, 51, owner of Amin Money Exchange, and Kamrul Ahsan, 48, owner of City Money Exchange.

During a press conference at the media centre of Dhaka Metropolitan Police yesterday, the DB officials claimed that both the businessmen were directly involved in gold smuggling under the guise of money exchange businesses.

Joint Commissioner Monirul Islam, Deputy Commissioner of DB North Sheikh Nazmul Alam and Assistant Commissioner Minhazul Islam attended the press conference, among others.

Shamsuddin was arrested on Monday afternoon from his office, said the

DB officials. Following the information given by Shamsuddin, they arrested Kamrul at his residence early yesterday and recovered 80 gold bars worth around Tk4.5 crore.

The DB made the arrests following the information they had extracted from Nazrul Islam Liton, who was arrested at his Purana Paltan residence with 70 gold bars weighing around 8kg on June 2.

Nine of his associates were also arrested at the Shahjalal International Airport in Dhaka, while they were trying to flee the country, on the same day.

Liton and two others confessed their involvement in gold smuggling and are currently on remand as suspects in the case of the 106kg of gold that was recovered at the Dhaka airport on April 27.

The DB claimed that they had arrested 10 people in connection with the 106kg of gold recovery case based on the information given by Anis Ahmed

BRACU holds career advising program n Tribune Report The orientation session for ‘Professional Skills and Development Program (PSDP) Summer 2014’ was held at the indoor auditorium of the BRAC University on June 5 organised by its Career Service Office.

In his speech, Kumar Murshid, joint registrar and director of CSO, congratulated the graduating students for reaching their final year and referred them as the future ‘Ambassadors’ of the university.

He said: “PSDP aims at the holistic development of the students and encourages them to be proactive in their profes-

sional venture.”

Dean of Students’ Affairs, Professor Riaz P Khan said: “BRACU is committed to refine the students’ skills and help them to choose the careers they are passionate about.”

A total of 120 registered students were present at this program. The event ended up with an interactive session where the students put their queries to the speakers and CSO staff members on different aspects of professional development.

The PSDP program is designed to prepare the graduating class to pursue post-graduate employment and academic opportunities. l

Bhuiyan, a Biman Bangladesh employee who was arrested with the gold at the airport immediately after the gold was smuggled into the country via a Biman Bangladesh Airlines flight.

848g gold seized at the airport

In a separate drive, the Armed Police Battalion (APBn) arrested a man yesterday morning for possession of three gold bars and a gold chain weighing 848 grams at the Dhaka airport.

Alamgir Hossain Shimul, assistant superintendent of the APBn at the airport, said they arrested Saiful Islam, 41, with the gold right after he arrived in Dhaka from Malaysia on a Biman flight.

“We searched Saiful when he came out of the airport around 8:30am and found the gold in his underwear,” said the APBn official, adding that Saiful was handed over to the customs department with the gold. l

Joanne R Potter, principal of ICF International, USA speaks at a Seminar held at the IUB campus.

IUB holds seminar on climate change n Tribune report The office of Career Guidance and Placement (CGP) of the Independent University, Bangladesh (IUB) organised a seminar titled “Climate change, mitigation and sustainability” on June 8 at its campus in Dhaka.

Joanne R Potter, principal of ICF International, USA was the keynote speaker at the seminar. In the seminar,

Potter elaborated the challenges in addressing climate change risks.

Professor M Omar Rahman, Vice Chancellor, IUB, also spoke on the occasion. There was a question-answer session following the presentation, which was attended by the faculty members and the students. The faculty members, management officials and a good number of students attended the seminar. l

DHAKA TRIBUNE

News

Rajuk to be reformed to root out corruption n Abu Hayat Mahmud The government is set to reshape the Rajdhani Unnayan Kartipakkha (Rajuk) in a bid to end corruption and crooked practices of a section of its officials.

Expressing concern over the excessive corruption of Rajuk officials, Housing and Public Works Minister Engineer Mosharraf Hossain said: “We know that people are being continuously harassed by a few corrupted employees and officials of Rajuk. To stop such public harassment, Rajuk would be immediately reshaped and the process has already begun.”

The minister disclosed the government’s decision over Rajuk while addressing a seminar, arranged by International Business Forum of Bangladesh (IBFB), at Pan Pacific Sonargaon Hotel in the capital yesterday.

“If needed, I will shift my office to Rajuk to put an end to such corrupt practices,” he added.

Chaired by IBFB President Hafizur Rahman, the seminar, titled “Wellplanned urbnisation and development: Involving private sector under Public Private Partnership (PPP),” was also addressed by Rajuk Chairman GM Jainal Abedin Bhuiya, IBFB leaders, realtors, among others.

The minister also informed the government has already directed Rajuk high-ups to identify corrupted officials and to take punitive measures against them.

“Since 1996, our government has taken many steps regarding the development of the housing sector and introduced the National Housing Authority (NHA) to develop housing facilities even at the upazila level,” the minister said.

“Much like Singapore, the NHA has been providing flats to the public at cheap rates and its activities would be increased gradually,” he added.

Noting that Rajuk was not a com-

mercial agency, the minister also added that residential areas in Dhanmondi, Gulshan, Banani, Baridhara, Uttara, Purbachal and Jhilmil would have never realised if Rajuk was not there.

The minister, however, said the present government would not take any more new land development projects in and around the capital.

“Now the government would only offer flats at cheap rates through Rajuk and PWD,” he added.

Meanwhile, echoing a similar view with the housing minister, Rajuk Chairman GM Jainal Abedin Bhuiya said: “Rajuk is the capital’s prime city development regulator and has developed residential areas and satellite cities in and around Dhaka to reduce the pressure on the capital by increasing housing facilities to public.”

Suhel A Chowdhury, former secretary of the housing and public works ministry, presented the keynote of the seminar. l

5

Wednesday, June 11, 2014

Closed police official sued for torturing wife n Tarek Mahmud, Chittagong The wife of a closed police official lodged a case with a Chittagong court yesterday afternoon against her husband and two others with allegations of torturing her in handcuffs in their residence recently.

Israt Sultana Promi, wife of the withdrawn Assistant Sub-Inspector (ASI) Musa Mia of Sadarghat Police Station in the port city, filed the case with Judge of Women and Children Oppression Prevention Tribunal-1 Md Rezaul Karim around 3:30pm.

Additional Deputy Commissioner (prosecution) Md Rezaul Masud of Chittagong Metropolitan Police (CMP) said the tribunal took the complaint into its cognisance and ordered Chief Metropolitan Magistrate to submit its report after judicial inquiry.

The accused are ASI Musa, his elder brother Siraj Mia and Siraj’s wife Dil Afroz Chumki, he said.

The case document said the ASI tor-

tured his wife Promi demanding dowry by putting her in handcuffs in his rented house in Madarbari area in the port city at different times in between June 4 and June 7 and left her alone in the residence.

Locals and Promi’s family members rescued her and admitted her into Chittagong Medical College Hospital in a critical condition, said the case document.

The CMP authorities on June 5 closed the ASI in connection with the incident while the departmental inquiry against the police official was going on, said Harun-or-Rashid Hajaree, deputy commissioner of CMP North Zone.

ASI Musa and Promi come from Mirsarai upazila in Chittagong. They got married on September 13, 2013.

The victim’s family members said Musa demanded money from Promi’s family on different occasions and when he was not given any money he tortured Promi. l

Milk Vita observes International Milk Day n Tarek Mahmud, Chittagong The state-run cooperative diary Milk Vita celebrated World Milk Day 2014 yesterday at Municipal Model Government Primary School in Chittagong city.

Marking the day, Milk Vita, with the assistance of United Nations-based Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO), distributed pasteurized milk to 850 students of the school.

Before that, an awareness building rally was held at the school playground where the speakers urged the people to make their children stop eating fast-food and adopt a habit of drinking milk regularly.

It is necessary that the country’s children, mainly those studying at schools, drink milk, the best source of protein, mineral and other vitamins, to build a healthy nation as they will be leading Bangladesh in future, they also said.

They, however, said though the rate of child mortality has come down significantly, the percentage of malnutrition among children is still very high at 37%-40% and needs to be reduced.

Managing Director Muhammad Munir Chowdhury of Milk Vita said they had initiated the campaign to build an even healthy nation, and stop malnutrition. He also urged the parents to be more careful about the flawed food culture among the children.

Mike Robson, country representative of FAO, praised the programme and said they were carrying out the programme to draw the government’s notice so that it too would come forward in this regard in a larger scale.

Meanwhile, the students were sworn in

by Milk Vita saying that they would drink at least one cup of milk a day. Dr Anupom Sen, renowned sociologist, and Professor Tahmina Begum, distinguished pediatric surgeon, were present. l

WEATHER THUNDERSHOWER OR RAIN

WEDNESDAY, JUNE 11 DHAKA TODAY TOMORROW SUN SETS 6:46PM SUN RISES 5:10AM FORECAST FOR TODAY 37

Dhaka

29

Chittagong

34

28

Rajshahi

40

30

Rangpur

33

26

Khulna

38

29

Barisal

36

29

Sylhet

35

25

Cox’s Bazar

33

28

YESTERDAY’S HIGH AND LOW

36.6ºC Ishwardi

222.8ºC Dinajpur

Source: Accuweather/UNB

PRAYER TIMES Fajar Sunrise Zohr Asr Magrib Esha

3:43am 5:09am 11:58am 4:38pm 6:45pm 8:13pm SourceL IslamicFinder.org

HC summons Rajuk chairman over contempt n Nazmus Sakib

The High Court summoned GM Joynal Abedin Bhuiyan, chief of the Rajuk, yesterday, on a contempt of court allegation charge.

He was ordered to appear before the court on July 8 to explain why a High Court verdict, which had directed the Rajuk to hand over plots to three persons in the Purbachal Project, was not implemented.

The bench of Justice Ashfaqul Islam and Ashraful Kamal passed the order in response to the pleas of the three aggrieved persons – Dilip Kumar Mukhargee, Nirmal Kumar Das and Kashinath Ghosh.

Asrarul Hoque, the petitioners’ lawyer, confirmed the news to the Dhaka Tribune.

On July 19, 2012 the High Court directed Rajuk to allocate plots to the trio whose land had been absorbed by the Purbachal Project.

But the petitioners did not get the plots, which prompted them to file contempt petitions against the Rajuk chief and three others. l

BCL dissolves CU BCL unit over clash n CU Correspondent

Family members, classmates, and locals form a human chain yesterday in front of the National Press Club, demanding justice to the Raian Rahman Avik’s murder and arrest of the killers NASHIRUL ISLAM

The central body of Bangladesh Chhatra League (BCL) dissolved the existing committee of the Chittagong University (CU) BCL unit yesterday, after a day long factional clash on the campus.

Confirming the news, Sheikh Rasel, official secretary of BCL said the BCL has dissolved the CU unit and postponed all the organisational activities of the BCL men until further instruction.

“The leaders of BCL CU unit cannot use their organisational designation in any kind of activities,” he said.

The central BCL leaders visited the campus yesterday, after an attack was made on assistant secretary of Awami League (AL) sub-committee Nasir Haider Babul, and held an activist conference with the BCL men.

The BCL CU unit, comprising 214 members, was formed on June 25 in 2011, with Mamunul Haque as the president and MA Khaled as the general secretary. l

US, UK partner with Bangladesh to expand Barisal dope gang victim dies at DMCH healthcare services to urban poor n Afrose Jahan Chaity The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) and the UK’s Department for International Development (DFID) announced partnerships with Bangladesh in order to make quality healthcare widely available for the impoverished families via the Smiling Sun network of health clinics.

The announcement came at a launching event held in the capital’s Ruposhi Bangla Hotel at 11am yesterday.

A part of DFID’s broader urban health programme, the partnership aims to increase access to quality primary, maternal and neonatal healthcare and nutrition services

for the urban poor. It hopes to reach several million people with basic health services that focus on improving the health of women and children in the urban areas.

The partnership also includes Marie Stopes Clinic Society Bangladesh and will collaborate with Brac urban health services.

Sarah Cooke, country representative of DFID Bangladesh, said improving the health of poor mothers and their babies is a priority for the UK government.

“Through our urban health programme, we will continue supporting the poorest women to give birth safely and under skilled care, giving mothers and babies the opportunity to thrive, and helping to prevent tragic and un-

necessary deaths,” she added.

Janina Jaruzelski, mission director of USAID, said by working hand-inhand with the Bangladesh government, USAID and DFID would enable the long-running Smiling Sun health clinic programme to reach new heights and ultimately benefit more women and children in urgent need of healthcare.

Under the new partnership, DFID will provide an additional $29m to the $54m USAID NGO Health Service Delivery project.

A M Badruddoza, secretary at the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, and Joya Ahsan, renowned actor and former brand ambassador for Smiling Sun clinics, were also present at the event. l

n Our Correspondent, Barisal

A man who was hurt while being drugged allegedly by a dope gang, vastly known as aggyan party in Bangla, in Barisal. They did so to loot valuables from the man who eventually succumbed to his injuries at Dhaka Medical College Hospital yesterday.

The victim, Ratan Shah, 45, was a local wholesaler, and a resident of Torki Bandar in Gaurnadi upazila of the district.

Ratan went to Muladi Bazar area on Monday noon to collect dues from the retailers, said Muladi police station OC Md Alauddin quoting the deceased’s family members.

While Ratan was on the way of his house, aggyan party members drugged him with food and looted the money and finally they left his body in Mirganj

ferry ghat area, the OC stated.

Afterwards, locals spotted the body and admitted him to Barisal Sher-e-

Aggyan party members drugged him with food and looted the money and finally they left his body in Mirganj ferry ghat area Bangla Medical College Hospital and on following day, doctors referred him to the DMCH as his condition deteriorated, where he died at about 9am.

However, police recovered the body and sent it to Barisal medical college for an autopsy. l

RMG workers vandalise CEPZ factory for arrears n Tarek Mahmud, Chittagong Several hundred workers of a factory in the Chittagong Export Processing Zone vandalised the workplace yesterday, demanding arrears and overtime dues.

Sources at the CEPZ said the unruly workers had locked the main gate of the factory to prevent law enforcers' entry.

Later, the workers held a protest rally inside the factory.

Arifur Rahman Arif, inspector (intelligence) of Industrial Police in Chit-

tagong, told the Dhaka Tribune that about 350 workers of NLZ Garments started demonstrating inside the factory around 6:30pm and later vandalised factory equipment.

“The workers went wild since the factory’s owner refused to pay overtime as per their demand,” the inspector said.

The situation was brought under control around 10pm after the police assured the workers of negotiating on their behalf with the owner regarding their demands. l

1 killed, 4 injured in Chittagong road accidents n Tarek Mahmud, Chittagong A garment worker was killed and four policemen injured yesterday in road accidents in Chittagong.

Sources at the Chittagong Medical College Hospital police outpost said a youth named Abdul Jabbar, 19, son of Abul Kashem of Rangunia upazila

in Chittagong, was critically injured when a speeding bus ran over him in the morning. He was declared dead a CMCH doctor.

Meanwhile, Sub-Inspector Md Shahjahan and constables Md Selim, Md Rasel and Md Tuhin Ahmed were injured when their van crashed into a wall near Chittagong court building yesterday. l

City dwellers stand in a line in front of an Open Market Sale (OMS) truck of TCB to buy essentials ahead of the month of Ramadan DHAKA TRIBUNE

6

DHAKA TRIBUNE

Nation

Wednesday, June 11, 2014

Blackout in six villages after storm hits Gaibandha n Our Correspondent, Gaibandha Residents of six villages under Sodullahpur union in Gaibandha have remained without power for the last two days since 10 electric poles were uprooted during a storm that swept over the distrcit on Monday night.

According to Power Devolopment Board, the people of six villages – Keshlidanga, Hatbamuni, Singikhamar, Dhopdanga, Bagchi and Kolabagan – have not been getting electricity since Monday night, when a storm hit the villages.

The storm also uprooted hundreds of trees and damaged crops on a vast tract of land. A good number of tin-shed and thatched houses have been damaged in the storm. Abdul Jalil, a resident of Keshlidanga village, said bussniessmen were suffering the most in this situation.

Rashed Mia, a resident of Bagchi village, said if the PWD did not supply electricty by Wednesday [today], they would miss the inaguration ceremony of the FIFA World Cup. But he expressed disappoinment that the authorities concerned were reluctant to mend the damaged electrict poles.

He said the students of Keshlidanga Governement Primary School were at risk as the electric poles were lying on the school play ground. He urged the PWD authorities to take measures to supply electrcity without any delay.

Sukumar Lal Sarkar, executive engineer of Gaibandha Power Devolopment Board said “We will take prompt measures to repair the electric lines.” l

n Our Correspondent, Rangamati Two people, including the premier of the village, were abducted by miscreants at Nalbunia village in Kedharmarauninon under Baghaichariupazila in the district yesterday.

The victims were identified as Ramni Mahan Chakma, the premier of the village, and Bikash Chakma.

Azizul Haque, officer-in-charge of Baghaichhari police station, confirmed the incident.

Locals said a gang of armed miscreants stormed the house of Ramani Mohon at Nalbunia village and kidnapped him at gunpoint around 11pm.

Later, the same group kidnapped Arun in the same manner from Baro Durchhari village at the same time.

Sajib Chakma, assistant publicity secretary of Santu Larma group of Parbatya Chattagram Jana Samhati Samity (PCJSS), blamed MN Larma group for the incident.

However, MN Larma group’s Publicity Secretary Proshanto Chakma refuted the allegation. l

A damaged electric pole lies in field in Keshlidanga village of Gaibandha yesterday

MP’S NEPHEW KILLING

BCL leader placed on six-day remand n

Our Correspondent, Comilla

A Comilla court placed three people, including a leader of the Bangladesh Chhatra League, on a six-day remand yesterday in connection with the murder of Ahsan Habib Sumu.

Additional Chief Judicial Magistrate Amlan Kusum Bishnu passed the order after police produced them before his court seeking a 10-day remand for interrogation.

The people who have been put on remand are Saleh Ahmed Russell, a BCL leader, Saiful and Shawkat.

Ahsan Habib Sumu, 40, the Comilla branch director of security-provider agency Guard Bangladesh and the son

Village headman among two abducted

of late Omar Faruk, cousin of MP from Sadar constituency AKM Bahauddin Bahar, was shot to death during a BCL intra-party clash in Comilla district town on May 29.

Habibus Sayerin Shayer, the victim’s brother, filed a case against 40 BCL leaders and activists with Kotwali police station the following day.

Police arrested the trio from Anarkoli Super Market in the capital on June 6, seven days after the filing of the case.

Other accused in the case include BCL activists Shahin, Ripon, Shakil alias Chhota Shakil, Zakir, Khokan, Shakil, Shah Poran, Saiful, Jony alias Chika, Alauddin, Fahmid, Foysal, Shipu and Ashique. l

DHAKA TRIBUNE

Ensuring rights a must for welfare of ethnic people n Tribune Desk Ensuring social justice and development of living and livelihood conditions of the ethnic communities in the country’s northwest region including its vast Barind tract has become indispensable, speakers at post-rally discussion said.

They viewed showing due respect to all agreements and commitments relating to ensuring rights of the ethnic communities is very vital. Besides, contribution to the society and their supreme sacrifice need to be acknowledged.

Centre for Capacity Building of Voluntary Organisation (CCBVO) and 26 Aboriginals Village-based Sustainable Food Security Program (Rakkshagola)’ organized the discussion at Godagari Upazila Complex Auditorium marking

114th martyrdom day of ethnic leader Birsha Munda yesterday.

With Ethnic leader Santosh Ekka in the chair, Assistant Commissioner (Land) Alamgir Kabir, former Deputy Director of Department of Social Service Mozammel Haque, BLAST Coordinator Advocate Abdus Samad, CCBVO Executive Chief Sarwar-E-Kamal, Regional Manager of Prip Trust Saiduzzaman Sipon, President of Godagari Press Club Alamgir Kabir and ethic leaders Niranjan Kujur, Jharna Lakra and Saheb Murmu spoke on the occasion, among others.

The speakers called for freeing the ethnic communities from the vicious cycle of poverty coupled with making them fit for all the nation-building activities, report BSS. Stressing the need for protecting the

rights of the ethnic minority people he said importance should be given on protecting the underprivileged people from all sorts of deceptions.

They underscored the need for establishing social justice towards the plain land ethnic communities through removing all sorts of disparity.

The aboriginal people are always deprived of land rights, food, healthcare, education and cultural facilities and hoped that the government would ensure their fundamental rights besides full-filling other requisite demands.

They, however, opined that the aboriginal people are hardworking and they have been playing a vital role in increasing farm production and laid stress on removing the disparity between the aboriginal peoples of hill tracts and plain land. l

66 sued over AL activist Azu murder; one held n Our Correspondent, Chapainawabganj

A case was filed against 66 people in the killing of local Awami League activist Azizur Rahman Azu. Azu’s wife Rina Begum on Monday night, lodged the case with Chapainawabganj sadar model police station quoting 46 people while the rest remains unknown, said its OC Jasim Uddin.

Earlier, police arrested one accused named Mizan who is the cousin of Kalam, ringleader of BNP-blessed Kalam bahini that allegedly bombed Azu and then hacked him to death in broad daylight on Sunday. Azu was also the ringleader of Azu Bahini which allegedly works for local AL. On the other hand, followers of both the gangs locked into a clash and hurled crude bombs at one another at Ramchandrapur bazaar around 12pm.

Being informed, police and RAB members rushed to the spot and calmed the situation where no one was injured, said Sadar police station OC (investigation) Sarwar Hossain. l

Copyist hacked to death in Gazipur n Our Correspondent, Gazipur

Punishment of U Pru’s killers demanded

A copyist was hacked to death by some unidentified assailents at his flat in Rajdighi Par area of Gazipur city early yesterday.

Quoting family members police said Shahidul Alam, 40, son of Fazlul Hoque of Tilsunia village in Kapasia village of the district and former president of Document Writters’ Association, was living at the house with his family.

Shahidul was asleep in a room on the third floor of the building on Monday night while his wife and children went to sleep in another room.

Local people rushed to the spot hearing the victim’s wife scream on Tuesday morning as the door of the house was found to be locked from outside.

They found the body of Shahidul lying on the floor and informed police about the matter.

Police said he might have been killed over previous enmity. Police recovered the body and sent it to sadar hospital morgue for an autopsy. A case was filed in this connection. l

n Our Correspondent, Bandarban

Firefighters try to douse fire that broke out at a jute mill in Natore yesterday

FOCUS BANGLA

Different socio-cultural organisations formed a human chain in Bandarban district town yesterday, demanding punishment of the killers of U Pru Marma, 24, a teacher at Ananda School run by a non-government organisation.

Donai Pru Nelly, district unit president of Human Rights Commission, Rumpa Das, an official of Karitas, and Aong Chong Mong, an indigenous leader addressed the programme, among others.

U Pru was found dead in Naresatong area in Roangchhari upazila of the district on Friday.

She had been missing since Thursday. She had gone to school on that day, but had not returned home.

Police suspected that she might have been killed after being raped.

Speakers at the human chain said the government was silent although incidences of murder, rape and abduction continued.

Manpower businessman murdered n Our Correspondent, Tangail

Robbers loot valuables, Lightening strike kills six injure two at Phulpur including mother, son

A manpower businessman was murdered at Mirzapur upaizla in the district yesterday.

The deceased was identified as Anisur Rahman,35, son of Joyen Uddin in Oviram village.

Firoza Begum, wife of the deceased, said some of Anisur’s friends wanted to visit their residence at night.

Anisur had sent her to the neighbour’s house for the night after they arrived. In the morning, she found her husband dead.

On information, police recovered the body and sent it to Tangial General Hospital morgue for an autopsy. l

A gang of robbers looted gold ornaments, cash and other valuables from a house at Sahapara village in Phulpur upazila of Mymensingh in the early hours of yesterday.

Motaleb Miah, officer-in-charge of Phulpur police station, said a gang of robbers, numbering 10-12, stormed into the house of businessman Asim Ray breaking open the door. They looted valuables, including 25 tolas of gold ornaments, Tk50,000 in cash, from the house, holding the residents hostage at gunpoint.

The robbers also assaulted Promila Ray, wife of Asim Ray, and his son Antu Ray, as they tried to resist the robbery.

n Our Correspondent, Mymensingh

The injured were admitted to Mymensingh Medical College Hospital. A case was filed with Phulpur police station in this connection.

They looted valuables, including 25 tolas of gold ornaments, Tk50,000 in cash, from the house, holding the residents hostage at gunpoint Later, police arrested six people for their alleged involvement in the robbery yesterday morning. l

Correspondent, n Our Chapainawabganj Six people, including a mother and son, were killed in a lighting strike in Shibganj and Gomastapur upazilas Monday night.

The deceased were identified as Shirin Akter,24, wife of Ruhul a resident of Birahimpur village of Shibganj, and their son Abu Sayeed,3, Sadiqul Islam,40, son of Manjur Ali, a resident of Laughata village of the upazila, Ayesh Uddin,60, son of Mashiur Rahman, a resident of Baliadanga village of Sadar upazila, Amirul,24, son of Mostafa, a resident of Islampur village of the upa-

zila, Saiful Islam,46, son of Arep Ali, a resident of Imamnagar village in Gomostapur upazila.

A thunderbolt hit Shirin at about 8:00 pm while she along with her son Sayeed were collecting mangoes during the nor’wester, leaving both of them dead on the spot.

Sadiqul was hit by a lightning strike and died while collecting mangoes as well.

Ayesh Uddin and Amirul were killed when lightning strike hit them at night.

In another incident, Saiful died on the spot when a streak of lightning hit him while he was returning home from a mango orchard during the storm. l

“The criminal activities, including rape, murder and abduction, are happening because the government has failed to bring Kalpana Chakma’s killers to book,” they said, adding that the district administration should arrest the killers as soon as possible to maintain law and order in the district.

U Pru was found dead in Naresatong area in Roangchhari upazila of the district on Friday They vowed to launch a tougher movement if the law enforcement agencies failed to punish U Pru’s killers.

It is to be noted that Muslim Uddin, an accused in the U Pru Marma killing case, was beaten to death by a mob on Saturday.

They also submitted a memorandum to the minister for Home Affairs through deputy commissioner. l

Harassed housewife commits suicide

n Our Correspondent, Barguna Unable to put up with the alleged harassment by her husband and in-laws, a housewife commited suicide by taking poison at Taltoli upazila in the district.

The deceased was identified as Sonia wife of Ismail and daughter of Jahangir Khan in Minipara village.

Jahangir said Ismail used to torture her demanding dowry.

Recently he claimed Tk60,000 for buying a motorcycle.

On the day, Ismail and his family members tortured her brutally as she failed to bring the money.

She took the poison as she could not bear the torture any longer. Later, she was taken to a local health complex where doctors declared her dead. l

DHAKA TRIBUNE

Long Form

Wednesday, June 11, 2014

7

Bring the murderers of Manzoor to trial

BIGSTOCK

A

n Dr M Anwar Hossain three year old girl, along with her infant brother (only a few months old), her mother, and a few friends of her father, embarked on a perilous, uncertain journey under the cover of the dark night of July 25, 1971.

For more about this girl we will have to go back a little into the past: The war for liberation has begun.

It is the last week of July, year 1971.

Village Kazla, deep set in the rural Bangladesh, known as an outpost of the liberation war, is our ancestral home. Like every other evening many have gathered to listen to the news broadcast by Shadheen Bangla Betar Kendra – Four Bengali officers of the Pakistani army have crossed the borders, and have joined the war for liberation. This news was aired that night.

The names of the officers were not revealed; we, however, were almost certain that our elder brother, Major Taher, was one of them. We had been anticipating such news. In a letter written to our mother by Taher, which reached her by mail read: “I will reach you at the first opportunity” (Ekattorer Chitthee, page 126).

Our forecast was not incorrect. A few days after we came to learn that with our brother Taher, Major Manzoor, Major Ziauddin, and Captain Patwary had defected from West Pakistan and joined the War for Liberation.

Towards the end of 1972, “From Abotabad to Devi Garh” by Colonel Taher was published in Bichitra, a weekly magazine of Dainik Bangla. I took the dictation of that thrilling and daring episode. Sialkot cantonment is not far from the Pakistan-India border. Major Manzoor lives there with his family.

Major Taher, Major Ziauddin, and Captain Patwary have come by a Volkswagon car from Abotabad to spend the day at Major Manzoors house. That night, they will cross the border. Taher writes: “Discussed a lot with Manzoor. At last we revealed to Manzoor of our plans to defect and we asked him to be our companion. Manzoor’s wife, his three-year-old daughter and a few months old son were there with Manzoor. Manzoor contemplated that

in his condition it was simply too risky and didn’t agree to go along with us.

But Manzoor’s wife became adamant to come with us “... Quarter to nine in the evening, some how we squeezed into the car and started. To keep the children calm Mrs Manzoor gave them sleeping pills “... After two o’clock at night we reached the edge of a dried up ravine. In the depth of the ravine under torchlight we carefully studied the map again. This time we didn’t make any mistake, we are three miles inside the border. A few hundred yards is the Indian border outpost Devi Garh. Mrs Manzoor laid down her children under a tree. We breathlessly awaited the first rays of the dawn.”

and won the war; his country, at that time, was back in the clutches of the war-criminal enemies.

They killed him. On the first day of June, 1981. For Manzoor, to protect his life and his family, a secure shelter couldn’t be found in his motherland.

After arresting Manzoor from the forests of Fatikchhori, the killers had snatched away and dragged Rubana’s father from her siblings and her mother. On that night, they had killed her ever smiling father, General Manzoor the GOC (General Officer Commanding) of the Chittagong Cantonment, inside the cantonment itself.

It was not only the utter grief, but also an implausible scene of atrocity that they witnessed before their very eyes, that left them thunderstruck.

Disbelief and fright was smeared on their faces. Mrs Manzoor told me that in fear, no one called on them.

I had met Mrs Manzoor quite a few times after that. The last time I had met her, was at the end of November, 1981. I received an invitation to visit London at that time. At the end of 1981, after 5-years of imprisonment, I was released, and had joined my teaching profession in the University of Dhaka.

At the time Lawrence Liftschultz, an American journalist, was studying at the University of Cambridge. I thought of collecting a first hand narration of the episode by Mrs Manzoor and handing it to Lawrence.

The Sepoy uprising of November 7, 1975, led by Colonel Taher; the camera trial inside Dhaka central jail; Zia’s conspiracy of killing Taher by hanging – these incidences were covered in detail by Lawrence Liftschultz in his book “Bangladesh: The Unfinished Revolution – Taher’s Last Testament,” published from Zed Press of London in July, 1979.

To unearth the truth behind the cruel killing of Manzoor, Taher’s comrade during the war for liberation, Lawrence Liftschultz seemed the most dependable and able person.

I remember Mrs Manzoor, throughout the night, wrote, in detail, how her husband had nothing to do with Zia’s assassination. I reached London on November 27, 1981, carrying the detailed script written in English by Mrs Manzoor.

I met Lawrence Liftschultz, handed him the script and requested him to come forward and uncover the truth as he had done with regard to Taher’s killing.

By then, it was clear that the chief of the Army, General Ershad masterminded the conspiracy to kill Zia and Manzoor. Lt Colonel Matiur Rahman and Lt Colonel Mahbub, who allegedly took part in the killing of Zia, were mysteriously killed in a shoot-out.

On the night of September 23, 1981, another 13 officers were killed by hanging after a hasty court martial.

Out of the thirteen, eleven were freedom fighters. Among them, five had received gallantry awards for their unsurpassed bravery. Matiur Rahman and Mahbub were also recipients of such gallantry awards. Two of the youngest officers killed in the gallows

They killed him. On the first day of June, 1981. For Manzoor, to protect his life and his family, a secure shelter couldn’t be found in his motherland

The awaited dawn did arrive. The four soldiers fought with valour in the liberation war. Major Manzoor, commander of Sector 8, Major Taher, commander of Sector 11, Major Ziauddin, a battalion commander of the Z Force, and Captain Patwary, a company commander.

The three-year-old girl toddled through the War for Liberation. Some obscure memories may still be with her. The girl’s name is Rubana Manzoor. I had seen her once in June 1981, when she was 13. They were living with a relative in Bhooter Golee in Dhaka. Theirs were the days of utter misfortune.

On 25 July in 1971 Manzoor, Rubana and the entire family defected from the enemy country of Pakistan and took refuge in the friendly country of India. To liberate the country, Manzoor had pledged his life, fought,

were commissioned in 1976 and 1978.

On June 1, 2014, Rubana, Manzoor’s daughter, gave a heart wrenching description of the events of the day 33 years before in an interview. That interview was taken by none other than Lawrence Liftschultz. The words of Rubana, spoken in English, have been published by two national dailies.

What did she say in that interview?

She appealed for a fair legal action.

She also added, those who have killed her father should be brought to trial, and justice be ensured for them.

Then only, after so many years, her mother, and her four siblings will get some solace. The blood of Rubana and her family has been painfully trickling down for the last 33 years. After all this, Rubana’s words didn’t have a complaining tone or malice.

She said, the judiciary of Bangla-

desh should attain that worthy stature where everyone will be served justice.

She prayed for justice not only for freedom fighters like her father, but also hoped that it should extend to every citizen of the country, which was once liberated by individuals like her father.

Rubana mostly remembers her father’s smile. She has mentioned about the traits of her father innate in his children.

June 1, 1981 – a day of immense grief. Rubana has offered a heart wrenching description of this day in her interview. She tells us: “I had my arms wrapped around his waist. I wouldn’t let go of him. I was crying. We were all crying. And then, they forcibly took him away from us. We never saw him again. They murdered him within just a few hours. Now all this is known.

I cannot say anymore. It is too painful.

Too difficult. He was our father. We loved him. We love him still.”

Rubana said: “When a father or husband is murdered, the people that are most devastated by the death is his family. Others may feel bad, even sympathetic, and they may cry out for the truth. But, it is the wife and children who are given the life sentence of pain and suffering.”

Rubana wants to know, in which hole her father was dumped. They yearn to visit his grave, and want to pray for her father. Why should a Bir Uttam be kept hidden in an unmarked trench?

She demands from the Army and the Government that they find that place where her father is resting. Is it too much to ask for a daughter of Bir Uttam freedom fighter, an eminent sector commander?

dangerous person in the armed forces is evident to all.

“On 24 August 1975 the Army Chief Major Gen Shafiullah and the Air Force Chief Air Vice Marshal AK Khandakar were deputed to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Major Gen Ziaur Rahman and Air Vice Marshal Tawab were appointed as Army and Air Force Chiefs, respectively. To influence a balance between freedom fighters and non freedom fighters within the Army; on counsel of the then Defence Advisor General Osmani, Ershad at the time been in a training course in India, was called back and was promoted to the rank of Major General and appointed as the Deputy Chief of Staff.

President Ziaur Rahman didn’t stop after rehabilitating the people against liberation in all levels. He appointed Major Gen. Ershad as the Chief of Staff and promoted him to the rank of Lt. General.

“General Manzoor was most vocal in opposing the appointments and rehabilitation of anti liberation forces in the administration. Manzoor’s candidness was used as a pawn’s move in a game of chess by Ershad.

“It is a matter of immense misfortune that Ershad being a repatriated person, by his cunning, could make his way up to occupy the top position of the armed forces which was built during the War for Liberation.”

On the basis of the information provided by Major Rafiqul Islam, Ershad can be termed as a traitor and a collaborator. Not only as the mastermind of Manzoor’s killing, Ershad should before his death also be charged and brought under trial as a despised collaborator.

‘When a father or husband is murdered, the people that are most devastated by the death is his family. The wife and children who are given the life sentence of pain and suffering’

She ends her interview by expressing hope that “the call for justice from the people of this country will rise up once again and be heard.”

I could have ended my article at this point. Yet, a few important things about General Ershad deserve to be mentioned. From the meticulously researched chronology of Lawrence Liftschultz’s articles, it has become evident that, the mastermind of the Manzoor killing is General Ershad.

I will not elaborate on this perspective. Rather I wish to discuss Ershad’s role during the War for Liberation. I will take help from the book “Nine years of Dictatorship (1982-90)” authored by Major Rafiqul Islam, PSC, and published by the University Press Limited.

I learnt from Major Shamsul Arefin, a freedom fighter and researcher of the war for liberation, that Rafiqul Islam is no longer alive. Major Islam was an officer of the first batch during the liberation war. In the pages 31-36 of his book, Rafiqul Islam writes: “When the people of Bangladesh were engaged in the battle for freedom; Ershad was the commander of the 7th East Bengal Regiment. It can be mentioned in context that when 7th East Bengal was fighting a war for Pakistan under Ershad’s command, the Freedom Fighters were engaged in a bloody battle to liberate Bangladesh under the Bangladesh-India joint command.

“At midnight of 25-26 March when the Pakistan Army went berserk in genocide and the liberation war of Bangladesh started, Ershad was on leave in Rangpur. He went back to Pakistan during the first days of April without considering taking part in the War of Liberation and joined back as commander of the 7th East Bengal.

During the War of Liberation he had visited Rangpur in September to see his ailing father. This time too he didn’t join the War for Liberation and went back to Pakistan. In 1972 Lt. Col. Ershad was appointed as the Chairman of the Tribunal to try the stranded Bengali officers and soldiers charged with treason. So for these reason, in liberated Bangladesh, he shouldn’t have been in armed service. Nevertheless, he was inducted into the armed forces and the outcome of having a

I will end with a plea to the daughter of Bangabandhu, the prime minister, Sheikh Hasina: You have raged war against the culture of impunity. It is for this reason that justice has been established in the killing of the father of the nation. We have achieved the judgement on killing of Taher by Zia after a long wait of 35 years. General Manzoor’s killing through a conspiracy 33 years ago has been stalled since many years.

His daughter, Rubana Manzoor, had pleaded for a fair trial of her father’s killing in her heart-wrenching interview. She has thanked you in her interview, and said that you would definitely understand their agony as your father, mother, and members of your family were also killed by the anti liberation brutes.

She has also mentioned that her mother met you after the fall of Ershad. They exchanged sympathy because they had both lost those dearest to them. Rubana has mentioned with deep anticipation that Sheikh Hasina will realise their severe anguish and will come forth to ensure justice.

Prime minister, I would like to place one more appeal before you.

The role of Ershad during the War for Liberation and the nine years of dictatorship is known to you and all people who aspire for the triumph of democracy.

To save the nation from the wrath of Jamat-BNP you may have had to forge the grand electorate alliance with a dictator like General Ershad.

You have also included their leaders in your ministries. The people will surely judge your stance without prejudice.

But many have been deeply hurt by the appointing of Ershad as your special envoy.

Remove Ershad from this position without any further delay. Please issue firm orders to conclude the findings of General Ershad’s involvement in Manzoor’s killing and bring him under trial. The trial of Manzoor’s killing will further ensure the rights of justice for every citizen of the nation and uphold the cause of the war you have waged against injustice and impunity.

Dr M Anwar Hossain is a professor at the University of Dhaka.

8

DHAKA TRIBUNE

World

Wednesday, June 11, 2014

Mosul seized, Iraq calls emergency the Nineveh Operations Command as well as the airport, the general said.

They also freed hundreds of prisoners from three jails.

Meanwhile, the Turkish consulate in Mosul confirmed reports that 28 Turkish truck drivers, carrying diesel from the Mediterranean port of Iskenderun to Mosul, had been abducted by ISIL militants. No further details were immediately available.

Predominantly Sunni Muslim Nineveh has long been a militant stronghold and one of the most dangerous areas in the country.

ISIL, the most powerful militant group in Iraq, is also a key force in the rebellion against President Bashar al-Assad in neighbouring Syria. In April, it launched a new campaign in Syria’s Deir Ezzor province, which borders Nineveh, aimed at carving out an Islamic state along the frontier.

Mosul, 350 kilometres (220 miles) north of Baghdad, is the second city after Fallujah, west of Baghdad, that the government has lost this year.

People fleeing violence in the Nineveh province wait in their vehicles at a Kurdish checkpoint in Iraq. Suspected jihadists seized Iraq’s entire northern province of Nineveh and its capital Mosul in a major blow to authorities AFP

n Agencies The Iraqi prime minister has called for a national state of emergency after the city of Mosul and the northern province of Nineveh fell to al-Qaeda-inspired fighters.

Nouri al-Maliki said he would ask parliament to declare the emergency after the takeover by fighters from groups including the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) overnight.

Jihadists yesterday seized Nineveh, whose capital Mosul is the country’s second-largest city, in a major blow to a government apparently incapable of stopping militant advances.

“All of Nineveh province fell into the hands of militants,” parliament speaker Osama al-Nujaifi told journalists in Baghdad, adding that the gunmen were heading towards Nineveh’s neighbouring province of Salaheddin, on the road to the capital.

An army brigadier general told AFP clashes with hundreds of militants from ISIL began late Monday.

An interior ministry official earlier said Mosul “is outside the control of the state and at the mercy of the militants” and that some soldiers and police had fled after removing their uniforms.

Military units first withdrew from the city’s east, heading to its west, and

Human remains found in Australian croc n Agencies In the search for a man who was snatched from his boat in Australia’s Northern Territory, police killed a large crocodile at the scene of the attack and found human remains inside, BBC reported.

Police are now examining the remains to see if they match the DNA of the missing person.

The 62-year-old man was snatched from his boat in the Kakadu National Park, in the Northern Territory. The 4.7m-long (15.4ft) reptile was one of two shot by park rangers near the scene of the attack.

The man’s wife, son and daughterin-law were reported to have been with him on the South Alligator River when he disappeared on Saturday.

“The human remains have been taken for examination,” Sgt Andrew Hocking said. “There are a number of statements to be taken from witnesses and a file will be prepared for the coroner.”

Experts said that it was unusual for a crocodile to attack during this time of year when Australia experiences cooler weather.

Saltwater crocodiles can grow up 7m long and weigh more than a tonne.

Crocodile numbers have increased since being declared a protected species in 1971.

They are a common feature of Australia’s tropical north.

In March, the Australian government rejected a controversial plan to allow crocodile safari hunting in the Northern Territory.

Australian police shot two crocodiles dead in January while on a search for a missing 12-year-old boy attacked by a crocodile in the Northern Territory. Another man was killed by a crocodile in August last year, when he swam in a river in the north during a birthday party. l

then began leaving the city, along with thousands of residents, he said.

An AFP journalist, himself fleeing the city with his family, said shops were closed, a police station had been set ablaze and that numerous security forces vehicles had either been burned or abandoned.

The journalist saw hundreds of families leaving Mosul. Some were on foot, carrying their belongings, and others in vehicles with goods piled on the roofs.

One east Mosul resident said his neighbourhood had been taken by the militants in just an hour, amid heavy gunfire. The assailants seized the provincial government headquarters and

Violence in other areas

Violence also struck other areas of Iraq yesterday. In Baquba, two bombs exploded and killed 20 people near a funeral procession for a teacher who was shot dead the night before, while three more died in Baghdad attacks.

Gunmen have launched major operations in Nineveh, Salaheddin, Anbar, Diyala and Baghdad provinces since Thursday, killing scores of people and highlighting both their long reach and the weakness of security forces.

Travelling in dozens of vehicles, some mounted with anti-aircraft guns, they attacked the city of Samarra, south of Mosul, and occupied several areas on Thursday. They were only dislodged after heavy house-to-house fighting and helicopter strikes. l

Iraq and the ISIL n Agencies At the end of 2012, Sunni tribes in Iraq’s Anbar province began a series of protests that lasted throughout 2013, Aljazeera reported.

The initial demand was for the release of Sunni detainees; the detention of female detainees was a major grievance in the male-dominated culture of Anbar.

It quickly escalated into wider anti-government protests that were initially welcomed by many across the political spectrum.

Shia clerics, from the Grand Ayatollah Ali Sistani to Moqtada Sadr, publicly acknowledged Sunni grievances and Shia tribal leaders visited the demonstrations to express their solidarity.

Prime Minister Nouri Al Maliki took note of the concerns and tried to push through a list of reforms in January 2013, but he was blocked by both Shia political parties and some Sunni parties.

The Sunni tribes in Anbar saw the move as a provocation.

n AFP, Baghdad

The Iraqi government will provide weapons and equipment to citizens who volunteer to fight against militants, Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki said yesterday.

Maliki, in a statement broadcast on state television, said the cabinet has “created a special crisis cell to follow up on the process of volunteering and equipping and arming.”

The cabinet “praises the willingness of the citizens and the sons of the tribes to volunteer and carry weapons... to defend the homeland and defeat terrorism,” he said.

Ukraine’s new president yesterday ordered security officials to create a corridor for safe passage for civilians in eastern regions rocked by a pro-Russian insurgency, as he began to form his government team by tapping a media mogul as chief of staff. In a statement published online, Petro Poroshenko ordered security agencies to organize transport and relocation to help civilians leave the affected areas. Poroshenko’s brief statement gave no details on where the civilians could be relocated, or what accommodation was available.

Poroshenko’s move to create a safe passage for civilians comes in the wake of growing concerns that the government’s active campaign against the rebels has contributed to the rising civilian death toll in the east. Government officials say at least 200 people, including 59 servicemen, have been killed in the attacks. The United Nations’ refugee agency in May said Ukraine’s tensions had resulted in about 10,000 displaced people, both from Russia’s annexation of Crimea and from the violence in the east. l

A pro-Russian militia man from the ‘Russian Orthodox Army’ stands at a check point near the airport in Donetsk city on June 10. Ukraine’s new Western-backed president ordered the creation of humanitarian corridors in the separatist east that could save civilians and advance his plan to end nearly two months of fighting by the end of the week AFP

n Reuters, Jerusalem

n AFP, Maiduguri

ation (IMA) that represents most Israeli doctors, is backed by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government.

Qadoura Fares, chairman of the Palestinian Prisoners Club, which advocates on behalf of Palestinians in Israeli custody, said the strike would continue and that the proposed law “will not break the will of prisoners.” He said “forced feeding could kill prisoners,” citing the deaths in 1980 of two Palestinian prisoners whom died in an attempt to forcefeed them during a hunger strike. l

Rivlin elected as Israel’s 10th president n AFP, Jerusalem Reuven Rivlin, a far-right member of Israel’s ruling Likud, was yesterday elected by parliament to be the nation’s 10th president when Shimon Peres steps down in July, the speaker said.

Announcing the results of a runoff vote, parliamentary speaker Yuli Edelstein said Rivlin had defeated his centrist challenger Meir Sheetrit by 63 votes to 53 in a secret ballot of the Knesset’s 120 MPs. Known for his affable character and

quirky sense of humour, Rivlin, who served twice as parliamentary speaker, is firmly against the establishment of a Palestinian state and is a strong backer of Israel’s sprawling settlement enterprise.

A lawyer by profession, the 74-yearold is also known for his determined defence of democracy and civil rights which earned him the respect of the left and even members of Israel’s Arab minority.

But he will have a tough act to follow in Peres, whose charisma and popularity enabled him to transcend the

Maliki said the cabinet also decided to “restructure and reorganise” the security forces, and to ask parliament to “announce a state of emergency.”

State television later reported that parliament had received a joint request from Maliki and the president’s office to declare a state of emergency – the procedure laid down in the constitution.

Militants have taken control of a swathe of northern territory including the city of Mosul, the latest in a series of major operations launched in five different provinces in recent days that have killed scores of people.

Violence in Iraq is running at its highest levels since 2006-2007. l

Ukraine president orders civilian corridor in east n AP, Kiev

20 young mothers abducted in Nigeria

Israel’s parliament has given initial approval to a law to enable the force-feeding of Palestinian prisoners on a hunger strike, drawing defiance from activists who said yesterday it would not deter the inmates. Some 120 Palestinians held by Israel began refusing food on April 24 in protest at their detention without trial. Since then the number has risen closer to 300. Israel’s Prisons Service say 70 have been hospitalized.

The events were followed in April by the formation of an armed group - Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) - that waged a bloody campaign across Baghdad and beyond.

The group took advantage of the power vacuum caused by the lack of communication between Baghdad and Anbar, allowing ISIL fighters to form safe havens and criss-cross the Iraqi-Syrian border. The group played on Sunni fears of Shia domination and the Anbar tribes unofficially accepted their presence.

In December 2013, ISIL fighters defeated a whole faction of the Iraqi army and prompted Maliki to send troops into the towns of Ramadi and Fallujah to break up the protests.

One of the main Sunni tribal leaders in the province, Sheikh Ahmed Abu Risha, decided to back government forces against ISIL, but another sheikh, Hatem Ali Sulieman, supported the armed group. The government encouraged the tribes to fight ISIL themselves, but a lack of consensus among senior figures prevented it from entering Fallujah. l

‘Citizens to be armed’

Israeli law to force-feed Palestinian hunger-strikers gets initial nod Israel says Palestinians suspected of security offences are sometimes jailed without trial to avoid any court proceedings that could expose sensitive intelligence information - a practice that has drawn international criticism.

Legislation that would permit authorities to seek a court order to force medical treatment on prisoners whose health was at serious risk on Monday passed the first of four votes needed to become law. The measure, which is opposed by the Israeli Medical Associ-

ISIL formed

largely ceremonial position of the presidency and use it to promote a political message of peace.

Commentators say that Peres’s departure from office at the end of July is likely to switch the presidency’s focus from international affairs to more domestic matters.

In the first round, MPs voted for five candidates who also included Dalia Itzik, the first woman speaker of the Knesset; retired Supreme Court justice Dalia Dorner; and chemistry Nobel Laureate Dan Shechtman. l

Suspected Boko Haram gunmen kidnapped at least 20 young mothers near a town in northeast Nigeria where more than 200 schoolgirls were abducted nearly two months ago, sources told AFP yesterday.

There were conflicting reports of how many women were abducted from the nomadic settlement near Chibok in Borno state, with one local leader putting the number as high as 40.

But the latest kidnappings, which happened on Saturday in and around the village of Garkin Fulani, eight kilometres (five miles) from Chibok, were the latest in a spate in the area.

“Available information revealed that the gunmen came around noon (1100 GMT) and abducted 20 women and three young men left to keep watch on the village,” said Alhaji Tar, of a local vigilante group.

“All the males in the settlement were away in the bush with their herd (of cattle) for grazing when the abductors came to the village.”

There was no immediate indication of where the women were taken and there had been no contact from the kidnappers.

A local official of the Miyetti Allah Cattle Breeders Association of Nigeria (MACBAN) said 40 young mothers were singled out and put into vehicles before being driven to an unknown location.

MACBAN is the umbrella organisation of the nomadic Fulani cattle herders in Nigeria.

Similar kidnappings for ransom have been going on in the area for some time but locals were too afraid to speak out in fear of reprisals from the Islamist militants, the official said.

“This is not the first time women are being kidnapped in this area and only released when we pay cattle ransom to the kidnappers. It has happened several times,” said the official.

“They come and go door-to-door bringing women outside and select young women and take them away in their vehicles and demand between 30 and 40 cows for their release,” he explained.

Locals always paid the ransom but do not inform the authorities, he said.

A Borno state government official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the authorities were aware of the kidnapping of women from the village but denied knowledge of previous abductions. l

Biggest UK political wager laid on Scottish ‘no’ vote n AFP, London A punter staked £400,000 ($670,000, 495,000 euros) yesterday on Scotland voting against independence in the forthcoming referendum, in what is believed to be the largest political bet ever made in Britain, the bookmaker said.

The middle-aged man, from the English county of Surrey near London, placed the bet at odds of 1/4, meaning he stands to make a profit of £100,000 if Scotland votes to stay in the United Kingdom on September 18.

“As far as we can ascertain, this is the biggest political bet ever struck,” said Graham Sharpe, a spokesman for national bookmaker William Hill, which took the wager at one of its London branches.

Sharpe did not name the punter but said he did not have a Scottish accent.

The previous record for a political wager was a £200,000 bet, also laid on a “No” vote but earlier in the campaign, the bookmaker said.

The latest polling data compiled by the Financial Times found 48 percent of Scotland’s four million voters are against independence, compared to 35 percent in favour. Some 16 percent remain undecided. l

World

DHAKA TRIBUNE

9

Wednesday, June 11, 2014

Karachi airport attacked again n AFP, Karachi Taliban gunmen attacked a security post outside Pakistan’s Karachi airport yesterday, a day after an all-night siege by the militants left 37 dead and shredded a tentative peace process.

The latest assault on the airport raised further questions about the authorities’ ability to secure key facilities in the face of a resurgent enemy, and came as air force jets pounded suspected militant hideouts in the northwest, killing 25 people.

The attack on the security post targeted an entry point to an Airport Security Force (ASF) camp 500 metres (yards) from the airport’s main premises, and around a kilometre from the passenger terminal.

Police, paramilitary rangers and army all raced to the site but officials reported there had been no casualties and they had not traded fire with the militants. “Two people came towards the ASF (Airport Security Force) checkpost and started firing,” Colonel Tahir Ali, a spokesman for the force told reporters. “Nobody has been killed or injured,” he added.

Army spokesman Major General Asim Bajwa confirmed the incident

was over, but said three to four assailants were involved.

“Three-four terrorists fired near ASF camp, ran away. No breach of fence, no entry. Chase is on, situation under control,” he tweeted.

Flights resumed after temporarily being suspended for the second time in as many days, Abid Qaimkhani, a spokesman for the Civil Aviation Authority, told AFP. A senior rangers official at the scene who wished to remain anonymous said the gunmen may have fled to a nearby shanty settlement.

“We are chasing them, we will get them, its not easy to hide here, there are no buildings, no population except for two small shanty towns nearby,” he told AFP. The Taliban later claimed responsibility for the attack, saying they were in response to air strikes in the tribal areas.

“Today’s attack on ASF (Airport Security Force) in Karachi is in response to the bombardment on innocent people in Tirah Valley and other tribal areas. We will continue such attacks,” spokesman Shahidullah Shahid said, referring to Pakistani air strikes of suspected militant hideouts. l

Pakistan rangers take part in a search operation after the firing incident near Karachi airport in Karachi on June 10. The second attack on Pakistan’s Karachi airport in as many days ended without casualties, officials said, but with the escape of the two gunmen involved AFP

Japan vows resumption of Antarctic whaling n Reuters, Tokyo An embarrassing court ruling that halted Japan’s Antarctic whaling will actually help Tokyo take whales in the name of science, a top whaling official said just a day after the prime minister vowed to press for commercial whaling.

Tokyo’s decades-old and disputed “scientific whaling” program suffered a blow in March when the International Court of Justice (ICJ), in a surprise ruling, ordered a halt to annual hunts in the Southern Ocean.

Though Japan abandoned its Antarctic hunt for this year, it immediately vowed to retool its research program with an eye to resuming it as early as the 2015-2016 season, and eventually to resume commercial whaling as well.

It is carrying out a scaled-down version of its less known Northern Pacific hunt.

The court ruling was actually good for Japan by upholding the legal basis for whaling, said Joji Morishita, Japan’s commissioner to the International Whaling Commission (IWC).

“The assumption of the court is that Japan could ... look at a new research plan,” Morishita told a news conference in Tokyo.

“And that it’s okay for Japan to propose a new plan which involves killing whales as long as it takes account of the reasoning and conclusions set by the ICJ at this time.”

Though anti-whaling nations say the IWC should be acting to conserve

Five US troops killed in Afghan friendly fire n Reuters, Kabul Five US servicemen were killed in southern Afghanistan in a friendly-fire air strike during a security operation, Afghan police and the Pentagon said yesterday, days before a run-off round in the country’s presidential election.

The men died on Monday in Zabul province’s Arghandab district when their unit, part of the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force (ISAF), clashed with insurgents.

Local police chief Ghulam Sakhi Roghlewanai said: “The five killed were American soldiers who just returned from an operation when they were hit.

“ISAF troops were returning to their bases after an operation when they were ambushed by the insurgents. The air strike mistakenly hit their own forces and killed the soldiers.”

A Pentagon statement said investigators were “looking into the likelihood that friendly fire was the cause.”

A spokesman for the Islamist Taliban, Qari Yousuf Ahmadi, said insurgents had been attacking the foreign forces when the helicopters intervened and accidentally killed their own troops.

Taliban insurgents, meanwhile, kidnapped 35 professors from Kandahar University after stopping their van on the highway linking the southern province and Kabul, a spokesman for provincial governor said. l

whales, Japan and its allies argue that it was set up to manage whales as a resource, a stance Morishita said the court supported by saying the IWC’s purpose remains the same.

In consideration of the ruling, Japan did cut its quota for the Pacific hunt, which extends from Japan’s coastline out into a broad swathe of the ocean, to 210 from 380.

Japan has long maintained that most whale species are not endangered and began what it called scientific whaling in 1987, a year after an international moratorium came into effect, despite growing global outrage, including from key allies such as the United States.

Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, himself hailing from one of Japan’s major whaling areas, told a parliamentary committee on Monday that Tokyo would press ahead with its whaling plans.

“We will carry out surveys on whales with the aim of reviving commercial whaling,” Abe said. “I will also make further efforts to gain international understanding.”

Though few Japanese now eat whale, the government argues that the meat is a part of Japanese food culture.

“Even if some country thinks that whales are special or sacred, as long as whales are sustainably utilized that view should not be forced on others,” Morishita said. “...If people in India tried to impose their way of treatment of cows on the rest of the world and tried to promote prohibiting of eating at McDonald’s or hamburgers, what would happen?” l

Japan’s Antarctic whale catch For more than two decades Japan used a loophole in a 1986 IWC* ruling that allowed the killing of whales for “scientific research”, to conduct its Antarctic whale hunt

Antarctic waters, 2008

Annual catch

273

Highest catch in 2006: 866

330

438

441

551 251

*International Whaling Commission 1988

Season ending

93

98

03

103 08

2014

Photo: Australian Customs Service Source: IWC/Japan Fisheries Agency/AsahiShimbun

China warns of limits to Hong Kong freedom as protests loom n Reuters, Hong Kong China warned Hong Kong yesterday that there were limits to its freedom and it should adhere strictly to the law ahead of a planned pro-democracy protest that could end up shutting down part of the financial hub’s business district.

As the most liberal city on Chinese soil, the former British colony has grappled with Beijing since its return to Chinese rule in 1997 to preserve its freedoms and capitalist way of life under a “one-country, two-systems” formula.

Over the past year, however, a push

by democracy activists to hold protests, as part of a campaign for the right to choose candidates for a poll in 2017 to elect Hong Kong’s next leader, has stoked friction and unnerved Beijing leaders fearful of an opposition democrat taking the city’s highest office.

China’s State Council, or cabinet, reiterated in a “white paper” on the “one-country, two-systems” formula that the city, despite its wide-ranging autonomy, comes under the control of China and has limits to its freedom.

“The high degree of autonomy of Hong Kong is not full autonomy, nor

a decentralized power. It is the power to run local affairs as authorized by the central leadership,” the cabinet said in the official report.

“There is no such thing called ‘residual power’.”

Some Hong Kong residents saw the report by China’s highest administrative body as a warning to Hong Kong’s pro-democracy camp who have agitated for full democracy in 2017. A group of activists plan to launch an online “referendum” on political reforms on June 22 before deciding on the scope of its civil disobedience street campaign. l

Congress to Modi: Don’t be arrogant n Agencies

The Indian National Congress yesterday tore into the agenda outlined by President Pranab Mukherjee in his address saying it is repackaging of work done by UPA, and asked the Narendra Modi government to implement the promises made without trumpeting and “arrogance.”

Congress, which has been reduced to 44 members in the Lok Sabha, told the government it will keep on the pressure to ensure implementation of people-oriented programmes irrespec-

tive of the small number of members it has in the House. In this context, leader of the Congress in the Lok Sabha Mallikarjun Kharge invoked Mahabharta and said though Pandavas were few in number, as compared to Kauravas, still they could not be defeated.

Amid thumping of desks, including

by Congress president Sonia Gandhi, Kharge expressed confidence that the party will bounce back to power and NDA should not think that it will continue to be in power forever.

Speaking on the ‘motion of thanks’ to the President’s address, Kharge

commented point by point on the new government’s agenda and highlighted achievements of the previous UPA government over the last ten years.

“Nothing new has been said. We need to put the record straight. Modi only repackages what is already done.

All these things have been repackaged in the name of Modi,” Kharge said in his 45-minute speech appreciated by Sonia Gandhi as well as Rahul Gandhi.

Asking the government not to have “arrogance” because of its big mandate in the Lok Sabha election, Kharge said it should deliver. l

S Korean ferry crew face hostile crowd, judges n AP, Gwangju, S Korea Hostile spectators cursing, shouting and weeping behind them, 15 crew members from the sunken South Korean ferry appeared in court yesterday to enter pleas on charges of negligence and failing to save more than 300 dead or missing passengers.

As the crew members stood with bowed heads before three Gwangju District Court judges, families of the victims struggled to contain their fury.

Many wore yellow ribbons in memory of those killed in the April 16 accident, most of whom were students on a school trip. The crowd erupted when one crew member appeared to smile, and a judge asked the defendants to show respect. The judges also asked the crowd to be quiet.

“Everybody should be sentenced to death,” one spectator said. One crew member wept so hard she couldn’t identify herself to the judges.

Because of time constraints Tuesday, only 11 of the 15 entered pleas of not guilty. The remaining four are scheduled to appear at a hearing in one week.

All surviving crew members responsible for the ship’s navigation have been charged with negligence and with failing to do their duty to protect passengers. Several of the defendants acknowledged some responsibility at Tuesday’s hearing but denied that they caused the sinking, saying they had lit-

tle control over the stability of the ferry, which was overloaded with cargo.

After expressing his condolences to the victims’ families, Judge Lim Joungyoub emphasized the rights of the defendants to make their own arguments.

Because of time constraints, only 11 of the 15 entered pleas of not guilty. The remaining four are scheduled to appear at a hearing in one week The pervading public hostility against the crew has raised questions about the fairness of the trial. They are being defended by six state-appointed lawyers, three of whom started practicing law only this year. The court said in a statement that it will guarantee the rights of both the defendants and the victims.

Capt. Lee Joon-seok and three other crew members are charged with homicide — a charge that could carry the death penalty, though South Korea has not executed anyone since late 1997.

Prosecutors accuse them of tacitly colluding to abandon the ship while being aware that the passengers would be trapped and killed when the ship sank. l

Tomato extract could save lives n BBC Taking a tomato pill a day could help keep heart disease at bay, say UK scientists who have carried out a small but robust study.

The trial, which tested the tomato pill versus a dummy drug in 72 adults, found it improved the functioning of blood vessels.

But experts say more studies are needed to prove it really works. The pill contains lycopene, a natural antioxidant that also gives tomatoes their colour.

Experts have suspected for some time that lycopene might be good for avoiding illnesses, including certain cancers and cardiovascular disease.

There is some evidence that eating a Mediterranean-style diet, which is rich in tomatoes (as well as other fruit and vegetables and olive oil), is beneficial for health.

Following a healthy diet is still advisable but scientists have been researching whether there is a way to put at least some of this good stuff into an easy-to-take pill.

Tomato pill A company called CamNutra has come up with its own “tomato pill.”

Working independently of CamNutra, and instead funded by the Wellcome Trust, the British Heart Foundation and the National Institute of Health Research, a team at Cambridge University set out to see if this pill would have the desired effect.

They recruited 36 volunteers known

to have heart disease and 36 “healthy” controls, who were all given a daily tablet to take, which was either the tomato pill or a placebo. To ensure a fairer trial, neither the volunteers nor the researchers were told what the tablets actually contained until after the two-month study had ended and the results were in.

For comparison, the researchers measured something called forearm blood flow, which is predictive of future cardiovascular risk because narrowed blood vessels can lead to heart attack and stroke.

In the heart disease patients, the tomato pill improved forearm blood flow significantly, while the placebo did not.

The supplement had no effect on blood pressure, arterial stiffness or levels of fats in the blood, however.

Lead researcher Dr Joseph Cheriyan said the findings, published in PLoS One journal, were promising, but added: “A daily ‘tomato pill’ is not a substitute for other treatments, but may provide added benefits when taken alongside other medication. l

10

DHAKA TRIBUNE

Editorial

Wednesday, June 11, 2014

CODE-CRACKER

Consensus is vital for RMG

I

t is concerning to note a lack of consensus between the two brand-led stakeholder safety initiatives, Accord and Alliance, on key aspects of their safety inspection programs.

RMG factory owners are continuing to report confusion, which they claim is created by the lack of co-ordination on factory inspections. Some are complaining in particular about conflicting reports received from different inspectors and engineers appointed by the different organisations.

Accord and Alliance were expected to follow a uniform standard for their inspections, so as to reduce confusion and to avoid duplication in inspections for the 300 factories which they are assessing in common. As both groups publish details of their reports on their websites, it is possible more certainty and commonality may emerge over time.

However, this still leaves the question of the increasing amount of money which is being spent on multiple safety inspections.

All stakeholders share a common aim with the government and ILO in seeking to use inspections to improve safety standards throughout the RMG industry.

They must look to the big picture. What matters most for the longterm interests of workers in the industry is that consensus is reached on remediation costs. Achieving consensus on inspection standards can help move this forward.

Inspections in themselves cannot raise standards unless funds are available to invest in remediating problems. The government and stakeholder groups must collaborate better to avoid disputes which reduce certainty. This is essential to allow effort to be focused on securing more funds for remediation and relocation.

Stakeholders must focus on securing funds for remediation and relocation

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

Bad news at the border June 4

MAK I commend the author for this timely and insightfully-written article on a topic that, in the thick of political mudslinging and self-adulation posturing, has since been either completely ignored or only benignly addressed.

As a nation, we have gone so low and made ourselves so weak that no one cares. The institutions that ought to act with principle and follow rule of law have instead become like sheep, lawless goons, are dim-witted, and/or sycophants.

The country has never been at such a sorry state.

No amount of plodding the government is going to make any difference. To expect that our government will change its mind and do something good is like asking Idi Amin to study human rights.

Our government is the source and not the solution of our problem.

Our rescue is our people. They have to rise and chuck out this government that has got neither the capacity nor the willingness to defend its people nor the territory. We need the people to rise and recreate a sovereign, self-respecting, and secure Bangladesh.

Rodders The problem with Myanmar is that the military has become too powerful and, as a result, arrogant.

Myanmar has nothing to show for itself, except its

BTRC must be fair and efficient

No room for either bias or inefficiency

Magura MAK: I agree completely. It is time Bangladesh steps up, and regains its democratic form. The power lies in the hand of the people.

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.

Zero-Agenda This is utter madness! What is it that makes border guards’ fingers itch so badly?

Hasina defends Osmans

R

eportedly, the BTRC has been allowing private telecom operator Banglaphone to dodge crores of taka in legal government fees, while also allegedly bestowing irregular favours to the company.

Comments from high-ranking BTRC officials over the issue have showed a complete and utter lack of knowledge about the issue, despite documentation being available revealing clear discrepancies over certain facts. This is not an acceptable reaction from a government-operated regulator.

BTRC has had a rather checkered reputation in terms of revenue-collection from other telecom operators, especially in relation to ensuring consistent and regular collection of fees owed by International Gateways (IGWs).

Government concerns have led it to start making sweeping changes to its system. Earlier this year, the watchdog body rejected an application by state-owned operator Teletalk to change its 3G spectrum allocation. A fair decision, as Teletalk still owes payments arising out of the auction for 3G allocation held in September 2013.

However, new or continuing allegations of bias only work towards undermining the regulator’s image reputation, after it had made moves towards improving its effectiveness.

BTRC has a clear directive in its duties of regulating the country’s various telecom operators, to give equal treatment to both private sector companies and state-owned companies which compete directly with each other.

There is no room for either bias or inefficiency within or involving the BTRC. It must make sure appropriate legal action is taken against all companies which fail to provide its revenues. There is no room for either bias or inefficiency for the BTRC.

military, and even that is not much, as Bangladesh has greater armed personnel than Burma. And this pride in its military has spread across to the civil society that barely extends beyond the military in the openly repressive country. Add to that a very xenophobic society, and you can understand somewhat why the military is doing what it’s doing along our border. They seem to be looking for something to bully, and think of us as an easy target.

I have communicated with a few Burmese folks on Facebook, and they seem to be of the opinion that we are poorer than them, and an extremely backward country, although every single economic indicator puts us significantly ahead of them.

I would hope, for Myanmar’s sake, that they apologise for this open act of hostility along our border. As far as it seems, our authorities seem to want to apply restraint, for the sake of diplomacy, but should the Burmese take things too far, I am sure we will react appropriately.

How to solve: Each number in our CODE-CRACKER grid represents a different letter of the alphabet. For example, today 13 represents T so fill T every time the figure 13 appears.

You have one letter in the control grid to start you off. Enter it in the 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.

June 4 Sammy In a civilised country, the chief executive would never dream of making any comments about “protecting” anyone from the rule of law. Ahh … the “chetona” style of democracy in full force.

Digging roads in the monsoon

KKB Sammy: Look here boyo. What’s your problem with “chetona”? You are distracting us. But, as for the family from Narayanganj, the PM is only doing what she has learnt to do – put her sycophants above all other considerations.

June 5

SAM Naturally, digging up roads alongside heavy traffic, and especially in rainy weather, is indeed dirty and risky. The whole thing could well be the result of usual public work procedure, linked with our financial year (July-June). The annual budget is passed, say, by the last day of June. However roads and housing, and related public road-building across the country get their funds released, at the earliest, by the end of September or the first week of October. Then tenders are called for, often re-tendered, evaluated, and sent from across the country for the approval of the ministry or department head office, which is usually in Dhaka.

The final approval, for issuing the work Order, is received at the local office, not before the end of November, at the earliest. Work orders are finally issued, say, by the end of January.

The only sound and reasonable solution would be to have the financial year the same as the calendar year (Jan-Dec). Then one can expect the work to start at the site.

Leading the fight against poverty June 4

23 Interesting interview. Hopefully our planning minister will be successful in achieving his goals regarding eradicating poverty.

Khagrachhari I agree with the previous comment and I believe that it is important to eradicate poverty as soon as possible. As the planning minister puts it, it is important to educate the people of Bangladesh so that they can stand on their own two feet, and contribute to the economy to make Bangladesh a better place to live for future generations.

CROSSWORD ACROSS 1 Adulterate (6) 5 Boring tool (3) 7 First woman (3) 8 Tempt (6) 11 Favourite (3) 12 Make up for (5) 14 To let stand! (4) 16 Courage (5) 18 Singer (5) 20 English river (4) 21 Build (5) 23 Ventilate (3) 24 Widen (6) 27 Perfect score (3) 28 Place for pigs (3) 29 Annoy (6)

DOWN 1 Female deer (3) 2 Wager (3) 3 Airman (7) 4 Religious denomination (4) 5 Electrical unit (6) 6 Units of capacity (6) 9 Musical sound (4) 10 Vast age (3) 13 Stinging plants (7) 14 Wanders off (6) 15 Exerted power (6) 17 Outlet (4) 19 Blushing (3) 22 Quote (4) 25 Insect (3) 26 Corn spike (3)

Evil people politics We need NGOs such as Shiree in our country in making poverty history.

CALVIN AND HOBBES Pardon?

June 5

Ekram Kabir Great headline!

Raihan Hadi Please, please, please have this translated and published in Bangla as well!! People sooo need to learn social etiquette and behaviour! Good one!

ETP must for new capital houses

YESTERDAY’S SOLUTIONS CODE-CRACKER

CROSSWORD

June 5

PEANUTS

Muhammad Eusha Farcical.

Dipu Moni hails PM’s daughter violating JS rule June 5

kabdullah This parliament came into being through an extraordinarily farcical election and, hence, all parliamentary activities are “irrelevant” anyway.

We can take a little pride June 5

Wahid Choudhury Very well written. Thank you.

SUDOKU

DHAKA TRIBUNE

Op-Ed

Wednesday, June 11, 2014

11

Areas of concern n FS Aijazuddin

A

More fans than politicians

SYED ZAKIR HOSSAIN

Flags in our hearts

A

n Mohammad Ali Sattar s the FIFA World Cup kicks off tomorrow, it’s time to write a few lines about flags, sports, and the ever-dominating politics that dares to smear sports these days.

Like entertainment and glamour, politics and sports also make strange news. Add to that the bookies and their agents, going round corridors and lavatories of sportsmen, organisers, and sponsors to get their betting right!

Amidst this clamour, the world is visited by the 20th edition of the World Cup tourney. Joy and enthusiasm know no bounds. The world is brimming with ecstasy, fear and excitement. There is no expression to illustrate the feeling. No one knows the complexion of the rollercoaster ride that the Earth is likely to take along with the teams fighting for honour.

Along with the fans watching the clashes, omnipresent nexuses will be at work stashing away billions in bets and stakes.

The World Cup wind is blowing very strongly across Bangladesh as well. We don’t know how things are shaping up in other places, we are sure that Bangladesh is set to greet the event with a full heart and cheers.

As you move along the roads and streets, and in the alleys of cities and towns, you will behold the flags and streamers of different countries flying high.

Clean and elegant pieces of cloth displaying the colours of different countries are fluttering in the breeze, giving the skyline a grand look. This excitement is absent in any other contest. It happens only in these times that come once every four years.

Indeed a great time!

the flags that carry different meanings and show ideas. Apart from national and global events, flags are also used at war fronts by soldiers. The history of battles and wars are full of instances when the winning party would hoist their flags up in the skies of the occupied land. That, perhaps, is the strong-

The World Cup wind is blowing very strongly across Bangladesh. We are set to greet the event with a full heart and cheers

But all is not smooth about the flags.

Don’t we have reservations about the flags in our country, even if it is on the wings at times of ongoing cricket or football matches?

Before we move on, let’s find out about flags. People started waving flags some 4,000 years back. Authentic flag design of ancient peoples includes a metal flag from Iran, ca 3,000BC. The first type of flag was vexilloid.

These first flags or vexilloids were metal or wooden poles with carvings on top. About 2,000 years ago, pieces of fabric or material were added to some vexilloids for decoration. These looked more like the flags we know today.

We have various types of symbols in

est message given out to the world and the people about the emotions and sentiments attached to flags.

We also use flags on sad occasions.

Flags are flown at half-mast to honour the dead, and draped over the coffins of national heroes. So, flags mean a lot to the people of the world!

During celebrations and while expressing solidarity we have flags flown across the boundaries. When hearts meet, flags do not matter! It is the people that embrace each other during the time of peace and friendship, and at good times.

In the last ICC T20 World Cup, a certain quarter in Dhaka raised the question of our patriotism and sover-

eignty over the flying of the Indian and Pakistani flags in the cricket stands.

It was a game of cricket, nothing else! We have our preferred teams, we have our favourite players in any team, and we can be enthusiastic about them. We can support a certain team (if Bangladesh is not playing in that particular game). We as individuals cannot be dictated over our liking and support.

Soon after the objections were raised, the guards at the stadium entrance seized the miniature (and also big) flags from the supporters who toiled hard to get in to enjoy the proceedings of the day. Mind you, they paid for their seats. Who cares?

Politics came into play. The twisted minds don’t ever tire of playing with people’s sentiments.

Why don’t we hear objections about raising flags atop households in every bend of the town? Bangladesh is lightyears away from taking part in the finals of the World Cup tourney, but we are there in the celebrations.

The flags of Brazil, Argentina, Germany, and others are flying high, and no one seems to be bothered. The reason for this smugness could be that there are no Indian or Pakistani flags up in the air.

Lets learn to live in peace and harmony, at least when it comes to sports.

Remember, there are innumerable sports fans around the world, but much fewer politicians. l Mohammad Ali Sattar is a DT columnist.

seismic shift has occurred in Indian foreign policy. Nothing has demonstrated the change more than Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s selection of the firebrand Sushma Swaraj as his minister of external affairs.

It is as daring a step as the nomination

by President Barack Obama in 2008 of Hilary Clinton as his secretary of state – a fearless opponent tamed into a feared subordinate.

Since 1947, with a few exceptions, Indian prime ministers felt comfortable with external ministers of his/ her choice only when they themselves occupied that post, eg Jawaharlal Nehru, Indira Gandhi, felt comfortable with an Rajiv Gandhi. Interestingly, non-Congress parties had no such qualms. They trusted their colleagues, which is why the names of IK Gujral, Jaswant Singh, and Yashwant Sinha appear later on the MEA’s walls.

The tenure of IK Gujral saw the enunciation of his doctrine, addressed initially to five countries – Nepal, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Bhutan, and the Maldives. The two Saarc countries prominent by their absence were Pakistan and Afghanistan.

Gradually, that doctrine (hawks within each country notwithstanding) gained acceptance as an aspiration, if not a commitment, by all Saarc countries. It found consummation on May 26, 2104, when the Saarc leaders or their representatives submerged their differences and converged on New Delhi to attend Modi’s swearing-in as prime minister of India.

It was more than just a display to the world of regional good neighbourliness. Although an EU-style integration in this volatile area is still light-years away, their attendance served as a message addressed to a number of audiences. The Sri Lankans have a Tamil constituency to consider, the Nepalese trade imperatives. Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif decided sagely to go, bearing an olive branch, not a swagger stick.

Whatever languages they speak at home, the Saarc leaders addressed their Indian host-public in a common lingua. Each Saarc member had come as an independent state, not from an admission of regional inferiority, and that the word cooperation was not an anagram for hegemony.

There is unlikely to be a disconnect between Modi and his external affairs minister. She has made up his mind Modi’s plebeian coronation took place like many of his political rallies, in the open, on the footpath, except that on this occasion it was on the footsteps of the majestic Rashtrapati Bhavan.

It was a searing summer afternoon.

Whoever chose the location had more than the number or the comfort of the invitees in mind. The solemnity of such occasions are supposed to over-

ride heat exhaustion.

Any complaining attendee would have been well-advised to read Modi’s life. It is a supra-Gandhian exercise in self-control and self-abnegation. Modi eats alone, abjures salt and spices, bathes in cold water regardless of the season, and over many months has never slept in the same house twice.

He will not be the first sanyasi to enter 3 Race Course Road. He will though be the first to occupy it.

Modi’s plebeian coronation took place like many of his political rallies, in the open, on the footpath

His pilgrimage to New Delhi began in 1967 when, at the age of 17, Modi left his home in Vadnagar (Gujarat) to travel throughout India. He returned unannounced two years later, tasted his mother’s cooking and left again, never to return.

Working his way up as a parachak of the Rashtriya Swayamsewak Sangh (RSS), he put his party before his own ambitions. His loyalty to it remained unshakeable, despite being ostracised by an ungrateful BJP high command after a particularly successful yatra from Kanyakumari by Kashmir. He was forced to spend years in exile, like Deng Xiaoping, and like Deng, he survived and rebounded, vaulting over his detractors.

Sushma Swaraj has never had to chew such bitter herbs of defeat. She became a state cabinet minister in Harayana at the age of 25. Deftly, she moved up the party ranks, and served in both the Rajya Sabha and the Lok Sabha. In 2009, before she was 60, she became BJP’s leader of the opposition.

Live coverage of Lok Sabha sessions gave her irrepressible voice a national reach her opponents now rue.

Experienced in parliamentary procedure (Modi had never seen the inside of the Lok Sabha before his election as PM), adamantine in her beliefs, she will be his Chamunda Devi, the Mahisha-mardini sent into the field to battle against the asuras of this imperfect world.

Sonia Gandhi and Manmohan Singh differed often, especially on Pakistan.

There is unlikely to be a disconnect between Modi and his external affairs minister. She has made up his mind.

Their focus will be radial – on China, Russia and then the US – in that order, with India at its epicentre.

As an adversary, Sushma Swaraj is known to give no quarter. She has conceded an eighth by having Modi’s speeches translated into Chinese.

Her gesture had a Nixonian touch to it. For wasn’t it President Nixon who admitted to Premier Zhou Enlai 40 years ago, in February 1972, that “we believe your interest here is far greater than ours?” l FS Aijazuddin is an author and art historian.

This article was first published in Dawn.

Tolerating the intolerable n Ashikur Rahman

I

write this piece knowing well that some may consider or categorise me as a neo-Marxist. I have no reservation towards such observation, even though it will be grossly incorrect, since, unlike Marx, I do believe in the idea of private property and the importance of markets in ensuring how any society deals with its resources. Yet, there are issues and facts that are standing tall in front us, which we cannot and should not tolerate. This is because by tolerating these injustices, we belittle ourselves in front of our conscience. The subject that has triggered this judgement is the acute state of human inequality in our world.

To illustrate what I mean, a recent Oxfam report points out that global inequality has deteriorated sharply over the last few decades. In fact the report states three critical issues. To start with, the study pinpoints that approximately half of the world’s wealth is now owned by 1% of the population.

The study also notes that the wealth of the top 1% amounts to $110 trillion.

That is 65 times the total wealth of the bottom 3.5 billion of world’s population. Lastly, the bottom half of the world’s population has the same as the richest 85 people in the world.

Of course, one can defend this economic phenomenon in two ways.

First, some argue that those at the top 1% are there since they could create value for the industry through attaining innovation in their respective product or services, and there is no harm in realising the return to one’s decent labour.

Now, while this argument might appear convincing if you contemplate the top 1% only constitutes individuals like Bill Gates, Mark Zuckerberg, and Steve Jobs, the truth is the extreme concentration of global wealth we witness is a direct result of inequality in the distribution of political power.

Interest groups, corporations, or individuals who have the political leverage to shape policies have essentially used their positions to create rents in their industries, which we view as profits, dividends, and bonuses in their financial statements. An anecdotal example is the financial industry that rewarded gamblers for taking the world economy to a recession, and then the political class bailed them out without even ensuring a thorough punishment for the previous movers and shakers of the industry. In essence, people at the top have implicitly handcuffed the government from being effective regulators, a phenomenon that dispropor-

tionately benefits them.

Second, it is often argued that inequality in modern times simply means that while most are doing well, some are doing even better. Nothing could be further from the truth since what it means in contemporary times is that while some live quite lavishly, others live like mere animals.

The concentration of global wealth is a direct result of inequality in the distribution of political power

To make this argument even more bluntly, it is worth revisiting the economic story of India that witnessed buoyant growth over the last two decades and, at present, is home to a few billionaires. In colonial India, some restaurants carried a sign on their door that said dogs and Indians were not allowed. Six decades after independence, can we really argue that the

opportunities that are available to the have-nots are any different from those of a stray dog of India?

What is deeply disturbing is that our societies have not only started accepting such human inequality, but have also accepted the view that the development process that has produced such acute misery needs no revision.

Probably that is why the dominant popular narrative in India views Ambani’s billion dollar 27-storey private residence – in a city where the majority lives in – as slum as India’s jewel.

To illustrate what has happened, Kaushik Basu, World Bank’s chief economist notes: “The bulk of India’s aggregate growth is occurring through a disproportionate rise in the incomes at the upper end of the income ladder.”

Consequently, at present, 43% of all Indian children below the age of five are undernourished, and 48% stunted.

Nearly half of Indian women of childbearing age are anemic. Other nations too have slowly realised this.

The protests surrounding the World Cup in Brazil opens up an imperative political debate concerning what the powerless will no longer accept in the name of superficial prestige. That is, when millions struggle to make a basic living, extravaganza in the midst of extreme inequality will no longer work as

BIGSTOCK

the opium that has historically allowed the haves to con the have-nots.

The truth is, the world that we have inherited intellectually knows that the way forward is not what is proposed

by International Financial Institutions, or any super power. Today, the demand for greater distributive justice is not rooted in Marxist philosophy.

Rather, it is an acknowledgement of the fact that most democracies are now effectively plutocracies, and

extreme concentration of political power within the global political order means that a “few” decide what the rules of the game should be for the general underprivileged “many.” Thus, without challenging how politics effectively functions, there is no hope for attaining an equitable society across human space. l Ashikur Rahman is Senior Economist, Policy Research Institute.

12

DHAKA TRIBUNE

Entertainment

Wednesday, June 11, 2014

A rendezvous with celebs cheering for Fifa World Cup

Rest in peace baul Abdul Karim Shah n Entertainment Desk On June 10, veteran Lalon singer baul Abdul Karim Shah died at his residence in Kushtia from old age complications. Winner of the Ekushey Padak in 2011, the 86 year old iconic baul singer was a devotee of Lalon Shah and like the mystic bard, he dedicated his life in search of the existence of God and humanity through his songs, till death claimed him.

Earlier, Baul Karim Shah was admitted in Kushtia Medical College Hospital on April 19 with acute bronchial problems and was brought to Dhaka later for proper medical attention. The district administrations of Kushtia took over the duties of the treatment after local dailies reported that due to the lack of funds for treatment, the singer’s health is deteriorating. He returned home on June 4 to Chaurhash Canalpara in Kushtia after getting seeing doctors at the Dhaka Medical College Hospital.

The first namaz-e-janaza was held at the Kushtia Chaurhash Eid ground and second namaz-e-janaza was held at the Kamarpara field of Mirpur Upazila in Kushtia.

Complying with his last wish, the singer was buried at the Kamarpara field where he arranged a Baul festival with his fellows, said Rizia Khatun, wife of Baul Karim Shah.

The folk singer and lyricist performed in Bangladesh Television and Bangladesh Betar along with several national TV channels. He also performed live in USA, UK, Japan, India, and Australia. l

Final episode of popular serial, Nona Jol From left, Nirob, Naim, Ilias Kanchan and Misha Showdagar cheering for the upcoming football World Cup

n Waliul Mukta Actor who are avid football fans, will be watching all the action of the upcoming World Cup closely and will be supporting their favourite teams.

In a lively session with four actors including Ilias Kanchan, Misha Showdagar, Naim, and Nirob, wearing their favourite team’s jersey, we had a chitchat session in the Dhaka Tribune office. Here is what we discovered:

Ilias Kanchan

Ilias Kanchan is not only an actor but in the 1980’s, he was playing football well. “I have played football since childhood.” We asked him about how he got hooked on the game

SAZZAD HOSSAIN

and the actor recalling his old days said: “I and some of the artists organised a friendly football match for a charity cause during the horrific flood of 1988. We participated in a football game to raise funds for the victims.

I never liked the idea being a goal keeper, but in that particular match I had to play the role.” The hero is supporting Argentina and Messi is his absolute favourite player.

a decade ago. It is my believe that the sport has trained me to be a better actor. While playing in the field, I was conscious about my posture and also my attitude, which whetstoned my acting skills as well.”

When asked who will he be cheering the loudest for? The actor said: “I am supporting Brazil but my favourite player is Portuguese footballer, Cristiano Ronaldo.

Misha Showdagar

Naim

Popular villain of Dhallywood, Misha Showdagar wanted to be a football player once upon a time. The sport has an influence over his acting career. Talking about his enthusiasm for football, Misha said: “From childhood, I have been introduced to this sport. I was a regular player almost

Heston’s Fantastical Food n Entertainment Desk Watch out for “Heston’s Fantastical Food” on TLC at 7:30pm. A cookery program starring chef Heston Blumenthal, the programme follows Blumenthal as he super-sizes a variety of food for presentation to members of the public. The premise of the show is for Heston Blumenthal, chef-patron of the Michelin starred restaurants The Fat Duck, Dinner

by Heston Blumenthal and The Hinds Head, to super-size a variety of food on themed episodes in order to excite the public. These challenges includes creating a pub out of pies which included an arch made from pastry, and a cone which would hold one tonne of ice cream.

The show was produced by production company Betty TV with the titles and bumpers designed by Pete&Tom, and theme music

by Ben Parsons. l

Actor Naim seems to be a die-hard fan of team Germany. This time, his finger is crossed and hopes that Germany would take the trophy home. In his school days, Naim was always in the field. He was quite well attuned in spot kicks. Unfortunately, he only got the chance at the game till

his high school days. Naim said: “I was in a government school where I got the privilege of playing in a huge field. During every annual sports day, I use to be a candidate for the game and compete with the students from other grades.”

Nirob

“My entire family supports Brazil but I feel left out as my favourite team is Argentina.

There is always a hype in our home when Brazil plays against Argentina. During the World Cup season, my family and friends are going to be glued in front of the TV,” said Nirob.

His idol is Maradona and now he is a Messi fan. He dreams of spending time with Messi and take a “selfie” with the player. l

Psy and Snoop Dogg’s video a complete disaster? n Entertainment Desk In of the oddest collaborations known to pop, Psy and Snoop Dogg have teamed-up for a new song called “Hangover.”

The video, which debuted in the US on Jimmy Kimmel Live, features the two singers trying various Korean cures to get rid of the detrimental side-effects of the night before.

“Hangover” has already received over 3.5 million views on YouTube in just over 24 hours, however some fans are not impressed with the K-pop king’s collaboration with Snoop Dogg.

Snoop Dogg fans commenting underneath the video on YouTube expressed their disappointment with the rapper, with one writing: “This is the biggest insult to the history of rap since the birth of

Sonakshi Sinha in woman-centric action n Entertainment Desk Filmmaker A.R Murugadoss, who is basking in the success of his latest Hindi directorial “Holiday: A Soldier Is Never Off Duty”, is all set to direct actress Sonakshi Sinha in a woman-centric action flick in the language. The project is expected to go on floors in November.

This will be the second time Sonakshi will be teaming up with him after “Holiday...”. “It’s official! My next is a woman-oriented action film directed by the genius behind Ghajini & Holiday @ ARMurugadoss! We start in November,” Sonakshi posted on her Twitter account.

Murugadoss is currently busy wrapping up Tamil actioner “Kaththi”, which is slated for a Diwali release. It features superstar Vijay in the lead.

“Holiday...”, which was a remake of Murugadoss’ own Tamil film “Thuppakki”, has raked in good moolah in its opening weekend in the country. l

Kanye West.”

Psy fans seemed more concerned that the singer had disowned his K-pop roots to sing

with a world-famous US artist, and commented that the song sounded more like “Snoop Dogg ft Psy” than “Psy ft Snoop Dogg.” l

It’s not a rosy time for Ranbir Kapoor and Katrina Kaif as they have got involved in a spat again. A while ago, the duo was spotted roaming around hand in hand at a shopping mall in South Africa.

Suddenly a tiff took place on the sets of “Jagga Jasoos.” As latest reports have revealed Ranbir was shooting an action stunt for the film while Katrina, who was also present on the sets at that time, told him that her “Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara” co-star Hrithik Roshan performed a similar stunt in their upcoming film, “Bang Bang.”

Ranbir was not comfortable with such a comparison with Hrithik and could not accept it in a right way.

After this comment Ranbir was quite upset and was reluctant to resume his shoot. Then Katrina stepped

The last episode of the popular serial “Nona Jol” will be telecast tonight at 8 pm on Boishakhi TV. The drama is written by Prantho Shahriar and co-directed by Shayeduzzaman Talukdar and Jaman Uddin Jamil.

After Sameer goes to Cox’s Bazaar with a group of tourists, their lives become mired with many complications. Many mysterious events happen one after another, centred around an archaeological statue made of gold. Will they finally find the gold statue? Who is at the heart of this conspiracy – Masud, Amjad or a member of their own team? To find out how the mystery is finally solved, keep your eyes on Boishakhi TV tonight.

The various roles in the serial are portrayed by Raisul Islam Asad, Wahida Mollik Jolly, Shatabdi Wadud, Masud Mahiuddin, Sharmin Joha Shashi, Moyeen Ahmed, Meherin Islam Nisha, Muntaheena Toya, Aditi Mahmud, Shansi Faruk and many others. The drama is produced under Tom Creation. l

TODAY IN DHAKA Exhibition

Of Man and Earth II Time: 12pm – 8pm Bengal Art Lounge, Gulshan Avenue Rd-131, Circle -1 Unconsciously Conscious Time: 9am to 9pm Alliance Francaise de Dhaka Road-3, Dhanmondi Group Art Show

By Chitralekha Time: 3pm – 8pm

Ranbir-Katrina’s spat on Jagga Jasoos sets n Entertainment Desk

n Entertainment Desk

in to apologise and promised that she won’t make such comparisons in future.

Now we wonder if Ranbir is apprehensive about Hrithik as rumours have been doing rounds that Katrina has come closer to the “Jodha Akbar” actor since his separation from his wife, Suzanne Khan. l

Dhaka Art Center, House 60, Road 7/A, Dhanmondi R/A

Film

The Amazing Spider-Man 2 (3D) Pompeii (3D) & (2D) 300 Rise of an Empire 3 Days Kill Tarkata Time: 10am – 10pm Star Cineplex, Level 8 Bashundhara City 13/3 Ka, Panthopath

George Clooney is planning to marry in Venice n Entertainment Desk The ‘Monuments Men’ actor and human rights lawyer Amal Alamuddin – who got engaged in April – are to tie the knot in Italy in September and decided against holding their wedding at his Lake Como estate because they felt it wasn’t private enough.

A source told the New York Post newspaper’s Page Six column: ‘’George and Amal want to be married in Italy, but they need a location that offers them and their guests privacy.’’

George – who also didn’t

want to inconvenience his Lake Como neighbours with the attention his wedding would bring – and Amal were seen dining in Venice a few weeks ago after touring wedding venues and are said to be planning to marry at a palace in the city.

The pair visited Venetian restaurant Da Ivo along with the 53-year-old actor’s bodyguard and his girlfriend, and they enjoyed a feast of sauteed shellfish, smoked tuna, mussel soup, crayfish and artichoke risotto and charcoal-grilled seabass accompanied by Prosecco and white wine. l

France have failed to score in their three World Cup openers, drawing two 0-0 & losing 1-0 to Senegal in 2002

Sport

DHAKA TRIBUNE

13 Annual global legal betting market

US$150-200bn Annual global betting in cricket

US$30-50bn

Illegal betting market on each IPL match

US$100-120m Total related turnover in each season

1 DAY TO G O

SLH/DT INFOGRAPHIC

Did you know?

Wednesday, June 11, 2014

US$11bn

14 Spain can cope with packed defences: Del Bosque

15 $150-200bn gambled every year in sport

Hathurusingha targets 2nd round in 2015 ICC WC With the 2015 ICC World Cup in Australia and New Zealand less than a year away, new head coach of the Bangladesh cricket team Chandika Hathurusingha targeted a spot in the second round of the mega event while talking with the media at the Sher-e-Bangla National Stadium yesterday. Following his arrival in Dhaka on Monday night, the former Sri Lankan cricketer officially took charge of the Tigers yesterday and witnessed his charges during practice at Mirpur.

Bangladesh do not possess an encouraging record in either Australia or New Zealand with their last tour of New Zealand four years ago ending in disappointment as the Tigers conceded both the Test and ODI series losing all of their games.

The 45-year old head coach, however, said if the national side prepare well then a place in the second round is very much a possibility.

“It is going to be a challenge for sub-continent teams with the conditions. So if we prepare intelligently enough or specifically enough, we will go far. I am happy to be in the second round, that’s my first goal,” said Hathurusingha.

“The plan for us is to build on what we have. I haven’t spoken to the team yet. I haven’t seen them playing for the last four years because we hardly get to see them in Australia.

“I know the capabilities of some of the players when I was with Sri Lanka before 2010. Some of the players are coming into their peak. The main thing is we have to get the right combination and be prepared to play in Australia and New Zealand,” added Hathurusingha, who was the batting-cum-assistant coach of the Sri Lankan national side for

a duration of 18 months from 2006-2010.

When queried about his immediate plans, the former assistant coach of Australian club side New South Wales Blues informed that he would like to see Bangladesh win both at home and away on a consistent basis.

The former Sri Lanka A team coach’s first assignment with the Tigers will be the upcoming three-match ODI series at home against India.

“Overall, my goal is to improve the team as a whole and if I can, help the organisation (Bangladesh Cricket Board) to get better and support the team. That’s my main concern,” said Hathurusingha.

“There should be continuous success, not one or two series wins. My main goal is to make sure that when my two years (contract) are finished, Bangladesh are in a good position to win matches at home and away,” he said.

Hathurusingha, who also served as the coach of Australian Big Bash side Sydney Thunder, was appointed head coach of the Tigers on May 19 after the sudden resignation of previous coach, Australian Shane Jurgensen. Despite the fact that Jurgensen’s contract ran till the next World Cup down under, he had resigned from his post citing the reason that he did not have enough freedom while working.

Hathurusingha though notified that he was aware of the obstacles a foreign coach faces in Bangladesh and said cricket’s governing body in the country is ready to provide him all kinds of support.

“It is something that I have spoken to them when they offered me the job.

They are prepared to give us all the support. I think the current board really wants to make change and that’s what they are doing. Me being here is a result of that,” said Hathurusingha. l

Ticket sales start tomorrow

Excitement yet to reach fever-pitch

Tickets of the upcoming three-match ODI series between Bangladesh and India will be available at designated branches of United Commercial Bank (UCB) and UCash from tomorrow.

This time, VAT will be added with the purchase of tickets. The Bangladesh Cricket Board has informed that one person will be able to buy tickets of all the three games together.

Tickets will be available at UCB branches located at Mirpur, Bijoynagar, Dhanmondi, Uttara and Bashundhara.

India will reach Dhaka on June 13 to take part in the series with all the three games slated to be held at Sher-e-Bangla National Stadium on June 15, 17 and 19.l

With the inauguration of the Fifa World Cup just a day away, Sao Paulo, the city slated to host the opening game of the greatest show on earth appeared in a sombre mood with sporadic festivities.

It may sound bizarre but in first sight a neutral person might find Dhaka, with its colourful flags of different countries flying atop the roof, more passionate towards the soccer extravaganza.

Newly appointed Bangladesh cricket team coach Chandika Hathurusingha looks on as captain Mushfiqur Rahim takes a catch during practice at Mirpur yesterday

Committee formed to probe SDS incident The Ministry of Youth and Sports formed a four-member probe committee yesterday, to investigate the boundary wall collapse at the newly-constructed Sylhet Divisional Stadium.

The committee has been given three working days to submit its report to the ministry after the completion of the inquiry.

The green and yellow Brazilian flag is rarely sighted at any rooftop apart from all the commercial shops and shopping malls. The scene of a gigantic Brazilian flag reaching the ground floor from the roof of a five-storied building is likely to amaze the Sao Paulo residents. Gigantic flags are not visible in Sao Paulo with only one huge Brazilian flag seen hoisted in front of the Federal

According to police, the wall collapsed yesterday at 2am near the Chaptal workers’ colony of Lukkatura tea garden, due to heavy downpour.

The incident killed three members of the same family – Jahed, his sister Nasima Akhter and nephew Ruhul.

In a press release, Shafiqul Islam, the ministry’s public relations officer, claimed that the boundary wall was part of a separate project undertaken

Court. Of course, it was an official act, not a display of passion from a die-hard Brazilian football fan.

Bangladesh also has a tradition of flying the flags of respective countries in private cars and different other vehicles; only one car was seen in Sao Paulo that had a Brazilian flag attached with it.

Merchandising of counterfeit Brazilian jerseys in the roadside shops was being sold at the rate of knots and resembled Bangladesh where the law enforcement agencies occasionally chase them away to clear the pavements only for the vendors to come back to the scenario later onwards. The latest Brazilian jersey boasts a ‘Y’ type collar and in the roadside it costs 10 Brazilian Reals, equivalent to $5. Neymar

by the then BNP-led government in FY2004-05, and not a part of the current government’s recently finished FY 2013-14 stadium project.

The State Minister of Youth and Sports Biren Sikder ordered the authority concerned to form a probe committee to find out the reason behind the collapse.

Shafiq also said those found responsible for the incident would be pun-

naturally topped the advertising and promotional acts and coach Luiz Felipe Scolari and forward Fred were the other notable faces among the promotional acts.

Apart from jerseys the latest style Vuvuzela, mainly merchandised by non-Brazilians, is a popular item.

People do not have to put additional pressure on their lungs to blow the Vuvuzela now, instead the attached handpump helps to create sound.

However, the media contents, both print and electronic, are flooded with World Cup related stories and it somehow rings true that most of the football pundits know the Brazilian team better than the national coach ‘Big Phil’ or to some other just ‘Felipao’. The media

Bangladesh red cards World Cup flags Authorities in western Bangladesh pleaded with football fans Tuesday to remove tens of thousands of Brazilian and Argentinian flags from their rooftops as World Cup fever grips the normally cricket-mad nation.

Ahead of Thursday’s big kick-off in Brazil, many Bangladeshi towns and cities have been turned into seas of either yellow and green or blue and white in a reflection of the huge support for the South American giants.

But Mustafizur Rahman, government administrator of Jessore district, which is home to 2.7 million people, said the mass display of support for the tournament’s two favourites was disrespectful to Bangladesh’s own flag.

“We don’t mind people wearing jerseys of their favourite teams or use billboards or banners. But it does not look good when flags of foreign nations

fly on your rooftops.”

Appeals had been issued through newspapers for fans to take down their flags while local government officials were driving around villages in remote areas with similar appeals, Rahman added.

Although Bangladeshis are better known for their love of cricket, football matches can draw big crowds here.

Bangladesh spent $4 million in appearance fees to host a friendly between a Lionel Messi-led Argentina side and Nigeria in September 2011.

Despite never qualifying for the World Cup, the South Asian nation first developed its obsession with Brazil and Argentina in 1982 when television began broadcasting the tournament matches live across the country.

During the 2010 World Cup, when power cuts hit television coverage, riots erupted and factories were ordered to close to avoid further blackouts.l

MUMIT M

ished, adding that the state minister had instructed the authority to take steps in this regard.

The committee will be led by Manzurul Quader, joint secretary at the ministry, and will include Pijush Kanti Nath, project director of the National Sports Council, the director (admin) of the council, and a representative of the Sylhet divisional commissioner. l

personnel continuously discusses the ins-and-outs of the ‘Selecao’. Khairul, a Dhaka resident living in Sao Paulo for the last couple of years, was busy helping around the Bangladeshi journalists grasp the Portuguese language. Globo TV on Monday transmitted a documentary on Brazilian goalkeeper Julio Caesar displaying all his brilliant saves of the past. All the dailies were full of football reports and articles with big, colourful pictures.

Pele, the king of Brazilian football, was seen being chased around by numerous television and newspaper reporters and in a spontaneous interview, ‘O Rei’ (the king) hoped that Brazil and Uruguay would contest the grand finale on July 13 in Rio de Janeiro. l

Neymar gives Brazil momentary scare

Brazilian national team player Neymar reacts while feeling discomfort during a training session in Rio de Janeiro on Monday

REUTERS

Brazil briefly held its breath when Neymar went down clutching his right ankle in training on Monday, but the incident turned out to be nothing more than a momentary scare.

The fact that the 22-year-old forward went down when none of his national team colleagues were near him suggested a potential problem, just three days ahead of Brazil’s opening World Cup game against Croatia in Sao Paulo.

However, the striker quickly got back up and finished the training game at the Selecao’s Granja Comary base in Teresopolis.

A sprain to Neymar’s right ankle earlier this year sidelined him from Barcelona’s ranks for just under four weeks.

Monday’s training session indicated that coach Luiz Felipe Scolari will send out the same side that beat Serbia 1-0 in last Friday’s final warm-up friendly in Sao Paulo when they tackle the Croatians. l

14

DHAKA TRIBUNE

Bosnia won’t man-mark Messi: coach Bosnia coach Safet Susic said Monday he didn’t plan to man-mark Argentine superstar Lionel Messi for his side’s first ever World Cup showdown on Sunday in the Maracana. “We never put a player on another. We have Besic but putting him only on Messi wouldn’t be very good,” said Susic after a 5-1 warm-up win over Santos. Susic told reporters he preferred a zonal system and that whose job it would be to close Messi down would depend on where the Barcelona striker happened to be at any given time.

–AFP

Sport

Wednesday, June 11, 2014

‘Come along and watch us Zlatan’

Ayew hat-trick sparks Ghana Jordan Ayew scored three goals and Asamoah Gyan netted another Monday in his return to the starting lineup as Ghana blanked South Korea 4-0 in a World Cup warm-up match. Ayew opened the scoring in the 11th minute, followed with another goal in the 53rd minute and completed the hat trick in the 89th minute. Gyan, the former Sunderland striker, scored in the 44th minute. He had been among reserves earlier in Ghana’s World Cup tuneups but was among 10 players moved into the starting lineup.

–AFP

Dani Alves is a former, and possible future, team-mate of Zlatan Ibrahimovic, and the Brazil full-back is hoping to see the big striker at the World Cup despite Sweden’s failure to qualify for the finals. “Ibrahimovic is a special person, someone I like very much. It is a shame Sweden didn’t qualify but he is welcome to come here and watch the World Cup,” Alves said when asked by a Swedish journalist about a campaign to get the Paris Saint-Germain striker to attend the tournament in Brazil.

–AFP

Subway workers suspend strike Subway workers in Sao Paulo suspended Monday a strike that has caused traffic chaos in the World Cup host city but warned the work-stoppage could resume when the tournament kicks off.

The union’s vote will come as a relief to commuters in the business hub of 20 million people as the city prepares for the opening ceremony and the Brazil-Croatia game on Thursday.

After preparations marred by delays, overspending and protests, officials want to avoid traffic mayhem when the world’s eyes will be on Brazil for the next month.

Around a billion people worldwide are expected to watch the opening game on TV, while UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon and 12 heads of state and government will be in the stadium, which workers are rushing to finish on time.

The union decided to halt the fiveday-old walkout after transport author-

ities fired 42 employees for “just cause” over actions they took during the strike, which was ruled illegal by a court.

“Whether we put down tools or not will depend on the re-hiring of the 42 workers,” union president Altino Melo dos Prazeres said after a heated debate among workers.

“I’m a fan of Neymar and I will root for the Cup,” he said. “Nobody here wants to mess up the Cup. But we see that there’s money for the tournament but not for the workers.”

Subway workers walked out last week to demand a pay raise in the latest wave of protests and strikes that have swept Brazil ahead of the World Cup and October elections.

The union wants a 12.2 percent pay hike, but the government is offering only 8.7 percent.

Early Monday, some 150 demonstrators supporting the strikers were dispersed by riot police using tear gas after the protesters set garbage bags on fire outside a metro station.

Later 1,000 marched downtown, changing “there won’t be a Cup, there will be a strike!” l

(L-R) Germany defenders Philipp Lahm, Per Mertesacker and Kevin Grosskreutz dance with native Brazilians on the sidelines of a training session on Monday

AFP

Spain can cope with packed defences: Del Bosque Beckham tells Hodgson to unleash young guns World champions Spain have the ability to vary their trademark possession football if their World Cup Group B opponents pack their defences, according to coach Vicente del Bosque.

Spain start their bid to retain the trophy on Friday against the Netherlands, who they beat in the final four years ago in South Africa when the Dutch used a physical approach under Bert van Marwijk to try and unsettle them.

The Netherlands are now coached

by Louis van Gaal, whose philosophy continues the Dutch traditions of ‘Total Football’, but even he has admitted he will look to bolster their defence against Spain by playing five a the back.

“Possession without having depth doesn’t have any point,” Del Bosque

told Marca. “For that reason we are working so that the team can pressure to win back possession and then as a group attack.

“One thing first, football is played in many different ways and there isn’t just one. We don’t have a magic formula, we have a plan based on the players that we have available. That doesn’t mean there aren’t others who are just as good and get results.”

Del Bosque said he was not concerned if Spain’s group rivals, who also include Chile and Australia in their group, choose to sit back.

“It’s fine if they do. It suits us best being patient and looking for the gaps against teams that are defensive rather than being in games that are end-toend and out of control,” he said.

Spain are enjoying a golden period, having also won the European Championship in 2008 and 2012, but are back

in Brazil where they lost the Confederations Cup final last year against the home nation and had to face stadiums with hostile crowds.

“It is true that they whistled us in the stadiums but I think that there is a lot of respect with this as they see us as a dangerous threat,” said Del Bosque.

“We will go out and do our best. We first face Holland who are a well-organised side, well coached and I am sure that they will cause us a lot of problems. We now have nine or 10 places decided in the team and just have a couple of doubts.”

The Netherlands will be led in attack

by Robin van Persie, who has struggled for fitness this season with Manchester United but now says he is fine to play.

“I am improving and I am in good form. Basically for six years I have had one problem or another but I am used to that,” the striker told a news confer-

ence in Rio de Janeiro.

“We are not used to so much heat and humidity but we are ready and acclimatising well.”

Australia are the weakest side in the group but Chile are strong opponents who play quick, attacking football inspired by Barcelona forward Alexis Sanchez.

There is concern, though, over the fitness of midfielder Arturo Vidal who has a knee injury and is a doubt for their first group match against Australia on Friday.

“Chile have a clear style of play and we are going to give our all. We will play on the attack which is our way,” midfielder Jose Fuenzalida told a news conference in Belo Horizonte.

“We are in good form with players that have been many seasons in Europe, that have played before at a World Cup and know how to help us with the anxiety ahead of the first game.” l

Gerrard struggles in England training

Spain coach Vicente del Bosque (L) sits beside his goalkeeper Iker Casillas before they attend a training session on Monday

Balotelli set to marry model girlfriend Temperamental Italian striker Mario Balotelli ensured headlines of the positive sort on Tuesday announcing on his Twitter account he is to marry his girlfriend the Belgian model Fanny Neguesha.

The 23-year-old AC Milan star -- who is in Brazil with his country’s World Cup squad -- also posted a photograph on his Instagram account showing the beach in Rio de Janeiro where he proposed to his sweetheart.

“She said yes... The most important yes in my life. That was the place of my question! I Love you and happy birthday too ! Je t’aime my WIFE,” tweeted Balotelli both in Italian and English. l

REUTERS

England captain Steven Gerrard managed only light training on Monday ahead of the World Cup as he struggled with what was termed as a minor groin strain.

Gerrard, 34, did only a few runs down the touchline as the main squad was put through a punishing schedule at the Urca military base in Rio de Janeiro.

The Liverpool midfielder went inside before the end of the session. England staff said it was a minor ailment and they had no doubt Gerrard would be ready for England’s first Group D match against Italy on Saturday.

England staff are gradually building up rehabilitation for Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain as he recovers from a knee ligament injury suffered against Ecuador last week. l

David Beckham called on England manager Roy Hodgson to unleash his squad’s emerging youngsters at the World Cup. Hodgson has selected several gifted prodigies including Raheem Sterling, Ross Barkley and Luke Shaw for the tournament in Brazil and former England captain Beckham believes the coach shouldn’t be afraid to throw them into the fray in Brazil despite their lack of international experience.

Liverpool winger Sterling, 19, Everton midfielder Barkley, 20, and Southampton left-back Shaw, 18, have just 12 caps between them.

But Beckham himself burst onto the global stage as a 23-year-old at the 1998 World Cup in France, scoring on his first start in the competition against Colombia.

And the former Manchester United and Real Madrid midfielder is convinced England would benefit if Hodgson puts his faith in a new generation of exciting talent.

Speaking at a charity event in London on Monday, Beckham said: “People talked about how we’ve got young players going out to a World Cup, to one of the biggest competitions in the world, and are young players up for it?

I’ve no doubt they’re up for it.

“These players play in the biggest

leagues in the world. They play against some of the best players, some of the biggest players, so without a doubt, it doesn’t matter how young they are, it doesn’t matter what age they are.

“They’re prepared, they’re ready for it. You can see the good thing about having young players go into a competition is the fact that they’re not scared.

“Young players are not scared to go out there and perform and play for themselves and play for the team, and so they’ll be ready.”

England have been drawn in a tough group featuring Italy, their opening opponents on Saturday, Copa America champions Uruguay and Costa Rica.

But Beckham, who won 115 caps and played in three World Cups, is upbeat about England’s chances in Brazil.

“Yeah very optimistic,” the 39-yearold said. “Obviously I’ve been to a few myself and I know that going into a World Cup - I always believe going into any World Cup or any big competition that I used to go in as a player - that you can go all the way, and our players will be doing exactly the same.”

If England are to defy the critics in Brazil, they will need a strong showing from Manchester United striker Wayne Rooney.

Rooney has struggled at previous World Cups, failing to score in eight appearances in the competition, but Beckham is confident his old England teammate will rise to the occasion this time. l

Portugal boss agonises over star duo Portugal coach Paulo Bento is weighing up whether to gamble on both Cristiano Ronaldo and Pepe in Tuesday’s friendly with the Republic of Ireland, as the star duo race to be fit for the World Cup. The Brazilian showpiece begins on Thursday and the Portuguese face the strongly fancied Germany on June 16 in the so-called “Group of Death,” which also includes Ghana and the USA. But neither of the Real Madrid aces have been able to play a full part in Portugal’s preparations and have missed the last two warm-up games, a barely

deserved 1-0 win over Mexico and a dull 0-0 draw with Greece.

Bento would have hoped that the game against the Irish in New Jersey, in the United States, would be a final chance to fine-tune his squad with the Germany clash less than a week away.

But instead it has taken on extra significance and all eyes will be on how long -- if at all -- Bento gives Ronaldo, Pepe and Raul Meireles, another key player whose preparations have been disrupted by injury.

“Two of them trained on Saturday and Sunday and Pepe will train today,” Bento revealed on Monday.

“Their situation will depend on how they respond to training and we’ll see what our decision will be for tomor-

row’s match.

“It’s always difficult to train without the full squad and it’s always difficult to prepare for a big match like the German one without all the players fit.”

Ronaldo, 29, who has scored 49 goals in 110 matches for Portugal, has been struggling with left thigh and knee problems, while centre back Pepe has had a calf injury. Bento said he would have no qualms about risking any of the influential trio against Ireland, who did not qualify for Brazil and are rebuilding under Martin O’Neill.

“We accept that British teams usually play aggressively and are very strong in the duels, but we won’t be thinking about that (when it comes to picking Tuesday’s side),” Bento told reporters. l

England’s Danny Welback (R) performs capoeira as teammate Sturridge looks on during their visit to a sport complex in the Rocinha slum in Rio de Janeiro on Monday REUTERS

DHAKA TRIBUNE

Sport

15

Wednesday, June 11, 2014

‘Violent’ Argentine hooligans barred from Brazil

QUICK BYTES

Somerset’s Thomas takes four in four balls Somerset’s Alfonso Thomas became the first bowler in over a decade to take four wickets with four consecutive deliveries in a first-class match on Tuesday. Sussex were 33 without loss on the third day of four in a First Division County Championship match at Taunton when the 37-year-old Thomas sparked a collapse that saw the visitors lose five wickets in 10 balls without adding a single run. Cape Town-born Thomas, whose sole international appearance came in a Twenty20 match for South Africa in 2007, began his brilliant burst by bowling James Anyon for 18 and next ball had Rory Hamilton-Brown lbw before former England batsman Ed Joyce was caught behind to complete the hat-trick at the end of the 17th over of the innings. But if Sussex thought they were about to get some respite, they were mistaken as, four balls into the next over, Peter Trego dismissed Chris Nash with the help of a catch by James Hildreth.

–AFP

Pakistan cricket was dealt a new blow on Monday when former test players Herschelle Gibbs and Jacob Oram opted out of a Twenty20 competition because of a deadly attack by Taliban militants on a Karachi airport. At least 27 people were killed on Sunday when Taliban militants disguised as security forces stormed the Jinnah International Airport. South African Gibbs and New Zealander Oram had been due to play for Omar Associates next month in a high-profile T20 tournament held annually in Karachi. “We spoke to them through their agent and they were keen to come but after this incident the agent has said they have been told not to travel to Pakistan,” entrepreneur Nadeem Omar told Reuters. “What happened is most unfortunate and disappointing because we were looking forward to hosting Gibbs and Oram but we are still trying to convince them they should come to Karachi.” No test-playing nation has toured Pakistan since an attack on the Sri Lanka team in Lahore in March 2009.

–Reuters

Villa sign former England player Cole Former England midfielder Joe Cole has joined Aston Villa on a free transfer, the Premier League club said on Tuesday. Cole, 32, has signed a two-year deal after being released by West Ham United. “This is a massive club and there’s a massive opportunity for the club to push on,” he was quoted as saying on BBC Sport. “I’ve been lucky enough to have a really good career but there’s still a lot more I want to achieve.” The London-born player, who won 56 caps for England, began his career at Upton Park before moving in 2003 to Chelsea, where he won three league titles. He joined Liverpool in 2010 but could not hold down a regular first-team place, and spent the 2011-12 season on loan at French club Lille. Cole is Villa’s second signing of the close-season, after Philippe Senderos on a free transfer from Valencia.

–Reuters

Australia’s Gilmour passes away Former Australia cricketer Gary Gilmour, who dazzled in the inaugural World Cup, has passed away after a prolonged fight with ill health, Cricket Australia said on its Twitter feed on Tuesday.

The left-arm swing bowler, who was also known for his hard-hitting abilities with the bat, died at Sydney’s Royal Prince Alfred Hospital at the age of 62.

Gilmour took 54 wickets and scored a century in 15 tests but is remembered more for his heroics in the 1975 World Cup. His six wickets for 14 runs in the semi-final against arch-rivals England guided Australia to the final against West Indies in which Gilmour took five wickets in a losing cause.

–Reuters

A giant hot air balloon in the shape of Brazilís Christ The Redeemer statue in an Australian football jersey flying over the Melbourne skyline yesterday in support of the Australian team ahead of the 2014 World Cup in Brazil AFP

Irregularities galore for Acsu To ensure a fixing-free and safe playing environment during last year’s BPL, Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) appointed ICC’s Anti-Corruption and Security Unit to provide its expertise and personnel as BCB had no infrastructure, expertise, experience or a system of its own to oversee such a serious issue.

The deal with Acsu was worth Taka 16.5 million. However, according to the BPL tribunal’s complete judgment report, not only did Acsu breach the terms of the Service Agreement on ample occasions, it also breached the Bangladesh Penal Code.

The tribunal mentioned with regret in the report that BCB and Acsu did share an effective cooperation between

them and so were in a harmonious position to deal with any situation timely.

The evidences placed before the tribunal illustrate that the BCB had left Acsu to ‘get on with the job’ without realising that the obligations for enforcement of any preventive action falls upon the BCB itself and that the ICC’s anti-graft team was only acting as its agent for limited purposes according to the Services Agreement.

BCB’s carefree approach towards Acsu’s role along with its lack of intiatives to monitor what Acsu was doing on its behalf during the domestic Twenty20 tournament left the tribunal bewildered.

After holding the hearings, the tribunal found that no systems were in place to deal with specific situations

$150-200bn gambled every year in sport Most forms of gambling are legal under many jurisdictions, however, it is still illegal in many countries, for instance the sub-continent.

Gambling in sport, particularly in cricket, has been existing for some time.

The sports-betting market started to grow in the 1980s and can be attributed to extensive television coverage, the advent of remote bookmaking, both online and mobile, and the development of news betting products like ‘spread’ betting, ‘in-play’ betting, ‘spot’ betting and betting exchanges.

The legal betting market for all sports is estimated to be around $150200bn a year globally.

In cricket, the nuances and huge interest in sport are factors that encourage betting. The estimates relating to legal betting in cricket are about $30-50bn per year globally.

Estimates of the illegal betting market in the Indian Premier League matches average around $100-120m for each match with a total related turnover in the region of $11bn for each edition.

With all this money directed towards gambling and betting, it is of no surprise that people resort to corruption to better their chances of success in the bets placed by them. Betting syndicates come into existence and elaborate networks are formed to cheat the sporting public and bookmakers by abusing sporting activities. l

Mourinho turned down England because of wife Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho has revealed that his wife, Matilde, was responsible for his decision to turn down the role of England head coach in December 2007.

“It was the right decision. My wife was right. She told me not to take it,” Mourinho told reporters in London.

“We are not speaking about the job

today. We are talking about seven years ago, and I cannot wait two years for a big competition. I cannot be spending two years playing against Kazakhstan and San Marino,” added Mourinho, who had left Chelsea by mutual consent in September 2007.

The FA ultimately appointed Fabio Capello, who remained in the role until 2012, while Mourinho went on to join Inter. l

DAY’S WATCH Sony Six HD 6:00AM Pre World Cup Frinedlies 2014 Portugal v Ireland Star Sports 2 11:30PM Natwest T20 Blast Kent v Essex Sony Six 7:00AM NBA Play Off 2013-14, Final San Antonio v Miami

if they arose, no discussions with the BCB, no liaison with the local law enforcement authorities or consideration of the domestic laws of Bangladesh. No consideration was offered to the Bangladeshi spectators as Acsu, a regulatory body entrusted with the task to prevent such dishonesty, allowed a fixed match between Dhaka Gladiators and Chittagong Kings on 2nd February 2013 to take place and cheat the fee paying public consequently.

No weekly or daily meetings were held between BCB and Acsu at any point of time as required under the Services Agreement. If such irregularities were not enough, the tribunal also discoved to its utter dismay and disbelief that the Acsu representatives assigned on the ground were totally unaware of

An Indian boy heads a football in front of graffiti of Argentine football player Lionel Messi at the roadside in Kolkata yesterday AFP

Blatter takes aim at Fifa ‘destroyers’

the agreement and its terms.

And the tribunal was dumbfounded to learn that Acsu might have even breached the Bangladesh Penal Code.

There are a number of provisions in the Bangladesh Penal Code 1860 which deal with dishonest conduct and corruption by public officials. However, there are no specific provisions dealing with corruption in sports.

The tribunal accepted that arranging a fixed match, and having it played in the presence of a stadium full of unsuspecting fee paying spectators who were cheated, may amount to the breach of certain provisions of the Penal Code.

The tribunal concluded the issue recommending that Acsu must maintain close liaison in future with the relevant law authorities of Bangladesh. l

Annual global legal betting market

US$150-200bn Annual global betting in cricket

US$30-50bn

Illegal betting market on each IPL match

US$100-120m Total related turnover in each season

SLH/DT INFOGRAPHIC

Gibbs, Oram pull out of T20 event after Pakistan attack

US$11bn

Defence Brazil’s best form of attack, says Pele Brazil’s mesmeric attacking football has long delighted crowds on the world stage but a steely defence more synonymous with the likes of Italy or Germany is the biggest asset of this year’s World Cup hosts, according to Pele.

“For the first time in the history of football in Brazil, Brazil has the defence better than the attack. You see the midfield back is fantastic, very organised,” the former Brazil forward, widely regarded as the greatest ever footballer, said.

Brazil, drawn in Group A with Mexico, Cameroon and Croatia, against whom they open the tournament on Thursday in Sao Paulo, boast a host of top defensive players such as Daniel Alves, David Luiz, Ramires, Thiago Silva and Fernandinho.

“This is the first time Brazil has this difference, I hope we can adjust the midfield forward,” Pele told the BBC. Responsibility for the goals will fall squarely at the talented feet of striker Neymar, the young Barcelona frontman who already boasts some inspirational performances for Brazil and is capable of leading their charge, according to Pele.

“I wish Neymar will be the star of this World Cup!,” he said, listing stiff competition from players like Portugal’s Ronaldo and Argentina’s Messi.l

More than 2000 Argentine hooligans will be prevented from entering Brazil ahead of the World Cup because they are considered to be violent, Brazil’s Interpol chief told AFP. The 2,100 ‘barra bravas’ hooligans are already the subject of banning orders from attending domestic matches in their own country.

“The Argentine authorities have given us a basis of information and these fans will be identified and prevented from entering,” said Luiz Eduardo Navajas.

“If they manage to get past the controls and are found in Brazil, they will be deported.”

Navajas said he had no worries about European hooligans disrupting the tournament as they are already banned from travelling to Brazil.

Police delegations from all 32 countries taking part in the World Cup began working together at the International Centre for Police Cooperation in Brasilia on Monday to help World Cup security services. Their main role is to provide intelligence and even though they may be in uniform, they will not be armed. l

FIFA opens a congress Tuesday with under-fire president Sepp Blatter in a combative mood after he said racism was partly behind corruption allegations engulfing Qatar’s winning bid to host the 2022 World Cup. Global football chief Blatter blasted critics trying to “destroy” FIFA on Monday. Blatter, 78, who is poised to announce his candidacy for a fifth term as president of football’s global governing body, launched a strong defence of his term during addresses to Asian and African officials.

Speaking to the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) gathered in Sao Paulo ahead of FIFA’s 64th Congress, Blatter lashed out at his critics.

“Show unity and confirm this unity, it’s the best way to reply to all the destructors in the world,” Blatter said.

“They want to destroy, not the game, but they want to destroy the institution, because our institution is too strong,” he added. Blatter said FIFA was “so strong we are sure they’ll not destroy it.”

In separate comments to Confederation of African Football (CAF) delegates, Blatter said he believed unnamed critics of Qatar 2022 were motivated by “racism and discrimination.”

African officials in turn pointed the finger directly at the British media over the Qatar claims, accusing news outlets of waging a “hateful, defamatory and degrading” campaign against “the entire African continent.”

The same statement meanwhile praised Blatter, citing his “continuous involvement in the development of football in Africa.”

Blatter’s rallying cry comes as FIFA faces mounting pressure over its 2010 decision to award the 2022 World Cup to Qatar.l

Neesham hits ton as New Zealand dominate Jimmy Neesham became the first New Zealander to score hundreds in his first two Test matches to put the visitors in a commanding position after two days of the first Test against the West Indies at Sabina Park in Jamaica on Monday.

Neesham’s innings of 107 and a 201run sixth-wicket partnership with B.J. Watling (89) lifted the Black Caps to a total of 508 for seven declared.

BRIEF SCORE, DAY 2

New Zealand 508/7 (Williamson 113, Neesham 107; Benn 3-142, Shillingford 3-145) West Indies 19/0 (Powell 11*, Gayle 8*) Left to negotiate a tricky nine overs before the close of play, West Indies reached 19 without loss with Chris Gayle, in his 100th Test match on his home ground, to resume on the third morning with Kieran Powell.

Powell has already enjoyed a moment of good fortune, being put down by Peter Fulton at second slip in the third over of the innings off Tim Southee.

Despite an encouraging effort in the morning session when three wickets fell for 20 runs to have New Zealand

at 279 for five from their overnight position of 240 for two, the West Indies bowlers again laboured on a benign pitch throughout the afternoon.

Neesham, the 23-year-old lefthander from Auckland who launched his Test career with a century in a drawn match against India in Wellington last February, mixed watchful defiance with periods of bold aggression.

He smashed off-spinner Shane Shillingford for two sixes in the same over and had 11 fours in an innings that occupied three-and-a-half hours before he fell to a catch at the wicket off Sulieman Benn.

For Benn, who together with fellow returning spinner Shane Shillingford took three expensive wickets apiece, the experience over the first two days of the match reminded him of the tough nature of Test cricket.

Neesham’s century followed the first-day hundred of Kane Williamson, and New Zealand might have had a third century-maker except that the immediacy of the declaration in the final hour of the day forced Watling to be a bit more adventurous, the pugnacious wicketkeeper-batsman falling to a catch at deep midwicket off Shillingford.

The second session of play had contrasted sharply with the first, 129 runs being scored off 35 overs to redress the balance from the morning stumbles. l

16

DHAKA TRIBUNE

GOLD SMUGGLING

Restriction on Dhaka airport staff’s phone use Jamil Khan and n Mohammad Ashif Islam Shaon Use of mobile phones in Dhaka airporthas been made restricted for all officials and employees including the law enforcers in the wake of recent reports that some of them are involved with smuggling rings.

As per a new decision, the first- and second-grade officials will have to take permission from the authorities to use personal or official mobile phones inside the airport.

Moreover, the low-level employees both in civil and uniform will have to surrender their mobile phones at the airport’s entrance. They may use phones only in the case of emergency, but upon permission of the authorities concerned.

The law enforcement agency members will have to leave their unauthorised phones before they step inside the airport area The decision was made by the Civil Aviation Authority of Bangladesh (CAAB) recently. It also served a notice to implement the decision from June 2, sources said. The notice threatens the officials of dismissal for using mobile phones which are not authorised by the high officials.

The intelligence agencies have learnt about some incidents by tracking mobile phones of several airport officials. In future, the initiative might be implemented at Chittagong and Sylhet airports.

Some members of the law enforcement agencies, detectives, airport officials, customs officials, even security guards and cleaners have been found to be involved with different smuggling rings, especially the gold smugglers. They use personal mobile phones to contact each other during the passage of the consignments. The airport authorities want to stop this.

Sources said over 350kg of gold had been seized in the last 10 months apart from various precious metals, currencies, electronic accessories and other valuables. Over 3,600 people, including cabin crews and CAAB personnel, and members of customs, immigration, the National Security Intelligence (NSI) and the Ansar were arrested in the last three years for their links with smuggling and other illicit acts.

The smuggling incidents have risen remarkably in the recent months.

The new move comes following two recent reports of the Rapid Action Bat-

talion (RAB) and another intelligence agency to check smuggling.

Submitted to the Home Ministry and the Civil Aviation and Tourism Ministry, the RAB report says the Dhaka airport lacks security. Therefore, members of the law enforcement agencies and airport officials allow the smugglers to run their activities in exchange of money.

The report states that the officials help the smugglers in two ways – either the low-level employees get directly involved in the smuggling process while the seniors help the smugglers by informing them about any raids in the airport through phones.

The CAAB letter, sent to different departments operating inside the airport,directs the employees and staff not to use mobile phones while discharging duties. Without any designated tasks, they have also been asked not to go to the customs, immigration and boarding bridge areas.

The law enforcement agency members will have to leave their unauthorised phones before they step inside the airport area. They will only use walky-talkies for security purpose.

Everyday, more than 50,000 passengers use the airport. At present, 18 domestic and international carriers operate flights through the Dhaka airport. Besides these, 47 countries have connection with the CAAB to use the airport or air traffic.

When contacted, CAAB Chairman Air-Vice Marshal Mahmud Hussain said they had taken the measures upon an intelligence report with a view to keep an eye on the airport staffs.

“Actually, the decision to monitor mobile phones was taken in the past. Recently we have decided to implement this as some officials and staffs have been found keeping ‘ill contact’ with unscrupulous bad people. Some staff also have the tendency of chit-chatting with friends and family by killing working hours,” he said.

He said the use of phones would be restricted primarily at certain spots and the authorities would monitor the employees on close circuit TV cameras. “If caught with phones, the offenders will be punished.

“It is not possible to ban mobile phone use. But we are trying to ensure that nobody usesmobile phones for misdoings. However, they may be allowed for essential purpose upon permission.”

He also said if necessary,mobile phone network jammers would be set up at certain spots of the airport.

“We have noticed that some airliners’ employees do not have walky-talkies.

We will ask them to apply for authorised mobile numbers,” Mahmud said. l

Back Page

Wednesday, June 11, 2014

THE FESTIVITY BEGINS

Columbian Bridgette and her two companions spontaneously form a band and play a number to amuse tourists gathering in the Brazilian city of Paulista yesterday

Not CFLs, now LED bulbs more efficient n Aminur Rahman Rasel

State Minister for Power, Energy and Mineral Resources Nasrul Hamid yesterday said every consumer should use LED (light-emitting diode) lamps instead of CFLs with a view to save electricity.

“We cancelled a project to replace incandescent bulbs by energy-efficient compact fluorescent lamps [CFLs] as the World Bank, the lending agency of the project, has withdrawn its support,” he said while addressing a seminar.

He also urged Finance Minister AMA Muhith to give some incentives in the budget by exempting duties for importing energy-saving LED bulbs.

The event on Energy Efficiency Strategies in Bangladesh: Problem and Prospect was organised by the Power Division at Bidyut Bhaban in the city.

LED bulbs consume less energy. They are 300% more efficient than a CFL bulb and 1,000% than a conventional incandescent bulb. LED bulbs have a very long life – about 50,000 hours of use at 70% of their original power.

But the price of a same capacity LED lamp is more than three times a CFL bulb.

The junior minister also suggested incentives for renewable energy-related products to promote green energy across the country and for spare parts used in power transmission and distribution.

He said the real estate companies setting up green buildings by using energy-efficient equipment and power system would get incentives.

“The production and use of conventional brick in the real estate sector is destroying our top soil and the environment as well,” Nasrul said. He also sought support from the Finance Ministry to install pre-paid gas meters.

In his speech, Muhith said a time-limit could be fixed to shut down the brickfields in the country. He suggested that the conventional brick kilns be banned since it decreases fertility of land.

The finance minister said: “It is very important to shut down the brick kilns.

Public awareness is needed in this regard.”

The country’s electricity generation capacity is more than 10,000MW, “but the supply is only around 7,000MW be-

cause of weakness in the transmission and the distribution system.”

He said there was a very small gap between electricity demand and peaktime supply. “We should examine the peaking power plants,” Muhith said.

Addressing the seminar, BERC Chairman AR Khan said stern action should be taken against illegal gas connections. “Different gas distribution companies are disconnecting illegal gas lines in the morning, but those are being restored in the afternoon.”

Power Division Joint Secretary Siddique Zobair made a presentation at the seminar. He said the country could save around 2,650MW of electricity through using energy-efficient air-conditioners, fans, refrigerators, lights and motors.

He suggested that the country needed to overcome some barriers to achieve energy efficiency. “The policy and the regulatory barriers are likely to be removed through adopting appropriate rules and regulations,” Zobair said. “Technical barriers are continuously being addressed through capacity enhancement and development of energy auditors.” l

4 injured in DMCH clash centering autopsy n Adil Sakhawat

Relatives of a dead patient scuffle with policemen at DMCH to prevent the autopsy of the body yesterday

SYED ZAKIR HOSSAIN

At least four people, including two policemen, were injured when relatives of two dead patients tried to obstruct law enforcers from conducting an autopsy on their bodies at Dhaka Medical College Hospital yesterday morning.

According to police, Tahmina Akter, 34, her grandfather Posir Khan, 95, and another woman named Sumi, 30, were rushed to DMCH after a speeding truck hit their auto-rickshaw in the capital’s Demra area on early hours of yesterday.

Later, doctors declared Tahmina and her grandfather dead.

However, relatives of the deceased were not ready to allow police to conduct the autopsies on the bodies, which is a legal requirement for unnatural deaths.

Jakir Hossain Khan, cousin of the deceased, told Dhaka Tribune, “Doctors at the emergency unit did not provide proper treatment and after my sister and grandfather died, the DMCH

outpost police declined to hand over the bodies without an autopsy. But, we did not want the autopsy.”

DMCH outpost police Inspector Mozammel Hauque said: “In accident-related cases, it is mandatory to conduct an autopsy. If the relatives do not want that [the autopsy], they have to take permission from the respective police station of the area where the accident took place. But the relatives wanted to take the bodies out without the autopsy and declined to take permission from the respective police station.”

“When we informed Demra police, they came and completed all formalities and then handed over the bodies to the family members,” he added. Demra police seized the truck responsible for the accident, but could not nab the driver yet.

Meanwhile, a student of Dhaka International Polytechnic Institute died at DMCH yesterday after being critically injured in a road accident at the capital’s Airport road on May 30. l

‘Move on to detect fake freedom fighters’ n Kamran Reza Chowdhury

Intelligence agencies are verifying information on freedom fighters and the authorities will cancel their certificates if the reports go against them, a junior minister told parliament yesterday.

Replying to a question by M Abdul Latif, State Minister for Public Ad-

ministration Ismat Ara Sadique told the legislature that the government had already cancelled the certificates of 116 freedom fighters in line with the reports of the National Security Agency.

The government maintains quota in the public service for freedom fighters and their children. The certificates en-

title them to a lot of state facilities.

During Sheikh Hasina’s previous term (1996-2001) the Muktibarta, a publication by the freedom fighters, registered 1,51,861 freedom fighters.

But in 2012-13, the Ministry of Liberation War Affairs gave certificates to 2,09,028 freedom fighters.

The Parliamentary Standing Com-

mittee on the Liberation War Affairs Ministry of the 9th parliament observed that many of the registered freedom fighters in the latest list were fake, recommending that the government should cancel those certificates.

IsmatAra said the government continued to detect so-called freedom fighters who were inducted into the

public service with fake certificates.

“As of yet, total of 116 fake freedom fighter certificates have been cancelled, according to the report of the National Security Intelligence,” she said.

Moves will be taken in accordance with the investigation reports to cancel the certificates through gazette notification, said the state minister. l

RAIHAN MAHMOOD

A Jazzy evening in Paulista

The Fifa World Cup is an event that has always reunited the people across the globe and the avenue of Paulista just proved it once again yesterday as Columbian Bridgette and Brazilian Vinisuse staged the true spirit of the multi-national event with their Jazz music.

The avenue of Paulista is famous for holding all the big celebrations in Brazil and Paulista, that never falls asleep, was as usual buzzing with thousands of people.

Among them many people, who arrived from neighbouring countries like Argentina, Columbia and Paraguay were trying their luck by selling their local products like bangles, jewelry, earrings and little mementos of the World Cup. Sensing me as a tourist and an Asian, Bridgette, who seemed busy with her belongings, asked to look around the jewelries in English and her accent instantly caught attention of us – the Bangladeshi reporters that also included reporters from Channel 24 and Kaler Kantho. Bridgette brandishing a guitar appeared to be a major discovery in the Portuguese oriented community.

Watching a TV camera focused on the Columbian made the people passing more curious who eventually stooped by to ignite a musical show!

Interestingly Bridgette asked us to give her some time as she lit up a cigarette saying without it she does not feel relaxed before crooning a song. Bridgette tuned her guitar as her partner settled with the tiny drums.

The combination of guitar and drum added with the sweet voice of Bridgette earned the duo much applause, before it turned into a true musical event with Vinisuse joining in with his saxophone.

Vinisuse and his friend Mike were also among the crowd just a while ago until Vinisuse, who practices Jazz, decided to hop in. It took few seconds for Vinisuse to pick the rhythm and indeed the the melody of the saxophone from a handshaking distance was a unique experience for us.

In the mean time the audience also grew and the mixture of saxophone and guitar gave the feel of a true classic concert. Bridgette sang her number and stopped, but Vinisuse continued to amaze the audience playing his tunes.

The array of his tunes, going up and down, high and low kept the audience glued to the place.

It was overwhelming to see Bridgette hug Vinisuse, after he stopped playing, as true admiration of respect while the audience gave them a big hand. World Cup really appeared to be a stage of unity where people from different culture and origin mix in the spirit of fair play. l

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B3 OECD: Emerging countries waver, advanced economies expand

B4 E-tailers growth en-

snared in India’s logistics jungle

WEDNESDAY, JUNE 11, 2014 www.dhakatribune.com/business

Big budget offers opportunity for banks Challenges are to balance between public and private borrowing with affordable interest rate n Jebun Nesa Alo The just announced national budget is expected to offer a good business opportunity for the commercial banks operating in the country, after having a hard time in last couple of years.

Bankers have foreseen the prospect based on the measures proposed in the budget for next fiscal year in enhancing both public and private investments.

They are, however, considering how the banking sector would face challenges like the private investors do not suffer from non-availability of fund due to increased public financing.

The increased demand for fund might also push up the lending rate as well as the inflation – which are also being considered as other major challenges.

“High borrowing target is good for the economy as it reflects the government’s efficiency of implementation the mega project that has been taken in the new budget,” said NCC Bank Managing Director Golam Hafiz Ahmed.

He said more project implementation would raise demand for credit in the private sector as employment and import of raw materials would be increased.

“When the demand will increase both in private and public sector, the credit-deposit ratio will increase, which will help the banks to make more profit.”

The existing average credit-deposit ratio of the banks remained at around 70% and there is a chance it would be increased up to 81%. That means the banks now disbursing loans of Tk70 against deposit of Tk100, despite they can disburse up to Tk81, he said. The banks’ have made profit less than expected, as a result.

“The lending rate though remained

BTRC halts 5 Internet packages of Banglalink, Robi n Muhammad Zahidul Islam The country’s two private mobile phone operators, Banglalink and Robi, have been asked to halt their five particular Internet packages by the telecom regulatory body BTRC. Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission (BTRC) had informed the two operators by sending an electronic mail on Monday last, without providing any reason behind the directive.

The halt packages include four-bundle data package of Banglalink while a 3G package of Robi.

Robi had introduced the 32MB package with Tk9 at the end of the last month after getting approval from the regulatory body, said a senior executive of Robi.

Both the mobile phone oerators have already contacted the regulatory body BTRC, seeking an explanation behind the issuince of the directive.

However, BTRC officails have so far failed to provide any information in this connection as both the chairman and the vice-chairman of BTRC are currently out of the country, said an executive of Robi.

The move undertaken by the BTRC is likely to hamper the users, as they have to shift their packages to other different packages from the halted five packages at the end of its validity period.

As the packages were duely approved by the government, therefore BTRC would have required informing the government prior to issuing the directive, which was not followed in this case, sources said.

According to BTRC statistics, the total number of mobile Internet user stands at 3.6 crore while total Internet users sums up to 3.75 crore. l

The draft Financial Reporting Act is likely to be placed at the next meeting of cabinet committee for approval and in parliament for passage during the current budget session, said a senior finance ministry official.

“We hope the draft FRA Act will be approved at the cabinet in next week.

It will also be placed as bill in the parliament during the current budget

The fate of separate pay scale for the bankers has been stuck again. The government has decided to get pay commission’s recommendation about it.

The separate pay scale for Bangladesh Bank and four state-owned commercial banks would not be announced before the national pay scale announcement, Bank and Financial Institutions Division Secretary Dr M Aslam Alam told the Dhaka Tribune yesterday.

We have missed the train as the authorities failed to announce the scale before January 5 polls

on the down trend at present, it will climb up in the new fiscal year due to the expected rise in credit demand,” said the senior banker.

He further said the private sector is unlikely to be crowded out if the projects are implemented with foreign financing. Foreign fund inflow would have double effect as it would have to be converted into local currency after entering into the country, and it would enrich the reserve.

He was, however, skeptical about the banking business as all depend on the budget implementation and political stability. “If the projects are implemented efficiently, the banks will get the opportunity of doing good business.”

Though it is a challenge to maintain

a balance between public and private credit, “we hope the private investment will not be affected as the government borrowing will remain within the target,” said Pubali Bank Managing Director Helal Ahmed Chowdhury.

“The government cannot not utilise its full space of borrowing target according to our earlier experience. So, if the borrowing reaches even at the ceiling, private sector will not be affected much as the banks have enough liquidity to face the demand.”

The banking business went sluggish for more or less a couple of years due to poor credit demand amid prolonged political unrest, resulting in poor performance particularly in the just concluded year of 2013.

The banks had to take cover of a relaxed loan rescheduling guideline to give some dividend for the year 2013.

“If the government reaches the borrowing target, it would put some pressure on inflation,” said Bangladesh Bank Chief Economist Hassan Zaman.

“We do not think the government will reach the target as it could not reach there as of now. We think it will not be able to utilise the full space of the borrowing target eventually.”

Hassan Zaman foresees the big size budget would not be implemented fully because it is not possible to improve implementation capacity over night.

“We see an implementation gap between actual and revised budget every year, which would be continued

in the new fiscal year too. As a result, domestic borrowing target will not be fulfilled. So we do not have concerns about our monetary program.”

However, he said, if the government really reaches the borrowing target anyway, it would then be a risk on inflation, he added.

Bank borrowing from banking system by government remained slow since several months and it stood at Tk23,000 crore at the end of May this year while Tk20,000 crore has already been repaid, according to the Bangladesh Bank data.

The borrowing target for the next fiscal year has been set at Tk31,221 crore, which is 20% higher from Tk25,993 crore set for the outgoing fiscal year. l

“It would not be logical to announce the separate pay scale while preparing the new national pay scale,” he said.

“We have missed the train as the authorities failed to announce the scale before January 5 election.”

Besides, the implementation division of the finance ministry prepared a document on recommendation for the separate pay scale, which suggested taking advice from the permanent pay commission now working on the issue.

Last year, the law ministry had informed the implementation department of finance division that the separate pay-scale could be executed under the existing legal framework and amendment would not be required.

Bangladesh Bank and the four stateowned banks have a total of 61,000 staffs. Bangladesh Bank has 4,958 staffs while Sonali Bank 23,363, Janata Bank 15,146, Agrani Bank 13,558 and Rupali Bank 4,293. The separate pay scales for the banks got stuck due to legal complexities. l

Muhith: Decision on gain tax to be EPB drafts $34.2bn export target for FY15 finalised before budget being passed n Ibrahim Hossain Ovi Export Promotion Bureau (EPB) has set $34.2bn as export target for the fiscal year 2014-15 with $27.5bn to be earned from the garment sector though the last two years records show failure in reaching the goals.

The draft target, which will be sent to the commerce ministry in a day or two, is 11.60% higher than that of the current year.

“We will send it (the draft target) to the commerce ministry in a day or two for finalising,” said an EPB official.

In the FY2013-14, the country targets to earn $30.5bn from the export sector and has already bagged $24.65bn during the first 10 months. The achievement is 0.40% higher than the strategic target set for the period.

But in last two years, the export sector failed to reach its targets. In 2011-12, the target was $26.5bn and the earnings amounted to $24.3bn, according to EPB data which also showed in 201213 the achievement was $27bn against the target of $28bn.

However, the country enjoyed a big leap in exports compared to target during the FY2010-11. While the target was $18.5bn, the earnings exceeded $24bn in the year.

The performance could have encouraged the EPB to set bigger targets in the following years.

However, the export sector has continued to grow over the last several years even in the recent time when the country’s biggest foreign exchange earner garment industry faced trouble after the disastrous Rana Plaza incidence.

Bangladesh mainly depends on

garment, leather, agricultural products, shrimp and jute and jute goods to achieve its export target.

“The draft target for the next fiscal year is a little conservative as we want to match the target with performance. Performance is more important than setting targets,” said another EPB official.

He said the draft of the export target has been fixed after having discussions with representatives from different

The draft target for the next fiscal year is a little conservative as we want to match it with performance stakeholders including Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Bangladesh Association of Software Information and Services (BASIS), Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association Bangladesh Knitwear Manufacturers and Exporters Association, Exporters Association of Bangladesh and Ministry of Livestock, “Priority has been placed to apparel, leather, agricultural products, shrimp, jute and jute goods sectors to achieve export target,” the official said.

For the next fiscal year, the knitwear export target is $13.41bn and woven garments $14.05bn.

In the current fiscal, the government set a target of $11.57bn for knitwear and 12.57bn for woven sector.

During the first 10 months, knitwear earned $9.80bn and woven earned $10.16bn. l

n Tribune Report The proposed gain tax on the profit of the investors will be finalised just a day before approving the budget in parliament for the next fiscal year.

Finance Minister AMA Muhith yesterday disclosed this while talking to the reporters after attending a dividend handing over ceremony of the Bangladesh Security and Exchange Commission (BSEC) held at the finance division auditorium in the capital.

We, usually, bring some changes in the revenue provisions just before the budget is passed in the parliament, noted the minister.

Referring to the benefits that all the investors have been enjoying tax-free share market profits for the last couple of years, Muhith hinted that the government could take any decision on the proposed gain tax on profits of the investors in between June 26-27.

According to the budget proposal, the investors’ tax-free profit amount is upto Tk10 lakh and 3% tax was proposed in between the profit of Tk10 lakh and Tk20 lakh of the investors while 5% tax was proposed on the profits of more than Tk20 lakh of the investors.

Coming down heavily on former BSEC chairman Faruk Ahmed Siddique for his stance not to impose gain tax on ordinary share holders, the minister said,“It is nothing but an absolutely stupid statement on the impose of gain tax on the ordinary share holders.”

The former BSEC chairman said it was not the right time to impose any gain tax on the ordinary shareholders.

As asked, the minister also replied: There was no capital market in the country before, now, we have a capital

FRA likely to be passed in budget session n Tribune Report

Bankers’ pay scale stuck again n Asif Shwokat Kallol

session,” he told the Dhaka Tribune yesterday. The FRA bill was scheduled to be placed in the parliament in May. But the government missed it.

Enactment of the law was a condition under the Asian Development Bank project titled “Capital market development programme II” to disburse $150m.

Earlier, the draft was placed in the cabinet committee twice for approval but the cabinet asked the Banking Division to do some corrections. But

the cabinet made no suggestions regarding any specific changes.

The draft has been prepared by the Banking Division as per the recommendations and opinions of stakeholders. The last caretaker government approved a financial reporting ordinance, but the Awami League-led government had not placed it in parliament for passage after assuming power in 2009.

The FRA is expected to ensure transparency and accountability in

the financial sector and prevent incidents like Hall-Mark and the share market debacle.

As per the draft, a 12-member council will be formed, which will include Bangladesh Bank Governor, Bangladesh Securities and Exchange Commission Chairman, National Board of Revenue Chairman, Insurance Development and Regulatory Authority Chairman and representative from Bank and Financial Institutions Division. l

Finance Minister AMA Muhith market for protecting the interest of the common investors with the help of the existing good laws and regulations.

“We can see headline news in the print media on the ups and downs of the share markets, which is not usual even in the western world as there is no such headline news on their share market,” said Muhith.

The minister also urged the people to come up with sugesstions on the improvement of the two stock markets, so the common investors can be benefited as the investors and the general

people, as a whole, become worried when the share markets’ indice go down significantly.

As a team, the BSEC is doing well, as result, the government has extended the tenure of the chairman and members of BSEC, Muhith pointed out.

BSEC Chairman Khairul Hossain handed over Tk66.83 crore dividend of last year to the finance minister AMA Muhith and most of the dividend came as the charge of Tk500 against the payment of the BO accounts of shareholders. l

B2

DHAKA TRIBUNE

Stock

Stocks inch down on profit booking

DSE key features June 10, 2014

n Tribune Report

Number of Contract

IDLC Investments, in its daily market analysis, said lately, trend-following investors started gripping profit alongside their focus on sector-specific movements.

“Afterward, sentiment turned more cautious.”

Lafarge Surma Cement’s interim cash dividend disclosure concentrated investors much on it and being the mostly traded scrips of the day. The scrips captured 14.5% of the total turnover.

The company made its first dividend declaration yesterday since its listing year in 2003. Besides, engineering led in sectoral turnover ladder, accounting for 21% of the total trade.

After Lafarge, other turnover leaders were Square Pharmaceuticals, BSRM Steel, Eastern Housing Ltd, GPH Ispat, Apollo Ispat and Navana CNG. On the third day, following to Budget proposal of FY’15, market is factoring measures of proposed budget, specially the proposal of imposition of tax on capital gain, said Lanka Bangla Securities in its market analysis.

Bangladesh Securities and Exchange Commission set a meeting with finance minister yesterday to request him to scrape the proposed capital gain tax on individual investors from the finance bill for the year 2014-15. l

Stocks inched down amid volatility yesterday, as investors booked profit from previous session’s sharp rise.

The market rallied in the morning but profit booking in midsession pushed down the main index that lost around 40 points. Later, modest buying pressure helped recover some points in the second-half of the session.

The benchmark index DSEX shed 14 points or 0.4% to settle at 4,401, hitting highest 4,425 at open and lowest 4,375 in the midsession.

The comprising blue chips DS30 lost 4 points or 0.3% to 1,624.

The Shariah index DSES closed at 1,013, declining 2 points or 0.3% to 1,012.

Chittagong Stock Exchange (CSE) Selective Categories Index, CSCX, was down 5 points to 8,360.

The major sectors saw mixed performances with non-banking financial institutions rising highest 1.5%, pharmaceuticals 1.4% and power 0.6%.

The other large-cap sectors, including telecommunications, food, cement and banks lost marginally on price correction.

The total turnover at DSE stood at Tk452 crore – its highest in the last six and half weeks and 7.5% higher over previous session’s value.

DSE GAINERS Company

Turnover (Million Taka)

4,522.40

Turnover (Volume)

91,794,974 95,816

Traded Issues

295

Issue Gain (Avg. Price Basis)

115

Issue Loss (Avg. Price Basis)

175

Unchanged Issue (Avg. Price Basis)

5

Market Capital Equity (Billion. Tk.)

2,279.71

Market Capital Equity (Billion US$)

27.63

CSE key features June 10, 2014 Turnover (Million Taka)

301.02

Turnover (Volume)

Daily capital market highlights

7,427,088

Number of Contract

11,760

DSE Broad Index :

4401.88445

(-) 0.32%

▼

Traded Issues

220

DSE Shariah Index :

1012.90316

(-) 0.25%

▲

Issue Gain (Avg. Price Basis)

101

DSE - 30 Index :

1624.45375

(-) 0.28%

▼

Issue Loss (Avg. Price Basis)

115

CSE All Share Index:

13563.09860

(-) 0.30%

▲

Unchanged Issue (Avg. Price Basis)

3

CSE - 30 Index :

10995.04480

(+) 0.54%

▲

Market Capital Equity (Billion. Tk.)

2,182.90

8360.34980

(-) 0.06%

▲

Market Capital Equity (Billion US$)

26.46

CSE Selected Index : DSE LOSERS Company

Closing (% change)

Midas Financing-Z LafargeS Cement-Z Wata Chemicals -A BGIC -A Islamic Finance-A B I F C -A Phoenix Finance-A Eastland Insur -A

-7.43 -5.98 -5.78 -5.26 -4.65 -4.58 -4.18 -3.98

Average (% change) -6.16 -0.51 -5.95 -1.83 -2.75 -2.09 -1.62 -2.99

Islami Ins.BD-A I P D C -A

-3.83 -3.75

-3.78 -1.60

CSE LOSERS

Wata Chemicals -A Kay & Que (BD) -Z AIBL 1st Is. M. F.-A Takaful Islami Insu-A Imam Button -Z Standard Insurance-A LafargeS Cement-Z ICB -A

-8.75 -8.33 -8.06 -6.60 -6.33 -6.00 -5.58 -5.41

Average (% change) -8.67 -8.49 -7.62 -6.60 -6.68 -6.00 -2.02 -5.41

Paramount Insur-A B I F C -A

-5.41 -5.22

-5.41 -3.84

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 254.44 86.16 45.02 948.52 226.19 421.17 1.83 428.29 597.86 0.28 190.05 41.86 12.96 778.84 32.11 43.09 85.58 190.64 65.77 71.59 0.15

Turnover in million

Daily low

Latest EPS

Latest PE

16.45 90.41 363.76 21.99 12.37 12.67 25.52 36.32

16.20 86.50 360.40 21.60 12.30 12.50 25.20 36.20

17.50 99.30 383.00 22.80 13.00 13.20 26.10 37.70

16.20 82.20 355.00 21.00 11.70 12.40 25.00 34.00

0.510 656.777 35.648 1.667 3.498 0.293 2.552 7.703

-6.91 2.16 6.24 1.36 0.96 0.24 2.58 4.24

-ve 41.9 58.3 16.2 12.9 52.8 9.9 8.6

22.67 15.42

22.60 15.40

23.50 16.00

22.60 14.40

0.544 0.502

1.92 0.64

11.8 24.1

Closing average

Closing

Daily high

Turnover in million

Daily low

Latest EPS

Bangladesh Welding -Z Beacon Pharma Ltd.-Z Appollo Ispat CL -N Shinepukur Cera-Z Kohinoor Chem -A Summit Power -A Navana CNG-A ICB -A Keya Cosmetics -A Orion Infusions -A

365.00 11.00 5.70 29.70 7.40 28.20 86.30 1,730.00

366.00 11.00 5.70 29.70 7.50 28.20 99.50 1,730.00

365.00 11.00 5.70 29.70 7.20 28.20 82.20 1,730.00

0.219 0.039 0.003 0.015 0.011 0.056 47.206 0.087

6.24 -0.92 1.49 1.76 -1.85 2.88 2.16 53.53

58.5 -ve 3.8 16.9 -ve 9.8 41.1 32.3

17.50 12.52

17.50 12.70

17.50 12.70

17.50 12.10

0.009 0.017

1.64 0.24

10.7 52.2

Trend-following investors started gripping profit alongside their focus on sector-specific movements

% change 5.63 1.91 1.00 20.97 5.00 9.31 0.04 9.47 13.22 0.01 4.20 0.93 0.29 17.22 0.71 0.95 1.89 4.22 1.45 1.58 0.00

Million Taka 14.63 7.22 1.72 64.68 13.27 28.37 39.91 33.31 18.94 8.93 20.16 1.14 56.14 2.83 0.92 6.22 17.49 6.49 15.37 0.01

% change 4.09 2.02 0.48 18.08 3.71 7.93 0.00 11.16 9.31 5.29 2.50 5.63 0.32 15.69 0.79 0.26 1.74 4.89 1.81 4.30 0.00

Million Taka 269.07 93.38 46.74 1013.20 239.46 449.54 1.83 468.20 631.16 19.22 198.98 62.02 14.11 834.98 34.94 44.01 91.80 208.13 72.26 86.96 0.16

Total

9.09 7.35 7.09 6.86 6.23 5.88 5.18 5.13 5.09 4.74

CSE GAINERS Company Sandhani Life -A Daffodil Computers -Z Beacon Pharma Ltd.-Z Orion Infusions -A Appollo Ispat CL -N Bangladesh Welding -Z Summit Power -A GQ Ball PenA Keya Cosmetics -A Navana CNG-A

Closing (% change) 9.19 7.62 7.58 6.77 6.34 6.31 5.52 5.14 4.61 4.50

Average (% change) 11.11 7.58 4.31 7.31 6.32 5.43 3.59 4.50 3.07 5.25 Average (% change) 7.60 8.43 8.79 5.96 4.06 8.90 5.99 4.40 3.49 3.66

Closing average 12.00 14.62 28.07 10.87 414.25 31.84 63.99 1,723.05 22.50 48.50

Closing average 80.81 11.32 14.36 48.56 27.97 11.99 32.22 127.89 22.56 64.21

Closing 12.00 14.60 28.70 10.90 414.30 32.40 65.00 1,732.50 22.70 48.60

Closing 82.00 11.30 14.20 48.90 28.50 11.80 32.50 128.80 22.70 65.00

Daily high 12.10 14.90 29.00 11.20 422.90 32.60 65.70 1,744.00 22.80 49.70

Daily high 82.60 11.50 14.50 49.90 28.80 12.20 32.80 129.30 22.80 65.50

Daily low 10.00 12.40 26.90 9.50 387.50 27.60 56.00 1,679.00 19.50 46.70

Daily low 80.00 11.20 13.70 47.50 26.70 11.50 31.10 127.50 22.00 58.00

Turnover in million 1.671 21.453 141.273 3.341 1.657 69.698 94.796 8.472 33.447 32.396

Turnover in million 0.141 0.108 3.102 1.233 21.450 0.558 2.187 0.237 1.874 3.320

Latest EPS 0.48 0.04 1.69 0.64 9.37 3.00 3.48 53.53 1.93 4.81

Latest EPS 2.39 0.68 0.04 4.81 1.69 0.48 3.00 2.81 1.93 3.48

Latest PE 25.0 365.5 16.6 17.0 44.2 10.6 18.4 32.2 11.7 10.1

Latest PE 33.8 16.6 359.0 10.1 16.6 25.0 10.7 45.5 11.7 18.5

News,analysis and recent disclosers LAFSURCEML: The Board of Directors has declared 5% interim cash dividend for the year ending on 31 December 2014, out of the provisional net profits of the Company for the period ended on 31 May 2014.

Record date for entitlement of interim dividend: 30.06.2014. The Company has also reported consolidated profit after tax of Tk. 1,144.16 million, consolidated EPS of Tk. 0.99, consolidated NAV per share of Tk. 10.51 and consolidated NOCFPS of Tk. 0.44 for the period ended on May 31, 2014.

IPO Subscription: Far East Knitting & Dyeing Industries Limited subscription date 15-19 June 2014, NRB upto 28 June 2014. @ taka 27, 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 30, face value taka 10 and market lot 200. Ratanpur Steel Re-Rolling Mills Limited subscription date 13-17 July 2014, NRB upto 26 July 2014. @ taka 40, face value taka 10 and market lot 200.

DSE TURNOVER LEADERS Company LafargeS Cement-Z Square Pharma -A BSRM Steels-A Eastern Housing -A GPH Ispat Ltd-A Grameenphone-A Appollo Ispat CL -N

CSE

Closing (% change)

Dividend/AGM

ASIAINS: 15% cash and 5% stock, AGM: 16.07.2014, Record Date: 19.06.2014.

WATACHEM: 30% stock, AGM: 27.06.2014, Record Date: 11.06.2014.

AMBEEPHA: 15% cash and 20% stock, AGM: 16.06.2014, Record Date: 28.05.2014.

MBL1STMF: 3% cash, Record date: 02.06.2014.

ORIONPHARM: 15% cash, AGM: 22.06.2014, Record Date: 21.05.2014.

PURABIGEN: 15% stock, AGM: 29.06.2014, Record date: 21.05.2014.

SALVOCHEM: 10% stock, AGM: 27.08.2014, Record date: 25.06.2014.

ISNLTD: No dividend, AGM: 17.06.2014, RD May 20, 2014.

GOLDENSON: 25% stock, EGM and AGM: 21.06.2014, Record Date: 15.05.2014.

MERCINS: 10% cash, dividend for the Public Shareholders (B-Group) only, AGM: 16.06.2014, Record Date: 15.05.2014.

CMCKAMAL: 12.50% stock, AGM: 30.06.2014. Record Date: 29.05.2014.

RUPALIBANK: 15% stock, AGM: 31.05.2014, Record date: 14.05.2014.

LEGACYFOOT: 5% stock, AGM:

21.06.2014, Record Date: 12.05.2014.

BDTHAI: 5% stock, AGM: 21.06.2014, Record Date: 25.05.2014.

MEGHNACEM: 15% cash, AGM: 29.05.2014, Record Date: 14.05.2014.

MONNOSTAF: 10% cash, AGM: 26.06.2014, Record Date: 19.05.2014.

INTECH: 10% stock, AGM: 23.06.2014, Record Date: 15.05.2014.

ISLAMIINS: 15% stock, AGM: 09.07.2014, RD: 12.05.2014.

BXPHARMA: 10% cash & 5% stock, AGM: 21.06.2014, RD: 18.05.2014.

STANDARINS: 15% stock, AGM: 18.06.2014, RD: 15.05.2014.

BAYLEASING: 17% cash & 15% stock, AGM: 29.05.2014, RD: 12.05.2014.

JMISMDL: 15% cash, AGM: 24.07.2014, RD: 22.05.2014.

SUMITPOWER: 15% stock, AGM: 30.06.2014. RD: 18.05.2014.

KPCL: 25% cash & 5% stock, AGM: 18.06.2014, RD: 14.05.2014.

PREMIERLEA: No dividend, AGM: 26.06.2014, RD: 25.05.2014.

BEXIMCO: 15% stock, AGM: 21.06.2014, RD: 18.05.2014.

Latest PE

365.33 11.00 5.70 29.70 7.40 28.20 88.82 1,730.00

SECTORAL TURNOVER SUMMARY Sector

Daily high

Wednesday, June 11, 2014

% change 5.51 1.91 0.96 20.76 4.91 9.21 0.04 9.59 12.93 0.39 4.08 1.27 0.29 17.11 0.72 0.90 1.88 4.26 1.48 1.78 0.00

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

Navana CNG-A MJL BD Ltd.-A HeidelbergCement -A

Golden Son -A Meghna Petroleum -A Summit Power -A Aftab Auto.-A Emerald Oil Ind. -N CSE TURNOVER LEADERS Company LafargeS Cement-Z

Appollo Ispat CL -N Square Pharma -A BSRM Steels-A Grameenphone-A Generation Next-A Eastern Housing -A BD Submarine Cable-A Familytex (BD) Ltd.-A BSC-A BD Building Systems -A Aftab Auto.-A Delta Life Insu. -A HeidelbergCement -A Sinobangla Indu.-A

Volume shares 7,264,500 963,309 2,213,836 2,832,838 2,505,760 498,871 5,033,600 1,481,471 1,038,944 161,580

1,738,950 294,149 2,189,091 779,111 1,398,500

Volume shares

531,500 766,800 50,616 134,475 33,800 513,666 121,194 43,411 308,500 14,485 116,000 78,363 26,250 10,000 188,000

Value in million 656.78 267.41 203.84 184.63 145.06 142.68 141.27 94.80 90.49 80.79

79.05 78.58 69.70 67.65 66.33

Value in million

47.21 21.45 14.02 12.33 9.66 9.15 7.92 7.83 7.62 7.03 6.88 6.80 5.19 5.01 4.79

% of total turnover 14.52 5.91 4.51 4.08 3.21 3.16 3.12 2.10 2.00 1.79

1.75 1.74 1.54 1.50 1.47

% of total turnover

16.19 7.36 4.81 4.23 3.31 3.14 2.72 2.69 2.61 2.41 2.36 2.33 1.78 1.72 1.64

Daily closing 86.50 281.00 92.20 64.90 58.70 286.30 28.70 65.00 87.30 494.20

45.70 266.50 32.40 87.30 47.90

Daily closing

86.30 28.50 280.50 91.50 285.20 17.70 65.10 179.20 24.50 485.00 58.10 87.10 197.60 494.60 24.60

Price change -5.98 3.04 -0.11 1.72 3.89 -1.04 7.09 5.18 -2.46 -2.72

Daily opening 92.00 272.70 92.30 63.80 56.50 289.30 26.80 61.80 89.50 508.00

Daily high 99.30 282.20 100.00 66.40 59.20 290.00 29.00 65.70 89.10 518.00

Price change

Daily opening

3.16 -0.78 5.88 -0.11 3.23

-5.58 6.34 3.13 -0.44 -0.90 -1.67 1.72 -0.28 -3.16 4.41 2.65 -0.34 1.96 -2.71 -1.99

44.30 268.60 30.60 87.40 46.40

91.40 26.80 272.00 91.90 287.80 18.00 64.00 179.70 25.30 464.50 56.60 87.40 193.80 508.40 25.10

46.40 269.50 32.60 88.00 48.40

Daily low 82.20 255.00 84.00 58.00 51.00 270.00 26.90 56.00 80.60 490.00

43.00 246.00 27.60 78.70 46.20

Daily average 90.41 277.59 92.07 65.17 57.89 286.01 28.07 63.99 87.09 500.03

Daily high

Daily low

Daily average

99.50 28.80 281.70 94.30 288.80 18.10 66.40 183.00 25.40 491.80 60.80 87.60 202.00 516.00 26.00

82.20 26.70 270.10 90.10 284.70 17.50 64.00 178.50 24.40 472.00 57.80 85.80 195.00 487.00 24.50

45.46 267.16 31.84 86.83 47.43

88.82 27.97 277.07 91.66 285.85 17.81 65.37 180.43 24.70 485.01 59.32 86.79 197.89 501.10 25.51

DHAKA TRIBUNE

China set for ‘Golden Age’ of natural gas n AFP, Paris Demand for natural gas is set to nearly double within five years in China but the emerging market giant will meet half that with domestic supplies, the International Energy Agency said yesterday.

In its latest medium-term forecasts for the natural gas sector, the IEA trimmed its five-year outlook for consumption by 0.2 points to an annual increase of 2.2% as European countries step up use of renewable energy. However, it said demand for cleaner-burning natural gas was likely to grow in China as air quality concerns prompted authorities to take measures to reduce pollution “Driven by booming demand, the ‘Golden Age’ of natural gas that is now firmly established in North America will expand to China over the next five years,” said the IEA. “The power, industrial and transport sectors will drive overall Chinese gas demand to 315 billion cubic meters in 2019, an increase of 90% over the forecast period.”

The energy analysis arm of the OECD group of advanced countries said China was also set to benefit from a boom in gas production.

“While China will remain a significant importer, half of its new gas demand will be met by domestic resources, most of them unconventional: Chinese production is set to grow by 65%, from 117 bcm (billion cubic metres) in 2013 to 193 bcm in 2019,” said the IEA. The IEA was somewhat cautious about the outlook overall for natural gas given efforts to switch to renewables, high prices for liquefied natural gas (LNG) supplies, and competition from other fuels such as coal.

“High LNG prices are threatening to crimp demand as many countries are increasingly unwilling, or unable, to afford these supplies - and that could open the door to coal,” IEA Executive Director Maria van der Hoeven said in a statement.

That is of major concern as increased Asian demand for gas is expected to be met mostly by LNG supplies, which the IEA forecasts to increase by 450% to reach 450 bcm in 2019. l

Business

B3

Wednesday, June 11, 2014

OECD: Emerging countries waver, advanced economies expand n AFP, Paris Emerging giants China, Russia and Brazil are losing some of the driving steam which helped prevent a global economic slump, but advanced economies are now increasingly able to pick up the slack, according to key data published yesterday.

The OECD said its latest monthly report on leading economic indicators suggest that “the growth momentum is weakening in most major emerging economies” with the indicators showing weaker than usual growth in China, Russia and Brazil.

Conversely, the United States and Canada are showing stable growth momentum, the 18-member eurozone as a whole including Italy is improving, and non-euro Britain is steadying at unusually strong growth rates, the OECD said.

The OECD’s report was published shortly after Britain and Italy both published strong industrial output for the month of April.

The British statistics office reported that industrial output expanded 0.4% in April from the March level when it gained 0.1%, and over 12 months showed a jump of 3%.

That was far ahead of analysts’ expectation of a 12-month rise of 2.8%.

At Berenberg bank, chief UK economist Rob Wood commented: “Today brought yet more good news on the strength of the UK recovery, with manufacturing output rising solidly for the fifth consecutive month.

“The UK economy is increasingly firing on all cylinders, setting up the second quarter for another strong growth reading.”

Italy’s industrial production also rose more than expected in April in a welcome boost for the eurozone’s third-biggest economy.

Industrial production was up 0.7% compared with output in March - the first increase for three months.

The Italian data “suggest that the economy might return to growth in Q2,” said Capital Economics analyst James Howat.

However, the analyst was less upbeat about yesterday’s French data,

Steel workers use a blow torch on a steel tube on the floor of the HKM steel plant in Duisburg, western Germany which showed industrial output rallied in April by 0.3%, saying it suggested “that the recovery there remains pretty weak”.

The OECD said however, that for Germany and France, the signs were that these two economies were growing steadily.

The signals for Japan pointed to an upset in its momentum towards growth, but this could reflect one-off factors, the OECD said.

The Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development said that its leading indicators of trends suggested “that the growth momentum is weakening in most major emerging economies”.

But India looks as though it is pick-

ing up speed, the OECD said.

These indicators, which are closely watched by analysts and investors as reliable pointers to future activity, “point to growth below trend in Brazil, China and Russia.”

Russia is on the brink of recession, with the government forecasting up to $100bn in capital outflows, as investors jittery about the crisis in Ukraine pull out their funds.

But for India the indicators “tentatively indicates a positive turning point” which could suggest “a return to faster growth”, said the OECD. In Poland, the biggest economy in former Communist central Europe, the government approved a budget for next year on Tuesday, forecasting

AFP

growth of 3.8%.

Poland, a member of the European Union but considered by economists to be part of emerging Europe, has escaped recession, growing continuously since 1992.

Separate data from emerging and non-EU Turkey showed that the Turkish economy grew at an annual rate of 4.3% in the first quarter of 2014 despite political turmoil and a sharp rise in interest rates.

The OECD is a policy research centre and advice forum for 34 advanced democracies, and also monitors big emerging markets, and notably those in the so-called BRICS group comprising Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa. l

Dollar mixed in Asia trading n AFP, Tokyo The dollar was mixed in Asia yesterday with few immediate trading cues to move markets, after sentiment got a boost from an upbeat US jobs report and better-than-expected Japan growth figures.

In Tokyo afternoon trading, the greenback weakened to 102.28 yen from 102.53 yen on Monday in New York, while the euro drifted lower to 139.00 yen against 139.35 yen.

The European single currency slipped to $1.3587, compared with $1.3592 in US trade.

Dealers said the 0.85% decline in Japan’s benchmark Nikkei 225 stock index was a key factor in driving down the dollar-yen rate.

“There are no other market-moving leads - traders are watching the stock market and the Nikkei’s fall is affecting” rates, said Marito Ueda, senior dealer at FX Prime Corp.

“There are just no factors to push the dollar up against the yen,” he told AFP. The dollar-yen rate and Tokyo’s stock market are closely linked, with the value of the yen directly affecting Japanese exporters’ profitability and, in turn, movement in their shares.

On Friday, the Labour Department said the US economy added 217,000 jobs in May, while unemployment held at a multi-year low of 6.3%, unchanged from April.

That was followed on Monday by revised data that showed Japan’s economy grew a better-than-expected 1.6% in the first quarter, its fastest pace in more than two years.

A marked improvement in Chinese manufacturing and trade has also helped to boost sentiment.

On Tuesday, investors were keeping an eye on new data that showed Chinese inflation surging to a fourmonth high of 2.5% in May, although it was still below the government’s 3.5% target.

Dealers were also looking ahead to a Bank of Japan policy meeting later this week.

In other trading, the dollar rose to 43.67 Philippine pesos from 43.58 pesos, to 11,807.50 Indonesian rupiah from 11,787.50, to 32.48 Thai baht from 32.46 baht, and to 59.28 Indian rupees from 59.05 rupees. l

Oil prices rise on eve of OPEC meeting n AFP, London

BGMEA and Sonali Life Insurance Company Limited yesterday have signed an agreement for a group insurance of forty lakh garment workers GIZ yesterday on behalf of the Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) hosted the signing ceremony of an agreement between Huntsman, a global manufacturer of industrial chemicals, and PSES (Promotion of Social and Environmental Standards in industries) for a joint project of the governments of Bangladesh and Germany. Under the agreement, Huntsman and GIZ will cooperate to improve the management of chemicals in 10 textile mills in Bangladesh

Members of the Association of Asset Management Companies and Mutual Funds have recently met Abul Maal Abdul Muhith, Finance Minister of Bangladesh to present their credentials. They are Fayekuzzaman, MD of Investment Corporation of Bangladesh, Reaz Islam, CEO of LR Global Bangladesh AMC Ltd, Hasan Imam, CEO of Race Management PCL and Waqar Choudhury, MD & CEO of Vanguard AML

Oil prices rose further yesterday, the eve of OPEC’s meeting to decide on crude output levels, while energy market investors kept a close watch over vital Ukraine-Russia gas talks.

Brent North Sea crude for delivery in July climbed 18 cents to stand at $110.17 a barrel in London afternoon trading, compared with Monday’s closing value. US benchmark West Texas Intermediate (WTI) for July gained 36 cents to $104.77 a barrel.

Prices had rallied on Monday as investors cheered robust economic data from the US, China and Japan. A breakdown of initial Ukraine-Russia talks to avert a gas cut-off also boosted prices, traders said.

Brent, a benchmark for the pricing of Middle Eastern crude, “has been consolidating within the recent range of $109-110 per barrel ... as investors

remain cautious ahead of the crucial OPEC meeting in Vienna” on Wednesday, noted Sucden brokers analyst Myrto Sokou.

“Market participants will watch carefully for any signs of clarification ... from major oil supplier countries.”

OPEC is widely expected to stick by its oil output ceiling on Wednesday, as supply tensions linked to global crises help to keep crude prices high, benefiting producers.

The Organization for Petroleum Exporting Countries, whose dozen member nations together supply about one third of the world’s crude, is widely expected by experts to keep its daily output ceiling at 30 million barrels of oil.

While OPEC is satisfied with current price levels at about $100 a barrel, the cartel is in fact pumping below its collective target owing to abundant supplies in top crude consumer the United States. l

Photo shows an agreement for becoming the title partner of Campus Soundbox, is being exchanged between Bayezeed Hassan Shawon, marketing lead of Creinse Limited and SangHwa Song, general manager of SAMSUNG Electronics Limited. Campus Soundbox is the first campus based music talent search event in Bangladesh

Bangladesh Thai Chamber of Commerce and Industry recently held its board’s 4th meeting for the term 2013-2015 at its conference room. The chamber’s president Sajjatus Jumma presided over the meeting

Board of Pubali Bank has recently appointed two handicapped job applicants under humanitarian banking programmes as it has been doing so every year. The bank’s chair Hafiz Ahmed Mazumder handed over the appointment letters to physically disabled Sanjida Rahman and visually disabled Dewan Salamat Raza Chowdhury in a ceremony held in Sylhet

The photo shows country manager of Coca-Cola Bangladesh Shadab Khan and ASM Mohiuddin Monem from Abdul Monem Ltd along with four winners of Coca-Cola Company’s competition for getting an opportunity football World Cup in Brazil. The winners are Mohammed Khalequl Islam, Khulna, Md Mahabub Alam, Rajshahi, Sayed Muhammad Shafiqul Alam, Chittagong, Abdul Baki Ahmad Shafi, Sylhet

Advanced Chemical Industries Limited (ACI) yesterday held its 41st annual general meeting in Dhaka. The company’s chair M Anis Ud Dowla presided over the meeting, where 85% cash and 20% stock dividends were approved on the stocks’ face value

B4

DHAKA TRIBUNE

Back Page

Wednesday, June 11, 2014

E-tailers growth ensnared in India's logistics jungle n Reuters, Mumbai Online retailers jostling for a chunk of India's $13bn e-commerce trade are so desperate to avoid snarled roads and inefficient railways that they fly their packages in the passenger cabin of costly commercial flights. The cargo, however, often gets bumped off.

India's largest domestic e-tailer Flipkart as well as bigger global rivals like Amazon and eBay Inc are widening their supplier networks or racing to build multi-million dollar logistics networks to circumvent crumbling infrastructure, keen to attract customers by shrinking delivery times to same-day or even as short as nine hours.

In the meantime, they remain at the mercy of commercial airlines, which frequently remove their parcels to make room for passengers, highlighting one of the challenges to expanding in an e-commerce market that consultants say is growing at a compound rate of 34% a year, and which saw online retail sales of $1.6bn last year.

"It is unfortunate, but offloading does happen and we have to make sure our delivery promises take that into consideration," Rahul Chari, vice-president, supply chain technologies at Flipkart, told Reuters.

Up to 90% of goods ordered online in India are moved by air, which pushes up delivery costs by around half, according to several online retailers and logistics companies. Road and rail transport networks remain woefully underdeveloped and entangled in graft and bureaucracy.

With a population exceeding 1.1 billion, a burgeoning middle class and better Internet access, India's e-commerce potential is huge. Online retail sales are expected to surge to $76bn by 2021, according to consultants Forrester, and the segment is growing at a much slower pace than other emerging markets, including China.

E-commerce is poised to get a boost as early as next month, when the government is expected to allow online

Power minister warns Delhi to brace for more blackouts n Reuters, New Delhi Residents in Delhi should brace for more power cuts amid scorching summer heat, the power minister said on Tuesday, warning that dilapidated power grids could not cope with the extra electricity needed to meet demand.

North India has endured a heatwave in the last week, with temperatures in some parts of Delhi reaching a 62-year high.

The surge in demand from residents cranking up their air conditioning, and damage to power lines during a recent storm, has overwhelmed the grid, sparking outages across North India and forcing Delhi to introduce emergency power-saving measures.

Clearly the power grid as it stands today is outdated, needs augmentation and modernisation and may repeatedly have outages and tripping problems Piyush Goyal, minister of state for power, coal, and new and renewable energy, said "inadequate" transmission lines meant Delhi could absorb 400 megawatts of power on top of its existing 5,300 MW, falling short of current peak demand of 5,800 MW. "Clearly the power grid as it stands today is outdated, needs augmentation and modernisation and may repeatedly have outages and tripping problems," he told a press conference after meeting with local power officials.

Three weeks after winning a national election on pledges to boost the economy and improve basic services, Prime Minister Narendra Modi faces a big challenge meeting the growing demands for reliable and affordable power and water. In Uttar Pradesh, where less than half of homes have power, angry locals set electricity substations on fire and took power company officials hostage at the weekend in protest at the recent blackouts, media reports said.

Goyal said engineers in Delhi were working 24 hours a day to fix broken lines, while the government has ordered GAIL to provide extra gas to a huge plant near the city functioning at a fifth of its capacity. l

its own warehouses, it is trialing using neighbourhood grocery stores and petrol stations as delivery points.

It also struck agreements with the Indian Postal Service to reach far-flung places in the country, Agrawal said. eBay, by contrast, is working with external logistics firms to cut back on multiple state taxes for products shipped by road and the excessive documentation required to move every parcel.

It is also intensively training its 45,000-strong supplier base, which holds all the inventory eBay sells on its platforms, to improve efficiency.

"In this business, it is important we do what we are good at and let our logistics partners do what they are good at," said Latif Nathani, eBay India's managing director.

From laptops to refrigerators

Workers gather items for delivery from the warehouse floor at Amazon's distribution center in Phoenix, Arizona retailers to sell directly to consumers.

Logistics, however, remains the biggest barrier to growth and transport troubles are just the tip of the iceberg.

Most e-tailers use sometime unreliable third-party delivery firms, more than half of sales are paid for with cash-on-delivery, return rates are high and orders made to fake addresses are all too common.

"The biggest advantage of e-commerce is the instant nationwide reach it enables sellers of all sizes, however, it is the delivery of that opportunity that

requires significant focus and investment from the industry," Amit Agarwal, Amazon's vice president and country manager, told Reuters in an e-mail.

Moving in-house

With India's perennial infrastructure failings far from being resolved, most e-tailers are focusing their investment on setting up their own capital-intensive logistics businesses.

Flipkart, founded by two former Amazon executives in 2007 is aggressively growing its logistics arm E-Kart.

Amazon, the world's biggest online retailer, is pumping up the capacities at Amazon Logistics. That's in addition to existing partnerships with third-party logistics firms including GATI, Blue Dart and FedEx Corp.

"Having a control over what customers want is a big driver because now we are able to have a channel through which we can gather a lot of feedback and tailor our services accordingly," said Flipkart's Chari. The company counts South Africa's Naspers Ltd as an investor.

REUTERS

To reduce air shipments, Flipkart is setting up regional warehouses and signing up more suppliers across the country to ensure customers get orders delivered by the nearest supplier, he said.

Having its own network now means Flipkart can handle delivery rescheduling requests better, manage product returns faster and help customers exchange products, services that are time-consuming when handled by a third-party operator. Amazon is using a similar strategy. In addition to building

The anticipated boom in online retail is encouraging logistics firms to better their services, but it will take several years before India gets an efficient network, said Bablu Tewari, chief operating officer for e-commerce and international business with Gati. The company is one of India's largest logistics firms, delivering for Amazon and eBay. "Nobody shipped products which weighed more than two kilos like say laptops and now suddenly people are moving refrigerators," Tewari said.

For the many Indian e-tailers that lack the deep pockets of Amazon and Flipkart, air freight and couriers are not an option. Instead, they are altering their packaging and product lines to ensure they can reach customers via road and rail.

Pepperfry, one of India's largest online furniture and home products retailer, is training suppliers to make knock-down, foldable products, similar to IKEA furnishings.

Flat-packaged goods reduce shipping costs, said founder and Chief Executive Officer Ambareesh Murty. The company also provides carpenters to assemble the items once delivered. l

Paul Polman says Russia still land of opportunities n Reuters, Moscow

Consumer goods maker Unilever is keeping faith in Russia as an important growth market and is ready to plow money into factories and acquisitions there despite a slowing economy.

Unilever Chief Executive Paul Polman said he met Russian First Deputy Prime Minister Arkady Dvorkovich last week and they discussed the Anglo-Dutch company's long-term investments.

"We talked other investments we continue to make to be sure that we grow our business here," he told Reuters during a visit to Moscow.

Foreign companies have been reviewing their growth plans in Russia since it annexed Ukraine's Crimea region in response to the overthrow of Ukraine's Moscow-backed president in February, provoking the deepest crisis in Moscow's relations with the West since the Cold War.

The stand-off has taken its toll on the economy, which is now close to recession. Russia's government already acknowledged last November that the economy would lag global growth over the next two decades.

Unilever's Russian businesses include cosmetics maker Kalina, ice cream producer Inmarko, dressings maker Baltimor and its own factories producing Knorr soup and Lipton tea.

"Obviously (the Ukraine crisis) affects our business," said Polman. "The rouble is down, the Ukrainian currency is down. It is not helping the economic situation ... and there are rules and regulations that have to be rewritten."

"Despite that, we are growing our market share in all our home and personal care businesses... We have a good business in Russia and we don't complain about that."

With many developed economies growing only slowly, Unilever has moved to focus on emerging markets

including Russia and has been reviewing its range of global brands. It recently sold Skippy peanut butter, Wishbone salad dressings and Ragu and Bertolli pasta sauces in the United States.

We prioritize organic growth, but we also continuously look at good bolt-on acquisitions and we have done some of them here. And we will continue with that strategy "You have to pull the weeds sometimes to let the flowers grow," Polman said in an interview.

He said Unilever was "nearly done" with a strategic review that is moving its portfolio away from mature, region-

Zuckerberg, other Facebook directors are sued over pay plan n Reuters Mark Zuckerberg and other members of Facebook Inc's board have been sued by a shareholder who claimed a policy letting them annually award directors more than $150m of stock each if they choose is unreasonably generous.

In a complaint filed on Friday night in Delaware Chancery Court, Ernesto Espinoza said the board was "essentially free to grant itself whatever amount of compensation it chooses" under the social media company's 2012 equity incentive plan, which also covers employees, officers and consultants.

He said the plan annually caps total awards at 25 million shares and ind vidual awards at 2.5 million, and in theory lets the board annually award directors $156m in stock each, based on Friday's closing price of $62.50.

The lawsuit does not contend that such large sums will be awarded.

Espinoza also said last year's average $461,000 payout to non-employee directors was too high, being 43% larger than typical payouts at "peer" companies such as Amazon.com Inc and Walt Disney Co that on average generated twice as much revenue and three times

more profit. Facebook spokeswoman Genevieve Grdina said in an email: "The lawsuit is without merit and we will defend ourselves vigorously."

A spokeswoman for Robbins Arroyo, a law firm representing the plaintiff, had no immediate comment.

The lawsuit alleges breach of fiduciary duty, waste of corporate assets and unjust enrichment. It seeks to force directors to repay Facebook for alleged damages sustained by the Menlo Park, California-based company, and to impose "meaningful limits" subject to shareholder approval about how much stock the board can award itself.

Among the other defendants is Facebook Chief Operating Officer Sheryl Sandberg, a director whose compensation was $16.15m in 2013, according to a regulatory filing. She is worth $999m, Forbes magazine said on Monday.

Zuckerberg made $653,165 last year, a regulatory filing shows, and Forbes said his net worth is $27.7bn.

Espinoza was also a plaintiff in a 2010 shareholder case in Delaware against Hewlett-Packard Co concerning its handling of the resignation of Chief Executive Mark Hurd over his relationship with a former contractor. l

al food brands to higher-growth, more profitable personal care brands with global consumer appeal.

"We sold PF Chang's and Bertolli frozen food, Wishbone, Ragu - and we buy things like Kalina or Alberto Culver which are in our strategic categories that we have globally."

RUSSIA SALES GROWTH SLOWS Unilever last year announced an upgrade of its cosmetics facility in Russia's second city of St Petersburg, allowing it to double production capacity, and a new industrial water purification facility. It also recently opened a research and development center for ice cream in Tula, south of Moscow.

"We prioritize organic growth, but we also continuously look at good bolt-on acquisitions and we have done some of them here. And we will continue with that strategy," said Polman.

He said Unilever's revenue growth in Russia dropped to a high single-digit percentage about a year ago from dou-

ble digits but this did not worry him much as long as the company continued to increase its market share.

Unilever said in April it could sell dietary brand SlimFast, concluding its US disposals. But analysts say more could come, such as a disposal of its underperforming spreads business that is mainly in the United States and Europe.

Polman said the spreads business, which accounts for around 7% of Unilever's sales, was not currently up for sale.

"We are growing market share now in spreads. We know how to run it efficiently ... and we generate quite a lot of cash from our spreads business that we then can use to finance the expansion of the emerging markets," he said.

The business includes spreads like margarine, which are suffering in many markets from a consumer shift toward products seen as more natural, such as butter. l

Cambodian models stand next to a Rolls Royce during a ceremony in Phnom Penh on Tuesday.

Britain's RollsRoyce officially launched its business in impoverished Cambodia while the company is expanding markets for its luxurious and expensive cars in the Asia Pacific region AFP

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